The Holy Empire was peaceful.

Thanks to the ever-abundant resources, there was no suffering from hunger, and as befitting its name, the Holy Empire maintained almost perfect public order.

The chances of getting pickpocketed while walking on the streets were slim, and due to the vast expanse of land, there were few people without homes.

Every day, more and more people sought to enter the Holy Empire, and Ieros's prestige continued to grow.

However, because of this, they were unaware.

Of the events occurring within the upper echelons of the Holy Empire.

The horrifying reality of the back alleys that Ieros was hiding.

A nation as peaceful and carefree as this was ideal for concealing dark information.

Thus, contrary to its outward appearance, the head of the Holy Empire had long since rotted away.

For that reason, Ieros was doomed.

The corrupt pope had implanted fragments of the demon god throughout the Holy Empire, and the once most radiant Holy Empire was fated to be utterly destroyed and become the foundation for the demon god's emergence.

The goddess would have tried to prevent it.

However, due to the limitations of her destiny, the influence she could exert on the already decayed Holy Empire was minimal.

Even the saintess, the proxy of the goddess.

Was broken and shattered by the pope's continuous brainwashing and abuse under the guise of rules. The Holy Empire was destined to be thoroughly destroyed and shattered by the demon god.

But things had changed.

Jörmungandr.

Originally just a monster from Norse mythology, he was born into a world with infinite potential and new causality, altering the predetermined fate completely.

For instance.

The remnants of the demon god that tormented the saintess so terribly were destroyed.

Even the cardinal, who was to deal with rebels defying the pope's orders and trying to reveal the truth, had his very existence wiped out by Jörmungandr's gaze.

The war that would have destroyed the Trellynian Kingdom due to the demon tribe, the pawns of the Demon King, and the subsequent great war that would have arisen from the fallen monarchy were all prevented by Jörmungandr.

The monstrous creatures that crossed the portals created by the Demon King over centuries, which would have completely overturned the battlefield and led to the deaths of tens of millions of humans, were thwarted.

The original fate of this world.

Was destined to end in the overwhelming victory of the demon god.

No matter how quickly the goddess noticed the demon god's machinations, unlike the demon king who had nothing to protect, the goddess, who had many things to safeguard, was bound to lose.

But all that fate was twisted.

Jörmungandr, created by the goddess with all her causality.

His existence devoured the path leading to one single fate.

Therefore.

A being that observed all these destinies cracked its fingers.

Different.

It was a meticulously crafted scenario.

A plan that should have been carried out under his control.

But it had gone awry.

All the timelines leading to fate and the future were shattered into countless fragments and scattered across endless universes.

He did not like it.

He tried to twist the fate of a single world and reconnect it to the original timeline, but it was impossible.

That world had long since slipped from his grasp.

Jörmungandr.

I must remember this name.

The colossal serpent that envelops the world.

Was recorded on a new page in his records.

The Holy Empire was peaceful.

However, in this peaceful empire, a sudden declaration of war was spreading.

It was a time when the pope's subordinates were about to declare war on the Trellynian Kingdom.

The reason was the abduction of the saintess and the assassination of the cardinal.

What would happen if this information spread within the Holy Empire? Further, what would happen if it spread to the world? The Trellynian Kingdom would be completely wiped out.

The Holy Empire wouldn't even need to confront them directly.

The Sun Empire, upon hearing this, would annihilate the Trellynian Kingdom without a trace.

The pope smiled.

Everything was going smoothly.

Imprisoning the foolish saintess and binding her to the rules was very easy, and the pawns he could use rolled in at his feet effortlessly.

For someone as ordinary as him.

Blessed by the demon god, he had risen to the position of pope, and seizing control of the leadership through the demon god's power was very easy.

Indeed.

As if it were a predetermined fate.

If he intended to achieve something, it progressed very smoothly. And seeing those actions form the foundation for the future in a domino effect, it was undoubtedly the will of the demon god.

He understood why the Holy Empire shunned the demon god.

They must have been afraid.

Afraid that the demon god would reveal his true form to the world.

And shatter all the creations made by the goddess into pieces.

That wretched goddess.

She had no abilities to act on her own.

Therefore, the pope despised the goddess.

Unlike the demon god.

The goddess couldn't even care for the nation that followed her.

In response to the demon realm, she created heroes?

Fine.

It was good to give new hope to humanity.

But why didn't she intervene herself?

Moreover, the birth of heroes alone was not enough to stop the demon god. Even now, looking at the front lines, it was the same. The massive invasion from the demon realm almost crushed the human realm under the feet of monsters.

For some reason, the monsters suddenly disappeared.

But he was sure all of it was the will of the demon god.

The demon god was perfect in every way.

The pope was thrilled by the meticulousness that seemed to foresee the future.

A meticulousness as if he could see the future.

The pope just had to ride along with his radiance.

"That goddess."

Can't even restore the saintess's senses?

Just that fact proved the goddess's incompetence.

In fact, if the goddess hadn't stopped the two dragons who were the world's regulators, the world would have collapsed at that moment. But the pope didn't even care whether the goddess had done such a thing.

"There is no one left to stop me in the Holy Empire."

Even the so-called saintess.

Was no longer in the Holy Empire.

Moreover, using the saintess as a pretext for war and bringing her back to the Holy Empire himself.

He had no doubt that all the commoners of the Holy Empire, who would be enthusiastic about him, would become fanatics solely for him.

And at that moment.

Kuuuuuuuuung——!

In the beginning, there was light.

A great light descended upon the Holy Empire.

It couldn’t be compared to a mere sun.

Endlessly vast, warm, and mysterious light descended in the middle of the Holy Empire, slowly gathering to form a shape.

[My children.]

It was undoubtedly.

The form of a woman.

Incredibly mysterious.

Just the swaying silhouette was more perfect and beautiful than any other being, truly the incarnation of the goddess.

At the overwhelming sight, the believers looked up at the sky and knelt. They gazed at the light blankly, made the sign of the cross, and bowed their heads.

It was like a scene from mythology.

A great light dominated the world, driving out all the dark and foul auras in the Holy Empire.

"What, what is...?"

"What was I doing...?"

"Ah, ah... O goddess..."

The dull eyes of the believers, corrupted by the demon god, returned. They blankly recalled their disgraceful actions, then knelt before the goddess's image with grateful eyes.

"What, what is this?!"

The pope was flustered.

A goddess, suddenly?

Unbelievable.

Was that really the goddess?

It couldn’t be.

That was just a collection of light.

There was no way the goddess would reveal herself in the Holy Empire.

For centuries, she had not given any revelations. Moreover, according to the demon god’s subordinate, she was too gravely wounded to appear in the human realm.

"Lies! Everyone, wake up!! That unholy mass of light is trying to deceive us by pretending to be the goddess!!"

The pope shouted.

Telling the believers that the mass of light was just an illusion.

That it couldn’t be the real goddess.

His voice echoed throughout the Holy Empire.

It was like a desperate outcry.

Then the goddess's figure moved.

[Believe.]

The white hand of light.

Swept across the entire Holy Empire.

In response, brilliant particles of light covered the empire. When the soft, fluttering particles of light touched the believers making the sign of the cross, their bodies instantly healed from all wounds and diseases.

Even the elderly who couldn’t rise due to back injuries.

The young boy on the brink of death due to illness.

The girl who could no longer run because her leg had been cut off.

All of them touched their now healed bodies and sighed in relief.

Everyone called it a miracle.

They bowed their heads to the goddess's figure.

They pledged to dedicate their souls to her.

[This Holy Empire has become too corrupt.]

The first words the goddess spoke were astonishing.

The Holy Empire was corrupt, she said.

All the believers were shocked by those words.

Was she about to punish them?

[While the believers who follow me still walk the righteous path, it seems the highest leader, the pope, has succumbed to the temptations of the demon god.]

All the believers' gazes.

Simultaneously turned to the pope standing at the highest point.

In the eerie, maddening scene, the pope’s body trembled.

"Wh-What nonsense! Don’t believe it!! That’s the demon god pretending to be the goddess!!"

No one believed the pope anymore.

For they too saw it.

The black and terrible phenomenon reflected behind the pope.

All the believers' eyes were filled with rage.

An intense hatred so severe they would burn their own bodies directed at the pope in an instant.

A wave of hatred that seemed ready to ignite.

The goddess lightly waved her hand.

[The rotten root must be pulled out.]

A wave of humanity spread out.

Like a swarm of ants spotting prey, countless believers of the Holy Empire instantly tried to devour the pope.

"What, what is this! Get away from me!!"

The pope swung his fist.

That alone should have made the believers' heads explode.

Thud—!

An invisible transparent barrier blocked him.

"Charge!! The goddess watches over us!!!"

An endless wave of humanity.

Swept over the pope.

In the midst of countless grasping hands.

The pope died a gruesome death without even a chance to speak.

"O, O demon god......"

He reached out belatedly to the demon god.

But the black figure merely glanced at the pope and vanished in an instant.

"Ahh......"

His outstretched hand was buried in the crowd.

It was the hollow, final end of the pope.