Chapter 215

Chapter 215. Inheritance (7)

As soon as I buried the sickle into the brow of the last moving one, everything around me fell silent.

“Hah, huh.”

All I could hear was my ragged breath.

‘How much time has passed?’

I had lost track of time after I felt as if perhaps two or so days had passed.

All I had been doing was dealing with the endless waves of illusions.

Surely, at least ten days must have passed.

Despite the cessation of all bodily functions, surviving this long with an ordinary human’s endurance was a miraculous feat.

I was so exhausted that I wanted nothing more than to pass out right then and there.

Yet, thanks to my field experience, I managed to keep myself conscious despite my weary body.

‘If it’s over, a message should pop up.’

Damned System remained silent.

I couldn’t relax until I was certain it was over.

I forced my eyes to focus, despite the blurriness.

Just then, as blood flowed down into my eyes, they began to sting.

I tried to lift a hand to wipe it away, but it was a futile effort.

Covered in blood from head to toe, every inch of me was drenched in it.

The amount of blood I was soaked in was so much that it dripped onto the ground.

The air was thick with the iron stench every time I filled my lungs.

It wasn’t just my own scent; it was the smell from the mound of corpses at my feet.

A space once as big as several combined soccer fields was now filled with bodies.

I was now standing alongside the massive shoulder of the Palao statue, so that could give one an idea of how many there were.

‘The foot of that statue was about my size.’

The absurdity of it all left me with an almost surreal sense of disbelief.

Standing amidst the remains of those who once populated my world, facing the statue of Palao, was an incredibly strange experience.

I regarded the statue, mired in conflicting emotions.

Palao’s statue didn’t originally have a face.

It had a head, but no distinguishing features like eyes or a mouth.

Yet, looking at it now, why did it feel like I was staring into a pair of golden eyes?

‘Is this an illusion too?’

Thoughts swirled as those silent, relentless eyes seemed to evaluate me.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Why was I brought here?

Where had the disappearance occurred?

Why were the feet of the followers bound to Bihar?

I had so many burning questions.

Yet, opening my mouth to speak seemed pointless.

More accurately, I knew speaking wouldn’t change anything, so I kept silent.

Instead of asking, I gritted my teeth firmly.

As I did, the golden eyes watching me disappeared.

「The candidate for Inheritance proves their resilience.」

「The trial ends.」

「The candidate’s stat limit is released.」

The message updated, and a new window appeared.

「Will you inherit the divinity of the lost Palao? (Y/N)」

‘Inheritance, huh…’

From the moment I landed in this strange space, this word had been looming.

Yet, it wasn’t a decision I could walk away from simply because of its disconcerting nature.

I brushed off the uneasy feeling and pressed the button.

‘Yes.’

If only it ended there.

「The candidate’s body is too weak to contain the divinity.」

「Reconstructing the candidate’s body.」

From experience, I knew what was about to come.

“Why can’t you give a warning before making us press the button…”

How hard is it to include a simple warning?

Just as I grumbled in resignation, my entire body was gripped by a shattering agony as bones and flesh broke apart.

This damned thing.

* * *

Gretman’s body twitched as he stood silently with eyes closed.

Then he slowly opened them and muttered lazily.

“At last…”

There was a sign of presence emanating from his feet.

There could only be one living creature coming from there.

A sign that everything had progressed according to plan.

The first button had been fastened correctly.

‘If only I could tamper with the subsequent buttons.’

That was beyond his permission.

Immediate consequences awaited if he overstepped his bounds.

No god was present to obscure him from the causality that loomed over him, so no more interference was possible.

‘Now, my usefulness has ended.’

Gretman realized it was time to return to the battlefield.

Even if he were no longer useful, he could still buy time for the inheritor to gather the pieces.

‘Especially since the legions are on the move…’

Returning to the battlefield was the best course of action allowed to him.

‘At least for now.’

Initially, he had thought of deploying a guard at the Order to protect him after inheriting Palao’s authority.

But he changed his mind.

‘Deploying guards might attract hindrances if rumors spread.’

Fortunately, adherents of the outsiders should keep a low profile.

It was enough to shield them from causality while the new seed grew.

‘Judging by their resilience and competence, they should be able to handle the aftermath.’

Gretman felt the growing presence from a distance and gazed at his feet.

Soon, the ground at his feet shook and a massive pit was dug.

“You’ve arrived.”

The figure that emerged was K, the outsider covered in dust from the pit.

The gaze K directed at Gretman was so piercing, it felt as though it’d cut if left unchecked.

‘I still don’t understand why such a fierce one was chosen.’

But it was Palao’s intention, so there was no choice but to follow.

Gretman reached into the pit and pulled K to the surface.

* * *

I was aware of seeing and hearing something, but I couldn’t articulate what it was I saw and heard.

In a hazy and stifled state, I let the sights and sounds wash over me.

When I finally opened my eyes again, I found myself in silence.

The mound of corpses had vanished, and the pungent stench of blood was gone.

I tried to recall what I had just seen and heard, but it was futile.

It was like trying to remember the details of a dream.

I didn’t want to dwell on something that yielded no results.

I was simply relieved that the miserable ordeal was over as I got to my feet.

My body felt light, suggesting my stats had returned.

‘Yet, the other functions are still down.’

Despite that, it was undeniable—the message confirming that I absorbed the divinity was there.

Staring at it, I realized.

‘This is the scene.’

The message window and Palao’s statue on the other side.

This was the future scene I foresaw through Meferoseta’s authority.

I only observed Palao’s statue briefly before checking how the divinity I absorbed affected me.

In the end, nothing had particularly changed.

My physical capabilities hadn’t increased, nor did any special knowledge or abilities manifest.

The eyes reflected on the surface of the pocket watch were still the same ordinary shade of brown.

Yet, the message insisted I had absorbed the divinity.

‘Can I only store it but not use it?’

Well, I’m merely a human without godhood.

‘Even if so, there’s no major problem.’

After all, my intent was to use the divinity for game updates.

If I could hand it to the system, my primary objective would be fulfilled.

‘It seems quite substantial.’

I could sense an enormous presence within me.

I was certain that it was Palao’s divinity, which I had encountered numerous times before.

‘I wonder how many updates I can achieve with this…’

It was hard to gauge how much was needed as an absolute measure.

I wanted to compare it to the divinity I inserted into the website orb before, but I couldn’t measure its scale accurately since I didn’t absorb it.

‘I guess I’ll have to check with the system during the next call.’

Having dismissed the message window, I decided to leave this place.

Although I had no idea how.

“Hoo.”

This damned situation offered no guidance for an exit.

I looked for a way out on my own, but there weren’t any entries or exits—no windows, no doors.

“Being stubbornly troublesome till the end.”

I couldn’t just remain here with no way out after absorbing the divinity.

As I looked around, my gaze turned upward.

I decided to make my exit upward; if every side was blocked, this could be underground.

‘Even if it’s not, it can’t hurt.’

If this turned out to be a conventional building, I could break through the ceiling.

Surely, better odds than digging down?

I reached a simple conclusion and climbed Palao’s statue.

Reaching the ceiling, towering tens of meters high, wasn’t too difficult.

Then, using earth-based mana, I started drilling through the ceiling, digging and digging.

And at last, I met someone waiting at the top.

“You’re here.”

It was Gretman. He casually plucked me from the pit.

I didn’t resist his pull, following his lead.

‘If he intended to kill me, he’d have done it when the pit was breached.’

He had no intention of attacking.

Rather, he seemed bent on protection.

It was like Gilenios confidently stated back at the royal capital.

‘What they’re plotting doesn’t harm me.’

That alone was clear enough that I didn’t reject Gretman’s hand.

But that didn’t unravel every mystery.

As I landed on solid ground, brushing dust off myself, I spoke.

“Why me?”

Reflecting on all that had transpired led to one conclusion.

Gretman, Gilenios, and Karlos conspired to grant Palao’s divinity to me.

‘Why?’

Why me, of all people?

‘Couldn’t they have kept it for themselves?’

They weren’t commoners ignorant of godhood or divinity.

Had they never thought of taking it for themselves?

‘Especially Gretman.’

Wasn’t he an apostle who held special affection for Palao?

Why would someone like that hand over Palao’s divinity to an outsider like me?

This had been a lingering question since even before the trial began.

I wondered if Karlos viewed me as a sacrificial lamb like Agnotia.

‘Could someone who reveres Palao like Gretman permit offering divinity to another god?’

That seemed unlikely.

‘It doesn’t align with what Gilenios assured me at the royal capital.’

I proposed various theories, but they kept misaligning, leaving pieces unmatched.

That’s why the unresolved mystery kept nagging at me.

‘It’s unbelievable they handed it over without any conditions.’

Surely, there were bound to be demands.

I had accepted the divinity, prepared to pay the price, and been maneuvered willingly.

Now, with divinity in my possession, I awaited its dues.

“What makes you think I know?”

But the answer I received wasn’t sufficient to assuage my doubt.

“It is the Goddess’s will.”

Gretman added when he saw I was puzzled.

“Even if I understood it, explaining would be challenging. You know whose scrutiny the apostles are under, don’t you?”

Apostles are neither purely divine beings nor mere mortals; they’re under direct scrutiny from causality.

That was the price of sharing in divine authority.

‘Rashar didn’t seem capable of comprehending causality accurately.’

Gretman’s case seemed different.

He appeared to have more insight into the domain of the gods than Rashar.

I asked the reason for this distinction, and for once, I received a proper answer.

“Time accumulates as records, which then define one’s existence.”

Rashar simply hadn’t accumulated the status to perceive causality yet, being relatively new as an apostle.

“She will also come to understand in time… Yet sometimes, seeing and knowing less ensures safety.”

It was a calamity triggered by wars they failed to prevent in their own time.

He couldn’t endanger a young apostle like her.

With slightly bitter intonation, Gretman concluded his explanation and abruptly presented something.

Damned System