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

#132Reader Mode

#132

It was a foolish hope.

There was no way Athanasuki, of all people, wouldn’t recognize Athanas’ voice immediately.

I had to think fast.

First, I need to convince Reyes.

How Reyes would react to seeing Athanas was a complete unknown. Hell, even Athanasuki might not know.

My hand reached for the doorknob, but I pulled back at the last moment.

“Reyes, can you just listen to me for a second?”

Reyes looked at me, his pupils narrowing to sharp, reptilian slits.

“Sure?”

Before I could say anything more, a heavy thud rattled the door, as if someone had kicked it hard from the other side.

Shit!

That crazy bastard, Athanas! If he really thought I was in danger, he’d have gotten me killed with those careless kicks!

My panic rising, I gripped the doorknob again, my voice coming out more desperate than I intended.

“H-hold on! Just… give me a second!”

A low, calm voice, laced with menace, slipped through the door.

[…I’ll hear your explanation once I’m inside.]

BANG!

Another brutal impact shook the door.

I gritted my teeth, cursing under my breath.

Damn it, Athanas has never been swayed by my skill, so ‘Forced Persuasion’ won’t work on him….

My mind was racing. What the hell do I do now? How much time did I have before he broke through? Could I even convince Reyes before then? And what was I supposed to tell him? ‘Hey, Reyes, could you just… pretend to be a potted plant again while Athanas storms in and tears through the whole room?’

My brain felt like it was going to explode, but Reyes, calm as ever, simply laid his hand on the door before I could react.

“Excuse me, could you tone it down a bit?”

The banging stopped instantly.

F*ck.

Cold sweat slicked my skin.

Athanas had definitely heard Reyes’s voice. So much for pretending I was here alone.

Any second now, he’d start grilling me about who was in here with me.

What could I even say?

If Elamin’s with him, I won’t even get the chance to explain properly…

But no questions came. Instead, an unnerving silence descended, as if no one had ever been there at all.

“…What did you do?” I asked, my voice tight with apprehension.

Reyes shrugged casually, taking his hand off the door.

“I distorted the space. If you open that door now, it’ll lead somewhere else.”

He’s using spatial distortion?

The same ability that had connected Andrea’s office to the underground library?

It was one of the most powerful and useful skills when playing with the Distorted One.

But this was the worst possible time!

Using an Othergod’s power right in front of a holy knight of Order?

I couldn’t even begin to fathom explaining this mess.

“Spill it,” Reyes demanded, his face breaking into a bright, toothy grin that, ironically, felt more like a threat. “I’d like to hear your explanation now.”

…Where does this door lead now?

I swallowed hard. Any distortions that affected the mind, I could block. But when space itself twisted and warped, I was utterly helpless.

No, stay calm. Distortion has its limits.

This wasn’t a sanctuary, and Reyes’s altar was nowhere near here. Maintaining this distortion in the Cathedral would drain a tremendous amount of energy, even for a short time.

Even if he pushed it to the breaking point, I wasn’t completely trapped. If things went south, I could still call on the Saint.

This wasn’t a life-or-death situation… yet.

Just act casual.

Forced Persuasion was still working on him. That was probably why Reyes wanted to talk instead of barging through the door to meet Athanas.

If I kept up the Persuasion, maybe I could talk my way out of this mess.

“…Could you stay here while I try to convince Athanas to leave?”

“So, it is Athanas out there,” Reyes said, surprisingly calm.

Honestly, I was bracing myself for him to launch himself out the door the moment he heard his obsession’s name.

“And what’s your relationship with Athanas?” he asked, his tone suddenly sharper.

“We’re just working together. A simple partnership.”

“…Didn’t you say that was a made-up story just to meet other players?”

He pointed towards my reliquary.

Sweat prickled on my forehead.

“Th-that’s part of the cover story. Pretending we’re dating makes it less suspicious if we’re seen together a lot.”

“So, you’re not actually dating?”

“Absolutely not.”

“…Then why did you lie to me?”

He looked up, a wounded puppy dog look warring with the predatory gleam in those unnervingly narrow violet eyes.

I felt incredibly wronged.

You’re the one who jumped to conclusions!

I just… hadn’t bothered to correct him.

“You told me I was the only one…”

Reyes’s face went blank, a chilling stillness settling over him. The air crackled with unspoken rage, raising goosebumps on my arms.

Damn, why does this feel like I got caught cheating in a dating sim?

I hadn’t given him any reason to believe we were a couple, yet somehow, he’d convinced himself we were in ‘love’.

This was driving me insane.

But one thing was clear:

If I shatter this delusion now, I’m done for.

If I was going to play along, I had to fully commit.

“…I’m so sorry. I just didn’t want you and Athanas to run into each other.”

I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to cringe. This was so embarrassing.

“I was… afraid that if you found out I had any connection with Athanas, you’d be more interested in him than me.”

I ducked my head, feigning embarrassment and jealousy.

Reyes’s lips curled into a devilish grin.

“Aw, so you wanted your ‘first time’ to be with me, not Athanas!”

Good grief.

I fought the urge to scream at him to stop with the ridiculousness, but I needed Forced Persuasion to work. This meant enduring this absurd charade.

“Yeah… something like that. The thought of anyone else taking your life is unbearable to me. But… what if, deep down, your real wish is for Athanas to be the one to kill you? If I caused that to happen… I’d regret it for the rest of my life.”

Summoning the last vestiges of my patience, I gripped Reyes’s shoulders firmly.

“Reyes, please stay here while I handle Athanas.”

There was still so much I needed to learn from Reyes.

I couldn’t use Forced Persuasion on Athanas, but if I explained everything calmly, he’d understand. Once he saw I wasn’t in danger, he’d leave without a fight.

At least, that was the plan.

“…Alright.”

Reyes’s pupils returned to their normal shape, and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

“So… can I go talk to Athanas for a moment?”

“…Are you sure you can get him to leave?”

“Absolutely.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Athanas is one of the most rational people I know.”

“Oh, really? That’s funny, because smashing through walls like a berserk beast doesn’t exactly seem ‘rational’ to me.”

My blood ran cold. What…?

Athanas is smashing through walls to get here?

I looked around, every nerve on high alert.

“…Well, actually, if you think about it, it’s quite logical from his perspective. He hit a spatial distortion at the door, so obviously, he’d want to bypass it. He can track me through the reliquary, so smashing through walls is honestly the fastest way to reach me. He’s being completely rational!”

“Oh, is that so?”

“He’ll stop the second he sees I’m okay. Trust me!”

“…If you say so.”

As Reyes’s waved his hand, dissolving the distortion on the door, the wall beside us shuddered violently, as if hit by a battering ram.

“Stay exactly where you are! Don’t move until I tell you!”

Fear tightened its grip on my throat. I flung open the door before Athanas could break through. Maybe seeing me unharmed would calm him down.

“Athanas…”

He stood there, his left hand raised with a strange device strapped to it.

A crossbow?

My instincts took over, hands shooting up in a gesture of surrender even before my brain could process what I was seeing.

How could I convince Athanas that Reyes meant no harm?

Before I could even formulate a plan, a sickening thud echoed behind me. Something heavy hitting the floor.

I turned around slowly, my heart pounding.

Reyes lay flat on his back, his wide eyes vacant and unseeing, a bolt protruding from his forehead.

…Is he dead?

The world seemed to tilt. I hadn’t even seen Athanas fire. He must have shot the moment I opened the door. Reyes, caught completely off guard, had no time to react.

Or maybe…

A cold dread washed over me. Could this be because of the Forced Persuasion? I’d told Reyes to not move.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the image of Reyes’s lifeless gaze.

No, this can’t be the end for him.

He would be resurrected at the hidden altar when the starry sky opened.

…But Athanas doesn’t know that.

The thought slammed into me: if Athanas had known Reyes could be revived, he never would have fired. Killing him only played into the Othergod’s sinister plans.

So Athanas really intended to kill him.

Without a moment’s hesitation or attempt to understand the situation.

“It was merely a subduing shot,” Athanas said, his voice cool, cutting through my panicked thoughts. I looked up to see him calmly removing his gauntlet.

…This is what he calls ‘subduing’?

Did he really believe the best way to restrain someone was with deadly force? No matter how I looked at it… Reyes looked dead.

“This bolt only immobilizes the target. It doesn’t injure them. It’s designed for capturing live targets,” Athanas explained, handing me the crossbow.

I took it automatically, my eyes tracing the intricate symbols etched along its frame. Even without the ability to see divine power, it was obvious this was no ordinary weapon.

I looked up at Athanas, scrutinizing his face. He didn’t seem to be lying.

“…Where did you get this?”

“It’s Holy Knight Order equipment. I borrowed it from the armory.”

“Are you even allowed to just ‘borrow’ something like this?”

“Of course not.”

…So he broke protocol?

As a holy knight of the Order?

I stared at him, a mix of disbelief and exasperation welling up inside me.

“Won’t that get you into trouble?”

“Only if I get caught.”

His boldness was both infuriating and exhilarating.

“Why…?”

Why would he take a risk like this?

A holy knight breaking the rules could face severe consequences—stripped of half his divine power, or even worse, excommunicated. Did he even understand the danger he was in?

“I was worried about you.”

My jaw dropped. “You did something this reckless because you were worried?!”

His expression remained unwavering. “It would’ve been far more reckless to come here unarmed and unprepared.”

I couldn’t argue with that logic. “Well…”

“You’re the one who warned me about how dangerous the other Watched Ones can be.”

I couldn’t deny that.

He… has a point.

“The moment I saw your location at the underground library, I came right away. You had no reason to be there. If you were caught up in something after requesting protection from the Inquisition, then I had to assume this ‘Prophet’ is exceptionally dangerous and powerful. So, I took every precaution.”

Athanas’ voice stayed calm, as usual.

“Using unsanctioned power inside the Cathedral is punishable by death. But since you warned me that the ‘Prophet’ is cunning, I chose to neutralize him first. There’s always a chance he’d set a trap to be triggered if he were killed.”

His logic was impeccable, and despite myself, I found myself reluctantly agreeing with his every word.

If I’d actually been in danger, facing a malicious contractor of the Distorted One, Athanas’ actions would have been a lifesaver.

But still…

My eyes scanned the aftermath. The hallway was a disaster, chunks of wall and debris scattered everywhere. The rooms Athanas had blasted through were probably just as bad.

Distortion can fold space and connect to other places.

The entire building must look like a giant piece of Swiss cheese by now.

“…And Elamin?” I asked, my voice hesitant.

“I told him to leave before I broke in. Didn’t want him to see anything unpleasant.”

“And everyone else here?”

“I set up a holy relic to keep them out of the area,” he explained. “No one would get caught in the crossfire.”

Even in this chaos, he’d thought of everything.

But the damage was beyond anything I could imagine covering up. This wasn’t like the underground library incident.

“I’m just glad you weren’t hurt,” Athanas said softly.

I managed a weak laugh.

“Haha…”

Shit.

I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that maybe it would have been better if he hadn’t come at all.

From his perspective, this was the best course of action.

The ‘Prophet’ was just the Distorted One’s “fun pick,” a unit who couldn’t stop blabbering critical information. But Athanas didn’t know that he’d somehow taken a liking to me, and that it was actually safer to keep him close.

Logically, I should be grateful that Athanas risked so much for me…

Shiiiiiit…

How did everything go so sideways and end up this twisted?