At first, not many imperial soldiers thought much of Vaan's power when he summoned the small white sun above their heads. Some even scoffed at him for trying to mimic the sun god they worshipped; they also looked down on those that got easily fooled by it.
However, as the white sun continued to grow in size and temperature, reaching an unbelievable level clearly no mortal had achieved, they had no choice but to acknowledge his divinity.
Even if Vaan wasn't their sun god, he was at least a god among men.
And attracting the wrath of such a divine being was the same as bringing ruination to their great empire.
If Vaan wanted to, he could erase their great empire from the face of the earth — that was what many imperial soldiers started to believe as they sensed the enormity of the ever-growing white sun in the sky.
By that point, no mortal armor could protect them from the destructiveness of the white sun if it descended. So, although the heat tormented them, they didn't dare to lift their heads. Their life and death were completely at Vaan's mercy.
As such, even if they didn't acknowledge Vaan and prostrated out of worship, they bowed to plead for mercy.
Those who knew better understood his silent message:
"For years, you have all worshipped an empty god. But now that I am here, I can be your god — a real, living god in the flesh; I will be your giver of light, vanquisher of darkness, and all that is unholy."
With Emperor Renardier's fall to darkness, the imperial soldiers lost their pillar and belief. But if they accepted Vaan, it could become a blessing from a disaster.
Once the imperial soldiers understood that, they completely surrendered.
"Your humble servant greets the Sun God!"
"Your humble servant greets the Sun God!"
One by one, the imperial soldiers gave in and chanted as if it was a prayer. And as if they feared their words couldn't be heard, they vocalized their acknowledgment even louder than the last.
Shortly after the entire imperial army surrendered, Vaan finally retracted the white sun from the sky. At the same time, he made a path for Astoria and the others to reach him.
"He's all yours. Deal with him however you see fit and feel, Astoria,"
When Astoria glanced at Emperor Renardier on the ground, she didn't feel any resentment or hatred, only pity.
After all, the one who robbed her life and family was not Emperor Renardier but his parents. And even then, it was only a suspicion that she had yet to confirm.
She was too young and powerless then to investigate. But now, she could do so and put her heart at peace. And the one who gave her that opportunity was Vaan.
The feelings she felt for Vaan couldn't be described at that moment.
At first, Astoria did not have it in her to kill Emperor Renardier after looking at the person's pitiful state. But then, she remembered that he was the reason why so many people had to die — they died for his selfish ambition.
Her anger immediately surged when she remembered that.
It seemed that the strange atmosphere surrounding the imperial soldiers and Vaan could easily make one forget the tragedy of moments ago.
Meanwhile, Emperor Renardier coughed up a puddle of blood, feeling bottomless anger, pain, and agony after seeing his people prostrated to the enemy. He had fought so hard for the prosperity of his empire, and yet his people readily abandoned him to move forward.
The despair and fury Emperor Renardier felt at that moment made him plunge deeper into the darkness.
'Kekekeke, what a miserable thing you are. Even with my divine power, you couldn't achieve what you desired. And after your sorry defeat, your people abandoned you. Your status as emperor and years of rule means nothing to them. Do you hate it? Do you detest it? Tell me, what is it that you desire most now?"
'I desire revenge — revenge against the ones who stood in the way of my ambition and all those who abandoned me! I want them all to die!!'
'Kekeke, ah... the hatred. Such delicacy. Surrender your body and mind to me, and I will grant you even more power to fulfill your desire!’
Following the Great Devil Helcan's promise, Emperor Renardier accepted without hesitation.
Even if he had to fall into the deepest pits of hell, he would make sure everyone else suffered with him.
Wrath and malice filled his entire being.
Just when Astoria was prepared to cut off Emperor Renardier's head without sparing the person any words, she suddenly noticed Emperor Renardier's black pupils dilated, swallowing the blue and white part of his eyes.
At that moment, Emperor Renardier directed all his hatred and malice at Vaan - the person he wanted to kill most.
If this person didn't exist, he wouldn't have fallen so deeply.
Without warning, Emperor Renardier's body picked itself off the ground and lunged at Vaan with all his fingers and thumb pinched together like a sharpened spear, ready to drill through Vaan's body.
Vaan's eyes instantly narrowed at once, readying himself to block and counter—when Astoria's figure beside him suddenly threw herself in front of him.
"Watch out!!" Astoria cried.
Even with Peak-level Rank 5 armor forged by the dragons, it barely protected Astoria's chest from getting penetrated, as Emperor Renardier's sharp attack put a significant dent in it.
At the same time, the impact sent her body flying, slamming into Vaan. The two were blasted away together—not because Vaan couldn't stop it from happening but because doing so would hurt Astoria even more.
The two were thrown more than several hundred yards away before Astoria coughed up blood with a pale face, feeling completely powerless and devoid of strength.
"Why are you so foolish, Astoria? I could have blocked that..." Vaan sighed with a grave look, holding her in his arms as he forced-fed her his potent blood.
However, Astoria could only respond with a foolish and innocent smile.
"Hehe, my body moved before I could think..." Astoria said before throwing up another mouthful of blood.
"Shh, conserve your strength."