Chapter 50: This Is Why They’re Called Evil Gods
Chapter 50: This Is Why They’re Called Evil Gods
Divinities die if they receive no faith from the mortal world.
Like a person suffering from hunger and thirst, they wither away day by day until they finally disappear.
Moreover, if they lack divine power—the sum of accumulated faith—their influence over the mortal world becomes extremely limited, making it difficult to exercise great power.
That was why every divinity was desperate to expand their following steadily.
“Believe now and receive good fortune with wealth for free!”
The second figure of the Good God faction.
Talendros, the God of Seizing Fortune and Valuable Harvests, lured followers in droves using money as bait.
It was somewhat disgraceful, but if one wished to avoid extinction, sometimes pride had to be set aside.
But why were Evil Gods called evil?
Because their thinking was fundamentally flawed.
“May I say something honest that might be a little rude?”
When I asked cautiously, the Silent One replied in a hesitant voice.
【S-say it. I am not such a fragile god that I would be wounded by the words of a follower….】
Since permission was granted, I spoke the truth without hesitation.
“The reason the Cult of Lonely Silence shrank and eventually collapsed is entirely because of you, Lady Leria.”
True loyalty meant daring to point out serious mistakes made by the deity one served.
If only flattering sycophants remained nearby, the god would eventually wither and die.
However, my blunt advice seemed too harsh for the one Evil God whom even other hostile gods did not bother restraining.
【Even so… that is too cruel….】
The deity with only three followers began to sound tearful.
I was a cold-blooded cultist, but even I could not remain unmoved by the tears of a great divinity.
So I briefly changed roles to that of a half-elf counselor and spoke more gently.
“Why were you so obsessed in the past with burning the living and turning the world into a land of the dead?”
Back when Leria had been the Principal Evil God, her ideology and goals were extremely harmful to the world.
That was why the Good God faction focused their efforts on opposing her.
“Your ideas were so cruel that during the Great Holy War, senior cultists of Lonely Silence were caught in heresy trials and all killed.”
【I do regret those events to some extent….】
The oracle carried an unmistakably gloomy tone.
【But I only wished to see a world where all living beings became the dead and the world sank into silent darkness….】
Even with only three followers left, she showed no real remorse.
This is why she’s an Evil God.
Wasn’t Nightmare World basically Leria’s ideal world?
Thousands of years ago, the entire Northern Continent had once been swallowed by pitch-black darkness.
Since then, the Good God faction had strictly blocked the growth of Leria’s faith.
Thus, it was widely believed she could never become a great deity again.
《The Wise One sneers that this pitiful Evil God should simply disappear already.》
Crackle.
【Y-you also serve Lidni and Sue’je….】
Apparently sensing the mocking intent of the two Evil Gods, Leria’s already weak presence shrank even further.
【Why are you serving two Evil Gods and still sane—ah… actually, you’re not sane.】
“What do you mean? I’m disappointed. I won’t become your cultist.”
【Ahh! I’m sorry! I was wrong….】
Teasing a great deity too much wasn’t pleasant either.
It was time to restrain myself.
Just a little more.
【You… truly wish to become my cultist?】
“No. That was all a lie.”
【Ah… I knew it….】
“The lie was the lie itself. But why do you keep asking?”
【…Because it still feels unreal.】
That was understandable.
After becoming the weakest divinity, the Mysteries she granted had become pitiful.
If faith was lacking, fewer followers came.
With fewer followers, faith declined even more.
A vicious cycle.
Leria was already rolling steadily toward extinction.
New followers were rare.
【D-do you perhaps have… masochistic tendencies that enjoy hardship…?】
“Today will be the last time you question it.”
I raised my head proudly.
“I dare to make a prophecy.”
As the third-highest ranked follower of the Cult of Lonely Silence, I could swear it.
“From now on, the number of people who worship you will increase.”
I would make Leria a great divinity again.
I would personally spread faith in her.
“I promise to increase your followers to more than one hundred times the current number.”
【Truly!? Kar, I appoint you the Vanguard of the Cult of Lonely Silence!】
“I will do my best.”
《Correction: Even multiplied by one hundred, that is only three hundred followers. Still the weakest deity.》
True, but for a god in such dire circumstances, three hundred followers would probably feel like immense wealth.
Happiness might be an illusion, but relative value still mattered.
【Now… I shall grant you the basic Mystery…!】
Fwoosh.
A lukewarm flame appeared on my left arm.
When I rolled up my sleeve, it had already become a bright red tattoo.
A snake with long smooth scales.
It should have looked threatening.
But the divine power invested was so small that it looked like a worm.
【Ah… I feel dizzy… I shall go….】
Perhaps the lack of divine power made her dizzy.
The presence of the Silent One suddenly vanished.
I stored the idol back in my subspace and tested the new Mystery.
The snake tattoo wriggled and moved to my fingertip.
Then it opened its mouth.
Fwoosh.
A flame weaker than a candle appeared and quickly faded.
That was it.
《Tier-1 Mystery (Growth Type) — Death-Flame Fire》
《Allows you to wield flames containing the power of life and death. Currently useless. Just use Spark of Glory instead.》
《It is so pathetic that the Wise One is laughing!》
Lidni and Sue’je couldn’t suppress their laughter.
Indeed, for now it was garbage.
But with a special method that explosively increased power, it could become a Mystery even the Evil Gods could not ignore.
First, I should give Lady Leria a gift to celebrate becoming her follower.
Rosalia treated me like a drunk.
But I was perfectly normal.
I stepped onto the window frame.
《Wait!》
《Where are you going at this hour, and why are you climbing out the window?》
I didn’t understand why the letters appeared so urgently, but I answered honestly.
“I’m going to burn a few people alive for Lady Leria. I’ll go to the eastern district where there are many drunk people. If everyone’s drunk, abducting one person won’t be noticed. And if I sneak out, when the guards arrive it’ll prove I was inside the room.”
It was a perfectly logical plan.
After a moment, Eye That Perceives Truth finally responded.
《You are drunk. I strongly recommend you go to sleep.》
I didn’t understand.
Why stop me?
I only wanted to burn three innocent explorers alive as part of my religious devotion.
3. Traits
Choose exactly two traits.
Fanatic and Rusty Mind.
Combined, they allow a build that serves multiple Evil Gods simultaneously.
However, both traits have severe drawbacks.
Especially Rusty Mind.
It halves mental strength but removes the penalties for multi-faith worship.
However, one must beware of status effects like Intoxication that reduce rationality.
When affected, the character’s thinking changes drastically.
In such a state, they may commit uncontrollable strange actions.
— From “The Cultist Guide to Twisted Truth Written by a Veteran with 20,000 Hours as a Cultist.”
“I don’t understand.”
An elderly priest wearing black-and-white ceremonial robes murmured while looking out the window.
Bishop Elioras of the Third Diocese of the Harmony Church.
“Is something wrong?”
His bodyguard Holy Knight asked carefully.
Bishop Elioras, famous for having a “clear head” that avoided deep thinking, seemed troubled.
Something unusual must be happening.
“I received a strange instruction.”
After staring outside silently, the bishop answered.
“The Saint delivered a message to all bishops for the first time in a while. But I can’t understand it.”
“Is it something I shouldn’t see?”
“I’m not sure. But if we keep it secret between us, it should be fine.”
Technically that should be a no.
But curiosity won.
The Saint.
Ferris Artea.
Chosen directly by Arteine as the voice of protection and wisdom.
It was rare to even glimpse the Saint’s thoughts.
“Since it’s you, it should be fine. Take a look.”
The bishop handed over a paper bearing the Saint’s handwriting.
The words contained Arteine’s divine Mystery.
The knight read it carefully.
Then tilted his head.
“The Goddess says we must watch the cultist Kar of Twisted Truth from now on.
The reason is unknown.
It seems to be closer to goodwill than hostility.”
“What does that mean?”
“That’s exactly my question.”
They were to observe a cultist.
But without knowing why.
And apparently not as an enemy.
A very ambiguous instruction.
“The Saint sometimes says strange things, but she never misinterprets the Goddess. I cannot understand this at all.”
“…Indeed.”
The two pondered together.
But found no answer.
“Could it be that the Goddess herself delivered the oracle ambiguously?”
“……”
The bishop and the knight looked at each other.
Then burst into laughter.
“Ha! That joke goes too far.”
“My apologies. Arteine, who possesses broader vision than any deity, would never do such a thing.”
“Anyway, thinking this hard has made me hungry. Shall we get some snacks?”
“If you’re going, Bishop, I’ll accompany you.”
Laughing together, they stopped worrying about the mysterious message.
Unaware that the light reflected in the eyes of the small statue of Arteine in the bishop’s office flickered slightly.