episode_0050

Somewhere in the divine realm existing high in the sky.

–Crash!

As the woman waved her hand, the ornate furnishings shattered.

Delicate and artistic tableware that ordinary commoners, no, humans, would never even see in their lifetime.

Tools that could not be made with mortal power, tools that only one being in this world could use, were mercilessly fragmented.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it all!!! All this because of one insignificant human!!!”

“Goddess-nim? Are you alright? Why are you suddenly shouting–”

“Get out!! Can’t you see I’m pissed off right now?!!”

“S-Sorry!”

However, the person who caused this destruction, the goddess Kiana, didn’t care in the slightest.

She was too overwhelmed to regret such trivial mistakes.

Well, in the first place, she was the type to lose her temper without thinking when she got angry.

“I told them to help the world, but instead they’re ruining it?! My followers have completely gone mad!!”

Why was she so angry?

The reason was simple.

It was all because of Ishmael.

That annoying mortal was ruining all the grand plans she had laid out.

“Everywhere I look, there’s war. Not only in Alcyone or the New Continent, but also in every corner of the Old Continent, east and west. At this rate, my existence is in danger…”

War, massacre, total war.

This was not what the goddess Kiana had originally envisioned.

Why would a being who gains power from the faith and worship of her followers do something that would cause so many of her followers to die?

She only wanted the peaceful development of the world. Progress in both technology and society.

‘The happier people are, the more they will worship me.’

The current world is harsh.

The lower classes suffer from heavy labor and poverty, while the ruling classes are busy exploiting those below them.

In a thorough class-based society, most of humanity was living with the equation of life = suffering.

Since life wasn’t easy, the gratitude towards the gods when offering prayers decreased as a bonus.

The rich and powerful were too busy enjoying their blessings to care about religion, and the beggars and the poor were too busy surviving to be interested in religion.

‘That’s why I tried to make the world a better place to live.’

The population was steadily increasing, and the cities were growing, and the human habitat was expanding.

But the faith offered to Kiana was decreasing more and more compared to the past.

Even more than in the days when humanity had no room to spare because of the Demon King’s army.

‘It was a necessary thing.’

This couldn’t go on.

If she continued to lose faith, she might lose not only her power as a goddess but even her throne.

How could she overcome this crisis?

Should she directly deliver a divine message?

Or should she send down an avatar?

No, that’s not enough. Humans wouldn’t obediently obey just because she showed her face and said a few words.

The only way was to bring in an expert with the knowledge and information to improve the situation and entrust the work to them.

Judged so, Kiana used her immense divine power to interfere with the outside world.

To a place where civilization and technology were much more advanced, but unlike here, not ruled by gods.

“It was supposed to be a perfect plan!”

No matter how much of a god she was, it was extremely difficult to use power in another world. Her ability was only enough to bring one person.

Therefore, after strict selection, she found a talented person.

A genius who was smart enough to become a professor at a young age and remembered everything he learned.

A person who was proficient in various fields and excelled at applying his knowledge in various ways.

That was Kang Chun-soo, or Ishmael.

–Hey, you look smart? Would you like to come and help the people of my world?

–What? Who are you suddenly barging into my lab…?

There was a slight accident during the abduction, no, the scouting process, but anyway, she brought Kang Chun-soo here.

She motivated him by saying she would send him back if he did well, so he would surely work hard with enthusiasm.

She thought that if she left it to that man, the world would improve on its own… She never expected such a mess to happen.

“What was the problem? Did I choose the wrong person? No, my eyes were accurate. He was definitely the most capable.”

What was the reason?

Kiana was sincerely worried.

It was a plan where everything was wrong except for the motive and idea, but she didn’t even think about her own fault.

“Maybe I should have included personality in the evaluation criteria.”

If she had called a kind and virtuous person, this problem wouldn’t have happened. They would have obediently followed her orders.

This problem happened because she brought in a fundamentally flawed person!

The goddess thought that far.

Without even realizing that she had done such a terrible thing that she made even a normal person burn with revenge.

“Haa… How am I supposed to fix this?”

Holding her throbbing head, she reached for a water bottle.

But realizing that she had broken it herself just now, she clicked her tongue briefly.

“Hey! Someone bring me some water! And clean up this floor!”

“Yes, Goddess-nim!”

If she used a little divine power, she could clean up these ceramic shards in one go. It wouldn’t be difficult to restore it to its original state either.

However, it was difficult to waste divine power on such trivial uses now. Her precious followers were dying in war.

Thinking about the future, she had to save as much power as possible.

‘In the old days, faith would have increased even more during wartime… But not anymore. All because of one ungrateful bastard.’

Originally, it was common sense that the number of people relying on God would increase due to anxiety when war broke out. But not anymore.

Because Ishmael spread absolute monarchy, nationalism, and the 115 rebuttals.

The number of atheists and anti-theists has increased dramatically, and the remaining followers have been taken away by the leaders of each country.

As the authority of the monarch has risen sharply, some people even believe in the king.

The supply of faith has decreased by more than half compared to before the war.

“Goddess-nim, I have brought the water as you ordered.”

“Put it there and get out.”

“Y-Yes. Excuse me!”

The goddess gulped down the ice water brought by the angels and let out a deep sigh.

Where should she start to restore this chaotic world?

What was the top priority to regain her influence and authority?

The most certain means that came to mind was…

“I guess I have to kill him.”

She had to catch Ishmael.

She had to capture and interrogate him, reveal all the things he had done to gain the people’s hearts.

The damage she suffered was enormous, but it was not too late to recover. There would be enough hope.

The fact that the current conflict was expanding and becoming more intense was entirely due to Ishmael’s actions.

If she eliminated him, it would be easier to calm the war.

“But how?”

The problem was the method.

Kiana did not have the ability to directly interfere on the ground.

To be exact, she couldn’t do it now.

‘I’m not in a position to step in.’

Sending down divine punishment? Sending down an avatar to give orders?

If she did such a thing, her life would really be in danger.

To use her divine power as a god, divine power was essential, but she had used it all to summon Ishmael.

The remaining reserves were also used to give a divine message to Saint Joan.

If she wasted more divine power here, it could be difficult to even maintain her status as a goddess.

‘It would have been different if it was that bitch from before… No, no, what am I thinking? That was already thousands of years ago.’

The goddess shook her head to shake off her 잡념 and gritted her teeth.

“I have to use an agent.”

It seemed best to contact Joan and ask her to arrest and kill him again.

It would take quite a bit of divine power, but it would still be less than directly giving divine punishment.

Even if she couldn’t use her power for a while, she had to think of it as a sacrifice for the greater good and endure it.

‘Let’s think positively. I can overcome this crisis. I’ve already done it before.’

The goddess encouraged herself.

She had already experienced more dangerous situations.

Wasn’t it much better than when the Demon King Ioseb Stalin (can’t remember the name properly) drove humanity into a corner?

If she overcame this, her former power would return. Faith and authority, everything. So let’s try a little harder.

“I need to change my clothes before giving a divine message. Where did I put the mirror?”

It was truly a tearful hope circuit.

Whether it would be achieved was unknown.

* * * * *

At the same time, in a certain cathedral.

“Is she still not coming out?”

“Yes. The nuns went in and tried to comfort her, telling her to cheer up…”

“It was ineffective.”

Several priests and paladins were talking with a very somber expression.

They had been in the Order for decades and had experienced many accidents, but this was the first time they had faced such a difficulty.

“It’s driving me crazy. The Supreme Pontiff-nim is not here, and the head of the Order is in seclusion. Who is supposed to do the administration?”

“Is that the problem now? The number of believers who have lost faith in the Order and are leaving is increasing. At this rate, we’re going to be ruined!”

“We can’t just forcibly drag the Saintess-nim out!”

The Saintess suddenly declared that she could no longer endure it, abandoned all her duties, and locked herself in her private room.