Before departing for Hibernia.
With about two hours left on Dimensional Transfer’s cooldown, I browsed the Divine Point Shop.
「Remaining Divine Points - 4,026,980」
Though there was no one I could compare myself to, it was clear the rate at which they were accumulating was abnormally fast.
A true god appearing in a world that treated gods as superstition.
A miracle witnessed by the majority.
The fact that it spread overnight through video must have had an effect, but the most important factor was divine power, after all.
If one entered the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult as a believer and rose through second-class believer, first-class believer, and then to the position of chief priest, they could use divine power.
Divine power was the power of god that stood against the Abyss.
A miracle that purified those contaminated by the Abyss and restored tainted land and air.
Once people had experienced and witnessed that for themselves, they could hardly help but believe.
That was why the points were piling up at such an incredible speed.
「Remaining Divine Points - 4,042,695」
Of course, once it reached a certain point, that momentum would die down somewhat, but at the current rate, it was extraordinary enough that I would soon be able to purchase an Authority.
Then what was the point of saving them?
If they had gathered, I should use them right away.
“The problem is where to use them…”
There were so many Authorities in the Divine Point Shop that it was difficult to count them all.
The only problem was that there was no explanation whatsoever as to what abilities the listed Authorities possessed, or what effects and powers they had.
So I would either have to guess purely from the name and purchase one, or study the vanished old gods in greater depth before buying.
But I had no time to leisurely study theology.
I had to make active use of the points I had gathered, quickly stabilize the world, and build up the power to oppose Kreutzwald.
「Divine Point Shop」
「Authority - Terranor’s Call : 10,000,000 Pt」
「Authority - Terranor’s Dominion : 11,000,000 Pt」
「Authority - Oserion’s Appearance : 9,000,000 Pt」
「Authority - Oserion’s Eternal Flow : 21,000,000 Pt」
「Authority - Aeolias’s Wrath : 18,000,000 Pt」
「Authority - Aeolias’s Manifestation : 10,000,000 Pt」
「Authority - Puryon’s Storm : 8,000,000 Pt」
「Authority - Puryon’s Veil : 7,500,000 Pt」
…
“I can’t buy things like these right now…”
I had felt it from Hio’s Authority, “Patience of Splendor,” but the abilities possessed by Authorities were unique and powerful beyond comparison with skills.
Of course, Patience of Splendor might simply be an exceptional case.
An ability that erased momentary splendor and such from reality, accumulated it, and then released it all at once.
Since I had only accumulated it so far and had yet to use that power, it was a power I didn’t have precise data on despite it being my own Authority.
In any case, it meant that purchasing an Authority based on its name alone was a considerable gamble.
That was why I looked at the price beside the name as well.
Expensive things were naturally likely to have more exceptional or powerful abilities.
However, if asked whether I necessarily needed them right now, the answer could very well be no.
What I was looking for was a type of Authority cheap enough that I could purchase it soon, while also being possible to infer its ability to some extent.
My guess was that such Authorities were ones most gods possessed.
Perhaps they were fundamental abilities.
With that thought, I scrolled down the window, and Authorities cheaper than the previous ones began to appear.
「Authority - Harmesia’s Swift Judgment : 6,500,000 Pt」
「Authority - Lifue’s Immortal Tuning : 8,000,000 Pt」
「Authority - Benus’s Radiant Confession : 7,777,777 Pt」
「Authority - Isera’s Soul Wings : 5,500,000 Pt」
「Authority - Kises’s Infinite Call : 9,000,000 Pt」
「Authority - Drisela’s Origin Breath : 8,000,000 Pt」
「Authority - Terabor’s Vanished Ritual : 7,500,000 Pt」
…
I kept searching, but I couldn’t find any Authority that stood out.
Nothing clicked.
In a way, it was only natural.
What could I possibly know from the name of a god I had never seen before and the price beside it?
I began to think that choosing an Authority might be harder than I had expected.
And when I reached the very bottom of that vast Authority shop—
“…This is it.”
I found two Authorities that felt exactly right.
「Authority - Lucidria’s Divine Oath : 2,000,000 Pt」
「Authority - Beltesia’s Divine Space : 2,000,000 Pt」
As it happened, I had just enough points to purchase both.
Wasn’t it suspicious that they were at the very bottom of the Authority shop?
On top of that, their names were excellent.
I had to buy these first and see.
「You have acquired the Authority - ‘Lucidria’s Divine Oath.’」
「Divine Points - ‘2,000,000 Pt’ will be consumed.」
「You have acquired the Authority - ‘Beltesia’s Divine Space.’」
「Divine Points - ‘2,000,000 Pt’ will be consumed.」
Immediately after purchasing the Authorities, Dimensional Transfer’s cooldown finished just in time.
「Transcendent Skill - ‘Dimensional Transfer(次元轉移)’ is being activated.」
「‘Continent of Verden,’ ‘Kingdom of Hibernia,’ ‘Sanctuary’」
「Beginning transfer.」
And so I moved immediately to Irina’s side.
* * *
The Divine Point Shop did not contain only Authorities.
Along with various divine skills, I could also use divine points to purchase privileges and punishments that could be granted to apostles or believers.
Fortunately, the names of divine skills, privileges, and punishments were not as unkind as those of the Authorities.
Compared to Authorities, their names were intuitive, and fairly detailed explanations were written alongside them, so there was no great difficulty in purchasing them.
「Appointing ‘Irina’ as the second apostle.」
「Divine Points - ‘80,000 Pt’ will be consumed.」
In truth, I had no intention of having a separate apostle in Verden.
Lifue’s doctrine was already widespread here, and the name Hio Pavlenko had more of an image as a hero than as a divine object of worship.
But since things had turned out this way—
If I was going to appoint an apostle anyway, I had to do it properly.
I had to make it known to the world with certainty.
That a new god had been born.
Not the hero Hio Pavlenko,
but Hio Pavlenko, God of Patience and Magic, had descended.
“…Apostle Irina.”
Irina looked up at Hio with pure white, clear eyes.
Her hair, reborn as an apostle, flowed down softly in white strands. As I watched Irina slowly rise, I activated the new Authority.
「Authority - ‘Lucidria’s Divine Oath’ is being activated.」
A sacred radiance burst forth.
A light of divinity no priest could fail to recognize.
Even an ordinary person would feel the existence of god if touched by that light, so how much more so would priests who had served god their entire lives?
【It seems you already knew.】
Divinity also dwelled in the voice.
Like Lifue’s voice when she had once manifested in person, it resounded from every direction.
Because of the sacred radiance pouring out from some unknown source, the other priests could not even open their eyes properly.
With their heads deeply bowed, they listened to the holy resonance.
【Of Lifue’s eternal rest.】
Lifue’s eternal rest.
The high priests bowing their heads likely could not immediately understand what those words meant.
The only one who understood was the apostle before me, Irina.
Even within the white radiance overflowing with divinity, Irina’s snow-white eyes, which could see through the divine, stared straight at Hio.
【I confirmed it myself.】
I had to remove the name of Lifue, which had taken firm root in the world.
I had to make it so that people would no longer seek a god who was no more.
【So make it known to the world.】
But I could not do so recklessly.
I had to widely proclaim that I was the rightful successor.
That I was a being recognized by Lifue.
【That I have inherited Lifue’s hope.】
「You have acquired the Divine Skill - ‘Divine Beauty(美).’」
「Divine Points - ‘1,500 Pt’ will be consumed.」
「Would you like to grant Divine Skill - ‘Divine Beauty(美)’ to Apostle ‘Irina’?」
「Granting Divine Skill - ‘Divine Beauty(美)’ to Apostle ‘Irina.’」
「Divine Points - ‘500 Pt’ will be consumed.」
When I stretched out my hand and pointed at Irina, the skill I had eyed in advance, Divine Beauty(美), settled into her.
Irina, too, must have clearly felt the power engraved upon her.
【Make it known to the world.】
The divine skill “Divine Beauty,” activated on its own, enveloped Irina.
Her body rose a step into the air.
A pair of pure white wings sprouted from her back.
Every action and every gesture was imbued with divinity—a truly sacred beauty.
That would lend power to Irina’s words and actions.
It would grant her authority.
【That hope has returned once more.】
Hope would once again be spread throughout the world.
With those words as the last—
「Authority - ‘Beltesia’s Divine Space’ is being activated.」
Hio’s figure vanished without a trace.
Along with his overwhelming presence and dazzling radiance.
Leaving behind only the pure white apostle, he disappeared just like that.
* * *
That was the feeling.
The shock of learning the secret behind a magic trick for the first time in my life.
The emptiness of learning the principle behind a power I had never been able to unravel.
And even a bit of absurdity.
“…So it was something like this?”
The Authority I had used for the first time, Lucidria’s Divine Oath.
This was an Authority I had not only grown familiar with, but had even seen before.
The divinity that had poured forth when I first faced Lifue in the Sanctuary, and the hazy form of Lifue I had seen.
Even the voice that had resounded grandly as divinity seeped into it.
Wasn’t everything exactly the same?
“To think that was something staged using an Authority…”
It did feel a little underwhelming, but it wasn’t as though I couldn’t understand it.
What was the most important thing for obtaining divine points?
I had to make people believe.
I had to make them perceive me as something mythic, beyond simple admiration or respect.
In that sense, one could say this was the most important Authority, the foundation of all gods.
“Well, that doesn’t mean I’m particularly expecting anything.”
On the continent of Verden, I would not be able to secure dramatic faith the way I had on Earth.
Videos weren’t circulating everywhere, and it wasn’t as though divinity had never existed here to begin with.
Furthermore, Lifue’s name had existed since the distant past, so how could Hio push Lifue aside overnight and be revered as the god of the continent?
Even so, it was something I had to do eventually.
Lifue’s church would ultimately fall.
Lifue had entered eternal rest, and no new priests would be born anymore.
That was why I had saved Irina and appointed her as an apostle at the same time, resolving it all at once.
“Confusion will come for a while, but… it can’t be helped.”
It couldn’t be helped.
If one left a sick person alone out of fear of the pain that would follow, all their teeth would rot.
Even if it hurt, they had to be pulled while there was a chance.
“That aside… Airaitz?”
“Mm?”
“Where do you think this is?”
“……”
Airaitz, clinging to my back with no thought of letting go, still showed no other response besides calling her own name.
It was a little strange to think that I had kept carrying Airaitz around like that, but… Lucidria’s Divine Oath must have automatically hidden even Airaitz’s appearance.
For now, figuring out where I was seemed to come first.
The place I had arrived at by using the Authority Beltesia’s Divine Space.
A place where I could barely see an inch ahead, and everything else was sunk in pitch-black darkness.
After wandering for more than ten minutes through a place far too dark to be called a divine space, I came to understand where this place was.
It was because I found a familiar tea table and chairs.
Crooked chairs and a table, as though something someone had drawn as a joke had been made real.
This was undoubtedly the place where I had sat face-to-face with Lifue and talked.
“This place is…”
It was the space of the abandoned old gods.