Chapter 31: False God and True God (3)

Kenyon answered, “Lord, who are you?” And He said, “I am GM.” 

The Spirit of the Lord descended upon him and banished the devil. 

Kenyon asked, “What do you want me to do?” 

The Lord replied, “When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power and be my witness to the ends of the earth.”

“Do you wish to proceed with the class change?”

A system window appeared before Kenyon, inquiring about the change in his class, which signified his profession in Rudera. 

Achievement accomplished? 

Class obtained? 

Though he found it hard to grasp the meaning, he instinctively knew he had to accept it.

System:

• The deity GM, who governs Rudera, sends his emissary.
• This divine emissary bestows power upon me…?

With a deafening roar, the moment Kenyon chose to accept, a massive storm of light engulfed him. 

The Grand Hall was instantly filled with such a blinding light that anyone witnessing it might have thought the sun had risen within.

“What… what is this?” 

The vampire squinted, retreating from the overwhelming radiance that threatened to blind him.

Kenyon watched as fragments of light gathered before him, forming the shape of a hammer.

“This is…” Kenyon slowly raised his hand and grasped the divine hammer prepared for him.

Electricity surged through his body the moment he held the hammer, a sensation of being one with a power beyond his own. 

Kenyon thought, Is this the presence of God within me?

System:

• Class: Hardhugaðr acquired as a reward for achieving a hidden accomplishment.
• Mjölnir, the class-specific weapon, summoned.
• Weapon duration: 59 seconds.

The divine weapon bestowed upon him by GM filled Kenyon with vitality. 

He rose slowly.

System:

• Skill: Descent of the Thunder God (Öku-por) activated.

Electricity crackled around Kenyon, filling the space with its power.

“Why… why can you still move?” 

The vampire, terrified, stepped back.

“What is that power?”

Kenyon took a step forward, lightning striking around the Grand Hall.

“Lightning power… impossible! This fortress is a sanctuary with its magic flow sealed! Large-scale magic cannot be activated! Unless…”

The vampire’s face froze as he realized the source of the power.

“Yes.” 

Kenyon advanced toward the vampire. 

“This is the power of God.”

Electricity surged through Kenyon’s hand as he gripped the hammer, thinking he had been abandoned by God. 

He believed his entire existence had been denied, that this would be the end, and he, too, would become an undead wandering the netherworld.

But no, This is the divine power bestowed upon me by the GM.

Despite not being his follower, despite being a paladin of another deity, GM granted him divine power that no mere human could wield.

“No! That’s impossible! God wouldn’t help a mere human!” The vampire screamed, raising his arms wide. 

Blood-formed spears shot up behind him.

“If that were true, my daughter wouldn’t have died like that! God doesn’t save humans!”

Countless spears, too many to count, shot toward Kenyon, resembling a lone warrior facing an army’s barrage.

“No.” Kenyon calmly raised the hammer. 

“He does save.”

He swung the hammer forward. 

“The omnipotent and merciful one.”

A blinding light enveloped the Grand Hall, thunder ripping through the air, and divine lightning obliterating corruption.

Rain poured through the shattered ceiling, drenching the hall, with only Kenyon standing in the midst.

He walked toward the vampire’s former position. 

The vampire who had slaughtered his comrades and driven him to despair was now nothing but a charred mark, judged by divine lightning.

“One who did not receive God’s answer.”

The vampire, who had cursed God and cried for his daughter, likely fell into darkness after being abandoned by his deity, becoming a vampire.

Kenyon looked around the ruined hall, seeing the remains of those used as sacrifices by the corrupted lord of the fortress.

“Why did you save me, GM?” Kenyon knelt in the rain. 

“Why did you show me this vision?”

He raised his head to the sky.

 “What do you wish for me to do?”

System:

• The Tower of the Labyrinth’s fifth floor, The Castle of the Faithless, has been cleared by player ‘Kenyon’ and 12 others.
• Ownership of the Castle of the Faithless is granted to the main quest’s top contributor, player ‘Kenyon.’

“…Ownership?”

The system message filled Kenyon’s view.

System:

• Adjust the entry rights for other players to the Castle of the Faithless.

Kenyon wondered why GM saved him and what he wanted from him. 

He had to decide the fate of this world of evil.

What could this mean?

He knew the system message usually appeared when a level of the labyrinth was cleared, but in this context, it felt like a divine sign.

Could it be…?

A thought crossed Kenyon’s mind. 

The vampire’s world, which fell into darkness after losing his daughter, was shown to him for a reason.

“Is it your will for me to deliver your message, to prevent such tragedies from happening again?”

Kenyon slowly rose. 

“I will follow. I will change this world. I will build your kingdom, so tragedies like that of the vampire do not occur. I will spread your word, far beyond this world, across the continent.”

Electricity crackled through his body, lingering from the class’s power, even after the weapon’s skill, 

Descent of the Thunder God had ended.

God is with me.

Kenyon did not know. 

The vampire and the fortress’s backstory were created by Albus based on a dark fantasy game he had played in his previous life. 

He gained the Thunder God class simply by achieving an obscure accomplishment of defeating ten level 100+ undead within ten seconds using a hammer.

The tingling sensation he felt was not the presence of God, but simply the electricity coursing through his body.

Kenyon reached for the system window.

System:

• All maps within the Castle of the Faithless are now open to players due to player ‘Kenyon’s’ choice.

“Watch over me, my savior. I will prepare the way for your coming.”

He was no longer the deceived servant of a false god, Kenyon. 

Thus began the tale of the second holy land of GM’s followers, the Church of the Faithful, and Kenyon, the apostle of GM.

The paladins thought to have been slain by the devil were actually saved by divine intervention, further solidifying Kenyon’s unwavering faith in GM. 

But that is another story.

Meanwhile, at the Labyrinth Shop:

“Mmm! This is so delicious!” A woman was stuffing her face with ice cream amidst a bustling crowd.

“Ice cream, was it? How can such a food exist?”

Deus, the main deity of the continent’s most prominent religion, was making a fuss over the ice cream, despite her divine stature, swallowing mouthfuls with delight.

“Hidden items and miracle elixirs don’t matter! This is real food!”

As a deity, she couldn’t easily interfere in the mortal realm, only occasionally sending down oracles, while watching events unfold, helplessly. 

But in Rudera, things were different. 

She could roam freely and enjoy life.

This was why she had given the oracle to seek hidden items, expending precious divine energy.

“Maybe I should have my followers collect coins and offer ice cream?”

Of course, she knew that doing so would disrupt her divine supply, causing her faith to falter, so it remained a happy fantasy.

Meanwhile, she had no idea that her most cherished follower had become another’s.

Even the new master of that follower was unaware of this.