◈ Chapter 544. If They Are Gods, Then I (1)
Guyver did not hide his madness.
The heretic who denied God.
He had officially announced Hamed’s death within the Order.
“Y-you’re saying it’s true?”
Amid the frenzied cheers.
The players belonging to Bohemian fell into confusion.
They simply could not believe it.
“Could it not be some kind of operation?”
“An operation?”
“Y-yes! An operation so secret that even we had to be deceived. No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t make sense, does it? How long have those two been together…….”
“No. Don’t run from reality. Face it.”
Long, flowing hair.
The player shook their head and said so.
“What do you think there is to gain by spreading a false rumor that Hamed is dead? At most, it would strengthen internal unity within the Order. But do you really think this fanatic group needs an excuse like that?”
From the moment the doors of the Pantheon opened and the voices of the gods were heard.
They had already been boiling water.
Their faith was at one hundred percent; it could not soar any higher.
“……
No.”
Even so, they could not believe it and asked again.
“Then why? Why would the guild master do that to the vice guild master…….”
“Guyver announced it himself.”
“Yes……?”
“That Hamed was a heretic.”
“!”
They had to acknowledge what had to be acknowledged.
“I don’t know what came over him, but Guyver may no longer be the Guyver we knew. He may have been reborn as a true paladin who follows only God, who follows faith over Bohemian.”
From now on, they had to be coldheaded.
“T-then what should we do?”
“What if we run away even now…….”
“Are you insane? Remember what happened to Hamed.”
In the middle of a fanatic group.
If they did anything that could get them branded as heretics, they would be executed.
The player gave a bitter smile.
“Even if we miraculously make it out of this fanatic group alive, do you think anyone will be on our side? The moment we betrayed Lee Hoyeol and threw in with Raymon Sean, we became traitors to humanity.”
Park Minjae.
The press conference of the AAU’s Korean branch chief.
There were no holes in his logic.
“……
Gods, my ass.”
Even if they spoke of the revelation of the Goddess of the Arcana Continent.
There was no way everyone in reality would sympathize with them.
To begin with, even they themselves did not fully believe it.
“Glory to the Pantheon!”
“More blood of heretics!”
“We shall prove our faith to all gods!”
Contrary to the fanatical faith spreading through the Order.
The faces of the Bohemian guild members grew ever more.
Colored by deep despair.
“Is there no way for us to survive, senior?”
“There’s one thing we can hope for.”
“W-what is it?!”
Once again, the name flashed through their minds—Lee Hoyeol.
But they soon shook it off.
Because they still had a conscience left.
The player opened their mouth.
“We contact another Order.”
“Another Order……?”
“To be precise, an Order that hasn’t yet been infected by madness.”
It was not called the Pantheon for nothing.
Even excluding the Goddess, there were many gods on the Arcana Continent.
Their forces merely varied in size.
Among them, there were also players who had chosen to be the head of a snake rather than the tail of a dragon.
“There should be players in other Orders who are in the same situation as us. Contacting them at this assembly point, forming an alliance, and preparing an alternative—that would be the best method.”
“Ooh……!”
“Though, to be honest, I’m not expecting much.”
Guyver had changed.
Judging by his actions, hoping that the players connected to the gods were still sane might be a vain hope. But they had to try everything they could.
The player gritted their teeth. ‘Because Lee Hoyeol’s mercy no longer remains for us.’ Then they checked the time.
“The smaller Orders should be arriving soon.”
Including Guyver’s “God of War.” ‘The God of Fate,’ ‘the God of Insects,’ ‘the God of Play’…….
Those belonging to dozens of Orders too numerous to mention were gathering at Bohemian’s hideout, the first assembly point.
“…….”
Silence flowed.
It was the moment when every Bohemian guild member except the guild master, Guyver, and the deceased Hamed, waited with rigid faces for their final path of survival.
Someone opened their mouth.
“……
Wait, the time has passed, hasn’t it?”
They were right.
Before they knew it, the appointed time had long since gone by.
In that instant, a thought entered their minds. ‘Betrayal? Or did they change their minds at the last minute?’ No, it was probably neither.
Even if they backed out now.
They would only be abandoned by both sides.
Then there was only one possibility.
“They were unable to gather within the time limit.”
“Yes? What do you mean?”
“Something happened that prevented them from gathering.”
“……!!!”
The Pantheon update.
After that, the Orders had come to wield the power of gods, close to omnipotent.
And yet there was a force that could block the movements of such Orders.
Even if it was the Holy War Alliance.
Unless they deployed enough troops to shake the world…….
“No way.”
The name they had tried so hard to forget.
Those three syllables surfaced in their minds once more.
“……
Lee Hoyeol?”...
The man who sought to become the head of a snake, Hikari, smiled.
“It has been a long, long time of persecution.”
Apostle of the God of Disease.
A trash hidden class that, simply by serving it.
Had debuffs clinging all over him.
But because there had been trials, the present shone all the brighter.
Therefore.
“From now on, the path I walk shall be a new path.”
Sunlight shining into a rat hole.
The Pantheon update.
That light was truly dazzling.
“I mean it sincerely.”
Hikari looked at his status window with an enraptured expression. To briefly summarize the contents of the status window, one could say that his combat power had increased severalfold with this update.
[Infectivity: 101]
The class-exclusive stat, [Infectivity].
Had surpassed one hundred.
That was the greatest change of all. Swish. As Hikari lightly stretched out his hand, every living thing around him began to lose its light.
Messages updated without pause.
[The target has become a host.]
[The target has become a host.]
[The target has become a host.]
…….
When one speaks of disease, one is bound to think of status abnormalities.
However, this was a “god” of disease.
Naturally, it existed on a different level from ordinary status abnormalities.
“Do you know?”
Hikari whispered as he stroked a blade of grass.
“It means I can toy with your lives as I please.”
Ssssss.
The blades of grass became covered in red spots.
The power he had obtained thanks to the opening of the Pantheon.
Hikari ruminated on that new strength.
[Mother of Disease (Master): Infects a target and turns it into a host. You can induce any desired disease in targets under your control.]
Madness flowed across Hikari’s face.
“It is all thanks to your care, my god.”
That madness had a definite purpose.
“I shall spread your name ever wider.”
There was only one believer who served the God of Disease.
Himself.
That was the reason Hikari was heading toward the assembly point, Bohemian’s hideout.
There.
“The diseases of yours that deserve veneration……!”
To the believers of other Orders.
He had resolved to spread the greatness of the God of Disease.
However, everything was merely the wish of his lowly self.
Hikari dropped to his knees on the ground.
“Yet I shall follow your will alone.”
O God of Disease.
If you do not desire it.
If you wish to avoid discord with the gods of the Pantheon.
I shall suppress my own desires.
Instead.
“I shall spread your greatness to those who oppose the Pantheon.”
He slowly closed his eyes.
And then he waited.
Until the living God of Disease responded.
But.
“……
My god?”
It was excessively quiet.
Had God perhaps stepped away for a moment? That could not be. He was not a human like himself, but an omnipotent being. A god who could answer his call anytime, anywhere.
“No, that can’t be……?”
Bewilderment.
It was the moment Hikari trailed off.
Suddenly, he felt an unpleasant aura from behind him.
“?!”
It was the grass.
The leaves that should have been drenched in his disease and crumbled away without a trace long ago were still breathing. No, beyond even that, the red spots were gradually fading.
“What……?”
And then the nail was driven in.
A system message, which did not lie, appeared.
[Enhanced ability values are returning to their original values.]
[Infectivity: 28]
“……!”
What those words meant was simple.
His bond with the God of Disease had been severed.
Only now did he begin to understand the situation.
He understood why he could no longer hear his voice.
But the question still remained.
“Th-there is no reason for you to abandon me, is there?”
Shallow faith was bound to turn into hatred.
[Status abnormality, “Fanatic,” has been removed.]
Hikari rose to his feet, his face twisting.
“God, my ass. It was bullshit from the start!”
The moment Hikari spat those words out.
He gasped and clapped a hand over his mouth.
No matter how angry he was, the other party was a living god. ‘……
Damn it, I’d have no excuse even if I died!’ It was unmistakable blasphemy.
Would he be struck down by the wrath of the God of Disease?
Would he die writhing from some horrific disease?
Hikari trembled, his face gone pale.
“……?”
No matter how much time passed, no change occurred in his body.
Just in case, he muttered several times under his breath, slandering the God of Disease.
But there was no change.
“I-I wasn’t abandoned……?”
It was not that the God of Disease had abandoned him.
Something had gone wrong with the God of Disease’s safety.
But he still could not understand it. ‘Who could possibly harm the God of Disease in the Pantheon?’ Even the insignificant God of Disease possessed omnipotent power.
Including the Goddess.
The place where beings even more omnipotent than him gathered was none other than the Pantheon.
“Just who could do that to the Pantheon…….”
As Hikari thought, a name surfaced in his mind. ‘……
If it’s Lee Hoyeol?’ Hikari unknowingly looked up at the sky.
“Is he really fighting gods……?”...
The Goddess Order.
The holy land.
Muon.
“All preparations are complete, Saintess.”
A graceful appearance.
The Saintess wore a battle garment that was an appropriate blend of priestly robes and plate armor. With that hand, she caressed the holy sword at her waist. The sensation beneath her fingers was unfamiliar, but it was fine. ‘Because you will guide me.’ Freyja thought.
Saintess.
It was a title she still could not get used to.
A burdensome title. ……
Tremble.
That was only natural, because she was shaking.
Talim’s defense flashed through her mind.
The voices of the paladins.
And lastly, the deeds of the Infinitely Deep Darkness. ‘If I had been alone.’ She would never have been able to reach a decision until the very end.
To burn away the Infinitely Deep Darkness.
She would not have been able to wholly trust the Goddess’s revelation. ‘……
It could not be helped.’ The Infinitely Deep Darkness, Lee Hoyeol.
The deeds that man had shown until now.
Had been so merciful that one could regard him as a living god.
However. ‘Do not be mistaken.’ Freyja.
You are nothing more than a tool.
Nothing more than a vessel that carries and conveys the Goddess’s will.
Repeating that to herself, Freyja moved her feet.
A priest spoke to her.
“Everyone is waiting for you, Saintess.”
“Is that so.”
She knew what they expected of her.
Before the campaign, they wanted her to prove the Goddess’s existence once again.
When she entered the Great Sanctuary, she saw her brothers and sisters who had finished preparing for war.
What would remain at the end of this war?
For a moment, Freyja wondered.
But soon, she regained the duty of a Saintess. ……
Yes.
What matters is the Goddess’s will.
I am nothing more than a vessel.
Gently.
She closed her eyes and clasped her hands in prayer.
She prayed to the Goddess.
Because she was lacking and foolish.
She asked to be taught, for she could not understand Her will.
However.
“…….”
Freyja ended up opening the eyes she had closed.
Because she possessed divine power incomparable to that of ordinary believers.
She could feel it immediately.
The priests asked her.
“Are you all right, Saintess?”
Freyja answered quietly.
“The Goddess does not answer my prayer.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“……
The Pantheon.”
“Why the Pantheon all of a sudden?”
“It seems the gods of the Pantheon are in danger.”*
“Did I not tell you?”
A voice rang out at the entrance of the Pantheon.
“Something like divine status no longer matters to me.”
He had sacrificed the divine status he had so desperately craved.
Thanks to that, he could no longer even become a demigod.
Even so, he did not feel bad.
Because fools who had thrown away even more than that were together with him.
“To think this Rockid would end up joining hands with this damn bastard.”
A rough voice.
The one who revealed himself was.
The greatest mastermind of the Arcana Continent.
Formerly of the Shadow Mercenaries.
Kichi looked around the entrance of the Pantheon and said.
“Looks like it was worth renewing the contract.”
It meant she could kill those obstacles for certain with her own hands, didn’t it?
“That’s why they shouldn’t have messed with him in the first place.”
The Infinitely Deep Darkness.
At the same time, my savior and the savior of these guys.
And.
“Our great leader of Akshan.”