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

#076Reader Mode

#076

“…From the moment you found this secret space, you started considering the possibility that I have [Retrograde].”

Like some cliché evil mid-boss villain, Athanas launched into a monologue without being asked.

“Should I have stopped you from coming down here at all? No, that’s impossible. It’s the first time you actually seemed willing to work with me. And no matter how much I try to stop it, you’ll only grow more suspicious of me.”

Athanas spoke with regret.

“If you had just asked me directly, I would have told you everything. Without the need for tests like this. If you had asked for my help, I would have gladly obliged. Why can’t you just trust me?”

How the hell am I supposed to trust a bastard pulling this kind of sh*t, f*ck!

More importantly – it was YOU, Athanas, who tested me!

You made me solve a problem that I came up with in the first place!! And you’re trying to spin it like me recognizing my own problem is somehow a test for you?

None of this BS would have happened if you hadn’t tried to gaslight me with [Retrograde] in the first place.

“I even pretended to have just gotten Retrograde while with you. But cautious as you are, you made me swear to only tell the truth and then immediately asked, ’Have you ever used Retrograde in front of me?’”

Aargh! You idiot bastard! Why’d you use such a dumb way to check??

If you were going to verify it like that, you should have at least bought yourself some time and done it at a point where even using [Retrograde] couldn’t totally erase what happened!

“…When I couldn’t answer, your expression changed immediately.”

“That’s also when I learned you can summon the Saint just by saying his name,” Athanas added.

So that’s when I panicked and fessed up, I guess.

Stupid bastard…

I suddenly felt resentful towards Happy God.

If only my mental power could be increased, this whole mess could’ve been avoided.

“So I came to a conclusion. To prevent your thoughts from fixating on the possibility that I have [Retrograde], I should make it look like another ‘Watched One’ discovered this hidden place first.”

Why the hell is that your conclusion?

What’s the point in deceiving me so thoroughly?

“I considered how I could copy the message you left to trick another player into tricking you…”

Athanas sighed again.

“…Tyrannosaurus.”

……?

“Stegosaurus.”

Out of nowhere?

“Allosaurus.”

What the… huh?

“Other than you reacting a little stronger to those words, I didn’t really learn much.”

Well yeah…

Because seeing Athanas randomly name dinosaurs is surreal as hell. How could you not react to that?

“…Have you calmed down a bit now?” Athanas asked.

“Lehhh mmph guhh.”

“Good. It seems you’ve settled down. Listen, I want you to know that I’m on your side, Fabio. I genuinely want to prevent the calamity you’re so afraid of. I want to save you.”

Bullshit.

You want to save me?

While restraining me like I’m some kind of criminal?

“…I’m sorry for deceiving you from the moment our paths first crossed. But you left me no other choice. Every time I reached out, you kept avoiding me at every turn,” Athanas explained.

No choice?

Isn’t that the go-to excuse of every murderer throughout history? When they silence witnesses to cover their tracks, they always claim, ’I had no choice, it was the only way.’

“But then yesterday, when you seemed interested in investigating this place, it ignited a spark of hope within me. I thought that maybe, just maybe, if I laid everything out honestly like this, even if you found my actions deplorable… you might still consider working alongside me…”

Work with him, he says.

Can you really call it ‘working together’ when the other guy has freaking time travel powers? I could refuse a hundred times and he’d just rewind until he got the answer he wanted.

“Fabio. You’re a very intelligent person. Surely you can see things from my perspective. I’m not asking for you to forgive me. I’m asking you to use me. As your tool even. All I ask is that you share your intentions and thoughts with me. Wouldn’t that make me less of a threat in your eyes?”

As if that could ever be possible.

How could I not be terrified of someone who can rewind time and erase reality?

It’s a situation where no matter what strategy I employ, I can’t bridge the information gap.

“Lehhh mmhh guhh!”

“…If you swear not to call for the Saint, I’ll let you go. I just want to talk with you. Blink twice if you agree.”

I blinked right away. Twice. Getting out of this restraint was priority number one if I wanted to have any chance at taking action.

“Alright.”

The second Athanas removed his fingers from my mouth, I spat in disgust.

“You f*cking bastard…”

I felt really fucking dirty. I shot him a venomous glare, rubbing my aching shoulders.

Athanas picked up the fallen lantern and looked at me, holding it low so I could barely make out his facial features.

“You want to talk? Really? When you could just turn back time again the second you get what you need? How the hell am I supposed to trust you…”

“If you won’t trust me… I’ll have no choice but to use [Retrograde] once more,” Athanas said simply, his words twisting my gut.

Logically, I got it. I really did.

Cooperating was the most sensible course of action. Antagonizing him now wouldn’t accomplish a damn thing.

Even if I somehow tricked him, got away, exposed his [Retrograde] ability to the Apostles and brought him down…

Would that really put my mind at ease?

I’d probably just end up witnessing the collapse of order and the destruction of the world.

Athanas having [Retrograde] meant he was a chosen one.

Whether Roklem picked him or some higher power overseeing this world, Athanas was clearly the main character.

Compared to him, I’m…

…a worthless trash unit who should be thanking his lucky stars the protagonist even needs his help.

Honestly, Athanas taking the time to explain and get my agreement was already a considerable courtesy from his standpoint.

He didn’t have to do that at all!

Even if I called for the Saint’s help, it would take minutes for him to get here at least.

And just imagine how much Athanas could do in those minutes.

He could ask the shaking guy in front of him a question, then rewind time over and over.

I knew I’d break in less than a minute from the pain and terror.

But here Athanas was, waiting for me to be ‘rational’ and choose to help him willingly.

What I should do is…

Try to be as useful to Athanas as I can.

So later, when he’s weighing his ‘options’ efficiently, the scales would tip in my favor, right?

Keeping me alive would be beneficial to him.

…Of course, even stalling like this would be seen as a negative since it wastes time and takes away from overall efficiency.

And refusing to help him now?

I didn’t even need to think about it. Only an idiot who doesn’t understand the gravity of the situation would do such a thing.

So I have to agree. But…

“Just…” My voice shook pathetically. “…Just use [Retrograde].”

I hung my head, defeated.

“Just use [Retrograde]. Don’t waste your time trying to convince me. Keep doing what you were doing before. Yeah, I get it. The world might be on the brink of destruction, and some needlessly scared guy is keeping his mouth shut. It must be frustrating, right? And yet, here you are, treating me like a human, showing incredible patience. You even thought I was cold and intelligent, and you still want my help after going through all this? I really should be grateful, but…”

My whole body shook uncontrollably.

“…But I can’t do it.”

I desperately wanted ‘Blessing of Comfort’. If only it would work, maybe then I could think rationally about all this.

But I was already way too terrified to think straight.

…Hasn’t Athanas already killed me at least once?

But what if that ‘once’ was happening right now?

Or even worse – what if he’d already killed me several times?

I tried to tell myself that what had been erased might as well have never happened. But a chilling thought wormed its way into my mind…

What if this attempt at persuasion was just one of many he was trying?

The helplessness I felt was overwhelming, a suffocating realization that there was truly nothing I could do.

No matter what actions I took or discoveries I made, Athanas could simply turn back time and erase it all. Only the fact that I had tried to probe for answers would remain in his memory.

How could anyone possibly endure that kind of torment?

“I understand,” Athanas nodded. “Then before I use Retrograde, may I ask you a few questions?”

Weakly, I nodded in agreement.

Whatever he asked, it seemed better to answer obediently.

I didn’t even want to imagine what I would go through the moment he thought I was lying.

I need to convince him that I can be useful, no matter what…

More than anything, I wanted him to believe that he wouldn’t need to threaten me much.

Maybe then, next time, he’d think it worthwhile to have a conversation again instead…

“…What do you think I should do differently next time to deceive you?” Athanas asked.

“……”

This bastard is trying to f*ck me over, isn’t he?

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

“What do you think this place was used for?”

I shone the lantern around the hidden space.

The area was small, probably less than 40 square feet, so it didn’t take long to look around.

In the center of the secret basement was a stone coffin, resembling one in appearance but far too small to actually be a real one. It was in this very coffin that [Retrograde] was meant to be kept.

And that stone coffin…

…is already open.

My heart started pounding like crazy.

“Is there… something inside?”

“It appears to be empty.”

“…Really?”

In the game, anything [Blessed] is depicted as a glowing object.

I thought it might just be invisible to my eyes…

If it’s not visible even to Athanas’ eyes, which can perceive divine power, it must mean [Retrograde] simply wasn’t there.

I just hope no one got to it before us.

Cautiously, I asked, “Do you see anything on the floor?”

“…I think I see something resembling paper or cloth.”

I swallowed hard at his response.

It must have been left by a player.

In Heretic Slayer, examining the stone coffin after taking [Retrograde] only displays a pop-up message saying there’s nothing noteworthy about it.

“Can you take it out?”

Please don’t let it be some annoying troll message…

As Athanas reached inside the coffin, he suddenly froze. His face hardened with concern.

“Stay still and don’t move,” he warned.

In one swift motion, he drew a dagger from his belt with his left hand and carefully examined the coffin’s interior.

The sharp sound of something snapping echoed in the room.

“…Someone set a trap inside. Reaching in blindly would have resulted in cuts.”

“What?”

“It wasn’t strong enough to sever bone… I can’t fathom why someone would place a trap like this.”

“Is your hand okay?”

“…It’s not serious.”

Unconvinced, I quickly shone the light on his hand to check for myself.

Despite his claim, I could clearly see distinct red cuts on his hand.

“You’re bleeding…”

“Merely superficial cuts.”

Under the lantern’s illumination, I spotted droplets of blood splattered across the stone coffin’s bottom.

I frowned slightly.

…Could this trap have been set to obtain the intruder’s blood?

A great deal of information can be gleaned from blood. Mother God’s Apostle, for example, only needs a tiny taste of blood to determine someone’s physical traits. A quick ‘taste test’ lets them check if a person is suitable to be offered as a sacrifice.

And that’s just one example. At least five Othergods have their own unique ways of exploiting a few drops of blood.

So either one of them set this trap, or someone wants us to think they did…

Either way, I knew one thing for sure – any bastard sneaky enough to set a trap like this was bad news from the start. The kind of person no one should trust.

After all, the only ones reaching into that coffin would be other players.

Yet they set a trap?

It means they have no intention of actually cooperating with anyone.

A sinister individual who doesn’t want to share their own secrets but wants to have intel to control others.

Was someone like that lurking within the Order right now?

…And the Saint just welcomed them with open arms when they claimed to be converting?

Another red flag. My distrust in the Order grew a bit more.

“There doesn’t seem to be any more traps…”

“Be careful!” I warned as Athanas fearlessly picked up the paper from the floor.

“How can you carelessly touch something that was right next to where the trap had been? What if there’s a spell that activates when blood gets on it…”

“That’s why I picked it up with my uninjured hand.” Athanas flipped the paper back and forth, then slightly frowned. “…I don’t understand what it means.”

“What does it say?”

“Read it yourself.” Athanas handed me the paper.

I held it up, angling it towards the flickering lantern light. The message looked like it had been scrawled by a shaky lefthand. All it said was:

「 Merry X-mas!」

…Is that it?

T/N If you’re confused about the timeline shenanigans, please read. Kinda long ngl: We can assume that during the first loop for this event, they find the coffin empty with no signs of Retrograde being inside. MC leaves the [Merry X-mas] note for future players in the secret space.

However, Athanas knows that MC will only grow more suspicious of him since Retrograde is missing. So, he decides to turn back time, copy the note, and place it in the coffin in advance to make MC believe that another player has already found the power.

But Athanas underestimated MC’s abilities as a professional overthinker and yapper. MC’s note contains a hidden message that only someone who thinks a hell of a lot like him could decipher, and it’s designed in a way that even NPCs with Retrograde wouldn’t be able to crack it. The note is a test with a hidden code that reveals MC’s main account Qwerasdf username.

In the end, Athanas’ deception attempts fail, and he has no choice but to come clean and seek advice from MC, who is a professional gaslighter, on how to deceive him better next time. I hope this clears things up! ( •̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑