Ch.5555. A Brilliant Suicide Attempt

After securing the Vampire Lord, the last of the spoils, I finally concluded the long conquest of the Levia Kingdom and decided I needed to rest for a while.

‘…My faith is getting a bit low too.’

Due to the massive amount of faith used in transforming Barca 14 into a Vampiric Dragon, I had hardly any faith left, and there was little chance of any major incident occurring nearby soon.

Therefore, I decided to lend some strength to expand the influence of the Revenge Cult until I could accumulate surplus faith, and immediately turned my attention to the prayers reaching me.

‘(I beg you, I beg you… Please, please give me the power to kill that old-fashioned boss without getting caught…!)’

‘(Great God of Revenge! Show me the downfall of this accursed empire!)’

‘(G-God of Revenge… My mother, my mother was k-killed by my father… P-Please help me!)’

When categorizing these prayers broadly, the largest proportion consisted of those seeking revenge for personal grudges.

These types of prayers varied greatly in intensity, ranging from resolving minor grievances from daily life to serious matters like avenging family members.

Of course, while I didn’t respond to trivial prayers—like a child throwing a tantrum after being scolded by parents—even if they were sincere, it was different when genuine grudges or human relationships were involved.

《Have you called upon me?》

“…Y-Yes! Indeed I have, Great God of Revenge!”

《For revenge, what will you offer me?》

“My b-blood! And if I kill him, I will offer you that old-fashioned boss’s blood as well!”

In this way, I would directly address them or intervene through visions or intuitions, asking what the revenge-seeker would offer in return. Generally, I would lend them the power needed for their revenge based on their prayer.

《Very well. For one day, you shall be able to conceal your presence.》

Typically, I respond this way—while it may not be particularly beneficial from a faith perspective, it creates an image of a deity who responds well to believers.

Of course, not all causes for revenge can be considered just, so I generally grant requests as long as the desire for revenge is genuine and the motive isn’t too petty.

Naturally, if the family of that boss were to pray for the power to kill that child without being caught after the child killed their boss, I would grant that request as well.

Such chains of revenge, while detrimental to society as a whole, actually strengthen me considerably.

“Please, please, I beg you! That damned bastard who killed my parents—”

《Insufficient. Your soul cannot withstand such power.》

“…What?”

Sometimes, people ask for more than they can offer. For instance, when the target of revenge is a mid-tier or higher individual, and the ordinary person seeking revenge has no means to handle such power.

If faith were abundant, they could receive my power and become a monster, but… there are limits to how much blessing one can receive due to innate aptitude, regardless of how strong their faith is.

“Why, why not? I desire this so desperately! P-Perhaps if I offer more sacrifices—”

《…True faith cannot be substituted with material offerings. Do not disappoint me.》

“I-I’m sorry!”

In such cases, I first speak to prevent these believers from becoming twisted, then offer alternative solutions—typically connecting them with the cult.

《Even if you offer everything, it would be difficult. I shall give you a chance. Go to the Red Mansion.》

If they can find their way to the cult, Gracchus will provide full support, solving most problems this way…

However, rarely—very rarely—there was one person who misinterpreted this cooperative and kind approach.

‘(Marduk! Please grant me the power to take revenge on this social system! I offer my blood for this purpose!)’

This fool who tried to deceive a god to extract power from me—someone who completely misunderstood my goodwill and became utterly deluded.

※ ※ ※

In truth, hearing this idiot’s prayer was purely coincidental.

Normally, I prioritize believers in life-threatening situations or those desperate enough to sell their souls, using divided consciousness, so I wouldn’t have noticed… but everything started when I decided to address accumulated prayers all at once.

While resolving major prayers one by one, the urgent ones had already been handled through my divided consciousness, leaving mostly annoying ones.

For minor grudges, I would provide inspiration to help them get back at the cause of their grievance, while ignoring pathetic ones like those born from being rejected by someone they liked.

And as if word had spread about my good feedback as a deity, prayers outside my domain came in, which I handled appropriately while working through the backlog.

‘(Marduk! Please grant me the power to take revenge on this social system! I offer my blood for this purpose!)’

‘…Oh?’

That’s when I encountered this malicious deceiver.

Those words were mere pretense. Using my divine perception and superintelligence, I analyzed that this fellow regarded me simply as a machine to extract power from.

He was a common soldier in a border legion who, ambitious to become a mid-tier warrior, had returned to the capital on leave and heard rumors about me, leading him to concoct this scheme.

He had learned that I often granted prayers at relatively low cost compared to other gods, and that I didn’t seem to mind if the prayers lacked formality, so he prepared this trick.

He had set up a Revenge Cult-style altar and filled a cup with blood for his prayer—but it wasn’t just his mindset that was problematic.

Even if he had honestly said whose blood it was, using a third party would be unforgivable, but this blood he claimed was his own was actually from his 12-year-old pet dog that he had killed.

According to clearly stated doctrine, only one’s own blood or an enemy’s blood is permitted for prayer offerings, but he—not out of ignorance but knowingly—violated this rule.

With such a disgustingly hypocritical mindset, his prayer naturally contained no desperation.

Therefore, this hypocritical prayer hadn’t been exposed through the mechanism that prioritizes prayers based on desperation and faith, until now when I was resolving all accumulated prayers—that was the background of this incident.

Of course, rationally speaking, viewing the relationship between gods and humans as a kind of mutual cooperation isn’t uncommon, and some gods—even I myself—think this way.

That’s why I was using this believer-friendly approach to help them, but to think that a “human trying to use a god”—something you’d only expect in Greek or Roman mythology—would appear in a world where this god’s existence is known.

《Ha, hahahahaha…》

After an incredulous laugh at this absurd reality, I quickly changed my expression and thought seriously.

This one, I would have to kill as brutally as possible to make an example, ensuring nothing like this would ever happen again.

A god can be familiar but must maintain authority at its core—in short, if such humans increased as objects of faith, it would likely diminish divine authority and reduce the supply of faith.

So, after consideration, I decided to kill him openly in the street in broad daylight.

《Die, you wretch.》

Responding to my will, the blood in the cup before the praying man began to convulse violently, transforming into the shape of a large werewolf.

Since he had killed his faithful companion of 12 years, I gathered the dog’s soul and elevated it to a red-furred werewolf—a Revenge Hound—

Thus blessed with my special favor and reborn as a familiar rivaling mid-tier power, the Revenge Hound immediately seized its former master and bounded out to the city square.

It was summer.