As they raced, Leon explained to the queen and the cadets about the "savages who worship beast gods.
"They are like rats. We slaughter them from time to time and reduce their numbers, but they always find a way to breed somewhere."
Ha-ri wondered if it was similar to the periodic extermination of northern immigrants.
"Well, but… skinning them to death, or even killing their children...."
"The kingdom and its knights are not fools who like to do inefficient things. The reason for the skinning is the imprint."
"An imprint?"
Leon threw a piece of something at Ha-ri. She barely caught it as her horse galloped away and yelped at the odd texture.
"What, human skin?!"
"There were a bunch of skinned things, and thou art surprised to see it."
"Ugh...." The medieval man didn't have modern sensibilities but Ha-ri unfolded the hide with one hand and found an imprint on it.
"What is this....?"
"An oath to give yourself to the Beast God. From the moment you engrave it and abuse its power, it will slowly erode your soul."
"That's not possible...."
"They infiltrate the cities, dazzle the unsuspecting populace with their power and eventually their souls are consumed and become servants of the Beast God."
Thus, the only solution is extermination. They may not be demons, but they are followers of an evil god who is no better than a demon.
"Remember. Your peaceful common sense and fuzzy human rights are useless in this bitter fight. All that is needed is truth and absolute justice."
"...."
The cadets fell silent and could only affirm Leon's words. At first, they thought he was some kind of lunatic, but anything this man said usually made sense.
"I believed in you, your majesty...."
As Kim Jae-hyuk awkwardly stuttered, Chun So-yeon hit him on the head with the scabbard.
"Ugh…! Why did you hit me?"
"Get serious."
Lord Toscana Vendellic, the Kingdom Knight leading Leon, shouted.
"We've arrived!"
Ha-ri and the cadets swallowed at the knights, soldiers, and monsters tangled together in a terrible melee.
"What, what is it?"
"There are members of the Firebird Guild and the Golden Lion Guild!"
"What's going on?!"
The barbarian warriors already beastified by the Imprint and the Hunters were controlled by the Beast God Shaman.
The isolated knights and soldiers held out, but it seemed only a matter of time before they were swept away by the tide.
"These foul beasts!"
"We must charge now!"
A dozen or so knights rushed toward the battlefield, furious.
"Wait, wait. It's not right to charge in from here."
"But how then...."
"Wait."
Leon dismounted his horse and scanned the battlefield, looking for Georgic.
He stood out from the crowd on the battlefield as a heavily armored green knight and he was being pinched by Korean S-rank hunters and beastly monsters.
By nature, they were no match for him.
First, the Holy Knight's holy law easily breaks the hold of the Beast God, and the corpse's imprint is erased upon death.
The fact that there used to be few barbarians around the Lionheart Kingdom is due to the conceptually enforced laws of the Holy Knights.
However, control and resurrection by the beast imprint proceeds without incident. This indicates that something is wrong with Georgic's Holy Law.
"If only I could summon her...."
Leon knew of a 'divine beast' that could be of great use at this stage but summoning such a great being is too much of a burden.
[Lionheart, my knight]
It was then that Leon heard the voice of the goddess in his ear.
"Arianna?"
Arianna, Goddess of Light and Justice spoke directly to Leon's ears.
[Your goddess speaks on behalf of Demera. Go and reclaim the souls we have failed to reclaim, the wandering souls who have given their allegiance to the pantheon]
"I will gladly receive them."
The Goddess need not command Leon's actions, she has come to show him the way.
[Bind the Ancestor's Reins to Stallion, for they have the power to awaken old bloodlines]
"You mean Argent Majesty's Reins?"
Leon immediately pulled out the treasure he'd been gifted.
Leon's ancestor, Argent Majesty Lionheart legendary reins of are said to tame even the fiercest of beasts but Leon burned this treasure at the King's funeral, wishing him well as he rode his horse through the meadows of paradise.
However after hundreds of years, the reins were returned to his hands and wrapped around Stallion at the command of the Goddess.
-Purrrr!
Stallion… gladly accepted the reins from his best friend, and at that moment, something amazing happened.
"This, this…!"
The knights, the queen, and even the cadets stared in amazement as wings had sprouted from Stallion!
Even Leon was surprised by the sight.
"Stallion…! I heard that you had the bloodline of a Celestial Horse, but...."
Stallion is a divine horse, carrying only great bloodlines and noble beings on its back.
Leon heard there's even a Pegasus in that long line, but he never expected Stallion to awaken a bloodline that's been cut off in Leon's generation.
"I can't believe he was willing to give away such a great treasure...."
If these reins are a treasure that can awaken even an old bloodline…could something similar be done to other beasts?
Perhaps it would even be possible to turn a degenerate drake back into a dragon.
"The horse has wings...."
The cadets were stunned by the awakening but Leon told them.
"You guys will wait here with the knights."
"What? Uh, why?"
"Guardian of the Grail, are you asking us to abandon an honorable battle!"
At these words, both the cadets and the knights recoiled. It seemed as if Leon alone would throw himself into that abyss.
"There is no way that less than a dozen horsemen can break through this besieged terrain. You are not up to the task."
"Then your majesty intends to ride in there alone?"
"Not alone."
It was Queen Beatrice who stepped forward and held out her hand while smiling.
"Thank you for your help."
"It is my duty."
Leon took the queen's hand and helped her climb atop Stallion, who had become a Pegasus.
"Your example is here. Today you shall witness the pinnacle of the glory you should seek."
Leon took the reins, and Stallion soared into the sky.
* * * *
The road to Georgic was rough as a flock of giant eagles blocked Stallion's approach.
"Filthy beasts. Stallion, you're not going to get tied up by those things, are you?"
"Krrr…!"
Stallion responds to Leon's playful taunt with a growl.
Although it was the first time Stallion had ever flown, the noble beast quickly got used to it.
The giant eagles charged but the beasts were newly beastified and unaccustomed to flight so they tried to overwhelm Stallion with their numbers and mass but an invisible wall formed simultaneously with their wings. They couldn't even slow him down.
-Boom!
The collision ripped through their flesh, and they screamed in shock. In one swift motion, Stallion broke through the group of giant eagles and continued his glide.
The eagles gave chase, letting out an irritating tune but behind Leon's back, Beatrice laughed.
"Allow me."
At that moment, a delicate touch flows through the air and those skilled in the manipulation of magic would have marveled at the magnificent power concentrated in that beautiful touch.
-Kuwaaaaah!
It was a black arrow but it looked more like a beam cannon from a space opera than an arrow.
Estimated magic power: Class A ray magic. It requires a casting time even for a high-ranking mage of the Tower, but Beatrice formed it with a wave of her hand.
-Kaak?
With a simple wave of her hand, the stains in the sky are washed away and in the meantime, Stallion has arrived above Georgic.
"Hold the reins for a moment. I need to clear the ground."
Stallion stirred at the touch of one who was not Leon, but he was quickly soothed by the nobility of the touch.
Just like that Leon leapt from his steed.
"Who are you?"
"I am King Lionheart, Guardian of the Grail and agent of the Ten Thousand Gods. I am Leon Dragonia Lionheart."
He answered Georgic's question.
* * * *
Georgic was surprised by Leon's sudden appearance.
"The Lionheart King…I do not know who you are, but it is a great honor for a man of God to be called that…"
"Now is not the time for small talk, Holy Knight of Demera. We must get through this mess first."
"...I agree. But how?"
The Holy Law is not functioning properly, and the situation is completely out of hand. What could they do in such a situation?
"First…we need to shut down those pathetic little bastards."
Leon looked at the S-class Hunters surrounding the two of them. Including the raiding party, there were more than a hundred of them.
They still had the minds of beasts, but not the bodies. Unlike the barbarians, who are dedicated to the beast gods from birth, they have an innate resistance and a short lifespan.
"I am the Lionheart King and I have come to lead you to paradise."
For a moment, Georgic's eyes widened at the sight of the holy object Leon held out.
"Holy Grail!"
It was the holy object that has been passed down through the generations of the Lionheart Kings and the reason why they are called the Guardians.
An object of such holy energy could never be imitated.
The Holy Grail glows of its own accord, holy water bubbles and the sky responds.
The dull, dry sky opened up in an instant, and thunder crackled.
-What, what?
-What's going on?
The soldiers are agitated, and they're not the only ones. The servants of the evil beast god who were beastified were also terrified by the shaking sky.
At that very moment the holy water evaporated and met the clouds in the sky as a giant semicircle of golden light formed in the center of the sky.
The Great Law of Radiance was a divine shield granted only to the Grail Guardians.
Even the Holy Knights, who have lived a life of honor and glory for hundreds of years, are unable to perform this miracle.
"Are your wounds healed?"
"No way…My arm was cut off...."
Leon used Grail Healing on a massive scale and the effect was truly miraculous as thousands of soldiers and knights who were dying from injuries were healed and regenerated, one by one but that was not all.
"Keeeeeeeeeeee!"
Exposed to the shroud of light, the beasts writhed in agony on their burning skin, even those that were beastified and imprinted with the power of the evil beast god while the skin of the warriors who hadn't yet beastified burned.
"Ugh, ugh… what, what?"
"Oh, it hurts… so, so much...."
And as the imprints burned the Hunters cried out in pain.
It was only a matter of time before the imprinting would be completed, but as their strength drained from them, they were left helpless, watching a miracle unfold before their eyes.
"Ahhh...."
"What the heck...."
It was a miracle of the gods.
The knights, the soldiers and the men who had fallen to the ground around Leon, were lifted to their feet by the energy poured from the heavens by the Guardian on behalf of the gods.
As brilliance radiated from him and divine energy overflowed even from his breath the knights and Georgic realized that this was the true power they had forgotten.
How had they not known?
How had they not noticed?
That this great power is a miracle of the gods and──
"It is the Holy Power...."
Georgic felt the true holy power flowing through Leon.
[My child. My lost knight.]
"Demera?"
[Go and help the king of knights.]
Georgic took up his hammer and repaired his shield.
There were many questions, and he let them all flow.
"Guardian of the Grail, I join you."
"It is a pleasure to stand on the same battlefield, Sir Georgic."
It was then that the beasts that had been screaming in agony within the veil of brilliance began to surge forward in waves, forming a massive mass.
The souls that had been sacrificed to the beast gods, their bodies twisted, now began to intertwine with each other's flesh.
"Great Iron King, we offer you our slaves!"
At the end of it all was Hildir, the shaman of the Tribal Alliance.
She was once beautiful, but her skin, melted away by the veil, was hideous. However as the agent of an evil god's will, she survived the miracle of the Holy Law.
Hildir knew she could not back down from this since unlike the soul-bound Georgic, this was a real Holy Knight.
A being that enforces the Holy Law and a user of the holy law who could 'extinguish' demons that could not be killed or even evil shamans whose bodies were but shells.
It's a shame, but I can only sacrifice all the worshippers within the gate, even if it costs me my soul itself.
[Krrrrr…! Lionheart...!!]
It was through the intertwining of over ten thousand sacrifices that an incarnation was formed.
The largest of the beast gods possessed an incarnation that was over 50 meters tall, it was Iron King.
The remaining remnants are the beasts of Suri and Mazer, and even their numbers are formidable.
"An incarnation. I once destroyed the incarnations of Bai Lang and Mazer."
Beast Gods were the ones who rampaged with the orcs when the demons were on the loose and led the world to ruin.
Time and again, they summoned incarnations to aid them, but Leon defeated them all alone. And now──
He raised his holy sword against all the evils of the end of the world.
"Hear, my brothers and sisters! Knights of glory and loyal soldiers, the time has come to punish the disgusting heresy!"
Leon ran towards the beasts.
"I will join you, King Lionheart!"
Georgic followed and despite his massive armor, he was not far behind Leon.
"Follow the Holy Knight!"
"Follow the Agents of the Gods!"
Beatrice smiles as she glides through the sky on the Pegasus, watching the knights charge.
"I will open the way."
She gestured.
"By the laws of magic, I command the magical forces of the world."
Within this gate, the terrifyingly full power of magic is woven back together by her hand.
The basis of magic is reason and its application.
If holy power is a miracle that bends the laws, magic is a phenomenon that utilizes the laws.
This is an admission of magic's inferiority in the hierarchy, but how can magic be neglected in favor of miracles?
"Holy laws cannot enforce concepts, but...."
Beatrice Aligieri Spero, Magician Queen of the Kingdom of Spero and defender of the kingdom for decades, was at the height of her powers.
Black beams of light erase the beasts in the sky.
Dozens of A-rank magic beams is the firepower of a single human being at its peak but the Queen's magic doesn't end there.
Great Magic
Lightning crackles in the sky, colored golden by Leon's chalice as the queen artificially generates lightning and harnesses the power of nature.
The hail reduces the charging boars to a handful of ashes.
"It's crazy…!"
The Hunters who had been watching cried out in horror.
The sky rumbles, and space shakes as the Magician Queen's unorthodox magic created a great light, stirred up a storm, and rained down thunderbolts.
Her magic was more like a natural disaster than magic.
-Ki──!
The hordes of eagles in the sky and boars on the ground were quickly cleared away. Then, with the road clear, the two knights head toward Iron King. However, their opponent is a 50-foot monster but this is where the Holy Law comes in.
As the Goddess of the Earth answers Georgic's prayer Holy Law
[Huh?!]
Though not pierced, Iron King staggers before the thousands of tons of mass impact but the spear wasn't just a weapon.
Leon, who had been running on the ground, used the Earth Spear, which had been raised by the Holy Law, as a ramp and when he closed the distance enough, he grabbed the glowing Holy Sword.
[Lionheart…you again!!]
"Shut your disgusting mouth, beast!"
Leon's holy sword flashed and sank into Iron King's throat. Even if the bear was made of steel, Leon's holy sword pierced through its soft hide with ease.
[Kaaaah…!]
But the wound was shallow because the size of the incarnation was large. However Leon didn't push himself any harder and spurred himself away from Iron King, trusting 'them'.
-Dag-dag-dag-dag!
Hundreds of horses charged as the diagonally rising earth was no hindrance to the Kingdom's Knights.
The lance-wielding knights charge in unison as they have their sights set on the cracked neck of Iron King.
"We are the Knights of Realm!"
"Shields to defend the glorious kingdom of the gods and spears to pierce evil flesh!"
""Evil, be destroyed!""
Grail Guardians and Holy Knights…they are blessed with countless favors and perform miracles with their mere mortal bodies, and among them there is a legion blessing named
The breakthrough power of the knights reaches its peak.
-Boom!
The Knights throw themselves into a single charge, even if it means falling off a cliff.
[How dare you, you bastards!]
Slashed, pierced, and shattered, the Iron King's head lies in tatters but the opponent is a god incarnation and although two hundred knights charged at it, it still retained its form.
"Know the grace of thy land."
Georgic stood atop Iron King's head as the knights charged.
"Purge your disgusting sin and ignorance with blood and screams of pain."
The Holy Knight of Life and Abundance,
"Your filthy flesh shall find no rest in death."
Hammer is lifted and blots out the sun.
"Die and become the fertilizer of the earth, you disgusting heretics."
Divine Punishment
The hammer crashes down on Iron King's skull.