NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 126
The Hohenberc Family was a peaceful place, boasting a serene atmosphere like a nursing home prepared for a calm retirement.
But everything changed when colorful and cute guests became part of the household.
The place burst with energy.
Every day was filled with chatter and laughter.
What used to be a tranquil nursing home turned into a noisy amusement park as mysterious fairies settled in.
“Kya-ha-ha!”
“It’s the Water Veil Attack of Luinong!”
“I’ve gotten the seal for the big villa! From now on, the villa is Zlururu Luinong’s!”
Luinong dashed down the hallway.
Wielding a watering can, she transformed the garden into an ocean.
And she even stole the heirloom seal from the head of the Hohenberc Family.
It was chaos.
Was this a kindergarten filled with little troublemakers?
Always curious and full of exploration, as Luinong began attending school, her mischief grew. Otto, the head of the Hohenberc Family, even built a school to train the naive Luinongs.
“The Luinongs have been quite wild lately. I think I need to give them a good scolding soon.”
“Ho-ho, isn’t it great? Thanks to our cute guests, the once-quiet villa is filled with life now.”
The butler, wearing glasses, spoke up.
At that, Otto smiled kindly and interjected.
“Max and Edan have always been quite reserved, haven’t they? I’m actually glad that the Luinongs bring some liveliness to our lonely house.”
“…But the head’s seal went missing this morning.”
The luxurious seal adorned with gold and jewels had vanished. Surely, the mischievous little Luinongs had snuck off with it, making unauthorized transactions.
Surely they wouldn’t misuse the seal, right?
Conspiring with nobles who were eyeing the rights of the Marquisate of Hohenberg?
Of course, that wouldn’t happen.
The intellect of the Luinongs was far too lacking for secret plotting.
Cute but silly fairies.
Edanant’s evaluation of the Luinongs was quite accurate.
“Waaah! This Ringburger Luinong has built a super high sand castle!”
“So high! It’s so high that even all the Luinongs stretching out both hands can’t reach it!”
The Luinongs squealed in joy, celebrating their achievement. Otto, who was looking out the window, spotted a sandcastle that almost reached 10 meters in height.
Unbelievable.
That was truly a sand castle… not a simple earthen fort.
It was far too grand to be dismissed as mere child’s play. It looked as if an army had been mobilized to build the sand castle. The villa’s staff had their jaws dropped at the scale of Luinong’s extraordinary play.
“Yaaaah! The sand castle is collapsing!”
“An attack! The enemies are attacking! The foes after our jelly candy have invaded!”
Boom-.
As the Luinongs were happily clasping hands over their sandcastle construction, a gap opened in the air and numerous figures fell onto the sandcastle. The poorly built castle’s balance was broken, and it met its end as uninvited guests crashed down.
“Huh, we’ve arrived safely.”
A young man with gray hair dusted himself off as he landed. Simultaneously, he stretched out both hands and effortlessly caught the pure white Saintess who fell afterward.
It was Edanant and Zebeline.
The staff of the Hohenberc Family, watching this ridiculous scene from afar, broke into broad smiles upon spotting Edanant and Zebeline.
“Cough cough! What on earth is this? I’m covered in sand!”
A vampire rolling in the sand shouted, shaking off the grains that had settled on his head.
The other apostles were no different.
The apostles, forcibly transported to the Hohenberc Marquisate due to the Master of the Magic Tower’s forced transfer, busily surveyed their sand-covered surroundings. They seemed to be in shock at the sudden turn of events.
“…Where exactly is this?”
A woman with flowing orange hair swallowed hard as she lifted her head. For the Seraph, this world was like an uncharted realm, so being cautious was only natural.
Was it due to being bound by the Pressure Demon’s chains?
Despite trying to escape the range of forced transportation, she had failed.
Belashiel shot a killing intent-filled glare at Edanant. She had vowed to one day take revenge on the grave sinner who not only defeated her but also embarrassed her by stealing the Holy Relics.
“Fwee~!”
“I worked so hard on it!”
The Luinongs burst into tears, lamenting their lost efforts right before their eyes. They looked as if they had just seen their makeshift stands at the street market being demolished in an instant.
What to do?
It wasn’t intentional…
At the sight of the weeping Luinongs, Belashiel was at a loss.
“Edan!”
“Father.”
A striking middle-aged man with a shining bald head caught everyone’s attention. Edanant instinctively smiled as he reunited with his beloved father.
Could it be that the tumultuous experiences in the Holy Sanctuary made his father’s appearance more welcome even after less than a month apart?
While gazing at his father, Edan suddenly thought of the loathsome brother who had vanished without a trace. Maximilian had abandoned the scene while battling the Seraph, leaving him to remain in the Holy Sanctuary.
To kill the Seraph.
That was likely why he betrayed the Cardinals of the Holy Kingdom.
But upon seeing Belashiel in a weakened state, Maximilian had disappeared without a word. It was as if he had urgent matters to attend to.
‘Perhaps his claim to kill Belashiel was just a provocation for me. If not….’
He didn’t know.
What on earth was he after?
For Belashiel, he was only a means to an end.
His betrayal of the Holy Kingdom was likely just a necessary step toward achieving an ultimate goal.
If he hadn’t reached a near-death state, he would have certainly remained in the Holy Sanctuary till the bitter end. Edanant clicked his tongue, remembering the fleeting shadow of Maximilian that had vanished like a ghost.
*
The sky was obscured by soot and smoke.
A cathedral turned into ruins.
The city lay in shambles, to the point where one could hardly grasp any trace of its former self.
The city of the Creator Deity, once known as the butchery for punishing cultist forces and the stronghold of believers of the Earth Mother, had met its end.
To suppress the horrific situation, the troops of the Holy Kingdom were dispatched to the Holy Sanctuary, but they only made futile trips.
The true culprits behind the devastation had already conspired together and fled the scene.
A crushing defeat.
Despite suffering losses beyond imagination, they had ultimately failed.
Creek-.
Numerous carriages emerged from the dust-covered ruins.
They were the carriages that had appeared in the Imperial City when the Valtarian Empire summoned the Alliance Conference. The luxurious carriages of the Holy Kingdom, lavishly adorned with platinum and jewels, came to a halt as soon as they reached the Holy Sanctuary.
“Your Majesty!”
“Have you arrived, Your Majesty!”
The leading carriage swayed.
Then, a middle-aged man clad in snow-white vestments stepped out of the carriage.
Boern I.
The representative of the Creator Deity had arrived at the devastated Holy Sanctuary.
Boern had been imprisoned in the Palace due to the rebellion of the cardinals involved with extremist factions, but was released after the situation had calmed down. Upon belatedly reaching the site, the Holy Sovereign swallowed hard while gazing upon the ruined city of the Creator Deity.
“Is it completely destroyed?”
“No, only the center of the Sanctuary has been destroyed… The areas on the periphery remain mostly intact thanks to the Seraph who personally defended against the Disaster of Innocence.”
Sirelle Beilred and Ilkeron Nabiakus, who had collaborated with the Seraph Belashiel to lead the situation, voluntarily accepted confinement. And the surviving cardinals, who had narrowly escaped the chaos, were all captured.
The ringleaders who had plotted the rebellion were subdued. But there was no way to recover from the unprecedented damage caused by the Sanctuary’s doom.
Reports of numerous lives lost among the troops dispatched to the site poured in, and Boern’s expression grew somber as he traced the sign of the Holy Cross with his fingers.
“We cannot let this go unpunished!”
“This is a challenge and blasphemy against the Creator Deity! Please order a crusade immediately!”
The Holy Knights of the Holy Kingdom, who had reached the Sanctuary eagerly awaiting commands, requested a holy war from Boern with voices filled with fury.
The divine has fallen to the ground.
All of the worship and faith that the Holy Kingdom had built until now turned to ashes.
Even the Creator Deity, who possessed the Body of the Candidate Saintess, must have witnessed this disaster. Boern sighed, envisioning the Creator Deity looking down at the scene with heavy eyes filled with sorrow.
Surely tears were streaming down like those of a child.
For he was a being of boundless compassion.
The whereabouts of Belashiel, the Seraph behind the calamity, remained a mystery. If he died in battle, he should have returned to the Celestial Realm… but he had completely vanished as if evaporated from the scene.
Belashiel was the Seraph who sealed the Disaster of Famine and was the most cherished adopted daughter of the Creator Deity. If news of her disappearance reached him, he wouldn’t be able to contain his emotions.