Chapter 273: Chapter 273: Righteous Radiance (4)

“Unbelievable.”

Despite exhausting herself to the point of collapsing yesterday, the Righteous Radiance returned this morning after fighting a fresh batch of monsters, as if she had been waiting for it.

Naturally, the other followers who had recovered thanks to my support joined her.

Today, though, she seemed to pace herself. Instead of collapsing, she was rolling around on the bed, looking somewhat drowsy, so I asked her.

“Is it okay to use your divine power so freely?”

“Honestly, it’s not. I haven’t even recovered the power I gave you and Helena yet. Saying it’s not burdensome would be a lie.”

“Then….”

“But the Reckless Roar and the Boiling Silence ended up wasting far more divine power into thin air than I did. Can you imagine how much it must sting to see me rampaging around when they expected me to fall?”

The Righteous Radiance giggled as if thoroughly amused.

Of course. Who wouldn’t be tempted by the satisfaction of good teabagging…?

“Wait a second. Why is the Boiling Silence involved?”

“Hm? Did you think I was just killing monsters?”

“Wasn’t that the case?”

“…No! Hunting isn’t just about fighting. Investigating the prey is fundamental!”

She said this with a serious tone, even though she was sprawled out on the bed.

Well, I guess I understand what she’s trying to say. She went out to fight and did some investigating along the way.

Now that I think about it, this battle wasn’t without its oddities.

In H&A, it was mentioned that one day, the Righteous Radiance fell from grace, and her followers either went mad or defected to follow the fallen god, but the details weren’t clear.

The quest to prevent this mostly involved infiltrating the Reckless Roar cult and stealing the materials needed for their ritual, or assassinating the key figures involved.

It was all about delivering a massive blow to those who had been preparing for years, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Since the event blocked the entire invasion itself, how exactly they infiltrated wasn’t made clear.

“Did you find out anything? No matter how powerful the Boiling Silence’s abilities are, it seems impossible for them to hide such a massive army without some other factor…”

“That’s exactly it.”

“…Pardon?”

“They used the Boiling Silence’s power to hide the monsters and invade. Of course, they didn’t cross the entire continent. They must have come in from the east, along the coastline.”

“……”

That’s absurd. Sure, the Boiling Silence grants abilities specialized in stealth, but there are limits.

Even a cardinal-level member can hide, at best, a few dozen people with them.

Hiding that many monsters? Unless the Boiling Silence descended personally or sent an apostle, it would be impossible…

“Wait a second.”

Or… maybe not?

Suddenly, images of Jeff and his followers sacrificing themselves to complete a ritual in an instant flashed through my mind.

Human sacrifice is a kind of self-sacrificial spell.

Although it’s been twisted to nourish the power of Evil Gods, it still follows the same principle of making the impossible possible by consuming even one’s soul.

Even with many cultists sacrificing themselves, it’d be tough to hide the entire Greenskin army…

But what if they weren’t trying to amplify the Boiling Silence’s power through the sacrifice?

The Righteous Radiance mentioned earlier that the Boiling Silence had suffered a great loss as well.

That means the ones who used the power weren’t the cultists but the Boiling Silence themself.

In other words, the cultists were just creating a pathway for the Boiling Silence to use their divine power.

If the Boiling Silence used their own divine energy to hide the Greenskins, that would make sense.

The same goes for the fallen ritual that sped up and was completed in an instant through human sacrifice.

The barrier surrounding Solaris and the twisted faith channeled within it—all of that could be quickly executed if the Reckless Roar themself bore the burden.

Creating money out of nothing is hard, but taking it out of your wallet is easy, isn’t it?

“Is that right?”

“Correct! At least, from what I saw, that’s how it was.”

They had the confidence to succeed once their plan was set in motion, which was why they made such a huge investment.

In H&A, when things went slightly awry, they scrapped the whole plan because the effort required was so immense.

But now, they’ve used up all their power, and they failed to make the Righteous Radiance fall from grace?

“They must be furious right now. They’ll likely try to salvage the remaining monsters, but…”

“Before they can, we’ll have to thin out their numbers as much as possible.”

“Aha, so that’s why you’ve been using so much divine power despite saying it’s burdensome?”

“Growl!”

The Righteous Radiance let out a satisfied growl as if I had hit the mark, then rolled over.

Her chest, which had been pressed against the bed, rose as she flipped over, revealing the skin inside the slit of her gown as her legs stretched out carelessly.

Maybe it’s because I’m familiar with Helena’s body now, but I instinctively gulped and quickly averted my gaze.

“S-so, is this why you called me here? I thought you wanted to discuss my treatment.”

“Rawr….”

Letting out a strange sound, the Righteous Radiance’s face suddenly flushed red.

I had just managed to change the topic, but why was the atmosphere becoming even more awkward?

She was the one who asked me to come alone because she had something to discuss about my treatment in the first place!

As I stewed in my own frustration, the Righteous Radiance, who had been lounging around, sat up.

She straightened her clothes and fixed her cat-like, predatory eyes on me.

“Ahem. Yes, actually, I have something very, very important to discuss regarding your treatment.”

“You said the treatment would happen when Helena wakes up. I thought I’d have to wait another day…”

“That’s right. Helena is still asleep. What I mean is… I’m here to explain how we’re going to handle the treatment when the time comes. That’s why I called you.”

“I see.”

But why did she ask me to come alone? Now that I think about it, even Clara isn’t here—her medallion, which the Righteous Radiance always carries, is nowhere to be seen.

As I tilted my head in confusion, the Righteous Radiance suddenly pointed her finger at me.

“You might not feel it, but you’ve suffered soul damage. Let me explain that to you in detail first.”

“Sure, I’d appreciate that.”

After getting a good night’s sleep, my body felt better than ever. Not only did I not feel any pain or discomfort, but I was brimming with energy.

“Actually, the concept of a soul is something even gods don’t fully understand. No one really knows where it comes from or where it goes after death.”

“Didn’t you say that heaven is just a place to keep souls entertained before they head off somewhere else?”

“Yeah. In my case, I created a space where they can either rest peacefully or throw themselves into endless banquets and endless battles, if they so choose.”

“…Are you a Viking?”

“Anyway, while we can’t claim to fully understand souls, there are a few things we do know for sure. For example, the source of faith is the soul, not the mind.”

“Wait, not the mind?”

“Of course, belief comes from the mind. But the power that faith provides—the source of divine power—seeps from the soul.”

According to the Righteous Radiance’s explanation, when someone truly believes in something, their soul shines brighter than usual, producing some kind of energy.

This energy flows to the object of their faith, and once that entity has accumulated enough power, it can awaken as a god and wield divine power.

By refining divine power into something easier to use—holy power—the god can grant strength to their faithful followers.

“A self-sacrifice spell doesn’t just burn the holy power you’ve received; it consumes your soul itself, which is why it’s so powerful. Similarly, through human sacrifices, Evil Gods devour not only the divine power but also the souls that fuel it, making them stronger.”

“So, it’s like if you had a goose made of gold that laid golden eggs, you’d normally just keep taking the eggs, but when things get desperate, you sell off the whole goose?”

“Exactly. But not just anyone can perform a self-sacrifice spell.”

Human sacrifice is just like peeling off the candy wrapper, leaving the Evil God to do the actual devouring.

A self-sacrifice spell, however, must be done by the person’s own will.

If someone doesn’t have enough willpower to touch the depths of their soul or if their faith isn’t strong enough, they won’t have enough power to burn themselves up.

“But because you can’t see that qualification, there are always a few people who mess it up, right?”

“Even if the soul doesn’t completely burn, it’ll get pretty tattered, like mine now.”

“Exactly!”

“What happened to those people?”

“Well, the symptoms vary from person to person, but the common result was an increase in their maximum physical abilities and holy power. Yandel, if you use magic now, it’ll probably be much stronger than usual.”

“That sounds like a dangerous side effect.”

There’s no such thing as power without a price. You can’t get stronger without giving something in return, whether it’s time, money, or something else.

So in this case…

“You’re saying it’s using power seeping out from my half-broken soul.”

“Most likely, yes.”

“I don’t really want to know what comes after this, but I’ll ask anyway. What happens in the end?”

“You either go mad, become a vegetable, or suddenly drop dead. There are no exceptions.”

Terrifying.

No wonder she told me to rest and not fight at all.

It might be fine if I just stay still, but if I start using my power, my will and the energy leaking from my soul will react, and it’ll start burning up.

Once that happens, there’s no going back.

“You said it can be treated, right? How do we fix this?”

“If the vessel has a crack and water is leaking, you simply seal the crack! It’s simple. I’ll patch up the damaged parts myself. It’s not something just anyone can do, you know? It’s only possible because I’m a god!”

“Oh, wow…! That’s such a relief! Oh, I’m curious—how exactly are you going to patch it up? Not to be rude, but with all the divine power you’ve been using lately, do you have the energy to spare for this?”

Despite my concern, the Righteous Radiance just smiled softly and continued in a casual tone.

“It’s no big deal. I’ve done it before, remember? Like when I gave Helena my blessing to make her a saintess.”

“What? Of course, I remember… wait a second.”

A sense of foreboding hit me as I lifted my head, but it was already too late.

The Righteous Radiance was licking her lips, looking at me like a predator eyeing its prey.

“I called you here today to think about how you can earn Helena’s forgiveness.”

“…”

“Male! Female! Mating!”

It’s not about getting permission—it’s about earning forgiveness?

This is insane.