Chapter 1038: Origins of the Holy White Empire (2)

Chapter 1038: Chapter 1038: Origins of the Holy White Empire (2)

"Ptuah! Their disgusting doctrine has nothing to do with Light." Dark spat in disgust, immediately letting his children know that despite claiming to be servants of Light the Holy White Empire and their Church of Light were the furthest thing from it. His friend was not the monster these animals claimed him to be.

"That’s true, Lord Light is benevolent, accepting and a beacon for diversity. He would never in a million years support such a disgusting and harmful ethos." Izuna was quick to nod her head and agree with Dark, knowing full well that Light himself hated the Church of Light more than anyone.

"...Then why do they claim to follow his will?" This aspect confused Frost greatly, if they had nothing to do with Lord Light and if even the man himself condemned their actions how could they claim to be his servants, his followers.

"Because they believe they are. Even with Light’s open denial and condemnation of their actions the relic which is borne of his essence distorts their worldly view and therefore makes them believe they are in fact carrying out what they deem as his true will." Dark answered with a shrug and exasperated sigh, regardless of how vehemently Light chastised the Church of Light they refused to believe in anything but the grace of the relic.

Frost, Agar and Indra were curious to learn more about the relic but Dark ushered Izuna to continue the history lesson. "Carry on Izuna."

"Yes Lord Dark." Izuna took a deep breath, readying herself to continue the story of the Crusian Empire and the terror that was the Holy White Empire.

"Back then the world was much stronger, S-ranks were far more abundant so much so that even the Crusian Empire, a nation considered to be weak in terms of military power had several under its employ. A 2nd uncle of mine was one of them and it’s from him that most of our clan’s information about this incident stems." Her eyes noticeably narrowed and reddened with mention of her 2nd uncle.

"The war was short lived; the Holy White Empire steamrolled the forces of the Crusian Empire as if they were just another minor power being brought to heel. Even their vaunted S-ranks were completely outclassed, killed by a superior opponent rather than overwhelmed by numbers. Within days the lands between the two nations ran red with blood, it was a complete and utter massacre...no prisoners were taken, no hostages, only death."

A sombre silence lingered in the air, Izuna’s words conjuring images of a war torn battlefield where soldiers were cut down like cattle. Normally such images would excite Frost and Indra given their lust for battle, but no smiles graced their lips only a heaviness in their hearts as they witnessed the pain and terror in the young woman’s eyes.

"....And that was just the beginning." She visibly shivered in that moment, her mind recoiling as she remembered the state her 2nd uncle had been reduced to because of what transpired centuries ago.

"Gulp...the beginning?" Agar sensing a heaviness in the air audibly gulped as a cold shiver ran down his spine.

"Yes Agar, the slaughtering of the Crusian Empire’s soldiers was just the start and by far the most tame of their actions." Izuna’s eyes lost a bit of their light, spurning Indra to reach out and hold her hand, supporting her in her time of need.

She lightly smiled in his direction and gave his hand a little squeeze before continuing.

"Once they killed all the soldiers the people of the Crusian Empire readied themselves for a brutal surrender, but such a request never came. The enemy soldiers simply started killing every single person in sight, man, woman, child, sick or healthy it did not matter, they killed them all without hesitation....those that managed to escape the slaughter spoke of demons in the form of humans, smiling and laughing in rapture as they bathed in the blood of those powerless to defend themselves....The few that were unlucky enough to avoid being killed were captured and turned into specimens, bodies to be experimented on for the pleasure and education of their fanatics" Izuna almost puked as certain images floated to the front of her mind. Such suffering would make even the denizens of hell turn their heads to the side in disgust.

Dark was also noticeably unnerved; a dourness marred his expression and loud cracks echoed from his tightly clenched fists.

Frost, Indra and Agar looked at one another in shock, finally starting to understand the horror and terror surrounding the Holy White Empire and their Church of Light. Such wanton slaughter and barbaric practises would chill the hearts of even the most deplorable of creatures.

As Dungeon cores they were no strangers to killing but this was on another level. It wasn’t to satiate hunger or to eliminate a threat but simply to satisfy their own depravity....evil that’s what it was, pure unadulterated evil.

"When the cities and towns ran red with the blood of their residents the Holy White Empire remained." Strangely despite the culling of the Crusian Empire’s entire populace Izuna’s tale was not yet over.

’There’s still more.’ Frost internally remarked, straining his ears once again.

"Simply killing their people wasn’t enough they wanted to erase everything they stood for and all they represented so while their blood still pooled at their feet the soldiers of the Holy White Empire began purging the land of their taint. They demolished their buildings, destroyed their art and burned their books, erasing their culture, their history and all their achievements....a practice that would follow in their wake with every single nation they deposed." Very little managed to survive their wave of destruction. So much knowledge and culture vanished from Nova, never to be seen again.

"....They burned everything....why?" Agar ever the innocent one asked, genuinely confused.

"Tainted ideology, much easier to paint over a blank canvas than something already there." It wasn’t Dark or Izuna who answered Agar’s question but Frost who by now had a decent understanding of their shared enemy. "While the idea of erasing culture and people in mass is sickening it makes sense if you consider their viewpoint. In their eyes everyone else is probably infected and the best way to deal with an infection is to burn it and separate those that are contaminated from those that aren’t."

Agar and Indra quickly looked to their father for clarification while Izuna stared daggers at Frost, surprised that from her story he managed to clearly understand what makes make the Holy White Empire and the Church of Light tick.

"He’s right, to them everyone else is wrong and if they can’t be guided back onto the right path then they must be cleansed." An insane mindset, there was no logic to speak of, but it was ultimately predictable.

"Hehehe." Suddenly Frost started chuckling, a rather inappropriate reaction given the tension in the air.

"Something funny son?" Dark’s voice was cold and stern, Agar and Indra both shivered on instinct, but Frost smiled, his laughter reaching his eyes.

"Hehehe well don’t you think it’s ironic that their treatment for us is the only appropriate treatment for themselves. An insane person can’t be reasoned with it therefore our only recourse is to kill them, to kill them all." Frost’s words were laced with a biting chill so cold that Indra and Agar felt a cold sweat developing at the base of their necks. The expression on their brother’s face right now was downright terrifying.

"....."

"....."

"Hahahahaha well said Frost, well said. Death is the only cure for such madness hahahahaha." In response to his dark comments Izuna laughed with all she had, her voice and demeanour radiating an eery madness that had Indra questioning his affections, why was his adorable Izuna so damn scary today.

"Hmm I guess it is kind of ironic." Dark didn’t laugh but he didn’t chastise Frost either, finding his comments simply... accurate.

"Wait...fire, erasure, destruction... is the reason why the world has regressed in so many areas because of the Holy White Empire?" Asked Agar, the thought gnawing at his mind. A few centuries was more than enough time to replenish lost S-ranks but strangely even the most powerful empires like Northrend seemed to be lacking such individuals in the present day.

"How very astute of you Agar, correct the burning of books and the decimation of culture also included knowledge of magic, artifacts, crafting, formations, fighting styles, techniques and even the routes to ascension. So many spells were lost, so many wonderous inventions will never see the light of day again, regression in all tradecrafts and even knowledge of how to reach S-rank was lost to so many. The roots of their carnage spread far deeper than just the lives they reaped." One Empire and one Church managed to send the vast majority of the world centuries perhaps even millennia back in time, undoing so much progress.

It was no wonder a God like Dark hated them so, his single greatest desire was to see Nova prosper and develop, something the Holy White Empire and the Church of Light stood in stark opposition of. If they had it their way the world would be painted in a single colour and the world would be brought back to the primordial ages when angels and devils ran amok, their existence itself being counterproductive to the desires of their creators.