Chapter 228: Alteration (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 228: Alteration (2)
Recently, Reinhardt had been in an exceptionally good mood, despite having just returned from an expedition to the North.
The reason was the "divine power of Kalanon" he had acquired there.
Even without possessing a firm faith, he had become able to wield the power of Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver. He had finally grasped the power he had yearned for so desperately.
Of course, that power alone wasn't enough to defeat Deus Macallian yet. No matter how well he could handle divine power, Deus was already far ahead of him.
However, nothing could dampen Reinhardt’s spirits. From the moment he began using divine power, he realized a crucial fact: this power grew stronger the deeper one's faith became.
In other words, there was room for endless growth. His mood was at an all-time high.
Well, except for one thing. Or rather, one person who had invaded his room.
"……Deus."
"What is it?"
"What are you doing in my room?"
"Preparing for bed."
Deus Macallian. The culprit ruining his perfect mood was none other than Deus. And to make matters worse, he had somehow brought his own bed into Reinhardt’s bedroom and was getting ready to sleep.
"……Have you lost your mind?"
"I am perfectly sane."
"Does a 'perfectly sane' person bring their bed into someone else's mansion without a word and say they’re going to sleep there?"
"I believe this falls within the realm of normalcy."
"It’s abnormal! Completely abnormal!!"
Deus simply shrugged as if he didn't see the problem. Reinhardt let out a frustrated shout and squeezed his eyes shut, feeling a headache coming on.
Ever since they returned from the expedition, Deus had started mimicking his every move, causing him no end of stress. Reinhardt wouldn't have minded if it were just moderate imitation, but Deus was taking it to the extreme.
He was completely copying Reinhardt’s daily routine.
Waking up in the morning to pray, eating meals, training, eating lunch, praying again—even taking a leisurely afternoon nap! He did it all!
But what was even more chilling was the look in Deus's eyes whenever Reinhardt used his divine power.
"……."
Deus would glare at him with a cold, expressionless gaze, as if that power rightfully belonged to him. It happened at all hours. He stuck to Reinhardt twenty-four hours a day, staring tenaciously with an expression that mixed a sense of betrayal, envy, and jealousy.
The stress was so intense Reinhardt felt like his hair was going to fall out.
"Just stop it already!"
Reinhardt screamed in desperation, but Deus remained unfazed.
"Goodnight."
Deus naturally laid down on his bed without a hint of agitation.
"Guaaaaaah—!!!!"
Reinhardt let out a final shriek and began to seriously consider a plan. He would go to the Marquis of Palatio—no, to the Marquis himself—and beg him.
Please, can't you just grant that bas—no, grant Deus some power too?
* * *
The day after Line arrived at the Palatio estate, Alon prepared to leave with her immediately. He had already been planning to head toward the Colony.
The only thing different from his usual travels was one addition.
"So, I really have to go too……?"
"Do you dislike the idea?"
"No, no, no, it's not that—it's just that I have quite a lot of research to do……."
Penia was joining them on this trip.
"I want to look into the Linked Circle a bit more, and I want to study the Feet Running Through the Past, and well—yes, that's how it is……."
Penia let out a string of excuses, her eyes darting around shiftily.
In truth, Alon hadn't originally intended to take Penia with him. He was aware that she felt burdened by traveling with him.
However, there was a specific reason he insisted on her company: to use the 'Feet Running Through the Past.' With Penia present, he could use it once a day, allowing him to devote this journey to training with Kailas.
"Penia."
"Ah, of course, it's not that I don't want to go. I'm a very curious person by nature, you know? I was just worried that I might not be able to focus on the trip—"
"Do you see this?"
Alon held out the gauntlets toward Penia.
"This is—"
"Once this trip is over, I'll lend this to you for a while for your research. How does that sound?"
"……This is—"
As Penia’s face lit up with curiosity, Alon immediately activated the gauntlets.
Crackle!
Black smoke billowed from the gauntlets, and the surrounding area began to freeze in an instant. At the sight, Penia stared at Alon—or more accurately, the gauntlets in his hand—with a look that was practically bordering on love.
"Wow—what is this? From the look of it, this is the magic you used before, Marquis—"
"Did the mana array and the conversion of laws all happen simultaneously within the artifact just by injecting mana?"
"Wait, there's more! The quality of the mana seems even better than usual? The reinforcement structure of the mana itself is—"
Penia began to chatter incessantly.
"Are you interested now?"
"Yes!"
In the blink of an eye, her expression had shifted from 'I really don't want to go' to 'I'm incredibly excited.'
"Well then. Let us depart, Godfather."
At Line’s signal, Alon’s group set off on their journey to the Colony.
Inside the peaceful carriage, Alon recalled what Line had said the previous day and asked, "Come to think of it, didn't you say you were going to the Colony to find something?"
"Yes, that's right, Godfather."
"Are you going to a ruin?"
Line nodded. "Yes, Godfather. I found some interesting information in a recently discovered ruin."
"A recently discovered ruin, I see."
Alon briefly ran through a list of ruins in his head. Since one could obtain many useful artifacts from the ruins of the Colony in Psychedelia, he had periodically asked Evan to gather information on any new discoveries.
He searched through the information he had gathered so far, but...
'……I suppose it's not a ruin that appeared in Psychedelia.'
He realized that none of the recently discovered ruins had a familiar name.
"I see."
Alon nodded lightly to end the conversation, and Line smiled back at him while looking at his chest—no, his face.
* * *
It had been about three weeks since Alon had officially left the Marquis's estate to begin his journey. More precisely, it was the fourth day since they had entered the desert along with the merchant guilds heading toward the Colony through the forest.
"You say another divinity has been created?"
"Yes."
Alon had encountered Kalanon for the first time in quite a while.
"Hmm—"
Under a moonlit night where the Milky Way seemed to pour down, Kalanon frowned slightly in thought.
"Did you do anything special?"
"……It seems there are those who have recently begun to worship Kalanon as the God of Knights."
"That wouldn't be enough to create a different divinity. In the end, it's still confined to the name 'Kalanon.'"
"I can't think of anything else."
Kalanon let out a thoughtful hum and tilted her head to the side. Just as her neck seemed about to snap from the angle, she finally spoke.
"Well—to be honest, I'm not sure either."
"Is that so?"
"Right? Basically, for a new divinity to be created, one must perform deeds worthy of being revered as a completely separate god, and faith must gather around that. It makes no sense for faith to arise when you haven't done anything."
"I see."
As Alon accepted her explanation, Kalanon added, "Still, it's strange. If a divinity really was created, it would require the faith of at least dozens, if not hundreds, of people."
"……Is that so?"
"Of course. For faith to gather without dispersing and form a 'status,' that amount is absolutely necessary. Well—if an entity with influence stronger than a god in this world offers their faith, a divinity could be formed with just one or two individuals, but—"
That was an extreme outlier. Besides, the probability of such a being offering faith to someone else was slim.
"I see."
She looked at Alon with a peculiar expression and asked, "Anyway, if you really didn't do anything, then there must be someone who gathered that faith and delivered it to the person known as 'Palatio Alon'—do you have no idea who that might be?"
Someone who gathered and delivered divinity. Alon pondered for a moment. However, no matter how much he thought, no such person came to mind, so he simply shrugged.
"Ah—time's up."
"What do you mean, time's up?"
"The time for our meeting."
Right on cue, Kalanon bid him farewell.
"……For having accumulated quite a bit of divinity, this meeting seems far too short."
"Actually, we could have talked longer, but I have things of my own to attend to……!"
"Things to attend to?"
"Yes, I'll tell you about it next time."
Kalanon waved her hand, saying, "See you later!" With that, Alon regained consciousness back in the sweltering carriage.
However.
"Hmm?"
Despite being in the middle of the hot desert, he felt a cool chill against his skin. He looked around to see what was happening.
"Ehehee—"
Penia had abandoned all the dignity of a mage; she had summoned a massive block of ice in the middle of the carriage and was hugging it with all four limbs.
"Wow—this is a lifesaver."
[This is paradise—]
[Kyu—!]
Beside her, Evan, Basiliora, and Blackie were huddled around the ice with blissful expressions.
'Having Penia along really improves the quality of the trip.'
Blackie was perched on top of her head, enjoying the cold as if he were her pet. Seeing his face filled with happiness, Alon recalled the past when he had always struggled and sweated through the desert.
In contrast, everyone was now enjoying a comfortable journey thanks to this one woman.
Naturally, a thought occurred to him.
'……Maybe I should bring her along next time, too.'
As if sensing a looming threat, Penia, who had been stuck to the ice with an ecstatic expression, began to roll her eyes around uneasily.
At that moment.
"……Every time I cross this desert, I feel like I'm going to die."
"I agree, Guild Master."
Damuda, the head of the Janda Merchant Guild traveling with Alon, muttered in exhaustion under the scorching sun.
Then.
"……Hmm? Guild Master, do you see that?"
"……See what?"
At the vice commander's sudden question, the guild master turned his gaze in the direction he was pointing.
He saw it. Tucked away between the cliffs in the middle of the desert was a Strange Gate.
"……Isn't that a Strange Gate?"
"It looks like one."
"Tell the ones in the back. We're changing direction."
"It doesn't look like anything is coming out of it. Can't we just keep going?"
"And what if something does come out?"
Realizing they had gotten closer to the gate than expected because it was hidden by the cliffs, Damuda immediately issued orders. Just as the entire merchant group was about to veer to the right—
"Hmm—"
Suddenly, a man appeared at the very front of the guild.
He wore black trousers but was shirtless. A scar shaped like a human figure marked his chest, and his dark gray eyes flashed.
"What—?"
The vice commander gasped in confusion at the man who had suddenly appeared in the empty desert. At the same moment the mercenaries drew their swords—
Smirk.
The man twisted his lips into a grin.
"I finally found you—"
He whispered softly and reached out his hand.
Drip!
A black droplet formed at the tip of his index finger and fell to the ground.
Drip, drop—
Small droplets fell one after another. Instead of being absorbed by the sand, they gathered to create black ripples.
"……!"
The vision of everyone there, including Damuda, turned ashen. And then, they saw him. The man with the hollow, dark gray eyes. And behind him, thousands upon thousands of Hungry Ghosts followed.
In that instant.
"Let the feast begin."
The man's voice echoed through the air.
Crunch!
With that signal, the vice commander's upper body vanished into thin air as if it had been deleted.
"Aaah, aaaaaaaah—!!!!"
Screams began to erupt.
* * *
"Stop! Stop!!"
"Wh—what is that?"
"Are you kidding me—!"
"R-Run!!"
Alon immediately stepped out of the carriage at the sound of the urgent commotion outside. He was met with the sight of a massive Strange Gate that had appeared near the merchant guild and the merchants being slaughtered in an unprecedentedly gruesome manner.
"!"
His face contorted as he watched human bodies being crushed or shattered in mid-air by an invisible force. But the shock lasted only a moment.
'Could it be—'
Alon didn't find it difficult to guess who was responsible for this situation. In fact, he had no choice but to know. As far as Alon was aware, there was only one being capable of recreating such an unnatural scene.
Yet, at the same time, it didn't make sense. As far as he knew, that being shouldn't be here right now.
Why, of all things—
As Alon looked around with doubt, he let out a soft sigh.
"Ah."
His prediction had been correct down to the last detail. A man was approaching Alon from a distance with a deep smile on his face.
He was one of the Four Major Factions, the ruler who commanded the Hungry Ghosts of the Other World—
The Hungry Ghost.