Chapter 159: The Truth Part Two
The Goddess of Sin… Deities exist… They have names… Diana…
Wait a minute, that name sounds a bit familiar?
I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere…
My mind is spinning as Angel continues to speak. “Hundreds of years ago, the Goddess of Sin seemed to have some kind of… disagreement with the other deities that we can’t decipher, and dare not speculate about. As the Pope, I’m the closest being to the gods among humans, but what I know is just that Goddess Diana seems to have broken some established rules, and they call her a ‘dirty traitor’…”
“…Traitress?”
Is that even a thing among deities?
“That’s what they say if I heard it right.”
When Angel says this, he wears a look of uncertainty, his brow slightly knitted, confused. He then shakes his head gently.
“Let’s put that aside for now. In short, there was a disagreement among them. And the divine titles that were once sacred could not be spoken lightly, or else it would be considered blasphemy by the great beings, and humanity would bear the consequences… But Little Black Charcoal, you are special. I once prayed to a deity, asking for forgiveness for my sins and for permission to speak the name of the ‘traitor.’ I thought this might be helpful to you…”
What help could that be…
Before this, I didn’t even know… Wait a minute.
Diana…
“You said, the goddess’s name is Diana!”
I was so shocked I nearly jumped up.
Diana!
I had been wondering where I had heard that name before.
Then I remembered.
That night in the Royal City, facing off against Teresa transformed into a monster. I recalled something it had said when it “awoke.”
[I am Diana’s angel.]
“It’s Teresa! Teresa has turned into a monster—”
“Shh! Quiet!”
Angel placed his finger on his lips, his gaze suddenly turning stern. In that moment, as the Pope, he unintentionally exuded an intimidating presence that caught me off guard. I shrank back, properly seated again.
“Teresa… transformed into a monster, calling herself… Diana’s angel…”
My voice softened considerably, almost like I was conversing with a kitten.
“Angel…”
It seemed like Angel was unaware of the assertive aura he had just displayed. Now, he leaned lazily against the seat, looking utterly relaxed, mumbling, “It seems they have made considerable progress…”
“What progress…” I asked him.
“The power of the deities.”
Angel’s reply was brief and to the point.
“Margaret may have told you something, or perhaps not… I believe you’ve gleaned some knowledge about the relationship between deities and humans, their history and basics in the academy, so I won’t cover that. Now, I’ll just share what I know.”
“Okay.”
I nodded, sitting up straight, my face all serious as I gazed at him.
Angel took another sip of his drink.
“As we all know, the ‘Power of Faith’ that the Holy Church can wield is a request for blessings from the great deities through one’s own sincere belief, leading to the arrival of miracles, which can then be directed. Simply put, you can think of it as we have no ‘power’ of our own; all miracles are borrowed from the great gods and released through the clergy’s bodies… Of course, it sounds simple, but the actual process is far more complex.”
“The vast majority of clergy in the church spend their entire lives practicing and still can’t invoke the blessings of the deities. Conversely, a select few who are favored by the gods can receive such gifts after only a short period of cultivation, allowed to perform noble miracles like judgement, healing, and nature. But there are some rare cases, like Teresa, whose blessings once stirred quite a commotion in the church… After all, no one had received the three blessings of nature, judgement, and healing simultaneously for over a century…”
Teresa…
I propped my chin in my hand, recalling her gentle and radiant face, thinking of some things she had said to me, uncontrollably interrupting Angel: “Why… would she do that?”
I intended to straightforwardly ask him what Teresa had seen or knew before becoming a saint… but the words twisted in my mouth, and I couldn’t bring myself to ask directly.
Not wanting to reveal that I knew a bit more…
Angel thought for a moment, then said, “Perhaps she had her own reasons. I can’t give you an answer on that since the church is also trying to find the reasons behind it.”
Just as I thought…
I pouted.
I need to figure Teresa’s issues out myself. I doubt I’d get any answers from Angel or the church…
Keeping that tiny thought to myself, I continued listening to Angel.
“…Where was I?”
“The gifts of miracles.”
“Right, the gifts of miracles… For most people, this is a challenging thing. Yet some can acquire it very easily. This is obviously unfair, just like the Power of Order; some are born gifted, while most, no matter how hard they try, are only mediocre.”
“We cannot know the whims of the deities, nor can we change the rules they set. But regardless, the gods always favor wise humanity, willing to bestow blessings upon us small beings, which is why we can defeat all kinds of other races, including dragons, and establish so many prosperous cities in such a cruel world.”
“But humanity is ultimately humble; our bodies are too weak to be a good ‘medium’ that can bear grand miracles. So, thousands of years ago, ancient sages met and communicated with the deities, ultimately establishing a different kind of pact. A new blessing that could channel great power through other ‘mediums.’ That is—”
“Divine Reliquary.” I quickly interjected.
“Smart~”
Angel snapped his fingers.
“Divine Reliquary… The miracles performed with dragon bones as media are the closest to the power of the deities. Over the next thousand years, humanity… or should I say, the Holy Church, would periodically receive such blessings every few decades. The deities grant us new Divine Reliquaries in return for our faith becoming even more steadfast and devout.”
“And those Divine Reliquaries, the church gives a relatively safe portion to various countries to ensure their citizens’ lives are more stable, like ‘Boswell’ from the Royal City… As for those that are relatively dangerous and highly destructive, we seal them away or entrust them to high-ranking clergy like cardinals. In case of dire need, the church uses them to fend off external enemies… like Abyss beings as powerful as Gluttony.”
At this point, Angel sneaked a glance at me.
I wrinkled my nose in displeasure. “What?”
“Nothing, nothing…”
“Nothing? You stop there, what are you doing… Continue, I’m listening.”
Thinking back to how Nero had one Divine Reliquary in each hand, making it impossible for me to fight back, I got a bit riled up and didn’t feel like giving Angel a good face.
If it weren’t for the fact that I had just devoured Teresa’s monster form and had Infernal Fire power within me, I might have actually died in the sea of flames…
I felt a little scared inside.
But I didn’t want Angel to notice. Seeing him still cautiously looking at me, I suddenly slammed the table. “Hurry up! You’ve been talking forever and haven’t gotten to the point…”
Angel recoiled in shock. “Okay, okay! I’ll get to the point… Um… Through the blessings of the deities, we make ourselves stronger. This is based on the established rules. This method is rational and beneficial for the long-term prosperity of humanity and the world… but the Gate of Truth is different.”
“I think you already understand enough about Sin Fire. Their means of obtaining power is through burning and sacrifice… That’s similar to the Abyss, a method of taking lives… Little Black Charcoal, they are killing people.”
