In this recreation of history, there were three changes.
First, Leon and Jerea ultimately succeeded in defending the canyon against the orc horde, prolonging the Holy Knight's survival.
Second, Yappy's ability to survive a fall from orbit and still land without burning up.
The third is Beatrice, who saved the convoy from being wiped out by the Prefects.
Compared to all three of these miraculous events, Koo Dae-sung taking the holy relic, and frantically running toward the Lionheart border would be a small factor in this whole miracle.
But
"Heh… heh… heh…!
His frenzied flight must have been──
"Stop!"
"We are the Flaming Sword Knights, who are you!"
It was the decisive blow that changed the course of history.
* * * *
Silence fell.
There are many eyes and many mouths, but only the Red Knight moves them.
"You...."
Vulcanus checks his surroundings.
The knights and riders of the kingdom dead, the message from Yappy, who had fallen from the sky and Han Ha-ri, who finally met him halfway with the holy relic, everything became clear.
The Empire has betrayed the Kingdom.
He shudders and his armor trembles as it pulses with rage. The gaze in the helm's visor sends a cold chill down everyone's spine.
"Excuse yourself."
"Excuse ourselves for…what?"
"Before I burn every last one of your souls, so that you may be 'forgiven' for 'dying'."
"Ha…!"
Wolfhard stared at Vulcanus with an expression of disbelief, his sword filled with the color of blood.
"You are still so arrogant, God's dogs. Don't you realize that your arrogance has brought about today's crisis?"
Wolfhard, Division Commander of the Imperial Guard and one of the Thirteen Prefects made a pact with Knua, the Archdemon of Destruction and Murder.
He was a giant on par with Vulcanus but now he grew to three times his size but it was not just his size that has increased his power has also increased.
"You will bow before the might of the Empire today!"
"Hmph…!"
Vulcanus recognized the Empire's long-standing inferiority complex.
Despite being many times larger than the Kingdom, their influence had always lagged behind that of the Kingdom.
No wonder. Humanists and proclaimers of divine independence, they were no better than the glorious Lionheart, favored by the gods but Vulcanus understood that the Empire does not follow the Code and its teachings.
They just don't want to give up what they have.
They are afraid to serve their people, to risk their lives in their defense.
This is how the empire has fallen from grace.
I can't believe they call it independence from God and putting people
"That's all it is."
"That's all? In the face of this absolute power, you're-"
-Bam!
Vulcanus' sword slammed into Wolfhard. His enhanced reflexes barely reacted to it, but the blow was too heavy.
"Mu, what strength…!
What kind of monstrous power could it be that he, the descendant of evil, could be pushed back?
The weight lifted and Vulcanus raised his sword to strike again. However Wolfhard seizes the moment, but before he can react, the blade strikes again.
"Big…!"
"Do you know why you were able to call yourselves an empire?"
Vulcanus struck again and again with his one-handed greatsword, while Wolfhard parried with his two-handed sword.
"It's because we tolerated your existence!"
-Bam!
It was not a clash of iron against iron, but an explosion that sounded like a meteorite hitting the ground. The shockwave alone caused the Imperial Guards to gasp in horror as their bodies were pushed backwards.
"And with your insolent chanting of independence!"
-Bam!
"And your unnecessary territorial expansion!"
-Bam!
"All of it! All of it! All of it! Because we allowed it!"
-Bam!
The moment the blow is delivered, the ground on which Wolfhard is standing turns off and a crater appears. The terrain collapses as if a giant bomb had gone off, and shockwaves reverberate everywhere.
"Huh…!"
Wolfhard had only taken a few blows from Vulcanus' sword but his armor was shattered, and his vaunted greatsword was cracked.
Wolfhard had thought he had surpassed a Holy Knight in strength now he had that power.
His strength, agility, endurance, and boundless magic were already beyond human limits.
But what had happened?
Why is he being pushed back, why is he being beaten like this?
Vulcanus had been overpowering him with only one holy sword.
"No, it can't be!"
The head of the Imperial Guard, the most elite force in the Empire is a superhuman and one of the strongest in the Empire and yet he can't take down a single Holy Knight?
"Give me your strength, Knua, and I will pay the price as your contractor!"
At that moment, a blood-colored energy surges through Wolfhard's body as crimson light pierces the crimson sky like a blade.
Wolfhard's golden armor shatters, unable to withstand his expanding flesh.
With his transformation complete, Wolfhard sheds his human form.
His flesh grew horribly enormous and his legs became like those of a goat, as he started to resemble the Archdemon of destruction and murder.
"From now on, this is my land!"
The power of a murderous demon beyond destruction grants the caster unlimited strength and the power to kill.
Wolfhard laughed as he felt the power to destroy everything and the power to control space.
This is omnipotence. This is the power of the transcendents. He almost burst out laughing.
-Kuwaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
The whole world is filled with his noise as an endless surge of power and magic fills the world.
Who can stand in the face of such power? It's no longer about the Holy Knights. Not even the gods can stand against this power.
"This…."
Wolfhard's gaze fell on Vulcanus, who was trembling.
Ha, to drop your swagger like that, to finally succumb to overwhelming power. You're only human after all, he thought.
But the despicable satisfaction was short-lived.
For everyone realized that Vulcanus' trembling was not from fear or submission, but from anger.
"How dare you… how dare you declare the land of the gods a realm of evil."
His power surged as the crimson aura that had been swirling has already risen into flames. The air of the world is scorched, and it is frightening to breathe.
"This land you stand upon. Not just the kingdom, but here, there, and beyond… all of it, all of it, all of it!"
A terrible heat surges through the two holy swords as a giant pillar of fire forms in Vulcanus hands, the embodiment of his rage.
"──The land of the gods!!!"
In the next moment, the red sword was swung as the canyon and the entirety of the empire's lands burned.
Endless flames scorched the world, as if trying to cleanse the atmosphere of its malignant contamination without leaving a trace.
The entire territory declared by Wolfhard was burned and after a mere five seconds Vulcanus and Stella were the only living creatures on the land.
* * * *
With their powers amplified by the Malignant Descent, the two Prefects thought they had won.
Such great power, such endless wisdom of magic, such voracious lust for control of space.
'It's only a matter of time before we take down that insolent bitch.'
Sure, it's a shame we missed the holy convoy, but that doesn't matter now that Wolfhard's gone. In fact, capturing an archmage of this caliber might be worth more than the holy relics.
"Arrogant bastards. The Empire is behind this disaster after all."
It was then that beyond Beatrice, a golden glow appeared from higher in the sky.
"You are…!"
"King Leon!"
The sudden appearance stunned the two prefects. Why would the Lionheart King, who was supposed to be in Wangdao, be here?
"Your Majesty, you're late."
"I'm late because I sent off an old friend. Do you mind if I join you?"
Beatrice shrugs at Leon's words.
"Unlike your Majesty, I have no interest in monopolizing the honor or glory of knighthood."
"Perhaps we should discuss taking your due honor and the glory of battle ... sometime."
Leon raised his holy spear to join the battle but then he saw something in the sky that made everyone turn red.
"What was that?"
It was a massive anomaly that would baffle even the magician queen and a terrible heat radiates from it, as if the sky is on fire.
Even the two prefects are stunned, wondering what kind of magical phenomenon could have caused it to reach this far, but only Leon shakes his head in disbelief.
"Well, well. I guess we don't have to go out there."
"Your Majesty?"
"He has an unforgiveness for demon worshipers that rivals this king's."
In the next moment a meteor fell from the sky bathed in searing heat as if it had fallen from orbit.
"An asteroid?"
"Who summoned Meteor?"
The highest level of magic that could only be summoned by ten archmages performing a ritual for ten days and ten nights. Who on earth could have cast such a spell?
But they soon realized that it wasn't an asteroid, it was a single human wearing armor.
"No way-──!"
-Bam!
The meteor that landed in the middle of the battlefield was an armor in the shape of a man. The knight was a blazing flame, and in his hand was a torn, charred torso.
"Wolfhard!"
The prefects were horrified to see that Wolfhard was dead.
"These are your fellow scum."
Wolfhard's body was thrown away like garbage. After treating one of the Empire's 13 Prefects this way, the Red Knight glared at the other two with a destructive gaze.
"You scum will not be left with a single soul!"
Filled with rage, he doesn't even wait for the prefects to open their mouths. He simply concentrates all the embers in the world to incinerate the scum in front of him.
Divine Punishment
The two greatswords become a giant pillar of fire.
"What, you fool, wasting your power to spread it out like that-─!"
-Kukkaaaaah!
A huge pillar of fire engulfs the Imperial army and the prefects.
The prefects, instinctively sensing the danger, demonized and deployed a barrier with all their might.
Among them was a treasure that had the power to summon a purely conceptual barrier, but──
"Grrrrrr?!"
Their skin burned and their blood vessels boiled. Even though they blocked the flames from the front, their bodies were cooked by the rapidly rising temperature.
'This is ridiculous! How can I stop such spreaded power──?'
Human strength has its limits however, this Flame Knight had none.
It took less than three seconds for the two who made pacts with the Archdemons to burn to ashes.
Vulcanus the Butcher showed his overwhelming power that no species can survive against.
* * * *
The Battle of the Gorge was ended by the arrival of Vulcanus. After burning everything to the ground, he walked toward Leon.
-Thud! Thump! Thump! Thud!
The heavy armor of a man well over two meters tall and must have weighed several hundred kilograms echoed in the canyon as he moved.
Through his visor, his gaze burning, he drops to one knee.
"Agent of the All-Gods, owner of the Lionheart and guardian of the Grail, I greet you, Lionheart!"
It was a slight departure from courtly etiquette, but Leon was glad of it, considering his origins.
"It's been a long time, Lord Vulcanus."
"...."
Vulcanus didn't ask why the man he'd met at the palace not long ago was here.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I am glad to see you!"
He dismisses all questions with a stiff reply.
"Your Majesty."
At that moment, Beatrice came to Leon's side as the quest was updated.
[You have succeeded in your quest]
[Assist Sir Jerea to escort the holy relic to the Lionheart border]
-Side Mission: Defend Sir Jerea's main body to the end.
While the two survivors were unable to see, Beatrice, the one who opened the gate, was aware of it.
"We need to gather everyone before the gate closes."
"Hmm...."
Leon looked at Vulcanus and came to a decision.
"I have much to say to you, my lord, but the situation is urgent and we must move first."
"Who can argue with the path of Your Majesty?"
"Sir, can you give me an object that symbolizes you?"
"If thou wilt."
Vulcanus stretched out his arm, and a ring of flame formed, from which emerged a cracked… dagger that radiated heat even through the cracks.
"Thank you."
Knowing what it was worth and what it meant to Vulcanus, Leon gladly accepted the item from the honored knight.
"Farewell, Sir Vulcanus. We will meet again someday."
With that, Leon soared into the sky as he looked at the dagger Vulcanus had given him and thought.
'Vulcanus is not in the Paradise of the Gods.'
* * * *
Retrieving the scattered cadets was a close call since their starting points had varied as they entered the artificially created gate but thanks to Beatrice's tracking spell, she was able to find each and every one of them.
"Your Majesty!"
"You're here!"
Finally, they reached the Lionheart border, where we met Ha-ri, Dae-Sung and Yappy with the Knights.
"This… is the holy object!"
Leon opened the box of holy relics that Dae-Sung had given him, and immediately recognized what it was.
"This is amazing. I can't believe this is the holy relic I lost...."
'This is also fate.'
Leon stroked the relic and chuckled.
"Welcome home."