Chapter 731: Succession to the Throne

“Is this… an invitation from the Royal Family?”

Inside the temporary temple that replaced the collapsed Holy Emperor’s Palace.

A woman’s voice echoed.

Her voice was always beautiful and warm, but ironically, in this moment of the greatest crisis for the Holy Emperor’s Palace, it sounded even more beautiful and warm.

Well, perhaps that was only natural. Heroes always emerge in chaotic times, and saviors too appear during the end times…

Regardless, an old man responded in a tired voice to her words.

“Yes, that’s correct, Savior.”

The old man said, doing his best to be polite.

In normal times, he would have simply summoned the woman to inform her, but the fact he had come to tell her personally spoke volumes.

That didn’t mean the old man’s status was low, though.

In fact, his status was very high. Extremely high.

After all, this old man had once been one of the highest Holy Knights, a leader of the moderate faction of Dark Priests, the Prime Minister of Gallos, and at present, he had been elected the new Holy Emperor after the previous one was crushed under rubble.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was one of the most powerful people in the world.

Yet, despite all that, the old man was showing utmost respect to the woman.

His title was, in the end, a title made by humans, whereas her title was a position granted by the heavens.

She was a Child of the Angels, or a Savior.

And so, the old man bowed his head.

The woman’s expression darkened instantly, as though the massive weight of his words pressed down heavily on her shoulders.

It was like a thousand-pound iron weight was sitting on her shoulders.

Fortunately, the old man—no, Armand the Holy Emperor—noticed this and looked at the attendants in the room.

They were upper-class young people who had come to the Holy Capital to become priests. Like many from the Holy Capital, their faces and hands had been warped grotesquely.

Armand the Holy Emperor addressed them.

“Will you step out for a moment?”

The attendants, who had their heads bowed and hands clasped, looked surprised.

Yet, they didn’t move.

Despite the fact that it was an order from the highest leader of the Pater Church. They just blinked.

Seeing this, Armand closed his eyes, looking weary.

It wasn’t simply that the authority of the Pater Church had collapsed. He was just tired of seeing how pitifully they acted.

They were standing there selfishly, unwilling to leave Joanna’s side.

At that moment, Joanna spoke.

“Could you all please step out for a moment?”

At her request, as a Child of the Angels, the attendants finally bowed their heads and quietly left the room.

The door closed softly behind them, and Armand expressed his gratitude.

“Thank you, Savior—”

“—Please… Don’t call me that.”

Joanna raised her hand, cutting off his words, a clear plea in her voice.

It wasn’t humility; it was sincere.

Armand chose to honor her request.

“Understood, Lady Joanna.”

“You can also speak more casually.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“You are the Holy Emperor, after all.”

“A half-hearted Holy Emperor at best.”

Armand said, and it was true.

The Holy Emperor was the highest religious leader of the Pater Church. His domain was the Holy Capital, but he also commanded the respect of the largest realms.

The chosen nations all bowed their heads, recognizing his authority.

But that was all in the past.

Since the Devil’s arrival destroyed the Holy Emperor’s Palace and warped the bodies of the Holy Capital’s residents, and since Holy Power had vanished, the standing of the Pater Church had diminished.

Beyond that, how Armand was elected as Holy Emperor was also problematic.

It wasn’t that the election was fraudulent.

It was just that after the Devil reduced the council of Dark Priests to less than half, and candidates like Roderick were injured or killed, the usual authority during a Holy Emperor election wasn’t the same.

You could call his election hasty, to say the least.

That’s why Armand called himself a ‘half-hearted Holy Emperor.’

The Holy Emperor had come to power during the lowest ebb of the Pater Church, in a hastily done ceremony.

But Joanna didn’t back down.

“You’re still the Holy Emperor. Rightfully elected.”

“Thank you for saying that. It’s because you said that, that I have been recognized as the Holy Emperor.”

Unable to argue with the truth, Joanna fell silent.

When Holy Power vanished into the hands of the Devil and the Pater Church’s authority plummeted, Joanna had been the one to offer a solution.

It was thanks to Joanna, who flew through the skies with wings of Holy Power like an angel.

‘Holy Power hasn’t disappeared! It’s gathered in the hands of the Children of the Angels to defeat the Devil!’

Presenting Joanna to the world, Armand had told that lie, and because of it, he had been able to calm the chaos.

Joanna remained silent, seemingly pondering over things, and Armand softly whispered.

This time, he spoke more comfortably, to show care for her.

“Are you struggling?”

After a long moment of deliberation, Joanna nodded.

“Looking at the people’s eyes… it’s a bit hard.”

Armand recalled the looks in the eyes of the attendants earlier.

Eyes that seemed to see a single lifeline in the hell rushing toward them.

It wasn’t quite the same as hunger, or sanity, but it was imbued with an even stronger emotion.

An overwhelming wave of selfishness that suffocated just to look at.

Of course, Armand didn’t think it was incomprehensible. Humans were weak creatures when it came to survival and salvation.

Yet selfishness was still selfishness.

Even the desire for salvation was a weak and selfish one at its core.

Armand suddenly wondered if this was why God hadn’t appeared in all these long years—because even God could not save all mankind.

Even the omnipotent one couldn’t save selfish humans.

It was a highly blasphemous thought for a Holy Emperor, but Armand couldn’t shake it.

If God truly intended to save humans, why permit an apocalypse?

As he pondered these dark thoughts, Joanna apologized, opening her mouth.

“I’ve been complaining too much… You must be struggling as well, Your Holiness. Please forgive me.”

Seeing Armand’s darkened face, Joanna apologized.

Armand couldn’t help but feel ashamed.

He was behaving just like the humans he had just criticized…

Quickly, he changed the subject.

“No, it’s all right, Lady Joanna… Anyway, to get to the point. The Royal Family of the United Kingdom has invited you. It’s for the coronation ceremony.”

Joanna unfolded the letter Armand had given her.

As he had said, she was being invited to bless the coronation of the new king of the United Kingdom.

Her first words after reading the letter were:

“So sudden?”

It was the perfect comment to describe the United Kingdom’s succession.

As she said, it was too sudden. Like being unexpectedly hit with a punch.

The reigning queen leading the United Kingdom’s golden age, though elderly, was still deemed fit to rule by many.

Only recently, newspapers had reported on her vigorous political engagements.

Yet, out of nowhere, the queen had fallen ill, and the succession of Crown Prince Edward X had been decided.

The transition of power had happened so swiftly that it bordered on being sloppy.

Even worse.

“Even with the rumors that the Royal Family is conspiring with the Puppet.”

The alleged alliance between the Royal Family of the United Kingdom and the Puppet.

That rumor had spread after a certain conversation was broadcast nationwide in the United Kingdom, and it had caused quite the stir.

In pro-royalist places like Seland, many dismissed it as baseless or a political attack,

but in colonies and places like Northland, which were more anti-royalist, the rumor was taken much more seriously, causing unrest.

It only served to further destabilize a world already thrown into disarray by the disappearance of Holy Power.

“It seems like they’re inviting you to form an alliance. The Royal Family is in turmoil due to the alliance rumors, and we in the Pater Church have lost Holy Power, so… They probably think joining forces will restore some authority.”

“You think they have another motive.”

“Yes, I do.”

Armand responded without hesitation. Then he asserted.

“The Puppet alliance is likely true.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“Because sadly, human nature doesn’t change so easily. Unless there’s a truly transformative event, not even young people change dramatically. And unfortunately, the Crown Prince of the United Kingdom, Edward X, hasn’t had such an event.”

In Armand’s response, Joanna could read his evaluation of Edward X.

Indeed, he didn’t have a good reputation.

Still, Joanna had to ask.

“But hasn’t he recently shown great improvement and achieved success?”

“That’s exactly why I believe he’s aligned with the Puppet. There’s no way someone without ability could have achieved such success without help.”

It was pure cynicism. Joanna couldn’t help but feel some pity for Armand.

How could a priest, a preacher of God’s teachings, have grown so distrustful of humans?

It seemed that his experience, rather than his innate nature, had led him to this.

“…Then, what do you think is the reason they’re inviting me? If they’re really in league with the Puppet, shouldn’t they be rejecting me instead?”

Armand hesitated to answer.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know, but rather that he was reluctant to say.

When Joanna pressed him again, Armand finally spoke.

“I believe their plan to bring about the apocalypse requires your power as well.”

***

Armand explained.

The Puppet’s goal.

It was none other than bringing about an artificial apocalypse.

Merlin, the previous Archive, had speculated that the Puppet sought to bring about the apocalypse to seize God’s power, which would manifest during the end times.

“God’s power?”

“The apocalypse can only happen with God’s sanction.”

“Ah…”

Joanna let out a soft exclamation.

The world had interpreted the apocalypse as a rebellion of the Devil, but that wasn’t it.

Those who had encountered the Woman on the Camel knew better than anyone.

The grim truth was that the apocalypse was a divine choice, carried out by devils under God’s approval.

“…The Puppet may interpret that a Child of the Angels is also needed to trigger the apocalypse. That’s probably why they’ve invited you.”

“It’s a trap.”

Armand nodded.

Then a question arose. Given that the Holy Emperor, Armand, had understood this much, wouldn’t it be normal for him to refuse? Yet he seemed to be explaining things without suggesting otherwise.

It wasn’t hard to deduce the reason for that.

“You think I should go.”

Armand slowly nodded, his head weighed down.

“…Yes, that’s right.”

Even knowing it was a trap, Armand was urging her to go.

But Joanna wasn’t angry.

She knew that Armand wasn’t making this unreasonable request just to restore the fallen Pater Church’s authority. He wasn’t foolish enough to cling to such things in the face of the coming apocalypse.

He was making this desperate request out of the same resolve that had driven him to accept the Holy Emperor’s position during a time of crisis.

With the end fast approaching, he was desperately scrambling to find a way out.

“If Edward X and the Puppet have truly formed an alliance, then the preparations for the apocalypse are likely nearly complete. Inviting you is probably to increase that probability just a little more. To fully complete the apocalyptic tableau.”

“Can they really bring about an apocalypse just by mimicking it?”

“I doubt it… but the fact that the Puppet is involved is the issue. This is a Dark Sorcerer who has survived for centuries. If he’s the one preparing it, then we can’t ignore the possibility that he might succeed.”

“So I have to go.”

Joanna understood Armand’s reasoning.

If the Puppet was already prepared, it was better to attend and try to stop it than to stand aside.

“Of course, I’m not planning to send you alone. I’ll go—”

“—No.”

It was the second time that day Joanna interrupted Armand. It meant the matter was serious.

“Your Holiness should stay here. There’s no precedent for a Holy Emperor attending such an event. If you come with me, it will only raise suspicion.”

“Besides…”

Armand stopped himself.

Even if they disguised themselves, the Puppet would likely catch on.

And more than that, the Puppet had probably already gathered enough intelligence on them.

This was, after all, a Dark Sorcerer who had lived for centuries and forged an alliance with the Crown Prince.

What’s more, Kevin, the new Archive, had mentioned that the Puppet might have sent Zombie Puppets to infiltrate the Holy Emperor’s Palace.

If that was the case, then Joanna was correct—traveling together would do more harm than good.

“In exchange, I’d like to ask something of you, Your Holiness.”

“Go ahead.”

“Please… take care of my siblings. I know it’s selfish to ask, especially at a time like this… but please.”

She was referring to the orphans of Ark Orphanage. Currently, they were residing in the Holy Capital.

After being kidnapped by the Pied Piper, they had nowhere else to go and had ended up here.

Thankfully, they had survived the omens that came with the Devil’s descent and hadn’t been cursed like many others whose skin had twisted.

Armand nodded.

“Of course. It’s not selfish at all.”

“No, it is selfish.”

Joanna dismissed his reassurance. It was the truth.

While the entire Holy Capital had been suffering, she was only concerned about her own siblings.

Armand understood her sentiment, so he didn’t argue.

Instead, he changed the subject.

“If you’re worried, would you like to meet them? …They’ve been wanting to see you.”

He suggested, knowing that since the Devil’s descent, Joanna hadn’t gone to visit them.

Her answer was the same as before.

“I’m sorry… but I can’t meet with them right now… Not yet.”