<h4>Chapter 113: The Holy War (2)</h4>


    The Inquisitor was the title of the first-generation Hunter who had been active since the Tower’s early days. Many people had rushed into the Tower, ruining countries before they could be built. However, the blonde psychopath resolutely hunted down all the extremists and stabilized the Tower.


    “I perceive Constetions as otherworldly deities!” the religious wars specialist said with a bright smile.


    He currently managed all of the religions of Earth under the name of the Pantheon.


    “Simply put, a deity is aw! For example, there are thews of physics from our world, Earth. Thews of physics are like the Windoxs operating system that’s installed on every device, so there’s nothing special about it! And it really isn’t special in our world either!”


    “Uh, there are nuclear weapons and guns, right?”


    “As I said, thews of physics are fundamental everywhere! So nuclear weapons and guns are things that can pop up in any world if their technology is developed enough!”


    However, the Inquisitor exined that in ces where magic and miracles weremon, it was difficult for technology to develop based purely on physicalws, so nuclear weapons and guns may be developed muchter. Still, it wasn’t impossible for them to be invented in another world.


    Well, there was in fact an apocalyptic book that was destroyed in a nuclear war. The genre of <i>Space Iron Knight’s Epic</i>, now our twenty-third floor, was also science fiction...


    Was Earth the weakest of the worlds? I could understand that since magic and Skills were notmon before the Tower rose out of nowhere, but it still felt strange to hear that my home, Earth, was weak. Was this what patriotism felt like? No, what was support for my home called?


    “But, as you said, it’s true that guns and nuclear weapons are as powerful as they are! If youunch barrages of attacks using those two, you can easily defeat most Constetions’ apostles!”


    “I see.” Raviel tapped the corner of her mouth with the tip of her fan. “Since thews of physics are everywhere, that means that they’re all affected by physical forces.”


    “That’s correct! It’s natural that someone who’s a non-physical entity can’t exercise physical force in any way, and if they’re physical entities, it’s also reasonable for a physical attack to work on them! But the question of effectiveness remains—they may take the impact fully or reduce it somehow.”


    The Guardian looked impressed.


    <i>—Huh, that guy is pretty smart.</i>


    <i>Does it sound usible to you, Mr. Sword Emperor?</i>


    <i>—Yeah, that’s why the Constetion Murderer could crush Shiny using his aura. And I only trained my sword, but I didn''t get pushed around. After all, that boss of the ck Dragon Guild was able to roast Preta withser beams. Physical force is based on very powerfulws.</i>


    <strong>[Shiny nods sadly.]</strong>


    <i>—You could say that a Constetion’s ss is determined by how closely they adhere to or deviate from thews of physics.</i>


    I wondered what that meant; fortunately, the Inquisitor had an exnation forting:


    “The part about reducing the physical impact is surprisingly important! It means that although it follows thews of physics, it isn’tpletely bound to them! And you may wonder how that’s possible—”


    “I guess it’s because each Constetion has their ownws, and the apostles use their Constetions’ws to oppose thews of physics.”


    “Oh! You catch on quickly! I guess that’s expected from the Death King’s spouse!”


    “You’re stating the obvious,” my duke answered.


    I was confident that her adorableness alone made this small tactical meeting worthwhile.


    <i>—Zombie, focus. This is the moment that will decide whether this world will be destroyed or not, you know.</i>


    <strong>[Shiny jumps up and smacks you in the back of the head..]</strong>


    <i>Wow, I pity you guys for not knowing the beauty of love.</i>


    <i>—Oh, drop the bullshit already, Zombie.</i>


    <strong>[Shiny looks at you like you’re a rotten fish.]</strong>


    <i>Shiny, you don’t have eyes.</i>


    <strong>[Shiny tells you to look at the jewel attached to her sheath.]</strong>


    I did what she said, and the jewel’s color turned somewhat opaque.


    <i>Okay, I’ll restrain myself.</i>


    <i>—And concentrate.</i>


    <i>I will,</i> I answered.


    <i>1. Each Constetion has their ownws.</i>


    <i>2. Their apostles follow their Constetion’sws.</i>


    “For example, what kind ofws do they have? Can you give us an example?” I asked.


    “Hmm! For example, there is a Constetion called Babbit.”


    The Inquisitor further exined that Babbit was also called the God of Love.


    “This Constetion interprets everything in the world as romance. In a world ruled by Babbit, power and wealth are meaningless! A person’s strength is determined by their romantic force.”


    “Romantic force? What’s that?”


    “It’s faster to show you!” The Inquisitor made a hand seal. “<i>Divine Form: Emotional Spirit.</i>”


    Light spread out from the Inquisitor’s hands. It wasn’t just white but reddish... a little pink. It rose from his hand in a thick, perfume-like fog.


    “Haha! It’s temporary, but I manifested Babbit’s holy ground here! Try anything, Mr. Death King!”


    “Mmmm...” I looked around awkwardly.


    It waste at night. The Inquisitor, Raviel, and I were in her vi to discuss tactics for the invasion that would start after ten days.


    “... Aside from the pink fog, not much has changed,” I murmured.


    It was then that the Inquisitor tripped on my foot. “Excuse me!”


    I lost my bnce and somehow ended up grabbing Raviel’s wrist. Both of us fell to the floor with Raviel on her hands and knees above me as if she were making a move in bed.


    Raviel looked down at me. “Gong-Ja, disying our love like this in front of others is inappropriate.”


    “Uh, uh... Uh, no! No! No, Raviel! I didn’t mean to grab you...!”


    “Hahaha.” The Inquisitor beamed. “It’s the scene you often see in romance novels!


    “Mr. Inquisitor, this is...?”


    “In Babbit’s holy ground, every action leads to the development of romance! When someone falls, they don’t just fall down. People around them fall together! For example, if Mr. Death King is wearing a dress shirt and drinks water, there’s a ny-five percent chance that he’ll spill the water and his shirt will be transparent! And it’ll be inevitable for the people around him to feel their hearts flutter when they see that!”


    Oh my god. What kind of Lovecraftian horror was that?


    “In short, the world on a holy ground is reinterpreted and people are brainwashed. The same goes for the great library we were in just a moment ago! The Indoor Librarian interprets a world as a book and we’re forced to be its characters.”


    The Inquisitor made the hand seal again and the pink fog on the floor disappeared. I crawled out from under Raviel, my face flushed.


    “We will defeat those who have their ownws withws that we can use,” the Inquisitor dered with a wide smile. “That is how I see this holy war against the Constetions!”


    “Hmm, then how should we handle it? We have ten days.”


    “I first need to know which Constetions we’re dealing with! As you can probably guess from what I’ve said so far, the way to deal with them varies depending on thews of the Constetions in question!”


    “He has a point. It’s extremely important to know the enemy before going into a war.” Raviel chewed the tip of her fan.


    The Inquisitor nodded in agreement. “Yes! So exactly which Constetions’ apostles are invading this world in ten days?”


    “Would you be able to tell which Constetions they are?”


    “Absolutely, if you have their real names! I can look them up using my Skill, <i>Pantheon</i>!”


    I looked at the young man in front of me—no, he was possessing Lady Goldencup, so was that more urate to call him a youngdy? Anyway, I remembered what I knew about him.


    When I was fighting Preta on the thirteenth floor, I had been screaming “Me, irvoyant!” a lot. At the time, the ck Witch had said that the Inquisitor was also knowledgeable about religions of different worlds, although it was mainly possible because of his Skill.


    <i>Alright.</i>


    “...Would it be possible to infer their real names using their titles?”


    “It’s possible if they’re famous!”


    If that was the case...


    “They’re the Ruin-Harvesting Cow, the Eternal ins Warhorse, and the Immortal Happiness Preacher.”


    “Ruin-Harvesting Cow is Mutia. Mainly oversees destruction and recreation. Her power is simple but powerful.” The Inquisitor rubbed his chin.


    “How does that Constetion fight, usually?”


    “She can freely use very strong physical force! She uses her physical force to destroy a wide area or dismantle the bonds that hold things together... Oh, I guess it’s possible to reassemble the bond and create a golem. It’s very rare, but she can use her power on time since time is also physical!”


    As expected, it looked like Lady Goldencup, the female lead of this apocalyptic book, was given a second chance using Mutia’s power. The apostle of a Constetion from a different world had been here all along.


    <i>Is that why the Indoor Librarian chose this world as an apocalyptic book?</i>


    To put that in the Indoor Librarian’s terms, this book had already been tempered by another Constetion, giving him the opportunity to intervene. Was that how that was? Or was it because there were no Constetions in this world as Raviel said?


    <i>The former reason seems more like him than thetter.</i>


    @@novelbin@@


    “The Eternal ins Warhorse is Mahos’ title. He governs duels and war. His power is innovative but strong too!”


    “Is it something like, people won’t be able to refuse a challenge for a duel in his holy ground?”


    “Yes! He can also spread battle fever so those who catch it won’t fear dying in battle! Or, with his help, people can gain insights into tactics! Oh, it’s also possible to use his power the other way around. By banning war itself, he can force peace on the people inside his zone. The usage of power like this is also an extremely rare case!”


    “He oversees both war and peace... that sounds a little strange,” I muttered.


    Raviel smiled softly. “What is so strange about it? Peace is nothing more than the state in which war has ceased, so it’s natural that he can force both war and peace.”


    “Once again, you understand perfectly!” The Inquisitor smiled from ear to ear. “But I’m not sure about the Immortal Happiness Preacher’s real name! It seems like that Constetion isn’t very famous!”


    <i>An unknown Constetion... Not being famous means the Constetion is weak, so maybe that’s an advantage?</i>


    Shiny trembled.


    <strong>[Shiny requests that you ask him if he knows about the Goddess of Protection.]</strong>


    <i>Shiny... You told me to focus on the meeting...</i>


    <strong>[Shiny says that is a very important matter!]</strong>


    <i>What is wrong with you...?</i>


    <strong>[Shiny adds that it is solely for the purpose of determining the uracy of the Inquisitor’s information about the Constetions.]</strong>


    <strong>[Shiny deres that she has no selfish intentions whatsoever!]</strong>


    “... It’s slightly off topic, but do you know anything about the Goddess of Protection?”


    “Ohh.” The Inquisitor smiled. “Goddess of Protection is Hwia’s title! As the name suggests, she primarily oversees protection and immortality! She’s quite a powerful deity, but my Skill <i>Pantheon</i> states that she has lost her power for some reason.”


    <strong>[Shiny says the Inquisitor is a true expert and can be trusted!]</strong>


    Raviel frowned. “Gong-Ja, why is that sword suddenly shining like that? It’s hurting my eyes.”


    “Hold on. I’ll wrap it up...”


    <strong>[Shiny screams and asks you to stop.]</strong>


    So I—and only I—could confirm that the Inquisitor’s information was urate thanks to the former Constetion, Shiny.


    Raviel rested her chin on the tip of her fan. “This is difficult... There is one enemy of each type and three enemies in total.”


    “Each apostle can borrow a different amount of their Constetion’s power, so it’s moreplicated than that!”


    “Still, we have some general information about our enemies. Thank you for sharing.”


    “Haha, saving this world will also benefit the Tower! It’s more efficient to help you!”


    “Is that so?”


    “Yes! And my Divine Forms can be used to borrow the power of most deities I know the real names of! With the addition of your strengths, we’ll surely find an answer!”


    At the mention of “your strengths,” Raviel and I looked at each other intently and spoke at the same time.


    “It’s love.”


    “Love.”


    There were probably many people who were better at fighting than us, and we were definitely not the smartest in the world. But the one thing we could be confident of was that our love was stronger than anyone else’s.


    “... Huh?” The Inquisitor tilted his head. “Strange. Mr. Death King, seeing the two of you all lovey-dovey together makes my heart tingle and ache a bit. I’ve never felt like this before. What could it be?”


    “You’re having a heart attack.”


    “I also heard that my immersion level has increased! What do I do about that?”


    I sighed quietly. “...First of all, please be careful about that immersion level.”


    We were going to get nowhere if Goldencup consumed the Inquisitor before the holy war. I had exined this to Raviel already.


    “The love I just mentioned has another meaning besides the one you think of generally,” Raviel said.


    “What would that be?”


    “I’m sorry, but I can’t share that. Let’s say it’s a kind of secret weapon.”


    “Hmmmmm. I won’t be able to take all variables into ount while nning our strategy...”


    “Let’s discuss the basic strategy without it. It’ll be okay. As I wield significant influence in this world, I can ce a considerable amount of security wherever I want at the wedding hall. I can also borrow His Majesty’s special force...”


    “Oh, how strong are they?”


    Raviel and the Inquisitor sat across from each other and continued their conversation.


    <i>It works.</i>


    Though one of them now was different on the inside, they used to be love rivals. Seeing them harmoniously working together to prepare for the imminent battle gave me a strange sense of optimism.


    <i>This will absolutely work!</i>


    And the Guardian had to throw a wet nket on it.


    <i>—Gong-Ja, wake up. You can’t take three apostles lightly.</i>


    <i>How serious is it, roughly?</i>


    <i>—One and half Pretas on the twelfth floor are trying to knock down your front door.</i>


    That was a very innovative unit of measurement.


    <i>Preta used to be a Constetion, and we’re dealing with apostles. Shouldn’t an apostle be weaker than a Constetion?</i>


    <i>—She was one of the most low-level Constetions. Based on your Tower’s rank system, I guess her level would be roughly D.</i>


    <i>Even when she was on the twelfth floor?</i>


    <i>—Yup,</i> the Guardian bluntly replied. He picked at his ear. <i>Well, since it’s you, I’m not worried. No, should I say that I’m not worried because it’s you two.</i>


    He nced at Raviel. Since he had spent a long time with me, he had probably guessed what the secret weapon Raviel mentioned was. I had an idea too. Therefore, I didn’t think we would fail to stop the invasion.


    <i>—But, Zombie, you want to clear the stage with zero casualties, don’t you?</i>


    <i>Yeah, I do.</i>


    <i>—If that’s the case, you’ll really have to rack your brain. Let’s say that smart boy and your spouse will take care of the tactical part. You’d better develop your personal fighting skills as well.</i> The Guardian looked down at me with his arms crossed. <i>Now that I think about it, your Hunter ss is also D, right? You don’t n on staying at that level forever, do you?</i>


    Of course I wasn’t.


    ***


    Ten days passed by quickly.


    “It’s finally the wedding day!”


    In the empire, wedding ceremonies were held in the evening. Marriage was the union of the sun and the moon; it was said in the empire that nothing represented a wedding better than the evening sky, where the light of the two celestial bodies blended together. The clearer and redder the sunset was, the better wedding day that was. Today was one of those days.


    “You look marvelous today, Your Grace!”


    Surrounded by servants, I was experiencing a strange feeling. Five servants were fussing over me like beetles on a tree, dressing me up. They constantly threw cringepliments like, “How can he be so handsome!” and, “Her Grace is so lucky!”


    I was about to lose my mind.


    “Well, thank you for everything. I’m really grateful, but can you please tone it down a bit with thepliments...?”


    “No, no!” the servants resolutely responded. “You should be the best-looking groom in the empire, at least for today! Even if frugality and humility are virtues, you shouldn’t pursue them right now! The only virtue you should pursue today is beauty!”


    Ah, I was no stranger to this kind of moment... It was the same as when the ck Witch and the other leaders of the Five Guilds were making a fuss about my photoshoot... Of course, some things were different from back then.


    “Congrattions on your wedding, Your Grace,” an old gentleman with a handsome beard said as he stepped into the dressing room.


    I was confused because I didn’t know who he was.


    Seeing my reaction, the old gentleman smiled bitterly. “I’m your foster father. I hold a minor position and do some chores for the imperial family. I’ve heard a lot about you from Her Grace, the new Duke of Ivansia.”


    “Oh...”


    Oh my god. This was my father whom I had never met before!


    “N-nice to meet you. Umm, so, uhhh...”


    “Please feel free to call me father. Don’t worry, I know that you don’t think of me as your father and I’ll never use my status to disturb the ducal family.” The old gentleman bowed politely. “I n to retire after this wedding. She was very considerate, haha—I have nothing to worry about after my retirement.”


    I sighed. How much effort had Raviel put in for today? I couldn’t even begin to fathom it.


    For the first time in my life, I said, “... Father.”


    “Yes, the soon-to-be Moon of Ivansia.”


    “I have no ties to high society and I am ayman in politics, so I’m not up to date with what the empire is like now. So I would like to ask what the people of the empire say about this marriage.”


    “It can be summed up as a series of shocks,” the old gentleman politely informed me. “The marriage of the duke of Ivansia is no less important than that of royalty, so preparing it within a single month is supposed to be extremely difficult. And she broke off her engagement with His Highness and then inherited her father’s title, but either way...”


    He trailed off because it was bing quite noisy outside the dressing room. I could hear the guests murmuring.


    “... Either way, it would have been impossible if Her Grace hadn’t been able to persuade His Majesty.” The old gentleman stroked his beard and smiled. “Your Grace, your spouse is a truly capable woman. It’s a blessing for the empire that she’s loyal to His Majesty. Even though we became father and son just for today, if I may, I would like to say...”


    The old gentleman narrowed his eyes and began to emanate energy so powerful that it was almostparable to the Sword Star.


    “Judging from how Her Grace made use of my other position and the security arrangements for the wedding, I don’t think today will go very smoothly.”


    As soon as thest word left the lips of the imperial chief steward—who was also the captain of the Imperial Special Force—the murmurings outside the dressing room turned into screams.


    <i>—Zombie, get ready.</i>


    I looked out the window.


    <i>—They’re here.</i>


    <strong>[The apostle of the Ruin-Harvesting Cow has appeared.]</strong>


    <strong>[The apostle of the Eternal ins Warhorse has appeared.]</strong>


    <strong>[The apostles of the Immortal Happiness Preacher have appeared.]</strong>


    In the red sky, where the light of the two celestial bodies blended together, the sunset crumbled away and the enemies all of us had been waiting for appeared.