Blade of the Goddess
Chapter 118 - The Holy City of Light

Chapter 118: Chapter 118 - The Holy City of Light

"Are you ready to leave, Lord Zion?" Farissa asked, packing up the carriage they used to travel here.

It was a large, fancy, golden carriage decked out with jewelry and other decorations that was meant to showcase the radiant splendor of Luminera. Inside was even crazier. A red interior with a soft, fuzzy material that coated the carriage walls. Gold outlined the seats and windows, and there was a full-on snack bar inside. Well, more like a snack drawer, but it was fancy.

He nodded, "Yeah, I’m ready. I’ll also be bringing some people with me."

"Understood. We’ll make room for them." Farissa bowed.

Besides Alice, Lidia was also coming. She didn’t care about finishing off the school year and just wanted to be with Zion. Her father wasn’t against it either and allowed her to do what she wanted.

"So, when we reach the city, what will you do?" Lidia wondered

"Well, for starters, I’ll take full control over it and kick out anyone who isn’t a believer. Then I’ll rebuild it to my own image and have the society there thrive. It will be the start of how I want the world to look. The city will serve as our new home and base for the foreseeable future, and since I’ll be the leader, I can go all in on my projects without being caught or interfered with by the kingdom."

"Those demons really got you spooked, huh?" Lidia chuckled

"Not spooked, but on edge. With them in the way, I have to expedite everything I wanted to do, and I need to move fast now that I have a competitor also trying to take the ancient relics. If I let them be, then another war will spark, and that will get in the way of my goddess-given mission."

"So you have no choice but to fight them." Alice concluded

"That’s right. And if we decide to do so, we need to be prepared to the best of our abilities. Currently, my weapons can only affect up to Mid-ranking demons, so I have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to harm high-ranking ones. While I do have an idea, it’s harder said than done."

"What’s your idea?" Lidia asked curiously

Smiling, Zion asked them, "Have you ever heard of antimatter?"

---

The journey to the Holy City of Light took about two weeks by carriage if you include stops, breaks, and the occasional sightseeing Lidia and Alice wanted to do, since Lidia barely left the Kingdom, and this was the first time Alice set foot outside of it.

When they arrived, the girls weren’t as excited as they hoped they’d be. They expected a grand city filled with children running around, parents enjoying their lives, and a cheerful atmosphere. They hoped to see grand buildings made of gold, knights in golden armor protecting the borders, and a godly presence that welcomed them with the highest praise and honor.

Instead, they were greeted by a rundown, underdeveloped city with a gloomy, grey atmosphere that was the polar opposite of what Luminera represented. Buildings were destroyed, roads weren’t paved, homelessness struck the city, and the smell was horrible.

It was as if the place was in a constant state of war and destruction, never to be rebuilt or have the chance to thrive. People looked at the carriage they were in, on its way to the church, with disdain, not praise.

"My goddess! What happened here?" Alice wondered, feeling pity for the children she saw with sunken cheeks and thin arms.

"Time," Farissa said with a tinge of anger in her voice. "Back during the prime of our religion, the Holy City of Light was known as the Holy Empire of Light. We spanned all of Midgard, Alfheim, and parts of the other current kingdoms. Then the war between demons happened, and everything changed after that."

’I can’t believe my kingdom, my people, were reduced to this!’ Luminera was furious, and Zion could feel her anger. Being her apostle, her anger was his anger, not because he was angry, but because her emotions were literally bleeding into him.

Farissa continued. "After the war, our members stopped hearing the goddess’s voice, and shortly after, we stopped receiving her power. We didn’t know what happened, but we knew something was wrong, so we preserved everything we could about her and kept her religion alive."

"But it wasn’t enough, huh?" Alice asked.

"No, it wasn’t. Over time, people noticed, and when they did, they were angry. Slowly, we lost followers and our empire shrank into a kingdom. The Holy Kingdom of Light. During that time, we managed to keep our religion alive very well. We had to use mana since our holy power vanished, but we kept Luminera’s vision. However, it wasn’t enough. A war broke out between the races a few thousand years ago, and we stepped help those who fell victim to the war, but it was so brutal that without our holy power, we couldn’t help as much. Then, seeing how weak we were-"

"Your land was stolen by the other kingdoms." Zion finished

"That’s right. Day by day, year by year, we saw war and conflict until we were left with what we have now, and even to this day, we haven’t recovered. Because of that, our Holy City became a hub for crime, slavery, and trafficking. We tried to stop it, but there is little we can do. The only reason why people haven’t left is because they are too poor to do so, they die, or the gangs here don’t let them. The church is only in operation because of the respect they have for our dedication towards the goddess, but even then, we have to tread lightly."

Holy power erupted from Zion’s body, engulfing everyone around them in the radiant light. It didn’t feel like the blessings he gave his people, but an intense rage that could scorch the earth with its fury.

Zion wasn’t the one who was angry; it was Luminera.

Zion grunted in slight pain. ’Calm down.’ He said, hunched over, trying to keep his body balanced

’How can I?! Do you see what they have done to my kingdom? To my people? To what’s mine?! You expect me to stay calm!’ Her voice cracked with pain as her anger rose, causing more holy power to spiral out of Zion uncontrollably.

’Luminera! Calm the fuck down, now!’ He demanded, fighting back against her will.

Perhaps it was because he was a mortal and she a goddess that it took her a moment to register whether a mere human had just dared to command her. But then it struck her. This mortal was the instrument of her will, the harbinger of her glorious return. And with that realization, her fury subsided.

’I’m sorry. I let my anger get the best of me.’ She apologized.

"Zion! Are you okay?"

"Lord Zion! What happened?"

"Babe? Talk to me!"

"It’s okay, guys, I’m fine. Luminera was just upset, that’s all."

"She must not like the state her holy city is in." Farissa lowered her head in shame.

He rested his hand on her shoulder. "Don’t beat yourself up. You kept our ancestors’ vision alive and kept their promises to continue serving our goddess. You and everyone here will see just how benevolent she can be, and their dedication will be rewarded. As for those who sully her name, they will face her fury."