[Vol. 8] Chapter 54: Redemption
The girl’s voice carried a faint trace of amusement, as if she were smiling while speaking.
“If you’re really that smart, why not try guessing who I am? Of course, if you’re in a hurry, you can just ignore this mysterious voice. But… if you guess right, maybe I can help you solve the biggest problem that’s been troubling you~”
“What did you say…!?”
Although Tairnak had already started to guess, hearing her actually say it made a sudden shock run through his body like a bolt of lightning. It felt like finding hope in a desperate situation. His eyes lit up immediately.
Figuring out who she was wasn’t actually that difficult.
For one, it was obvious that the speaker wasn’t physically near him. She was talking to him using some kind of amazing, otherworldly power that let her speak straight into his mind from far away. Yet she still understood everything he did and even what he was thinking.
Someone with a power like that couldn’t just be called a “divine messenger.” That wouldn’t be enough.
The recent appearance of [Wild] and the Dragon God, the shocking battle in the Sainz, and everything else that had happened lately. These events all confirmed that gods really do exist. And right now, only a few known gods had anything to do with the current situation.
Tairnak had heard the voice of the Child of the Ancestor God before, and this voice clearly wasn’t the same. That god also had no reason to contact him like this. The Dragon God had just appeared near the fortress, but everyone knew that dragons and Behemoths were enemies. Judging by the timing, the Dragon God likely came here just to fight the Behemoth God.
As the Chieftain of the Behemoths, Tairnak knew the Dragon God had no reason to speak kindly with him. If anything, they should be fighting.
Which meant… there was really only one possible answer.
When the Holy Empire’s envoy was attacked and their saintess was nearly surrounded by enemy troops, someone appeared to protect her. And now, this gentle, clearly feminine voice…
“You are… the one worshipped by the Holy Empire, the highest, most holy form of the Primordial Light, the one and only faith of the world's greatest religion, the Goddess, aren't you?”
With a slight tremble in his voice, Tairnak softly spoke the only answer he could think of. But for some reason, after he said it, the mysterious and heavenly-sounding voice went completely quiet. She didn’t reply for a long while.
The silence made the Behemoth Chief feel nervous.
After all, compared to the Behemoth God, who had vanished for over a thousand years and only recently returned without warning, the Goddess of the Holy Empire had been known and praised in the world for many centuries. Temples and countless priests sang of her kindness and greatness. Her followers could be found all over the world, almost everyone had heard of Her.
Thanks to this deep cultural influence, when people said the word “God,” most races first thought of the Goddess of Light, the nameless but all-knowing, all-powerful being from the Goddess Church.
She was said to be the creator of the world, and it was through her protection and blessings that the first saintesses were able to use the three holy artifacts to drive away evil and build a peaceful homeland from the chaos. She had never shown herself in person, but her divine blessings were real and powerful.
Even someone like Tairnak, leader of a wild and primitive tribe, deeply respected this silent, caring goddess. In his eyes, this was how gods should treat their followers. Not like [Wild], who treated lives like trash and coldly took everything without mercy or limits.
Now that he was hearing the voice of this highest goddess herself, and realizing that this moment could decide the future of his entire people, how could he not be nervous?
This was… a conversation with a real god.
After a long silence, the soft and clear female voice finally spoke again.
“Ah… oh well, I suppose you really are smart in your own way. For someone born with Behemoth blood to turn out like this. It truly shows how amazing and mysterious life can be, even to me.”
“Tairnak, I know what you're struggling with. A mortal’s fate is usually set, and the rise and fall of a tribe shouldn't be changed by one person. But... if you’re hesitating just because you’re afraid of powerful forces around you, if that fear is stopping you from making the choice your heart truly wants…”
“Then lift your head and look at the sky.”
“…Huh?”
Following the calm and gentle voice, the Behemoth Chieftain looked up without thinking.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Suddenly, a blinding golden light fell from the sky to the plains beyond the mountains, striking the earth like a thunderbolt from heaven. The crash was like the wrath of a god.
This powerful blast was even more terrifying than the earlier one that split the mountain range. Even though the explosion was still far away, at least half a region’s distance, the shockwaves still reached where they stood.
The pure and overwhelming force of the light made the whole battlefield freeze for a moment. Tairnak’s pupils shrank as he realized what it meant.
“That direction is…?!”
A sudden realization hit him, and his heart skipped a beat. But the mysterious voice in his ear, as if expecting this all along, softly faded away with a light laugh.
“I just wanted to tell you, between a god and their follower, there is no force or control. It’s a relationship of choice, of giving and helping each other. It may not be equal, but it’s never slavery. And a god’s power should never be used to blindly kill and destroy life.”
“True faith, without trust, how can there be respect? This world… is not yet so hopeless that evil gods can do as they please~”
“Faith… huh.”
As the pure voice quietly faded from his ears, Tairnak looked up at the sky in a daze. For a moment, he seemed to see countless golden feathers of light falling gently down, becoming glowing particles that sank into the scarred earth. The souls of the dead slowly rose, their anger and sorrow washed away in a peaceful glow… But when he blinked again, it was like none of it had ever happened.
Nearby, the battle was still raging fiercely. A few black and white feathers drifted down from the sky as warriors fought in the air, but compared to that earlier rain of golden feathers, they were like fireflies next to the moon, small and faint.
It was as if everything he had just seen and heard was nothing more than a dream.
And yet...
When Tairnak looked down again, he was shocked to find that, at some point, a golden feather had appeared in his hand. It looked like it was made of light and gave off a gentle warmth. It felt like a light of hope shining into a desperate heart. Pure, holy, and perfect.
Ah… ah…
In that moment, it felt like an invisible hand gently touched his heart, filling him with warmth and a kind of emotion he had never felt before.
Yes… yes…!
This is what a true god is…!
“Chief! What should we—uh, are you alright? Why do you look like you're crying?”
“…It’s… nothing. I’m fine.”