NOVGO.NET Chapter 793: God Hunter [1]
Chapter 793: God Hunter [1]
“What? He can stay?”
“Why? He’s an outsider. This makes no sense!”
“Living Saint! Rescind the request! It makes no sense at all!”
“Living Saint!”
The hall erupted into protests almost immediately. Be it the Seats or the regular followers. Everyone was against the idea of letting me stay.
To say that I wasn’t confused was an understatement.
I was almost certain that he was going to kick me out.
‘Why did he suddenly allow me to stay? What changed his mind?’
Despite the protests that were going around, the Living Saint appeared to turn a blind eye to everything. He neither acknowledged nor addressed any of the questions coming from the seats and followers around.
He just moved towards the beacon before stopping.
He closed his eyes a moment later, clasping his hands together as he mumbled several things in a tongue that I couldn’t quite understand.
The moment he did so, all protests died down.
The faces of the people, albeit unwilling, came to a sudden rest as they all clasped their hands together and faced the large beacon at the center of the Cathedral. They all started to mumble the same inchoherent mumbles coming from the Living Saint.
The Seats were no different; their hands similarly clasped.
‘What are they doing? Is this some sort of prayer?’
I turned my head to see An’as doing a similar thing.
The beacon of light hummed shortly after, a bright light converging in the middle that brightened for several seconds. Staring at the scene, I felt something within me stir as a thought occurred to me.
‘…This must be the way Panthea managed to gather faith and, as such, get a better understanding of the Source.’
From what I understood, faith was a way to help the ‘gods’ gain better access to the source. Given how Panthea was injured, there was reason to believe that she was doing this in order to heal herself.
‘Thinking about it… Noel’s blood is incapable of healing her wound. That suggests that wounds created by the Outer Beings cannot be cured in such a way. Is faith the method to do so?’
This was just a guess on my part as I watched the entire scene in silence.
Although I was able to notice dissatisfaction coming from the inner circle of the Seats of Solas, in times of prayers, they were all working as a unit.
They let go of all other thoughts and prayed together.
This prayer dragged on for the next ten minutes or so. I listened to the entire thing without making a noise, but after a certain point, I started to get bored.
Like…
It was a real pain in the ass.
Thankfully, as if the Living Saint and everyone else could hear my thoughts, they stopped. The beacon flared, and a strong, yet gentle pressure filled the room. It enveloped every single pressure besides me and the ‘non-believers’.
“Thank you, Goddess, for your guidance!”
“Thank you, Goddess, for your guidance!”
“Thank you, Goddess, for your guidance!”
“Thank you, Goddess, for your guidance!”
I was so bored that for a moment I even had the urge to follow along. Unfortunately, Leon beat me to it as he pressed his hand over my mouth.
“….!”
‘Don’t even think about it…’ He whispered in my ear, pulling his hand away before I could spit on it. For good measure, he rubbed his hand against his pants, glaring at me the entire time.
Fortunately for him, the Living Saint’s voice brought my attention away from him.
“Now that we’ve prayed to the Goddess, I will begin talking about the reason why this gathering has taken place.”
A certain tension rose in the room the moment he spoke. Everyone present had clearly been wondering the reason for the gathering, and with all attention focused on the Living Saint, he began to speak.
“On the order of the Goddess, we are to investigate the main source of the substance that is spreading across the area.”
Raising his hand, the Living Saint displayed his hand. In particular, the ring that An’as had previously shown.
“This device, created by us, can help detect the substance that may linger among common objects like candles, candy, and so on. Your job will be to find these items and prevent their immediate distribution. It is essential that you locate these items. They hold great danger to the order that we’ve established, alongside the Goddess’s health.”
There was some alarm on the faces of the followers the moment the Goddess’s health was mentioned, but the Living Saint was quick to speak about it.
“Please don’t worry about the Goddess’s health. She’s still fine for now. However, if the spread of such items and substances continues, her health will be at risk. This is why it’s of high importance that we stop this.”
Bullshit…
Panthea’s health was clearly on decline. It had nothing to do with the substance that was spreading, but clearly, she and the Living Saint didn’t want the news to spread and incite panic in the process.
“Rewards will be given to those who manage to stop the substance. If you can find the dealers and distributors, the reward will also be higher. We will spare no expense in order to get to the bottom of this!”
The crowd stirred.
Not just from the excitement of helping the Goddess, but also from the prospect of being able to gain monetary rewards for their achievements.
Who wouldn’t want to receive monetary rewards?
“That’s all regarding the topic of the substance that is currently lurking around the territory. There’s something else that I’d like to talk about. This is a little bit more serious.”
The atmosphere in the Cathedral shifted. Where there had only been scattered tension before, it now thickened into something almost unbearable. It was so heavy that my skin prickled beneath my clothes.
As the Living Saint’s gaze swept the place, he began to speak, his voice lower than before.
“Recently, an unexpected incident occurred within Clora’s domain. Not many of you may be aware, but she’s been attacked.”
“…..!”
“…..!?”
“What!?”
“How could this be…!?”
The shock coming from many of the devotees was clear. After all, they all worshipped the Gods as these all-seeing, all-powerful creatures that could hardly get hurt. For someone to attack them….
“Goddess Clora was attacked?”
“She must be fine. She’s a Goddess!”
I could also hardly contain my shock. However, besides the shock, I started to feel something else.
Something more… like dread.
“She’s indeed been attacked and has sustained serious injuries.”
“…..!”
“…..!!!”
If before not everyone was shocked, the shock this time was clear on the faces of every single person present.
I also was unable to hide my shock.
‘I’ve yet to meet Clora, but I’m sure she’s also incredibly strong. Perhaps not as strong as Sithrus or Noel in his prime, but given that she has access to the Source, she must be no easy opponent. For her to be injured…’
“The extent of her injuries is unknown, but the Clora territory has asked for some support. We’ve delayed the support for now, but they’re also facing a similar situation with the substance. If we don’t help them and the substance spreads…”
The Living Saint stopped, but the meaning behind his words was clear. The tension that had already settled across the room grew even more straining.
I found myself frowning deeply, trying my best to get a better sense of the situation, and the more I did, the more my heart started to sink.
This person who could hunt a god…
Who had the power to hunt one…
That…
“We call her the God Hunter.”
My breath paused.
“She has power far beyond anything that we’ve ever encountered. Enough to rival that of the Gods, and has recently started to make her move. Despite her powers, Clora has been unable to suppress them. She’s currently using her forces to keep the situation at bay, but if we don’t do anything, I’m afraid…”
The Living Saint stopped, the hall falling silent as a result.
Nobody made a single sound.
The same was for me.
A heavy sense of dread enveloped the place.
The same was for me. But not for the same reason as them.
‘Her… He said her…’
If before it was only doubts, I was all too clear now.
The God Hunter…
That was none other than Delilah.
“H-ha.”
My chest tightened.
***
Pitter. Pitter. Pitter.
Rain was rarely seen in the Mirror Dimension.
In such an unforgiving place, rain was a sight that one would witness every several years. In such times that it did occur, the rain would be different from the usual clear rain.
Dark red clouds stained the sky, and blood-colored droplets fell from above, splattering against the parched soil. Each splash looked almost alive, like the lingering blood of everything that had been lost in this world.
On such a day, the rain served to mask the red that dotted the land.
Click! Click—!
The gentle click of heels.
“Ahhhhh!”
A loud yet piercing scream that ripped through the air.
“….”
A pair of dark eyes that seemed to suck in all the light from the world.
A lonesome figure stood amidst the rain, her long black hair flowing behind her back as figures appeared one after another, each holding onto large weapons and dashing at her from all directions.
They surrounded her from all directions.
“Die!!!”
“I’ll kill you!”
“You’ll never get close to the Goddess!”
“For the Goddess!”
Despite the shouts.
Despite the heavy pressure coming from their bodies.
Despite the numerous magic circles that floated in the air and the heavy mana that lingered in the air…
“….”
The figure stood lonely, her expression calm and flawless.
Alone, she stood amidst the sea of shouts and attacks.
And…
Alone, she stood amidst the carnage that came a few seconds after.
WHIIM!
Blood mixed with the rain, bodies falling shortly after with heavy ‘thuds’.
Besides the soft drips of the rain, the world grew silent.
All eyes were locked on the figure standing among the crowd, faces pale and bodies trembling.
A clear sense of fear marred their features as they looked at her.
“…..”
In spite of all the stares, the figure ignored them all.
Her gaze was fixed on a figure in the distance, her face pale as she clutched her bleeding shoulder. Her eyes flickered with shifting colors, blue, green, brown, and more, each hue bleeding into the next like ripples in water.
Unlike the others, her expression was calm.
She was bleeding, but the wound was slowly closing.
Her presence was also unlike any other.
She was…
Clora.
The Goddess of Elements.
Amidst her army, she stood face to face with none other than the God Hunter, Delilah V. Rosemberg.
The world came to a sudden pause as the two faced each other.
Until—
“How repulsive.”
Clora’s voice echoed across the world.
“…What a disgusting creature. You must be eradicated at all costs.”