What happened next I do not remember.
One second I was sitting there with the dog's head on my lap and my left hand on his back, the next I was standing a few meters to the side with a huge smile on my face. The dog that had been my friend for years, dead.
I did not feel sad, quite the opposite. I had never felt happier in my life. The sheer pleasure cursing through me was out of this world.
It was almost too much for my childish mind to process.
I felt strong and awake and my mind was clear. I stood there in that empty parking lot as content as I had ever been. That high lasted for what felt like hours before it came down and I crashed, hard. The horror set in and I ran home like I was being chased by an enraged Fire Blessed.
Once home, I sat on my bed and started hyperventilating. One of the tenets of the Church was that death was sacred. Anyone who killed another human being would be persecuted.
Only trained Superheroes who had completed their years of service for the Church were permitted to kill.
For me to have a Blessing that brought death with a touch…I could never tell anyone.
I would never use this cursed power again, or so I promised myself back then.
Hearing footsteps descending the stairs leading towards my cell, I was torn out of my thoughts and the physical manifestation of the consequences of my broken oath drew closer.
A week ago, for the first time in over a decade, I used my Blessing again. I used my Blessing to kill again. A human this time.
And I was caught.
The figure unlocked the door and opened the cell that had been my home for the past week. Walking outside out of my own volition, I was faced with a tall man in a bright blue hero costume
Trying to hide my real feelings and project an image of dignity and stoicism, I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin.
Judging by the dry chuckle that escaped his lips, I must have failed spectacularly.
"You don't need to pretend with me kid. I doubt I would be any less shaken up were I in your position. I know the situation is fucked up. No need to act otherwise".
I observed him silently. Doing my best to decipher the sincerity of his words. I recognized this man. I doubt there was a single citizen living in the Theocracy that did not.
This man was a Superhero, perhaps even the Superhero.
The Shield of the Flock and Unstoppable Sword wielded against the enemies of the Church.
The invincible Indomitable.
I used to admire him when I was young, before I really understood what it meant to live in a society where gods walked amongst mortals. Mortals who had been raised to never fight back.
After all, Fighting was the prerogative of the Superheroes, not the Flock. To resist that idea was to spit upon the teachings of the Church and be branded a heretic.
I have no doubt a heretic is exactly what the church has declared me by now.
Seeing that there would be no answer from me. Indomitable sighed and began to speak up again. "Have it your way then. Let's get on with it." He reached into the bag he had been holding by his side and pulled put a set of chains.
"Show me your hands and put your feet together. The Bishop wants you bound and secured when presented to the masses for your trial. Do not resist. This is already ugly business, no need to make it worse"
Like he demanded, I did not resist as he put me in chains. Truthfully, just standing up and moving around was taking all of my strength. I suspected that this exact scenario was the reason why they had starved me for the last week.
An overreaction, I felt. Even at the peak of my power, I would not have been able to win against Indomitable. The man who wielded the Blessing of Strength. Not while he was wearing a suit that covered the majority of his body and my hands were tightly bound.
The intense feeling of hunger that had plagued me the first few days had long faded and all it left in its wake was a feeling of ever present weakness and light headedness. Standing up under my own power in defiance was already taking all of my remaining strength.
After the Superhero finished putting me in bondage, I forced out a question through my dry throat. It was the first time I had spoken since I woke up in this cell.
I almost started coughing.
"Why are you doing this to me? I was attacked. If I did not kill that man I would have died. What was I supposed to do?"
Indomitable simply looked at me with a blank expression. There was a kennel of pity hidden in the back of his eyes. I did not have the energy to feel offended by his pity as I usually would have been.
His pity was a useless thing after all. Worth less than the dirt beneath my feet. No, him being here could only mean one thing.
He was complicit in my suffering.
I looked at the evil man who used to be my childhood hero. I hated how clean he looked. He was the very image of a Superhero. Like he was ripped straight from the cover of a comic book. Shining blond hair framing a lean handsome face and bringing attention to his piercing blue eyes.
It was a stark contrast to my own miserable state.
Just like how they did not bother to feed me properly. They must have deemed showers an unnecessary luxury as well.
I was filthy and I undoubtedly smelled even worse.
"What is about to happen to you has nothing to do with what you did son. This is about what you will do in the future. That is, what you would have done in the future had we not found and stopped you in time"
I looked at the World's Greatest Superhero in confusion.
"What are you talking about? What future?"
He stayed quiet for a moment and seemed to fight some internal battle. Suddenly, he turned away from me and gave the chain he was gripping in his hands a slight tug. They were connected to the ones attached to my limbs, so I was involuntarily dragged a couple steps forward.
"Come. I will explain as best as I can while we walk upstairs. The Bishop will undoubtedly be angry at me for indulging you like this, but it's not like you knowing why this is happening will change the outcome. You will be dead by the end of the day. That truth will not change"
I knew the fate that awaited me from the moment I was beaten unconscious and woke up in this cell. There was only ever one fate awaiting those who had attracted the enmity of the Church that ruled the continent.
The casual way he said it somehow still managed to surprise me.
This was the man I once perceived as the epitome of Heroism. The invincible protector of the weak and champion of the people. I would have given anything to meet him in person.
Now I wished for nothing more than to be as far away from him as possible. I briefly thought about fleeing. About attacking the Superhero from behind and throwing my cuffed hands over his head and around his neck. I would then choke him out and flee from this wicked place. I would find a place to hide and plot my revenge on everyone responsible for putting me into this hellish situation.
The rage left me as fast as it came. I was too exhausted for such plans.
"The original plan was to recruit you, you know? There is no doubt that Blessing you have awoken is the height of blasphemy, but it is just as useful. Powerful. If they had a say in it, the Church would have never chosen to waste a potential asset like you. A man who can kill with a single touch, leaving behind neither trace nor evidence. Imagine it! You could have served the greatest good of all as the Church's hidden blade wielded against the enemies of our society"
We reached the end of the flight of stairs we had been ascending and Indomitable opened yet another closed door. Leading to a second floor filled with empty cells. We crossed the hallway and started climbing the next flight of stairs.
"That plan had to be discarded a mere day after we became aware of you. An hour later forces were dispatched to apprehend you. The Time Blessed Oracle Siphida had spoken a prophecy for the first time in decades. She foretold the tale of a man with a Blessing so powerful, he would single handedly usher in a new Age of Chaos and change the definition of the word Hero forever. He would cause civil unrest not seen since before the Unification of the continent two hundred years ago."
He turned around and looked down at me from his elevated position ahead of me. "The High Cardinals are convinced that the man the Oracle spoke of is you".
His intense stare turned hard.
"I believe them. Holy men like them have no need for lies. We cannot allow such a future to come to pass. Although I regret what is about to happen to you, you are simply too dangerous to be left alive. You have already broken one of our laws, which is that a citizen must never use violence. Where everyone else would not even have thought of fighting back, you barely hesitated. Our Time Blessed investigators revealed to us what happened that day. It is clear to me that you are a danger to our society" His blue eyes turned icy, "and I will not allow for such a dark future to come to pass"
I did not have the energy left to feel shocked at the sudden storm of information he just unleashed on me. I thought I was about to be executed for killing a man in self defense. The truth was a little more complicated than that, but the outcome remained the same. Silence stretched between us as we finally reached the end of our path.
I had been locked in alone three floors below ground. A bit overly cautious if you asked me, but so was killing a man for the distant possibility that he might become a threat in the future.
"We have arrived. Prepare yourself"
Indomitable opened the final door and led me into an unassuming small room. It looked like the entrance to the prison dungeon had been hidden away in here. We crossed the room quickly and walked through the hallways of what must be one of the Church's most expensive facilities.
Everything was gilded and portraits of every notable hero that had served the Theocracy in the past two centuries looked down at me in what I felt was clear mockery.
The various low ranking holy men and women of the church stared at us with interest as we passed by.
They parted before Indomitable like a school of fish before a shark.
I suspected that that single interaction had just shown me more about the dynamics between the Superheroes and the Church than a lifetime of propaganda ever did. No matter how short that live ended up being. I did not even make it past two decades.
We soon reached the end of the hallway and I prepared myself for what was undoubtedly about to greet me behind these doors.
———————-
Sunlight graced my face for the first time in what felt like ages.
The next thing I heard was the muttering of a crowd and the rapid flashes of cameras. In front of me was a courtyard big enough to encompass every foster home I had ever lived in during my youth combined.
At the head of the crowd stood the Bishop. It took me a moment to recognize him, as I had only ever seen his face on the Net before. He was a middle aged man who looked like he had never felt more pleased to be anywhere other than here, right now, standing in front of this crowd addressing the citizens of the Theocracy.
A good distance away on his right side stood a stake embedded into a wooden pyre.
I went cold inside as the way in which I would die was revealed to me.
Indomitable was unfazed by the scene in front of us and dragged me through the valley that naturally formed once the people scrambled over themselves to get out of his way.
They looked at him as if he were an angel that had descended from the heavens.
Indomitable pulled my chains and made me keep walking until we reached the podium the Bishop had obviously prepared for me to stand trial. The Superhero led me towards it and I decided to walk the last couple steps by my own free will.
The blue clad hero let go of my chains and stood behind the bishop like a loyal bodyguard in what was a clear indicator of allegiance. The look on his face was full of conviction and determination.
I tore my eyes from the sickening sight and observed the crowd in front of me. As I stared at my fellow countrymen sprawled before me, I heard the bishop begin to speak.
"Loyal people of Solstaris. We have gathered here under the light of our Lord to correct a grave sin. The blessed church and its Superheroes has been made aware of a threat lurking amongst the loyal and faithful people of the Theocracy. It gladdens me to inform you all that last week, in a show of peerless valor, a new team of freshly graduated Superheroes has apprehended that fiend. Let me show you the demon that has been walking amongst you!"
He pivoted towards me and jabbed a single damning finger in my direction. "This is the wolf that has been hiding in sheep's clothing. But worry not my people, for we have already uncovered his deception." He clasped his hands in front of his torso as if in prayer and looked up at the sky with a fervent expression.
"Just as how our Superheroes were blessed by the Lord. So can the Devil choose a champion to corrupt our beautiful society. This man you see before you…is one such champion. He revealed his true nature when he not only broke the covenant between us, the one that keeps our continent thriving by committing the Sin of Violence and Murder. No, that was not enough for this Devil. He killed his fellow citizens in the most perverse of ways. He used his devil given Curse to kill a whole group of innocent people like you. He did so in the dead of night. He killed them with a mere touch of his hand. And this is when even I struggle to comprehend the depths of depravity demons like him will fall to. After committing murder, he started laughing. Laughing! That was how our heroes had found him. Laughing amongst a pile of corpses of his own creation."
Horrified gasps echoed around the crowd. The already condemning and judging looks turned enraged. Filled with righteous rage. They fully believed the truth mixed with lies the Bishop fed them.
I only killed one man, not multiple, and he certainly was not innocent. It was true that I was laughed after, but the heroes did not find me in that state. They abducted me from my bed a full day later.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Devil? This is your last chance to speak up. I suggest you use this grace we have given you wisely. Confess your sins. With luck the Lord will have mercy upon your wretched soul once you arrive at the Crossroad to be judged"
I did not dignify his performative questioning with an answer. I already knew there was no saving me.
I was going to die in this place.
It had been two hundred years since the Theocracy conquered and unified the Continent with the First Generation of Superheroes as their swords. According to the books, they did so in service of their elusive Lord who nobody had ever seen, heard nor seen any evidence of existing neither before nor since.
Every other religion was crushed and declared illegal to practice. All mythology other than that of the Church, its Superheroes and their Lord was destroyed and could only be found in the darkest corners of the Net.
In that time, no enemy of the Church, once identified, had ever escaped death.
"Very well then. A heretic to the last it would seem. Indomitable. Chain him to the stake".
Although my heart had grown cold and my blood turned to ice in my veins. I remained silent as the Worlds Greatest Hero did as he was told with neither question nor hesitation.
Indomitable looked me in the eyes one last time after he set fire to the kindling under my feet. He did not say a word, and neither did I. He averted his eyes first and I heard the Bishop start preaching again over the sound of the wooden pyre catching fire.
I ignored the sound of human speech as the fire began spreading in earnest. The pain started slowly. Going from barely noticeable to uncomfortable to unbearable. I tried my best to remain silent and preserve whatever dignity I had left, but after a certain point, it was impossible.
The thick smoke invaded my airways and I began to cough. I heard the crowd clapping and hollering and I was sure the Bishop was having the time of his life soaking in the adulation of the crowd.
Soon after, the sound began to fade and I heard nothing anymore besides the burning of wood and my own cough as my vision started fading to black.
-—————-
I jerked awake with a violent gasp tearing its way out of my throat. Looking around wildly, I was confronted with a scene straight out of fantasy.
Buildings made out of stone and wood surrounded me. I was standing on a busy sidewalk with people streaming past in both directions in a constant flow of motion. I barely paid the life around me any mind, for a single vast construct had captured the majority of my attention.
It was a monstrous tower unlike anything I had ever seen before. I was familiar with skyscrapers and mega buildings dominating the skyline, but nothing like this. It looked more like a bridge connecting heaven and earth than a proper building.
With a bewildered frown, I tore my eyes away and focused on the bustling street around me. The full sight of it took my breath away once again.
I have never seen anything like it.
There were people of all colors and shapes filling the city. Women with cat ears, men barely half my height but twice my size and more. Most of them were dressed in simple clothing, but some of them wore armor. The majority of which did not seem of particularly high quality, but still. The sight of so many armed people in one place was not something I was used to.
Only Superheroes were allowed to wield weapons in the Theocracy.
The armored figures moved through the crowd of civilians with confidence and did not look surprised that nobody paid them any special attention.
I was shocked beyond words. I blinked one, twice and then shook my head. Seeing that the view had not changed, I pinched my arm to test if I was dreaming. I was not.
I looked up into the sky and exhaled in disbelief.
"What the hell just happened"
I have no idea what just happened.
Is this the afterlife? Am I in Hell? Heaven? It looked like neither. In all honesty, it appeared more like another world entirely. No, it must be. It was true that the world I came from was a place where everything was possible.
However, if there were animal people and even goddamn elves walking around the place, I would have known. I thought, looking at the baffling scene surrounding me.
How did I get here? Did someone in the crowd take pity on me and send me into this world with a Space Blessing?
Crossing the barrier between worlds had long been theorized to be possible. There was nothing that could not be achieved with the right combination of Blessed uniting and working together. And yet, just like the exploration of the very stars above, the Church had forbidden any more research into that endeavor, and the multiverse theory remained just that. A theory.
I did not see any superheroes other than Indomitable in that courtyard, but that was only because he was the only one wearing his full costume. Besides, I had no other explanation for this otherwise.
I began to walk along the bustling streets and observed the people that filled them with careful eyes. Somehow, impossibly so, I was once again dressed in the same clothes I had worn back before I was abducted from my home by the Church.
Simple black pants and a white shirt. Not the most fashionable of clothing, but I had never truly been particularly interested in the way I dressed. As long as it was comfortable. If it had been socially acceptable, I would have been walking the streets of my home city in bedsheets.
Despite my arrival into this new fantasy-like world having come with a change of clothes and apparently a bath, going by my newly acquired pleasant smell, it did nothing for the effects a week of starvation had left on my body. I still felt drained and weakened.
I started looking around in an attempt to take my mind off of that depressing train of thought. I knew that it would inevitably bring me back to the last few minutes of my life before ending up in this place.
That…was a memory I would do my best to repress and never think about again going forward. I did not know if I really died there at the end or if somebody had saved me. And truthfully? I did not wish to know either.
I just wanted to forget about that whole experience and move on. Being burned at the stake in a public execution was an unpleasant experience. Who would have thought?
All around I give it a 0/10. Would not recommend.
Fortunately, the scenery surrounding me was shocking enough to quickly take over my attention and pique my interest.
It was utterly foreign to anything I had ever seen before. The architecture was nothing like the one the theocracy had been employing and spreading across all its territories for centuries. With its metal skyscrapers and megabuildings.
The people also seemed different. They were full of life in an authentic kind of way no citizen of my old world could have replicated.
Like they are all just happy to be alive. The simplicity of their joy was enough to bring me up short.
The atmosphere was bright, and even the air tasted fresher. The people were colorful. And not just their clothing, but the very people themselves. Their skin, their hair, their eyes. A diversity of colors I had never seen before was represented in them. I did not even know that blue was a color hair could have.
I quickly started looking around for someone who looked approachable so that I could ask them some questions and satisfy my curiosity.
I need to know where I am.
It did not take long before I found a lone man sitting on a wooden bench. He looked about middle-aged and came across as approachable enough. Without hesitation, I walked towards him with a confident gait.
"Hello, Sir. I don't mean to intrude, but would you mind if I asked you some questions?"
I had learned early on to always try to be as polite as possible when approaching a stranger for the first time. As long as it did not come across as insincere, there was no such thing as too much politeness.
The man, who had previously been watching the people streaking by with boredom, looked at me with a brow raised in obvious disinterest.
"Sure ... I don't mind. Not like I have anything better to do. Not until that damn supporter finally decides to grace me with her presence, that is!" He took his eyes off me and turned back to the people streaming past. "She's already late, and I am burning daylight. Those damn monsters aren't going to kill themselves, I tell you!"
He just said a lot of things that mean absolutely nothing to me.
I was momentarily stunned, unsure where to even begin dissecting what I had heard. I already felt fortunate beyond words that we spoke the same language and that I would not need to overcome a language barrier while stranded in a foreign land.
"Can you tell me something about those monsters you should be killing right now? You look like a mighty, powerful warrior. I am sure that I could learn a lot from an experienced man like you."
I kept my questions light. I did not wish to look too clueless and appear suspicious. After all, I had no idea what counted as common knowledge in this world. The last thing I needed was somebody calling the local law enforcement down on me for asking the wrong questions.
When in doubt, you could never go wrong with stroking a man's ego while asking something of him.
"Experienced and powerful, am I? Well yes, of course I am! Been exploring the Dungeon for nearly a decade at this point! I do not wish to brag, but I am even close to leveling up. One would not be wrong to call me a veteran amongst veterans. My Falna would make others weep in envy!"
He took a breath and stopped boasting just long enough to consider the first part of my question.
"What's there to tell when it comes to monsters? The Dungeon spawns them to try and kill as many of us fine adventurers as it can. We kill those same monsters before they can kill us and then sell the magic stones they leave behind for good Valis. It's the most profitable profession in the world! High risk, even higher reward. Everybody knows that, though. If you really want to learn more about monsters you should go to the guild, they will gladly tell you all about them. Might even get yourself an advisor out of it, though I would not count on it. Those stuck-up cunts are notoriously picky."
I acted like I was unfazed by all that he had just told me.
"I see. So what does someone like me need to do to become an adventurer like you?"
The man looked at me weirdly. "What does it take to become an adventurer? You mean the Falna? Just join a Familia and get their gods' blessing. Nothing more to it than that"
He looked at me in slight suspicion now. "Say...don't tell me this was all just some elaborate plot to make me offer you a place in my Familia? Well, I guess the Soma Familia does offer some unique advantages that a young buck like you would be interested in. It's not too surprising."
He looked me up and down speculatively. "You look like a strong enough lad. Maybe a bit malnourished, but hardly to the point where it would be a problem. I can put in a good word with the captain if that's what you're after. For a price, of course. "He finished with a greedy grin.
I blinked at the mountain of information he had just unleashed on me. Familia? Blessing? gods? My head felt like it was steaming, and a sinking feeling set in my chest.
Did I seriously get dropped from one world of corrupt religious fanatics into another? What gods? There are no gods. I bet it's just another deception. Like the mysterious Lord of the Church.
Not wanting to appear any more suspicious than I already was. I closed my mouth and stopped asking any more questions.
I promptly shook my head in rejection. "No, I'm afraid I already have a Familia in mind I wish to join. Thank you for answering my questions." The self-proclaimed veteran amongst veterans simply clicked his tongue at that and murmured something under his breath that was said too quietly for me to hear.
I turned around and left him behind. It looked like I had my work cut out for me. This world was a lot more interesting than I had initially expected.
I did not get further than a few dozen steps before I felt myself colliding with something, someone. I looked down and saw a short figure with a comically large bag strapped onto her back, lying on the floor. I crouched down and offered the little girl my hand.
"I am sorry, little one; I did not see you there."
She lifted her head, and an unexpectedly cute face older than the one I had been expecting was revealed to me from under her hood. The young girl stared at me with a blank look in her eyes. That look barely lasted more than a few seconds before she smiled brightly. There was something wrong with that smile.
"No need to apologize, sir. This was Lili's fault. Yes. Lili should be apologizing instead!"
Without ever actually apologizing, the short girl ignored my offered hand and got up under her own power. Brushing the dirt off her legs, she walked by me quickly and left me standing there with my hand extended.
I watched her leave and shook my head in bewilderment. The people in this world certainly really were unique.
I continued walking aimlessly for a while and considered the things I had heard. Familia. Adventurer. Dungeon. Monsters. Falna. Magic stones. Gods. Truly, I was far from home.
I could only assume that the god's blessing that guy spoke of was different from the Blessings I was familiar with. Going by what he told me, I would probably need to get one of those at some point. That also means joining a Familia. I also need to check out that guild he spoke of.
I was in deep thought as I randomly turned corners and tried to find the path with the least amount of people. I needed some space to think clearly.
I am likely going to become an adventurer.
"The most profitable job in the world" he said. With my Blessing...I doubt killing "monsters" would prove much of a challenge. One might even say that I was born for it.
With my mind made up, I looked up and observed the part of the city my wandering had brought me to.
The narrow street was empty, and the buildings were packed more tightly than the town square I had woken up in.
Deciding to keep walking and find some place that offered food, it did not take long for my plans to be disturbed.
While I was passing an alley, I was suddenly set upon by a young man with a wild look in his eyes. He could not have been any older than his early twenties. He pointed a long, curved knife at me.
"What's a posh-looking bastard like you doing in this part of Orario, huh? This is Daedelus Street! Didn't you know? People like you are not welcomed here."
I lifted my hands in a peaceful gesture. "I see. I am new to this city, and I did not know this area had restricted access. No need for this to get violent. I will simply leave."
The filthy-looking man started grinning at my attitude. Seemingly emboldened by what he clearly perceived to be a show of surrender. "Oh no. It's too late for that pretty boy. You're on my turf now. You will not leave here until you hand over everything of value you are carrying". I looked down at my pants, with their obviously empty pockets, and the simple shirt I was wearing.
Is this guy being for real?
I looked at him incredulously. "As you can see. I am not carrying anything of value on me. Let's just stop this right here and part ways in peace."
Contrary to my expectations. The criminal did not seem dissuaded by my words. If anything, he seemed elated.
"I see how it is. Not only are you new to Orario, but you are also poor. This must be my lucky day". He looked me up and down with a hungry look in his eyes.
"If you cannot give me anything of value. I will simply have to take your body. You're a handsome-looking fellow; I am sure Isthar will pay a very good price for a fine stud like you."
Did this guy just say he is going to sell me?
"Who is Isthar?" I asked.
The man looked at me in confusion. The unexpected question having torn him out of whatever degenerate thought he undoubtedly had rattling around in his head.
"I know you foreigners, coming to Orario with all your foolish hopes and dreams, are often not the brightest bunch, but surely there are limits to how ignorant you can be. You don't know who Isthar is? The second most beautiful woman in the world? The goddess of the red light district? She takes in pretty young women and handsome young men like you and makes them spend their time more…productively. "He grinned lasciviously at that last part.
I simply looked at him in disbelief. The goddess of the light district? They seriously think an actual goddess would lower herself to work in such a place? And I thought the citizens of Solstaris were gullible.
While prostitution had been made illegal in the theocracy centuries ago, I still understood what that particular expression meant. Is this guy saying he wants to sell me as a sex slave?
I could not help it. I started laughing.
What was it about me that attracted scumbags like this? First I got assaulted by a criminal in my last world, which led to me getting kidnapped and then burned to death. And now, barely more than an hour into this new world, I was already being confronted with the scum of society.
However, the situation was not all bad.
When I was young, I swore that I would never use my Blessing again. I broke that promise a week ago when I was forced to make a choice between my own life and that of my attacker. I chose myself. I broke my oath. What did it matter if I did so again? My hands trembled slightly in anticipation as I began to make up my mind. Especially when the very definition of acceptable target did me the courtesy of presenting himself before me like this. Like a lamb to slaughter.
The slaver seemed to take offense at my joyful laughing and started to wave his knife around threateningly. "You think this is a joke? I will cut you! I don't mind eating the pay cut for delivering damaged goods if it means teaching an arrogant little shit like you a lesson!"
Hearing his threat, my laughing ceased immediately.
"Yes. Of course I do. This is a joke. It's the funniest joke in the world! And you, fool…are its punchline."
I pulled on the lever inside my core for the second time in as many weeks and felt my Blessing roaring to life. Hungering for the life of the human in front of me that I had declared prey. The halfwit who had mistaken restraint for weakness.
Faster than he could react. I shot forwards like a snake uncoiling for an attack and placed my left hand on his face.
He collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
Just like the previous two times I had unleashed my Blessing, a feeling of indescribable pleasure and joy filled me.
This has to be better than sex.
In some ways, I understood why the Church decided that I was too dangerous to let live. If there ever was a power that could be called evil. It was this one. For the act of killing to bring me such pleasure…it was evil, no doubt about it.
I immediately felt refreshed. The weakness that had taken me over for a week now disappeared. As if it had only been a bad dream.
I crouched down next to the dead man's body and touched his unmoving face multiple times again, my blessing still active. Seeing that there was no further reaction, I clicked my tongue and stood up again.
I stopped paying the man I had made into a corpse any more attention and instead looked myself over. All visible signs of starvation had disappeared. I felt fed and rested as if I had just spent weeks sleeping on the most comfortable of beds.
This was the miraculous effect of my blessing. I could take the lives of others and use them to empower myself.
I turned around and left the crime scene. I had already been caught killing once before; I would not let it happen again. Leaving the labyrinth, I looked for a place to stay for the night.
—————
I continued walking for some more time after that. Doing my best to dodge any large group of people I came across. There had already been more than enough excitement for the day. I was going to avoid any more by any means necessary.
I stumbled as I came across a sight I had not expected to see again so soon. A church. Sure, it looked abandoned, ugly, and left in a state unthinkable for a church erected in the theocracy I was born in, and yet, it was unmistakably a church.
If I was being honest with myself. This looked like the exact kind of place I had been looking for. There was only one thing that made me hesitate…it was a church. I did not have the best track record when it came to churches.
Unsure what exactly I should do next, I stood in front of the building in indecision for a good couple of minutes. Eventually I had to admit to myself the simple reality of my situation.
Beggars can't be choosers.
Just as I was about to approach the abandoned church, I heard soft steps resounding behind me and a gentle voice calling out.
"Ehh, who are you? Do you live here? I thought this place was abandoned!"
I turned around and was struck silent by the vision of beauty suddenly standing in front of me.
I was never one too conscious of people's physical appearance. I firmly believed that what people were like inside was more important than their exterior. However, be that as it may, even I had to acknowledge beauty when it was shoved into my face.
The woman that stood before me was physically perfect. No doubt about that. Raven hair framed a heart-shaped face from where blue eyes observed me with undisguised curiosity, shining like polished jewels. Her skin was unblemished, and her teeth were a shade so pearly white, I was sure this woman could not be a normal human.
She was short, barely reaching up to my chest, but that did not detract from her beauty at all. If I were being honest, it even added a sense of cuteness to it. Somehow that cuteness managed to make her outrageously revealing white dress look adorable instead of lewd.
Noticing that I was staring, I quickly spoke up.
"No. I don't live here. My name is Cain. Who are you?"
The beautiful woman seemed relieved to hear that she hadn't been squatting in somebody else's home and spoke up again. "I am Hestia. I just moved into this church recently, so I was wondering if perhaps somebody already lived here."
"Like the goddess Hestia?" I asked incredulously. Mentioning the name of a pagan goddess out loud would have been unthinkable in the theocracy. The reality of living in an entirely new world once again hit me.
She perked up excitedly. "Have you heard of me? I wonder where. Oh! Are you perhaps here to join my familia? Is that why you're really here?"
I…truly did not know what to say to that. Was the woman before me claiming godhood? And so shamelessly too?
The worst thing was that…I believed her. How could I not?
There was something about her that practically screamed that she was not just a mere human. Something beyond just her inhuman beauty. There was a natural weight to her existence that, when compared to her, would have made Indomitable look like a house cat in front of a tiger.
I shook my head in stunned disbelief at the baffling image my mind had conjured up and began to answer her rapid-fire questioning with a sincere smile.
"No, I was actually looking for somewhere to stay for the night and thought that this place would work out nicely. I see now that I was mistaken, so I will be taking my leave. It was nice meeting you, Goddess Hestia."
Seeing me about to leave, Hestia quickly spoke up again. "You don't have to go! The church has more than enough space for multiple people. And I will never turn away someone looking to find a home."
I looked at the goddess in front of me in disbelief. Did she really just offer to house a stranger? What if I were dangerous? I was almost sold into slavery just an hour ago, so I knew for a fact that Orario was not a crime-free city.
By the way that guy made it sound, people being sold into slavery apparently wasn't even particularly rare!
I quickly realized the foolishness of my thought process. Of course she would not be worried. No matter how unimpressive her height may be, this woman in front of me was a goddess.
I did not yet know what that meant exactly, but surely she could defend herself from harm if the worst came to pass.
Nodding deeply, I smiled at her. "I would love to share a home with you, Hestia." The goddess blushed slightly at my earnestness.
We both entered the church shortly after, and she led me down into its basement. The only room in the building that was semi-intact. As we walked inside, Hestia spoke up again.
"Since you're looking for a place to stay, does that mean you are new to Orario?"
"I am." I nodded. "I'm hoping to become an adventurer and…kill monsters." I stumbled a bit at that last part.
I was not yet sure how that whole killing monster business would work out exactly. Would I have to travel the lands in search of beasts to slay like a hero of legends?
That sounded somewhat inconvenient.
And what even was a Dungeon? The context in which it was utilized and the inflections the old adventurer used made me believe that his understanding of the word was somehow vastly different from mine.
Hestia turned around with hopeful eyes. "So you are looking for a Familia?"
"Well…yes. But to do that I need to first find a god-"
seeing the expectant, almost giddy look in her eyes, I finally realize the obvious. The man I spoke to before said that to be an adventurer, you needed a god's blessing and to join their Familia. There was a goddess right in front of me.
"Say goddess. Do you perhaps have a spot ope—"
Before I could finish my sentence, the small woman practically threw herself into my arms and let out an excited squeal. She hugged me tight, nearly crushing my torso with her deceptively strong arms.
"Yes! Of course I do! You can join my Familia!"
I crossed my hands behind her back and felt somewhat taken aback by her excitement.
It was true that the day had started off terribly, but it looked like things were finally beginning to look up for me.