신도 (1) 휴버트 상회 타라크 본점. “Diana, let’s have a quick chat.” “Yes, Head! I’ll prepare some snacks right away.” “Thanks, I appreciate it.” As the day’s work was wrapping up, the association head Hubert called Diana to a private setting. To discuss the holy power that was beginning to settle within her. ‘It’s been over four years since I first met this girl.’ He glanced at her, bringing in warm tea and cookies, with a renewed perspective. Diana, whom he met in the tiny city of Azhantu located in the Talia Kingdom at the western edge of the Ion Continent, was the first proper relationship he formed after crossing into Auterica. ‘I never imagined our bond would last this long.’ Back then, she was a frail, malnourished girl struggling to support her younger brother. Now she had grown into a career woman dressed in a classy suit, making it hard not to feel nostalgic. ‘Though she’s still technically young.’ She claimed she was 17 now. But she wore makeup that gave her an adult appearance, not wanting to be underestimated due to her youth. Nutritional issues had been resolved, and she had grown rapidly over the past few years. “Are you handling everything well? Is Aaron doing fine?” “Yes, thanks to your concern, Head! We’re getting through each day just fine. Aaron is going to school well too. These days, he comes home covered in dirt from his knight training!” Hubert quietly observed Diana while catching up on the news. Her demeanor was pretty much the same as usual. But he couldn’t completely avoid his “analysis.” ‘She has an idea of what’s going on already.’ After all, she had awakened her holy power independently; it was impossible for her to not guess who her faith was directed toward. Most likely, she was just waiting for him to tell her directly, keeping her silence. At this stage, there was no need to hide anything. “…So it was just as I thought.” After he explained about the holy power, she nodded as if she expected it and her eyes sparkled. The light in her eyes held only clear admiration and trust. She didn’t even bother to ask any challenging questions or voice doubts. ‘Trust level at 98%, I see. This is starting to get a little scary.’ Honestly, at this level of trust, if he told her to end her own life, she might go along with it thinking there was a deep meaning behind it. She was smart enough to question whether such an order was genuine, but she had already passed the stage of outright denial or rejection. “I thought you were someone extraordinary since the first time we met, but you’re a god now… So the vampire lord of Talia Kingdom was also one of your avatars, right? Same with that reclusive dwarf artisan in the workshop.” Those words surprised Hubert even more. He never expected her to be aware of all that. After all, dwarf Howard had never even met Diana in person! Perhaps she had been smart enough to catch on much earlier but chose to play dumb. “But it’s curious. I did pray for you every day, but I never thought of you as a god. And now you’re telling me I possess holy power?” “…Now that you mention it, that’s true.” “Hmm.” Indeed, the degree of faith did not match the manifestation of her holy power. This wasn’t just true for Diana, but even for her friend Kang Tae-san. Given that he had seen Heinrich grow to become a saint, this could certainly be deemed abnormal. ‘Meaning, unlike other deities, my holy power can be derived from pure faith to some extent.’ He didn’t know why. It could be due to being an incomplete being not yet ascended to true divine status, or perhaps the system played a role. Maybe it was because he possessed diverse divine traits across many avatars. Nevertheless, whatever the reason, it wasn’t a negative situation that the requirements for faith weren’t stringent. “…If used well, we could quickly increase the number of believers!” “Oh? Really?” “Yes! A brilliant idea just came to me!” From the perspective of someone who was accumulating divinity, there was no downside to having a large number of believers. Just like any other religious faction, even if they didn’t reach the level of clergy, the collective strength of those with even a small amount of faith was significant. “However, if there’s one worry… It’s how the Holy Church Order will react. Even if it doesn’t take on a religious form, the moment we’re discovered, it could be seen as a challenge to the Church.” “Hmm, I see. It would be troublesome if the Inquisition Officers suddenly stormed in.” This place, Auterica, was definitely land that already had its masters. The creator god, the Holy God, and the deities of the World Tree and various races. In such a situation, it wouldn’t bode well for him, a newcomer, to poke around where he wasn’t invited. ‘But what if Heinrich, one of my avatars, is an angel of the Holy God? They might cut me some slack since he’s practically a low deity. Maybe I should get some kind of permission before proceeding…’ Just then, a sudden intuition flashed through his mind. At the same time, a memory buried within the passage of time began to rise slowly to the surface. [I grant permission.] The words from the Holy Church Order’s Pope just before his passing. It was a permission that finally reached his present self after having started long before. “Ha.” A breath escaped him unknowingly at the time-transcending exchange. After all, this was the power of a deity closest to omnipotence. ‘At first I didn’t understand what was meant by that.’ Had it been seeing the current situation from back then? In any case, it was a relief that approval had been granted. He might’ve unnecessarily put Heinrich the Saint and High Elf Harris in a bind. Upon hearing the fact, Diana, who had been deep in thought with a serious expression, clapped her hands in delight. “That’s a relief! I was thinking about how to effectively tighten the Church’s hold on us without having to go that far.” “…Were you actually planning on starting a war if it came to it?” “Huh? Of course! If things go south, the Head could face heresy trials; we have to do something! We can’t just sit back and take it!” The innocent girl tilted her head, asking back naïvely. Indeed, upon hearing her, it became evident that she already had a pretty specific outline in her mind. It was basic to cut the logistics heading toward the Holy Church and hire mercenaries on a large scale to build military strength. Rattling the nations that had swallowed the market, inducing them to reject the Church, and assassinating key factors using hybrid vampires; she even planned to collaborate with the undead army. Even though the enemy had maintained a friendly relationship with them from the start, what she was crafting was a plan devoid of mercy. ‘Ah, that’s why her expression is familiar.’ The twinkling innocent eyes. Yet within them burned a subtle flame not so different from the zealots of the Holy Church. It seemed that only zealots could contend with zealots. ‘Diana, you’re a frightening child.’ Those schemes would surely hit the Holy Church Order, which was gearing up for war against the Undead King, hard. It was a foregone conclusion that humanity would plunge into immense chaos. Yet, that she contemplated and attempted such operations without care was alarming. ‘But it also makes her more trustworthy.’ The judgment that never hesitates to seek the best path in the face of any crisis, decisive boldness that doesn’t waver, and unwavering loyalty more profound than anyone else. With such qualities, he could fully trust her position managing the believers of Auterica. “Then we can proceed with the plan without any issues!” “…Okay. I’ll grant you full authority, so feel free to go wild.” “Yes! Just leave it to me! I’ll make sure to secure as many believers as the Holy Church!” Diana’s enthusiastic reply drew a chuckle from Hubert. The Holy Church Order was categorically the largest religious institution in Auterica. Even those who weren’t believers had no doubt regarding the existence and authority of the Holy God. Even the black mages standing in opposition to their faith acknowledged this. ‘If I can secure even a tenth… No, even a hundredth of them, that would be like hitting the jackpot.’ Thus, Hubert encouraged the shining-eyed Diana and took his leave. Of course, he had no expectation of quick results. But a few days later, Hubert realized that Diana’s bold statements came from genuine conviction. [Hubert Association Membership Now Available!] -Sign the application and join the membership to receive generous gifts?! -Lifetime discounts on all items distributed by the Hubert Association for members! Usable at any global branch! -All these benefits for free?! Large posters were plastered all over Tarak. …No, it wasn’t just Tarak. The Kingdom Union in the western Ion Continent, home to the Toolk Kingdom; the central Azerion Empire; the eastern Zephia Republic; the southern Calcos Tribal Alliance; and even the small island nation of Wizard Mado in the southeast, where they had just begun to establish branches as “Dimension Merchants.” With this, a full-scale marketing operation deploying the power of the Hubert Association, which had equaled the top position on the continent, was launched. Ultimately, the application form disguised as a “membership” spread across Auterica. “Ha, hahaha…” A hollow laugh escaped Hubert as he skimmed through the application’s contents. It was clear that not a single religious connotation was included. Cleverly, it emphasized trust and faith in the head, Hubert. ‘With this, even the believers of the Holy Church would likely sign without resistance.’ There wouldn’t be any particular issues. Their ‘faith’ would still be directed toward the Holy God, after all. And this would also likely be true for the non-human races and demons of the Demon Realm. This method was possible because his required faith wasn’t limited to the form of belief. [Here’s why you should sign up for the Hubert Association’s Premium Membership NOW!] [How to upgrade your membership for additional discounts.] [Premium customer-only services! Experience mind-blowing treatment using your membership!] Moreover, Diana didn’t forget to promote the Premium Membership, which presented even more demanding conditions. This was a strategy to cultivate elite believers with stronger faith. “I see. I just learned something.” Hubert gathered the exponentially growing faint ‘faith’ as he slowly closed his eyes. That day, he realized one truth. It was a fact that enough money could even buy faith. A land filled with nothing but death. [Ah…! Oh great king…] [I pledge my loyalty to the new god, Karam, the Undead King!] [Oooooooh—!] In the center of it all, a dark aura surged violently. It was pure death’s power, different from simple black magic, swirling like a typhoon. The Undead King Hans, seated on a massive throne that rose high above the center, looked down dispassionately at his ‘believers.’ ‘So this is how death’s divinity manifests.’ He flicked his fingers wrapped in black energy and nodded slightly. This was, in fact, a power much closer to ‘death’ than what was referred to as a divine power. Its purity had thickened to a degree that could’t be compared to before. ‘What a pity. Lower undead contribute little to the growth of divinity.’ Undead were essentially distorted beings, concentrated from the remnants of memories from their past lives. Only the high undead possessed a true self-awareness, while the lower undead were mere monsters acting on instinct. ‘But I’ve unexpectedly gained insights as well.’ The fear and hatred he had accumulated over time while harvesting karma proved quite helpful in growing his divinity. ‘This was something I hadn’t anticipated. Well, good is good.’ Thanks to this, he could grant his devoted subordinates a different level of power compared to before. The extreme essence of death that made the undead overcome the limitations of having weak divine power due to being reanimated against the divine order. It was only natural for the undead witnessing such a sight to be both awed and driven insane. [Praise the new god of death!] [Reverence to the eternal Undead Ruler…] [Despair across all dimensions—! Pain—! Infinite death—!] Hans was truly walking down the path of a diligent evil god.
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