The revival of the **Storm Dragon Veldora**.
When that announcement shook the continent, even the Holy Church of Luberios—proud, unyielding, and arrogant in its claim to divine authority—was thrown into uproar.
---
The first sign of calamity had been silence.
Communications with the Holy Crusade that had marched to subjugate Eterna had been severed. Mandatory reports, which were strictly enforced, never arrived. The paladins left behind knew instantly that something had gone wrong.
Hinata Sakaguchi, commander of the Ten Great Saints, wasted no time. She rose from her seat, her sword at her side, and declared:
> "Then I will go to Eterna myself. If no word returns, it means they have been swallowed by the abyss. I will see with my own eyes whether this so-called Atem is a sovereign… or a pretender."
But just as she gathered her troops, new intelligence struck like thunder.
**The Storm Dragon Veldora had revived.**
The revelation froze her hand on the hilt of her blade. A storm dragon meant a calamity of old legend, one no nation could ignore. Before she could depart, her mind was gripped by a cold presence—the telepathic summons of the highest authorities of Luberios:
The **Seven Days Elders.**
---
Few in the empire even believed the Elders existed. They were whispers in bedtime stories, names spoken as if they belonged to myths of gods and demons. Yet Hinata knew the truth, for she was their last disciple—the one shaped by every one of them, molded in every art, technique, and doctrine. She was the perfection of their craft, the blade honed to embody all seven schools of war.
Even so, she had never once stood before the Holy Emperor himself. Only the Elders were granted that right. And now, the Elders spoke as one within her mind.
> "Hinata Sakaguchi. You will hold your blade. Do not march on Eterna—not yet. The Sovereign Atem is not to be tested while the Storm Dragon stirs."
Their words, cold and absolute, echoed like divine decree.
It was fortunate. Had Hinata attacked while Atem was absent from his nation, Eterna might have fallen to her blade. But fate, or perhaps Solarys—the Sovereign of Wisdom guiding Atem—had turned the tide. The monster nation survived on a knife's edge.
---
But Hinata's task was not wasted.
Reihim, the envoy once sent to parley with Eterna, had returned. Yet he was no longer the man they remembered.
His steps were uneven, his body cloaked in filthy rags, his face twitching with paranoia. He arrived at the great cathedral, the holiest chamber at the heart of Luberios, where one hundred paladins and Cardinal Nikolaus awaited. The stench of sweat and fear clung to him.
"Reihim?" Hinata's eyes narrowed. "You dare appear before the altar in that state?"
He refused to wash, refused to change, insisted only on being heard. Something in his shaking voice silenced the guards who would have dragged him out.
Reihim staggered to the sacred floor, fell to his knees, and raised his head just enough to meet Hinata's piercing gaze. For a moment, relief flickered in his eyes—but it drowned quickly in despair.
Then, with trembling hands, he ripped away the rags.
Gasps filled the cathedral. Paladins recoiled, hands tightening on their hilts. Even Hinata, forged in the discipline of the Seven Elders, furrowed her brow in disgust.
Beneath the cloth, Reihim's flesh writhed. Faces—hundreds of them—were fused into his skin, each one alive.
Some groaned in pain. Others wept silent prayers. A few, driven mad, cackled and drooled with eyes that no longer belonged to sanity.
The voices of the damned echoed off the sacred stone walls, turning the cathedral into a house of horror.
One paladin stumbled back, crossing himself. "What in the name of the Emperor…?"
Another shouted, blade half-drawn, "Kill it! This is blasphemy!"
Hinata raised a hand and silenced them, though her voice trembled with restrained fury.
"Reihim… what did Atem do to you?"
The envoy's many mouths answered in a chorus, each word layered in agony:
> "He… showed me the truth. The Sovereign of Eterna is no mere demon lord. He is judgment itself."
The cathedral fell silent. No hymn, no prayer could mask the horror of the sight before them. Even the Elders watching through unseen eyes stirred, their silence heavier than steel.
And thus, the Holy Church of Luberios learned—through Reihim's cursed body—that Atem was not to be treated as a man, but as a sovereign who bore the weight of eternity itself.
"First… look at me. Look at what I have become."
Reihim's trembling voice echoed through the holy cathedral, his body shuddering as the countless faces on his flesh whimpered, laughed, or prayed in despair. "This is the punishment I received… for daring to provoke the King of Eterna. I was arrogant… foolish. I thought myself untouchable. But Atem… Atem is far beyond what we can call 'demon lord.' He is judgment made flesh. And we—" his voice cracked, eyes bloodshot and wild— "we brought his awakening upon ourselves!"
The paladins shifted uneasily. His words carried no deceit; the sheer madness in his gaze was proof enough.
Driven by desperation, Reihim poured out everything. Every scheme, every treachery, every act that had led to Eterna's wrath. He confessed it all in one breathless torrent, as if baring his soul before God. It was not duty driving him now but obsession—the belief that confession might free him from torment.
But absolution would never come.
---
Shock rippled among the assembled knights as his words painted the battle in vivid detail. The overwhelming magic that tore apart their elite forces. The light itself twisted into a weapon that cut through every barrier, even those blessed by holy scriptures.
Paladins whispered in disbelief.
"That light pierced through the Holy Seals…?"
"Impossible. Even large-scale anti-monster wards should have held."
"No… it cannot be done by human art. No spell exists like this."
Yet Reihim insisted. "It was real. It burned through us as though our barriers were parchment in fire."
Some paladins faltered, their faces pale. But Hinata's eyes sharpened.
"It was a convergence attack. The sun's rays focused, refined into a blade of annihilation," she said coldly. "If that is true, then the countermeasure is not beyond us. As long as we know its nature, it can be unraveled."
Her calm voice steadied them. Seeing that their commander did not waver, the paladins breathed easier. Confidence in Hinata was their anchor; if she stood firm, they could endure.
---
Reihim's tale continued. When he spoke of the **Archdaemon** that had appeared beside Atem, the chamber erupted again.
"An Archdaemon?"
"Then this cannot wait! Hinata-sama, let us depart at once to eliminate it!"
An elder paladin rose, hand on his chest. A younger knight stepped forward too, voice urgent: "If need be, my company will go. Archdaemons grow stronger with time—we must strike it down before it matures!"
This was common sense in the Church: Archdaemons were seeds of calamity, destined to evolve into threats equal to demon lords. Three seasoned paladins could overwhelm a newborn Archdaemon. Five, if they wished to ensure victory. Delay, however, meant disaster.
But Reihim's hollow laugh silenced them.
"You still do not understand. The Archdaemon is irrelevant." His voices—his, and those of the faces embedded in him—spoke as one. "The true terror is Atem himself. The Archdaemon bowed to him. Do you hear me? It *bowed*."
The paladins stilled.
Then his tone turned grave. "I spoke of annihilation by light, yes. But I misspoke when I said it was only magic. Fifteen thousand… fifteen thousand elite soldiers, eradicated by a single being. Not as a metaphor. Not in a manner of speaking. Literally—every last one of us was destroyed. Except me, cursed to carry this form."
A heavy silence cloaked the cathedral. Not one paladin dared breathe.
A single monster… laying waste to an army of fifteen thousand. The thought brought only one legend to mind—the ancient truth of how demon lords were born. By laying cities to ash, by wiping out armies alone.
This was not merely a monster. Not merely a lord. This was something beyond.
---
The Holy Church had long hidden the truth. To the public, demon lords were S Rank: terrible, yes, but within the reach of human unity. Only the dragonkind were officially designated **Special S Rank**, their devastation undeniable.
Yet everyone in that chamber knew there were exceptions. The "Lord of Darkness" Guy Crimson. The "Destroyer" Milim Nava. Their true rank was never revealed, concealed behind the veil of the Church to keep humanity from despairing.
Now another had risen. Atem of Eterna—guided by Solarys, Sovereign of Wisdom—had already surpassed the boundaries.
Reihim's broken body leaned forward, his voices hissing like a funeral dirge.
"He will be recognized… He *must* be recognized… The first demon lord in centuries who is not merely S Rank, but who bears the weight of **Special S Rank.** And he has only just awakened."
Even Hinata's sharp gaze flickered at that. Around her, her paladins clutched their weapons tighter, as if cold steel could hold back the shadow of Atem's power.
The cathedral, once the holiest place in Luberios, now echoed with dread. A sovereign had been born in Eterna. And the world itself would be forced to bow.