The Apostles of the Six Dragon Gods’ information could not be seen using the Golden Dragon Eye. I had to get the information directly from their mouths.
As soon as I released my presence, the Apostle’s gaze shifted.
“…Successor of the Lord?”
“I suppose talking to you is the right move for now?”
“How did you get here? If you had come, those above would not have stayed quiet.”
Looking at the slightly flustered Apostle of the White Dragon God, my eyes flashed. I used Dragon Fear to shut his mouth. The terrified Apostle trembled violently.
This was the divine power I had gained after becoming a Lesser Deity. Using a portion of that power, I entered the Apostle’s mind. As our eyes met, the things he knew began to flow into me.
However, because his rank was low, he didn’t know much. He had no idea where the Supreme Apostle was, how many Apostles of the White Dragon God there were, or where their main base was located. Such important pieces of information were nowhere to be found in his head.
Still, it wasn’t as if there was nothing.
-Go to where the humans are and bring back those who have potential.
-I will give you one month, so bring them back one by one.
For some reason, the side of the White Dragon God’s Apostles had begun to take an interest in humans. The one who gave this order to the Lower Apostle was an Intermediate Apostle. That one would surely know more. Fortunately, this guy’s memory contained the location of the Intermediate Apostle.
“Guaaa…”
I finished off the Apostle of the White Dragon God, who had lost his mind due to excessive mental interference. Like a doll with its strings cut, the Apostle collapsed.
Thud!
After watching him fall to the floor, I turned my head to look at the blonde man.
[Using Golden Dragon Eye]
[Idrian (B)]
– A priest of the Black Order who follows the Greed Demon King.
– He is feeling astonished.
– Overall Stats: B
– Potential: SSS+
– Items: Necklace of Greed (A)
– Skills: Black Contract (S), Blessing of Greed (SSS), Savior (SSS)… Strong Faith (S)
I understood why a Lower Apostle had taken an interest in this man.
‘It seems they weren’t really trying to kill him, but rather coerce him into changing his mind…’
There was more than enough reason for that. Not only was his potential SSS Rank, but he also possessed a rare skill.
Savior (SSS).
It was a skill possessed by those who held the firm conviction that they wanted to save the world—beings commonly referred to as heroes. His growth rate would be just as incredible. If time had continued to pass like this, he would have become a core figure under either the Black Order or the Apostles of the White Dragon God.
‘I feel bad for the Greed Demon King, but…’
Now that I knew of someone with such talent, I had no intention of leaving him under the Greed Demon King.
“Idrian.”
“…Who are you?”
Idrian’s voice trembled slightly. Looking at his expression, he seemed to be heavily on guard, yet a small flicker of awe was visible in his eyes. I needed to draw out that feeling of reverence. I put strength into my voice and infused it with divine power.
“I am the God of this world.”
“…I heard that God was dead. If you were alive, why have you not revealed yourself until now?”
“I was waiting for the time to come. And seeing you, I felt that the time has arrived.”
At my words, Idrian’s pupils dilated slightly.
“Do you wish to save this world?”
“…Yes.”
“Then follow me. If you do, I shall pass my power unto you.”
“I will follow you.”
I could feel Idrian’s reverence growing and the object of his Strong Faith shifting from the Greed Demon King to me. I raised my hand and placed it on Idrian’s head. As I channeled the divine power generated by Idrian’s belief back into him, I appointed this world’s first Apostle.
[You have appointed Idrian as your Apostle]
Idrian stepped outside the temple and looked over the village.
‘It’s dark.’
The atmosphere of the village itself was sunken, and the buildings were all gloomy beyond belief. Even though the sun was shining, the mood of the village was desperate. All of this was the will of the Demon King.
Because the source of his power was the impure energy generated by humans, he had made the village this way to gather that energy. The priests of the Black Order grew their power by absorbing the energy produced in this village.
‘I had no choice.’
There had only been one choice given to humans: to believe in the Greed Demon King. To survive in this world, one needed to believe in the Demon King and required the power that originated from the darkness. Because humans could not handle light, and they hated those who did.
“The Heavenly Dragon Tribe.”
Those wretches had restricted the power of light to themselves and made it so that no other beings could wield it. To oppose them, one needed the darkness. However, the power given by the Demon King was not enough. While small resistance was possible, the power was too weak to wipe out the Heavenly Dragon Tribe.
“…”
Idrian looked down at his palms. With these hands, he hadn’t been able to face even the weakest of the Heavenly Dragon Tribe. That was the limit of the Black Order.
“Whew.”
Exhaling a small breath, he tightly clenched the palms he had been holding open. As he formed a fist, a powerful force was contained within it. It was neither light nor darkness. It was a power where one could feel life itself.
It was on a completely different level from the power he had gained by following the Demon King. Even with a very small amount of power, it had the potential to do so much.
Whirrr!
He condensed the power in his fist and thrust it toward the temple.
Kabaaaaam!
As the power exploded, a massive shockwave tore the temple down. Pillars shattered, and the building collapsed.
Crash!
Thick dust billowed from the temple that had fallen in an instant.
“The… The temple has collapsed!”
“My God, what on earth is happening?”
“Find the High Priest!”
Watching the confused priests and knights of the Black Order, Idrian drew the sword at his waist. Due to the black magic created by the priests, the thick dust settled quickly.
Idrian stood loftily in front of the ruined temple.
Every priest and knight in the vicinity looked at Idrian, who was holding his unsheathed sword. Idrian swung the blade.
A sword wind infused with the power of life flew out and demolished the village.
Boom!
Crash!
Watching the buildings collapse, the priests and knights shouted at Idrian.
“What do you think you’re doing!”
“A priest who follows the darkness is destroying the village! The Demon King will be furious!”
“Have you truly gone mad!”
Several knights drew their swords and rushed forward. The trajectories of the rapidly swinging swords were caught in his two eyes. After reading the trajectories and parrying the blades, he threw a punch.
Thwack!
One knight flew back and crashed into the ruins. Avoiding the following attack, Idrian extended his leg. The knight kicked in the stomach flew into the air before crashing straight down. It was a skill that suppressed them in a single breath.
Idrian calmly sheathed his sword and spoke toward the slaves, priests, and knights watching him.
“Old comrades, God is not dead. God is alive. And He has appeared before me.”
“…You crazy bastard.”
“And He told me to erase the Black Order from this world. He said if I do, He will also erase the Heavenly Dragon Tribe from this world. He will bestow this world unto us once more.”
At Idrian’s words, which were filled with reverence, one priest spoke up.
“You’re saying the God who abandoned us for hundreds of years has appeared again? What? Erase the Heavenly Dragon Tribe? That’s impossible, even for a God.”
Then, the others joined in.
“The Demon King provides us with at least a minimum of food. Can that God you speak of do the same?”
“Killing the Heavenly Dragon Tribe… that’s complete madness.”
Looking at them, Idrian held up the corpse of a member of the Heavenly Dragon Tribe that the God had killed and brought out earlier. With horns on its head and snow-white armor, it was a corpse that anyone could see belonged to the Heavenly Dragon Tribe.
“If we have the power given by God, it is possible to kill the Heavenly Dragon Tribe.”
“…Gasps! Those horns… it’s a real Heavenly Dragon?”
“How… how can you kill a Heavenly Dragon?”
“You crazy bastard, to kill a Heavenly Dragon… Now the real ones will come here. We’re all dead now!”
Idrian set the Heavenly Dragon’s corpse back on the ground and raised his hand. Then, light began to flow from the Heavenly Dragon’s neck. The corpse, which had turned into a snow-white light, became a massive brilliance before scattering in tens of thousands of small lights in all directions.
Tens of thousands of lights poured down from the sky. Along with them, greenery bloomed from the earth, and seeds of life sprouted, producing food the likes of which had never been seen before. Trees laden with abundant fruit appeared. Animals ran through green meadows.
Things that had not been seen by humans for hundreds of years, ever since the Heavenly Dragon Tribe had taken away the light, appeared before their eyes once more.
“Now, you no longer have to do things that hurt your heart. There is no need to torment slaves or be buried in impure energy.”
“…”
“Those who will follow me to tear down the Black Order and erase the Heavenly Dragon Tribe from this world, gather before me.”
Some of the priests and knights went before Idrian and knelt. Idrian cast a light blessing upon them. He purified the minds that had been corrupted while accumulating impure energy for the Demon King and enhanced their physical abilities.
“Go and eat your fill.”
The blessed priests and knights widened their eyes as they plucked and ate the fruit.
“It’s delicious…”
“I can’t believe it’s this sweet.”
“To think I’d be able to taste something like this.”
Seeing their reaction, most of the priests and knights received Idrian’s blessing. The only ones remaining were a tiny handful of priests and those who had lived their entire lives as slaves.
Idrian walked toward the slaves. He knelt and bowed his head.
“You all are free as well. I am sorry for the torment I caused you.”
“This is nonsense! Giving freedom to slaves! The Demon King will not stay quiet!”
At the voices of the priests who were die-hard followers of the Demon King, Idrian’s gaze turned sharp. He drew his sword and dealt with the priests. Those who had enjoyed creating impure energy, demons in human skin—they were those who followed the Demon King more fervently than anyone else. To change this world, their deaths were necessary.
Slash!
If he had left them alive, they would never have bent their convictions and would have tried to report everything to the Demon King. Looking at the priests collapsed on the ground, he walked back to the slaves.
“Truly… can we also gain our freedom?”
“Yes. Go and eat as much as you want. Let us work together to create a new world.”
Idrian quickly took control of the village. It was the base for a new beginning. Now, starting from here, those who followed me would spread throughout the world.
‘I suppose he’ll take care of the Black Order on his own.’
Unless the Demon King himself descended into this world, there would likely be no one in the Black Order who could stop Ian.
With Ian’s talent and skill, it was possible to calmly expand his influence while tearing down the Black Order.
Still, just in case, I gave him the authority to call for me if a dangerous situation arose. Just once.
“Now then…”
I recalled the location of the Intermediate Apostle I had obtained through the Lower Apostle. That guy was someone who knew a bit more information. I needed to catch him and gather more information about this world.
I moved my body in the direction where the Intermediate Apostle was located.