[Vol. 8] Chapter 16: Plans Can’t Keep Up with Changes!
There were still twenty full days left until the Goddess was to descend upon the Holy Capital.
In the western part of Valandia Province, Austre Empire—
“What?! Hey, hey, hey! Didn’t we agree I’d just show up and pretend for a bit, and then the rest would be handled by you, Sethlin? Why are you suddenly changing the plan and making me take the lead?! Isn’t that basically admitting that I am that so-called ‘Goddess’ or whatever? Are you messing with me?!”
Inside one of the carriages of the Holy Empire envoy group, a black-haired priestess in a white robe was furiously yelling during a "video call" with the Goddess of Life. She slapped the soft cushions around her with loud “thump thump” sounds as she shouted in frustration.
On the other end of the call, a hologram of a green-haired girl with green eyes, rising from a small angel-shaped statue, sighed helplessly, trying to explain.
“I did plan it that way originally, but…”
“I don’t wanna hear it, don’t wanna hear it, don’t wanna hear it! You’re just coming up with another excuse to trick me again! Hmph! I knew it! You planned this all along, first sweet-talking me into greeting Edwina and hyping up the event, then when everything spread and couldn’t be undone, you suddenly backed out and pushed me into the spotlight! So sneaky! Too sneaky!!”
“I don’t care!!! No matter what you say, I’m running away! Right now!!”
The black-haired girl rolled around on the soft couch in protest. Sitting beside her, the dragon-girl also got mad and chimed in loudly.
“Exactly! You even dared to trick my master! I knew you were two-faced and couldn’t be trusted! Master, don’t give in this time! What kind of nonsense ‘savior hero’? Let her do it herself!”
“Can you two calm down already… Stop teaming up for a second and let me finish talking, will you…”
On the other side of the "video call," the Goddess of Life, who had already returned to the floating Sky Island of the Azure Sky Kingdom, shook her head, laughing and sighing at the same time. She clearly wasn’t scared by their little act, already well aware of the duo’s personalities. Then, with a serious expression, she suddenly dropped a shocking piece of news.
“Violet, I just found out, an evil god has already appeared in the Azure Sky Kingdom.”
“Evil god, good god, who cares! Whoever shows up, I’ll just—wait, what did you just say?”
She had started to dismiss it out of habit, but then paused mid-sentence. The priestess sat up suddenly, surprised by how serious the green-haired girl sounded. She quickly asked again.
“Are you serious? Where did this evil god come from? Sethlin, are you okay?”
Sensing the real concern in the black-haired girl’s voice, and noticing out of the corner of her eye the dragon-girl’s slight pout, the Goddess smiled and gently shook her head.
“Don’t worry. I’m back in my position as the Main God now. I’m not that easy to beat... But the enemy is dangerous. They act without fear, and if we don’t handle this right, it might cause chaos across the country, or even the whole region.”
“As the god that the Winged People now worship, I need to protect them. I have to stop the evil god from hurting them, and I also need to investigate where the enemy came from. So I’ll probably be very busy for a while and won’t be able to go to the Holy Empire anytime soon. I’m really sorry, especially since I was the one who asked you to go there in the first place…”
Knowing that her friend would never make up an excuse like this, Violet nodded seriously even though the situation ahead felt stressful.
“It’s fine. We can’t joke about things like this. I’ll take care of things here. You focus on handling your side. But... how bad is it right now? Do you know who this evil god is yet? Is it a member of the Twilight Council? But as far as I know…”
“Mmm… It’s a long story. You know Theresa, right? That child is currently training with me as part of her ritual practice, to get stronger and prepare for the upcoming changes. We were only able to detect signs of the evil god because of her sharp senses…”
“In short, we’ve only managed to catch a few followers who were secretly working for the evil god. But we’ve confirmed that their god has already started sending divine power and apostles into this country. This one is really troublesome. Maybe not strong enough to beat me directly, but if we ignore them, they could cause huge damage to order and peace. We can’t let our guard down.”
The Goddess of Life, who seemed to know a lot about the evil god that appeared in the Azure Sky Kingdom, shook her head and explained briefly.
“They’re called [Dysaer], the [God of Indulgence and Desire]. They follow a belief that’s the complete opposite of order, doing whatever they want, giving in to every desire in their hearts. Their way is total chaos. [Dysaer] and their followers love to tempt others, make people’s desires grow out of control, and slowly break down stable societies. Their goal is total indulgence… which always leads to ruin in the end.”
“Compared to the ones you’ve met before, like [Flam], the God of Blazing Flames, or [Musk], the God of False Faces and Ecstasy. [Dysaer] isn’t as wild or crazy. But in terms of divine power, [Dysaer] is actually higher. They represent the most basic desires in all living beings. Among all the evil gods from the chaotic side of the universe, [Dysaer] is one of the hardest to deal with.”
Sethlin’s face grew serious.
“Back in the Age of Gods, [Seth] and [Dysaer] fought for countless years as symbols of two totally opposite ideas. I can’t believe the Goddess of Desire survived that great disaster… and is making a comeback right at this crucial time…”
“But for now, [Dysaer]’s true body should still be outside the world. They’re only sending their power down in limited form. If I can find them, I’m confident I can defeat them. As for whether [Dysaer] has joined the Twilight Council, I’m not sure yet. If I get any news, I’ll contact you right away.”
“A high-level god, huh…”
The priestess girl quietly repeated the most important part of what she just heard.
Indulgence and Desire... sounds like the kind of god that tricks people’s hearts. Or maybe you could say they just "set free the natural instincts" of living beings. First it was the being behind the undead… and now even the Azure Sky Kingdom has an evil god? One after another, they really can’t wait to start trouble...
“I understand. No matter what, you need to be extra careful, Sethlin. If you feel like things are going bad, call for help, okay? I’ll rush over to save you right away~”
“Hehe… I appreciate it. But if only you didn’t always say weird things, that promise would sound a little more trustworthy… Well, that’s all for now. I have other things to take care of, I’ll contact you later.”
Sethlin smiled and nodded. As the priestess girl waved goodbye with a smile, the connection was cut, and the statue that held the goddess’s power slowly dimmed.
“…….”
The smile she had used to comfort her friend faded. The black-haired girl now looked thoughtful and serious, staying silent for a while.
“…Are you worried about her, Master?”
A quiet voice came from beside her. It was hard to tell what emotion it held. The priestess girl blinked, then sighed softly, almost by habit.
Normally, she would’ve assumed her little dragon companion, who always liked to compete for attention, was feeling jealous again. She was just about to reach out and pat her head to comfort her… but when she turned to look, she saw something different.
In the golden-haired girl’s glowing amber eyes, there wasn’t any jealousy. Just calm care and curiosity.
“…Ah.”
That’s right.