Back on Earth, there was a tendency for political entities to separate from the churches. It was difficult to simply determine whether it was good or bad. As no official state religion was established after the French Revolution or the independence of the United States, the separation of church and state was a series of secularization processes.
However, in The Lost World where gods truly existed with significant influence, things were slightly different.
Eldar said, “It may be a little early, but it could get complicated.”
“He definitely doesn’t suck at the game.”
“What?”
“Nothing, I was just talking to myself.”
Sung-Woon could see the writings on the wall. Due to Pruning, those who were juggling between politics and religion—or between Night Sky and the Limitless God—had been weeded out. Those who couldn’t clearly decide on one side tended to disappear the soonest since they would be suspected as spies by both sides. And now that the line between the two sides were clear, the followers of the Limitless God had only a simple task: to bring down the current queen Aranju Dolan by whatever means necessary, as dictated by the Limitless God, the god of Danyum and Satyrs, known as Crampus to the players.
The most bewildered person in this situation was Queen Aranju Dolan. Rebellion within Deimerit against Aranju was only expected. After all, she lacked legitimacy. And above all, she was the one who severed the bloodline that had established Danyum 150 years ago, which had remained in power until now.
Aranju knew that there would be many who wanted to kill her, so she sought understanding from Vasen Lak Orazen of Black Scale and gained a small number of armed escorts that could act if there were signs of a rebellion. As expected, when agitators appeared saying Aranju shouldn’t be queen, the escorts captured them at night when not a lot of people were around, tortured them, identified their backgrounds, and executed them immediately.
Over time, however, things didn’t go so smoothly for Aranju. The number of agitators increased, and it became difficult for the small number of armed escorts to deal with all of them. Aranju considered requesting help from Black Scale’s army, but soon gave up on the idea. If armed rebels emerged, Black Scale would deal with them on their own, but for now, the agitators were only gathering in the square and making noises. Additionally, if Aranju relied on Black Scale for such matters, she knew she would appear weak in their eyes.
‘Even if my safety becomes threatened, I can’t let that happen.’
She couldn’t rely on anything. Therefore, faith was the only thing Aranju could believe in. From generation to generation, like the royal families of other countries, the royal family of Danyum would hold a ceremony to receive a divine message or to prove that they were favored by God. And Aranju believed that holding the ceremony would be enough to silence the agitators.
“Hurry and prepare for the ceremony.”
Danyum priests were summoned to hold the ceremony, and Aranju Dolan attended as queen. At the end of the ceremony, Aranju raised an auspicious mirror symbolizing the god of Danyum with both hands and reflected it upon the people. Something surprising happened then. As soon as Aranju raised the mirror, it shattered, and a sharp fragment fell and left a cut on her face.
The ceremony somehow came to an end with the help of Aranju’s escorts and priests, but even the children at the ceremony knew what the incident indicated.
“The god of Danyum, the Limitless God, has abandoned Aranju Dolan.”
The rumors that Aranju had tried so hard to suppress spread throughout Deimerit, and then beyond its walls to all of Danyum. Aranju herself was more shocked than anyone else. The cut the shattered mirror left on her face scarred, but there was something more painful than that. It was the fact that the god she believed in her whole life had abandoned her.
Aranju couldn’t be considered a faithful follower, but in Danyum, believing in the Limitless God was as natural as breathing air was for land animals and filtering water through their gills was for fish. It would be akin to land animals being rejected by air, or fish being rejected by water, so it was inevitable for Aranju to suffer great pain.
Aranju prayed and waited for a response from her god, but there was no answer.
‘God, are you saying I am wrong? This was the only way to save the country!’
She still believed in the Limitless God, but her god did not answer.
Sung-Woon thought this was obvious. The Limitless God, Crampus, had no choice but to ignore Aranju. If he accepted Aranju, Danyum would be surrendering to Black Scale not only in the practical sense, but also in the procedural sense, which would have significant implications.
Crampus at least had to put up a do-or-die resistance for the other players, but if Danyum stamped the surrender document without any fight, their resistance against Black Scale would become weaker. An open surrender from the queen of Danyum would undermine the spirit of resistance even if there were still Danyum citizens who resented Black Scale. For Crampus’s plan to work, Aranju had to give up on surrendering. In her eyes, however, there was no taking back the declaration of surrender while prioritizing national interests.
In response, Orazen’s support troops and supply units departed from Black Scale, and unless there was a miraculous way to kick all 9000 Black Scale’s soldiers out of Deimerit within a few days, the city would have to face Black Scale’s troops from both the inside and the outside.
Sung-Woon didn’t think Aranju would rescind her surrender, nor die out of her despair of being rejected by God.
“She has a strong heart. After the mirror shattered at the ceremony, her abilities have actually increased. Her Patience has risen a lot. And that is what put Aranju Dolan where she is.”
Eldar replied, “But Crampus must also be aware of that ability. If he wanted her to die, wouldn’t it be better to kill her with a skill or through his creations?”
“Well, that’s because that’s not what Crampus really wants.”
“What? Then why…”
Sung-Woon looked down at Aranju Dolan with interest.
Aranju stared ahead, looking a little dazed as she was lost deep in thoughts.
“He hopes for me to help Aranju.”
“What? You?”
“Yes. This is the perfect time to reach out to Aranju since she needs help. Even if she doesn’t truly believe in me, she could use me if she wanted to.”
“…Are you not going to do it?”
Sung-Woon nodded.
Eldar became more bewildered.
“What? Why not? Because you don’t think she’ll truly believe in you? But once her faith is established and she develops goodwill for you, Aranju’s would open up her heart too.”
“That’s what Crampus wants,” Sung-Woon said. “If word spreads that Aranju Dolan believes in me, Night Sky, it would be easier to expel her from Danyum.”
“Really? But wouldn’t that be better than doing nothing? If Aranju believes in you, she could have your protection, and if that protection continues, she might be able to push out the forces of the Limitless God, Crampus, from Danyum. Outside of religion, the public opinion may become in favor of Black Scale as well.”
Sung-Woon shook his head.
“It seems that Crampus has listened to what I said.”
“What does that mean…?
“I gave him a few pieces of advice.”
Sung-Woon could picture Crampus’s plan in his head. Retracting Aranju’s surrender was plan A, Aranju’s death was plan B, Aranju becoming a follower of Night Sky was plan C, and Night Sky protecting Aranju to the end would be plan D.
“The process of protecting Aranju would be an issue itself.”
“How come?”
“Because I would have to use more of my resources. I’ve already conquered Danyum, but the problem is that I would have to keep paying attention to it. This is also one of the scenarios that Crampus wishes for. It’s a given that sooner or later I would fight Crampus’s remaining forces, but it would be better for him if the battle took place elsewhere.”
“Then…what do we do?”
Sung-Woon smiled underneath his mask.
“We let him know that simply having many plans is not enough.”
“Is it not enough though?”
“Eldar.”
“Yes?” .
Sung-Woon turned to Eldar.
“There needs to be more plans than enemies.”
***
Waking up, Aranju realized that someone was standing in the shadow in the corner of her bedroom. It was still dawn.
Aranju grabbed the sheathed sword at her bedside and quickly got up.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Yan.”
“…Yan?”
Aranju knew of Yan’s name. Yan was a Gnome from Danyum, but had spent lots of time as a wanderer because he was a cursed one. He had a black ear that didn’t look like those of any species, and it was called the Devil Ear.
However, that wasn’t the reason Aranju had heard of Yan. The Gnome was an alchemist. Seeking the knowledge alchemists held, the former royal family of Danyum captured Yan and tried to get it out of him. Aranju had never met Yan herself, but she knew that her father had been a part of the mission to capture him.
“…The alchemist?”
“Alchemist? Ha, not anymore.”
“Did you quit being an alchemist?”
“No.”
Yan walked out from the shadow. Somehow, the corruption of the Devil Ear had become worse; now it almost covered the entire right half of his face. The mysterious change made it seem like he was always smiling.
Yan said, “I have become a greater being.”
“Greater being?”
“I am a Wizard.”
Aranju had vaguely heard about magic. Power that could burn forests, cut mountains, drain rivers, and divide seas. A power used to kill Dragons and fight gods.
“…Didn’t that happen a long time ago?”
“I heard that a young general had become queen. I see that you don’t know about us that well.”
“Are you mocking me?
“Yes.”
Aranju didn’t get angry. Instead, she placed her hand on the sword’s hilt.
Yan walked toward the window while saying, “I got in here, a place the soldiers of Black Scale and Danyum are guarding, with no one the wiser. I can kill you and walk out with no problem.”
“You’re just an old Gnome.”
“Do you wish to test me?”
Aranju wasn’t a coward. She was always ready to test someone’s bluff.
The tip of Aranju’s sword quickly went to Yan’s neck and pierced through it. Taking his words as bluff, Aranju was about to click her tongue, but stopped when she heard Yan laughing. Yan took another step closer to Aranju with the sword through his neck. Aranju was shocked. She pulled out her sword and stepped back.
Yan smiled.
“There’s no need to be so surprised. This is magic.”
Aranju knew Yan wasn’t a ghost. She knew the feeling of a sword passing through flesh, and she saw blood slowly trickling down from the wound on Yan’s neck. Aranju thought she was in big trouble now, but even with the thought in mind, she wiped the blood off her sword with a handkerchief and threw it to Yan.
“Clean yourself.”
Yan slightly lifted his left eyebrow at Aranju’s offer of kindness.
.
“Thanks.”
“For what reason have you come here?”
Yan wiped his neck with the handkerchief and replied, “I will help you.”
“You’re going to help me?” Aranju looked at Yan with suspicion. “…And the price?”
Yan replied, “A country where gods do not intervene.”
Aranju flung her arms.
“That’s ridiculous. Look at the history of species that have disappeared for not believing in any god. And look at the battlefields that the creations of gods have conquered. The king was killed by Lakrak the apostle. Without the protection of a god, no country can survive.”
“What if there is a power that can replace a god?”
Aranju’s mouth slightly opened.
“…No way.”
“There is a way.” Yan walked into the light. “Magic will be at the heart of this country.”