LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 129
Chapter 129. Divine Blood
“We have to retreat without completely wiping them out… It’s unfortunate!”
We concluded the wildlands exploration at this point.
Although we had enough food and supplies, we decided to properly protest to Beatrice, so we couldn’t keep wandering around recklessly.
“I’ll report to the higher-ups! We need to inform the Luminaries personnel not to approach the burrows!”
Arian expressed her deep concerns.
“We’ll search for members of the Black Willow Cult hiding within the Empire.”
“Many of those captured as sacrifices were citizens of the Empire, after all.”
As they said, the Black Willow Cult was active in abduction even within the Empire.
If they could hunt down the cult members, it would give me some leeway to investigate elsewhere.
“I’ll inform my subordinates as well. However, I need to…”
Ender sighed deeply.
“I have to visit my family. I won’t be welcomed, but I can’t shake off what that malicious woman said.”
Regrettably, Ender seemed both physically and mentally exhausted.
‘Beatrice’s temptation must have been quite powerful… I need to prepare a countermeasure.’
I planned to negotiate with other Outer God’s priests or find a solution. Even though we were an alliance, we were ultimately groups keeping each other in check.
“If I discover anything, I’ll pass the information on to everyone. Please take good care of these parchments.”
I distributed copies of the parchment that Lyla had crafted, which Cernun had provided.
“Thank you! Then, I’ll take my leave!”
“See you next time.”
After exchanging farewells, Arian returned to the Luminaries side.
“Are you heading to the castle?”
“No, there’s a place we need to stop by on our way back.”
“If it’s somewhere Lady is going, I must go as well.”
It seemed that Ansandy and Delion were going separately…
“And you, Ender?”
“Your castle is far from my home, so I’ll have to go separately as well.”
As I watched my companions ride off into the distance, I handed the 〈Teleport〉 crystal to Eldritch.
“Let’s head back too, Eldritch.”
* * *
When I returned to the castle after a considerable time, I noticed some changes.
The furniture was more modern, and gardens and vegetable patches had sprung up around the castle.
Having people live there seemed to breathe some life into the place.
“I’m back…”
Upon seeing me, Mary, who had come out to greet me, froze in place.
“… Already at the 4th rank? And getting the Dragon Crown?”
Blinking her eyes, Mary extended her hand.
‘I suppose she’s asking for blood again.’
When Mary drew blood, black liquid flowed out.
“… It’s ripening to some extent.”
There was indeed a change this time.
“Follow me. We need to talk.”
Watching Mary tugging at my arm, Eldritch tilted his head in curiosity.
“It seems there’s something important. I’ll go have a talk with Lyla.”
“Alright, see you later.”
Mary led me to one of the lounge rooms. She slowly placed something on the table.
“Wait… is that…?”
“Yes.”
A board made by taping two A4 sheets printed from a computer. Clumsily cut paper and sheets with scribbles.
“It’s the ≪Orders≫? How did you…?”
“It’s a replica made from implanted knowledge.”
Upon closer examination, it was clear that the material was a bit different. But that wasn’t what mattered.
“Why are you showing me this all of a sudden?”
“It will be different from your memory.”
Different from my memory? I looked at the rulebook curiously.
“… It’s not there?”
Before falling into this world, the trait I obtained by rolling the dice with Dowol was missing. The 〈Apostle of Calamity〉 trait was nowhere to be found.
‘Rare trait or not, it’s nowhere to be found.’
The trait corresponding to a result of 20, which added 10 to all stats, was 〈Versatile〉.
It had no connection to an Outer God whatsoever. Moreover…
“Playing as a faction connected to Outer Gods was impossible from the start.”
According to the rulebook devised by Dowol, factions related to Outer Gods were designed to be unplayable.
‘And if you succumbed to madness or corruption, it ended with a bad ending.’
While Dowol had used ≪Orders≫ to teach me about this world, factions related to Outer Gods were portrayed as an enemy.
“So my transformation into an Outer God priest had nothing to do with Dowol’s intent?”
“That’s right.”
“Then, the one behind it…”
The most likely culprit was undoubtedly the ‘Being of the White Night’. The Being of the White Night was the one that implanted the method of rolling the dice directly into me.
“What exactly is the Being of the White Night? What connection does it have to me…?”
“I don’t know about that.”
Mary said that even the knowledge implanted in her didn’t include information on that entity.
However, it was unlikely that Dowol didn’t know something about it.
‘In the worst case, Dowol himself might be the Being of the White Night… But that’s still very fuzzy.’
I could formulate various hypotheses. But making judgments without precise information could lead to disastrous mistakes.
Without a clear lead directly pointing to its identity, I decided against jumping to conclusions.
“You asked me why I was testing your blood?”
Mary spoke as she held my hand. I had a rough idea of why she regularly tested my blood.
“You were checking to see if I was turning into something connected to the Outer Gods, weren’t you?”
“… Partly, yes.”
Partly, she said?
“There’s something even more critical.”
Mary lightly scratched my finger, drawing out more black blood.
“This isn’t transforming into residues.”
“Then why did it turn black? It’s not like this happens from enlightenment.”
Levant and Pleroma had distinctly red blood.
“This is Divine Blood. Blood imbued with divine power.”
“… I’ve never heard of anything like that.”
There was no mention of ‘Divine Blood’ in ≪Orders≫.
“It’s not well known even in this world.”
Mary added that it was a secret known only to the highest-ranking priests of any religion.
“It’s the qualification for reaching the 7th rank, a direct connection with a God.”
“7th rank…”
Practically, no one had reached such a level.
It was considered a conceptual rather than an actual realm because it was so close to the domain of the divine.
‘I remember Dowol saying to just think of level 7 as being God-like.’
I suddenly had a hunch and pulled out my character sheet.
‘…〈Black Divine Blood〉.’
What appeared to be a blot on the sheet was now readable. The description remained blank. But from Mary’s explanation alone, I understood how significant this was.
“Then, is this like the blood of a God?”
“Something like that.”
“The owner must be the Being of the White Night, right?”
After some consideration, Mary shook her head.
“It’s probably true that it bestowed the blood. But it’s not the owner.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Unlike other Divine Blood, 〈Black Divine Blood〉 is artificial.”
Other Gods had built close relationships with humanity, allowing them to bestow Divine Blood. However, outer Gods, being invaders without any contribution to humanity, couldn’t bestow Divine Blood. But…
“They created it. Something similar.”
A coalition of Outer Gods created Divine Blood. It was bestowed upon me and began to mature once I reached the 4th rank.
‘No wonder they treated me so reverently.’
It wasn’t just because I had no God to serve and showed great talent as a priest.
There was definitely a reason why the Leng Spiders pushed Pleroma to devour me.
“Divine Blood capable of reaching the 7th rank…”
Mary placed several NPC pieces on the ≪Orders≫ board.
“The Outer Gods also bestowed Divine Blood upon their chosen ones.”
Those possessing Divine Blood, like me, could grow rapidly. Who they were and how many there were remained unclear.
“There are already individuals who have awakened Divine Blood.”
Not only had they awakened earlier, but some had existed for a very long time.
Unfortunately, Mary hadn’t been directly informed of who those individuals were.
“The reason they haven’t intervened is… are the restrictions from the heavens?”
They must be level 5 or higher. However, Mary shook her head.
“Those with Divine Blood are relatively free from restrictions.”
The restrictions set by the supreme God of Greece could be partially ignored.
“It’s just not the right time yet.”
They might not be able to fully exert their power, have yet to complete their growth, or have just recently awakened or been bestowed Divine Blood.
There were reasons they hadn’t shown themselves yet.
“But when the time comes, they’ll inevitably emerge.”
When that happens, events reminiscent of myth will unfold once more.
“The second Holy War will break out.”
“Then, I…”
I was central to the Outer Gods’ forces. I was destined to become an enemy to other Divine Blood wielders.
“The Outer Gods want to open their era through you.”
They wished to win the war, drive out the Outer Gods, and claim the world. The more I listened, the more I felt like a cog in a machine.
A crucial cog at the very center.
“But why should I be involved? Can’t I just renounce this Divine Blood? Couldn’t I end this ambition by just dying?”
I could incinerate every drop using 〈Funeral of Living Flames〉. Yet Mary shook her head.
“Then who will stop them?”
“Them?”
“The Outer God’s priests seeking to steal another’s Divine Blood.”
Cahon and other priests of the Outer Gods came to mind. If Divine Blood could be stolen from its bearers, and if they became Divine Blood bearers themselves…
If they reached the 7th rank, becoming the core of the Outer Gods’ power…
“This is insane…”
Just thinking of Beatrice, I couldn’t possibly allow them to ascend to the 7th rank. Ultimately, it fell upon me to prevent it.
“I don’t fully know the secrets of the Divine Blood.”
Mary tapped the pieces on the board.
“This is all that was implanted. And I can’t reveal anything beyond this.”
“So there’s still more you can’t tell?”
I had no idea what the conditions were for the disclosure restriction to be lifted. Come to think of it, ≪Orders≫ also imparted information to me indirectly through a game format.
‘Perhaps this is the best attempt at informing me.’
Ultimately, Dowol had created Mary to impart information to me like ≪Orders≫.
“Mary. Do you know what Dowol is doing right now, how he’s living?”
On the day of the strange phenomenon at the board game cafe, I heard about Dowol’s death and even saw what seemed to be his corpse.
However, I’ve always suspected that Dowol might be alive and well in this world.
“I have no idea. His life status is unknown.”
Unfortunately, Mary didn’t seem to know either.
‘The more I try to learn about you, the more questions arise.’
How did Dowol know I would fall into this world, and why did he prepare all this for me?
‘I wish we could have an open conversation…’
I sighed.
“For now… I guess I should start searching for other Divine Blood bearers.”
“I have a lead on one person.”
Mary lifted the rulebook and pointed to a name written there.
“… Zeus.”
The first candidate was a recently appearing mysterious individual—an apostle of the Ancient God Zeus.