Before leaving for Hibernia.
I browsed the Divinity Point Shop while waiting for the Dimension Transfer cooldown, which had about 2 hours remaining.
**[Remaining Divinity Points — 4,026,980]**
Even though I had no one to compare myself to, it was clear that the points were accumulating at an abnormally fast rate.
A true god had appeared in a world that treated gods as mere superstitions.
A miracle witnessed by many.
While the fact that the footage spread overnight surely played a role, the most important factor was likely the holy power itself.
Once a person joins the Heavenly Demon Cult and rises through the ranks of second-class and first-class believers to the position of High Priest, they can use holy power.
Holy power is the power of a god used to oppose the Abyss.
It is the miracle of purifying those contaminated by the Abyss and restoring tainted land and air.
Since they had experienced and seen it firsthand, people couldn’t help but believe.
Consequently, points were piling up at a staggering speed.
**[Remaining Divinity Points — 4,042,695]**
Of course, this momentum would eventually slow down at some point, but at the current rate, I would soon be able to purchase another Authority.
If that was the case, there was no point in hoarding them.
Once they gathered, I should use them immediately.
“The problem is where to use them…”
The number of Authorities in the Point Shop was so vast it was difficult to count.
The issue was that there were no explanations for the abilities, effects, or powers of the Authorities listed.
Therefore, I either had to guess based purely on the names or study the ancient, vanished gods more deeply before making a purchase.
However, I didn’t have the luxury of time to study theology.
I needed to actively use the points I had gathered to stabilize the world quickly and build the strength to oppose Kreutzvalt.
**[Divinity Point Shop]**
**[Authority — Teranor’s Call: 10,000,000 Pt]**
**[Authority — Teranor’s Dominion: 11,000,000 Pt]**
**[Authority — Oserion’s Appearance: 9,000,000 Pt]**
**[Authority — Oserion’s Eternal Flow: 21,000,000 Pt]**
**[Authority — Aeolias’s Wrath: 18,000,000 Pt]**
**[Authority — Aeolias’s Manifestation: 10,000,000 Pt]**
**[Authority — Furion’s Storm: 8,000,000 Pt]**
**[Authority — Furion’s Veil: 7,500,000 Pt]**
……
“I can’t buy these right now…”
As I had felt from Hio’s Authority, ‘Perseverance of Splendor’, the abilities of an Authority were uniquely powerful and incomparable to regular skills.
Of course, Perseverance of Splendor might be an outlier.
A power that erases momentary splendor from reality, accumulates it, and then releases it all at once.
Since I had only accumulated it and hadn’t used that power yet, it was the kind of strength for which I had no accurate data, despite it being my own Authority.
In any case, it meant that guessing an Authority’s function based solely on its name was a significant gamble.
Thus, I looked at the prices next to the names.
The more expensive ones were clearly superior in terms of the uniqueness or strength of their abilities.
However, if asked whether those were necessary right now, the answer might be no.
What I was looking for were Authorities that were inexpensive enough to buy soon and whose abilities could be somewhat inferred.
Presumably, such Authorities were the kind that most gods possessed.
Perhaps they were the fundamental abilities.
With that thought, I scrolled down the window, and cheaper Authorities began to appear.
**[Authority — Harrmesia’s Swift Judgment: 6,500,000 Pt]**
**[Authority — Rie’s Immortal Accord: 8,000,000 Pt]**
**[Authority — Venus’s Radiant Confession: 7,777,777 Pt]**
**[Authority — Ysera’s Spirit Wings: 5,500,000 Pt]**
**[Authority — Kisses’s Infinite Call: 9,000,000 Pt]**
**[Authority — Drissella’s Origin Breath: 8,000,000 Pt]**
**[Authority — Terabor’s Lost Ritual: 7,500,000 Pt]**
I searched through them, but I couldn’t find a particularly notable Authority.
Nothing gave me a strong feeling.
In a way, it was only natural.
What could I possibly know from just the name of a god I’d never heard of and the price next to it?
I began to think that choosing an Authority might be harder than I expected.
But then, just as I reached the very bottom of the vast Authority shop…
“This is it.”
I found two Authorities that gave me exactly the right feeling.
**[Authority — Divine Oath of Lucidria: 2,000,000 Pt]**
**[Authority — Divine Space of Beltesia: 2,000,000 Pt]**
I happened to have enough points to buy both.
Wasn’t it also suspicious that they were at the very bottom of the Authority shop?
Furthermore, the names of the Authorities were excellent.
I had to buy these first and see.
**[You have acquired the Authority — ‘Divine Oath of Lucidria’.]**
**[2,000,000 Divinity Points will be consumed.]**
**[You have acquired the Authority — ‘Divine Space of Beltesia’.]**
**[2,000,000 Divinity Points will be consumed.]**
Immediately after purchasing the Authorities, the cooldown for Dimension Transfer finished right on time.
**[Transcendent Skill — ‘Dimension Transfer’ is being activated.]**
**[Verden Continent, Kingdom of Hibernia, Sanctuary]**
**[Commencing movement.]**
And so, I moved immediately to Irina’s side.
—
The Divinity Point Shop didn’t only contain Authorities.
Various Holy Skills, as well as the power to grant authority or punishment to Apostles and believers, could also be purchased using Divinity Points.
Fortunately, the names of Holy Skills, authorities, and punishments weren’t as unfriendly as the Authorities themselves.
Their names were more intuitive, and they came with relatively detailed descriptions, so there was no great difficulty in purchasing them.
**[Appointing ‘Irina’ as the second Apostle.]**
**[80,000 Divinity Points will be consumed.]**
In truth, I hadn’t planned on appointing an Apostle separately in Verden.
Lipuae’s doctrines were already widespread there, and the name Hio Pavlenko was more associated with the image of a hero than a divine figure.
But since things had turned out this way…
Now that I had appointed an Apostle, I had to do it properly.
I had to clearly announce to the world that a new god had been born.
That not just the hero Hio Pavlenko, but Hio Pavlenko, the God of Patience and Magic, had descended.
“Apostle Irina.”
Irina looked up at Hio with her pure, clear eyes.
White hair flowed softly over the head of the woman reborn as an Apostle. As I watched Irina slowly rise, I activated a new Authority.
**[Authority — ‘Divine Oath of Lucidria’ is being activated.]**
A sacred radiance burst forth.
It was a divine light that no priest could fail to recognize.
Even an ordinary person would feel the presence of a god if touched by that light, so how much more would it affect the priests who had served a god their entire lives?
[It seems you already knew.]
Divinity dwelled within the voice.
Like the voice of Liphyue when she had once manifested herself, it was a voice that echoed from all directions.
Because of the divine radiance radiating from an unknown source, the other priests couldn’t even open their eyes properly.
They listened to the sacred resonance with their heads bowed low.
[Let Rie rest in peace.]
Rie’s eternal rest.
The high priests who had their heads bowed probably didn’t understand the meaning immediately.
The only one who understood was the Apostle before me, Irina.
Even within the white radiance overflowing with divinity, Irina’s snow-white eyes, which could see through the divine, were looking straight at Hio.
[I have confirmed it personally.]
I had to remove the name of Liphyue, which was firmly rooted in the world.
I had to make sure people no longer searched for a god who was gone.
[Therefore, announce it to the world.]
However, I couldn’t just do that blindly.
I had to make it widely known that I was the legitimate successor.
That I was the being recognized by Liphyue.
[That I have inherited Liphyue’s hope.]
**[You have acquired the Holy Skill — ‘Divine Beauty’.]**
**[1,500 Divinity Points will be consumed.]**
**[Would you like to bestow the Holy Skill — ‘Divine Beauty’ upon your Apostle, ‘Irina’?]**
**[Bestowing the Holy Skill — ‘Divine Beauty’ upon Apostle ‘Irina’.]**
**[500 Divinity Points will be consumed.]**
When I reached out and pointed at Irina, the skill I had eyed earlier, Divine Beauty, dwelled within her.
Irina must have clearly felt the power engraved in her as well.
[Tell the world.]
The naturally activated Holy Skill ‘Divine Beauty’ enveloped Irina.
Her body floated one step into the air.
A pair of snow-white wings sprouted from her back.
Every action and every gesture was imbued with divinity—it was, quite literally, a divine beauty.
That would lend power to Irina’s words and actions.
It would grant her authority.
[That hope has returned.]
She would spread hope throughout the world once more.
With those words…
**[Authority — ‘Divine Space of Beltesia’ is being activated.]**
Hio’s figure vanished without a trace.
Along with the overwhelming presence and the dazzling radiance.
Leaving only the pure white Apostle behind, he disappeared.
—
It felt like that.
The shock of learning the secret behind a magic trick for the first time.
The sense of futility upon discovering the principle behind a power that seemed impossible to solve.
Even a bit of absurdity.
“So that’s what it was?”
The first Authority I used, Divine Oath of Lucidria.
This was an Authority that was more than just familiar; I had seen it before.
The divinity that burst forth when I first encountered Liphyue in the Sanctuary, the blurry form of Liphyue…
And even the voice that resonated grandly as the divinity seeped in.
Everything was exactly the same.
“To think that was all a performance staged using an Authority…”
While it felt a bit cheap, it wasn’t that I didn’t understand.
What was the most important thing for obtaining Divinity Points?
You had to make people have faith.
You had to make them perceive you as something mythical, beyond mere admiration or respect.
In that sense, it could be called the most important Authority that serves as the foundation for all gods.
“Well, it’s not like I’m particularly expecting much, though.”
On the Verden Continent, I wouldn’t be able to secure a dramatic faith like I did on Earth.
Videos weren’t circulating, and it wasn’t as if divinity hadn’t existed here originally.
Furthermore, Liphyue’s name had existed since the incredibly distant past, so how could Hio be revered as the god of the continent and push her aside overnight?
Nevertheless, it was something that had to be done eventually.
Liphyue’s Cathedral would eventually collapse.
Liphyue had entered her eternal rest, and no new priests would be born.
So, I had resolved everything at once by saving Irina and appointing her as an Apostle.
“There will be chaos for a while… but it can’t be helped.”
It was unavoidable.
If you leave a sick person alone because you fear the pain that follows, the entire tooth will rot.
Even if it was painful, you had to pull it out while there was still a chance.
“By the way… Airlights?”
“Hmm?”
“Where are we?”
Airlights, who was clinging to my back and showed no sign of letting go, still had no response other than calling her own name.
It felt a bit strange to think that I had been carrying Airlights the whole time… but the Divine Oath of Lucidria would have automatically hidden her appearance as well.
First, it seemed like identifying where I was right now should be the priority.
The place I arrived at using the Authority ‘Divine Space of Beltesia’.
A place where I could barely see a step ahead and everything else was submerged in pitch black.
As a result of wandering around this place, which was too dark to be called a divine space, for about ten minutes, I was able to figure out where it was.
It was because I discovered a familiar tea table and chairs.
The crooked chairs and table looked as if someone had drawn them as a joke and they had been made real.
This was definitely the place where I had sat down and talked with Liphyue.
“This is…”
It was the space of the forgotten old gods.