Translated by A Passing Wanderer

Edited by RED

Paladins clad in sets of armour gleaming in red, green, gold, silver, and white had lined up there. Beyond them were over one hundred thousand soldiers on standby, waving the flags of the Empire.

Cannons were already installed and ready to fire, while many other soldiers were wielding muskets. Priests and magicians were praying or chanting their spells into reality.

The flags of the Theocratic Empire flapped powerfully in the stiff winds.

There was a lone figure standing tall in front of this vast, imposing army. This man wore a mountain goat’s skull on his head, while his whole body was clad in his unmistakable bone armour. Twelve ‘wings’ spreading out from his back danced in the wind like a cape, radiating a brilliant light.

The man gripping the golden spear while radiating the pure-white aura to his surroundings was the Holy Emperor, Allen Olfolse! .

He had personally stepped in the front of the army.

The vampires giving chase to Heis’s group were instantly frightened. They shivered and shook their heads as if in denial, before retreating more quickly than they’d come.

All those vampires, too many to even count, suddenly reversed direction and withdrew. This scene was like the bright light beating the darkness back.

Heis thought he had witnessed yet another miracle.

Yes, that man was ‘it’. That noble being, was the hope itself!

“Now pray, son,” his father spoke in a composed, bassy voice that rang clearly in Heis’s ears. “Worship that noble emperor, and exalt his greatness!”

Deep faith cried out from his heart and echoed within his soul.

“We are the sons of the Theocratic Empire, and the living god who serves Gaia herself!”

Heis, his emotions now taken over by unshakable faith, began roaring out, “For the glory of Gaia! For the glory of His Majesty the Holy Emperor-!”

The father and son duo continued to ride ahead, towards the place with light and hope.

**

(TL: In 1st person POV.)

The Priests were tirelessly singing the sacred hymns. As they did, drums continued to beat loudly.

Over a hundred thousand soldiers roared in unison and raised their flags high up.

As the deafening roars rocked the battlefield, I stood silently before everyone and studied the situation unfolding up ahead.

Survivors were rushing towards us while letting out spirited roars, as well.

When I spread open my twelve bone hands, the aura of divinity gushed out, and the roars of the soldiers were abruptly cut off, as if all that noise had been just an illusion.

The deep, heavy silence wafted all around us.

It was exactly as the twins had shown me back then.

“The climax of the world’s destruction has arrived.”

The hymns got going again, and the beautiful melodies filled the air.

The ground beneath my feet was rumbling faintly. Thick dust clouds could be seen rising up in the distance… The Jötnar were approaching.

“We’ve experienced far too much sacrifice to reach this point. Therefore… we cannot retreat any further.”

My spear sank into the ground as I stepped forward. I stood on top of the hill and pointed Avaldi’s Spear at the incoming Jötnar.

“We possess the necessary strength now.”

The energy flowing within the spear exploded out. Arcs of electricity as ferocious as lightning bolts cracked and whipped out into the surroundings.

“Strength that no one can dismiss.”

I had been preparing for this.

For the past five years, I had worked my ass off while literally breaking my own body down several times. The time had finally come to taste the fruits of my labour.

I strengthened my whole body and sucked in a deep breath.

I started praying loudly, so that everyone could hear me; so that their nervousness and anxiety could transform into courage.

“We are the guardians of this continent!”

The Jötnar stopped advancing then, and the retreating vampires gathered near their feet.

“And we’re also the inheritors of Gaia’s will!”

Golden light from the Rune engraved on the ground began spreading all around me; gentle rays of light enveloped the bodies of all the soldiers on our side, signifying the activation of the Aztal Rune.

Charlotte raised her shield and gripped her sword tightly. The Grim Reaper transformation activated, changing her treasure sword into a huge greatsword of light, while a robe and hood made out of divinity covered her body.

Alice was singing her sacred hymn. Through her Resonance, I sensed countless miracles coming to reality.

Hans was commanding the artillery regiment over yonder. Divinity filled the cannons and the members of the musket regiment began breathing into their weapons.

“In the name of our gods…”

I declared the establishment of our sanctuary. The entirety of the Theocratic Empire’s capital was transformed into a holy land.

“We shall judge those bastards-!”

Gripping Avaldi’s Spear, I strengthened my body even further. My spear slowly lowered as the muscles on my legs expanded.

“Defend!”

I flung my whole body forward as I broke into a rapid sprint.

At the same time, hundreds of cannons that had lined up began spitting out fierce flames.

“And then, protect!”

Electricity continued to flow out from the tip of the spear to split the ground beneath me, but the cracks were instantly filled back up with my summoned holy water.

“Because, we are…”

Holy undead began gushing out from the surface of holy water. From skeleton horses clad in barding to other skeletons kitted out in heavy armour riding atop them…

They gripped their lances tightly and followed my example to charge ahead madly.

“…the hope of all mankind!”

**

“All troops, follow His Majesty-!”

Heis and his father leading their group towards the Imperial Capital, roared out in unison. When the Holy Emperor rushed past them, they also yanked on their reins to turn their mounts around.

They had forgotten about their fear for a while now.

Their Holy Emperor always created miracles and continued to safeguard the peace of this land. The time had come to experience it once more!

“Chargeeee-! Forward-!” their knights roared out as well; Heis and his father followed after the Holy Emperor, while the entire force of the Imperial Family closely followed right behind them.

Despite wearing their heavy Rune Armour, they still ran quite rapidly.

Cannons fired an endless stream of shooting stars up into the sky, their recoil rocking the land below.

The Holy Emperor’s golden spear split the ground below as he ran. Holy water gushed out from the broken ground and spread out rapidly. Holy undead leapt out from the water’s surface and began running alongside the Holy Emperor.

-What are those things?!-

The Jötnar were flustered and stumbled back.

“It’s the Imperial Family! Those bastards are coming over here!”

“They have been preparing for us? You monstrous bastards!”

The vampires all fell into the clutches of terror. Never mind stumbling back, they actually turned around and started fleeing from the area.

-Stop running, you bunch of cowards!-

-They are merely insects! We can easily stop them all!-

-Defensive formations!-

The Jötnar lined up in front.

Boom, boom, boom-!

They slammed their feet down, then overlapped their sturdy shields and held them up firmly. Their free hands gripped huge clubs made out of stone.

These were the feared Jötnar. They were warriors meant to kill the gods!

They obviously wouldn’t be scared of some measly insects. No matter how boldly these pathetic little things came at the giants, they wouldn’t be able to break this shield wall down.

Just as the Jötnar broke out in grins, however…

Thick and gloomy clouds rolled in and blanketed the skies above. The roars of thunderclaps reverberated throughout the world, making the giants flinch in surprise and raise their heads up to look.

-Thunderclouds?-

-Did the Vampire King create those?-

The eyes of the Jötnar began trembling next, because they could sense the aura of divinity coming off from all those lightning bolts arcing within the clouds.

That… didn’t seem right. Those clouds could not have been created by the Vampire King!

-It can’t be…!-

Just as the Jötnar froze up on their spots, the lightning finally struck.

One of the heads of the giants was ripped apart, followed by a massive explosion. The Jötnar nearby were thrown back from the impact.

All these huge creatures, each a dozen-plus metres tall, had to kiss the ground with their butts. Their flabbergasted gazes soon turned into glares that locked on the Holy Emperor rushing towards them.

-What the hell are you all doing?! Defensive formations, now!-

The Holy Emperor leapt up high in the air. The Jötnar belatedly got in line and overlapped their shields again.

“Break through them, Avaldi.”

The power sleeping within Avaldi’s Spear went on overdrive. Avaldi’s ‘heart’, buried deep within the weapon itself, began gushing out a vast quantity of demonic energy.

The divine energy enveloping the spear responded to that sudden eruption of the opposing force and an adverse reaction was created.

Chaos was their end product; black and white swirled and blended together chaotically.

The Holy Emperor jerked his whole body back before throwing the mighty spear forth. A Jötunn’s sturdy stone shield was easily penetrated straight through, but the weapon didn’t stop there. It also punched straight through the giant behind it, too.

The moment the spear stabbed into the ground, waves of holy water exploded forth. More holy undead leapt out from within them.

The vampires standing behind the Jötnar screamed in terror.

At that exact moment…

“Forward, as fast as you can…!”

Someone’s spirited roar prompted the vampires to turn their heads urgently. They discovered Heis, his sword already unsheathed, leaping into the air atop his horse.

Right behind him was a cavalry force of holy undead several hundreds strong, all of them clad in heavy armour. He was being accompanied by a legion of skeleton knights!

The Army of Light pounced on the vampires.

< 198. The Beginning of the Apocalypse -3 (Part One and Two) > Fin.

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