Chapter: 180
Maybelle’s dad either saw the future or figured things out with his genius knowledge, but that’s not what we need to focus on right now, so let’s move on.
“I kind of get what’s going on, but there are some bits that puzzle me.”
“What is it?”
I casually snapped my fingers, and at that moment, Maybelle fell into a deep sleep.
After all, it wasn’t wise for a kid who was almost going to be a sacrifice to hear this story.
“The sacrifice to become the body of the god. As far as I know, you don’t need that kind of thing to create a god. Why ask for such a thing?”
“Huh?”
Ella, holding the suddenly dozing Maybelle, looked completely taken aback.
Sure, I’ve manipulated public opinion and incited various gods into existence or changed them, but I’ve never needed such sacrifices.
Nope, there wasn’t even a proper ritual to begin with. It was just a matter of whipping up public sentiment, leading many people’s beliefs to shape the kind of god I wanted.
So, to be clear, no ritual to create a deity exists.
“A god is birthed from the beliefs of countless humans. Therefore, a physical body is totally pointless.”
A deity indeed arises from the faith of the masses.
Unless you’re one of those rare cases with an actual physical body… Without the faith from people, a god is a weakling that can’t even keep its own existence afloat.
Hmm. If I think about it this way… A god is kind of like a mental parasite, living off the faith of humans, unable to exist without the majority’s belief, right?
That’s an intriguing thought! But hey, right now, that’s not important, so let’s brush it aside.
“So, the whole idea of a sacrifice to become the body of a god in this ritual is… weird.”
“Is it? But how does the Dragon Priestess know about this ritual?”
“Hmm. The specifics are a secret. But one thing’s for sure… no one knows more about creating gods than I do.”
Because that’s literally the method I used.
But this ritual Ella described… After thinking it over, it feels way too different from what I used.
It’s almost like…
“But if this ritual is performed, are you sure a new god will actually be born?”
“Huh? That’s…”
“I’m well aware of the methods for creating gods too. But the ritual you mentioned seems completely unlike anything I’ve heard before.”
Ella’s face started to harden at my words.
“Th-That’s… but…”
Ella struggled to compose her thoughts. Hmm…
“Could it be that the voice teaching them this ritual has deceived everyone?”
It just doesn’t add up otherwise.
The ridiculous demands and trying to trick rats who are already desperate to get what they want… If it’s a trick,
then… what could that voice actually want?
“Explain the ritual that the rat beastmen are preparing in detail. I want to compare it to my information.”
“Oh, right!”
Ella began to elaborate on her knowledge of the ritual to create a deity.
“First, the materials needed are a child who will become the body of the god, a hefty stash of mana stones, the prayers and faith of those who will become the new god’s followers, and finally… a hefty number of souls as offerings to transform the prayers of ordinary folks into pure divinity for the ascension.”
Oh no! This sounds like a shady ritual!
A big pile of mana stones to do all kinds of magic makes sense, but a massive number of souls? Nope, not okay!
It’s clearly sketchy—definitely not a legit ritual!
“That sounds like a flop.”
“Huh?”
But if that voice underground is who I’m thinking it is, did they seriously want to use such means to resurrect themselves?
Even if they came back, wouldn’t it just make it easier for me to track them down?
“This doesn’t feel suspicious to you? A ritual demanding a mountain of souls? The gods from the Pantheon wouldn’t pull such a stunt. Did the rat beastmen really buy into this?”
“The esteemed leaders of the rat beastmen believed firmly. I’m not sure why… but back then, since they were saying so, I had no choice but to believe.”
Firm belief, huh… Was it that desperate that they had no alternative? Or…
“Hmmm… I’m not sure who that voice is, but… they might have brainwashed them.”
“Brainwashed?”
“Yep. Otherwise, no way would they ever buy into such a ridiculous ritual.”
Ella pointed out that the only ingredient actually essential for creating a god is the faith of the followers.
The other materials… Hmm…
Should I plan on getting captured and dragged underground someday?
Looking at it from the surface, it seems like they wanted to extract magic from the mana stones, absorb tons of souls, and gain a body to inhabit, effectively achieving complete form.
If that kinda ritual succeeded, they’d just be able to resurrect with a blend of magic and a horde of souls.
It wouldn’t be as good as their last form before the shatter, but…
Honestly, what a bunch of idiots.
But that ridiculous number of souls among the needed materials… Hmm…
Are they seriously planning to wipe out all the rat beastmen to gather those souls?
If not…
“As for that supposed ‘hefty stash of souls’ for the ritual… how do they expect to acquires those?”
“Umm…”
Ella hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“They’re planning to obtain them by wiping out the inhabitants of Armen.”
“Armen?”
Wait, hold up. The rat beastmen underground are gearing up to wipe out the city of Armen aboveground?
How…? It kind of makes sense.
Since these rat beastmen are living deep underground, hidden from everyone else, messing with the water supply wouldn’t be too tough.
The people of Armen are using the water from the main supply normally, so if they just dumped some slow-acting poison in the water source… they could easily wipe out all the city’s humans.
Hmmm… Hold on. Could it be that the water and sewage systems of Armen were set up from the start for this ritual?
Using the main water supply to gather a horde of souls and choosing the sewers below Armen as the ritual spot?
If that’s true, then this ritual has literally been brewing for ages.
Even before Maybelle, who’s snoozing right now, was born. Hmmm.
“I can’t just ignore this. It’s a problem.”
“Yeah. This ritual needs to fail for Maybelle’s sake.”
Ella softly stroked Maybelle’s head once more. Her gentle touch was filled with overwhelming fondness.
“Maybelle is one thing, but I can’t let the people of Armen be wiped out either.”
So what’s the best move here?
The simplest way would be to charge right into the underground lair and obliterate everything, but… hmmm.
Despite their wrongdoings, just wiping them all out feels a bit extreme… Hmm. Hmmm…
If they’ve already crossed the line, that’s one thing, but considering they haven’t yet… killing them now feels a touch heartless.
Well, it was the desperate attempt of the rat beastmen to stay alive, so maybe just destroying them completely isn’t quite right. Sabotaging their ritual may not be enough.
Hmm. Hmm. Hmmm.
That’s it.
“What if we just turn Maybelle into a god?”
“Huh?”
Ella’s eyes went wide.
What’s with that look?
“U-Um, did you hear me right? This child, and the plan to sacrifice the people of Armen?”
“No, not that ritual.”
If the rat beastmen were in need of a god, then if a god had existed for them, all of this wouldn’t be happening in the first place.
So…
“Rather than that suspicious ritual, let’s think about properly creating a god.”
“Properly, you say…”
Ella shot me a look filled with skepticism. Well, I get it, honestly.
Because of this shady ritual to create a god, her daughter is in danger, and she lost her husband! Of course, she’s going to have trust issues.
But still…
“Your daughter won’t become a sacrifice to serve as a physical body for a deity. Instead, we’ll turn this entire situation on its head and make her a god!”
“B-But…”
“If that happens… Your daughter would grow into a living human who’s become a god, and once her life as a living individual ends, she’ll take on the role of the rat god, looking after the rat beastmen. Doesn’t that mean a secure future for your kin?”
At my words, Ella sank into deep thought, before replying in a low voice.
“It sounds compelling, but… being a god comes with immense responsibility, doesn’t it?”
“Could be. But she could become the most revered being while still alive. You’re not against your child being such a figure, right?”
Ella shook her head slightly.
“No, it’s not that. I just worry… a god is an immortal being with vast responsibilities; what if it crushes this child under that weight after she becomes one?”
I see. Ultimately, it’s maternal concern at its core.
Parents always worry about their children, but isn’t this worry a tad overboard?
In that case…
“How about you directly ask her?”
I glanced over at the sleeping, or rather pretending-to-be-sleeping Maybelle.
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