Got a Gallery in the Wild

“Th-That… what in the world is that…?”

Cardinal Morgan, the Pope’s most loyal servant, could not hide his bewilderment.

When the traitor, Asella, had suddenly appeared, he had been surprised then as well, but at least he had still been able to react.

After all, the Pope had already considered every possibility that might occur.

The Hero was one of them.

But this.

This was different.

He didn’t even know how to describe it.

A statue that appeared to be two or three times taller than the surrounding buildings.

Statues were normally gray.

But this one combined a golden radiance with immaculate white.

Rather than a statue.

It looked like a living giant.

“Is-Isn’t that… Lord Cain…?”

“Judging by its appearance… it’s definitely Lord Cain.”

The Holy Knights were also deeply shaken.

And it was only natural.

The appearance of that statue had been, quite literally.

A divine descent.

It had fallen from the sky, where there had been absolutely nothing, to protect the Hero.

The wings on its back and the enormous shield it held in one hand.

Anyone would recognize Cain.

The first Holy Knight.

The hero who always appeared in Eldorado’s founding myths.

Even if it was only a statue.

Seeing that existence manifest itself right before them was enough to shake their hearts.

— E-Everyone, stay calm! That is also the work of the Immort…

Cardinal Morgan cut himself off.

Could he really call that statue a remnant of the Immortal King?

Or one of his servants?

Cain, who seemed to have descended directly from the heavens in response to the Hero’s call?

The Holy Sword was still shining gloriously where it had been planted.

And Cain remained standing firm, blocking the way.

He couldn’t find a single convincing explanation.

He felt as though everything was collapsing.

Tap… Tap… Tap…

Meanwhile, Asella slowly walked out from within Cain.

The moment she stepped forward, the Holy Knights instinctively aimed their crossbows at her.

Amid that tension.

Asella stopped before the Holy Sword planted in the ground.

Shing!

She drew it.

And pointed it directly toward the Holy See.

It was an openly hostile gesture.

The Holy Knights instinctively took a step back.

But they quickly regained their composure.

Boom… Boom… Boom…

Until Cain began to advance.

And all of their morale collapsed.

It was the statue that had effortlessly blocked both arrows and cannon fire.

If such overwhelming defensive power were turned into offensive force.

They couldn’t even imagine the outcome.

And above all.

They were facing a legendary hero.

After all, they too were citizens of Eldorado.

Doubt began to take root in their hearts.

“E-Everyone, prepare to fire! Don’t fall back!”

The commander shouted desperately.

But their morale had already completely crumbled.

Some Holy Knights even let their crossbows fall to the ground, partially disobeying orders.

The commander began shouting that they would be tried under military law.

That the Pope would punish them.

But all of his shouting was completely drowned out by Asella’s voice.

“Everyone, listen to me!”

It was a clear voice.

And one filled with determination.

Even without using magic or any amplification artifacts, her words echoed throughout the entire square.

Shaaaaa…!

At the same time, the Holy Sword began to radiate a light as brilliant as the sun.

It was a light that revealed the truth.

A light that proved she was not a traitor.

But the Hero.

“Lady Aris has answered our call! And as proof, She has sent us the first Holy Knight, Lord Cain!”

Cain’s statue had descended from the heavens at the moment of greatest despair.

Even if it was only a statue.

It was impossible to deny that someone had sent it with a will of its own.

And there was no need to ask whose will it was.

It could only belong to Eldorado’s true master.

“Lay down your arms! You have committed no sin! The only sinner is the one who ordered you to raise them!”

— That woman is a traitor! Are you going to believe the words of a traitor?!

The Holy See desperately shouted back at Asella’s declaration.

But it was already too late.

Divinity itself had pointed out who represented justice.

And who represented evil.

Many Holy Knights had already begun to doubt because of everything that had happened.

And now.

Lady Aris’s will was manifesting before their very eyes.

They could no longer resist.

Clank.

A Holy Knight let his crossbow fall.

That became the signal.

Clank. Clang. Clatter.

Crossbows.

Swords.

Shields.

The Holy Knights threw all of their weapons onto the ground.

And finally.

The cannons.

They sealed the cannon muzzles to prevent them from firing any further.

“Y-You damned…! How dare you…?!”

“Enough.”

“W-What?”

The commander roared in fury at the sight before him.

But he barely managed to do so.

A Holy Knight interrupted him.

“It’s over.”

“Lady Aris has already revealed Her will.”

“You damned…!”

“Even if we were ordered to fight… we would not obey.”

The commander was on the verge of resorting to force.

But.

“……”

“……”

“……”

Dozens of eyes fell upon him from every direction.

And he shrank back.

After all.

A commander is only a commander as long as he has soldiers willing to follow him.

Without followers.

He was nothing more than an empty title.

In the end.

He had no choice but to remain silent.

There was no one left willing to obey his orders.

“Lady Aris…”

“Forgive our sins…”

The only thing that remained were men crossing themselves and praying.

All of the Holy Knights knelt in unison.

And began to pray.

Watching every Holy Knight lay down their arms.

Asella smiled with genuine joy for the first time.

‘Now…’

That winter in Eldorado.

So short.

And yet so long.

‘At last…’

‘It is over.’

Now.

The time had come for a warm spring to bloom over Eldorado.

***

After Cain’s descent, the situation was resolved with surprising speed.

The Holy Knights completely lost their will to fight, while the protesters’ morale soared.

“B-But… wasn’t the Hero a traitor?”

“Who cares?! She just protected us!”

“The real traitors are those bastards from the Holy See! That damned Pope must have been the one who manipulated everything!”

Naturally, Asella managed to clear herself of the false accusation of being a traitor.

From the protesters’ point of view, it was obvious that she was the Hero.

After all, Cain himself had descended to protect them.

Who could still call her a traitor?

Thus, the protesters entered the Holy See itself and drove out everyone involved.

“Ugh…”

“Uncle Hans!”

“A priest! Isn’t there a priest here?!”

“There are priests everywhere.”

During the operation, they also managed to rescue Hans, who had been subjected to countless interrogations.

However, he had been tortured so brutally that not a single part of his body remained uninjured.

After receiving emergency treatment, Hans was taken to the temple.

Since temples served as hospitals, it was the proper place to treat him.

“Let me go! Do you even know who I am?!”

“What should we do with these people?”

“I don’t know. The Hero will decide.”

“What if we just throw them into the Forest of Four Seasons?”

“That doesn’t sound bad, although we could punch each of them first.”

“Good idea. The problem is that there are too many people waiting in line.”

The Pope, unable to understand the situation until the very end, continued struggling as they dragged him away.

“This is all a conspiracy…! Ugh!”

Smack! Bam! Smack!

Naturally, he ended up shutting up after every protester landed a punch on him.

The citizens wanted to hang him from a noose right then and there.

But they restrained themselves.

Because they knew that wasn’t the right thing to do.

His punishment had to be decided another way.

Just as Asella had said.

The citizens of Eldorado were too kind for their own good.

“What are you going to do with the Holy Knights?”

“First, we’ll have to remove all the commanders. Then we’ll reinstate those the Pope purged.”

“You’re going to have an enormous amount of work. Can you handle it all by yourself?”

Asella nodded with a warm smile.

The Holy See had committed so many atrocities that there were problems to solve everywhere.

Above all, the mass purge of Ludwig’s faction had left enormous gaps within its forces.

As much as possible, she wanted to reinstate them.

But as for Ludwig.

There was nothing she could do.

“When everything settles down…”

“I’ll go bring back my master.”

“And the Savior as well.”

“The Savior? You’re not talking about that person, are you?”

“Yes.”

“If it hadn’t been for him, the Holy Kingdom would have disappeared.”

A group that loses its purpose eventually stagnates.

And stagnant water eventually rots.

As the demons evolved culturally, conflicts diminished, and the figure of the Demon King gradually lost its importance.

But Eldorado stubbornly clung to the idea that it had to defeat the Demon King.

And that very mindset ended up turning Eldorado into a new Demon King.

“From now on, this country can no longer continue to be called Eldorado.”

“…What kind of madness is that?”

“Because that name has been defiled.”

Eldorado was the name personally bestowed by Lady Aris.

But now that it had been stained by everything that had happened.

It could no longer continue to serve as the country’s name.

Therefore, in accordance with Lady Aris’s will, they needed a new name.

“That isn’t a decision I can make by myself.”

“I plan to gather the opinions of all the citizens.”

“Do you know what changing a country’s name means?”

“Yes.”

“It means being reborn as a new nation.”

There was a reason the term “predecessor state” existed.

Even so, they would not completely abandon Eldorado’s identity.

They would continue believing in Lady Aris.

Just as a caterpillar sheds its skin to become a butterfly…

The Holy Kingdom would undergo a similar transformation.

“But before that…”

Asella looked up.

Standing before her was Cain’s gigantic statue.

At that moment, the statue remained standing majestically before the Holy See.

Adults and children alike were doing everything they could to catch a glimpse of it.

For safety reasons, the crowd was being kept at a certain distance.

Only Asella and Reis stood beside it.

“Lord Cain…”

“What will you do from now on?”

At Asella’s question, Cain slowly lowered his head.

That single movement alone conveyed an overwhelming presence.

Moreover, it proved that the statue possessed a consciousness of its own.

She didn’t know whether it was truly the same Cain from ancient times.

But it was surely something very close.

[I shall return to the place where I belong.]

Just as she had expected.

Asella couldn’t hide her disappointment upon hearing the answer.

She wished he would remain there to protect the Holy Kingdom.

But she knew it would be selfish to ask that of him.

“Will you be able to help us again in the future?”

[I will always answer your call.]

That was enough.

Asella smiled.

From that moment onward, Cain would become the Holy Kingdom’s eternal Guardian.

The protector who would answer whenever they called upon him in times of crisis.

Fwoosh!

At that moment, an immense pillar of light descended from the sky.

It was so enormous that it completely enveloped Cain’s body.

Everyone present gasped in surprise.

Only Asella remained calm.

“So you’re leaving now.”

[That is correct.]

“May I ask where you’re going?”

[You already know the answer.]

She already knew.

At least, she had an idea.

But what kind of place was it?

Simply hearing that it was a land inhabited by beings beyond humanity was enough to make anyone want to stay away.

And yet.

Now she was curious.

After all, it had already been proven to be a place worthy of legend.

Swoosh.

Cain’s gigantic body began to ascend within the pillar of light.

Asella slowly raised her head to silently bid him farewell.

[As I have always said…]

Before disappearing, Cain looked at her.

And said.

[I will always answer your call.]

A promise as steadfast as it was reassuring.

Whoooosh!

Cain ascended into the sky along the pillar of light.

Asella watched him disappear into the heavens.

And quietly murmured.

“…Thank you.”

***

“Huff… What a job.”

“Are you done over there?”

“Yes.”

I was completely occupied repairing the roof, right where the statue had blasted through it.

Since it had shot upward at an absurd speed, the hole it left behind was enormous.

I couldn’t even fill it with bricks.

I had no choice but to cover it as best I could with a few logs.

‘What a job to do on such a freezing day…’

But at last, I had finished.

All that was left was to climb down.

Just as I was about to jump back into the cave with all my tools.

Whoooosh!

A rather unsettling sound came from above.

I looked up.

Something small was falling straight toward us.

‘Don’t tell me that’s a meteor…’

Just as I was thinking that.

That meteor-like object crashed onto the cave.

BOOOOOOM!!!

It smashed straight through the roof I had just repaired.

And since it had fallen from the sky, the hole was even bigger than before.

“……”

“……”

Ludwig and I stared blankly at the enormous hole as dust filled the air.

It was so absurd that neither of us could find any words.

What the hell had just fallen?

Suppressing the anger that was beginning to rise, I looked down into the hole.

Clunk. Clunk.

The statue was embedded in the ground, trembling slightly.

Beside it, Lackey stared at the statue with an expression that seemed to say,

‘And what’s this supposed to be now?’

Fortunately, Wonmo, who had been sleeping directly beneath it, hadn’t been hurt.

He was still fast asleep.

‘…What if I just throw it away somewhere?’

Who the hell makes something like this?