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

#091Reader Mode

#091

Athanas does have some romantic comedy heroine-like qualities – at least, based on this totally made-up setting.

It roughly goes like this:

Athanasia is this insanely talented holy knight who pretty much makes everyone else green with envy. Her only sanctuary from the relentless admiration and jealousy is an old, deserted library where none of her classmates ever step foot in.

And it’s in this dusty retreat that she meets him…’Fabio’.

From the first encounter, Fabio is a breath of fresh air. He’s so average and unassuming that Athanasia finally feels she can drop her guard and be her true self. Fabio’s laid-back vibe makes it way too easy for her to spill all her troubles. She even asks him to make sure she wakes up from her nap there the next day, slyly orchestrating another meet-up…

Fast forward a bit, and Athanasia, who’s gotten super close with Fabio, starts revealing even juicier secrets. Turns out, she’s actually at the Cathedral on a mission to find her long-lost little sister. But now that she’s here, she’s terrified of meeting her.

“Will my sister hold a grudge against me? Is showing up just going to reopen old wounds?”

When Fabio hears this, he volunteers to go scope out the place and have a heart-to-heart with the little sister first…

But plot twist! The whole thing is a big fat lie.

Athanasia, who seems all innocent, is actually an agent of evil on a mission to hunt down the future Saintess-to-be! And she’s using Fabio, her conveniently clueless but attention-grabbing country boy, as just another expendable pawn.

And who drops this bombshell? Some random guy, probably in his 40s, who’s got zero chance of being a main character or love interest…

…If I picked up a book expecting a sweet rom-com and got hit with this, I’d feel totally shafted by the author.

If a friend recommended this to me, all hyped up about the pure love story, I’d seriously consider strangling them.

Plot twists are one thing, but this? Ultimate. Betrayal.

I wonder… Could I channel this betrayal and convincingly pull off the acting?

Just as I was deep in thought, Andrea’s low murmur snapped me back to reality.

“It appears he won’t be coming.”

The snake, coiled snugly around Andrea’s arm, widened its jaws and let go of an ‘object’ that dropped into his waiting hand.

“This is proof,” he went on, “that the person you believe to be your lover is someone who wouldn’t even seek you out if you were on the brink of death.”

Andrea’s fingers curled around the mysterious item as his piercing gaze met mine. “Do you believe me now?”

Seriously, if you’re going to ask a question, shouldn’t you let me answer first?

The purple snake stretched out lazily, its unblinking eyes locked onto me. As its head inched closer, nearly grazing my forehead, its tongue flicked out, brushing my skin with an icy tingle.

“Eek!” I yelped, the scream slipping out before I could suppress it. Realizing I had regained control over my body, I rubbed my forehead, stuttering, “S-snake…”

The snake hissed, an almost mocking sound, clearly amused by my reaction.

“This child won’t harm you,” Andrea said, his voice steady and reassuring. “It’s the Lord’s Holy Messenger.”

Holy messenger my ass! That thing’s a symbolic creature of the Distorted One!

When animals are blessed with divine power, they can morph beyond their earthly limits, becoming magnificent holy beasts. These exceptional beasts exude a powerful aura that intensifies the impact of blessings on their god’s followers.

However, turning an ordinary animal into a holy beast that isn’t the symbol of a god requires an exorbitant amount of points and often leads to bizarre outcomes. That’s why, typically, the god’s symbolic animal is chosen. For instance, if his followers or Valentine – whose symbol is the seal – decided to anoint a cat as his holy beast, it’d likely mutate into some disturbing half-seal, half-cat monster. But if they chose a seal, it gets significant upgrades—think bigger, beautiful vibrant colors, and with a longer lifespan.

Now, an Othergod plays by different rules. Being from beyond the stars, they have no earthly counterparts for symbols. So, when they grant their power to an animal, the results are universally nightmarish. These animals, warped and terrifying, are fittingly called “creatures.”

Take the Distorted One, known for its ‘lack of form.’ It might look like it just changed the snake’s color, but…

A purple snake being mistaken for the Lord’s Messenger, when Roklem’s symbol is pure white?

I hesitated, tempted to point out the glaring contradiction.

But what if the snake only looks purple to me?

“…I’ve never heard of the Lord’s Messenger appearing in such a form before,” I said cautiously.

“Naturally,” Andrea replied, full of confidence. “The pure white snake is a secret envoy, handling tasks that were never meant to be recorded.”

Just as I thought, this snake is definitely doing some kind of mind-bending distortion.

Still, I kept my lips shut. Telling Andrea the snake was actually purple would be wasted breath; his warped perception would just dismiss it as nonsense.

Only that damn snake will realize the distortion doesn’t work on me.

Powerful creatures like this snake have pretty high intelligence. Maybe not quite human-level, but they’re sharp enough to make their own judgments to some extent.

Which means it might attack me, regardless of what Andrea wants.

I can’t come off as a threat.

The purple snake stared me down with pitch-black eyes that glinted like glass beads. Its flickering tongue grazed my face again, making me reflexively grimace at the strange sensation. Suddenly, a system window popped up:

[You think the snake’s repulsive? As if!

Now, you find it mysterious and beautiful! Snakes are adorable! Snakes are lovable!

You want to pet them all over!]

[SYSTEM: The ‘distortion’ is displayed as text due to the effect of ‘The Whole World Is Beneath One’s Self.’]

…What?

I blinked, and the system window vanished.

The snake hovered close with its head stretched toward me, seemingly waiting for something.

Could it be…

“…Actually, this is my first time seeing a holy beast up close. It just took me by surprise. I didn’t realize a blessed beast could be this cute and lovable!”

Hearing this, the snake straightened up triumphantly, looking quite pleased with itself.

Does it not realize the distortion failed?

Carefully, I extended my hand. The snake nuzzled its head against my fingers, its scales cool and smooth. Not stopping there, it coiled around my arm and slithered upwards, as if wanting more.

…Thank goodness I like reptiles.

As I stroked the snake’s head with my free hand, I felt a wave of relief. If this had been an insect—a purple cockroach crawling on me?

Yeah, I’d have flipped out instantly and gotten caught.

There’s no way I could’ve faked being cool while petting a roach. No chance.

“It seems the Lord’s Messenger recognizes your unwavering devotion,” Andrea said, his eyes twinkling with approval.

“Haha…” I let out an awkward chuckle, hiding my true thoughts.

He’s talking about a creature from an Othergod and an unblessed heretic bastard here.

“It’s such a relief to have the opportunity to save you from that vile being. When I saw the name Athanas, that notoriously evil murderer, you can’t even begin to imagine how my heart sank.”

Feigning confusion, I hesitated. “…Did Athanas really deceive me? I just can’t wrap my mind around everything being a lie. There must be some mistake.”

“Even when he received a signal that you were dying, he didn’t come looking for you. What more proof do you need?”

“Maybe he was asleep and didn’t feel it? It’s still early…”

Andrea let out an exasperated sigh, like he was dealing with a stubborn child. “If he truly loved you, he would have felt an excruciating pain just now. Even if he were in a deep slumber, it would be a pain so intense that it would jolt him awake.”

I bit my lower lip hard, like someone struggling to accept a harsh reality.

…But why would Valentine create such a weird blessing?

No matter how I look at it, I can only see the downsides.

For starters, it’s clear that this blessing should never be used in military operations.

If you’re hit with terrible pain in the middle of combat, you’d likely drop your weapon in shock.

Moreover, if it means your lover is dying, there’s no way you could focus on the enemy in front of you.

It’s a perfect setup for getting slammed with a critical hit and dying horribly.

Maybe it’s a blessing for lovers wanting to die together, like the vow in the Peach Blossom Garden?¹T/N: The text is referring to the “Oath of the Peach Garden” (桃園結義) from the Chinese historical novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” (三國演義) by Luo Guanzhong. In the “Oath of the Peach Garden,” three heroes named Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei take an oath of brotherhood in a peach garden, swearing to live and die together as they fight to restore the Han Dynasty during the tumultuous Three Kingdoms period (220-280 CE) in ancient China.

As these thoughts swirled in my mind, the snake licked my finger.

[You’re refusing to see it, but deep down, you know the truth. You’ve been abandoned!]

The misery, sadness, and pain of being betrayed by your lover wells up in your heart.

The more you try to deny it, the more painful it becomes.

When you recall all the things he said and did, they now seem very suspicious!]

[SYSTEM: The ‘distortion’ is displayed as text due to the effect of ‘The Whole World Is Beneath One’s Self.’]

…Wait, what?

I was so shocked; I had to reread the notification window twice.

If I wasn’t immune to mental manipulation right now, would I suddenly be suspecting Athanas?

Goosebumps erupted all over my skin. The thought of not even being able to trust my own emotions as a possibility here…

F*cking scary.

I realized once again that the Dark Realm was a shitty place.

To have to survive in the presence of bastards who use such powers as casually as breathing.

“If he really didn’t love me, I…” Tears instantly welled up in my eyes. I squeezed them shut, letting the tears streak down my cheeks.

All those years of practicing to save on artificial tear costs are finally paying off.

Guess the old saying about what you learn in life helping you someday wasn’t just a load of crap. I wiped my tears with my sleeve, feeling the fabric grow damp.

“I… I should’ve known something was strange. Who could actually love someone as worthless as me? Only a scammer, that’s who. But I didn’t want to believe it. Deep down, I knew, but facing the truth—that it was all a lie—was too unbearable. I thought if I kept denying it, maybe the pain wouldn’t be so bad…”

“Fabio.” Andrea interrupted, handing me a handkerchief. “You did nothing wrong. You were just unlucky, that’s all. And worthless? Have you already forgotten all the praise I gave you? I’ve never met a young man as outstanding as you.”

The snake flicked its tongue, trying to comfort me too.

[You are plenty worthy of love. The one at fault is your deceitful lover!

Why should the victim blame himself? Direct all your negative emotions towards the bad one!]

[SYSTEM: The ‘distortion’ is displayed as text due to the effect of ‘The Whole World Is Beneath One’s Self.’]

…Now it’s pushing me to get angry?

The directing is f*cking intense.

But I guess it’s easier to manipulate someone filled with rage than someone drowning in self-pity. I gripped the handkerchief tightly, feeling it bunch up in my fist.

“You’re right! The sin lies with that bastard who deceived me, who used me! And why? To find some innocent girl and put her in harm’s way!”

As I spat out the words, real anger flared inside me. That as*hole player exploited Andrea’s desire to save Adelaide just to get her in his grasp!

That scumbag makes Satan look like a f*cking saint!

The contractor of the Distorted One…

“I can never forgive this!” I gritted my teeth, jaw clenched, rage barely contained.

“Please Bishop Andrea, I need to know—what is Athanas trying to find this girl Alicia for?”

“…Why do you want to know that?”

I clenched my fists, determination flooding my veins. “Because I can’t just sit here and do nothing! I’ve got to stop that twisted scheme, no matter what it takes!”

“Fabio, I appreciate your concern, but this isn’t something you should get involved in.”

I reached out and grabbed Andrea’s hand, my eyes pleading. “Please, give me a chance to make things right. I want to help. Isn’t that why you freed me from Athanas’ deception in the first place?”

Andrea’s expression darkened, conflicted emotions playing across his face. “I only wanted to save you, Fabio. If you had failed to find any leads on Alicia, Athanas would have disposed of you like a used tool. I couldn’t bear the thought of you dying that way.”

…Even during his heretic-slaying days, Athanas wasn’t some mindless killer.

Just what kind of distorted perception did Andrea have to view Athanas as a monster?

Focus. That’s not the priority right now.

I needed information about Adelaide, and earning Andrea’s trust was key to getting it.

“This life would have been snuffed out meaninglessly if not for you, Bishop. Let me put it to good use in your service.”

Andrea’s gaze sharpened. “…You shouldn’t offer your life so carelessly, Fabio.”

“I’m not saying it lightly,” I insisted.

Andrea’s expression hardened to stone. “If you’re serious, that’s even worse.”

“Worse? How…?”

“Do you know what I despise most, Fabio?”

How am I supposed to know that?

“…I loathe those empty platitudes about the Lord taking the righteous early because they were too good for this world.”

Andrea’s eyes blazed with a fierce intensity as he spoke. “Why would the Lord want to claim the virtuous first? He’s the one who said if you wish to offer your body, offer it to living in service of order.”

“That’s…”

“The reason the righteous fall first is because the cowardly hide behind them, trading gold for worthless pebbles. Fabio, most people in this world are foolish and despicable. Dying for such individuals is an act of blasphemy against the very concept of order.”

…I can see why he’s a servant of the Distorted One.

A cold sweat trickled down my back. Hearing him spit out words no clergyman should even think, let alone preach as gospel truth, was unnerving.

Andrea sighed sharply, his eyes softening with a strange mix of compassion and frustration as he met my gaze again.

“What I’m trying to say is, I didn’t save you just to watch you throw your life away on a whim. Do you understand, Fabio?”

“But…” I began to protest.

“I’ve said all I have to say on the matter. No matter what justification you offer, my stance remains unchanged.”

Well, this is a fine mess…

Looked like I’d unwittingly stepped on one of Andrea’s landmines.

Once a stubborn old goat like him digs in his heels, there’s no getting through until his cooldown timer is over. The real issue was, there was no telling what Andrea might do before that happened. What if he got it into his head that Adelaide’s safety was at risk and decided to whisk her away to some far-flung hideout?

I’ve got to find a way to change his mind somehow…

Suddenly, a system window flickered into view, its message glowing with urgency.

[SYSTEM: You can use ‘Forced Persuasion’ on a target who already holds a favorable view of you.]

…Forced Persuasion?

[SYSTEM: ‘Forced Persuasion’ is a skill that enables you to maintain a conversation with a target, even if they are reluctant and wish to disengage. Should they fail to counter your arguments, the ‘Miracle of the Silver Tongue’ effect will fully persuade them, aligning their perspective with yours.]

I’ve had a skill like that this whole time?

T/N for the lore nerds like me, the ‘Oath of the Peach Garden’ goes as follows:

“Though we were born separately, we will die together. We will join our forces to save the troubled and aid those in danger. We seek not to be born on the same day, in the same month, and in the same year. We merely hope to die on the same day, in the same month, and in the same year.”