There were many rumours surrounding Cyric, but the most popular one was that he was originally a mortal like them. He stumbled upon the inheritance of a fallen god by chance, soaring to godhood. It caused many mortals to worship him fervently.
However, many of those worshippers wanted the inheritance for themselves. If the chance befell them, they would gladly steal his luck.
Since Cyric was a mere mortal before he ascended, the huge leap of power, alongside his divinity and the power of his domain, had side effects. He grew selfish, prejudiced, and slightly crazy.
Exactly because of this, Cyric would definitely have reacted to a demigod ascending into his domain in the past. However, now heād gone completely insane.
The pope looked at the statue that was wrapped up in a dark red energy, and the worry on his face grew heavier. It took a while for him to finally make up his mind, āMerrick!ā
āThe Lord is in a state of confusion, I think itās due to the influence from the Book of Cyric.ā The bishopās voice was extremely raspy and hoarse. He had also sealed the church before speaking.
Merrick kneeled the moment he heard this news, cold sweat enveloping his body. He thought the pope was going to silence him. After all, to blaspheme a god was utter disrespect and would be punished!
However, luck was on Merrickās side today. The pope had not planned to kill him, and continued talking on his own, āOur Lord might have read the Book of Cyric recently, which is why he isnāt responding to our prayers. Holy decrees havenāt been issued eitherā¦ā
Merrick nodded his head in agreement, heād actually been suspecting as much for a while. The Book of Cyric was a divine weapon that Cyric had created himself, containing the power to confuse even gods themselves. Any being that set their eyes on the Book of Cyric would believe the lies withinā that Cyric was the one and only true god in the world!
The late God of Thieves was the former owner of this book. Heād succumbed to it and perished pitifully, allowing Cyric to steal most of his divinity and divine force. However, the power of the lies in the book was so great that even Cyric himself had fallen into a daze after reading it.
All this was just an assumption, but at the same time it was quite logicalā assuming there was no information that he had not been privy to. The pope now thought he understood the truth of the situation.
āCan I trust you, Merrick?ā
āOf course! I am willing to give up my life for the Lord, my everything!ā A fervent expression appeared on Merrickās face. He was definitely a zealot.
āVery good. Iām handing you a mission.ā With trembling hands, the pope handed over an ancient tome to Merrick.
āThis is the Book of Truth. Our church spent great amounts of resources to obtain it from the Church of Truth.ā The pope fixed his gaze upon Merrick, clasping the manās shoulders with his hands.
āMerrick. As the favourite of the Lord, you have seen his true form the greatest number of times. I need you to hand this book to the Lord, and have Him see it.ā
With Cyric having gone completely insane, even the popeās words would fall on deaf ears. However, there were some other worshippers the Lord would listen to, and Merrick was one of them. The former merchant had rocketed through the churchās ranks, becoming a powerful phantom thief. At the same time, this had cemented his faith in Cyric. The pope believed his Lord was most likely to see the Book of Truth if Merrick delivered it.
āThe future of the church is now in your hands!ā The pope patted Merrickās shoulders in encouragement, āOnce our Lord reawakens, these thieving false gods will forever stay in the fallen river of the underworld, and wail for eternity.ā
āRest assured, Your Holiness. Even if I have to sacrifice my life i will complete this mission!ā Merrick guaranteed. As if he had found his calling at that moment, a mysterious force suddenly enveloped his body and allowed him to bristle with strength.
ā¦ā¦
In the Tree Castle.
Chester Potter was doing his best to resist the origin force lightning. His godfire had dimmed, seemingly about to go out soon.
However, a drop of gold had already been congealed, the runes of law combining into one as if nurturing something within. The droplet almost broke out of the ball of energy.
āThe six requirements to become a true god: divinity, the godfire and divine spark, divine force, the divine domain, divine essence, and a divine kingdom. Chester already has three of the six, and all heās lacking right now are the domain, essence, and divine kingdomā¦ā Leylin continued looking over the region as the A.I. Chipās light flashed in his eyes, storing the valuable information from the experiment.
In fact, if Chester Potter managed to obtain his divine domain today, he would have turned into a true god already. Establishing a divine kingdom was a painstaking process, and without a semi-plane already in hand one would need several hundreds of years to build one from scratch. Thus, the world viewed beings with godfire as demigods, and those with divine domains as true gods.
Only true gods had the right to form a divine kingdom, accepting the souls of their worshippers to form a sturdy fort.
āLord Chester Potterā¦ We pray that you hold the world in your hands, and your throne high up above the skiesā¦ā The prayers grew softer and fainter.
Chester Potter roared and his godfire blazed, almost forming the energy ball that would represent his divine domain.
āUsing the power of faith to hasten comprehension of lawsā¦ This is how things work in the World of Godsā¦ā Leylin sighed. The process was quicker than normal, but it also had its drawbacks. āMoreover, one law can only be enjoyed by a single entity. The other gods in the domain of massacres will immediately become Chesterās enemiesā¦ā
*Roar!* Seeing that Chester had a chance to succeed, Malar took action immediately. He unleashed his powerful massacre domain, one tempered by time. Even if Malar was a beast god, so many years of accumulation had given him greater comprehension of massacres than Chester Potter had.
*Crash! Rumble! Boom!* The origin force lightning was about to dissipate, but it converged once more. This time, there were even streaks of crimson within the lightning, carrying the power of massacres.
āThis is massacre lightning, an attack by Malarā¦ā Leylin sighed upon seeing this scene. Chester would definitely be done for if he and the other demigods did not help. A false god just couldnāt resist true divine might, even if that might came from a lesser god.
Malar wanted to let Chester bring out his law of slaughter and steal it, but many gods had fixed their attention on this area so he attacked immediately.
Leylin had felt several powerful divine conscients eyeing the place, several familiar auras among them. The group of false gods had huddled up together in front of these powerful presences, masking their presence. No one would jump out to save Chester at this point.
Despair appeared on Chesterās face before the crimson lightning hit, and his godfire dimmed.
āChester Potter!ā āChester Potter!ā āChester Potter! We will be forever with the Lord, and live together with you!ā The vengeful spirits on the ground grew even larger in number, and they reached out their bloody hands and grabbed Chester Potterās body.
These crazed spirits had enough hatred to cause a demigod to fall. Over time, their pulling force had turning into a whirlpool, consuming Chester Potter within.
āArghā¦Nooooā¦ā The maniacal roar of despair did not overturn Chester Potterās fate. He was dragged away by the spirits from his divine spark, and grew even further from his divine domain. Finally, a streak of crimson lightning struck the drop of gold.
*Rumble!* The lightning wreaked destruction, and the golden barrier that protected the divine spark dissipated to reveal the content within. A dark golden flame within flickered out.
*Rumble!* Chester Potter who had lost his silhouette, and his true body was exposed to the lightning. The vengeful spirits around him were turned to dust as it struck.
āChester Potter! Come with us!ā āCome with usā¦ā Even if they had been destroyed by the lightning, there were no pain seen on these vengeful spiritsā faces. Instead, glee had filled their expressions.
Once the lightning demolished his body, Chesterās soul was exposed, seeming extremely pale and weak.
āCome with usā¦ā These vengeful spirits moaned, and bloody hands dragged this soul into the underworld.
āArghā¦Noooā¦ā Chester Potterās final plea of sorrow caused even the gods that were watching to tremble. He would become one of the vengeful spirits of the underworld, entering its darkest depths. Tens of thousands of souls would chew and feed on him until the end of the worldā¦
A violent gale suddenly whistled past, and the ominous clouds disappeared to leave Schliff and the other worshippers gaping in disbelief.
āMy Lordā¦ Chester Potterā¦ā Schliff muttered, and immediately wept. The other worshippers were also filled with distraught, and some even wished to commit suicide.
These survivors would not meet with a good end. After confirming that the false god had fallen, the paladins and Helmās knights charged forward and killed these evil zealots.