A blue rainbow of light annihilated the city gate.
This was Green-Faced Shura holding back. If he'd unleashed his full power, nothing within a ten-thousand-meter radius would still be breathing.
But his strike alerted every master living within Huttonmar.
The Knights of the Light surged from the church, led by Golantis.
The Huttonmar Magic Advisory Council mobilized.
A full hundred thousand soldiers assembled in short order.
Katie saw things spiraling out of control. She flew into the sky and, before everyone's eyes, fired a single bolt of divine light.
It obliterated a mountain to the north.
The fury in every heart across Huttonmar went cold in an instant.
If that bolt had landed in the city center—
Would their city still exist?
The answer was obvious.
Shalan pressed her trembling lips together. "Hurry—get Her Majesty the Queen. Now."
The situation was beyond anything they could contain. The power of the gods exceeded all human imagination. Even if they tried to assemble the full army, it was already too late. This group numbered only a handful, yet they could erase the entire Duchy of Belmar.
And the goddess who'd arrived on the dragon yesterday hadn't even left yet.
"Yes, President Shalan!"
The soldiers scrambled away.
Others began to curse the Queen. Though Queen Riskadi had governed well on ordinary days, she had made the most foolish decision of her reign today—assuming the airs of royalty in the face of a divine envoy.
The entire Duchy was furious with her.
Moments later, Queen Skadi arrived.
She was slender and had a lovely face.
Katie hadn't expected Huttonmar's queen to be such a beautiful young woman.
"I... I greet the divine envoys. I-I don't know what brings you to the Duchy. We... our waters have never crossed yours..."
Queen Skadi couldn't meet Katie's gaze. Her head was bowed, her voice shaking with fear.
Her whole body trembled.
Katie smiled coldly. "God has decreed that the faith be spread. He sent me here. What do you think?"
Skadi had assumed they'd come to strip her of power.
She hadn't expected it to be merely proselytization.
That was easy, wasn't it?
She'd truly been scared to death.
"As the divine envoy commands. Your orders are supreme."
"Hmph. At least you know your place. You have a decent face—you could become a candidate goddess. As for all residents of Huttonmar, they will worship the gods regularly from now on.
"Those with kind hearts may become priests. And that little girl over there holding the cross—don't be so scared. Just join us."
Katie's tone was absolute. She stripped Golantis's sect of its status on the spot.
Tens of thousands of Holy Light Knights didn't dare breathe.
They knelt on the ground, humiliated.
It wasn't as if they had a choice. Xue Hua, Man Dalin, and the others—all watching—these Knights couldn't utter a single word of protest without defying the will of God.
And defying God meant death.
Just like that, the Duchy of Belmar became the first nation to join the faith.
Katie moved into the cathedral that very day. She destroyed every statue inside, burned every mark and text related to the Holy Light, and began spreading true power in the name of the Eternal Church.
As for Golantis—
After witnessing the divine arts in action, he surrendered from the bottom of his heart.
Their light had only ever been a branch. Not the real thing. That was why they could never defeat the darkness.
But the power of God was different.
It could truly dispel evil.
---
Meanwhile, on the other side—
Shinobu arrived at the night elf empire.
The situation here was better than she'd expected.
Facing the descent of a goddess, Queen Maya extended her welcome, despite the elders of her nation being less than pleased.
"My purpose here is simple—to convey the will of God."
Under Shinobu's explanation, Maya finally understood why this world had fallen into such chaos.
There was no divine governance. Everything had devolved into disorder.
Maya wanted to embrace the faith, but the elders would never agree.
This made her deeply sad.
Shinobu read her mind at a glance and smiled. "Those people? Don't worry about them. I'll have a nice talk with them. I'll definitely achieve my goal."
"And your... method?"
"Kill every last one of those dogs who don't know what's good for them!"
Queen Maya: ...
Why was this beautiful goddess so vicious?
As it turned out, Shinobu's approach didn't actually succeed—because those old fossils weren't stupid.
After a night of deliberation, none of them wanted to be the first to test the goddess's strength.
The result: they surrendered wholesale.
The night elves had no existing religion. Adding one more faith wasn't such a bad deal—especially if it strengthened the group.
And so, the faith took root.
In exchange, Shinobu would help the night elf empire raise the Dark City to the surface.
Dark City was ancient but lonely. If not for Queen Maya's appointment, there wouldn't even be human adventurers visiting.
News of the goddess's arrival spread quickly through Dark City.
Residents who had previously refused to accept Queen Maya's rule were now convinced, one after another. Everyone said that without Queen Maya, the goddess would never have come here. Her presence was proof they were welcome.
The next day, residents from the land and elves of the Dark City gathered to watch Shinobu work.
They expected some grand magic.
Instead, she simply drew a circle in the air with one hand.
A rock-like giant materialized from nothing. It melted into the stone foundations and began lifting the entire Dark City upward, toward the surface.
The sight was staggering.
The whole of Dark City covered twenty square kilometers—yet in the hands of this lava giant, it was a toy.
Queen Maya sighed. "What manner of being is that giant, my lady? How can it possess such power?"
"Just a golem made from divine soil. Nothing special."
The lava giant had no soul. Lucian had created it on a whim—figured if it existed, might as well put it to work. A tool for the sisters to use.
And so the rock giant was born.
The believers reveled, celebrating the magnificence of God's power.
As the rock receded and the earth settled, Dark City stood bathed in brilliant sunlight for the first time.
On the mountains in the distance, a visitor from the Delos Empire watched it all in silence.
"Chief Barn... it seems our mission is a failure."
"Yes. The empire has been abandoned."
Barn spoke with despair.
The messengers of God had descended on Huttonmar. Descended on Dark City. But they had not gone to the Empire.
That said everything.