Rise of the OtherGod Apostle: Not a Cult Leader, but a Serf?!

#050Reader Mode

#050

Who could possibly punish someone with the power to manipulate time itself?

The Saint wouldn’t even notice that time had been reversed.

Sh*t…

I’ve really angered the worst possible person.

A butcher with the ability to turn back time.

Dying once might not be enough to escape this.

Of course, even if I die repeatedly, I won’t remember…

…Begging won’t work either.

It’s Athanas, the infamous heretic slayer, known for ruthlessly beheading both begging parents and their child without a second thought.

And now, with the power to turn back time…

“…Why do you tremble in such fear?”

Like hell I wouldn’t be scared, you insane executioner!

Give anyone, even the most virtuous person, the ability to rewind time, and watch them unravel.

Take gamers, for example.

In games where they can just ‘load’ a previous save, you haven’t seen the depths of depravity they plunge to.

Let’s say you meet an NPC that you really like in a game where marriage is an option.

The player will do everything the NPC wants, and if they accidentally do something the NPC dislikes, they’ll just reload the game and make it as if it never happened, effortlessly boosting favorability and leading to that long-awaited happily ever after.

And then, at least once, they might kill the NPC they once whispered sweet nothings to.

Why you ask?

Because they’re curious about what their favorite NPC would say when betrayed by them!

“I-if I don’t answer your question…” My voice quivered, “W-what do you intend to do?”

“…What do you think I will do?”

“Whatever you try, it won’t work!”

“So, why…”

“Why should I tell you anything when I know that death won’t free me from this?”

Athanas’s expression darkened.

Damn, that’s terrifying.

Although I said that, I really was scared.

A torturer with the power to undo time.

It’s incredibly challenging to torture someone without leaving any traces. It also requires immense skill to inflict unbearable pain while keeping them alive.

But what if you could resurrect them endlessly?

Could there be a more fitting method for torture?

“N-no amount of torture will make me talk! All you’ll hear are my terrible screams!”

“…Why do you think I’m going to torture you?”

“You can undo it all, so why not use the simplest method to make me talk?”

“I won’t do something like that.”

“How can I believe you?”

“…Do you think you can trust me?”

“Absolutely not! How can I trust anyone with time at their fingertips? No matter what vow they make, they could easily break it and turn back time as they please!”

My heart raced as if threatening to burst out of my chest.

Even in a situation where I felt like I could lose my mind from the fear, I couldn’t afford to stop thinking.

In the game, Retrograde only lets you rewind time by an hour. If that’s how it works in real life…

All I had to do was endure for an hour.

No matter how many times Athanas rewinds time, he could only torture me for an hour. So, I just needed to hold on, hour after hour, until he gets tired and realizes it was a waste of time.

He’ll understand it’s pointless, torturing a weird extra for days on end.

And then, it’ll be like nothing ever happened…

I’ll just go back to my blissful state of ignorance.

That was the last hope I had to cling to.

“…You sound as if you’ve experienced this before.” Athanas’s eyes were dark and fathomless, like the depths of the ocean where no light could reach. “Is there someone else besides me who can turn back time?”

“No, there isn’t! At least, not that I know of!”

“Then why do you fear this power so specifically?”

Because I’m a gamer!!

“I-I refuse to answer that.”

“… Have you been tortured before?”

Fuxxxxxck…

I was petrified, on the verge of pissing myself from fear.

I told myself to endure just for an hour, but how could I, knowing that hour will be pure hell?

I’d rather be a total wimp and take painkillers in advance, just in case it hurts even a little.

No, this isn’t just me being a coward.

NSAID painkillers don’t even cause you to develop a tolerance, so why suffer when you don’t have to?! Muscling through the pain is stupid and ignorant.

Pain not only triggers the release of stress hormones and increases inflammation throughout your body, leading to a whole host of other problems, but it can also result in nerve damage and CRPS (a chronic pain disorder that follows an injury).

I don’t want to experience any pain!!

“What type of torture were you subjected to?”

Why would you even ask that?

Couldn’t we just act like it never happened?

How very generous of you! F*ck!

Hot tears streamed down my cheeks.

“…Fabio.”

Why in the hell did I watch a Metube video on [Horrific Medieval Torture Methods!] when I was bored?

I shouldn’t have been watching it while eating, of all things!

It would have been less scary if I hadn’t known anything about them!

“Fabio.”

Are you going to drag me to a torture chamber?

No, that would be wasting precious time, so you’d do it right here.

How convenient that no one else is around!

F*ck!

“Fabio.”

You son of a b*tch, why are you calling my name three times?

What are you, the grim reaper? Huh?? Are you??

“…Just answer me and I won’t do anything.”

As if I would believe that, you deranged lunatic!

“What did you come here for?”

“To-to read books….”

“…I meant why have you come to the Cathedral?”

I wiped my tears away with my sleeve. “I…I don’t want to die…”

“I have no intention of killing you.”

“I came here because I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die…I want to live….” My tears refused to stop falling, no matter how much I tried to I wipe them away.

Damn it, even in a game, there’s shit like this.

All I can do is beg for my life.

Why did they even make me possess this character’s body?

This piece of sh*t game!

I should’ve just given up early on and ended it quickly.

I should have realized this was a lost cause when I was still a serf and just died….

I thought nothing could be worse than death. How naive was I?

“Who’s trying to kill you?”

You! You f*cking heretic butcher!

You tried to kill me in the last round and now you pretend not to know?

You’re despicable.

Do you think what you’ve done was just a test? Do you think your actions don’t matter just because they’ve happened in the past?

“What exactly are you so afraid of?”

I kept my mouth shut.

The more I drag this out, the less time he has to torture me.

I think it’s been about 40 minutes since we started talking. I just have to hold on for another 20 minutes, right?

“Fabio. I have no intention of harming you. I can even swear it on the Lord’s name.”

“…Wouldn’t that oath disappear once you turn back time anyway?”

“At least in this moment, the oath will stand.”

F*ck, so even oaths get nullified too?

There’s no line this guy won’t cross.

He’s f*cking terrifying.

…But why isn’t he torturing me and just wasting time?

Then it clicked.

“A-are you stalling because you’re afraid the Saint might show up?”

The necklace I’m wearing is like a beacon of holy power that will protect me. The moment I’m attacked, it flares up, and the Saint will come running.

He must remember that happening from the last round.

How fast can the Saint get here? 10 minutes? Maybe 20?

If he rewinds time but the Saint intervenes within 10 minutes of the torture starting, he’d have only that brief window. That’s why he’s trying to coax answers out of me with words before resorting to violence…

“If you start torturing me, you’ll be forced to stop once the Saint arrives…”

10 minutes sounds much better.

You foolish bastard.¹T/N: Fabio is talking about himself here. ‘Round 1’ him.

Why didn’t you think to summon the Saint earlier?

If you’d called for the Saint as soon as Athanas brought up Retrograde, he would’ve backed off.

Damn. Once he rewinds time, I’ll forget all about this plan anyway.

“So, what’s the plan this time? Skipping the torture and going straight for the heart to heart talk to get me to share my secrets?”

“…I have never tortured you.”

“Sure, keep telling yourself that. You expect me to believe you? Fine, bring it on. I can get through this too!”

“Fabio.”

“I may be a coward, but I’m not an idiot. No matter how many times you repeat yourself, I won’t say anything.”

“…What in the world could have made you this way?”

“Just save your breath. No matter how many times you go over it, it’s not going to change anything. I won’t remember a thing. You’re just wasting your energy, got it?”

“Before anything else, wipe away your tears first.” Athanas offered me a handkerchief.

Athanas offering a handkerchief…

For a brief moment, it felt like that scene from the game.

But I’m not Adelaide.

I’m the heretic bastard he’ll slaughter and resurrect, over and over.

“No, thanks. I don’t need it.”

“…Very well. In that case, I swear on the name of Roklem that I will not inflict any form of physical harm upon you for the rest of the day. Should I break this vow, may I lose all my divine power.”

Like that means anything when you can simply turn back time…

I have to try to stay calm, no matter what he does.

Any reaction might just make him double down on whatever tactic works.

…I feel like a trapped NPC that’s being played around with.

Now I understand why characters possessing meta-awareness often snap and become serial killers in otome games.²T/N: An “otome game” is a type of video game that is targeted primarily towards women. The main focus of these games is on romantic relationships between the female player character and several male characters. Players often make choices that affect the story’s outcome, leading to different potential romantic endings with these characters. The term “otome” itself means “maiden” in Japanese, which reflects the game’s romantic and often story-driven nature geared towards a female audience.

This feeling of pure helplessness is horrifying…

“I understand that you have no intention of speaking. Just listen, then.”

“……..”

“I never intended to scare you. I apologize for bringing up such terrible memories. Even though I have no way of knowing what you went through, since you won’t tell me…”

“…….”

“Next time, I shall speak to you after devising a way to use Blessing of Comfort.”

“…It’ll be a waste of time.”

“I won’t know that until I give it a try.”

“Even the Saint’s Blessing of Comfort had no effect on me…”

“The Saint’s blessing didn’t work on you?” Athanas asked, seemingly taken aback.

I instantly regretted letting that slip.

I just handed over some information that could reduce the number of rounds he has to go through, and I won’t even remember doing it.

If I’d kept my mouth shut, he might have thought his ‘holy relic’ was just too low-grade to be effective.

“What… exactly are you?”

“………..”

“Fabio.”

“………”

“Did I, by any chance, do something terrible to you?”

How the hell would I know, you bastard?

“Is that why you seemed so terrified of me from the moment we first met?”

…No?

“No, you didn’t appear that fearful of me initially. You obviously recognized me and were composed enough to lie to my face when I confronted you about it.” Athanas seemed to be thinking out loud.

“You began to panic only when you discovered that I had Retrograde.” Athanasius said, putting his handkerchief away. “It appears my possession of Retrograde frightens you to your very core.”

Of course it does!

Even if a kind and gentle person with strong morals gains Retrograde, there’s always the risk that their morals will eventually wear away. But you’re a heretic-slaughtering monster whose morals have already eroded completely!

Naturally, I know how Athanas came to be this way.

Athanas has never committed murder to satisfy his own selfish desires.

Even when Athanas saves the world, he always views himself as a sinner who can never be a hero.

The Gray Saintess Adelaide pitied Athanas until her last breath.

But that’s beside the point.

This son of a b*tch is a butcher who’s more familiar with killing than eating!

When Athanasius was nothing more than a character on my screen, I couldn’t help but admire him. I sympathized with his strange fate and was moved by his refusal to give up.

How touching it was when Athanas finally killed the leader of the Plague Cult!

But would I ever want to meet him in real life? Hell no!

In a zombie apocalypse, Athanas would be a seasoned pro at killing undead hordes. Thanks to his background as an ex-special forces operative, he knows how to survive in even the most treacherous situations and can perform basic medical procedures when needed – a veritable one-man survival kit. There’s no one more excellent and necessary as a resource in a world gone mad.

But I would never join a group of survivors with Athanas in it.

Why? Because Athanas would ruthlessly kill anyone who might be a carrier of the zombie virus. He wouldn’t hesitate, even if the person had risked their neck to scavenge for the group’s food and medical supplies.

Even if they weren’t bitten, a single scratch from a zombie’s nail is all it takes before he’s got his hands around your throat, spouting some nonsense saying “They might be infected.”

He wouldn’t even waste a bullet to kill them, arguing that it would be wasteful due to the need for decontamination in case of blood splatter.

To be honest, it’s efficient and rational, but damn!

It’s f*cking scary!

T/N: Yay, I’ve hit chapter 50! Pat on the back for me! If you haven’t supported the author yet…wth are you doing? Go on and buy a chapter, shoo! And if you haven’t dropped a rating on NU, please do – it’s always motivating to see the series do well. A big shoutout to all of you who’ve already shown your support – you’re the best! ♡ ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)ﾉ