Published at 18th of November 2020 07:25:40 PM
Chapter 59: 59
God .
A transcendental being .
Unlike in their past lives where there were many arguments of whether it exists or not, gods existed in Pleiades .
But strictly speaking, the gods of Pleiades were far from the omnipotent god that they knew in their past lives .
They were clearly powerful beings with well-defined limits .
They were called immortals, but it was possible for them to disappear .
‘If I had to be completely honest, you could say that they possessed stupendously strong supernatural powers . ’
But still, these gods were gods .
They were the targets of faith and were great existences that human beings dare not to approach .
‘There are three main kinds of gods in Pleiades . ’
First was the heavenly creator called Lú, the god who created the world .
However, he or she was close to a conceptual existence, whose existence was even questioned .
It was the four archangels who led the heavenly realm, and not the creator god Lú .
‘The angels were called gods . ’
They were originally angels and not gods, but due to human ignorance, they became beings worshipped as gods .
Among them was Solari, the sun god, who was their representative figure .
Originally, the heavenly archangels only saw humans as livestock that needed rearing, but Solari, the seventh archangel, was different .
She regarded humans as young children or younger brothers and wanted to guide and look after them .
‘Solari wasn’t alone . There were many angels who joined her will, and they descended to the human world and were worshipped as gods by humans . ’
But it was all a story of the past .
Because of the long-standing war with the demons, these gods on earth ceased to exist .
‘The last one were the outside gods . ’
They were transcendental beings who existed in the third world, which was neither heaven nor hell .
However, their influence in this world was insignificant .
It was not an exaggeration to say that the degree of their influence was at a level where people only knew that outside gods existed .
‘And the wild gods (barbarian gods) . ’
They were beings that do not belong to any of the three kinds listed so far .
‘At present, neither the Sälen Kingdom nor the Argon Empire recognize the existence of wild gods . ’
For political reasons, both countries somehow recognized wild gods as fictional existences created by the primitive folk religions of the barbarians .
‘Even those who acknowledged their existence only thought of them as spirits who possessed strong powers . ’
And Jude also thought similarly .
The reason was simple .
‘Because they do not appear in the original story . ’
These wild gods were occasionally mentioned in manuals, settings books, item descriptions, and so on, but they never made a direct appearance .
‘There was a theory that they all died because of Belial, the overlord of corruption…’
In any case, that was all a story after the great invasion of the northern barbarians .
There was a possibility that at the present moment, which was a point in the past before the event occurred, they were still alive .
‘No, they are alive . ’
In front of him right now, there was a being who proclaimed himself as a wild god .
Great Storm .
The wild god of the wind who was worshipped by the Great Storm tribe .
“You seem to be thinking of something rude?”
Unlike when he first appeared, Great Storm’s manner of speaking was slightly less serious, perhaps because he looked like a boy .
Jude said hurriedly in denial .
“No, it’s not . I was just so surprised that I couldn’t think of anything else . ”
In fact, it wasn’t completely a lie .
Because he was really that surprised .
He never thought that Great Storm would really appear . And in this way too .
“Hmph, you’re a smooth talker . ”
The boy somehow reacted like Cordelia before he made a rock rise from the ground by pointing several of his fingers and then sat down on it as he said .
“Well then, I am Great Storm . You have diligently and continuously used my name as an excuse . ”
He talked mischievously with a raised chin, as he flatly played innocent with his eyes and facial expression resembling that of a rascal .
‘First of all, I don’t think he’s really upset . ’
If he was really angry, he would have tried to punish them first for using the name of a god in a deceiving manner .
“Uh…ahem, ahem, it’s an honor to meet you, Great Storm . My name is Cordelia Chase . This is my fiancé, Jude Bayer . ”
As Jude was in the midst of hesitation and unsure of what to do, Cordelia stepped forward and spoke .
Great Storm smiled in satisfaction at her polite manner of showing respect .
“But the girl knows what manners is, I like it . If you meet a god, you shouldn’t blankly look at them but reveal your names first . Girl . ”
At the end of his words, he clicked his tongue . Cordelia seemed to have caught his fancy, but not Jude .
Instead of being shaken, Jude showed his manners as he politely said .
“O Great Storm, I ask of you to listen to our story . ”
“Tell me . ”
His response was within Jude’s expectations .
Great Storm did not reveal himself to punish them .
‘If so . ’
Jude took a deep breath and steeled himself .
From now on, he had to deceive, no, tell a white lie to a wild god, and not just a fairy queen or a witch .
“Beyond the border in th-”
“Wild lands . That’s what we call it . Not the land of barbarians . ”
Great Storm made a comment one step ahead of him, and Jude resumed after expressing his thanks .
“I’ve heard of stories that danger was approaching the wild lands . ”
“From whom?”
“From the fairy queens and the soul of a witch in the south . ”
To begin with, there was no connection between the fairy queens and the wild gods as far as Jude knew .
However, instead of specifically pointing out who they were in case Great Storm didn’t knew of them, he showed the Fairy Steps and Fairy’s Bonds he received from the fairy queens .
Although his outfit had changed because he was in a dream, the two items were still in his arm .
“Hmm…setting aside the fairy queens, but a witch’s soul?”
“Yes, it is the soul of a great witch who fought against Asmodeus, the overlord of lust, for many years . ”
“What did they say?”
“They told us about the threat of demons that were approaching the wild lands . In particular, the witch’s soul told us about an organization called the Devil’s Eye who seemed to have done something harmful to Red Gale, the chieftain of the Great Storm tribe . ”
Great Storm furrowed his brows at Jude’s explanation .
And Jude was certain of it then .
‘It’s coming through . ’
As expected, Great Storm didn’t know who the witch’s soul was or what she did .
But there was a mixture of truth in Jude’s words .
Devil’s Eye .
They were doing something harmful to the wild lands .
Red Gale was dying from an illness of an unknown cause .
“So that’s what the witch’s soul said . ”
“Yes, and my fiancée here, Cordelia, is the witch’s successor, who inherited some power from the witch’s soul . Because of this, the witch asked me and Cordelia to go to the wild lands to stop the plot of the demon followers . ”
At Jude’s words, Great Storm turned to Cordelia, who blinked her eyes and quickly nodded .
“Yes, that is correct . ”
After she answered a little stupidly, Cordelia’s face reddened, but Great Storm felt that appearance to be rather trustworthy, so he said while scratching his chin .
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“Then, to sum it up, is it something like this? The fairy queens and the witch’s soul warned of the dangers in the wild lands . In particular, the witch’s soul even told you about my tribe and told you to go and help . ”
“Yes, that is correct . On our way to the wild lands, we heard of a story about someone with the blood of the winter elves…a girl from the Great Storm tribe, who was caught and held in the slave auction house, so we rescued her . She is Red Wind . ”
“Hmmm…”
Great Storm scratched his chin again and Jude inwardly smiled .
Because there were no holes in his story .
On their way to meet the Great Storm tribe, they saved a girl from the Great Storm tribe .
Can he even find any faults in their story?
Jude waited for a while before he hit the nail on the coffin .
“We had willfully used Great Storm’s name to win over Red Wind, who had become distrustful after being caught and turned into a slave . I kindly hope you will forgive us . ”
Jude deeply bowed from his waist, and Cordelia, as if by telepathy, bowed her head at almost the same timing .
At the courteous apology of the two, Great Storm made a groaning sound before nodding his head .
“All right, well, because I’m a little benevolent, I will forgive you two for now . ”
“Thank you very much . ”
“Thank you, Great Storm . ”
Jude and Cordelia promptly expressed their gratitude to Great Storm who decided to actually forgive them .
And Jude took it even one step further .
“O Great Storm, this humble one dares to ask of you to listen to a little more of my words . ”
“What is it?”
“I would like to repay your kindness for forgiving our great sins . I hope that you will allow me and Cordelia to fight for the Great Storm tribe . I would like to become a warrior of Great Storm . ”
It sounded like he was saying that he wanted to volunteer, but the truth was completely different .
‘Our self-proclamation becomes official . ’
At the moment Great Storm allowed it, Jude and Cordelia would become real warriors of the wild god Great Storm .
‘We’ll be actively moving in the wild lands anyway . ’
In order to reach a happy ending, the two needed to stop the Devil’s Eye and the Angry Bull tribe .
Then, wouldn’t an official warrior be better than a self-proclaimed warrior?
If they got a proper certification from Great Storm, their activities in the wild lands would be much easier .
‘And if we become official ones, he’ll give us something . ’
There was no way that a being named god would just appoint them as warriors and solely profit from it .
“Ummm . ”
Great Storm narrowed his eyes at Jude’s request and made a grunting sound .
He didn’t have a good feeling about it, as he was sure that Jude was up to something, but he couldn’t figure out what was wrong .
‘It looks bad if I just send them back . ’
Because it was true that the demon followers were starting something in the wild lands .
In fact, it was the reason why Great Storm appeared to Jude and Cordelia .
‘Ummm, I feel like they’ll squeeze me dry . ’
But he couldn’t do much about it .
Great Storm nodded his head after some careful consideration .
“Okay, I will grant your request . From today onwards, you two are my warriors . ”
It was at that moment that Great Storm declared it . An intense light suddenly rose from Jude and Cordelia’s right upper arms .
It was for a moment, but a deep pain followed it .
As they endured the pain that was like a hot iron touching their skin, Jude and Cordelia quickly rolled up their clothes to confirm it and saw a tattoo on their right arms .
The pattern of a thunderbird surrounded by the wind .
It was the emblem symbolizing the wild god, Great Storm .
And the moment they confirmed the emblem’s existence, Jude and Cordelia thought like rotten water .
‘Aren’t there any special effects?’
‘No options?’
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Because they didn’t feel any immediate changes .
Jude and Cordelia looked at each other and checked each other’s emblem afterwards . And they soon realized it again .
‘Different?’
‘It’s different?’
Jude’s was silver, while Cordelia’s was golden .
The two simultaneously looked back at Great Storm, and he said with a smile .
“This is my emblem . Show it to my tribesmen and they will recognize you as my warriors . ”
‘No, this one’s more important . ’
‘What’s the difference between silver and gold? The golden one’s better, right?’
Jude and Cordelia enthusiastically spoke with their eyes, and they continued talking as if ignoring Great Storm .
“Now that you two have become my warriors, there is something I would like to entrust to you . ”
It was the real reason why Great Storm appeared in this place .
If this was a game, it was the moment a quest was about to begin .
However, Jude and Cordelia were more interested in the emblem they acquired right now rather than the quest that was about to start .
It was all the more so since it was split into silver and gold .
‘Shall we just ask?’
‘Are you going to cut him off from what he’s going to say?’
It was the moment they exchanged glances .
Great Storm finally figured out why the two were so fretful and said with a guffaw unlike that of a boy’s .
“What, are you curious about the emblem’s power?”
““Yes . ””
Great Storm laughed again when Jude and Cordelia immediately answered at the same time .
“The wind will be on your side from now on, as it is an emblem enchanted with the wind that I control . ”
‘Is this something that increase wind attributes?’
‘Can we control the wind?’
While Jude and Cordelia were trying their best to interpret it, Great Storm continued to speak .
“In the silver emblem, there is the protection of the wind barrier . When used, the wind barrier will spread out and block projectile attacks . In the golden emblem, there are the protection of the wind barrier and the blessing of the wind . If you use the blessing of the wind, you will be able to freely control the surrounding wind for a while . ”
Even if he was a wild god, it doesn’t change that he was a god .
The protection of the wind barrier alone was useful, but the blessing of the wind was a very great ability that had a lot of room for application .
“Wow! Thank you so much!”
Cordelia brightly smiled in delight as she re-examined the golden emblem on her arm, and Great Storm smiled in satisfaction too at the pretty sight of such Cordelia .
But Jude was different .
‘How come?’
Cordelia’s was golden but Jude himself was silver .
Was there a numerical limitation?
In times like this, don’t they just give you the same thing?
Just like the Winter Fairy Queen that fairly gave the winter protection .
Jude’s questions were reasonable, and that was why Great Storm could also easily guess Jude’s thoughts . He then said with a smile .
“It’s a simple reason . ”
The reason why he gave a golden emblem to Cordelia and a silver emblem to Jude…
“I’m a man, so I like a pretty, kind, cute, and honest girl much better than a deep-black cunning man . ”
Jude blinked at his very honest answer, and Cordelia brightly smiled again .
***
“Well, it’s not just that, actually . ”
As Jude had guessed, there was a limit to the number of golden and silver emblems, so it was impossible to give both of them a golden emblem .
“Somehow, I have a good wavelength with that girl . It’s quite strange, if I have to say it . ”
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‘Is it because they’re both storm?’
Great Storm and Yellow Storm .
Cordelia nodded repeatedly with a smile as if she had a similar thought .
“That’s right, Great Storm . I think I fit well with Great Storm . ”
“Right? I think so too . ”
It was a conversation between Cordelia and Great Storm, who had become more friendly .
Jude tried hard to swallow down the sense of alienation that he felt, and then proceeded to talk again .
“O Great Storm, would you tell us what you wanted to entrust us?”
“Ah, yes . I was talking about that . ”
Great Storm clapped his hands and corrected his sitting position on the rock as he began talking again .
“As you had said, the demon followers seem to be doing something . Strange phenomenon are occurring in the various sacred grounds that exist in the wild lands . ”
“In the sacred grounds?”
“Yes, each of us wild gods have our own areas . That area is called the sacred grounds (sanctuary) . ”
It could be said that the wild gods were similar to Korea’s local mountain gods .
They select a sacred ground within their area, and then build their strength in that sanctuary .
Because of that, they could exert enough power to be called a god within their area, but if they go outside their area, their strength will sharply decrease .
“There is a place in the nearby area that used to be a sanctuary . It’s a place where the wild god, Violent Avalanche, used to live . Instead of looking after a tribe, he became one with nature . Anyway, even after he disappeared, the power of the wild god remained, and it continued to function as a sanctuary . ”
It was thanks to the sanctuary, which was full of blessings from the wild gods, that the barbarians could continue to live in the extremely cold areas of the wild lands .
“But I think something has gone wrong there . The energy of nature is twisted, and it seems like even monsters have begun appearing . ”
It was a story that they knew somehow .
Great Storm continued his words .
“As I said for the first time, it seems that it isn’t just one or two sanctuaries that have a problem . In the midst of this, I couldn’t leave the sanctuary, so I sent some of the tribesmen to investigate, but the results weren’t good . ”
None of the warriors who went to the Violent Avalanche’s sanctuary came back .
Normally, he would have sent Red Gale, the best warrior in the tribe, but it was impossible because he had been sick for several years .
“The distortion of the erroneous sanctuaries have begun to gradually affect my own sanctuary . So, children of the south, my warriors . Please investigate the Violent Avalanche’s sanctuary . ”
Jude and Cordelia looked at each other .
In Legend of Heroes 2, the wild lands did not properly make an appearance .
Naturally, the quests related to the wild gods also did not exist .
Therefore, it was highly likely that what would happen onwards would be unknown territory even for Jude and Cordelia, the rotten waters of Legend of Heroes .
There was a fear in the unknown .
It was a fear that they could not know on what would happen next .
But even so .
‘It sounds a little strange, but it feels like a new expansion pack was released . ’
Cordelia said with her eyes, and Jude agreed . His heart was pounding a little with excitement too .
And in fact, they had foreseen this .
Because the goal of Jude and Cordelia was to destroy the scenario in Legend of Heroes 2 .
‘Furthermore…it’s not like we do not have any information at all . ’
Although the wild lands did not appear on the stage, the Devil’s Eye and the corrupted barbarians clearly appeared in Legend of Heroes 2 .
The information about them was in Jude’s head .
‘There’s got to be rewards too . ’
A wild god was still a god .
Like how he gave them the emblems, he would give them appropriate rewards .
‘It’s simple . ’
It was something that they needed to do anyway, so shouldn’t they do it unconditionally if they could get some rewards?
‘Let’s do it . ’
This time, Jude said that with his eyes, and Cordelia agreed .
The eyes of the two headed to Great Storm .