Chapter 69: One Year Later

One year had passed since that disaster. The people who survived the apocalyptic catastrophe finally enjoyed long-awaited peace, rebuilt their homes, and embraced a new life. In that disaster, humanity lost far too much. Statistics showed that 70% of the empire’s cities were destroyed by those three meteor showers; only large cities with protective systems like Vando were spared, while ordinary small towns and villages had long turned into ruins.

It wasn’t just the empire that suffered severe losses—Saronia was also affected. In just a few months, the total population of the human world in the eastern continent nearly halved. What a devastating loss!

Given that the power of both major human nations had been severely weakened, and considering that barbarians, orcs, and other foreign races seemed to have noticed humanity’s disaster, they gradually began launching probing attacks.

Faced with this dire situation, the empire and the Church set aside their past prejudices, opened their borders, and worked together. These two nations, once at odds, now functioned as one.

Ultimately, at the third summit meeting, the empire’s leaders and Saronia’s cardinals officially reached an agreement to merge the two nations into one: the [Holy Empire].

This was a new kingdom ruled jointly by secular power and divine authority. According to the agreement, the king’s powers were once again restricted; he served only as a nominal ruler, while the actual control of the country rested with nobles led by the Iphorres family (Sassen), Vomisli family (Altak), OGalic family (Galic), the Merchant Association (Operelles), and the Church.

Nobles at both the central and local levels controlled the military, responsible for defending the country, while the Church held supreme judicial power. From punishing nobles to disciplining criminals, everything was handled by the Church’s priests. In addition, the Church gained the right to freely spread its teachings among the people.

After the merger, Sassen, rebuilt from the ruins, was renamed [Hedpal], meaning “holy land.” There, the Church sent a cardinal to hold a coronation ceremony for King Theo once again, signifying the Church’s recognition of him as king.

Under this agreement, the Church established churches in every major city, such as Sassen and Vando. Although they relinquished control over governance, they gained many followers over the course of that year.

The empire gradually evolved into a composite state where polytheism and monotheism coexisted.
Seeing the world return to peace, Dia was genuinely happy, as her husband would no longer leave her due to war, and she no longer had to worry constantly about his safety. He was right by her side…
Oh, right—now Dia should be called Lady Klaest.
“Lady Klaest, are you here to buy groceries?”
“You look great today, respected Lady Klaest!”
“We’ve just gotten a new style of dress that I think would suit you perfectly…”
As she walked through the streets of Vando City, magicians, merchants, and residents all bowed to Dia, who responded with sweet smiles.
After a year of living there, the residents of Vando already knew that this beautiful and gentle woman was the wife of the great magician Volmon Klaest.
What? Who is the great magician Volmon Klaest?
He’s the one who saved the world!
“Ugh!” The enthusiastic residents of Vando made it take Dia several times as long to buy the groceries for the day. Rubbing her cheeks, she sighed tiredly, placed the groceries in the kitchen, and, since it was still early, picked up a magic book from the table and began reading it on the sofa.
“Knock, knock, knock…”
Suddenly, footsteps came from upstairs. Soon after, Thos came down yawning, his upper body bare with a coat hanging over his right shoulder, looking exhausted from lack of sleep.
“Heh,” seemingly noticing Dia reading on the sofa, Thos smiled slightly, walked over to her, bent down, and asked, “What are you reading so intently?”
“Ah!” Startled by his sudden appearance, Dia looked up and gave him an annoyed glance.
Giving her lips a light kiss, Thos sat next to her, put on his clothes, and asked, “What are you reading?”
“Materials for the intermediate magic qualification exam.” Dia shifted slightly, tapped her head, and complained, “The exam is in a few days, but I still can’t remember everything. The Vando Magic Association is very strict!”
“Heh!” Thos couldn’t help but laugh, winked mysteriously, and asked, “Do you want me to teach you a trick?”
“What trick?” Dia asked curiously.
Thos spread his right hand, and with a pop, a goose feather pen appeared in his hand.

Glancing at the goose feather pen and then at her husband’s mischievous smile, Dia immediately understood. She lightly tapped Thor’s chest with her small hand in annoyance.
“What’s wrong? I think it works fine!” Thor said with a smirk as he hugged Dia.
“It doesn’t work fine at all!” Dia retorted angrily, then seemed to remember something, chuckled, wrapped her arms around Thor’s neck, tapped his cheek, and said softly, “Alright, Allen and the others will be here soon. You’d better get ready too. What will it look like if the guests see you dressed like this?”
“Okay, okay…” Thor nodded helplessly.
Just as the two were being affectionate, there was a knocking at the door.
Thor went to open it. As soon as the door opened, a golden sword was thrust at him at lightning speed.
As if expecting this, Thor easily dodged the knight’s sword and said irritably, “Hey, it’s the same every time. Can’t you try something different, Allen?”
Allen, who was outside in casual clothes with a golden cloak, sheathed his knight’s sword and said cheerfully, “I just wanted to test if your skills have declined! — Oh, Senior Dia, you’re getting more and more beautiful!” He gave Dia a brief bow as she walked over.
It had been a year since they last met. He now had a small beard on his chin and appeared even more muscular, exuding a masculine aura.
“Allen, really!” Dia covered her mouth and giggled. Looking at Allen’s wife, Lisa, beside him, she smiled and said, “You must be tired. Come in and sit for a while. I’ll go prepare some tea.”
“No need to bother,” Lisa said, removing her gem-encrusted cloak and giving Dia a polite smile. Then she asked curiously, “Haven’t Scott and the others arrived yet?”
“No,” Dia replied as she headed to the kitchen. “You’re the first ones!”
“Oh!” Lisa nodded and entered the house.
Closing the door behind him, Allen tossed his cloak onto the sofa and said with a laugh, “It seems quite lively at Gallic lately. The barbarians keep coming to cause trouble. I was thinking of inviting that guy to go hunting together, but it seems that won’t happen now. By the way, how are you, buddy?”
“Pretty fine,” Thor shrugged.
“Pretty fine?” Allen laughed oddly, looking at Thor’s odd outfit. He chuckled and said, “Hey, buddy, you’re the dean of Rexox Academy, right? At least pay attention to your clothes…”

“Is it that awkward?” Thors glanced at his clothes, which resembled pajamas.
“Hmm,” Allen rubbed his chin, thinking for a while before saying mockingly to Thors, “This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen…”
“Come on, your taste isn’t much better either!”
Just then, Dia came out of the kitchen with tea. After handing it to Allen and Lisa, she quietly pulled Thors aside and said softly, “While no one else is here yet, hurry up and change your clothes…”
“Isn’t this fine?”
“It is fine,” Dia said helplessly, “but it would be better to change. Go now…”
Shaking his head, Thors reluctantly headed toward the stairs.
At that moment, there were knocks at the door again…
—Meanwhile, at Heliorix Academy—
In the hallway, two professors carried the grades of the students for the day and knocked on the dean’s office door.
“Come in!” came a very authoritative voice from inside the room.
Hearing that voice, the two professors swallowed nervously and exchanged glances. One of them whispered, “Oh no, it’s Dean Belial…”
“Mm!” The other professor nodded awkwardly, carefully pushed open the office door, and, looking at the person sitting behind the desk reviewing documents, said softly, “Dea—Dean… these are this year’s students’ grade reports…”
Belial, dressed in a black magic robe, stopped writing, frowned at the stack of papers in the professors’ hands, nodded, and said, “I see. Put them here. Is there anything else?”
“Well…” One of the professors hesitated for a moment before taking out a stack of invitations from his pocket and saying with his head down, “These are invitations from the nobles of Sason. They ask you and Dean Volmon to attend a ball in Sason…”
“I’m not interested!” Belial didn’t even lift his head. Continuing to review documents, he said indifferently, “Throw them away. And tell those idiots that if they dare send me such boring things again, I’ll kill them!”
“Yes, yes…” The two professors instinctively wiped the sweat from their foreheads.
“Is there anything else?”
“No… nothing else…”
“Go now!”
“Yes!” The two professors hurriedly placed the documents on the desk and left the room with visible relief.

Watching them leave, and then glancing at the pile of documents on his desk, Belial showed signs of annoyance. He picked up the teacup beside him only to find it already empty. With a thud, he slammed the cup back on the desk, clenched the quill in his hand, and cursed angrily, “That bastard…” His words were abruptly cut off.

“Giggle, giggle, you must be working hard!” Suddenly, giggling sounds filled the office. Belial glanced at the woman who had appeared in the office at some point and said indifferently, “I think I’ve warned you many times—stop bothering me, Lilith!”

“Hey, I came here out of kindness to see you…”

“Then please enter through the front door!”

“Alright!” Under Belial’s speechless gaze, Lilith opened the door and left, only to re-enter a second later, smiling at Belial and saying, “Are you satisfied now?”

Belial felt exhausted. Holding his forehead, he snapped, “What exactly do you want, Lilith?”

Lilith stepped forward in a few strides, resting her hands on the desk, leaning slightly forward as she looked into Belial’s eyes and said seriously, “I want you to be my man, Belial!”

Belial was stunned, opening his mouth in shock before staring at Lilith foolishly. Suddenly, he pressed the alarm button on the desk.

After hurried footsteps, a professor rushed in, panting, “Is… is there anything you need, Dean?”

Belial pointed at Lilith and said calmly, “Miss Telvitz is leaving!”

“Oh?” The professor looked at Belial confusedly, taking two seconds to realize before politely saying, “Then, let me see you out…” But he was interrupted before he could finish.

Lilith’s face showed anger as she slammed the desk and shouted, “Belial, what do you mean?!”

Belial met her angry gaze unflinchingly. Though he was no longer the powerful Belial of once, his determination remained unshaken. After staring at each other for over ten seconds, for some unknown reason, Lilith’s expression softened. She glared at Belial resentfully before turning to the professor, a strange red glow in her eyes as she said in a deep voice, “Go out and tell everyone not to come in!”

“Yes…”

Staring at Lilith’s eerie eyes, the professor seemed to be controlled, nodding mechanically before walking out in a dazed state.
“Hmph!” Lilith glanced at Belial triumphantly. Her message was clear—no one could force her to leave if she didn’t want to!
Seeing the pride in Lilith’s eyes, Belial shook his head speechlessly. He put down his pen, crossed his arms, and frowned. “What exactly do you want, Lilith? Don’t think I’m afraid of you. Even though I’ve lost most of my power, if you underestimate me, I’ll make you pay a heavy price!”
Lilith sat half on the desk, looking down at Belial from above. She laughed softly and said, “How could I possibly underestimate you? Belial, you’re a man who can pose a threat to the Ancient Will…”
Belial snorted coldly. “Good to know.”
Suddenly, Lilith leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands as she gazed at Belial. She exhaled a faint, fragrant breath and said softly, “I like strong and passionate men. Belial, I want you to be my man…” As if noticing Belial’s attempt to pull the alarm again, she laughed lightly and said, “It’s useless. No matter how many people you call in, I can still send them away…”
“You…” Belial tapped his forehead in frustration. Watching Lilith smile at him, he said strangely, “I remember you should hate me…”
“Yes,” Lilith replied without any hesitation, complaining, “The first time, I just wanted to find out more about you, but you hurt me without saying a word…”
“Is that so? I remember it was you who used divine power to control my subordinates.”
Lilith opened her mouth in silence before retorting angrily, “Fine, let’s say that. Though your first impression of me was terrible, when I learned you wanted to destroy this world for the woman you loved…”
“That’s my sister!” Belial defended himself with an inexplicable sense of embarrassment.

“Is that so?” Lilith chuckled as she glanced at Belial, waving her fingers and giggling. “You can trick others with such words, but not me. I’m an apostle who can control people’s emotions… You’re doing this because you love her, not because of some sibling relationship…” At that, she sighed softly and said self-mockingly, “I used to think love was fake, a product of self-interest, but you’ve shattered my old beliefs…”
“…”
“Be my man, Belial!”
“Impossible!” Belial rejected it outright, decisively, with no room for negotiation.
“Why?” Lilith sat up angrily, frowning at Belial. “I can allow you to miss your beloved sister, as long as you share half of that sincere feeling with me…”
“Hey!” Belial couldn’t help but laugh, pouting. “Can feelings really be divided in half?” Seeing Lilith’s expression hinting at anger, he changed the subject. “Calm down, Lilith. I’m just a manifestation of energy right now. My true form has merged with that kid, Sos…”
“Don’t try to fool me,” Lilith interrupted coldly. “I spent a year observing you. Do you think I can’t see through it? When you merged with Sos, I admit, you could indeed be seen as one entity at that time. But when you separated, you became two different beings. You’re not surviving on his magic at all. The part of power that belongs to you will return to your body, just like now…” As she spoke, a faint red glow appeared in her eyes. Yet after that red glow, nothing unusual happened to Belial.
“Right?” Looking at Belial, who was speechless, Lilith chuckled. “Even if you’ve lost most of your power, you’re still a strong one who wields the Source Energy. If you truly had no power left and were just a manifestation of energy, how could you possibly not be under my control?”
Seeing the pride in Lilith’s eyes, Belial chuckled lightly. Suddenly, a faint blue glow appeared on his body. Before Lilith could react, with a whoosh, Belial disappeared, leaving the office silently through his masterful magic.

“That bastard!” Lilith instinctively rushed to the window and looked outside, but she couldn’t spot the slightest sign of Belial. After all, he was a master of space magic—traveling thousands or tens of thousands of yards through space was nothing to him at all.
“Damn it!” Stomping her foot in anger, Lilith shouted out the window, “Wait for me, you bastard! I won’t give up!” With that, her body turned into a wisp of dark energy and disappeared.
Hearing that furious shout, Belial, who was lying on the roof of Rex Castle, shook his head slightly. He gazed at the blue sky, propped his head in his hands, and sighed silently.
“Maybe one day we’ll meet again in some corner of the world… Really? If that happens, I’ll keep waiting, forever—no matter how many years pass, ten years, twenty years, until I die and become a soul, until even that soul is erased…”
By dinner time, Thors’s house was already packed with guests—all familiar friends: the Allens, the Scotts, Ulrich, Nina, and others. It was the day they had agreed to gather.
For this gathering, not only Allen and Scott but also Ulrich and Nina, who had been traveling, returned to Vando. Notably, Ulrich had gone to Salonia and, with Thors’s recommendation, had become an apprentice monk. Nina, on the other hand, had gone alone to the cold northern lands with the aim of practicing her faith, searching for the legendary place where thunderstorms raged all year round. Unfortunately, she had yet to find this supposed home of the golden dwarves.
Before dinner, Allen spoke to Scott with a hint of pride about the knight order he had rebuilt. Due to Scott’s remark that he was a nouveau riche, the two started arguing again after a long time—perhaps this was the epitome of their so-called friendship.
Apart from Lisa, Lailira, Dia, and Nina, Katerina was the only female among the guests. This girl from Salonia, one of the papal delegates, remained at the Sassen church branch. She was already a qualified nun, but her personality remained as timid and shy as before. She listened quietly as Nina recounted stories from the north, occasionally smiling, but never interrupting.
Like her, Edi, Gert, Geller, and other of Thors’s friends from Salonia had also become full-fledged clergy members and stayed in Sassen. Unfortunately, since they belonged to the Holy Crusaders, they couldn’t attend today’s gathering.

While getting things ready for dinner, Nina mentioned that she would be traveling again in a few days, which surprised Thos slightly.
“Can’t you stay a few more days?”
Hearing her brother’s pleading question, Nina couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Glancing at Dia’s cheerful face as she greeted the guests, she lightly tapped Thos’s forehead with a strange expression, then wrapped her arms around his waist and whispered, “As long as I know you’re doing well, that’s enough for me… Don’t worry. I’ll come back every year…”
“Nina…”
“What’s that expression?” Nina looked up at Thos with a smile, about to pinch his nose, but suddenly heard Dia approaching and quickly let go.
“Thos, where are the dishes I asked you to wash?”
“…Here!”
“Give them to me! — Nina, go sit outside for a while. Thos, you don’t need to rush either. Leave the rest to me.” Seemingly unaware of Nina’s awkward expression, Dia took the dishes from Thos.
“Uh, okay…” Nina nodded with an awkward look. When she looked up, she met Thos’s slightly embarrassed gaze. They exchanged a look and fell silent.
After about ten seconds, to ease the awkwardness, Nina changed the subject. “Where’s Beilia?”
“That guy’s never interested in such things,” Thos said, shaking his head boredly with a sigh. “Although he survives as half-human and half-soul, he no longer has the spirit he once had. If I hadn’t handed over all the affairs of the Rexox Academy to him, he’d be overwhelmed by his longing eventually… Now, he mostly uses work to distract himself…”
“You say that, but it’s clearly because you want to slack off!” Nina glared at Thos irritably, making him feel embarrassed.
After laughing a few times, Nina suddenly asked, “Where’s Lavia?”
Thos shook his head and said in a strange tone, “Of course I invited her, but she won’t come…”
Thos was right. Lavia ultimately didn’t show up. Perhaps she was still concerned about what had happened here before, which left Lisa and Lelira feeling a bit disappointed.
However, halfway through dinner, there was suddenly a knocking at the door.
“Could it be Avi?” Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing, urging Thos to go open the door himself.

In the end, Allen almost forced Thors to open the door. To everyone’s surprise inside, there was no sign of Ravia outside—only a baby wrapped tightly in clothes on the steps outside, a chubby and adorable baby.
“This…” Allen, who had expected to watch a spectacle, was stunned. He showed a hint of anger, frowning and saying, “What kind of parents would do such a thing?” Then he rushed outside but saw no pedestrians on the street.
“That’s really cruel…” Dia, with a sympathetic expression, took the baby from Thors, who was confused, and gazed at the sleeping infant with maternal affection.
“He’s so cute…” The women inside gathered around, unable to resist reaching out to pinch the baby’s soft cheeks.
“It’s a boy,” Lisa murmured with envy, “To abandon such a cute child—what cruel parents… Huh?” Suddenly, she noticed a note tucked inside the baby’s clothes. She picked it up curiously and said, “Hmm, there’s the baby’s name here…” Then she covered her mouth in shock, looking incredulous.
“What’s wrong?” Anticipating something interesting, Allen took the note from his wife and glanced at it. His expression froze, his eyes wide in disbelief.
“What’s going on?” Thors asked in surprise, trying to look, but Allen blocked his view with his right hand.
Allen glanced at the confused Thors, then at the baby in Dia’s arms, coughed oddly twice, and said with a smile, “This little rascal has a pretty nice name—Horp Womisley Klaest!”
“Klaest? That’s not…” Scott and Ulric instinctively turned to look at Thors, shocked.
“Womisley?” Laryla covered her mouth in shock, staring at the baby in Dia’s arms in disbelief.
That’s not…