Chapter Ten: The Volume (Part Two)
[It’s been fifteen years since my father’s d*ath. I’m 21 now, and what I see before me is the abyss mud almost overrun and about to swallow the Red River, alongside the countless people who starved or died of illness, buried under the yellow earth and sand.]
Flipping to the next page after the list, I was greeted with a line that read like it had been scrawled by a worm with a crayon.
The handwriting was just as terrible as before.
Man, that woman is a real knockout, but she writes like a toddler…
I pouted and rubbed my little belly.
Time to read on.
[This world has become so unbearable, and under the so-called Saints’ thousand-year-long persecution, starting from the old days of Cartelgarin, the wrath of the mighty deities has become nearly unbearable in this day and age. Alas, those brave heroes who once dared to rise up have had their spirit twisted and mutated into something I can barely recognize.]
“……”
My face felt a bit itchy, so I scratched it.
…Thousand years of persecution by Saints?
What are they even persecuting?
I scoffed internally.
Sure, the Church has a laundry list of issues, but without the rules and order they establish to keep society running, life for humans would probably be like a never-ending nightmare.
Currently, it seems that Angel and her band—probably a whole crowd—are definitely up to no good, pursuing some agenda and ambition I don’t yet know. But that’s only indicative of that part of the folks.
In fact, I think the Church, led by that Pope, may be veering off course… heck, they might have already done so.
But that doesn’t mean I’ll outright deny the entire Church and its contributions to humanity.
After all, they are, in the truest sense, the pioneers and forerunners on the path of human advancement.
No arguing that.
Those Saints, in the pages of history, have quelled countless wars, epidemics, and disasters. They’ve provided food for the starving and painstakingly built a trading economy, allowing willing individuals to lead more dignified lives. They’ve set up orphanages in numerous cities, giving shelter to homeless children and even a shot at a dream.
And those knights, I’ve witnessed them firsthand!
They risked their lives defending the town’s folk, shielding people from demons, spilling their bl**d for the land…
Even if the roots of the Church are rotten to the core.
But as of now, those ordinary members still strive to help many in peril, extending a helping hand. The valiant Church Knights hold on to their honor and duty, mostly for safeguarding God’s people.
And what about the Gate of Truth? What have you done?
You’ve been ruining all of this.
You killed those poor children, supported the rebellion forces of the Valen Empire and Ethanbel, waged wars, destroyed the stability and prosperity of Silgaya’s southern region, wrecking countless lives. The word “peace” is forever foreign to you; you’ve created nothing but chaos and ruin…
You’ve brought misfortune upon all innocents in the most extreme way possible.
Just a bunch of villains, really.
And they have the audacity to boast about being heroes…
With such thoughts, I even felt a fiery anger bubbling up.
But there must be a deeper reason for why you act this way, seemingly at ease with it…
I reminded myself of that.
To know the truth, I must uncover that reason.
Holding onto that idea, I begrudgingly continued to focus on the contents at the back of the booklet.
[The Gate of Truth has long since perished.]
The next line read: [Fifteen years ago, on that stormy night, I witnessed my father fall to the blade of Old Sword Saint Ryan, and my mother, pregnant with my sister, perished alongside him. At that moment, or perhaps even earlier, the Gate of Truth actually ceased to exist.
I’m left with only Meiser Town. ]
So, is this place the headquarters of the Gate of Truth?
No…
It can’t be…
If it were a headquarters, the Church would’ve already stormed in and wiped them out…
So, it’s just an ordinary town?
…How could that be?
Even a little girl knows so much; this place can’t possibly be ordinary…
Biting my nails in thought, I shook my head; the chair felt a bit hard, and the desk a tad high, so sitting like this wasn’t comfy. I picked the booklet back up, tucked my legs up, and planted my bare feet on the chair, leaning back in a little ball with the booklet clutched in my hands to read on.
[Fortunately, I’ve been hiding here for over a decade, and the Church hasn’t found me, nor the location of the Great Goddess of Sin’s essence.]
Heh…
Am I saying the Church is really that dumb, or do you just have the luck of the century…?
[They merely broke the Gate of Truth, killing nearly everyone who still remembered their purpose, including my father. Yet they let the detestable fools known as the Jesters slip away, leaving me with only Sebastian by my side, no one else I could trust or rely on.
Years have passed, and I’ve nearly forgotten the scene of that night, the slightest hint of hatred slowly fading, even their faces becoming blurry in my memory. The only thing I still remember clearly is a line my father told me before his d*ath.
He said that as long as the essence of the Goddess had not been found, there would be hope.]
Yes.
I believe in that.
Beyond belief, I have no other choice.
I must carry my father’s will; I will achieve what he couldn’t. My reason for living, my goal, has been set since the moment I was born as the daughter of the great demon of the Gate of Truth.
It’s concrete, it cannot change.
!
So she’s the daughter of the great demon!
No wonder…
[I took Sebastian back to Sand Valley to reconnect with the essence of the Great Goddess. I requested to continue my mission, and she granted me greater power, and I survived, as if reborn.
Afterward, I began to summon those escaped lunatics, the true villains of the Gate of Truth. I showcased my power and informed them that they must obey me, as I am the daughter of the Gate Master. I would become the next Gate Master of Truth while they would all become my disciples.
I told them as long as they followed me, I would grant them an audience with the Truth Deity, who would bestow them with even greater power, the power of bl**d sacrifice. That was the consensus I reached with the Great Goddess, and following her design, I will put everything on the line and soon step back onto the territory of the Western Continent, reviving the deity’s body sealed in Woodward Forest. I already know the Land of Dragons is right there.
As for the Goddess’s promise to me, it is to remold the deity’s body, restore divine power, and eradicate all the Abyss released by the Mother Deity, letting the Chaotic Power dissipate from the world, allowing the great deity to reclaim the order of the world that the Church has already disrupted.
As for those villains…
They will d*e one after another during the upcoming years of sacrifice, in the looming war on the Western Continent.
I will use the time ahead to gather more people, nourishing the essence of the Great Goddess with their bl**d and flesh, providing endless vitality. The essence, gradually recovering, will grant more people the power of bl**d sacrifice, even though that kind of power cannot be borne without the body carrying the Angel’s egg.
But most of them don’t know that.
What they want is merely power, tremendous power that allows them to rampage without restraint.
I give them that power.
I make them more insane.
Father…
I realized I might be making a mistake, a severe one.
But at the very least, I’ve seen the hope you’ve spoken of.
I will put everything on the line, bear all, and do my utmost to fulfill your wishes.
After which, I suppose I might d*e as well…
But that’s okay.
That’s enough.]
