False God
“In
addition, stop performing large-scale blood sacrifices. There’s no need
for such obstructive activity before you hear further from me,
especially something that’ll attract the attention of the churches,”
Leylin reminded them again before leaving.
“Of course, Chosen of
our Lord!” The devil priest answered without hesitation, not that he had
any authority to go against Leylin’s words. Moreover, the reason for
their enormous blood sacrifices was to attract Beelzebub’s attention.
Now that he had already sent a substitute, there was no need for that
anymore.
“Lord’s substitute, please grant us your name!” The aged devil priest plucked up his courage to ask right before Leylin left.
“My name?” Leylin smirked beneath his mask. “My name is Kukulkan!”
The
power of faith essentially came from fear and obedience, respect and
admiration, or from one’s soul force. Godhood originated from that as
well. With a specific name, great power, and falsely assuming the
identity of Beelzebub’s Chosen, he could win the reverence of these
devil worshippers. He could even disseminate and spread Beelzebub’s
faith before usurping everything.
However, this was the only
mature organisation of Beelzebub’s that Leylin found somewhat
acceptable. When he would build his own church in the future, these
people would not be of much help. After all, Leylin would not want his
own church to be a gathering point for devil worshippers.
The next
step was to cancel certain blood sacrifices and evil rituals that
violated his core values. This was the domain of a benevolent god, and
also an essential step for a divine being to gain extensive approval in
the prime material plane.
“Lord Kukulkan, we will do as you wish
and prepare for the recovery of our Lord!” Leylin was startled from his
reverie as he watched the devil followers shouting his name loudly. A
special energy akin to soul force enveloped him within the zealous
ambience.
The false divine power of devouring almost went out of
control and wanted to swallow this energy to transform completely, but
Leylin resisted it.
‘The power of faith?’ Leylin signed internally before disappearing into a private room.
“You
heard the Lord’s orders!” The devil priest straightened his back and
looked at all of the followers, especially directing his gaze at the
nobles. Having lost the powers that the devil bestowed upon him, the
arrival of this divine being allowed him to regain some confidence.
“Get
the tasks done quickly so that we can welcome those paladins of the God
of Justice!” There was no room for reconciliation between devil
worshippers and paladins. If they met, it would be a fight to the death.
While
one paladin was more than enough to slaughter an entire room of devil
worshippers, strategy, allocation of manpower, and hidden actions would
make things difficult for them.
“Of course!” A few of the nobles
laughed sinisterly, the shadows they cast on the wall behind them
looking like terrifying demons themselves.
……
‘I can’t
believe I have to play to dress up as god and play the devil twice in a
day…’ Leylin had currently arrived outside the city.
He looked
around vigilantly. His appearance of a powerful divine being was but a
pretense, and he himself was only a rank 10 wizard. Had the devil
worshippers just now rebelled against him, he was not sure that he’d
have been able to suppress them. However, as he’d borrowed the superior
aura of a high-ranked devil, he was certain he wouldn’t lose out.
However,
him pretending to be a divine being, on top of his possession of the
Devilblood Dagger, was enough to scare the hell out of those followers.
Moreover, those who had offered sacrifices to the devils already had
shackles on their souls. If they did not wish to be tortured even after
death, they had to act according to Leylin’s wishes.
‘Compared to
dealing with those low-ranked followers, this needs more attention…’
Leylin pulled himself together with a slight sigh, and a thread of
flames appeared on his figure, taking the shape of a flame-winged
serpent. The small blaze lit up the Gloomwood, giving off a demonic
feeling.
‘He’s here!’ Leylin turned quickly. A black spirit was
running towards him so quickly that it couldn’t be followed by the naked
eye.
‘Advanced Barrier!’ ‘Advanced Protection!’ ‘Advanced
Invisibility!’ A few enormous spell barriers were erected, separating
the area from the outside world completely.
‘A high-ranked
Professional? No, he’s even stronger than Odge and Boruj, almost a
Legend…’ Leylin inwardly assessed as the person he was thinking of
arrived in front of him.
“Tiff!” Formidable divine power
circulated around the area, making Leylin seem like a god as he called
out to Tiff. At the same time, the aura of his original form also rolled
off his body.
“You’re not my God, but you have his power!” Tiff
was indeed standing in front of Leylin, but he did not look like his
previous self. His hair was now greying at the temples, and his vigilant
eyes glared unwaveringly at Leylin.
Leylin felt several different
probing spells targeted at him immediately, and if not for the fact
that he was the original body and had the A.I. Chip’s help in concealing
his abilities, it would be have been difficult to deal with the fellow.
Brilliant divine power floated above Leylin’s hand as he stared Tiff in the eye, “So, do you still have any suspicions?”
“I
wouldn’t dare! You are the favoured one of my Lord!” Tiff pressed his
right hand to his chest as a form of respect and bowed, showing his
acknowledgement of Leylin’s identity.
Strong beings like this were
not easily subdued. Honestly, if Tiff were to make any moves, he would
have found out that Leylin was only a pretentious false god. Once he
figured that out, taking care of Leylin would be as easy as popping a
bubble.
“Since you’ve summoned me, what can I help you with?” Tiff still looked suspicious about the whole situation.
“Our
Lord has already defeated the Archdevil Beelzebub and I’ve received
orders to take over everything Beelzebub has in the prime material
plane!” He kept to the truth. Tiff was the one person Leylin trusted the
most here, even if he seemed doubtful of everything right now.
Even if the boy decided to go against him, Leylin could use the power he’d formerly left with Tiff to make him turn back.
‘However,
he was able to use the energy I left behind as a foundation to receive
magical powers and become similar to a bloodline holder… Or should I say
half-chose? He’s somewhat talented…’ Leylin seemed to have already seen
beyond Tiff’s facade.
“You’ve defeated the Archdevil? The
Sovereign King of Gluttony?” Tiff’s voice involuntarily cracked. He had
obviously heard about this earth-shaking rumour. The loyalty of these
worshippers, who’d already lost the magic abilities bestowed by the
devil, had long been shaken. Some information had spread out.
Worshippers
in the prime material plane were shallow. If Leylin had waited to make
his move a couple of decades later, Beelzebub’s people would have almost
completely disappeared. Thankfully, that was not the case.
“Mm.
I’ll need your help, how much manpower do you have in the Dambrath
Kingdom?” Leylin asked. Unless his background wasn’t optimal, a
near-legend like Tiff would have a certain amount of influence.
“I’ve
created an organisation with faith in our Lord. There are fewer than
300 followers right now, and the highest ranked among them is a Baron…”
Tiff clenched his teeth, and told Leylin unwillingly. The familiar soul
suppression was too strong on him, and he had no choice but to speak the
truth.
‘An organisation in worship of me?’ Leylin was pretty
taken aback. ‘To sustain a miniature organisation without the support of
divine power… He has a lot of potential…’
The difference between
true and false gods was that one could grant their priests divine spells
and other powers, ranging in ranks from rank 1 to rank 9. With the
great power separating their planes and the prime material plane, the
highest rank of spell a powerful devil or demon could bestow upon their
worshippers was rank 5. Anything past that would require a blood
sacrifice to go through, or have some other such restriction. This type
of worship of false gods would suffer a unanimous crackdown by the true
gods.
Demigods were similar. Without enough power to grant
high-ranked spells to their followers, they were not widely spread. The
Feathered Snake God, Kukulkan, that Leylin had made up previously was an
otherworldly demigod who was still in deep sleep! He would not be able
to grant even a rank 1 spell.
Leylin felt a special respect for
the fact that Tiff could still sustain worship for Kukulkan under
conditions like these, to the extent of enticing a baron. While he’d
have used his own methods for it, it was still rather amazing.
‘But
I can’t let this situation continue for too long… I’ll soon have to
give them some hope!’ Leylin decided. A god that was unable to respond
to prayers and grant spells would be eliminated like Beelzebub sooner or
later.
‘If his original form is still recovering from his
injuries, it doesn’t make sense for me to confer divine spells in his
stead!’ Leylin’s original form as a near rank 7 Magus was from another
world after all, and the World Will of the World of Gods was hostile
towards his power. Not to mention the amount of energy that would be
consumed by crossing the crystal sphere shell. If he were to use his
original form to bestow divine spells, he would quickly go bankrupt and
even die.
‘The only way is to advance to become a Legend is the
and condense my divine force. By doing that, I’ll have the most basic
capability to respond to my followers.’ Leylin gritted his teeth.
“Devout follower of our Lord, Tiff! I have something for you to do. Let us meet at the capital city of the Dambrath Kingdom.”