Ch.159Chapter 159. Paya’s Bizarre Adventure (3)

Chapter 159. Paya’s Bizarre Adventure (3)

I possessed the Holy Maiden.

Hmm. Being blind means I can’t see anything. That’s obvious, but I thought it might be different since she’s psychic.

I thought I’d be able to see the world as the Holy Maiden sees it. This is disappointing.

Even when possessing a servant, is it impossible to share their abilities?

“Just a moment.”

I carefully touched the sleeve of the nun’s habit the Holy Maiden was wearing. Then I infused it with energy… Ah. I can see the Holy Maiden’s memories embedded in the sleeve.

It seems the Holy Maiden’s ability isn’t continuous but activation-based. That’s fortunate in a way. If she saw memories every time she touched something, even I would go insane.

‘You have a special ability. You can make the world a better place.’

I see the moment when the orphaned Holy Maiden received her habit from the Mother Superior who raised her like a daughter.

‘What an amazing power. Your coming here must be the goddess’s guidance.’

The moment when the previous Pope acknowledged her ability.

‘Don’t get cocky just because you can use some witch-like magic. You’re just a country bumpkin.’

The time when she competed with other Holy Maiden candidates.

‘The goddess statue gleamed! The goddess has chosen you!’

The moment she won the competition and proudly received the goddess’s acknowledgment.

‘The Holy Maiden cannot use healing magic… Cardinal Hollands, is this also the goddess’s will?’

‘Do not worry. Instead, hasn’t the Holy Maiden’s own ability grown stronger? The goddess must have judged your ability more important than healing magic that other priests can use.’

I was startled when Hollands suddenly appeared before my eyes. Right, he had known the Holy Maiden from before.

…It feels strange to see a dead person again, especially one who sacrificed himself for me.

‘Yes. The Holy Maiden’s ability will be a great help in catching the impious.’

Another cardinal chimed in.

‘You’ll be able to help the wronged. You can make the fairest judgments of all.’

The moment she realized her role was different from other Holy Maidens before her.

‘Ah, Holy Maiden…!’

When she became the Holy Maiden and helped many people.

‘The Imperial Family is avoiding contact with me. They must be plotting something.’

‘Holy Maiden, people in power are those who have committed many sins. They’re simply afraid of your ability.’

‘Cardinal Hollands, is there no way to investigate?’

‘We could investigate, but if they discover we’re looking into them, things could spiral out of control. We’re maintaining a precarious cooperative relationship as it is. One wrong move could mean war.’

‘…I understand.’

When she was fidgeting with her sleeve, suspecting the Imperial Family was plotting something.

‘M-monsters are attacking the Imperial Palace!’

‘They’re not attacking—they’re coming out from the palace!’

The moment of the apocalypse that finally came.

‘Cardinal Hollands? What’s happening? Where is the Pope…’

‘Demons have surrounded the cathedral! While the Pope is holding them off, you must escape, Holy Maiden! Let’s go to the safe house! Hurry!’

And memories of hiding from the demons that emerged from the dimensional gate.

All sorts of stories contained in the nun’s habit unfolded in my mind like a film reel.

Though she thought this world was a cruel place, that the goddess wasn’t entirely benevolent, and that humans were unstable beings who repeated the same mistakes, she loved even these aspects.

It must be because she was this kind of person that she became the Holy Maiden.

– Hmm.

The flashback ended, and my vision went dark again.

“It seems to be working well.”

I hear the Holy Maiden’s voice.

“I think we can say there’s no burden that would cause a ‘bad variable.’ Shall we begin?”

– Let’s do it.

“Yes!”

Paya and I answered simultaneously.

“If anything happens, I’ll drop it. Priest Paya, I’ll hold Malak’s totem.”

“…Alright.”

I also got Lakye’s promise after he took(?) totem #2 from Paya.

“Good, I’ll start now.”

The Holy Maiden infused energy into Paya and the totem.

My dark vision brightened again as my perspective shifted from the Holy Maiden to the totem.

‘O brave Udan! The Starlight Harbor tribe greets you!’

I see the barbarian chief and priest praying before the totem.

‘How dare you frown and walk around before Lord Udan’s altar! This is blasphemy!’

‘Eek! I’m sorry!’

Even the sight of a man being beaten with a club for frowning in front of the altar.

Do I have to see all these trivial memories? This could go on forever.

– Can we move to more recent times? I’d like to see from after the demon invasion.

“Understood.”

The scenes before my eyes flipped by quickly, like fast-forwarding a film. So this is possible too.

You could have done this earlier.

‘The infected horde is crossing the river! We must flee!’

‘A-are you saying we should abandon our tribe? The land of our ancestors?’

‘Listen! We’re about to die—is that what matters? We must survive for the tribe to continue!’

‘Damn it!’

I see the Starlight Harbor tribe members evacuating urgently. This must be the early days of the demon invasion.

‘Grrrr…’

A pack of wolf-infected occupied the empty Starlight Harbor tribe. They ravenously devoured the food the refugees couldn’t take and destroyed property.

Yet they couldn’t approach the totem and altar, clearly fearing the divine energy. Perhaps only certain ranks can attack totems.

Well, if every demon and infected rushed to destroy totems like the Night Stalker demon, it would have been difficult for me to complete the king’s return.

Nothing special happened afterward. Rain fell, wind blew, birds flew by and dropped droppings… time passed quickly.

When summer came with buzzing insects, a group of people approached the totem.

‘We’ve come too late. I am Jira, daughter of Gomen and Nabu, the new chief of the Starlight Harbor tribe. We’ve come to reclaim our homeland.’

A nimble-looking woman stood before the totem.

The fact that they’re not here now probably means they fell to demons.

Time passed quickly again.

‘Lord Udan? Are you trying to descend now? Priest Toto! Begin the ritual immediately!’

The Starlight Harbor chief looks at the totem with surprised eyes.

Huh, what? Descent? Udan descended?

This isn’t good news. If a loa other than me descended, it must be an opportunist like Tuga.

And judging by the absence of the Starlight Harbor tribe in the present, they likely met a bad end.

…Could Udan be the loa that Charon defeated?

‘Thank you for making me your avatar, Lord Udan! I will offer the earth to you!’

The chief, now transformed into a beastkin with brown fur, shouted triumphantly.

‘Udan! Udan!’

‘Brave God! Brave God! Brave God!’

‘By Lord Udan’s command! Capture and kill the heretics who disturb the earth and drive out the demons!’

The tribe’s warriors, now half-human half-bear, roared ferociously.

Ah, this is exactly the same as Tuga’s blessing. His followers transformed into crab-people, and these transformed into bear-people. It must be a blessing that transforms devotees to resemble their deity.

The “heretic” they mention must be Charon. They fought him and lost. What a weak loa.

Even that title “Brave God” sounds weak. Not the God of Storms, Earth, or Heaven, but “Brave God.” Not even “War God” or “Battle God.”

Did they just call him “Brave” because he had no special abilities? No wonder he got beaten by someone like Charon.

…It’s a secret that I almost lost to Charon a few times too. But I hadn’t completed my king’s return then.

‘Let’s go! We march!’

‘We shall offer the heretic Charon to Lord Udan!’

The Starlight Harbor tribe, transformed into bear-people, departed for battle and never returned. They couldn’t even clear away the ritual tools placed before the altar.

They must have been annihilated by Charon.

Even a loa’s avatar can only muster power equivalent to a high-ranking demon. Wasn’t Asha, Tuga’s avatar, only level 8, on par with Dina and Lakye who were around level 7-8?

Who knows how strong they could become with continued growth, but defeating Charon would be difficult.

Charon commanded three high-ranking demons: the stingray demon, the half-human half-demon, and the giant demon. An avatar of some third-rate loa couldn’t possibly win against him.

Several days and nights passed after that.

Suddenly, Udan totem’s vision shook and was enveloped in black energy.

‘UWOOOOO-!’

With a bestial howl, a massive brown bear tore through space and appeared.

Udan manifested in physical form?

Did his devotees earn many points before being defeated by Charon? Hmm. Difficult to say. The mechanism by which other loas can manifest probably isn’t the same as my point-gathering system.

‘Snort!’

Udan, seemingly very angry, snorted and stomped away. The ground shook with each step, and trees toppled.

It gave the impression of “Charon, you bastard! Come out and face me!”

He looked majestic in his way, but not overwhelmingly powerful like True Malak’s manifestation. Unlike True Malak, who was as big as a skyscraper, he was only about the size of a lord’s mansion.

Well, he still looked stronger than an ordinary high-ranking demon. Is this the level of other loas too?

So they’re not physically overwhelming beings, just immortal ones that can’t die.

Of course, this could be due to the nerf that spiritual beings from other dimensions receive when they take physical form.

If divine beings descended to earth with their full power intact, it would completely break the balance. This is normally how it works. True Malak was just too strong even after being nerfed.

I watched Udan as he moved away.