Fall

As the sky continuously trembled, Kaikilia gripped the holy sword until her knuckles turned white. She couldn’t possibly understand the situation unfolding before her.

Could the sky really move like that, as if someone was holding and shaking it? Was such a thing truly possible?

But whether she was in chaos or not, she was the Emperor of the Aeternum Empire, and she had to do her duty. Kaikilia questioned Minerva, who was gripping her staff just as tightly right beside her.

“Minerva. Have all the messages been delivered?”

“…Yes, my child. Just as the child said, all the knights have assumed battle formation, and the mages have also been prepared. However…”

Minerva’s voice trailed off. Even though she couldn’t finish her sentence, it was quite easy to guess what would follow.

“Are you saying it’s useless even if we gather them?”

Nod. Minerva nodded with a somber expression.

That was right. No matter how much humans on the ground struggled, they couldn’t do anything about what was happening in the sky.

Even the Eternal Mage couldn’t come up with a clever solution. Not only could she not find a way to resolve the situation, she couldn’t even grasp why such a situation had occurred.

Though she had ordered the knights to assume battle formation and gathered the mages, what use would they be in a situation where the sky was roaring, trembling, and spewing out all sorts of deafening sounds?

“How do you think this will end, Minerva?”

“I don’t know either, my child.”

Even as the pinnacle of imperial power exchanged a conversation filled with helplessness, the deafening roar continued to reverberate. Time flowed relentlessly, and confusion gradually intensified.

“Look there, Minerva!”

Kaikilia urgently pointed towards the horizon. Her silvery-white pupils followed her finger.

The sun was swaying.

The halo of light spreading around the spherical orb trembled, flickered for a moment, and even dimmed, appearing severely unstable at a glance.

“…For this chaos to subside, a very long time will have to pass.”

Kaikilia, intuiting that fact, bit her lip.

To pass through this unprecedented chaos of a trembling sky and a swaying sun, and for the empire to regain stability, who knew how much time would have to pass?

People would grow anxious, rumors would spread, and chaos would ensue. Even heinous groups would run rampant, seeking to profit from the turmoil.

To ensure they experienced even a little less chaos, from now on…

“Child?”

Minerva opened her mouth, her voice trembling.

“What’s wrong? What else is-“

At the fact that there was still something left to be surprised by, Kaikilia stopped thinking of countermeasures, irritably raised her head, and then froze.

A full moon was rising in the sky, which should have clearly been daytime.

The sun and moon appearing in the same sky? It was an impossible sight. Murmurs could be heard from below. If Kaikilia and Minerva were astonished to that extent, the reactions of the others were obvious.

But the surprises weren’t over yet. The physical distance between the sun and moon gradually narrowed, and from the gap between them, an immense radiance began to burst forth.

It was clearly a sight somewhere near the horizon, far from the Imperial Palace, yet it was bright enough to cast shadows behind Kaikilia and Minerva.

“Child, the holy sword is…”

“…It’s resonating with that radiance.”

The blade of the holy sword glowed with a golden light. This confirmed that the situation was related to divine power.

Come to think of it, at some point, the trembling of the sky had stopped. There had been so many shocking events that it wasn’t clear when this had happened. She didn’t understand what was happening at all, but there was no time to be surprised.

The object emitting brilliant radiance had fallen downwards. Watching the radiance fall below the horizon and disappear, Kaikilia murmured blankly.

“…Minerva.”

“I know, my child. We just need to move to the location where that radiance fell, right?”

“That’s right. Make sure we move as quickly as possible.”

“Merciful Sun… Benevolent Moon… This humble lamb has clearly witnessed the miracle you have unfolded with these two eyes…”

Floreta and Luna, Stella and Selene, knelt and looked up at the miracle unfolding in the sky, clasping their hands together in prayer.

The feelings of astonishment from the sky trembling and the sun swaying just moments ago had long since vanished.

Of course, that was because the sun and moon had risen together directly above the hill where the four of them were kneeling.

Witnessing the sight of the sun and moon rising in the same sky directly below them, and with their faith, which they had upheld until now, being rewarded, there was no way they would have time to care about such trivial events.

Even Selene, with her thorough and cold personality, shed tears, and Stella outright sobbed uncontrollably. Even Floreta and Luna, who barely managed to hold back their tears, had moist eyes.

Such a miracle could not possibly be limited to just the four people gathered here. The entire Holy Nation must have witnessed it, and all believers would be praising the sun and moon.

“The radiance…!”

The miracle didn’t stop there. From between the sun and moon, a brilliant radiance spread out, covering the entire world in light.

Its purity was not something that the divine power of popes could even stand beside. Compared to that radiance, Floreta and Luna’s divine power felt like nothing more than sewage.

The sun and moon descended as if embracing the radiance, then ascended back into the sky, but the light did not stop. It fell directly downwards, towards the location where the four of them were.

Floreta and Luna, Stella and Selene, instantly understood why God had given them a revelation and told them to be here.

It must have been arranged for them to witness this sacred sight from the closest possible position.

“…Huh?”

It was the moment Floreta craned her neck to its limit, trying to take in even a little more of that sacredness and brilliance. A familiar-feeling, jet-black silhouette caught her green eyes.

Within the brilliantly shining radiance, someone was there.

“…What’s wrong, Evangelina?”

Luna carefully put her arm around her sister’s shoulder. Floreta silently pointed into the radiance. A familiar-feeling, jet-black silhouette was reflected in her violet eyes as well.

Both of them instantly recognized the identity.

“Delta-nim?”

“That person…?”

The popes were surprised one after another, and even Stella and Selene, who had been sobbing uncontrollably at the fact that the sacred light’s true identity was Delta, raised their heads.

It was true. Although the distance was considerable, for some reason, they could clearly see the figure inside the radiance. Perhaps even this was God’s arrangement.

“Delta-nim! Delta-nim!”

At the fact that the radiance’s true identity was Delta, and that even the sun and moon had acknowledged him, Floreta jumped up and down like a child, overjoyed. Luna also smiled brightly and clasped her hands in front of her chest.

However, it didn’t take long for that smile to turn into a question.

Something was strange. Could one normally see the scenery behind a human’s abdomen? Was a human’s abdomen normally so empty? Was a human’s…

“Ah, ah…?”

There was a hole in Delta’s abdomen. And not just a fist-sized one, but a hole large enough for an average child to pass through.

Upon realizing that fact, the bodies of the four froze.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, his falling posture was also strange. Falling headfirst meant that he had lost consciousness or was otherwise unable to control his own movements.

The first to act was Luna. She teleported near the radiance, in place of her sister who had frozen in panic.

The light gently enveloped her body, but there was no time to feel that comforting sensation. She pushed through the halo of light and approached the jet-black figure at its center.

“Del…”

And then, before she could even finish his name, her face contorted. Upon closer inspection, it was even more severe.

This was not merely a level that could be described with the words ‘a hole in the stomach’. It was no different from his entire abdomen being torn away.

The tattered inside of his body was visible, and his internal organs had completely vanished. The mere fact that his upper and lower body were still connected was close to a miracle.

Luna hurriedly embraced Delta’s body. The brilliant radiance that had enveloped his body scattered into the air. As the golden halo of light receded, the terribly gruesome state became much more apparent.

Luna, who had descended to the ground holding Delta with trembling hands, spread out a thin layer of silver divine power. Delta’s body was laid upon the divine power.

Stella and Selene’s faces turned pale upon seeing that sight. This was because it wasn’t a wound that even the two of them, who were deeply involved in torturing humans, would consider normal.

Even if they tortured someone, their goal was to inflict pain for a very long time, so they wouldn’t tear out an entire abdomen like that.

Because a human with their entire abdomen torn out would simply die.

“Delta… *hiccup*… Our Delta…”

Floreta approached Delta, trembling all over. Large teardrops fell, *drip-drip*.

“Is he, is he still alive…?”

“…Yes. He is still breathing, Evangelina. He is not dead.”

Luna, who had brought her finger below Delta’s nose, felt a warm breath and was relieved. He is still alive. Although he has become such a sight, he is holding onto his life.

“Th-then, quickly, treatment… We must take him to the Grand Cathedral… No, first, a divine spell-“

“…What are you doing now?”

Suddenly, a voice that felt almost pallid was heard.

Kaikilia and Minerva, who had just arrived at the location where the radiance was believed to have fallen, looked down at Delta, who was laid upon the divine power, their expressions trembling.

“…I am asking what you are doing now, am I not?”

“Your Majesty…”

“Perhaps, is he dead?”

“*Hiccup*…”

“I am asking if that man is dead, Pope of the Sun.”

“…”

“Am I not asking if he is dead! Why aren’t you answering!”

Kaikilia, who had let out a thunderous roar, approached Delta. First, the large hole in his abdomen caught her eye.

His internal organs were nowhere to be seen, as if they had vanished along with the hole, and a terribly large gap, as if a maw had been ripped open, was gaping where it shouldn’t have been.

Lastly, his two eyes were peacefully closed, as if he were dead. Standing before him, Kaikilia gnashed her teeth and gripped the holy sword’s hilt so tightly it felt like it would shatter. Minerva soothed such a Kaikilia.

“Calm yourself, my child.”

“Calm myself? Did you tell me to calm down now? Do I look like I can calm down now?! If you have eyes, look, Minerva! While Delta is in such a state-“

“The child is perfectly fine.”

Her furious outburst was cut short. Kaikilia’s eyes and the corners of her mouth twitched simultaneously. It seemed as if she was forcibly suppressing her anger, or perhaps preparing to unleash her fury.

“Now… what did you say? That appearance… is perfectly fine?”

“I don’t know how it happened, but all other functions, excluding the vanished internal organs, are operating normally. The child will not die. I swear on Minerva’s name.”

When Minerva put even her own name on the line, even Kaikilia couldn’t help but hesitate. Her golden pupils turned towards the man lying as if dead.

It was a wound where his entire body, from his lower abdomen to his solar plexus, was practically torn away, yet he was perfectly fine and alive in such a state?

“…Then, when will he wake up? If Delta is perfectly fine as you say, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have regained consciousness already-“

“He just woke up, though?”

The six people gathered there, seeing the nonchalantly open jet-black pupils, were speechless, none of them speaking first.

No one knew when he had regained consciousness, but Delta, with his eyes open, was looking up with a perfectly normal expression. While the six of them amicably shut their mouths, Delta looked down at his own stomach and clicked his tongue.

“Wow, what a crazy bastard. How cleanly it’s been pierced? Should I buy a donut later or something?”

What’s more, he even fumbled with his hand against his hollowed-out abdomen. It was an action utterly unbelievable for someone with such severe injuries.

“How could this be…?”

Kaikilia murmured in a daze. Delta, who had been putting his hand in and out of the hole in his abdomen, raised his head.

“It’s a long story if I explain everything, Your Majesty the Emperor. It’s not something to babble about here while looking like I have a hole in my stomach.”

“I know, my child. So, first, treatment-“

“This cannot be healed with divine spells or magic.”

“…What does that mean?”

Instead of answering, Delta abruptly sat up. Floreta and Luna were startled by the sight of a body, no different from a corpse, sitting up.

“You know that dragon that came to the Imperial Palace last time? It’s that bastard’s doing.”