Chapter 179: True Faith (2)
QCygyikIt was a mysterious place.4mc9G
zdKIqimThe gentle ocean waves, for some reason, were void of the fishy scent of the ocean, and the grains of sand on the beach were warm and soft like finely granulated flour.Y0zwMC
hRwWhat was the most mysterious of them all, was that no signs of life could be felt from this island.AZLq6
0KycbKI“Ahh…”JmmKT
Vrrbe2However, none of the above was why Estelle was shivering – she was trembling not from horror or fear of the unknown but from being deeply moved. Her superhuman senses as the Saintess were informing her of the infinite flood of sacred energy within the island.zmB8Yl
Vlna“C, Chairman… What, what is this place…?”Tpezxlb
LONtamThe moment she turned towards the chairman to ask, Estelle realized that she could feel the same energy from her.UAeT1ZS
1aC‘How did I not know this? How did I not see this incredible amount of sacred energy?’oLn
PdEjEven the pope didn’t possess such a brilliant color.W8Thm
9logAs if she knew what was going through her head, Erin suggested with a benevolent smile on her face.ISC
Achr“Shall we walk?”SRr
NAtyndErin started walking towards the center of the island, so Estelle absent-mindedly did the same.8qS
GUpoQs“I heard you had doubts about the existence of gods.”v3iBdYp
EckD“…”5tJyyg
W0qEstelle quickly went through the report about Erin Danua – a new chairman who suddenly appeared out of nowhere after the death of Chairman Eriu Casarr.Kn71U
VdyfHKShe wasn’t even registered in the Guardian Alliance and yet became the next chairman thanks to Senior Professor Josephine Clara’s right to choose the proceeding chairman.gRJ
qqJCUIt was nonsensical that a single Senior Professor had all the right to choose the next chairman instead of the board of directors or anything of that sort, but all the chairmans of Merkarva Academy had gone through the same process.M8MUYb
iloESD0Some even argued that it might be the same person taking the post of the chairman on repeat after changing their appearance, but that sounded way too far-fetched.cGuOQLQ
EMAKHalf-giants and witches… Several of the so-called demi-humans were able to live an incredibly long life, but the biggest reason why that controversial argument wasn’t even deemed possible, was because there had been both male and female chairmans.iQyDa1
f7WJeex“God exists. That’s what they teach in the Order, yes?”7n3
BVLJQ“…Of course.”DAp
gvY“You’re right. Gods did exist. For a very long time.”PEQ
X6K4“You mean… in the past?”luL
6PcGods.sxS
Zx187XGThat was already against the teachings of the Order.QA7O
N75With the spread of the Order’s teachings, the gods of the indigenous religion were either classified as devils or evil gods. Some of the myths were also included in the scripture, but there, they were classified as angels or the subjects of the god.ebi6pU
3cnThe scripture was full of errors and a little bit of insight showed that it did not make logical sense, but there was one reason why the ‘Lord’ of the New and the Old Faiths was still deified.DNX8
G4rVYIt was due to the existence of sacred energy – a power that manifested in a few of those who had deep faith.m6lZu
oyKsY6L“Faith makes many things possible, but it is possible only to some. Why do you think that is the case?”eH7L
8ths35i“That’s because of the depth of their faith and… Ah.”hEx
0bMfV6HEstelle was reminded in the middle of her speech of those who turned away from the Lord. They betrayed the Saintess, praised as the Child of God, and even betrayed their own god.udkrtQ
1dNf7AMany priests, sisters, cardinals… and even the pope.twX
q9MRhzHAll of them were still able to use their sacred energy despite turning away from their god.3GMJ
1geARD“In the distant past, although youngsters refer to it as just a mythology, the world had been carved into being by titans and gods. The concept of gods didn’t even exist back then.”GvN
kU3Erin started revealing one by one the genealogy of the gods, which one would usually only hear from fairy tales.p65FRdb
TyqrThe War against the Titans.E6usSF0
QzlZrsMigration of Goidels, and their betrayal.KaD
ktMjoAThe disappearance of the transcendents and a land turned barren.GQL7okP
MWuU5dAnd how the land, void of gods and titans, then responded to the desperate prayers of the ones who had their blood flowing through them.oR3eb
wn7O“You’re lying…”YEduUw
PQdf9WaThose were words that she could not believe nor dare even try to.kU7uac
UXkR“You and… they were the gods?”E7c7uWZ
I9yRE“Gods, huh…? Although you call them as such for convenience’s sake, it is a little bit different. We are like concepts. Sun, Light, Earth, Curation, Flower, and Justice. You can see it as such concepts having a persona.”ZVeo5D
QJeG2RThat was an unbelievable story for the Saintess, who had lived her entire life as a devout believer. However, the lady in front of her and this entire island itself were way too full of sacred energy for her to simply regard it as fake.jNK9bC1
U1JAeIf it was true that the remnants of the gods existed in this land, and if the lady in front of her really was a goddess… then everything would make sense.4COnGuq
8Y2“Another guest, huh? And I see our kiddo is coming here quite often these days.”40tNIW
sMSSomeone said while walking out of the dark forest. Estelle turned to the voice and found a slim man with a braided beard.TREU
CF6d“Dian Cecht-ahjussi.”CLka1vJ
E051A“I told you to call me Oppa.”0R4t
BjymmB“Nonsense. Do you know how big our age gap is?”JW1
ejbxA“Everyone over 1,000 years old is friends.”WWNS
a3Nzt5“Ugh…!”4fdWw6
bhwErin, whose age was roughly revealed against her will, frowned but Dian Cecht simply giggled back while stroking his beard.fBLX
NCi“Hmm? This girl…”zU8rT
PuoAfter spotting Estelle, he walked up with intrigue while the Saintess stood there in confusion after feeling a torrent of sacred energy from him.HctTn
tn86N5w“I see. Dagda… and even Balor in the mix. There is even Lugh and Oengus… It’s hard to see a lineage with this many twists.”mCfd
TY6I“There is only one such lineage in this world.”hsqej1d
p3CAnother voice echoed from the woods. It was a man harboring an intense and flaming heat – an energy that she was ever-so familiar with already.LUkWOpW
HAH“Greetings to the Previous King, Nuada.”wYRrRW
Xi3“Right. Is your little disciple doing alright?”16lN
qWrWCl“Thanks to your help.”sQe3
OTsVKNuada Airgetlam – the master of the Sun, and one of the Ard Ri, the greatest Danann of all. He immediately realized who Estelle and her ancestors were.hnv
MSfF“The King of Goidels. A descendent of that bastard who pretended to be the Great King after stealing our bloodlines, huh?”IMpF
ICL“Please don’t say ‘steal’~. It was a pure fruit of love, Nuada.”QjFj
jJOD“Oengus…”ASMTLyK
xjOAn incredibly young man refuted the King of Gods. He was none other than the Danann of Love, Oengus, who appeared with his father, the Danann of the Earth, God King Dagda.QdG
MXMB“And if you wish to reproach me for it, you must do the same to God King Lugh. His grandfather-in-law, Balor the King of Titans, is also in the bloodline, after all.”7x03
GCRQz“Tch.”6YnUmYi
OuHiThe master of Mag Mell, Manannan Mac Lir, and the Danann of Light, Lugh Lamhfada gathered alongside several other Danann.k5Oh2
f9VEach and every one of them possessed an incredibly familiar aura to Estelle. It felt to her, that they each possessed further-classified auras of the sacred energy.PFsnOLa
DZTE“W, who… are you all?”fZ9rzXD
ytUfDShe asked with a trembling voice and the Danann gladly revealed the truth to their descendent.5iy
nk4JGk“We are the long ancestors making up your origin and your bloodline.”WMJQC
OGZyIt all started with Balor, the King of Titans. His daughter and Dian Cecht’s son married to give birth to Lugh, the Danann of Light and—ScI
YCgH4nZLugh’s son became the hero of Goidels, and Oengus’s daughter got married to one of the descendants of that hero.ZaX
KZmThat bloodline later gave birth to the King of Heroes, the first king of the El Rath kingdom, who led the Goidels and chased out the gods.waz
aN14HqB“Flowing in your veins is the mixed blood of countless powerful gods and Balor, the strongest evil king. It is, however, still an incredible miracle that it has atavistically brought the power back to you after thousands of years.”oFMNW1
Lpr“The priests that use the so-called sacred energy, are most of the time either our or the titan’s descendants.”VGV1I9
bKoJErin added from the side, and commenting after that was Dagda, the Danann of Earth, along with a hearty laughter.JVR
DWGM7“Kuhahahat! I guess I have sowed a bit too many seeds!”3C1D4
Rwqc“It’s not something to brag about, Dagda. Don’t you remember getting stomped on by Oengus, your illegitimate child?”dsn
kd6vOk“Let’s not dwell in the past, Uncle Dian Cecht,” remarked Oengus.u9XG
eKMdrg4“Tch tch. If that was me, I would have smacked his head with a sword if my son did something like that to me.”JfNf
45paAD“It is quite scary when that’s coming from you, Uncle, considering how you have a history of killing your son and opening his heart up…”UqAUh
UQKla“But he had serpents that could destroy the world!”Zse3
oBSPNhMeanwhile, a gigantic man reaching 2 meters in height walked towards Estelle. Dagda Mor – the great Danann of Earth stood before her and said with a smile.8KRu
VMFBoje“I see. So you’re a long descendent of mine.”bCi
GeMk“I, I…”oN1WN5
atOVr“I have placed my bets on Korin Lork. A new era calls for a new Danann. Well, he’s not complete as of yet but… Erin!”2aeBbE
05rzm“What is it, Dagda?”Cf4aU
qku“He’s still got my cauldron, right?”h6sDh25
Lj6XEstelle immediately knew what they were referring to – the divine artifact recorded down in the scripture as the Holy Grail. It was part of a fabricated history of the scripture, which stated that the divine artifacts including the Sun, the Spear of Light, the Holy Grail, and the Stone of Destiny had belonged to them before being lost.fboV
RuVIt didn’t take long for Estelle to admit that those divine artifacts must have belonged to these people first.wdPU0
Qyab3L“She’s a descendant of mine with my blood flowing in her veins. If lucky, perhaps it might acknowledge her as its owner.”C5Q
Ff2FhdSaying that Dagda took out a club – a gigantic one that suited his enormous figure. However, the club decreased in size to suit her body size the moment she received it with her hands.ZyW
b1R“That’s my magical club. Think of it as a souvenir for dropping by this place.”EzyddB
IcINrgE“It’s not fair that you’re not even giving her a trial, Father.”A367
zH9“There’s no need to. She even has the power of Balor inside her. We don’t need to go through no test.”yXArzm
f5GDWith that, Dagda placed his hand on Estelle’s head and gave her his final mission.pqELqK
4sDu“Go, and take my cauldron. After that, whatever you decide to do is up to you.”syg
SyS5***s3rYD
JSKNqErin returned with Estelle, who appeared exhausted and soulless after witnessing the shocking truth.euMJ
jsQynDD“Uhuk…!”jQNCT
j8dEOn the bed, Estelle wrapped her arms around her knees and sobbed. That proved just how shocking the truth must have been for her.vn7HV
DmH“Dongsaeng. Korin-dongsaeng…”lHa8Zc6
WNY8G“Was it that big of a shock? I thought you had a rough gist already.”AdBUDx2
9x8H“I’ve been… believing it forever though. And, and everything is wrong.”c4cWqe
d4WLRKy“Well, what can we do? Gods are whimsical and so must be faith.”SUv8SVV
cJJtcI have never believed in gods before so I could not understand nor comprehend Estelle’s emotions. I just knew based on my knowledge that gods existed in this world, and that the teachings of the Order were false.odk
jNmFFPABut, what I did know was…eUoWku
XTk“Is it that important though at the end of the day?”oULug3
dllmqV“What?”w3JJysL
7JLOm“Think about what the ‘gods’ say in every book and scripture. Whether it be the Lord or the gods of other cultures, putting aside the thing about paradise and hell, they all speak of the same thing.”xB1T
AFRBLove one another, be kind, and do not hurt others.XYaQc5z
9U5OQwMaintain the conscience of your heart.hnoodQ
73ibVCultivate yourself and walk the righteous path.er6q
OIi9alb“They all practically say the same thing. I think those teachings are what you should focus on, regardless of whether they have been from real or fake gods.”s2GWg
nAZsThe gods of this world also had two faces. Some wanted the destruction and downfall of Goidels who betrayed their goodwill, while some wanted to protect them simply because it was unjust.j0Wp
fcGdl7“Gods don’t matter as much. What’s always important is ‘yourself’.”GTWEU
uIXaqw“…”Ne3
zWEPv96“It’s your, my, and our actions that are important. Being sincere, loving our neighbors, and being a human regardless of what happens. Those are the things that define us.”w4nd
8GptBApparently, religion is a method to stabilize human society and cultivate one’s humanity. Both mythologies and religions were made for that purpose, at least according to some sociologist on the TV that I heard from.4Huq
xh7fE“The god doesn’t exist? You were serving the wrong god? Is that important though? Do the love and goodwill of the believers disappear? Do they mean nothing if the god isn’t there?”gNY
IgYNo. Absolutely not.ayIm
G4rMk“The amount of time that the person called Estelle has spent by serving others as the Saintess, and its significance, cannot be changed at all.”33YUUl
qoNLGCGods were not always good. The value of the world could not be determined solely by one god. Tates Valtazar, who wanted to destroy the world, was one such example.68cQ91k
WvhfS“There is someone as powerful as a god, and he’s trying to destroy the world because it’s not to his liking. I won’t accept someone like that as a god.kycI
PTho“We need to be righteous; provide love and not hatred; justice and not evil; and hope for the good and not the bad.”9SgTE
Ngd4vb6After all, that was what humanity was all about. That was the main lesson to be learned through religions, education, and philosophy to be a human, instead of just being born a human.P55p
fE6MMy opinion was that religion was just one of such methods.6ErJyBN
nfIiX8l“But if there is no god… then what do we need to believe in? If the real god tries to judge us, how would we resist?”aBPa
16g“Together.”5dhYDg4
cM7gG1“Huhp…?”KOru
XvfEZx“We can do it together. Whether it be hardships or trials, we will overcome them one way or another if we’re together.”mut
IIQIThat was how the player was able to defeat Valtazar in Heroic Legends of Arhan after all. All the good deeds and actions that the player had built up would reveal their brilliance later during the final battle.GeEhSg
Wt5Together we become stronger and can overcome any trial.hWA4
S6VVs“Saintess Estelle. I know it might be difficult, but I would still like to shamelessly request this of you.”6n49vnp
sURANrYI took out the cauldron, thinking that there must be a reason why Dagda wanted me to give this to her.QEzjTCm
SKl2“Please stand with me.”qjqCq
qzRhEstelle blankly reached out toward the cauldron and laid her hand on the treasure.u4hA
KmpwIt was then.Uvi9Ms
yz3tavE『The Magic Cauldron of Undry acknowledges Estelle Hadassa El Rath as its Champion.』aii
0vkCUndry acknowledged her.pwdfVZe
G5bShe inherited the Divinity of the Earth.Go1S
G9KVIA***7NACI
5G1Her lifelong faith had crumbled to nothing.GZTj2
PgzEstelle had no choice but to acknowledge it.4h0eGh
wnX9LBTHer faith, the verses of the scripture, and the heavenly being that she had been praising were all false.Nm5CuH
RC0A“Haha…”OYG
oZAIrreligiously enough, she instead became an existence closer to gods. Now, she knew what the origin of sacred energy was, and met the primal beings.YDo
WzqY94Justice, Sun, and another god trying to destroy them; Light.AX2iz
ar8RFWith so many gods, it wasn’t strange that believers would divide into groups. It also wasn’t strange for believers to betray their faith after meeting an actual god.g24P806
GmzTDG3The traitors of the Order – the ones that had betrayed the Saintess – had in fact found their real god before she did.pj25
t1K“Hahaha…”OnI9ws3
1VUPQPgNow, that god was trying to destroy humankind; the filthy traitors, and those who believed in a fabricated god. What rights did humankind have to dare go against a heavenly punishment? After finding out the truth, Estelle was so frightened and fearful that she couldn’t even imagine resisting punishment.SLv
w7k2MfS『There is someone as powerful as a god, and he’s trying to destroy the world because it’s not to his liking. I won’t accept someone like that as a god.』EmQ8Z
B1z49But the Sun spoke, saying that he would not accept such a future. He said that one must choose the right path without going against one’s sense of justice, or the morality and philosophy of a human. If so…tXx
aTw‘I have to choose. Between the two opposing gods.’ZfApz2
7gQj4lWas she supposed to stand on the side of the god who was born a god? Or one who inherited the divinity despite being born a human?19Ev8X
NX9qNeither of them were a complete and perfect fit to the human standards of a god who loved them.Iyq9i
ItAo“I… have a duty. I have the duty of leading people and saving them…”lXwdd
p6wSUBefore long, she decided to side with him. She did not refuse his offer.7Sqym
TdCSThe moment she made the decision, her mind returned from depression to rationality. She calculated what was right, tested the scale of justice, and formed a plan for the upcoming future.gT3nRx
lGRSvQHThe final conclusion she came to, was that she had to rule out from the Order encroached by the true believers, the traitors of humanity who wanted to be the few chosen beings of the new world.y6DGhdV
6dn4S6k“My dear brothers and sisters.”7MiRq
vFduUszAt the headquarters of the New Faith, the Saintess stood before the pitiful humans who still believed in the fake god.EY6W1C
9Xf“Look at this. I have been chosen by the god.”4Hjf
F9BO6L3In her hands… was the cauldron camouflaged to be the Holy Grail.e1PbVf
0UO1P-Is that the Holy Grail?X8S
NXeEGMB-Ohh, it really is the Holy Grail!XLKA9pL
X22tVK-As expected of the Saintess! She was chosen by the divine artifact!YUsSdGK
SrTS4HEveryone, both priests and believers alike, rustled in commotion. A few of the people in the crowd had been intentionally dispatched by her to flare up the fuss.eWZhdu
Oi6“He has warned me directly, that countless seeds of evil have been sowed into the human world.”ETr0vaX
Yr32nThe Saintess that used to believe in the Lord was no more. All there was, was a sly and clever princess, trying to modify the public’s view of the ‘Lord’ upon realizing how everything had been fake.w5Q8
ZlQuV“As the Saintess chosen by the god, I will uproot all evil and serve only the true faith!”UDJ
W2Vr70Blowing in the Chapel of Zeon was a cold breeze of religious revolution. It created a gale that neither Korin Lork nor Erin Danua had ever suspected.RzAnHZm
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