Chapter 549: Between Shadow and Light (1)

War has never been an event whose course could truly be predicted.

There is no way for ordinary people to foresee a sudden, devastating turn of events.

When the war reached its peak, with the Empire and the Ultras shattering each other into ruin, a third force emerged, declaring its presence to the entire world.

The Church possessed enough power to stand alone as a completely separate force, exploiting the current state of exhaustion shared by both the Empire and the Ultras.

From nothingness, flocks of strange angels materialized, blotting out the sky over every wretched soul whose name had been marked on the Purge List.

With Plattier’s message as the signal, the entire world heard his voice—a divine decree that marked the beginning of the cleansing.

As if they had been waiting for his command, the angels’ eyes ignited with a blinding white light before they rained down their sacred fire upon the earth.

Aura bombardments fell without pause, burning and annihilating everything in their path. In mere seconds, the Starlight family’s main estate and the royal fortress of House Valerion were reduced to ashes.

The sound of collapsing stone and tearing steel drowned out the screams of the unlucky souls caught within those holy flames.

Both the Starlights and the Valerions had sent their strongest warriors and soldiers to the frontlines of the war, leaving behind only women, children, the elderly, and the defenseless.

They had no means—none at all—of resisting such a ruthless assault.

The angels’ power varied; aside from the colossal, towering angel that appeared before Frey and his companions, the rest were strong but not beyond the means of families like the Starlights and Valerions to handle.

But the timing was perfect, and the Church played its cards flawlessly.

In mere minutes, thousands of innocent lives were wiped out—condemned as guilty without any crime—only because some unknowable, unseen "divine will" had decreed it so, and the Church’s followers were blind enough to obey without question.

Among the targeted sites, the primary command headquarters—where Ada and Carmen Starlight were stationed—was also struck, erased from existence along with everyone inside.

Some brave souls fought back against the angelic swarms, even managing to bring many of them down, but their efforts were in vain before such a coordinated assault.

Within moments, several areas inside the Empire’s walls—places that had remained untouched by the horrors of war until now—were engulfed in flames.

The Empire’s civilians were now forced into the war whether they wished it or not.

The lucky few spared by the cleansing fled to hide in their homes, peering out their windows at the angels soaring endlessly through the skies, hunting for more victims from the Purge List.

Their eyes functioned like unerring scanners, seeking out anyone connected to the Starlights or Valerions ..whether by blood or by the faintest tie.

Even if these people tried to hide among the crowds, the angels would pick them out instantly and slaughter them, even if it meant killing everyone nearby.

And so, most members of two of the Empire’s great ruling houses—families that had reigned for centuries—were wiped out.

On the other side...

The Ultras fared far better, benefiting from the presence of their main forces nearby, allowing them to fight back and repel the assault.

The Imperians were there ..figures like V and Maria ..personally cutting down many of the attackers.

Even so, the higher Blood Cities suffered greatly, their losses heavy regardless of strength.

Perhaps what enraged them most was that their foes were not flesh and blood, but mechanical in nature ..destroyed completely the moment they were defeated.

The Blood Cities were not the only ones attacked; even the Empire’s scattered armies stationed across the Ultras continent were struck by the fires of cleansing.

In the continent’s western front—where most of the Valerion family resided—Aegon sat atop the corpse of one of the angels, prying into its secrets.

Around him, the Knights of the Round Table cleared the battlefield of the strange creatures that had attacked without warning.

They had been brought down thanks to the combined strength of Ivar Valerion and Luc Valerion ..the younger brothers of Emperor Maekar.

Aegon’s forces had halted their advance for now, taking position in a closed mountain range, remaining on high alert in case of another strike.

Their formation was disciplined, their command wise, their warriors capable—so much so that their casualties were minimal. Out of the thirty thousand men who followed Aegon, only a few hundred had fallen.

Still, the prince was forced to halt, with both Ser Alon and Maekar Valerion far away, engaged in a decisive battle against the Ultras’ elite.

Aegon examined the angel’s corpse with unwavering interest, while Ivar—the current head of the Temple—stood nearby, holding a magic crystal that allowed him to communicate across the world.

One grim report after another poured in, describing the massacres wrought by the Church in their absence.

Their families had been slaughtered.

Their lands reduced to smoldering ruin.

Ivar Valerion was at the peak of his fury, his rage palpable ..manifested in the crackling arcs of electricity dancing around his body.

"Control yourself, Uncle Ivar. Losing your composure now won’t help us," Aegon said, his tone calm, not even looking up at him.

The prince’s focus never left the angel’s corpse, prompting Ivar to step toward him in anger.

"Control myself? How can I, knowing that our family—centuries old—is facing extermination? We marched to war, blind to the serpents of the Church lying in wait behind us! Now they control the Empire entirely, meaning we have no home to return to! We are surrounded by enemies here in the Ultras continent, and more enemies await us in the Empire!"

"We don’t know the state of our armies. We don’t know the Church’s true strength. We don’t know the Ultras’ current situation. We are in complete darkness—so tell me, Aegon, how exactly am I supposed to keep calm?"

"How can you remain so calm in a situation like this—knowing full well that the Empire you’re so eager to rule is being annihilated?" Ivar demanded, his voice sharp.

Aegon answered with the same unshakable composure.

"There’s no use crying over it, Uncle Ivar. The Church played their hand well. No one could have predicted they were hiding a weapon like this up their sleeve. They now have enough power to become a third force in this war. Considering their strength and the timing of their strike... this outcome was inevitable.

Or rather... I thought they would have caused far greater damage."

"If I were the one leading the Church, I would never have attacked now. I would have waited until the war between the Empire and the Ultras ended—then struck the victor directly. And this blind massacre they call ’cleansing’ is foolish. It would be far better to keep some alive, use them as hostages, and bait those of us here into reckless action.

These are simple tactics—just one among countless worse scenarios," Aegon said with a faint smile.

"When you think about it that way, our current situation isn’t all that bad. Uncle Ivar... we should be grateful to the Church for showing restraint."

Hearing Aegon’s twisted logic, Ivar found himself at a loss for words.

No matter how he looked at their current position, to him it was catastrophic in every sense.

But the prince before him was so optimistic, he treated the situation as if it were a blessing. That way of thinking alone was enough for Ivar to regard his nephew as a madman.

"Tell me, Aegon..." Ivar’s expression darkened, his words weighted by a certain possibility.

"You’ve always been the most perceptive among us—nothing that happens within the Empire’s walls escapes your ears. And I doubt the Church is an exception. Are you truly telling me you knew nothing about this attack?"

This suspicion had taken root in Ivar’s heart the moment he’d regained his composure. He was one of the few who knew the prince’s true nature.

Aegon let out a quiet sigh at his uncle’s accusation.

"Uncle Ivar, you’re letting your imagination run wild..."

"I won’t deny that I was aware of the Church’s ambitions. But their hatred of us—and their desire to see us fall—was no secret. That’s why my grandfather attacked them in the first place, isn’t it?" Aegon asked, pressing his point.

"As I’ve already said, there was no way we could have known they possessed such a weapon. They deliberately lowered their heads to us and waited patiently for the perfect moment to strike... and that moment has come. That’s all there is to it."

Aegon’s words sounded convincing .. almost self-evident.

After all, Ivar himself was still shaken by the angels that had descended upon them out of nowhere.