The Mark of Elhaen.

It referred to the winged cross symbol that appeared as a forewarning whenever Elhaen, the chief deity of humanity, attempted to convey Her will.

“Where exactly did it appear?” Clay asked.

Cardin hesitated.

“That’s unlike you. Just speak plainly.”

“Ahem, yes. The truth is…”

After hearing Cardin’s explanation, Clay let out a sigh.

“You’re saying it appeared on the outskirts of Ezer?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The appearance of the mark in Ezer, where Tia reigned as Empress, meant only one thing.

‘Elhaen is attempting to make contact with the Saintess.’

Clay lowered his gaze slightly.

The Saintess, though known as a saint of the Anustian faith—which worshipped Elhaen—had never had her identity officially confirmed.

Still, people believed the Saintess to be Elhaen’s prophet. Unlike the Hero, who was chosen merely as a blade to wield in battle, the Saintess occasionally delivered Elhaen’s words.

In other words, she acted as Her agent.

‘It’s different from my case.’

A Hero was not a divine being. He was simply granted enough power to be wielded as a sacred weapon. That’s why when Clay was accused of betrayal, Krata could take the risk. They could simply brand him a weak human who turned away from divine grace.

But the Saintess was inherently recognized as holy. Even Krata couldn't easily suppress or oppose her and had no choice but to cooperate.

‘Is Elhaen trying to assert Her will?’

Clay had no idea what Elhaen knew or what She was thinking now.

One question lingered—had Elhaen already chosen the Saintess, or had She merely sensed her emergence and was trying to reach out?

‘If She had already chosen her, She wouldn’t make it this obvious.’

The information about the mark had spread loosely enough for even Clay’s side to hear of it. That likely meant Elhaen knew the Saintess was in Ezer but couldn’t interact directly, so She deliberately exposed the mark to create a connection.

‘If the mark is the only way to establish communication…’

Clay raised his head again.

“Cardin.”

“Yes?”

“Head out immediately and destroy the mark.”

“…What?”

Cardin looked visibly flustered.

“If we destroy it, isn’t there a chance Elhaen will descend directly?”

“If She was going to do that, She would’ve already done so.”

Clay had been keeping tabs on this situation for some time.

“I may have become the Demon King, but I still retain the divine power I was granted as a Hero. I’ve just been converting it into magia.”

And it had been quite some time since then.

“Yet even now, Elhaen has not retracted that divine power.”

“Meaning…”

“It’s either She hasn’t realized it, or She can’t.”

There could be other motives, but for now, Clay saw no benefit to Elhaen allowing this.

“Based on what we can gather, Elhaen is in no state to fully exert control over Her own power. The fact that She needs to reach out to the Saintess this way means Her vision is also clouded.”

There was no way Elhaen would descend without understanding what state this world was in.

‘The battle against the ancient gods must’ve taken its toll on Her too.’

It was clear Elhaen had exhausted significant power during that time. Though She still had enough to bestow divine strength upon humans, it was likely that She was preserving or restoring it somehow.

‘The question is why She’s not trying to communicate with the Kratan Emperor…’

Whatever the reason, what mattered now was that She was keeping Herself hidden.

“Even if there’s a small chance Elhaen might descend if we destroy the mark, that’s the only move we can make.”

If Elhaen were to obtain clear information about this world through Tia, Clay would need to prepare thoroughly to confront Her.

“So go.”

After explaining the situation, Clay gave the order.

“Go stop Elhaen’s intentions.”

“Understood.”

Cardin rose and bowed.

“And one more thing.”

Just before he left, Clay spoke again.

“There’s something else I need to tell you.”

♧

At that moment, in Ezer—

News of the mark’s appearance on the outskirts had already reached the Imperial Palace.

“Your Majesty,”

Lilien approached Empress Tia and spoke.

"The villagers where the mark appeared are asking when Your Majesty will arrive."

"That mountain village... Was it called Dolchen?"

Tia’s disinterested tone made Lilien swallow dryly.

"Your Majesty, it is the mark of Elhaen, the chief deity. As the Saintess, Your Majesty must verify it. Krata has already confirmed its appearance and requested that we cooperate."

"Cooperate, is it..."

Tia, who had been gazing out the window, let out a scoff.

"Krata let Ezer be pushed to ruin, yet now they have no trouble asking for cooperation."

"Y-Your Majesty..."

"Lilien."

Tia turned to her with a cold expression.

"We’ve already turned our backs on Krata. Ignore any further requests from their side."

"But..."

"Don’t worry, Lilien. You know as well as I do. Krata can’t make a move in its current state anyway."

No matter how powerful Lutan was, as long as he remained inside Krata, he posed no great threat.

"The real danger is Elhaen."

Elhaen was a god who once pacified the world and sealed all the ancient gods. For such a being to show renewed interest in this world was, naturally, a deeply troubling development.

"There must be a reason Elhaen can’t descend directly. If that’s the case, we have to make sure information about this world reaches Her as slowly as possible."

"But why? Don’t we need Elhaen’s power to fight the Demon King? And besides, Your Majesty is the Saintess—"

"Lilien."

Tia turned around and shook her head.

"I’m sorry, but there’s something I need to declare."

What she said next stunned Lilien.

"I have no faith in Elhaen."

"...What?"

"You don’t need faith to use divine power, do you?"

Blasphemy.

It could easily be interpreted that way.

"Your Majesty, if Elhaen finds out—"

"She hasn’t, has she?"

Tia shrugged.

"Even now, She knows nothing. She just assigns divine power according to roles in this world. That’s why I’m beginning to doubt it."

She was questioning whether the divine power truly came from Elhaen at all.

"Think of it as just talk. There’s no need for you to be concerned, Lilien."

"..."

Cold sweat beaded down Lilien’s neck.

‘Is this because of Krata?’

Holy Krata had left Ezer to fall. Even if not directly, they turned a blind eye to Yaphenon’s attempts to crush them.

Now that Krata had abandoned even Yaphenon, it seemed clear that Ezer hadn’t been uniquely targeted. But that didn’t matter anymore.

Tia’s heart had already turned away.

Likely from the moment the Hero died—or rather, when he became the Demon King.

"In any case, since there’s no need to follow Elhaen’s will, I intend to do everything I can while I still can. That’s why I have a task for you, Lilien."

"What is it...?"

"Go erase the village."

The statement was so baffling it took her a moment to grasp its meaning.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty?"

"Exactly as I said."

Tia cut her off.

"Burn the entire village down. Then say it was because of the Mark of Elhaen."

"Y-Your Majesty..."

"If we go this far, people will start erasing the marks immediately whenever they appear."

Lilien was at a loss for words.

‘Burn the village…?’

She understood the intention. It was to create negative rumors so no one would dare make contact with the Mark.

The Mark couldn’t be properly activated without a Saintess, but Tia was planning to prevent even the possibility.

"Lilien?"

Tia called softly, seeing her still silent in shock.

"Is it difficult for you to obey?"

Though her expression said she understood, she never withdrew the command.

"If you don’t want to, I’ll assign someone else. It doesn’t have to be you."

Gulp.

Lilien swallowed hard.

This was a test. A test of how far she would go as Royal Guard Captain.

If she couldn’t follow through, her position would be in danger.

Tia only kept those near her who obeyed completely.

"...I will do it."

Lilien had no intention of giving up her position.

‘This is my final stop.’

She had climbed to this rank without any backing—all thanks to Tia’s favor. She hadn’t forgotten that.

"Good."

Tia finally smiled.

"Then go quickly."

That smile—Lilien didn’t yet realize—was meant for Clay.

♧

"Kyaaah!"

"Fire!"

"Everyone, run!"

Dolchen.

A shabby village on the outskirts of Ezer was now engulfed in a fiery inferno, like a sweeping typhoon of flame.

Crack!

Some had tried drawing water to put out the fire, but without a single mage, extinguishing such a blaze was nearly impossible.

"S-Someone go get help!"

"There’s a Mark here! Why aren’t the knights coming?!"

The villagers’ wails filled the air.

But the knights had already arrived.

Holding torches.

"It’s done."

One knight, having thrown the last torch, reported to Lilien. She wore a black outfit and hood instead of her armor, to avoid being recognized by the villagers.

"What about the infiltrators disguised as townspeople?"

"They’ve blended in well. Once the fire dies down and the villagers start evacuating, they’ll spread the rumor that this was all because of the Mark of Elhaen."

They had even set the fire near the Mark to strengthen the claim.

"Are you sure this is okay?"

"Won’t Elhaen be angered by this...?"

The knights voiced their concerns, and Lilien spoke firmly.

"Don’t worry. Her Majesty is the Saintess. She surely has intentions behind this regarding Elhaen, so don’t concern yourselves."

"Yes, understood."

Feigning composure in front of her subordinates, Lilien let out a sigh.

‘Who knows how this will all turn out… Hm?’

Just then, she spotted something.

‘What was that?’

A figure had appeared for a moment and vanished just as quickly. Lilien ran in that direction.

"C-Captain?!"

Ignoring the cries of her startled knights, she dashed through the smoke—only to find…

"Rather quick, aren’t you."

A man perched atop a tree branch.

"Planning to help the Demon King, are you?"

It was Cardin.

(End of Chapter)

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