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

#139Reader Mode

T/N: Thanks for the coffee Praxis and Katt! Sorry about the late update. I’ve been sick. _(´ཀ`」 ∠) _ But there’ll be double upload with the next update! Woo~

#139

“…What?”

“I’m talking about Insanity. If an Othergod can’t bring in more than one player, he has to be the ‘Lord of Nightmares’ player. It adds up, don’t you think?”

“…So what?”

“Think about it. Who else would show the Heretic Slayer the opening scene of Heretic Slayer? Roklem? Nah. It gotta be another player behind it all.”

…That’s your big theory?

The suspicion that someone, or something, might be influencing Athanas’s dreams had crossed my mind. But was that really enough to prove he was a Servant of an Othergod? It felt a little far-fetched.

…Then again, I don’t have anything solid to disprove it, either.

The real issue was that Athanas had never been “deeply moved” by me before, so I had no way to confirm the exact title next to his name.

“Even if that’s true, he’s still the Savior of Order,” I argued. “There’s no way he’d be a servant of an Othergod….”

“And yet, the Gray Saintess is a servant of the Distorted One, isn’t she? Granted, she’s half-baked, but a saintess is a saintess. Isn’t it more unbelievable that the Heretic Slayer is the only one truly loyal to Roklem? Especially when the Saintess—who’s supposed to be on Roklem’s side too—already sold her soul to an Othergod?” Pandemonium countered smoothly.

“……”

“And let’s not forget,” Pandemonium pressed, leaning in conspiratorially, “ST Games. They’re practically the Othergod of Othergods. Are you seriously telling me the main character of a game made by the Othergod hasn’t made some kind of bargain? Never sold even a tiny piece of his soul?”

Pandemonium’s words sent my thoughts reeling.

Athanas was never saved. Not in any of the endings.

What if that’s because he had already abandoned Order…?

“…Players have a theory,” Pandemonium continued. “Have you ever wondered about famous characters we should’ve heard of, but are never mentioned in the game? Like the Saint, for example.”

I always assumed they left those details out intentionally to mess with the players. It’s way more entertaining to watch everyone scramble to figure things out with only half the story, right?

“Our conclusion was this: maybe the game developers didn’t have the rights to use them.”

“Didn’t have the rights? What do you mean?”

“You know how in the real world, you can’t just throw around names or trademarks without permission, right? Whoever owns the copyright holds the rights.”

Suddenly, the contents of the Notebook came to mind.

‘The Me of the 24th Floor’ had written an incredibly long, rambling disclaimer about fiction—apologizing for leaving out certain names due to copyright issues. At the time, I’d dismissed it as strange, even ridiculous. But now…

Pandemonium interrupted my spiraling thoughts.

“In the Dark Realm, you get a name when you’re baptized, right? So who owns the rights to that name?”

“…The God of Order,” I answered automatically, remembering my studies of the doctrine.

“Once baptized, we are bound to Order, not just in life but in death.

To belong to Order is to own nothing, for we are not our own.

I have given myself to God, and with that offering, all I held dear has been surrendered.

Even my body, my soul, and my very name are no longer mine to claim.”

What if that’s not just a metaphor…

“Exactly. That’s why they can’t use the name of any unit that hasn’t betrayed Roklem. Those names belong solely to Order. The Othergods’ side doesn’t have the rights to them.”

“…So, any unit whose name does appear has, at some point, essentially sold their soul to an Othergod,” I murmured, the implication sinking in.

Pandemonium smirked. “Oh, look at you. Your brain works better than Reyes’s.”

“……”

How insulting.

Still, I couldn’t dismiss his theory. It was definitely intriguing, and even seemed to make sense.

But without any evidence, that’s all it was: a theory.

It wasn’t enough to prove that Athanas’s soul had fallen into the hands of an Othergod. Not yet, at least.

Even if, by some slim chance, it’s true…

Concluding that Athanas was under Insanity’s control felt like a massive leap in logic. When the missing pieces of a puzzle are that significant, you can force just about any piece to fit.

“What would Insanity even gain from something like that?” I asked.

Pandemonium leaned back, studying me intently. “You.”

“…Me? I don’t have any powers or anything valuable.”

Pandemonium became silent for a moment. Then he pointed to the relic.

“That.”

I glanced at it, confused. “This? It’s just a relic.”

“No,” he said firmly. “It’s not just some ordinary, power-infused relic. It contains a newly inscribed decree, specifically made for you.”

…Yeah, like one of those wildlife protection panels.

Pandemonium’s teal eyes narrowed slightly.

“Why do you think that happened? What are you to them? What did they see in you? Why does the Saint show you such favor?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“Of course I’m curious, but…”

“Maybe Insanity wanted to know the same thing,” he interrupted. “Why is the Church of Order so friendly only towards you?”

…Pandemonium’s already convinced himself that Athanas is working for Insanity.

That wasn’t going to change without hard evidence. He was annoyingly stubborn like that.

Still, I couldn’t deny it—his words left me with questions of my own.

What kind of psychological warfare has Insanity been waging to have all the players on high alert, warning each other saying, ‘Don’t panic! This has to be another one of that crazy bastard’s traps!’

“Now that I think about it, I’m honestly curious too,” Pandemonium mused. “Do you have any special traits? Like, I don’t know, some kind of OP skill or ability to naturally charm people?”

“…I don’t.”

“Then maybe there’s some hidden secret about the Happy God?” He rubbed his chin, lost in thought. “It’s practically a trope at this point, right? You’ve got your lineup of all these hardcore Othergods. And then there’s the fool, the walking meme, the one who’s a complete joke, the Happy God. Rule #1 of any story: the unassuming one is always the one holding the real power. What if the Happy God is secretly the most powerful of them all?”

“…That’s an interesting theory,” I said, giving a noncommittal shrug. “But I really don’t know anything about the Happy God. I don’t even have any clues to go on.”

Perhaps the Saint is only being nice to me because I’m just some pathetic loser who’s died a hundred times without making any progress.

It’s like when you’re stuck on a boss level, rage-quitting, and suddenly the difficulty gets easier. You figure the game’s AI is probably taking pity on you.

Yeah, Happy God must be so incompetent that they had to nerf the damn difficulty just for me. Or maybe it’s because I’m just a mortal who’s somehow accumulated enough “Rank” for them to notice.

“Didn’t you get anything from Happy God? Like perks, arrangements, anything like that?” Pandemonium asked.

“Nothing except the bound trait I got before I took over this body.”

When I told him I didn’t even have a Helper or a relic, he blinked like I’d grown a second head.

“Then how the hell do you increase your stats?”

“I can’t.”

“Wow. You are royally screwed, aren’t you?”

“…….”

This bastard’s got the tact of a troll. Zero filter for other people’s dumpster fire lives, huh?

“Look, that’s not even the main issue here.”

Pandemonium’s face suddenly went grim, and he asked a peculiar question.

“Have you had any nightmares?”

Nightmares….

I’ve definitely had some weird, chaotic dreams that didn’t make much sense. But I highly doubt they were caused by the Lord of Nightmares’ abilities. My Trait, ‘The Whole World Is Beneath Oneself,’ should’ve canceled out any attempts at that kind of mental manipulation. So, they were probably just my brain recycling through old memories. Nothing more.

“Don’t even think about hiding anything. You’ve never heard of someone surviving a zombie bite by pretending it didn’t happen, right?”

“No, it’s not like that. I just… I’m not sure if what I experienced qualifies as a ‘nightmare’.”

This morning, something Athanas said kept replaying in my head: “If you don’t remember, that’s alright. It wasn’t an important dream. Don’t worry about it.”

“…Someone did ask me if I’ve had any nightmares,” I admitted reluctantly.

“Who?”

“Athanas….”

The instant his name slipped out, Pandemonium’s expression hardened.

Shit.

I messed up.

If he jumped to the conclusion that I was already “infected” by whatever these nightmares were, he might shut down and cut me off from any more intel.

“…Are you sleeping with the Heretic Slayer, or something?”

Oh.

So that’s where his head went.

“We’re not dating.”

“I didn’t mean it like that—wait, really? Okay, look, just be honest. No judgment. Or maybe a little? I don’t know. Like, if some guy confessed he was into me, that’d be awkward as hell. Wouldn’t it? Sure, in this world, it’s normal for guys to date, but back where I’m from… let’s just say it wouldn’t fly.

“Think about it: You’re just hanging out, calling each other ‘bro,’ and then suddenly your bro drops a confession on you. Things would never be the same. But, then again, it’d be just as weird if it were a girl friend. Point is, I’m not here to judge two guys dating. As long as it’s not me they’re into, we’re cool. That’s the bottom line.”

…The fact that he’s still rambling about this makes it pretty obvious he’s bothered by it.

Did someone confess to him back in the real world or something?

“But honestly, after coming here and seeing some of the things that exist, I’ve started to think, hey, at least liking humans is an upgrade. If it’s the Heretic Slayer we’re talking about, I’m just relieved he’s got two eyes and isn’t some Lovecraftian horror. So, if you are dating, can’t you just admit it? I swear I won’t tell Sukidesu.”

“For the last time—no. Absolutely not. We’re not dating.”

“…Then why have you slept together before?”

“Athanas sleeps all the time. The guy really lives up to his meme—he can pass out anywhere, anytime. And when someone’s already asleep next to you, there’s not much else to do, so I’d just nap too.”

“Where?”

“…My room. Or Valentine’s prayer room.”

“…….”

“It was just because we needed a soundproof space.”

“At this point, it’d honestly be less suspicious if you were dating.”

“You’re completely misunderstanding—”

“No, not you. Him. The Heretic Slayer. That guy is walking, talking, red flag central.”

…Of course. If he thinks Athanas is tied to Insanity, then everything is going to seem suspicious in his eyes.

“A soundproof space means no one outside can hear what’s happening inside, right? And you’re telling me you were alone in here with the Chosen One, and he fell asleep first? You really think the Heretic Slayer would let his guard down like that? Not a chance!”

…Yeah, I’m definitely never mentioning Athanas around this guy again.

He’s just doubling down on his biased assumptions, and it’s a losing battle.

“Ever tried summoning the Saint with the Heretic Slayer right there?”

“…No, I haven’t.”

“Knew it.”

Knew it? What’s that supposed to mean?

Pandemonium suddenly gripped my shoulders, his eyes intense.

“When you’re ready to break up with him, make sure you summon the Saint beforehand. And do it right in front of him—make sure he sees the whole thing.”

“What?”

“I’d totally be there to back you up, but if I show up, Insanity might catch wind of it. Oh, and don’t even think about telling him I gave you this advice, yeah? You got that?”

What the hell is he even going on about?

Stop jumping to wild conclusions in that head of yours.

“To keep you safe, Insanity can’t know we’ve met. That way, he won’t figure out why you’re doing what you’re doing. I’ll be at the Cathedral until the Council meets, so it’s best if you end things next week. Until then, avoid being alone with Athanas at all costs. Make up whatever excuse you need to.”

“Hold on—back it up. What are you even saying? Why are you acting like breaking up with Athanas is a foregone conclusion?”

Pandemonium gave me a look like I was the one losing it.

“So, you’re not going to break up with him?”

“We don’t even know for certain if Athanas really serves Insanity…”

“That’s not the point, is it? You said the whole thing was just a publicity stunt to grab players’ attention, right? Well, mission accomplished. So, what reason do you have to keep pretending to date the guy?”

I didn’t have an answer.

…He’s not wrong.

There were still things I needed to figure out about Order, but working with Athanas wasn’t strictly necessary for that anymore. Not like before.

Unlike back when we had no leads, Athanas has a connection with the Research Director and even found a way to resist Oblivion.

It’s not like I’ve been all that helpful anyway….

Maybe I should’ve suggested cutting ties a long time ago, for his sake. If the only reason I kept him around was because I was worried about him….

“That reliquary, did you create it yourself?”

“…No, Athanas gave it to me.”

“Then hand it over. I’ll take it and run some tests. Who knows what kind of tampering it has?”

“Can’t do that.”

“Why the hell not?”

…Because a piece of Athanas is literally inside it.

There’s no way in hell I’m handing it over when I don’t know what might happen. But if I say that out loud, Pandemonium—who’s already suspicious of Athanas—would never let it go.

“…Valentine’s reliquary has a tracking feature. If it shows up somewhere strange, outside my usual locations, Athanas will know something’s wrong.”

“Tracking feature?”

“Valentine’s relics usually include—”

“Whoa, hold on. Doesn’t that sound extremely suspicious, even as you’re saying it? He’s keeping tabs on you.”

“That’s because I’ve been in danger a few times…”

“So he’s basically monitoring your every move and swooping in whenever he feels like it? Damn, what a stalker!”