◈ Chapter 539. For the Sake of God
Bohemian’s guild master.
The executor of a class quest.
The chosen paladin, Guyver.
“How do you feel?”
At the high priest of the Order’s question, Guyver shrugged.
“I simply feel the weight of this immense responsibility.”
At this moment, Guyver made an irreversible decision.
[Guyver’s major announcement imminent. Will speculation become fact?]
[Movement detected even in the holy land, Muon!]
[Breaking News
- Guyver: “From this moment on, the true holy war begins…….”]
[Breaking News
– Goddess Order: “Our enemy is an endlessly deep darkness.”]
Guyver had not officially confirmed a single thing.
Not the alliance between them and the Goddess Order.
Nor whom that endlessly deep darkness referred to.
‘I left some room for interpretation.’
But if they had any sense, everyone would have understood.
Not only the players belonging to the Holy War Allied Forces, but the Arcanans.
No, even every person in the entire world.
‘Even when I think about it, there’s no madness quite like this.’
An endlessly deep darkness.
Even if Lee Hoyeol, a being on an entirely different level, was something to be considered later, just the fact that they had become hostile to the Holy War Allied Forces alone was undeniably insane.
Wasn’t that obvious just from the guild members stamping their feet?
“Haa, what are we supposed to do from now on?”
Hamed, one of Bohemian’s upper executives.
Even while exchanging words with the high priest,
Guyver did not let Hamed’s muttering pass him by.
“Has Guyver seriously lost his mind or something?!”
That was clearly meant for me to hear, wasn’t it?
‘How many years have we spent together already?’
From the days when Arcana was nothing more than a game until now, well over ten years had passed. Throughout that time, Guyver, Hamed, and the other upper executives had led Bohemian together.
‘That must be why my actions are even harder for them to understand.’
Because no matter who looked at it, this was the worst possible move.
“The public sentiment really isn’t looking good, vice guild masters……!”
“At this rate, won’t we even get driven out of Europe?”
“Seriously, other than Muon, we don’t have a single ally?!”
Lee Hoyeol’s influence?
It was so immense that he could hardly be called an equal player. The public assessment that he was someone who had surpassed the limits of a player, influencing both reality and the Arcana Continent, was accurate.
Compared to him, what were they?
Guyver looked down at his arm.
‘I never thought things would turn out like this back then.’
The day the holy land, Muon, first appeared in reality.
Guyver had lost his arm. Reality’s technology, having advanced even further through its union with Arcana, had crafted him a precise prosthetic arm that lacked nothing as a substitute for the real thing.
‘But more than the wound to my body, the wound in my heart still aches.’
The aftereffects remained.
Since that day,
Bohemian had walked the path of decline.
[Bohemian: 18th Place]
For the first time in history, their guild ranking had fallen out of the top ten.
That number was enough to say everything.
Then questions were bound to pour in.
How could a washed-up has-been dare oppose Lee Hoyeol’s forces with such confidence? Furthermore, why had he allied with the Goddess Order, an ill-fated enemy that had inflicted an unforgettable wound upon him?
‘That’s what you’re wondering too, isn’t it?’
Guyver moved his lips.
“There is nothing to worry about.”
The high priest replied.
“Is that so?”
At this moment, Guyver was filled with faith.
“Because God will guide us to victory.”
Contrary to the words he spoke,
Guyver did not believe in any god.
He simply believed in something more trustworthy than a god.
System messages, which did not lie.
[Class Quest: Paladin, Illuminate the Darkness]
At last, amid uncontrollable chaos, the Pantheon has opened.
Your god is calling you.
Chosen knight of God, heed the oracle.
-Build the true army of God. (In Progress)
●Join hands with the Goddess Order. (Success)
Guyver’s eyes flashed with a gleam.
“Your words are correct, Commander Guyver of the Paladins.”
The high priest clasped both hands and prayed to his god.
“The voice of God I hear must be proof of faith.”
Once again, the system message did not lie. The doors of the Pantheon (萬神殿), where all the gods in the lore of the Arcana Continent were said to reside, had opened?
That meant the influence of the gods had grown that much stronger.
To put it simply…….
‘It means the Goddess Order and I, a paladin, have received a tremendous buff.’
The Magic Tower?
The great powers of the Arcana Continent?
The Yusra Kingdom?
A backing that would never be inferior compared to any force.
“The myriad gods are blessing our journey.”
The gods of the Arcana Continent were as good as on his side.
That was the reason Guyver could remain calm.
Even after declaring war on Lee Hoyeol.
‘Of course, I won’t misunderstand.’
Guyver had long since drawn a line in his heart.
I am, strictly speaking, an Earthling.
Meaning, he did not truly believe in the existence of gods like the high priest did.
‘Gods are nothing more than NPCs with plenty to exploit.’
Guyver clenched his fist.
……
Tightly.
So, in the end, he had to seize everything with his own hand.
‘My revenge against the Goddess Order can come after that.’
The high priest, who had no way of knowing what was in Guyver’s heart, smiled.
“The gods also agree with your words, Sir Guyver.”
*
Muon, holy land of the Goddess Order.
“Saintess, everyone is demanding an answer.”
What kind of answer did they want?
She could guess without asking.
The Saintess, Freyja, opened the eyes she had closed in prayer.
‘To move Muon itself—what an astonishing demonic nature.’
However, she could understand.
Hadn’t Freyja herself nearly been shaken as well?
Freyja opened her mouth.
“I understand.”
The influence of the “endlessly deep darkness” had penetrated deep into the Order as well. That was why, even though the Pantheon had opened and the goddess’s voice and revelations had returned.
‘Talim Eber, that must be why you left Muon.’
Freyja changed her clothes.
From the plain robes of a priestess into a battle vestment embroidered with gold thread and adorned with jewels.
One prepared solely for the Saintess.
‘I understand your heart as well. However.’
Freyja moved her feet.
‘It is a foolish judgment.’
Freyja had been dropped into the Arcana Continent, into the Cataclysm, and into reality later than most. Even so, it had been more than enough time to feel the influence of the endlessly deep darkness.
Muon’s grand sanctuary.
“…….”
The moment she appeared, gazes that were anything but kind poured down upon her. Freyja could quickly read what was hidden in the eyes of her brothers and sisters.
Talim Eber, Commander of the Paladins.
The fact that they had not followed him did not mean they believed in and followed her. If she failed to provide a suitable answer here, then they would probably…….
‘Leave the goddess’s embrace.’
Even knowing that,
Freyja nodded as if she was ready.
Then the questions poured out.
“Saintess, why are you trying to spill meaningless blood?”
“Regardless of the reason, I do not believe war is right in this situation. The beings of the Demon World are already trampling the Arcana Continent and the world of adventurers. To cause another chaos……!”
“Above all, Lee Hoyeol, Commander-in-Chief of the Holy War Allied Forces……. Even if he is called an endlessly deep darkness, considering the path he has shown us until now, isn’t becoming hostile toward him rather contrary to the goddess’s words?”
The goddess’s words, is it.
Freyja laughed quietly to herself.
So you truly did not believe a word I said.
The goddess’s revelation has returned to me.
That was what Freyja had declared to Muon, and to the whole world.
And yet, as they could see,
Even the brothers and sisters of Muon were interrogating her.
‘It is only natural that they would find talk of a true holy war out of nowhere.’
Freyja begged the goddess for forgiveness.
‘All of this must be due to my own inadequacy.’
At the same time, she pleaded with the goddess for mercy.
‘So please, let me hear your voice.’
Clasp.
Instead of answering the barrage of questions, Freyja brought her hands together. At the sight of her, the grand sanctuary began to murmur. It was not that the priests and the remaining guardian knights were the only ones shaken.
Glance.
Beneath a veil that covered his face.
“……Everyone, you’re seeing this properly, right?”
Park Hwigang, a believer who served a “different order” than the Goddess Order.
Park Hwigang captured Freyja properly within his camera angle.
Chats flooded in.
-She’s pretending to pray because she’s at a disadvantage lolololol
-It never made sense in the first place;;;;
-Fr, are they idiots? The gods stayed still until the Arcana Continent was turned into a mess, stayed still while demons ran wild, and now they’re saying to take down only Lee Hoyeol?
-What if they’re trying to keep a new god in check?
-If that’s the case, acknowledged lolol
Strength naturally entered Park Hwigang’s grip.
“That’s right. I couldn’t accept it either, so I infiltrated Muon!”
Explorer skill, [Camouflage], activated.
Originally, it was a protective skill for Explorers, who had no combat ability at all. But thanks to the experience he had accumulated while streaming all this time,
Park Hwigang had blended perfectly among the faithful of the Goddess Order and was vividly broadcasting the scene.
Of course.
“There are several players within the Goddess Order streaming at the same time too, but……. You know, they could subtly twist the perspective, right?”
-There’s a reason people say arms bend inward lolol
-Then isn’t this place bending toward Lee Hoyeol???
-If it doesn’t bend that way, are you even human?
-Fr even beasts know gratitude lolololol
-Just Homen
“I fully understand what you’re worried about. Since so many people are watching, I’ll suppress my faith and capture the situation as objectively as possible……!”
Park Hwigang added seriously.
“Because I think that alone will be enough.”
Indeed, things were proceeding exactly as expected.
‘You idiots, if you just admitted it properly, that would get you halfway there.’
Our Hoyeol, who had written truly tremendous achievements.
And who would continue to write them in the future.
Yet baseless suspicion and checks against him continued without end.
Freyja was still praying with her eyes closed.
Park Hwigang stared at her intently.
Because of the declaration she had made,
The sight of her keeping her mouth tightly shut did feel a little satisfying.
But Park Hwigang shook his head.
‘……More than that, I’m worried about Lord Hoyeol.’
Goodwill returning as a stab in the back.
How many times had he been betrayed?
Now, it had reached a point where it could no longer be counted on one hand.
‘He must be terribly sad.’
In that sense, Park Hwigang steadied his heart, and his camera stick.
To reveal the situation in Muon, holy land of the Goddess Order.
To reveal the true nature of Saintess Freyja.
However.
“H-Huh?”
Before long, Park Hwigang’s grip loosened and slipped.
Unable to believe what he was seeing, he checked the angle.
It was clearly floating there within the frame as well.
Was it not his eyes that were wrong, but his mind?
Was he seeing a hallucination?
Or was he dreaming?
Before he could pinch his cheek, the flood of chat messages awakened him to reality.
-……What is that?
-That thing behind Freyja, don’t tell me it’s what I think it is?!
-Holy shit, the goddess really appeareddddddddd
The Saintess still had her eyes closed in prayer.
Behind her,
The figure of the goddess appeared.
“……Ahh, my goddess.”
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
At that sight, the high priests, priests, and guardian knights of the Goddess Order who had been casting doubtful eyes at Freyja all knelt as one. There was only one person who did not kneel.
-Hwigang, shouldn’t you be kneeling too?!?!
-You’re gonna get caught like that!!!!
-Did the streamer faint from shock?
“……Huh.”
Only Park Hwigang, who stood there in a daze.
However, no gazes were directed at Park Hwigang.
That was right.
At this moment.
“Do not doubt.”
The living goddess opened her eyes and spoke.
Because she truly was conveying her will, her revelation.
That shocking sight was transmitted to the entire world.
“The Pantheon has opened, so there is no longer anything to fear.”
Vrrr.
At the same time,
Park Hwigang’s wrist vibrated.
He knew without needing to check.
──────※Emergency Update──────
A chilling gleam shone in the goddess’s eyes.
“I shall fight the endlessly deep darkness together with you.”
“……!!!”
──────
A new region, the Pantheon (萬神殿), appears on the Arcana Continent.
The voices of the gods reach the Arcana Continent.
The unique stats of all clergy-type classes greatly increase…….
──────
...
At the threshold of the Pantheon.
“I am ashamed that I once longed for divinity, even if only for a time.”
How had I failed to realize it?
The reason you were able to be freed.
Do you insist on denying it to the very end?
“Then I shall make you realize.”
An incomplete demigod.
“The terror of shadows.”
The Shadow God, who had entrusted everything to the “endlessly deep darkness” they were wary of, proclaimed to the Pantheon.