I had my doubts.

Siegfried, that is, Belial, called me the ‘Apostle of God’.

However, I couldn’t be certain because there were differences between what was passed down about them through ancient books and myself.

Unlike the priests of the past, I didn’t have any ability to foresee the future.

I only know about the original work, not the future. And that original work has already deviated from its existing flow due to my actions.

‘It would be inaccurate to say I know the future.’

Therefore, I thought it was more likely that I wasn’t.

But if what Dietrich and Ludovica said was true…

‘Am I really the Apostle of God?’

But God had disappeared.

Both in the original work and in this world I’m living in now. This was an obvious fact.

I didn’t quite understand how it happened. Seeing my serious expression, Dietrich patted my shoulder.

“I know it’s confusing. But isn’t it important that we’ve got a clue now?”

His words were right.

“Thank you for looking into it.”

It seemed I would need to do additional research later regarding the aspects of my power.

‘For now, let’s focus on the fight with Gregory.’

There weren’t even two weeks left until the day of the full moon.

We had to make the best preparations possible within that time. To achieve victory while minimizing damage.

I tried to clear my mind as much as possible. But thinking about the battle we had to face, I started to feel tense.

I wasn’t the only one feeling this way; Dietrich and Ruby also had unusually serious expressions.

Time flowed on, and the day of the total lunar eclipse arrived.

In the meantime, Veronica had persuaded Duke Schneider to evacuate the residents to relatively safe locations.

The Duke didn’t easily believe Veronica’s claim that monsters would suddenly invade, but with Trian joining in the persuasion, the Duke eventually cooperated.

The Schneider domain was not small in area, so there were many residents staying within it.

Finding a place to accommodate them was a difficult problem from the start.

Disregarding this, Veronica fully exercised her unique leadership to solve it.

The Schneider domain, from which the residents had departed, was quiet.

The only people left were those prepared for the night battle.

Eight hours until the red moon rises.

Veronica began to explain the strategy for this battle one last time.

“Our opponent today is the demon, Gregory. As the second-in-command of the demon realm, he is a formidable adversary. Vivian Schmidt, speak about his characteristics.”

At the princess’s order, Vivian stood up boldly and began to speak.

“Gregory’s unique ability is to control hundreds of monsters. He can’t control each individual monster, but he can give the same order to all of them. Gregory will use this ability to bring an army of monsters.”

This was information everyone had already heard countless times over the past few days.

Nevertheless, everyone present listened intently to Vivian’s serious words.

“While his unique ability is troublesome, the most dangerous thing is Gregory himself. He’s about twice as tall as the average adult woman and has blue skin. Since all demons have horns on their heads, it shouldn’t be difficult to recognize him.”

At that moment, Veronica continued speaking.

“Gregory is too strong an opponent for ordinary knights to face. Therefore, these four will be the ones to confront him.”

She pointed her finger at four people.

They were Dietrich, Ludovica, Ren, and Vivian.

“When Gregory discovers Vivian Schmidt, he will try to eliminate her as his first priority. Therefore, Vivian Schmidt will act as bait, quickly luring him in.”

Gregory basically moved according to Siegfried’s orders.

Currently, the person Siegfried considers the biggest thorn in his side is Vivian Schmidt.

Knowing her as the Apostle of God, he would likely already be aware that she has a high probability of interfering with this plan.

Naturally, there was a high chance he had ordered Gregory to kill the Apostle of God immediately upon discovery.

For Siegfried, eliminating the Apostle of God, who would continue to be a hindrance in the future, was more important than occupying strategic points.

Veronica’s plan was to use this.

‘If Gregory discovers Vivian Schmidt’s appearance in the beginning, he’ll follow her.’

And Vivian would use her fast speed to lure him to where Dietrich and Ren were infiltrating.

The two of them were assigned the role of directly taking down Gregory.

Ludovica was tasked with rescuing Vivian if she were to be in danger.

It was truly the best plan, considering all situations.

However, until this plan was established, there was an element of anxiety. It was Ren.

He expressed opposition to Vivian taking on a dangerous role and to Ludovica being the one to protect her.

‘He even requested to switch roles with the duchess.’

But that wasn’t possible.

Both Dietrich and Ludovica were types who excelled in close-range combat.

It was better for Ren to join the fight against Gregory than for those two to face him. His shadow ability could cover even long distances.

As she continued her explanation, Veronica watched her half-brother’s face.

Although Vivian had calmed and persuaded him to proceed with this plan for now, Ren’s, no, Callys’s expression was still not good.

‘To think that man is Callys von Agrian, whom I thought was dead.’

Suddenly, Veronica recalled the moment when she heard through Vivian that her half-brother was actually alive.

When Veronica first heard this news from Vivian, she felt a strange sensation.

The news itself that her half-brother, whom she thought was dead, was alive, didn’t stir much emotion.

She already had four other half-siblings excluding him.

However, what was surprising was the fact that he was the owner of the shadow ability.

The symbolism of the shadow ability was significant.

If Callys were to covet the throne, it would mean another enemy for Veronica.

‘Well, such worries seem to have been unnecessary.’

Callys’s interests seemed clear. Only Vivian, that one.

Although it had only been a few days since she first met him, it wasn’t difficult to notice this.

From him, a terrible obsession towards her could be felt.

However, people are beings that can change unpredictably at any time. Even though they were on the same side, Veronica couldn’t completely erase her wariness towards Ren.

As if noticing her gaze, Ren looked at her.

The gentle look in his eyes that had been directed at Vivian until just now was withdrawn, and a very sharp gaze pierced Veronica.

‘It seems I’ve properly earned his hatred with this plan.’

Veronica turned her head to avoid his gaze. Then she focused on the explanation again.

“The red moon will rise in about an hour. Even though it’s a short time, with Gregory’s abilities, it’s more than enough to devastate the domain. We must defeat Gregory before then to safely protect the domain.”

Everyone, including Veronica’s knights, imprinted the plan in their minds for the last time.

With this, all preparations were perfectly complete.

The only thing left was to wait for the red moon to rise.

‘Please, let things go well.’

Veronica prayed earnestly in her heart.

Night fell, and shadows gradually began to cast over the full moon.

The tense knights swallowed hard. Soon, that moon would turn red.

As no one could let go of their tension, the moon gradually turned blood-red. And then…

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

The sound of regular footsteps grew louder and louder.

The soldiers lurking on the wall hurriedly looked through binoculars in the direction of the sound.

What could be seen through the lenses were hundreds of monsters running, kicking up dust.

One soldier shouted loudly.

“The enemies are approaching!”

At this, a nearby soldier blew a trumpet. It was the signal for the start of the war.

The sound of the wind instrument, out of place in the night, filled the entire space.

The sound reached even the ears of Vivian, who was standing outside the wall with Ludovica.

‘So it really begins now.’

The thumping footsteps began to be heard nearby.

Whether hundreds of monsters were walking in step, the ground shook and the vibrations were clearly transmitted.

Her heartbeat overlapped with the rhythm of the monsters’ footsteps. It pulsed so strongly that her head rang.

Vivian felt like she wanted to vomit right away.

Her role as bait was the most important.

The entire plan was premised on her success.

More frightening than the high probability of losing her life was the fact that her failure would lead to everyone’s failure.

A strong sense of pressure weighed down on Vivian. But she somehow endured and stood on her two legs.

Ludovica, who was beside her, held her hand tightly.

“Vivi, when I give the signal, you step forward.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Finally, the army of monsters approached right in front of them.

Close enough to be identified with the naked eye. Gregory was at the very front.

At that moment, Ludovica let go of Vivian’s hand. It was the signal to charge.

Vivian overcame the pressure and ran forward.

Her eyes, with her ability activated, were glowing with a brilliant golden color.

A black sky where only the red moon existed.

The only shining golden eyes beneath it instantly captured Gregory’s attention.