Lisia, My Favorite Devotee

Among all my devotees, Lisia was one of my absolute favorites. Her base stats were solid, but more than that, her 'Deep Faith' trait provided tremendous help. In other words, it was like a resource duplication bug. After pouring in my hard-earned cash and grinding the gacha relentlessly, our fateful meeting came to pass.

When devotees diligently worked for the cult or offered prayers, their Faith Value rose, benefiting me as well. Lisia was the epitome of a model student in my eyes. She busted her ass with activities and prayers alike. How could I not love her?

By "activities," I mean actual physical combat infused with holy power—also known as a Holy War. In short, despite her slender, delicate frame, Lisia was a beast in battle.

-KABOOM!

Just like what I was witnessing now, she held her own against multiple foes single-handedly without breaking a sweat. But the situation was fundamentally stacked against her.

"These bastards."

Ganging up on a beautiful woman like that—what unholy audacity! Yet Lisia didn't falter amid the hardship, wielding her massive weapon—nearly as big as her body—with fierce precision to parry attacks. She even slipped in lethal counters through their gaps. From my perspective as her main god, it was clean, applaud-worthy combat sense.

Still, if things continued like this, Lisia getting overwhelmed was inevitable. She was exceptionally strong, sure, but the enemy forces hadn't gone all-out yet.

I scanned the attackers' attire. That sinister vibe I'd seen countless times, and the familiar emblem.

"Black Sun."

Black background with a white sun—that was their symbol. But if it's blacked-out, shouldn't it be a white sun? They just called it whatever the hell they wanted.

They were a rival religious faction that had clashed with my cult multiple times. Back when I played, I'd crushed them so hard they couldn't even meet my gaze. And now they dared gang up on my devotee?

I did what I always did: manipulated the interface and tapped Lisia's name.

A solid stat window popped up, along with a brief summary of her current condition.

"What the—."

Checking again, sure enough, several stats had negatives attached. Sudden crisis.

"Uh-oh."

No sooner had she sensed the danger than the Black Sun goons sped up. Having gauged her strength, they zeroed in on her weaknesses. The shift in momentum made Lisia's expression desperate, her defense widening.

-THUD!

Cornered, Lisia took a hit and crashed into the prayer room wall. Those fucking scum.

I acted immediately.

Revelation. One of the buffs players could grant devotees. It temporarily boosted Faith and stats.

"Accept immediately."

She was tanking penalties and risks, so I needed to normalize her with my Revelation.

The status updated right away. Rechecking her stats, the negatives had flipped to positives.

"Okay, perfect."

But the changes didn't stop there.

"Oh."

Lisia's Deep Faith trait weighted interactions with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the player heavily. It was super efficient, which was why she was my dutiful daughter character.

She rose steadily from the ground, faint holy power swirling around her. Now I could relax. No matter how strong those Black Sun priests were, they couldn't take down buffed Lisia. My cult wouldn't crumble over something like that.

-Shiiiing...

But the surprises kept coming.

"Huh?"

A red aura mixed into her shimmering holy light. I knew what that was.

Right, I'd forgotten amid the chaos. Lisia's hidden perk.

Subterranean Mad Dog. It stemmed from her grim backstory. Simply put, the more she fought, the stronger she got. Broken character, right? That's the charm of gacha games. Considering the resources I'd dumped, it was justified OP-ness.

-BOOM.

She honed her restrained ferocity to a razor's edge. Now a holy beast lurked in the prayer room.

Sensing the shift, the Black Sun priests backed away warily.

"No you don't."

Feeling like a Pokémon trainer, I synced my will with Lisia.

"Wipe 'em all out."

Resonating with my emotions, she charged the enemies.

"...!"

She shook off the dust and rocketed toward her target. The atmosphere had flipped completely. What was a raid on Lisia moments ago now made the priests look like prey. They couldn't match her speed, and soon one flew off from her strike—double the impact she'd taken. He never got up again.

Perfect timing on the counter. One down meant total retirement.

"That's right!"

If they tried to kill her, they should've been ready to die. Touching my dutiful Lisia?

The one-sided hunt continued. On the screen, Lisia rampaged like a beast, turning the tide. Dodging projectiles tiger-like one moment, then slithering serpent-style into blind spots when cornered. Damn, who knew she could do that. Compared to me struggling to touch my toes, she was from another world.

Her weapon added to the intimidation. It was Divine Cross, the cherished sword I'd equipped her with in-game. A sharp blade shaped like a cross. I remembered happily pulling it from storage for her exploits.

-SLASH!

Just now, another of their ranks headed to their lord.

More wicked fools fell to Lisia. Better go to another constellation's side—peppers not welcome here.

Their red auras faded, signaling their disadvantage. When only about three remained, the attackers abandoned Lisia's life and fled.

"Idiots."

They should've bolted the moment she powered up. Estimating even then? Impressive stupidity.

"....."

Battle over, Lisia knelt in deep reverence, praying to me. So pretty. Not just her looks, but her unwavering devotion to the end. That's what made her shine. Inner affinity, as they call it in the industry? Game transcending bonds, for sure.

"That greedy little thing."

I wanted to shower her with spare gear and resources, but mastering the system was overwhelming now.

"Oh."

Players could use devotees' farmed Faith Value to enhance them. Wasn't now the perfect time to reward Lisia properly?

"Aww, my baby."

I immediately rummaged through the reward system.

Blessing. The official term for rewarding devotees.

"Of course."

No hesitation—I blessed Lisia.

-Shiver.

On screen, Lisia trembled with joy. Standing resolute, she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠headed out—probably to spread word of my return.

"...But."

Who fixes the wrecked prayer room?

"Ah."

It was all on me.

"Whew."

Gazing at my smoothly restoring monastery, I pondered next steps. Crisis averted cleanly—what now?

...Obviously, reclaim my fallen glory. This was my religion, my prestige. The faith I'd built so no one could touch it, my sanctuary.

From the intro when I arrived, my flesh-and-blood cult was in peril.

"Look at these punks."

I didn't know the timeline setup, but it seemed like the world during my absence. No more neglect. Top priority: restore form to peak.

I watched Lisia's graceful departure fondly, then dug deeper into the system belatedly.

"...Huh?"

And just like that, an unexpected fan meet-up.

-Still clinging to false faith?

Slamming into the prayer room wall, sensing death's brink. Powerless as her beloved main god was mocked.

Lisia's heart filled with heart-wrenching grief and rage.

'Father God.'

If she could feel His presence again, she'd gladly offer her remaining life. Without Him, her wretched existence would've ended long ago.

Lisia was always ready to die for her god.

And now.

Reclaiming her forgotten divinity, successfully repelling the Black Sun priests, Lisia stood savoring the lingering afterglow.

He'd returned. Her Lord, everyone's Father.

"Haa, huu."

Steadying her excited breath, Lisia composed herself. No time for this. She had to abandon her pilgrimage searching for Him and return to the cult's heart.

They weren't abandoned—she had to tell them.

Images of crumbling devotees flashed: the willing vampire, the heretical saintess. She had to proclaim His return to them soonest. Even by her eyes, they were in the most danger now.

'Still.'

She was chosen first by Him. With a tiny(?) sense of superiority, Lisia set off to return.