[Vol. 8] Chapter 243: I’m Your Dad!
The surface of the creature's body wasn’t smooth. It looked rough and full of holes, like the surface of a damaged planet. It had eyes but no mouth. The countless pieces of flesh that had risen from the ground were absorbed and merged into it.
Then, they rose again into the sky, forming a giant Gate of Flesh, far more massive than even the ball of meat before it, almost like it was trying to carry this monster to another world.
And now, that gate was nearly complete.
Violet instantly saw through the cause and effect behind it.
As she stared into this already-collapsing world, the enormous being that ruled over it also sensed her presence through the connection. The moment their eyes met—
BOOM!!!
It was like a terrifying windstorm suddenly blew across flat ground. The entire flesh-covered world shook and buzzed with a loud hum. Storms raged wildly, and a powerful spiritual will from the other side came rushing toward her.
[Oh? This little rat spying on me is a bit different. You even dare show yourself in front of me? You’ve got guts. Say your name.]
[I’m your dad.]
The moment she said that, the huge ball of flesh visibly froze, as if stunned. Clearly, the idea of having a “dad” didn’t exist in its mind. It took a moment to process, and when it finally did. It flew into a rage!
[You dare! You’re dead!!!]
CRACK!!!
A sound like glass shattering echoed. The weak and fragile connection between them couldn’t handle the clash of two enormous powers. As it shattered, everything Violet had been seeing turned into nothing in an instant, just a fading illusion.
Maybe it was because her four little words had too much emotional damage, but even as the connection broke, the giant ball of flesh, which had probably never been mocked before, was still shaking with rage.
[You bastard! Don’t think you can run away! I’ve remembered your energy now! Just wait! Very soon, you’ll personally learn what real pain feels like!!!]
“Whew~ looks like someone’s got a bit of a temper,” Violet said with a casual smile as the golden light of her divine power slowly faded from her eyes.
But she had actually picked up quite a lot of useful info from its reaction.
Of course, that move had been on purpose. From the start, she could tell this guy was the type who speaks in riddles. Rather than waiting for him to slowly act mysterious and talk in circles, it was better to go on the offense and throw an insult first, sometimes you get better results that way.
Haha, this was the second principle Violet had come up with when dealing with “riddle-speakers”!
“Master, did you see anything?”
Violet had nothing to hide from her pet and partner, so she nodded right away and replied:
“If I’m not wrong, that thing is probably one of the ‘World Sustainers.’ These beings are really weird. Their power isn’t based on laws like normal gods. It seems like just existing is enough for them to fully represent some pure, extreme concept. Each of them is like a walking source of corruption. That one probably represents things like flesh and growth.”
From what Violet had seen so far, in terms of raw strength, the “World Sustainers” might not be much stronger than the gods. But when it comes to how much they can change a whole world, the difference was huge.
Even in the world ruled by that evil god with the broken mask, They only turned all living beings into Their followers and made them build temples and worship Them. But beings like Taotie before, and the giant ball of flesh she just saw, had clearly changed the very rules and nature of their worlds from the ground up.
Even if they died, that influence wouldn’t simply disappear.
Maybe… this is the biggest difference between a “World Sustainer” and a “god.”
Violet gave a brief description of the world she had just seen through the threads of fate to the little dragon girl. The latter couldn’t help but click her tongue in surprise, then asked:
“Seems like what Light and that sneaky cat number two said was right. It won’t be long before those things begin their full invasion of this world. Judging by how they’ve been preparing here, their first target is probably this strange ruin. Master, what should we do?”
“Hmm... huh?”
Did she just say something weird?
Pretending not to notice anything strange, the priestess lady gave a light cough and calmly said:
“Well, if soldiers come, we fight them off. If a flood comes, we block it with dirt. We’re not the saviors of this world, so there’s no need for us to be the first to step up. Besides, too many powers are paying attention to this situation already, acting too soon won’t do us any good.”
“Let’s report the situation to Edwina first. Things here are much worse than the reports from the Holy Capital say. I suspect the local church has a big problem. And if they’ve managed to cover it up completely, it probably means it’s not just Saint Laos City that’s affected.”
Hearing this, the dragon girl tilted her head in confusion.
“Why do you say that, Master? What do you mean by other cities, how far away?”
The priestess shook her head slightly.
“At the very least, the provincial capital, Saint Tyr, definitely has problems too.”
“Think about it. Saint Laos City is a first-tier city, second only to the provincial capital. It has nearly a million people. Yet the highest-ranking bishop here has gone missing for half a month, and there’s a strange ruin nearby. The city is already in chaos.”
“But even so, Saint Tyr still hasn’t sent a new bishop or an investigation team. That means either they don’t know anything, or they know but are choosing not to act. But these two cities are only a few hundred kilometers apart. Based on what we know so far, which do you think is more likely?”
“I see… you’re right.”
Right now, the Holy Empire is in a full-scale war with the Austre Empire. Many high-ranking priests and holy knight forces from temples across the provinces have been sent to the eastern battlefield, leaving the internal regions very weak.
Based on the strength shown earlier by that vice leader of the Red Mastiff Society, Andre, if this method of creating strong fighters can be done in large numbers, even if it’s just ten or so, it would be enough to take control of several major cities in the Theo province.
So the information Edwina received is clearly flawed. The cult under the World Sustainers has indeed appeared in Theo province, but it’s far more serious than the reports claimed. In fact, they’ve likely already taken control of the temple network in this region and are using fake information to mislead the high ranks of the Goddess Church, buying time for their plans.
However, there is an unexpected variable in their whole plan.
And it’s not Violet… nor the swordmaster who came with her. After all, they’ve only just arrived in Saint Laos City. They may be strong, but they haven’t had enough time to change anything major yet.
That means someone else, some force that doesn’t belong to the local power structure, is secretly manipulating things from behind the scenes.
Even the World Sustainers seem to have noticed this unknown force and are starting to react to it.
Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on the girl’s beautiful face. A smile that showed a bit of delight.
“Looks like... it’s time to go see that young lady again.”