Beatrice Aligieri Spero, magician-queen of the Kingdom of Spero, was a renowned saint.
Her kingdom has been prosperous and peaceful since its inception. It seemed like it would last forever.
Or so everyone thought until the invasion of demons began.
The black hordes, coming from the far west, were at first thought to be a pack of orcs but they were infamous and powerful.
Hordes of filthy lust from faraway realms have destroyed kingdoms in the blink of an eye.
The closer the black horde approached, the more the queen realized from the influx of refugees and eyewitness accounts that they were something out of the ordinary.
The momentum of the foul creatures would eventually reach the Spero Kingdom.
Of course, the honorable knights and loyal soldiers loyal to the Queen would meet the invasion as they should.
They fought back against the hordes of evil that crawled toward them and the army, led by the Magician Queen herself, gloried in victory after victory.
The refugees of the kingdom, who had been defeated over and over again, were hopeful as they watched the queen rally her troops to repel evil but it took less than thirty years for that hope to gradually crumble.
They are not a warlike group. They are weak, promiscuous and undisciplined, yet their morale is strangely high and they are strangely energetic.
They are a ragtag army of misfits, with no faith or cause, but only the pursuit of sordid pleasures, and they throw themselves fiercely into the fray.
It wasn't until three years ago, when the Archdemon she'd defeated returned, unharmed, that she realized they could not die.
'This war… was never meant to be won.'
They resurrect even when they die and they willingly throw themselves into the fray because they can't die.
The population on this side is being steadily decimated but they keep coming.
No matter how many victories they win, no matter how many demons they slay, they always come back.
It was an unreasonable fight and the war went on endlessly.
Hundreds of soldiers, dragged from the crowded battlefields after repelling tens of thousands of demons, were corrupted by horrific torture and pleasure.
Demons wearing human skins infiltrated the royal castle, corrupting maidens into orgies.
Cults fill the streets, proclaiming that the pursuit of limitless pleasure is salvation.
The kingdom crumbled as knights of steel were corrupted, and soldiers defending their country pointed their spears at their families.
I can't remember the beautiful, peaceful landscape of my homeland that I once saw.
I can't remember the days when the streets were filled with people laughing and playing and looking forward to tomorrow....
Doom was coming.
[Queen, make a deal with me]
The highest ranking Archdemon offered her a deal.
[If you accept the essence of corruption and survive for a hundred years, I will stop invading this world and return it to its original state.]
How could she believe him?
She didn't even need to ask.
The kingdom had fallen, and all that remained was a castle. In the end, her people, her soldiers, her knights… all of them would be lost in the destruction.
The Archdemon's offer was thoroughly in their favor, but Beatrice had no choice but to accept the demon bargain.
It was the only way to protect the people she loved.
* * * *
The demons' traps were vicious.
They repeated the destruction of the kingdom for a year and when the kingdom is destroyed, it goes back to the beginning and repeats the process of destruction.
If it were only that, the people would have held on, the soldiers would have held on. But the demons of pleasure and corruption do not kill their subjects easily.
In their perverted halls of depravity, they humiliated and tortured them endlessly, subjecting them to the most horrific things a living creature could experience.
Not even death could save them and those who took their own lives became wraiths who roamed the netherworld endlessly.
In the end, they had only one choice, to corrupt themselves and join the forces of evil.
The whispers of corruption, with their promise of endless pleasure and immortality, dazzled the proud people.
Alas, I have failed.
The choices I made to save my kingdom have turned my people to evil.
The proud queen began to crumble.
As she watched her people fall again and again, she realized she would eventually fall.
It was no mere amusement that the Archdemon of Pleasure would go to such troublesome lengths to corrupt her.
It's an innate vice that frightens even her, and its colors are corrupting even the most honorable of knights.
At this rate, even her knights will be corrupted by evil.
The queen hoped to save what remained of her knights. She had broken the pact and fallen, and in return, she hoped to save the few remaining knights.
"My queen, forgive our disloyalty."
When one knight finally broke into the queen's bedchamber, the Great Marshal sealed her underground, killing himself to become an incorruptible wraith.
"I…I made you this way."
After decades of regret and exhaustion and a doomed destiny, forced to repeat itself, even though each knew the other's end the queen wished this nightmare would end as soon as possible.
* * * *
[Hidden Quest: Save the Queen and the Kingdom]
Leon returned to the castle after killing Androzin but the castle of the Spero Kingdom is no longer filled with residents singing of hope.
"You mean everyone is already corrupted."
"Yes-yes."
Leon sighed sadly at Ricardo Burns' affirmation.
He had seen so many fallen but the temptation of the demons is hard to resist for ordinary mortals and the prospect of a horrific death that would be repeated for a hundred years would only encourage corruption.
"There must have been people from the kingdom among the demons this king vanished."
"...."
"Pity them, but do not forgive them. There is only death for the fallen. This is immutable justice."
The Death Knights did not respond to Leon's heartless words but there was another question.
"What shall we…do with the dead?"
The Death Knights… the undead are unwelcome everywhere, and rightly so.
Undead who forsake the life they deserve and seek immortality are despicable.
If Leon cannot tolerate them…can they resist?
"That is not for this king to decide. First we must see the queen."
Leon led the Death Knights to the subterranean chamber where the Queen was.
Queen Beatrice had been sealed to prevent the Corruption from advancing as far as possible but even that had failed.
Leon gazed down at the sleeping queen, breathing heavily.
"Fle, how is she?"
At his words, a divinity appeared, it was the goddess of dreams and death with hair of purple and violet.
[It's a natural talent, one that those filthy malignants covet, and one that could have produced a truly terrifying demon lord]
It has been said that she can sway a nation by her looks and demeanor alone.
[The essence of corruption has been planted, and the evil has been amplified. The corruption is already more than halfway complete]
"But she was not corrupted; she had the vice of lust, and desired the death of the knights."
Not because she hated the knights who imprisoned her, but to save their souls. To protect each other, both the queen and the knights did what they least wanted to do.
What royal or knight would not be moved by this loyalty?
[Leon, mark this maiden with my sigil, for if she can accept my ritual, she will radiate a divinity that will drive away the essence of corruption]
"I will gladly accept, for she is a 'king' who deserves it."
Leon felt a sense of sympathy for the queen.
He, too, had spent two hundred years fighting demons and knew better than anyone how sweet its temptations and whispers can be.
Leon touched the queen's body, and divinity flowed through him.
From the Pantheon within the Lionheart, he felt the goddess of dreams and death enter her.
The next moment, the queen's eyes opened, revealing purple pupils.
"You have awakened from your dream, Queen Beatrice."
[You have cleared the Hidden Quest]
-All participants' 'Corruption Resistance' is strengthened.
-You have obtained the Crown of Desire.
-You've obtained the Blade of Longing.
* * * *
The battle was over.
Androzin, the Archdemon of Pleasure, has been destroyed, countless demons have been slaughtered, and most of the demons have fled through the Demon Gate.
Leon's side took a hit, too.
Six of his Hunters were killed in action. For over a month, the Hunters were depressed at the loss of their comrades-in-arms, but were relieved to read the message that their souls had made it to Paradise.
'So even if we die… we'll go to heaven?'
'Wow… loyalty.'
Leon and his gods don't hide in the clouds. They actively announce their existence and invite faith.
You shouldn't try to trade with the gods, but that's something they can do on their own to help their followers.
Even machines, dead wraiths, and unbelievers get a free pass if they have the Lionheart King's endorsement.
"Your Majesty, the loot is coming."
Chief Kim Jin-soo and the Hunters are professional hunters. Naturally, once they cleared the gate, they took the loot.
"Is this the crown and sword that the demon used?"
The crown and sword were tainted with evil, so they needed to destroy them immediately──
-Bam!
Yakt Spinner approached, his eight legs pounding the ground, and he began to wire up the beak.
"Is this your favorite?"
-Heavy metal. Useful.
"But it is tainted with evil. The blade is supposed to trap souls."
Leon understood the nature of the blade Androzin had left behind.
A soul-trapping blade made to punish even demons. The souls of countless demons are imprisoned within that blade.
-Geeeeeeeeeeee!
-Forgive, forgive…!
-I curse you. I curse.
Just being in its vicinity erodes one's spirit.
Hunters who actually touched it would have been tainted if not for the restoration of the Grail.
-I can handle it.
"Hmm...."
It was none other than Holy Knight Yappy so Leon nodded and gave him permission to handle it.
And──
[Lionheart].
Fle, the God of Dreams and Death, appeared in front of them.
"Huh?"
The Hunters froze at the sudden appearance of the goddess but Leon shouted.
"On your knees, you lowly things!"
"Aye-aye!"
The Death Knights dropped to their knees and the Hunters fell to their knees as well.
Only Lionheart stood tall before the Goddess, because he could.
"Speak, Goddess."
[Show me the crown that you have won by slaying the bastard]
"I am afraid it is a cheap object, and I fear it will stain your eyes."
[It is all right.]
Leon held up the crown of longing and the Goddess examined it carefully.
"A crown of unusual inherent power. I was going to break it when I regained my strength."
[I am not unaware of your intentions, but why don't you leave this crown to me?]
Fle smiles as Leon tilts his head in question.
[This crown, you may not remember, is the one common to the Archdemons of Pleasure, whose heads you cut off]
"Is that so?"
To Leon, it was only a sinful morsel. When he cut the throats of worms, what did it matter to him what they wore on their heads?
[Those ugly demons of lust dazzle the uninitiated with meaningless visions and this crown contains such power. Perhaps I can extract something from it]
"It was an extravagant object to be destroyed anyway. I'd be happy to give it to you, if that's what you want."
Leon handed it over to Fle without much ado.
[Thank you, and you have done well this time. The whole Pantheon rejoices and is grateful for your glory and honor. War, say hello.]
[Greetings.]
It was then that a man who looked like he was on fire, a male god, whose searing gaze is frighteningly intense, descended beside Fle.
It was Petos, the god of war and flame.
The Hunters and Death Knights felt their very existence crushed by the appearance of this fierce deity next to Fle.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh...."
"Ugh…!"
For the criminals, the presence of a divinity is as much pressure as a spirit body.
What about the Lionheart King that can stand tall under such pressure?
"Dream and War, I have one request."
[It's been a long time since I've seen your face, and you're asking me out of the blue]
"I apologize."
[What is it?]
Leon glanced at the Death Knights and saw the Queen still sleeping among them.
"I beg you, accept their souls."
The gods did not listen in vain to the Lionhearted King's request.
[They have broken the cycle of life and death.]
[You are too rigid, War. The power of death is mine so it's none of your business.]
[What kind of god authorizes the undead?]
[That's right.]
The Goddess of Dream and Death looked at the Death Knights. By nature, she should not tolerate their existence.
[The knights who defied Death are beings I should punish, for they are outside the cycle of death]
"Please…forgive me."
At that moment, the queen opened her eyes with difficulty. She was barely holding on to her sanity amidst the essence of corruption raging within her body and the divinity of Fle trying to drive it away.
"Your Majesty…!"
The Death Knights knelt before the Queen. These loyal knights were concerned for their queen's well-being, even in this moment when their fate was being decided and Beatrice could not turn away from this noble spirit.
"Alien divinity…the queen of a lowly nation asks you at the risk of her life...."
The loyal knights have defended her for 95 years so the Queen would bend any pride for the peace of her knights.
[Hmm....]
Fleur was torn between the plight of the queen, the knights and Leon's request.
The undead are a blasphemy against death, and to allow them into Paradise is blasphemy itself.
[Loyal knights of the queen, no one in the pantheon can admit your souls to Paradise]
"...Yes."
Ricardo Burns and the other Death Knights had already made up their minds. They want only one thing, the Queen's safety.
[But. your merits cover your faults, your integrity impresses the gods, and above all, the Lionheart King has pleaded for your souls to me]
Fle proposed an alternative.
[I cannot admit you to Paradise, but I will give you a chance at reincarnation, a chance to cleanse your tainted souls and be reborn anew]
It was a mechanism for souls who were unworthy of paradise.
Even sinners have the opportunity to purify their souls and be reborn but the deeper the sin, the more often it is lost in the purification process.
But the sins of the Death Knights are not heavy, and they could endure.
[But, Queen and knights, the Underworld of your realm is not functioning properly due to the lack of divinity in the land]
For now, the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods and all things related to it were being run solely by Leon's Lionheart.
But reincarnation can only function when there is enough faith in the land.
[Queen, become my priestess, and help the Lionheart King spread the faith across the land, for it is the only way to bring rest to the souls of your knights]
Beatrice bowed her head willingly.
* * * *
"Then, Your Majesty, we will go through the formalities with Her Majesty Queen Beatrice."
In the aftermath of the Fluctuation Gate, the Hunter's Association rallied all the Hunters they could muster and prepared for the Dungeon Break.
That lasted a week when Leon finally cleared the gate and returned home.
"Wow...."
"Another survivor after the Yakt Spinner."
"Pretty...."
It's not often that a survivor returns from the Fluctuation Gate.
Association president Oh Kang-hyuk registered Beatrice as a survivor at Leon's request and also expressed his condolences to the deceased Hunters.
"We express our sincere condolences to the hunters for their sacrifice."
Six Hunters died and under normal circumstances, Leon's graduation ceremony would have been a colossal failure.
"But this was a fluctuation gate that became a red gate and an Archdemon was present so it's a miracle you made it out with this much damage."
"I'm sure Lord Spinner has the details, but I also need to meet with the families of the warriors."
"In person?"
"They were one of this king's few soldiers. It's the least I can do."
"You can't do that...…It could end badly."
Mourning the dead is always emotional and the president of the Association worried that the families of the fallen might try to get back at Leon.
"It's not that I don't understand the wives, parents and children of the dead but they will be relieved to hear this king's story."
These were souls that Leon had personally blessed and guided, and they would be relieved to know how they would be treated in the paradise of the departed.
Those who have lost loved ones will be cared for by Leon's Guild, which is the Lionheart Kingdom's way of honoring the fallen.
"Release the video and summon more Hunters. The Evil Ones will eventually invade your world, and we will need soldiers and knights for that day."
"...."
Association President Oh Kang-hyuk has already seen the video of what happened inside the gate.
The Demons of Pleasure and Corruption have been seen in Mexico and other places in South America.
The city they corrupted in that poorly governed South American country was eventually nuked.
Oh Kang-hyuk had seen the deeds of those filthy, lustful demons time and time again on record.
"Your Majesty, your power is optimal for dealing with demons, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Then...."
Oh Kang Hyuk told him about the upcoming Association-wide schedule, and Leon gladly accepted.
At the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods compound in the Naju Plains.
The events of the Fluctuation Gate and the cadets' graduation ceremony were not yet finalized, but Leon had an urgent need for 'help'.
The people of this world could not help, only the strength of faith, built up to this point, could get him there.
Leon closes his eyes and allows himself to fall into a coma.
In his spiritual state, he sees a purple goddess staring at him.
[Try to take my hand]
Touching the glorified jade body of a deity is a familiar experience for the Lionheart King. Drawn to the goddess, he turns to his heart.
The temple of all the gods is enshrined in the Lionheart, the only one item that generates its own holy power.
It was a place granted to Leon alone among mortals since the dawn of the Age of Gods: Paradise of the Gods.
There were those who waited for him before the magnificent shrine.
"Welcome, Your Majesty."
There was a woman with long brown hair and a cotton robe but she had a divine radiance about her that could not have come from a mere mortal.
"Anak."
"The servant of a lesser god meets the agent of the gods."
Leon stared at the multitude of people behind the kneeling saint's back.
Each and every one of them a servant of the gods who had reached the pinnacle of their mortal existence and deserved to dine with the gods in the Great Hall.
Ancient Lionheart Kings, Great Holy Knights, sages of the forest and champions of the gods.
""Welcome, greatest Grail Keeper.""
It was a paradise created by the gods for mortals and in the center of that temple, the heroes and believers bowed before him.