Orario.
Griselda and I were walking around the city, and while the nun was admiring the local architecture and various fantasy-like sights, I was curiously exploring the surrounding atmosphere.
They were the same gods, members of their Familias, and other mortals connected in one way or another with the city's activities. But if you looked closely, the glances that ordinary residents cast at both the gods and their servants contained doubt, suspicion, and even condemnation.
Moreover, I constantly noticed weapons that I had created last time with the help of 1st magic. Sometimes they lay in plain sight, well maintained, sometimes they glistened in the sunlight of their windows, but most of them were carried around by ordinary people.
I am sure that the vast majority of them could not offer even the slightest resistance to an experienced adventurer, but that was not the point; it was the symbolism that mattered. And it worked.
Every god and his Familia that I saw either looked back, clashed, or ignored such glances, but the tension in their bodies and eyes betrayed genuine fear. A peculiar atmosphere of alienation from this place hovered around them, as well as not particularly hidden hostility from ordinary people.
And, summarizing all this, an entire ecosystem was created, which was saturated with new emotions every moment. Emotions that fed the Beast. That is, it was really an ideal feeding ground for her. Heh.
After a while, we arrived at the Prayer Room, where Ouranos was still sitting on his throne. His appearance hadn't changed, but his expression betrayed a certain degree of discontent and thoughtfulness. However, as soon as he saw me, he immediately brightened up, for obvious reasons, I suppose.
- "I didn't expect to see you here again," Ouranos began, shifting his gaze from me to Griselda. "And with a new face, too."
- "I didn't expect it either," I shrugged. "But one vampire decided everything for us."
- "Good afternoon," Griselda greeted him, then whispered to me. "Who is that, Mr. Archaman?"
- "Hm? Oh, yes. I haven't told you anything about this world," I raised an eyebrow, then made a silly face. "This is Ouranos."
There was a pause, because Griselda wanted a more detailed answer, but she got nothing more.
- "Is that all?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
- "Do you need anything else?"
- "You're unbearable," Griselda declared, to which I simply made some coffee and took a sip.
- "So you're not from here, miss," Ouranos said, and she nodded briefly. "I find that strange, because I sense the aura of Yahweh in you, familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. I suppose some details in different worlds are similar, right, Romani?"
- "Yeah," I replied, while Griselda tensed up a little at Ouranos' words. "Anyway, let's get down to business. What has changed since we left, apart from the numerous glances in my direction?"
- "One of the three Great Quests is sleeping on your neck, whose aura is still as strong as ever, despite its size. Isn't that obvious?" he began with a slight sneer, as if talking to a moron, which made me raise an eyebrow. "Sit down, Romani. This will take a while."
-0-
Some time later.
Ouranos finished his story in about an hour, after which he began to explain the fundamental principles of this world to Griselda. At the same time, I analyzed his words, sitting at the table I had created and sipping coffee, although I had figured out most of the information myself.
So, what do we have?
Ordinary people now felt extreme distrust of both the gods and those who supported them in one way or another. Of course, this was not true of all ordinary people, but it was true of the overwhelming majority, which is why the atmosphere in the city had changed.
The weapons I had created at that time with the help of 1st magic were not really used for their intended purpose, but were demonstratively kept in plain sight or carried around, as if to express a sign of protest.
This was done for the simple reason that, in the event of a fight, ordinary people simply could not fight back against members of the Familias who had Falna. And, it would seem, why not solve everything by force, but there was a "tiny" nuance.
As soon as any of the Familia members showed their fangs, ordinary people would almost instantly gather in crowds, drawing their weapons and preparing to use them. At this point, either the gods of the Familias, other Familias, or Guild employees would usually arrive to resolve the conflict without bloodshed, because what would happen if they didn't? The city would instantly become very 'red'.
Ouranos also mentioned that several gods and their Familias had either already left the city to avoid being part of all this, or were planning to do so. This applied to those who feared for the lives of their Familias and were willing to sacrifice the advantages that the Dungeon provided. What about the rest?
Such Familias were torn between their sense of duty to protect the weak, even if those very weak ones were not particularly friendly towards them, and their arrogance due to their power and the fear they inspired.
To sum up, the city was totally fragmented, where human emotions never ceased to gain strength in a situation of constant suspicion, vanity, apprehension, and fear. In other words, this place was REALLY the perfect feeding ground for the Beast, giving it the opportunity to become a full-fledged Beast VI/S.
- "I understand," I said, sorting through the information in my brain, by the time Griselda had finished listening to Ouranos. "But you haven't said anything about the Dungeon."
- "Are you interested in something specific?" he asked after a short pause.
- "Yes," I nodded. "How is it behaving now? I'm sure there have been some changes since Tia left something there."
As soon as I finished, Ouranos froze for a moment, then smiled.
- "So that was the reason," he began.
- "I suppose since she's not with you now, I'm unlikely to see her again, so could you please convey my gratitude to her?"
- "Gratitude?" I raised an eyebrow.
- "Yes," Ouranos nodded. "Whatever she did, thanks to her, the Dungeon is no longer trying to break out. Finding this strange, I sent Fels there, and the information he brought back was very interesting. "
- "Oh?" I asked with interest. "And what did he bring back?"
- "The monsters are not leaving their floors, and the number of xenos being born has increased significantly," Ouranos replied. "The latter fact is not yet known to anyone, but what about the former? This information further spurred mortals in their attempts to distance themselves from the gods, because if the monsters did not leave the Underground, then there was no particular point in the Familias."
- "Well, that makes sense," I shrugged. "In that case, we're leaving. I want to visit a couple more people."
- "Of course," Ouranos nodded, but as I turned to leave the Prayer Room, Griselda suddenly spoke up.
- "Lord Ouranos, I have a question."
- "I'm listening."
- "You said you felt His aura, right? If so, do you know where He is now?"
- "He is still in Heaven, which is why I found it strange to sense His aura here in the Lower World," Ouranos replied, a look of nostalgia appearing in his eyes. "Yahweh is perhaps one of the few whom I still deeply respect. After all, he believed, and I am sure still believes, that the descent of the gods into the Lower World is a mistake. In his opinion, mortals should not emulate the gods, just as the gods should not emulate mortals, since both paths lead to downfall. And I completely agree with that."
I smiled, as these epithets were somewhat similar to those I had heard before.
- "However, our words were ignored, and the process was still initiated by Evilus. I understood that without control, everything would become chaotic, so I created the Guild to minimize the damage. Yahweh also understood this and therefore took part, albeit indirectly, because he was the one who designed the Tower of Babel."
At that moment, my smile froze, because SUCH details sounded extremely strange.
- "Since he was a Great God, like me, few could challenge his actions, and so the tower was built exactly as he wanted. The same applied to the name. However, even now I do not understand the true function of this structure, because, knowing it quite well, I cannot believe that Yahweh took such an initiative just like that."
NOW I had a whole bunch of questions, the answers to which I could only get from the local Biblical God. And, considering that even I couldn't see any catch in the Tower of Babel, the number of questions doubled. However, given the current circumstances, one assumption suggested itself...
Did this Biblical God know that Zelretch would DEFINITELY intervene in the course of events in this world, and that later someone like the Beast would DEFINITELY appear here?
-0-
A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.
My P.a.t.r.e.o.n: P.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m/mirzael
You'll be able to read more chapters there.