Early the next morning, the Great Medium watched as Ivan and the rest left the island.
She had already sent a message to Hitume Ikar so they could enter the country.
Nonetheless, the Great Medium couldnât help but wonder.
âIs this the end?â
Her role. She had already passed on the revelation that âGodâ had sent to her.
Nevertheless, she couldnât help but feel that there was still more for her to do.
It was then.
Jose walked up to her and spoke quietly.
âGreat Medium, someone is approaching the island.â
This woke the Great Medium from her thoughts, and she shook her head.
âI have already received those whom I should have. I will not accept any more guests in Lesha for the time being. Let the fog drive them away.â
âTh-, thatâŠâ
Joseâs expression changed as though something shocking happened.
ââŠthe fog⊠isnât working.â
âHuh?â
What did this mean?
Were the barriers that had been placed around the island ineffective?
Krrr-
Then they felt a great tremor.
It was the sense of someone breaking into the island with brute force.
The Great Medium then felt a wave of dizziness and stumbled slightly.
âGreat Medium!â
âIâm alright.â
However, at that moment, the Great Mediumâs expression was more serious than he had ever seen in his decades working for her.
âMy barriers were broken?â
The Great Medium blinked as she turned to look at the place where she felt the tremor.
A huge shadow could be seen in the fog. It was the head of an enormous creature that seemed to want to pierce the sky.
The Great Medium immediately realised whose head it was.
Wasnât this the large sea snake who had been wandering in the sea around Hitume Ikar recently?
âHow?â
She knew that this monster was an extraordinary being. However, it was still an impossible task for it to break through the fog on its own.
Even if it was a DemigodâŠ
But it didnât take long for the Great Medium to realise that it wasnât the sea snake who broke her barriers.
There was someone standing on the sea snakeâs head. His grey hair fluttering violently in the sea breeze.
The man looked down calmly, his gaze soon meeting the Great Mediumâs.
ââŠ!â
At that moment, the Great Medium trembled.
âThis feelingâŠâ
No way. No. Was this⊠possible?
The Great Medium felt extremely confused at that moment.
She tried to speak, but she couldnât stop herself from stuttering.
âYou⊠are you Dauns?â
âGre-, Great Medium!â
Jose stared at the Great Medium in shock.
This was natural.
After all, Dauns was the name of the god of creation that Hitume Ikar worshipped.
ââŠ?â
Frey tilted his head slightly at the unexpected question.
* * *
Frey sat face-to-face with the Great Medium.
She was much calmer now compared to their first encounter, but she still didnât show the drowsy attitude she had while dealing with Ivan or Dro.
They stared at the steam rising from the teacups in front of them for a moment before Frey spoke first.
âI am not Dauns.â
The Great Medium lowered her eyes slightly and muttered.
âYes. I was mistaken.â
The Great Medium admitted to her mistake. Nevertheless, her doubts still remained.
A few hundred years had passed since she abandoned her own name and took up the title of Great Medium. And in that time, she had never seen the shadow of Dauns appear in someone.
The god of creation that she, as well as Hitume Ikar, believed in only sent revelations.
This was natural.
The Great Medium knew this. After all, he was the omnipotent and just god of creation, so he naturally would not care about just them.
That was why she felt even more guarded against Frey.
Even up until now, she could not read him. It was as he was covered in dense fog.
This wasnât something to be disregarded. After all, this could be described as the Great Mediumâs talent.
In the first place, this was the man who had broken into Lesha even though she didnât receive any revelations about him. He was an unauthorised guest, a being whom even the revelations from god failed to predict.
Nevertheless, the presence that he gave of was greatly similar to the power of god.
âAre you human?â
Frey was greatly displeased by the previous misunderstanding.
Whenever he heard questions like this, it made him feel that he had become a being who was no longer human.
But he remembered Isollaâs teachings.
âAs long as you donât forget your true nature.â
âI am human.â
When he had this thought, the dark clouds in his heart disappeared immediately.
Frey calmly nodded his head.
âThatâs right.â
ââŠhowever, your power greatly surpasses human capability.â
He nodded his head once again.
This was a natural fact, and she wouldnât believe otherwise even if he tried to convince her.
Frey also felt that the Great Mediumâs gaze was not simple.
The Great Medium paused to think for a moment before speaking.
âI mistook you for Dauns because I felt the power of God from you.â (TL: youâll notice variable capitalisations of the word âgodâ. I will explain them below)
Freyâs eyes shined slightly.
The power of god.
Simply speaking, that was divine power, the power of the Demigods. But it was clear that this was not the power of God that the Great Medium was referring to.
Then what was it?
Did she literally mean the power of God?
If so, then there was only one explanation.
âDivine magic power.â
The power that could be converted to either divine power or mana.
Thinking about this power that he gained in his mental world, Frey asked.
âDoes God really exist?â
In the end, Freyâs question was the same as Droâs.
However, this time, the Great Medium wasnât sure what to say. It was impossible for her to deal with this in the same manner with which sheâd handled Droâs question the night before.
This was because it felt contradictory for the man who she felt was closer to God than anyone else was now asking her about the existence of god.
The Great Medium sat silently for a while before slowly opening her mouth.
ââŠGod exists.â
âI would like to meet him.â
There were many things that he wanted to ask.
Of course, Frey did not think there was an omnipotent being capable of being involved in everything in the world.
4,000 years ago, people worshipped the Demigods and Dragons as gods. This was because, from a humanâs perspective, these powerful beings were no different than gods.
It was possible that even the Great Medium had such an illusion.
Freyâs request to meet God was to see what he was like.
The Great Medium responded with a shocked expression.
âI didnât receive such a prophecy.â
âI see.â
Frey muttered in a soft voice.
âSo youâre just a puppet.â
ââŠI beg your pardon?â
The Great Mediumâs voice became sharp.
On the other hand, Freyâs attitude had not changed since the beginning.
He slowly lifted the cup and took a sip of the tea.
The Great Medium bit her lip at his attitude. This was because she thought this expressionless man was making fun of her.
âDauns is the omnipotent god of creation. His prophecies have helped my country overcome numerous crises.â
âAnyone can anticipate the future by considering the present situation.â
âIt isnât anticipation. It is prophecy.â
After saying these words in a firm tone, the Great Medium continued.
âThe prophecies of Daun are absolute.â
âSo you leave everything to prophecy? You stopped thinking for yourself, and now, you wait for your Godâs voice even when making the smallest decisions?â
âNo. Thatâs not it.â (TL: I feel like a piece of dialogue from the GM is missingâŠ)
Frey shook his head.
He had no malice towards theists. And he had no intention of belittling them.
On the contrary, Frey acknowledged the existence of religion to a certain extent, and even had a respectful attitude towards religious people.
This was because humans were weak. They needed support even to live their short lives.
And religion was the most faithful way to fulfill this role.
However, he didnât like the Great Mediumâs attitude.
What was the meaning of life if even the smallest decision depended on her god?
It didnât matter if she intended to live as a puppet. However, she was a human.
âYou rudeâŠ!â
Joseâs expression changed greatly.
He had a sword at his waist and his hand naturally fell to its hilt. He didnât intend to shed blood, but this man had to know his place.
Even the King of Hitume Ikar wouldnât dare to act so impudently.
ââŠ!â
However, Jose couldnât draw his sword.
His entire body froze as though time itself had stopped.
In the time it took him to put his hand on his sword, Frey had turned to look at him.
It was just a glance, but he couldnât move.
âWh-, what is thisâŠâ
Was it magic? Or sorcery?
No, it was different from that.
Jose had a strange feeling. It was hard to even take a breath. He felt like his stamina was being drained rapidly.
Frey only looked at him without making any further moves, but Joseâs entire body became soaked in sweat. And as soon as Frey looked away, Jose collapsed.
He stared up at Frey, panting heavily.
âH-, he is not human!â
Jose felt a chill creep down his spine. In that moment, he even forgot his mission to protect the Great Medium.
At the same time, Frey rose from his seat.
âI have to go to Hitume Ikar. Can you grant me permission?â
ââŠyou.â
The Great Medium looked at Frey with a complicated expression. This was the first time sheâd ever met a man like this.
She hesitated for a moment before biting her lip.
âJose, leave us.â
âI, I canât. This man is too dangerousâŠâ
âWould I be safer if youâre by my side?â
ââŠâ
Joseâs face was awash with humiliation. But the Great Mediumâs expression didnât twitch.
She didnât have any intention of insulting Jose. She was just speaking honestly.
Of course, Jose also understood the Great Mediumâs intentions. However, this fact wounded his pride even more.
ââŠunderstood.â
Jose could only swallow his disgrace and leave the room.
Frey turned to look at the Great Medium. He wondered what she wanted to say.
The Great Medium also got up from her seat, then she headed to a corner of the room and said something in a strange accent.
ââ.â
It was Freyâs first time hearing this language.
In terms of intonation, it was highly likely that this was an ancient language.
A refreshing energy began flowing from within the Great Mediumâs body.
âSheâs using sorcery.â
Frey looked at this scene with interest.
This was certainly different from magic. The Great Medium didnât use either divine power of mana.
The energy that the Great Medium was using to practice sorcery seemed to come from within her own body.
The moment he saw it, Frey was certain that although he didnât know it, if he observed this force a bit more and broke it down⊠he would be able to use sorcery.
Suddenly, the space in front of the Great Medium split open, revealing a dark void.
Frey frowned.
He couldnât help but think about Lordâs âSpaceâ at that moment.
Of course, he knew that neither sorcery or this space had anything to do with the Demigods.
âLetâs go to the shrine.â
âShrine?â
The Great Medium nodded.
âYes. If you go there, you will be able to meet God.â
ââŠGod.â
âYou are not someone I judge. Dauns will make his own judgement.â
It was unprecedented to take outsiders to the Shrine.
The Great Medium swallowed the last of her words. This was because Frey would not care about such remarks.
Freyâs eyes narrowed slightly.
If what she said was true, this meant that Frey had the chance to meet that being called God.
(TL: So it was brought to my attention some time ago when we first encountered the word, that God(with the capitalised G) refers to a specific âgodâ. So I generally try to use common letters when referring to the god(s) in this novel. However, I feel that when people are talking about the god(s) they serve, it would be with reverence, which is why I use âGodâ in speech or for emphasis. So the varying capitalisations you see arenât editing mistakes, they are intentional.)