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

#135Reader Mode

#135

I pushed Athanas’s arm off my chest and got up. There was no way I could just lie there, my mind racing with thoughts of Reyes.

…I’d promised him I’d handle it, told him not to worry.

But what if he’d actually trusted me? What if he’d let his guard down, only to end up like this – attacked by Athanas, knocked out cold, and waking up strapped to the Research Director’s table like some lab rat?

He’d feel utterly betrayed.

I bit my lip hard, a darker thought creeping in.

If the Director isn’t careful enough… if Reyes actually manages to kill himself…

I dragged a hand down my face, trying to wipe away the thought. But deep down, I knew it wasn’t really Reyes’s fate that made me so anxious. The truth was far more selfish.

When I’d watched Reyes’s head hit the ground in that nightmare, only one thought had filled my mind:

I should’ve Game-Overed that bastard before he had the chance to hold a grudge!

The dream wasn’t about the horror of what might be happening to Reyes. It was about something far worse… him surviving. Clawing his way back from whatever hell he’d been thrown into, eyes burning with vengeance.

In the end, I wasn’t worried about Reyes. I was worried about me. My safety. My survival.

…Well, that’s just who I am, isn’t it?

I’d never thought of myself as a particularly good person. But seeing my feelings laid bare like this? It made me feel ashamed.

If this was how I was going to feel, I shouldn’t have pretended to care. I shouldn’t have asked if there was another way.

If I’d just handed Reyes over to the Inquisition without a second thought, none of this would be bothering me now. No nightmares. No anxiety. I’d be sleeping soundly, stretched out without a care.

Maybe, once in a while, I’d wonder, ‘Did I go too far?’

But I wouldn’t feel like this.

I made a silent promise to myself: next time, I’d use my head and ignore whatever my heart might say.

Just as I was about to unlock the door to go splash some cold water on my face, a low, hoarse voice stopped me in my tracks.

“…Fabio.”

I froze, turning to find Athanas sitting up. His eyes were heavy with sleep but alert enough to make me feel rooted to the spot.

Right. He did say he’d notice if I opened the door. Was it some kind of weird alarm only he could hear?

Oh well. I’d planned to wake him anyway, so this worked out.

“Athanas, you feeling more rested?” I asked.

He blinked at me, looking a bit dazed, before giving a small nod.

“That’s good to hear.”

“…Where were you planning to go?”

“Just gonna wash my face. Did I wake you?”

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he patted the spot on the bed next to him.

Does he want me to sit beside him?

I hesitated but went along with it, settling down as he watched me closely.

“…You seemed to be having a nightmare last night,” he said after a moment.

“Me?”

Athanas nodded. “…Do you remember any other dreams besides that one?”

Other dreams? I wracked my brain but came up empty.

“Did I talk in my sleep or something?”

“…It seems you really don’t remember.”

Did I spout some nonsense while I was out? Maybe something ridiculous like, ‘What do you mean I have to re-enlist because of a system error? That’s absolute bullshit!’

“If you don’t remember, that’s alright,” Athanas said, his voice calm but a bit distant. “It wasn’t an important dream. Don’t worry about it.”

Hearing him say that only makes me worry more.

I tried to press him for details, but Athanas kept his lips sealed, focusing on putting on his armor instead. The rhythmic clink of metal as he fastened each piece pretty much killed any further attempts to pry.

Once he finished, he stood up, adjusting the last buckle with the ease of someone who’d done this a million times.

“Let’s head to the Main Building as promised.”

“What about breakfast?” I asked.

“You won’t be able to eat anything until we’ve checked on him. Let’s go now, and we can have an early lunch afterward.”

I blinked, surprised. It felt a little weird. Those were almost exactly the words I’d been about to say.

“…Okay.”

Sometimes it feels like he knows what I’m going to say before I do. Then again, it’s probably just all the stress weighing on my mind.

When I opened the door, my eyes immediately went to the newly repaired walls.

How did they pull that off?

I’d been expecting a rough patch job, maybe held together by Nephiton’s power for convenience. But this? The repairs were perfect. Seamless. Like the damage had never even happened.

Of course, Conclude is a strategy game all about destroying the world. Who had time for practical, everyday abilities like this? Stuff like fixing walls didn’t even get a mention in guides or forums.

But as someone actually living in this world, knowledge like that could be way more useful.

If I ask Callister, he’d probably drag me off to the lab for a full demonstration, grinning the whole time.

I was tempted to ask, but curiosity only gets you so far. Knowing wouldn’t let me use the ability anyway, so I let it go.

Damn, it’s freezing out here.

An icy wind cut right through my cloak, biting into my skin. I shivered and was about to tuck my hands against my chest when Athanas reached over and grabbed one.

The sudden warmth caught me off guard. I blinked, flustered, before remembering—oh, right. We’d agreed to hold hands on the way to the Main Building.

Still felt weird, though. Wouldn’t it make more sense to wait until we were closer to the crowd?

But pulling away now seemed awkward, so I went with it, letting Athanas lead. His hand was surprisingly warm.

Must have great circulation, I thought absently, my mind wandering to whether stamina stats had anything to do with body heat. I was lost in that pointless train of thought when someone’s urgent voice snapped me back.

“Athanas!”

I looked up and saw a flash of light green hair as someone ran toward us.

That face… it looks familiar.

The guy skidded to a stop when he noticed me walking next to Athanas. His startled expression reminded me of someone.

…Regeno?

No, not Regeno. Something close, though.

Anyway, it was that guy. The one who’d stopped a passerby to ask if I wanted to read the Doctrine with him.

“What’s the matter?” Athanas asked.

“Uh… uh…” The guy stammered, clearly thrown off by seeing me with Athanas.

So, they know each other.

That explained why he’d approached me out of the blue before. Athanas had probably been curious about me and sent someone to dig up info.

“State your business,” Athanas said coolly.

The guy—Regeno, or whatever his name was—swallowed hard, clearly flustered. “My mother… she can’t find my younger brother. I’ve been looking everywhere. Have you seen him? He has the same hair color as me and stands about this tall.” He gestured around shoulder height.

…Reyes?

Yeah, had to be Reyes.

Divine bloodlines weren’t exactly a dime a dozen, after all.

Athanas lied without the slightest change in his expression. “I wouldn’t know. When did he go missing? Where was he last seen?”

“I’m still asking around to piece that together. I don’t think it’s anything serious, but… you know how peculiar he can be.”

“Any idea why he might have disappeared?”

Regeno hesitated, glancing away like he was weighing whether or not to say more. “…It’s probably the same as before. He’s been calm recently, even Mother felt relieved, but last year… he was a real handful.”

Last year. That would’ve been before Athanasuki had possessed him.

Athanas gave a small nod, like this wasn’t news to him. “If I find him, how should I contact you?”

“Either through the temple of Egus or a priest of Floren… Actually, never mind. Just tell the instructor when you return.”

“Understood. I’ll pass along anything I find.”

“Thanks.” Regeno’s eyes flicked to me, his expression almost apologetic. “Sorry for interrupting your date.”

Caught off guard, I realized I’d half-hidden myself behind Athanas without meaning to because of the guilt.

“…What exactly are you apologizing for?”

Regeno gave a sheepish shrug. “Uh, for… taking up your time? Anyway, I should get going now. Goodbye!”

And with that, he was gone, hurrying off to find his missing brother.

“…Who was that?” I asked, stepping out from behind Athanas.

“A fellow recruit,” he said simply.

“And Reyes is his younger brother?”

“Yes. I’ve known that for a while now.”

I stared at him, unease creeping into my gut. He’d known this, yet still suggested handing Reyes over to the Inquisition?

“Aren’t you… close with him?”

“…We’re fairly close.”

“Then how can you be okay with turning over his younger brother? Doesn’t that bother you at all?”

Athanas’s silence hung heavy in the air, more chilling than the icy wind cutting through my cloak. When he finally spoke, his face remained an unreadable mask.

“Just because he’s taken over that body doesn’t mean the Watched One is truly Reyes.”

His words sent a chill down my spine. As another Watched One possessing Fabio’s body, I couldn’t help but feel deeply unsettled.

“But his family doesn’t know that, right?” I asked, my voice quieter now. “Won’t it cause problems if they keep searching for him, not knowing the truth?”

“That’s why we need a plausible excuse. As it happens, Reyes Floren already has a reason to go into hiding within the Cathedral.”

“…A plausible excuse?”

“Last year, before the Watched One possessed him, Reyes attempted suicide multiple times. He said it was because he wanted to see someone he loved again. But since suicide is a sin, he tried to make it look accidental…”

His voice trailed off, leaving an uncomfortable silence. After a moment, he added softly, “…That wasn’t the right way to phrase it.”

I frowned, confused. What does he mean by that?

Athanas rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, a faint smile touching his lips. “I unintentionally answered like I was still in training.”

“…Training?”

“In our training classes, if our explanations didn’t align with the Order’s teachings, we were punished immediately.”

Even medieval-era holy knights get punished, huh.

“I suppose I developed a habit of speaking without emotion, carefully choosing my words without realizing it,” Athanas explained.

“…I see.”

Athanas sighed deeply. “Honestly, I don’t know what the best course of action is. Even if we managed to free Reyes from the Watched One’s influence… should he return to his family? And what really happened to the real Reyes Floren?

“In any case, if there’s even a slim chance Reyes could come back safely, we’d need a different explanation for his absence. Something other than ‘he died’ or ‘he went missing.’ But right now, we know so little. I don’t want to make a choice we can’t take back.”

I pondered his words. From Athanas’s point of view, Reyes must look like an evil heretic wearing the skin of his friend’s brother.

And that made me wonder… did the fact that Reyes was his friend’s brother make Athanas even colder about the whole situation? Detached, almost clinical?

If Athanas allowed an evil heretic to return, it wouldn’t just be dangerous. It’d feel like a betrayal. A knife full of deception aimed directly at his friend and his family.

…I’m suddenly grateful Fabio doesn’t have a family.

As we approached the Main Building, I noticed Athanas take out the small reliquary from his pocket and put it around his neck.

So, there’s some kind of side effect after all?

I had asked him previously why he didn’t wear the relic all the time, especially since it was supposed to boost mental defenses. He had just said it was too much of a hassle dealing with people constantly asking what was inside.

That seemed reasonable enough. But considering the crazy situation we were in, you’d think he’d want to keep it on 24/7 if that was really the only downside. I made a mental note to ask him about it later. Though knowing Athanas, if he didn’t want to give me a straight answer, there wasn’t much I could do to force it out of him.

“I’ll take the lead from here,” I said, stepping in front of Athanas as we entered.

He probably hadn’t been to the lab before, so it just made sense for me to guide the way. For a brief, shining moment, I actually felt useful… until Callister popped up out of nowhere halfway to our destination.

“Fabio! Can you believe it? This is the fifth time we’ve met!” He was way too excited about this fact.

“Uh, okay… and that matters because…?”

“Because five is an incredibly significant number!”

He looked at me expectantly, clearly waiting for me to take the bait and ask why. I didn’t. But of course, that didn’t deter Callister in the slightest. He launched into a whole spiel, connecting the number five to everything from the human hand to dodecahedrons and waxing poetic about its special properties. I zoned out around the time he started going on about “fivefold symmetry” and just kept walking. ¹T/N: A ‘Dodecahedron’ is a 3D shape with 12 flat faces, and each one is a regular pentagon—basically, picture a soccer ball. It’s one of the five Platonic solids, which are like the ultimate building blocks of geometry. They’re perfectly symmetrical, with every face being identical in size and shape. Callister is using the dodecahedron to show how cool the number five is since each pentagonal face has, you guessed it, five sides.

Thankfully, we reached the Research Director’s lab before he could segue into the Fibonacci sequence.

“Where’s Reyes?” I asked.

“In that room over there,” Callister pointed.

Athanas started heading for the door, but Callister stopped him with a hand.

“Sorry, but the test subject specifically requested that you not be allowed inside,” he said, not quite managing to hide a smirk.

Athanas scowled at him. “So you expect me to just leave Fabio alone with someone who might attack him?”

“Oh relax, he won’t be alone. Callister will be in there too! And the test subject is under strict control, eliminating any possibility of dangerous behavior. Trust me, there’s no cause for concern.”

I decided to back Callister up on this one. “Yeah, it’s probably better this way. I’m not sure how… Reyes would react to seeing you right now.”

Athanas clearly wasn’t happy about it, but he kept quiet, his lips pressed into a thin line. I knew that was as close to agreement as we’d get from him.

I stepped into the room cautiously and saw him.

“Fabio? Is that you?” Reyes turned his head in my direction. He was sitting at a table, a loose bandage covering his eyes.

“Athanas isn’t with you, is he?” he asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

“Your eyes…” I began, unable to hide my concern.

“Oh, this?” Reyes said with a dismissive wave, pushing the bandage up to reveal his right eye, perfectly intact. “Just trying out a makeshift blindfold.”

“Geez, Reyes, you scared me for a second there. I thought maybe you’d gone and done something drastic like gouging your own eyes out when they brought you here.”

Reyes flashed a grin. “Come on, would I really greet you so casually if I’d just been through something that terrible?”

If it’s you, the guy who considered getting stabbed some kind of reward, I wouldn’t put it past you.

“So what’s with the blindfold cosplay? Isn’t it a little late to be reliving your middle school edgelord phase?”

“I figured if Athanas came in, I’d just keep my eyes covered the whole time,” he explained.

I looked him over, noting the absence of his usual cocky demeanor. “Well, I’m glad you seem more or less okay, at least. I was expecting you to be a lot more…traumatized, I guess. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m actually more normal now than when we first met.” Reyes’s tone was oddly polite.

“And ‘normal’ means what, exactly?”

Reyes bowed his head slightly. “I’ve been very rude to you. I must have embarrassed you quite a bit with my behavior.”

Something about the way he was acting reminded me of his demeanor back when I first told him I was a player. The change was jarring.

I thought for a moment, then asked, “Did your favorability rating happen to drop recently?”

“Yes, it did,” Reyes confirmed.

“Was it your Helper who lowered it?”

“No, actually. I did it myself.”

That threw me for a loop. “What? You can do that?”

“It’s possible, yeah. Distortions you apply to yourself are actually more effective than the ones you use on others.”

“Then why didn’t you lower it yesterday?” I demanded.

“Because I didn’t want to.”

What is he even talking about?

Who has the ability to fix their own manipulated mind and just… chooses not to?

With the finesse of a rom-com lead in a particularly cheesy scene, Reyes grabbed his chest like love had physically wounded him. “It wasn’t until I felt so sad, so completely heartbroken from being betrayed by someone I loved, that I was finally willing to do anything to escape that pain. Only then could I bring myself to lower the favorability rating. Before that moment, I didn’t want to let go of that happy feeling, no matter what.”

He went on to explain further. Even though his Helper refused to increase his stats, Reyes still had the power to undo any “distortions” that had been placed on him, effectively canceling out their effects.

But as he kept talking, I realized the truly scary thing about distortion isn’t just how it messes with your mind. It’s how it makes you not want to undo it.

“Let me give you an example,” Reyes said. “Say I absolutely hate Nekomimis. Can’t stand the sight of them, can’t tolerate anyone who likes them. But then one day, some Nekomimi lover comes along and says, ‘Just try it! I’ll make you see how amazing cat ears are, just this once!’ They swear I can go back to my old self anytime I want. So they use distortion on me…

“…And now? After experiencing it firsthand, I wouldn’t even remember why I hated Nekomimis in the first place. I’d be thinking, ‘Wow! How could I have been so blind to their beauty?’ And when that Nekomimi lover asks, ‘Do you want to go back to hating them?’ I’d say, ‘Why would I ever want that? This is incredible!’

“…In the end, I’d turn into exactly the kind of Nekomimi-obsessed person I once hated.” Reyes concluded with a tone so heavy with fake drama it was almost convincing.

Why did the example have to be about Nekomimis of all things?

I couldn’t help myself. I had to ask. “…Did that actually happen to you?”

Reyes waved off the idea like it was completely absurd. “No, of course not. God of War’s player told me about it. He said that’s exactly why I must never, under any circumstances, let Bonaparte get his hands on my relic.”

…Anyway, Reyes must have felt an overwhelming sense of betrayal because of what I did.

Sure, it had worked out for the better in the end, but I still felt a bit guilty.

“Listen, I’m sorry…” I began. “I told you to trust me, but—”

Reyes cut me off. “There’s no need to apologize, really. To be honest, I’m very glad things turned out this way.”

Well yeah, if he’d stayed stuck in that ridiculous mindset, it would’ve been even worse.

“Because now…” Reyes continued, a bright smile spreading across his face that immediately set me on edge, “I can finally understand the true depth of your love for me.”

I blinked. “…What?”

“You wanted me to break free from the Distorted One so that I could genuinely be with you. Isn’t that right?”

…Did his favorability really go back down?

T/N: (╹ڡ╹ )MathLore for the nerds like me!

A long time ago, some seriously smart people in ancient Greece thought Platonic solids were more than just cool shapes—they believed they were connected to the stars and space because of their perfect symmetry. These shapes are named after Plato, a super-smart philosopher who played a significant role in connecting them to philosophical and cosmological theories. The Greeks thought these solids symbolized something magical called “ether,” an invisible substance they believed made up the heavens.

To them, these perfect shapes were like tiny clues to the universe’s secret blueprint. Here’s why they’re so special:

• All the faces (sides) are exactly the same size and shape.
• The corners (vertices) are identical all around.
• The edges (where two sides meet) are all the same length.

And guess what special number is coming up again? You guessed it… 5. There are only five of these shapes because nature doesn’t allow any more that follow these rules.

The Five Platonic Solids:

• Tetrahedron: A pyramid with 4 triangle faces—kind of like a 3D pizza slice.
• Cube: A box with 6 square faces—just like dice.
• Octahedron: Imagine two pyramids glued together at the base, with 8 triangle faces.
• Dodecahedron: A sphere-like shape with 12 pentagonal faces—basically, a fancy soccer ball.
• Icosahedron: A spiky ball with 20 triangle faces—like the ultimate cool toy.

Kay~ Thanks for sticking around for my mini math session! Catch you next time for more yappin’, fellow nerds!