The sheer volume of Faith was staggering. It felt like I could reach out and reshape the mountains if I wanted to. I looked at Arkael, and even the Demon King looked stunned. He was leaning against his sword, staring at the glowing, crying crowd as if he were seeing a new species for the first time.
"You've done it, Manager," Arkael muttered, his voice barely audible over the chanting of the crowd. "You've turned hunger into a religion. In the Abyss, we fight for a scrap of soul. Here... they give you their entire lives for a piece of bread."
"It's not just the bread, Arkael," I said, feeling the immense power of the 500% Faith pool. "It's the promise that they matter. It's the 'Safe State' we talked about."
The Inquisitor General stopped his horse exactly at the edge of the silver veil. He looked at the shimmering dome with a look of pure disgust. He raised a heavy, gold-bound book into the air, and a pulse of white light struck the barrier. BOOM.
The "Song of the Silent Woods" wavered. The melody turned into a dissonant screech for a second before stabilizing.
"Luminara!" Malphas's voice was like a trumpet of judgment. "You are charged with the crime of Unlicensed Divinity! You have seduced the hearts of the King's subjects with dark magic bread and false promises! Reveal yourself and submit to the Purification, or we shall burn this forest until only the truth remains!"
The villagers shrieked. Some of them began to pray to the Sun, their auras flickering back into "Grey" fear.
"The 'Market Competition' has arrived earlier than expected," I whispered to Arkael.
"Shall I go out and collect his head?" Arkael asked, his hand gripping the hilt of his black blade so hard the leather groaned. "His light annoys me. It smells of arrogance."
"No," I said, a cold, calculative smile crossing my face. I had 500% Faith. I was a Level 5 Deity now. "He thinks he's the only one with a 'Holy Light.' Let's show him what happens when a Manager has a bigger budget."
I stepped off the platform and walked toward the gate, the silver-white roots of the Willow Throne retreating into the earth behind me. As I reached the edge of the barrier, I didn't look like a scared orphan-keeper. I looked like the very concept of the Divine.
"General Malphas!" I called out, my voice shimmering with a power that made the Paladins' horses rear back in terror. "You speak of 'Unlicensed Divinity.' But tell me... does the sun ask for a license to shine? Does the rain ask for permission to fall on the thirsty?"
I raised my hand, and the 500% Faith pool began to drain into a single, massive manifestation.
"You bring a book of laws. I bring the reality of life. If your 'Sun' is so great, why are your people starving? Why do they seek shelter in my mist?"
I didn't wait for his answer. I triggered the Blessing of the Harvest on a massive scale. In an instant, the area outside the barrier—the dead, muddy road where the Inquisitors stood—erupted into life. Flowers bloomed under the horses' hooves.
As the afternoon turned into evening, the gathering became a festival. The villagers didn't want to leave. They started to set up camp at the edges of the yard, sharing stories and singing songs that hadn't been heard in the valley for years.
The "Ugly, Greasy Red" auras I had seen in the village days ago were gone, replaced by a sea of Soft Gold and Steady Blue.I stayed on the throne, receiving the villagers one by one.
I didn't perform grand miracles for everyone; sometimes, a simple "Blessing" from the system—which cost me almost nothing now—was enough to fix a twisted ankle or clear a cough. Each small act created a feedback loop of more Faith.
However, I knew that a sudden rise in power always attracted "Competitors." In the business world, a successful startup is immediately targeted by the big corporations. In this world, the big corporation was the Church of the Eternal Sun.
"Manager," Arkael said, his voice dropping into a lethal, low register. He was looking toward the northern edge of the barrier. "The scouts from earlier... they've returned. And they didn't come alone this time."
I adjusted my vision. Through the silver mist, I saw a column of light approaching from the forest. It wasn't the warm light of my barrier; it was a cold, harsh, blinding white. It was the light of "Purification."
At the head of the column was a man riding a white horse. He wore golden plate armor and a cape of crimson silk. Behind him were twelve "Paladins," their shields emblazoned with the symbol of a sun being strangled by a fist.
The Inquisitor General: Malphas.
"Everyone, stay calm!" I shouted, standing up from my throne. My voice rippled through the yard, instantly silencing the singing villagers. "The Church has come to visit our sanctuary. Elena, Toby—get the children behind the Hearth. Arkael, stand at the gate. Do not draw your sword unless the mist is breached."
The crowd of villagers began to murmur in fear. To them, the Inquisitors were the hand of God—and the hand of God usually carried a torch for "heretics."
Dead trees suddenly sprouted green leaves and heavy fruit. The harsh, cold light of the Inquisitors was drowned out by a warm, life-giving radiance that came from the earth itself.
The Paladins looked down in shock as their armor was covered in flowering vines. The villagers inside the gate cheered, their faith surging to even higher levels as they saw their Goddess "attack" with life instead of death.
Malphas's face turned from red to a deathly, chalky white. He looked at the fruit growing on the dead branches, then at the glowing woman standing behind the silver veil. He knew he couldn't attack now. If he struck down a "Goddess" who was currently making the earth bloom, the villagers would tear him apart with their bare hands.
"This is not over," Malphas hissed, struggling to keep his horse under control as the vines tangled in its legs. "The Church does not tolerate rivals. You may have the hearts of these peasants, but the King has the steel. We will return with the Holy Fire."
He turned his horse and retreated, his "Purification" light looking small and pathetic against the vibrant green forest he left behind.