Chapter 44

And the people gathered to the prophet, asking:

“Prophet, by what sign shall we know that the saint has come?”

And the prophet answered:

“You shall see many wonders and incomprehensible things, but above all these, know that he is the saint by this:

He will stand with those who carry the world’s suffering and weep with them.

He will stand with those who bear heavy burdens and are weary.

Therefore, you should draw tears and take them as a symbol.

For the saint shall see the world’s suffering and sorrow and weep for the weak and the broken.

You shall call him ‘the one who has compassion.’

You shall call him ‘Eleos’ (ἔλεος).”

– Scripture of Grace, Chapter 19, Verses 19 and 20 –

***

When the curse began to burst forth,

The emperor immediately summoned the commander of the royal guard.

“Activate the magic and miracles installed in the secondary palace! Now!”

At the instant Iomenes’ curse erupts, the entire empire will be destroyed.

No, it’s not just the empire.

It will be the same wherever you go on the continent.

There may be a time difference, but ultimately, all will be infected by the curse, their souls destroyed, neither living nor dying.

Therefore, the secondary palace was equipped with many devices prepared for such a worst-case scenario.

And now, this was precisely that worst-case scenario.

If the miracles and magic of the secondary palace were activated, Iomenes would die.

But there was no other way.

The curse was erupting with such intensity it could almost be felt through the skin; it was already too late.

There was no way now to save Iomenes.

The commander of the royal guard hastily pulled out an artifact he always kept in his pocket and started to activate it.

But the feeling of the curse permeating his skin remained.

There was no sound of the large-scale activation of miracles and magic either.

Something was wrong with the situation.

“Did it work properly?”

“It definitely should, Your Majesty! There’s no problem with the artifact! But the miracles and magic drawn into the secondary palace are not working!”

“Damn it! Of all times! What are the priests and wizards on duty doing?!”

Just as the emperor was exploding in anger, the commander of the guard shuddered.

A black aura like a snake crept into and disappeared within his body.

However, he was an excellent knight and resisted the pain of his soul being devoured by utilizing the mana within him.

“Your Majesty, we must hurry. We don’t know when you might be cursed. Leave me behind and escape quickly.”

The emperor could no longer delay after hearing this.

He and the empress, equally shaken and awakened by the curse, rushed to Princess Almenes’ room.

And there, the couple witnessed a terrible sight.

Almenes was convulsing, foaming at the mouth.

The magic seal drawn on her left eye, trying to prevent the curse from Iomenes from infecting her, was glowing fiercely.

But it was only a temporary solution. It was only a matter of time before Almenes would succumb as well.

“Almenes!!”

The emperor scooped her up, and the family of three began to flee. They were escorted by royal guards and court wizards who had not yet been infected by the curse.

As they fled, the emperor shed tears.

In the end, the worst had come to pass.

He had mobilized every method possible, trying to prevent the worst-case scenario, but he had failed.

He would forever be recorded in history as the emperor who destroyed the empire.

Or rather, that would be the case as long as humanity still existed.

In the end, no one would be able to escape this curse.

“O gods.”

The emperor clenched his eyes shut.

Why has this happened?

What great wrongs did he commit?

He was not a tyrant.

On the contrary, he was a ruler who led the empire’s resurgence.

Though his hands, like those of any ruler, were stained with blood, it was only the blood of demon worshippers and devil worshippers who sought to overthrow the empire.

He had sparked an industrial revolution and was the catalyst for numerous technological advancements.

But it was also true that many of the empire’s citizens had starved, suffered, and died as factory workers and the impoverished.

And it was he who, in avenging the deaths of his comrades, caused the demon worshippers and devil worshippers to become even more aggressive.

Was that his mistake?

Is that why the gods of the temple had abandoned him?

It was painful.

The fact that the empire, which had lasted so long, was going to collapse because of his error.

The fact that his daughter, whom he had tried so hard to save out of greed, ultimately disappeared forever in pain.

But no matter how angry or self-blaming he became, there was nothing he could do except flee.

Just as the secretly prepared limousine at the end of the escape route began speeding out of the palace,

They saw Princess Iomenes, spreading her black wings, floating in the sky illuminated by the morning sunlight.

The emperor and empress helplessly watched their daughter hovering through the car’s glass window.

In the end, no one had been saved.

Not the empire.

Not Iomenes.

Not Almenes.

Overwhelmed by guilt and despair, it felt as though they could barely breathe.

At that moment, someone appeared beside Iomenes.

The familiar white attire.

It was Saint Amael.

“Stop!!”

The emperor issued an order.

The driver hesitated.

“Your Majesty, we cannot stop here! We must head to the hiding place!”

“Even if the curse spreads, it won’t make a difference whether we are in the hiding place or the palace. Stop the car.”

The car ultimately came to a stop.

The emperor carried Princess Almenes and stepped out of the car.

The empress also walked out as though entranced.

The driver, the royal knights guarding the emperor and empress, and the court mages who had boarded the limousine also stepped out.

Even the citizens attempting to flee the curse stopped and looked up.

At some point, everyone had quietly been watching the saint and Iomenes fighting in the bright morning sky.

In a trance-like silence, everyone watched.

Watching the saint and the piece of the evil god.

“O Saint, save us.”

Someone sobbed and muttered softly.

But in the quiet, everyone could hear it.

When one began, another joined.

“O Saint, chosen of grace!”

“O Saint of Healing!”

“O Saint Amael!”

“Save us! Save us all!”

Before long, everyone was shouting the name of the saint.

Even the emperor and empress were no different.

Everyone was cheering for the saint.

“Please.”

The emperor was praying.

He was sobbing and praying.

Clutching Almenes, who was convulsing and foaming at the mouth, the emperor prayed as earnestly as never before.

“Please, grant a miracle. Grant us a miracle.”

With everyone united in prayer,

At that moment, an even more brilliant light than the rising sun erupted from the body of the saint.

Blinded by the brightness, everyone closed their eyes.

And when they opened them again,

They could see beautiful lights falling from the sky to the ground.

The lights began settling on people one by one.

Those who had been in agony from the curse stopped screaming and stood up. Those who had fallen in fear looked up at the sky, awestruck and amazed.

“A miracle! The miracle was granted!”

“Long live Saint Amael!”

“Long live Lilia of Grace!”

As cheers began to spread among the populace,

The emperor and empress were running madly.

What had happened to Iomenes?

Anxiety and hope.

Earnestness and agony intertwined as the rulers of the empire returned to the palace.

“I’m… I’m healed!”

“Amazing! My body… it’s healed!”

Pushing through the amazed servants and royal knights, the emperor arrived at the secondary palace where Iomenes had been.

And he witnessed it.

The saint, floating in the sky, descended to the ground with the princess who had grown black wings.

The saint, shedding tears as he descended to the ground, placed his hands on the princess’s head and performed a miracle of healing.

The hideous black wings that had grown on her back began to dissolve slowly.

Bruises all over her body, the wounds—

everything began to disappear.

Beautiful lights continued to fall gently from the sky.

And two of those lights carefully descended onto Almenes and Iomenes.

Simultaneously, both twin princesses opened their eyes.

“Father?”

Quietly muttering, Almenes rose from the emperor’s embrace.

The emperor held his daughter tightly.

“The pain transmitted from Iomenes… I don’t feel it anymore. How… how is this possible?”

The emperor and empress did not answer.

Neither did Almenes ask further.

She looked in the direction her parents were gazing.

Within the arms of the weeping saint, Princess Iomenes slowly lifted herself.

Her ragged clothes—torn because of the wings that had sprouted on her back.

But no one criticized the princess’s attire.

The priests and knights guarding the secondary palace.

The royal knights.

The wizards and witches, the maids and butlers.

Everyone without exception, not even daring to breathe, stared at Princess Iomenes.

Iomenes carefully stepped away from the saint and placed her feet on the ground.

She wobbled but carefully maintained her balance.

And then, she looked at her father, her mother, and Almenes.

“Fa…ther?”

Iomenes said with a faint voice.

It was clumsy but a refreshingly clean voice that everyone could understand.

“Mother? Almenes?”

It wasn’t the voice of a beast.

Though still stammering, it was unmistakably the voice of a human.

The voice the emperor and empress had longed for as a dream—Iomenes spoke in that voice.

The empress stretched her arms towards Iomenes.

Iomenes slowly stepped closer and embraced her mother.

The empress, who had been staring vacantly at the sky, began tearing up at some point.

“My daughter. My daughter, Iomenes.”

“Mo…ther.”

“O gods, thank you. Thank you.”

The empress hugged Iomenes tightly as though she might crumble.

Princess Almenes and the emperor also carefully approached and hugged Iomenes.

Between sobs.

The four family members embraced each other in a profound emotion that none of them could express in words and mournfully wept.

They grieved for the 19 years they had lost and cried for the sufferings Iomenes endured. They cried out of guilt for torturing their daughter as parents.

Everyone around observed the scene.

The priests, the court wizards, the royal knights, the servants—all observed the scene.

It was the first time anyone had seen the emperor in this state, but no one was surprised.

Because they too had been saved.

The brilliant morning sunlight poured down onto the garden of the secondary palace in an unprecedentedly sacred manner.

Everyone in the garden, including the emperor and empress, turned their gaze towards the sunlight.

A halo.

A light so brilliant it almost blinded the eyes encircled the saint in a majestic and sacred glow.

One of the priests watching quietly knelt on the ground without realizing it, muttering:

“The compassionate one. Eleos.”

At his words, soon everyone began repeating it.

“Eleos.”

“He who weeps for the weak and the broken.”

The emperor, shedding tears, repeated the same words.

“Savior. Eleos.”

Everyone seemed possessed as they began shouting:

“Savior! Eleos!”

“Savior! Eleos!”

Savior Eleos.

Amidst the ecstatic cries, the saint closed his eyes.

Tears flowed more abundantly from his closed eyes.

In the grand and beautiful scenery, beyond what any painter could capture, he silently wept.

As though comforting the world, that’s how he wept.

Everyone saw hope and salvation in that scene.

“Savior! Eleos!”

“Eleos!!”

“Eleos!!”

Now, there was no one sorrowfully crying.

Everyone was laughing.

Their eyes and laughter, filled with gratitude, filled the garden of the secondary palace.

The only one crying was St. Amael of Healing.