Somewhere beyond the empty darkness.
A voice resonates.
It is both sweet and eerie at the same time.
A sensation like a bug crawling across your back—yet, oddly, it doesn’t feel unpleasant.
The conversation unfolds quietly, secretly.
“What’s going on?”
- “The ‘God’ has bestowed ‘authority’ upon us once again.”
“Has Igogoden graced us with blessings once more?”
“Igogoden! Igogoden!”
The will of God is absolute truth and providence, and therefore, must inevitably come to pass.
- “Igogoden! Igogoden!”
“What does God desire?”
- “Has the God been satisfied?”
Satisfied.
- “All is for the sake of Igogoden.”
The beings confirm the remnants of the ‘divine authority’ granted to them to reshape the world.
Then, they manipulate space and… crunch.
Crunch! Crunch!
- “Divine authority!”
“Igogoden’s savory truth!”
Crunching sounds accompany the consumption of divine authority.
By consuming it, they grow.
- “What we need is the sustainable support of God.”
“What does Igogoden desire?”
- “Igogoden desires something new.”
“Something new?”
The being ripples through space, weaving the ‘divine word’ in imitation.
‘Nice job designing the new BM.’
- “New BM.”
“New BM?”
- “Mysterious divine word.”
“The word of God must be deciphered.”
Space twists.
The twisted space utters several characters.
- “‘New.’ It signifies ‘something fresh.’ ‘BM.’ Measurement unknown. More information required.”
The connection between God’s desire for something new and ‘new’ is clear.
Therefore, the conclusion:
“We must prepare something truly new that will satisfy Igogoden.”
“Understood?”
- “All is as Igogoden wills.”
“All is as Igogoden wills.”
***
The grand cathedral of Igogoden, half-collapsed.
From early morning, many people were busy rebuilding the cathedral.
Though they called it rebuilding, it mostly involved fixing broken windows and patching slightly cracked walls.
Most of the damage lay in religious artifacts—statues, paintings, engravings, relics of sacred value.
The building itself was relatively intact, aside from the charred spots where light once streamed, shattered windows, and two broken spires.
So, what became of the broken paintings and relics?
They were…
Whoosh!
“Burn them!”
“These relics of the past are meaningless! Only the new and divine will of God matters!”
“Paintings can be redone! Let us immortalize new miracles in masterpieces!”
“Gwo-men!”
Everything was gathered like trash and burned in flames.
Just yesterday, statues and paintings adorned with countless sacred accolades were reduced to trash, burning in moments.
It couldn’t be helped.
The words of God are absolute.
And God commanded: destroy the old and embrace the new!
In their place, what was being painted anew was the event from just yesterday:
The moment when Saint Erin, who descended upon this land after 200 years, created a new concept—the ‘Holy Knight Platter’—in alignment with the scripture! The grand auditorium of Igogoden’s cathedral was being filled with this scene on the largest visible scale.
Ten renowned painters were already working jointly on it.
In this way, the cathedral, emptied of old things, was naturally being filled with new ones.
Ironically, this revitalization of the cathedral also significantly boosted the local economy in the capital city of Igogoden.
Filling it with new things inevitably meant consumption.
In the past, it might have been possible to demand, “This is the will of God. Offer what you have.” However, in today’s world, such actions would clearly lose the favor of the people and erode the Church’s influence over the imperial family.
In any case, spending money freely was naturally increasing public interest and devotion to religion.
Though Igogodenism still enjoyed the status of a state religion, the pope no longer wielded the absolute power of old.
While it was beneficial for Saint Erin to scatter miracles wherever she went, the reality was that performing miracles was not something one could do frequently.
Seeing this, even the pope enthusiastically supported the adoption of ‘new things,’ leading to the current circumstances.
Among the priests who witnessed the miracles of God, it was the younger generation who most passionately embraced Erin’s declaration and the pope’s proclamation to ‘destroy the old and embrace the new.’
The youth, with their boundless passion for studying the scriptures and their shorter life experiences, were easily captivated by the vivid miracles unfolding before their eyes. It was only natural for them to be enamored.
They soon devoted all their time to proclaiming the new miracles and the word of God they had witnessed, shouting catchy slogans.
“Three facts are?”
“One platter!”
“Three holy knights are?”
“One platter!!!”
“If you still don’t get it?”
“It’s a matter of intelligence!!!”
“E! Go! Go! Den!”
“God! God! God!”
With these energizing chants, the young priests quickly swept through, tearing down ‘the old’ to spread the word of God.
“Is… is it okay for me to work here? I… I haven’t fully studied about the God yet…”
“The rule that only those with devout faith may work is nothing but an outdated relic of the past. Those with ability may do the work they’re suited for. That is the new rule.”
“Thank you… truly!”
For those who had no place to work and couldn’t utilize their skills, this was a lifeline. “I will work diligently—so diligently!”
For instance, the hospitals sponsored by the church dramatically relaxed unnecessary religious rules.
“Are you truly easing these regulations for us…?”
“The one true God, Igogoden, even provided a humble platter of undeniable facts to non-believers. How can we assume that mere creations of God, meant to learn His word, would always make perfect judgments?”
“Thank you… Thank you! From now on, I will serve Igogoden with all my heart…!”
- Those summoned for religious trials, if their offenses weren’t severe, were granted freedom.
“Is it really okay if I don’t study the scriptures…?”
“Compulsory scripture study merely because our church established the educational facilities is an outdated rule of the past. Learn freely what you wish. However, you will come to study the scriptures. The undeniable facts in the air will naturally lead you to them.”
- The mandatory rule for scripture study in educational institutions was also abolished.
The principle behind every action was singular: ‘Push out the old and fill it with the new!’
Old judgments, old rules—everything old was inherently outdated.
Everything new was inherently good!
The sole exception was the Holy Power Pouch.
The Holy Power Pouch, being an incredibly vital element allocated an entire chapter in the scriptures, titled “The Flow of Sacred Power,” transcended the divide of old and new as an absolute entity.
After all, persecuting the scriptures for being ‘old’ was out of the question!
Of course, all these changes were limited strictly to the ‘religious sector.’
The young priests, if left to their own devices, would have smashed every visible ‘old thing’ in the city and replaced it with something new.
However, since the pope’s authority didn’t exceed that of the emperor, such measures weren’t feasible.
In a way, this was an inevitable compromise.
Ironically, the strong reforms were confined solely to the religious sphere, while other areas were left untouched, leading to observations like:
“Doesn’t the Igogoden Church seem a bit different lately?”
“They don’t appear as overly rigid about rules as they used to be.”
“Ever since the Saintess descended, there seem to be more priests doing good deeds.”
“Maybe I should showcase my Holy Power Pouch a little too…?”
The public’s favorability toward the Igogoden Church was steadily rising.
Considering the steep decline in reputation that the Church and religious sector suffered after ‘that incident,’ this could only be called a miracle.
A miracle!
Through the new Saintess, Igogoden had delivered a miraculous message after 200 years, one that was beginning to infiltrate the hearts of the people.
“May the undeniable facts be with you.”
“May the facts accompany you.”
Even those in the capital who had never read a single line of scripture were increasingly recommending the undeniable facts to one another.
More and more people invoked the holy name of Igogoden without hesitation.
At some point, appointing three holy knights simultaneously no longer felt like an issue.
Rather, public sentiment leaned toward, ‘It’s common sense for three to share one platter—why have we only been appointing one knight until now?’
‘Perhaps for that reason?’
She, too, was unshaken upon hearing the news.
This place, a luxurious mansion on the outskirts of the satellite city Leblanc, was known as the cradle of knights.
Inside, a single woman was receiving the ‘divine will’ directly from Saintess Erin.
Her long crimson hair was loosely tied at the ends. Her eyes, a dazzling golden hue reminiscent of pure topaz, shone brightly.
An ornately decorated, luxurious silver circlet symbolized her pride as a knight.
She wore a necklace bearing the symbol of the Igogoden Church, accentuating her large chest.
Though her knightly appearance exuded an imposing aura, perhaps it was the uniquely designed hairpin she wore?
Her exceptional beauty evoked not fear, but familiarity—and even a sense of charm.
This outstanding female knight was Ophel Aichel Transrente.
Erin extended her pure white hand toward her and spoke.
“Lady Ophel Aichel, in the name of God, I humbly request this of you: please become one platter of holy knights to protect me.”
“Please refrain from using the word ‘request,’ Saintess. I have awaited this moment my entire life.”
With these words, Ophel Aichel immediately knelt, bowing her head to the one person in the world chosen by God.
“In the name of God, command me. I, Ophel Aichel Transrente, hereby pledge to become one platter of holy knights to protect the Saintess as her closest blade.”