Holy Church
Unknown Area
Narrators POV
General information
The Empire of Ruberious is vast, it is infact renowned as the Third largest Country worldwide and the Second Largest Human Country. It's defeated in Human population by the Eastern Empire, whilst being defeated in population and land by Sarion and the Eastern Empire again.
It is the theoretical base of operations for the Western Holy Church, acting as the base of their power and activities where most of the Holy Knights and Crusaders gather and obey orders from.
Western Holy Church
So, what is the Western Holy Church you may ask.
Well, to put it simply, the Western Holy Church is a religious institution established throughout the various cities and nations of the world. It is the most widespread religion in the entire world, it's origins expanding nearly a thousand years ago. It is essentially a reference to the authority of the most dominant religion in the entire world.
The Church is influential because it sends out troops that exterminate rampaging monsters in such regions where the local rulers either do not possess any stakes or any interests in them, or simply got no standing army left to deal with it.
Beliefs
It only recognizes One God Ruminas as their sole and absolute deity, not recognizing the existence of any other gods. To believe there is another God in existence rather then Ruminas, is the equivalent of signing a death penalty in their eyes.
Their central dogma is that monsters are evil and should be exterminated, hence the existence of Temple Knights and Crusaders tasked with monster slaying. However, practitioners of other religions were not protected for simply not following Ruminas. However, despite this policy, they have been showing restraint against countries like Sarion and the new Monster Country Tempest, as they are strict orders from their God herself.
However, in truth, the central dogma only exists to unite their followers against a common threat, with Roy Valentin who is a subordinate under Luminous playing the strawman role as a Demon Lord... Although, he wouldn't be needed anymore since Demon Lord Rimuru exists now.
History
The Western Holy Church was an organization formed to promote the Luminous Faith. It's roots date back to nearly 1,000 years ago, it was merely a lowly sub-group under the Holy Emperor's Ministry without a standing army of its own. It lacked military power and influence, but it was still powerful due to the backing of Demon Lord Luminous.
Faith alone could not ensure the safety of missionaries, hence the Holy Emperor’s Ministry made demands to the nations under their protection and formed the Temple Knights. The nations welcomed the idea of a Ministry-funded knight order, and so they agreed to assist. However, disputes began to emerge between Ruberios and other nations, thus the Holy Emperor's Imperial Guards were given the authority to command the Temple Knights.
During the present time, the Church has become much more powerful due to the addition of the Crusaders. Moreover, the role of archon in the Ministry, a position formerly held by the Clerics of the Seven Luminaries, is now given to a selected cardinal from the Church.
Currently, they are on neutral relationships with most countries. They have taken a Hostile stance against the Monster Country Tempest and Twilight Valentine who resides in the West. To top it off, the Giants who inhabit the barren wasteland filled with destructive magicules have proved to be an extremely annoying neighbour.
Military Might
Ruberious stands as the second most powerful country in the entire World. It's Military Might is only second to the Eastern Empire, reigning dominant over the other countries.
The church's headquarters, in particular, is noted to be the centermost core of Ruberios' military power and the foundation of their nation's morals and justifications, as this is where the church's Knights Order are charged with eliminating dangerous monsters plaguing their and allied nations, as well as fighting off Demon Lords when they appear. However, the Church hasn't taken action against any Demon Lord's for three reasons.
1) The first Demon Lord is dead due to the fight against the Chaos Dragon.
2) They are unaware of Luminous Valentine's real identity and have signified her as a mere fairytale.
3) Rimuru Tempest must not be antagonized as stated by her God herself, action against him is forbidden unless the God herself gives out orders to exterminate him.
The Knights Order adhered to Luminous Faith with duty to protect their Holy Land and other nations affiliated with the church. Said to number in the millions, with ten thousand of them stationed in the Holy Land while the rest dispatched to other countries to spread the church's influence.
The most gifted among them form the Crusaders and call themselves Holy Knights. There were about 3,000 Temple Knights stationed in the Kingdom of Falmuth before they were annihilated by the Demon Lord Rimuru Tempest and his unknown allies.
It has over millions of Holy Knights, amongst even the weakest easily ranking B grade which is enough to destroy a village on his own, at its disposal that can be dispatched to fight against any looming threat. They are an army of trained individuals who have fought against Monsters and are skilled practitioners of Holy Magic, establishing their faith in Ruminas as a weapon to bring peace and glory to their Empire. They are, essentially, foot soldiers that can be replaced easily and serve as meatshields.
At the top of these knights is the Seven Days Clergy, group of individuals tasked with training people showing remarkable potential in becoming Heros for the next generation and the generations to come. They are a mysterious group of individuals who have sworn fealty to Luminous, and are considered to be able to wipe entire armies by themselves and even kill Calamity level threats if they work together.
Below them comes the Ten Great Saints, who are led by their proclaimed Leader Hinata Sakaguchi that serves directly under Luminous Valentine. She is renowned as the prodigy of her generation, one of the many Humans to become a Saint in under a Century.
The Ten Great Saints comprise of Individuals who vigorously train themselves to become Saints, one of them already reaching said level thanks to his own potential. This group decided it's members by strength and ability alone, and the minimum prerequisite to join is to be an Enlightened. Individuals in this only number to ten at the moment, but each of them are A+ in ability which makes them powerhouses in their own right.
There is also the Rook Geniuses, Imperial Guards of the Holy Emperor who are tasked with defending him. They are stronger then the Ten Great Saints, and rank from S to Special S thanks to Hinata Sakaguchi being their leader. Currently, they rank 33 in number with three of them being a part of the Ten Great Saints. Those three are also referred to as the Great Battlesages, merely due to their extraordinary power and ability that ranks them higher then the others.
In addition, the secret battalion belonging to Luminous and hidden from the eyes of Ruberious, the Blood Knights. They are vampires who defected from Twilight and chose to serve her instead, individuals numbering only thirty thousand but possessing might stronger then most of Ruberious's forces combined.
Finally, there is absolute powerhouses like Gunther, Luminous and Mariabell Rosso. Gunther is an Vampire Ancestor, Luminous is an Awakened Demon Lord and Mariabell is a True Hero. These three Individuals alone would suffice against their own Army if we took a hypothetical battle between them.
Current Status
Currently, the Holy Knights are in great turmoil and utter confusion as to why their God has prohibited them from wiping out the Demon Lord. Whilst they are blindly loyal to her, wiping out a threat that could potentially end them if it grows for too long seemed like a better option then waiting out.
The Ten Great Saints themselves do not understand this, and even the Rook Geniuses are somewhat conflicted about this choice. However, Hinata Sakaguchi has managed to prevent them from performing any rash actions that could trigger a potential war.
This decision Luminous made has mainly put them in great turmoil, but they have chosen to abide by her orders and patiently wait for what is to come.
Secrets
Ofcourse, Ruberious itself holds some secrets. Not all can be happy and sunshine now, can it?
Ofcourse, the most basic secret is that the Demon Lord Valentine is actually the God of Ruberious, Ruminas. The person they hold the utmost respect and loyalty to, is ironically, a Demon Lord. The very thing they swore to destroy.
Then there is slightly darker secrets such as the Vampires kidnapping some individuals at night and erasing the memories of such individuals from people that knew them, before feasting on their blood. These Vampires supply blood to their brethren underneath the Empire under the command of Luminous, but have been strictly ordered by her to not cross their boundaries.
Then comes the secrets that... Should not be revealed at all. Only one secret falls under this category, and is related to the Ten Great Saints...
Whilst the Ten Great Saints are well... Called the Ten Great Saints, there is actually...
Two of them.
The former Great Saints that made up the Ten Great Saints have long been gone, they had lost their lives fighting against beings beyond their comprehension or had been assassinated.
Only Hinata Sakaguchi and one other had managed to live up until now, with the other actually being a new addition to their forces. The Ten Great Saints deaths hadn't been revealed to the public, mainly to ensure they don't fall into turmoil and despair due to the loss of Humanities greatest assets.
...
Church.
Narrators POV
How long has it been since that incident? He could vaguely remember the time, but the memories would always linger. It was nearly seventy years ago, when he was still a Human.
He still remembers it all clearly, it is an event who's image has been saved in his mind since the day it has transpired.
The cries of the anguished.
The cries of the despaired.
The cries of those that believed in him.
It made him so sick, that day he nearly lost his own life... Well, him losing his life was the least of his concerns.
He saw the elderly get killed brutally, the able bodied men tortured with their limbs being cut off, the the children stabbed through their hearts and eliminated before they even got the chance to live. The Woman were raped and tossed aside like animals, the houses were burnt and destroyed by the invaders.
At that moment, he couldn't do anything. His body didn't listen to him as it hopelessly laid there unmoving. He couldn't do anything to stop the invaders from doing as they pleased, he was powerless at that moment.
Frail.
Weak.
Pathetic.
Helplessness began to swell in his stomach as he sat there and watched the event unfold, a haunting memory that would remain with him forever.
The weight of the dead still lingered with him till today, grabbing his body as they tried to drag him down with them.
Stop...
The pleas he made to cease this senseless slaughter which were ignored by the Invaders.
Why them...
At that moment, he could only lament his own weakness because he was the one who dragged them into this. He blamed himself for being the cause of their deaths, and he couldn't do anything to protect them no matter what he tried.
Why was I spared?
He should've been the one facing all of that suffering, for he was the reason all of this began in the first place...
And the day he had been sentenced to execution, where he was supposed to make his final prayer...
God, give me another chance. Next time, I won’t lose sight of the bigger picture.
He had realized that Humanity was worser then the monsters they despised, Humanity was the source of all destruction and malice that destroyed the Earth they lived on.
Monsters merely enhanced that malice and negativity, and he couldn't hate them anymore for that. They were trying to live, just like them.
I will eliminate all obstacles, enemies and hardships in my way. Next time, I will obtain all the good in the world. A world where everyone is happy, everyone is good, and everyone is perfect. I will exterminate all evil and create a new, pure world.
It was a foolish and naive prayer, one that held no meaning if it was to be looked at the bigger picture. It was the words of a fool who remained true to his naive ideals even after witnessing the consequences.
So long as Humanity existed, so long as Humans continued to exist, there would always be evil wherever they went...
Yet, by some miracle, his prayers had been answered. The Invaders were crushed, and he was saved by the Holy Knights.
Ever since then, he has always devoted himself to becoming stronger. His faith in the God Ruminas steadily increased as the days went by, as he witnessed what the Holy Knights were capable of performing by simply believing in God.
He believed God was the solution to their problems.
Steadily, he rose amongst the ranks as a renowned prodigy before he was taken in by the Seven Days Clergy themselves who had recognized his talent. He was then trained by the Gods most trusted companion himself, evolving into a Saint by being pushed to his utmost limits.
He then joined the Ten Great Saints under the command of Hinata Sakaguchi herself, at the ripe age of 30 when he had reached the state of a Saint...
And now...
Here he is, joining and clenching his hands as he prays to their God.
It was an instinctive motion inherited by all Humans when they are born, an act that signifies the emotions they cling onto dearly.
Whenever Humans become desperate, or whenever there is some hardships that befall on them, or if they want to find some peace of mind, they instantly join their hands and close their eyes as they begin to pray.
They start asking for something from a being they are unsure of whether it exists or not, they begin to ask an unknown being of higher existence for something to ease their hardships or desperation...
They thank that Being.
They ask for something from that Being.
They beg to that Being.
It was an act that granted him a soothing sensation in his mind, one that hid the past that always haunted him.
His faith that has lead him so far, his faith that has always been with him till now.
Yo~ [Akimitsu]
The Primordial Dragon of Light, Akimitsu, sat on one of the benches of the church as he seemingly appeared out of no where. He crossed his legs and placed his arms freely on the Benches side, looking at the man who prayed to Ruminas.
The man turned around, his eyes opening to reveal golden pupils that held no wickedness. If one were to look at his figure, they would instantly describe him as someone divine and free of impurity.
If it isn't the man said to be stronger then Hinata Sakaguchi herself~ [Akimitsu]
He has long silver hair tied into a ponytail. His clothing is a mixture of traditional samurai outfit with European influence. He wears a jinbaori style haori with crosses decorated on them. He wears a tradition umanori hakama with Shin guards which have cloth straps that are used to tie the Shin guards to the lower leg. He wears a collar shirt underneath his Kimono and a Cravat tied around his collar. He wears an amulet on his neck, one of his tools used for battle.
The Primordial Dragon met the gaze of the Saint, smirking as he finally meets him after a long time.
It has been a while, Akimitsu. [???]
His voice was as pure and soothing as listening to a melodic tune, speaking with a pitch neither too high and neither too low.
The Man said to be stronger then Hinata Sakaguchi herself, the man said to be the closest to their God. A living prodigy who could perform miracle level Holy Magic at a young age.
He bowed as he greeted the Primordial Dragon, earning a sigh from the Dragon Lord.
I've told you before... You don't have to bow to me, Akiko~ [Akimitsu]
Nonsense, you are the companion of Luminous-Sama. It would be unfit for me to greet you in an impolite manner. [Akiko]
Akimitsu only laughed at the man's humbleness, it recalled a few memories he had with him.
This man wouldn't take praise for all the good deeds he has done, he never took pride in his reputation amongst the Holy Knights which was always positive.
A man who spread happiness and hope wherever he went to...
The bringer of Brightness, Akiko
Would you perhaps like a cup of tea, Akimitsu? [Akiko]
Akiko asked politely, even if he referred to Akimitsu without any honorifics. Akimitsu had granted the man the privilege of saying his name without any honorifics, which Akiko eventually grew used to.
Sure, I don't mind. Your tea is pretty good in taste aswell~ [Akimitsu]
The Primordial Dragon stood up from his seat, and Akiko stopped bowing to him as he once again stared at the Dragon Lord.
Both of them were very close friends, Akimitsu had actually helped Akiko grow during his training with the Seven Days Clergy. His existence has been recognized in all of Ruberious, although his status as one of the Ten Great Saints is currently hidden.
The last time Akimitsu saw Akiko... Was nearly twenty years ago.
We have alot to catch up to, y'know?~ [Akimitsu]
Indeed, it has been a long time. [Akiko]
_____________________________________________
Individual: Akiko
Blessing: Divinity
Race: Human
Species: Saint
Existence Value: 1,500,000 EP.
Weapon: Blades formed out of {Material Creation}. Amulet that amplifies his Holy Magics effects by three times. Scarf that can bind anyone under the condition no harm can be done to binded individual.
Age: 71
Title: Bringer of Brightness, Prodigy among Prodigies.
Skills: {???}
Normal Appearance:
Battle Appearance:
New oc, funny.
As the story continues, new characters are introduced. This one is a bit special, considering he holds a bit of past with someone on Rimuru's side... Who that is, I won't tell~
Next Chapter: The Saint and the Dragon Lord. (P/3)