Chapter 223
『Translator: RainTL』
༺ Prophecy of Apocalypse (1)༻
These days, there was an increase of people raising their voices in the plaza of various cities including the capital city.
“The end is near!”
“A long winter will bring together famine and severe coldness, with no end to disasters!”
“The era of the wolf has come! The world will be engulfed in chaos and an eternal darkness will doom on the earth!”
“Beasts of darkness will start howling aloud! Their howls will raise the giants again!”
“Only those with true faith will be able to go to paradise through the apocalypse!”
At a glance, they sounded like fanatics of a heretical doctrine screaming out whatever they pleased.
However, people took them in more seriously because the ones doing them were from one of the two biggest religions.
- That prophecy. They’ve been saying that for two months, haven’t they?
- If the Xeruem is saying that… What do we do now?
The priests of the Old Faith, referred to as the Xeruem Order these days, were wandering around the whole continent revealing prophecies of the apocalypse, which shook the hearts of not only the believers of Xeruem, but also the followers of Zeon.
- The winter’s not ending. What if they’re telling the truth?
- It’s already March but the weather is still like this! Spring isn’t coming!
If it had been just a groundless theory of the apocalypse, people would have turned away from them no matter how big of an order they were.
However, time went by and it was already March. The weather, which should have warmed down already, had become even colder, and the harsh coldness was still freezing the whole world.
There was something wrong with the weather, but it wasn’t just that – it coincided perfectly with the continent-wide prophecy that the believers of the Old Faith had been yelling out for months.
- W, we need to pray.
- Pray to the lord.
- Only the believers will be saved…
A large number of people were deceived by the prophecy and heading to the Xeruem Order, but there were those who had been anticipating this turn of events.
“It’s… really happening.”
“How intriguing. Knowing about the enemies is one thing, but how did he know what they would do?”
“...”
King David.
Sword Emperor Garrand.
Duke Marde.
The three, who were respectively at the pinnacle of the kingdom’s authority, power and wealth, all thought back on what their future-son-in-law had told them 3 months ago.
[The winter will go on. The Old Faith will jump on the bandwagon and after that—]
A strange phenomenon of the unending winter and the Old Faith deceiving people with false prophecies. His hope to prepare for all that, was now proven to have been adequate.
“Sword Emperor. How are the swordsmen of the east?”
“They have finished their preparations for the winter under Lunia’s lead.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem then. Our biggest concern is the food.”
According to Korin Lork, it would take at least another month or so to resolve this winter, in which case they would have lost the timing for sowing the seeds, which meant they couldn’t expect anything much from this year’s harvest.
Considering how most of the population was involved in agriculture, this was bound to bring a great chaos to the people.
“We have prepared potato seeds that can replace our March crops. We also stopped exporting the food for the past winter, and they’re currently sitting in our warehouses.”
The one who had to suffer the most in this ordeal, was none other than Duke Marde.
As the one in charge of the enormous agricultural land on the southern plains of the continent, the duke had to make the decision of stopping all exports of food over the winter with nothing to believe in other than Korin Lork’s firm declaration.
Most of the crops produced in the south were exported to all sorts of kingdoms overseas. In the first place, they were producing more than what the continent required for the purpose of exportation, so any crops that couldn’t be sold in the winter was considered waste, because they would all go off.
The duke had to make a decision to reserve all those crops instead of exporting them. He was met with strong resistances and oppositions, but he nonetheless remained firm.
“So what’s left now is…”
“A cabinet meeting.”
The final claim from Korin Lork was the need for an expedition to the Northern Kingdom to the north, the harsh land of eternal winter, where the perpetrators of all this resided.
Somehow, they had to make people agree to this mind-blowing expedition, which no-one sane would even propose.
Also attending this cabinet meeting was the new president of the Central Guardian Association, Korin Lork.
****
“So because of the constant inflow of cold blizzards from the north—”
Scholars who could read astronomy and the climate ahead of time were valuable in any era, but their expectations this time had drastically missed the target. The reason for that was none other than the unnatural continuation of winter.
“What is your conclusion?” asked the Transport Minister.
The meteorological scholar replied after clearing his throat.
“Regarding this current abnormality in climate… it is highly likely to be a temporary phenomenon, so I would propose seeing how it goes. However, from a scholastic approach, I would also propose sending an investigation group to find out the origin of this strange phenomenon.”
“Investigation?! What if we end up prompting those barbarians in the north!?”
The minister replied with a shout. He was concerned about potentially prompting the barbarians into action, which was a justified opinion on his part.
“This abnormal climate is just a temporary occurrence. Is that all?” asked Duke Marde.
“Yes. That is the case.”
Since he was the one who suffered the most from the abnormal climate, the people gathered somewhat guessed what he would propose.
“We have missed our chance to sow seeds because of this winter. We can’t expect any crops apart from potatoes this year. To prepare against future repetition of this phenomenon, I also believe it is correct to send an investigation group.”
“What Lord Duke said would be a great arrangement.”
“I agree as well. It is important to compile data on climate changes.”
As soon as Duke Marde finished sharing his opinion, the officials affiliated under the ‘Voices of the South’ also shared their agreement. Hearing the agreement of one of the biggest political factions, some of the officials showed signs of being convinced.
That was when the Sword Emperor also chimed in.
“The winter is going longer than expected, so the Northern Kingdom will have a shortage of food as well. Wouldn’t it be wise to send troops and fortify the northern border ahead of time?”
Sword Emperor Garrand Arden.
He was wearing tattered clothes even in an official cabinet meeting, but no-one brought it up nor found anything weird about it. In fact, they were instead puzzled by his sudden intervention.
‘That old man said something?’
‘Has he ever involved himself in politics before?’
In his 70 years of life, the Sword Emperor rarely participated in the meeting let alone voice an opinion, so what was going on now?
They were curious but had no answers. In any case, the Sword Emperor’s agreement meant it became difficult for anyone under the military to oppose the investigation.
“Then I believe it is decided that we would be dispatching an investigation. As for the one in charge of it—”
“I recommend the new president, Korin Lork.”
“I recommend President Lork.”
The Sword Emperor and Duke Marde abruptly spoke of the same name, which caused everyone to look at someone in particular.
The young president, who hadn’t said anything throughout this entire cabinet meeting despite his attendance as the president of the Association, replied with a smile.
“I will try my very best.”
Korin Lork accepted the offer as if he had been waiting for it, and King David also accepted it without a hassle.
“Sounds good. Then I will appoint President Lork as the one in charge of the investigation of the north regarding the abnormal climate change.”
There was no room for anyone to raise an objection with the new president and the three powerhouses making the decision in the blink of an eye.
The investigation was decided but… King David, Duke Marde, Sword Emperor Garrand and Korin Lork needed even more than that.
An expedition to the north.
They needed a justification to enforce a military expedition to the north across the national borders, since that meant they had to risk offending the Northern Kingdom.
Fortunately,
They had a good justification on their side.
****
Ever since the rise of the New Faith, the Xeruem Order had lost a large amount of their political influence.
The politicians were forced to choose from the Old Faith and the New Faith, and even the officials of the central politics tended to lean towards the New Faith if they had to choose between one of them.
The Xeruem Order was, at the core, had a fundamentalist approach.
Their doctrines hadn’t changed for 1,000 years since the establishment of the kingdom, and they enforced fundamentalist interpretations and dogma.
An example of that was adultery.
Because of a line in the scripture about stoning a person to death for committing adultery, people tended to still stone people to death in the villages.
The kingdom tried to stop these religious approaches through Justices of the Peace, but they still remained behind as a bad custom.
The death of Queen Maria, a devout follower of the Old Faith, resulted in a big decline, but that wasn’t the only reason why politicians tended to lean more towards the New Faith.
Most importantly, the Chapel of Zeon was more flexible and lenient. They weren’t fixated on fundamentalist approaches and re-interpreted the scripture based on modern values.
At the very least, people didn’t have to be stoned for not going to the chapel on Sundays, and they didn’t scorch pagans or non-believers to death.
Thanks to that, the New Faith had been constantly on the rise for the past century, and the decline of the Old Faith had pretty much been set in stone.
As such, it was normal for the priests of the Old Faith to feel a sense of danger.
“This won’t do! How can we, the true believers, be pushed back by the wicked people of the Zeon Order?”
“Their doctrines are an insult to the lord! How can they possibly accept demons as humans!? How can those monsters possibly be considered the same as humans!?”
That was why the priests were enthusiastic about spreading the prophecy when the command was given from the higher-ups of the order.
And when their prophecy about the unending winter was right on the dot, it had a different impact on the commoners, even though the officials and politicians considered it as a temporary abnormality in climate.
- It’s the apocalypse! The world is coming to an end!
- Only the true believers will be saved!
Seeing that quite a large number of the citizens were following them, the priests of the Old Faith became even more zealous.
- Yes! Our faith is the true one! This is the real power we ought to have had all along!
Bishop Renault Lusignan of the Xeruem Order was also glad to see the reception of the people.
“Dear believers! You cannot ignore this prophecy! The first prophecy has already been attained! We must prepare for the future!”
It was the decision of the cardinals of the Old Faith to spread this conspiracy theory among the citizens.
Their goal was to stir chaos and disorder into the kingdom. With a longer winter, people were bound to run out of food, and people in need tended to turn to religion.
With each and every one of the prophecies coming true, the Xeruem Order would see prosperity and success.
In turn, that would put the kingdom in chaos. The royal family will lose their influence with the people turning towards the Old Faith, and searches for heretics will sprout yet again.
‘All for the true apocalypse of this world…!’
And the eternal life of a select few including himself!
The core personnel of the Old Faith including Renault Lusignan were glad to bring the world into ruin, if it meant an eternal life.
“The end is near!”
“A long winter will bring together famine and severe coldness, with no end to disasters!”
“The era of the wolf has come! The world will be engulfed in chaos and an eternal darkness will doom on the earth!”
“Beasts of darkness will start howling aloud! Their howls will raise the giants again!”
“Only those with true faith will be able to go to paradise through the apocalypse!”
- What do we do? If the prophecies are correct, then…
- What are we supposed to do?
- Don’t believe what they’re saying! There’s no way that’s true!
- But they’re right about the winter! And that’s what all the priests of the order are saying!
Good. More chaos! More confusion!
And follow me.
You will bring upon yourself your apocalypse and downfall.
The great Danann of Light will soon cleanse the world.
“Everyone. Please calm down!”
That was when a group arrived at the plaza, where Renault Lusignan had been spreading the word of the apocalypse.
“Saintess Estelle?”
“Saintess!”
Saintess Estelle of the Zeon Order.
According to the original plan of the Old Faith, the New Faith was supposed to take part in this apocalypse prophecy. Half of the cardinals as well as the pope had been on their side, so the chaos within the kingdom would have been achieved much faster with their assistance.
But all of that was ruined by that one woman.
She suddenly turned crazy and killed the pope, half of the cardinals and bishops, which was a shocking turn of events for the Old Faith.
Plus, there was more.
The New Faith, re-instituted under the lead of the Saintess, began talking about increasingly strange doctrines.
Bishop Renault felt goosebumps on his skin upon recently finding out that the basis of that was related to the Danann faith. In any case, it was within their expectations that Estelle would try to do something about the prophecy.
“It has been a while, Your Highness.”
Bishop Renault gave a bow and referred to her as ‘Your Highness’, but not as ‘Your Holiness’, signifying her status as a saintess, which revealed his contempt towards the New Faith.
“Who were you again?”
“...”
There was no way that she wouldn’t know about him, a future cardinal candidate. It was clearly a provocation but Renault still couldn’t help but grit his teeth.
“What brings you here, Your Highness?”
“I heard someone was talking about the prophecies of the apocalypse.”
The pink-haired saintess said while looking down at Renault with a smile. Her smile was so frightening and crafty to be that of a true saintess.
“The prophecy is about an inevitable future that the lord has revealed to us about. This is an unavoidable disaster, and we must prepare ourselves for it.”
Renault thought about the possible things the saintess would say in response. The New Faith would probably try to deny the prophecy and say that there was no such thing as an upcoming apocalypse, and that they should calm down and go back to their normal lifestyle.
But that wouldn’t work. The prophecies will come true one by one, which will drop the integrity and authority of both the New Faith and the Saintess.
It was a shame that they couldn’t receive the assistance of the New Faith due to an unexpected massacre, but Renault didn’t see any possible room for failure.
“Don’t tell me… Are you denying the prophecy of the lord, Saintess?”
There! Tell us whatever you want to say!
No matter what you say, the prophecy will come true. The world will be infused with chaos and—
“Yes. The prophecy is right.”
“Fufu. Let’s wait and see…… Huh?”
What? What did this woman just say?
- Ahh, even the Saintess…!
- Is the prophecy true? No!!
- It’s over! Everything’s over!
The people lamented in despair. Words of a bishop were drastically different in weight compared to that of the saintess.
Through their countless experiences, the people were truly aware that Saintess Estelle was a being connected to the god.
She could make her prayers come to life. She was the child of god who could shake the universe and cure illnesses.
Her confirmation of the apocalypse was distressing.
“W, what are you…”
“Beloved believers! I am sure you must have heard about the recent prophecies going on around the kingdom!”
Ignoring the bishop, Estelle faced and directed at the crowd. Her voice spread far and wide with the support of her divine energy.
“The prophecy is true. This winter will be long, the era of the wolf will come, light will vanish and the world will be enshrouded in darkness.”
‘Why the hell are you saying it’s right…?’ Renault Lusignan looked on with a frown.
Despite just confirming the prophecy of apocalypse, Estelle still faced the crowd with an ever-so-bright expression and locked fingers, while intentionally creating a halo of light with her divine energy.
“However, this is all but a trial given to us by the lord!”
“What?”
- A trial?
- The prophecy is a trial given by the lord?
The crowd turned rowdy again, and Estelle did not miss the chance.
“That is correct. When we overcome all these trials, a ‘New Sun’ will rise at the end! This is the glory our lord has prepared for us; our salvation!”
“T, that is utter nonsense!”
Renault was shocked by Estelle adding additional prophecies to their prophecy of apocalypse.
“What do you mean by that, Bishop Renault?”
“How can you distort the prophecy like this! This is pure nonsense!”
“Distort? I have no idea what you’re talking about. I heard it with my own ears.”
“What…!?”
Estelle solemnly declared while pointing at the sky.
“I have talked to the lord, and that was the plan he conveyed to me! The lord said he will not discard his beloved children! That is correct! This is just a trial and a preface to the new Sun!”
- R, really?
- The Saintess is saying that herself! It has to be true!
- The new Sun will save us all!
Estelle gave the infuriated Bishop Renault a smile and gestured with her eyes.
‘You? Nothing but a bishop.’
‘And me? The saintess.’
There was a line in the scripture which stated that false prophets would rise up and deceive the people when the end was near. In that sense, both of them were false prophets.
“You must believe in what I said. Be grateful to the merciful lord who loves his children! He will grant us the new Sun!”
It was just that Estelle was even more vicious of a false prophet.