Chapter 0133: Arrival at His Loyal Holy Kingdom
A few days later, in the morning.
"It's here, it's here—the message has arrived—"
Hisako rushed into Hayashi's bedroom and placed the envelope in her hand on the table, saying, "Zetsu-chan's message is here!"
"Zetsu-chan..."
Hayashi twitched his lips. Well, calling Antilene "Zetsu-chan" wasn't entirely wrong.
He reached out and took the envelope from Hisako, his right hand wreathed in blue Aura Power, effortlessly tearing apart the seal on the envelope before pulling open its flap.
"Hmm—" Hayashi nodded thoughtfully, then let out a soft chuckle. "Heh. Hisako, tell Violet we can head for the Holy Capital of the Holy Kingdom now."
"Did she handle everything?"
Erina curiously leaned over Hayashi's shoulder, peering at the letter—though unlike Hayashi, who had the language protection of the Interdimensional Gate, she couldn't understand the script.
"Yeah, almost no resistance at all." Hayashi nodded, pinching the letter between two fingers and waving it lightly. "All Six Scriptures are now our people. The Holy Kingdom is already within our grasp."
"Ooh—"
Hisako clapped her hands excitedly. "Then, our plan can proceed, right?"
"Ah—" Hayashi grinned and nodded. "Starting with the Holy Kingdom, let's make this world a better place!"
...
...
In just a single day, the Sky Castle had already flown directly above the Holy Capital of the Holy Kingdom. The overwhelming presence and shadow cast by the massive floating fortress caused considerable chaos among the citizens below.
However, the moment the angelic forces appeared, the ordinary citizens immediately dropped to their knees, lost in fervent prayer—wasn't this the very manifestation of divine miracles? If not now, then when?
Meanwhile, as the citizens below blindly prayed, Hayashi had already led Erina, Hisako, Yunyun, and the returned Kayle into the inner sanctum of the Grand Temple.
But it seemed some weren't too welcoming.
"Who are you!?"
Silver-armored guards appeared before Hayashi, spears in hand, sternly blocking his path.
"Stand down—"
Before Hayashi could even speak, the captain of the Black Scripture emerged from the shadows nearby and stepped forward with a solemn expression. "Master of the Sky Castle, we have fulfilled our part of the bargain. So..."
"Don't worry, kid." Hayashi chuckled and patted the captain's shoulder. "Open your eyes wide and watch. This world will become a better place because of it."
"I hope you can deliver on that." The captain glanced at the bewildered soldiers, then gripped his spear and followed behind Hayashi as they proceeded deeper into the temple.
"Tap, tap, tap—"
With light footsteps, Hayashi stopped before an imposing mahogany door. He raised his head to look at the grand entrance and said, "Are those old geezers still in a meeting?"
"What else can they do besides holding meetings?" The captain's gaze at the wooden door was icy as he said, "All they can do is hold endless meetings to mask the fear in their hearts."
What else indeed? Even Antilene failed—what could those old fools possibly accomplish now?
Pathetic.
Just imagining the expressions of those old men when they learned Antilene had also failed—as if the sky itself were collapsing—filled the Black Captain with an almost irrepressible urge to sneer. Weren't they always so smug, acting like master strategists? Like they had the whole world in their grasp? In the end, weren't they just relying on Antilene's strength?
Ridiculous.
Now that Antilene has failed, all they can do is numb their nerves with endless meetings, forcibly diverting their attention from the floating city to target other nations and factions.
'But it's precisely because these old fools spend all their time in meetings, oblivious to the outside world, that we've been given this opportunity.' The captain of the Black Scripture extended his hand and forcefully pushed open the grand doors before him, then knelt on one knee.
...
...
Creak—
The sound of the door hinges instantly drew the attention of the high priests gathered in the chamber. Their gazes converged on the entrance—or more precisely, on the figure standing there, his left hand behind his back while his right held the hand of another woman.
"You—"
The Earth High Priest had just begun to reprimand Hayashi when Antilene's voice cut in from the side.
"What a bold act—"
"Do you not realize where you are?"
"To not kneel immediately—how arrogant—"
With a smile, Antilene stepped forward until she stood before Hayashi, then turned to cast a disdainful glance at the high priests behind her. "Can you not see that the great Lord Hayashi has arrived at his loyal Holy City of the Slane Theocracy?"
"Y-you… Do you even know what you're saying!?"
"Have I not made myself clear enough?" Antilene tilted her head, her expression one of mock confusion as she retorted, "Or has your prolonged time in power rotted your brains, making you believe yourselves the rulers of the world?"
"It's not that they can't believe it—they simply refuse to." Hisako hugged a stack of documents to her chest, sneering. "After all, acknowledging what's happening here would mean admitting their defeat—am I wrong?"
"Ah, that's exactly it." Hayashi's face lit up with realization. He curled his lips in contempt and raised two fingers toward the high priests. "I'll give you two choices—"
He lowered his middle finger, and Hisako chimed in, "Relinquish all your current status and power, then obediently wait in the floating city's prison until this matter is resolved."
Then he lowered his index finger, and Hisako continued flatly, "Or be purged on the spot by Antilene."
Hayashi lowered his hand and turned to Antilene. "I'll give them ten minutes. The rest is up to you."
"Rest assured, my new master." Antilene's voice brimmed with excitement. "I, too, am eager to witness this 'new future' you speak of—"
"You'll see it." Hayashi chuckled, turning toward the exit. "Together, let us offer this world something beautiful!"
After watching Hayashi depart and the doors close behind him, Antilene summoned her full suit of armor and gripped her spear. She turned her gaze to the high priests seated upon their lofty thrones and said, "Surely you haven't grown so foolish as to mistake fantasy for reality?"
After a moment of silence, the Fire Priest Grandmaster sighed and said, "I just want to know why you chose to betray us—was it fear because you failed?"
"No, it was because he gave me hope." Antilene revealed a serene smile as she looked up at the lofty priest grandmasters before her. "He showed me a vision called 'the future.'"
With those words, she reached up and pulled down her mask—a clear signal to the priest grandmasters: no more talk, make your choice.
...
...
The Theocracy was a state where religion and governance were one, ruled jointly by a Supreme Priest Grandmaster and six elemental priest grandmasters. Yet none of them could have imagined that, in the safest place of the Holy Capital, under Antilene's protection, they would be wiped out in one fell swoop.
"Not a single one of the seven priest grandmasters chose death."
Antilene reported in a mocking tone, "They're probably still clinging to the delusion that they might stage a comeback someday."
"Stage a comeback with what? Dreams?"
The Black Scripture's captain curled his lips into a scornful smile as he turned his gaze to the blue sky outside the window. "The Theocracy has changed hands, and we..."
He turned back to the other members of the Black Scripture in the room and said softly, "It's time for us to pay our respects to our new ruler."
"Let's go, everyone—" Antilene stretched lazily, her tone playful. "I thought at least some of you would resist. Didn't expect you'd all submit so easily. How boring—"
"..."
The Black Scripture members twitched their lips. Resist? And get beaten to a pulp by you afterward?
No way! Which of us didn't get beaten up by you when we joined? If even you are leading the charge in defecting—no, no, 'seeing the light'—why should we make things harder for ourselves?
To put it bluntly, these freaks had little sense of loyalty to the higher-ups to begin with.
Soon, following Antilene's cheerful footsteps, the members of the Six Scriptures gathered in the assembly hall. Under everyone's gaze, seated upon the throne, was the Theocracy's new ruler—Hayashi.
"Everyone, nice to meet you—well, some of you, again." Hayashi waved at them amiably. "I assume you all understand what's happened, yes?"
"Whoosh—"
Without further explanation, the Six Scriptures members knelt in unison, offering their temporary loyalty to their new master.
"Hmm..."
Hayashi glanced over the assembled members and chuckled lightly. "In the coming days, I may need to dispatch you all frequently."
A subtle shift passed through their eyes—
Frequent dispatches? Did that mean...
"Your Majesty." The Black Scripture captain bowed his head, his expression calm. "Are we preparing for war?"
"War won't break out so easily. At most, there will be small-scale magic—" Hayashi shook his head as he leaned against the armrest of the throne and said softly, "Let's focus on the kingdom first—assign two members of the Black Scripture to defeat the kingdom's warrior leader in open combat, then deploy ten thousand knights to pressure the border and force the kingdom's nobles to mobilize their troops."
"Yes—" xN
"Then, Captain, you take four members of the Black Scripture and the Magic Casters from the Sunlight Scripture to patrol the border between the empire and the kingdom—until matters between the theocracy and the kingdom are resolved, I don't want that jackal of an empire sticking its claws in."
"Yes—" xN
"That's all. Meeting adjourned."
"Yes—" xN