Chapter 438. The Temple (1)
Alon Palatio observed the temple rising in the distance.
In the middle of a devastated world, a building made of red brick.
At first glance, it had the shape of a temple, but in essence, it was much closer to being ruins.
Reddish moss grew between the broken columns, and the same red grass sprouted from the cracked ground.
However, even if the exterior was like that, Alon could not afford to let his guard down so easily.
Because he felt it instinctively.
Something was inside that temple.
And the closer he got, the more that sensation turned into certainty.
"What we saw in the region, right?"
Alon examined the surroundings of the temple.
There were red eggs there.
Thousands upon thousands of elongated eggs, similar to ant eggs, extended endlessly from the distance.
An unsettling scene.
However, for those who knew the true nature of those red eggs, it was an unpleasant and repulsive landscape. Within that environment, Alon spoke calmly:
"Evan, Penia. From now on I will walk. You guys fall back."
"Are you going alone, Alon-nim!?"
"That looks too dangerous..."
The uneasiness in the scene was evident.
But Alon shook his head.
"I'll be fine. If it gets really dangerous, I'll escape immediately. So when I go down, fall back."
He emphasized once more and opened the carriage door.
Then—
"I will go too."
"...Yutia?"
"I don't want to let you go alone, Master."
Yutia held him by the arm.
"...It seems more dangerous than I thought."
"Even so."
Yutia smiled softly. But Alon, seeing a firm and youthful determination in that smile, thought for a moment and then:
"Very well... then let's get ready."
A moment later—
"Alon, come back safe and sound!"
[Kkyu~!]
After hearing the squeak of Blackie, who stayed next to Penia, and confirming that the carriage was moving away—
"Let's go."
"Yes, Master."
Alon and Yutia began to advance cautiously toward the temple.
The closer they got, the more the red eggs covered their entire field of vision.
"...There weren't supposed to be infested regions here."
Alon murmured, remembering what Evan had explained to him earlier, and Yutia replied walking by his side:
"I think they brought them."
"...Brought them?"
"Yes. There were eggs in the regions too, but not too many."
Alon nodded slowly.
The number of eggs they had seen in the regions was not enough to explain a massive transformation caused by the Divine Blood.
But at the same time, a doubt arose:
'Was there a need to gather them?'
According to what Alon knew, those red eggs were part of the process by which the Divine Blood turned humans into simple "tools." It robbed them of reason and reduced them to objects destined to generate faith.
If that was correct, it made no sense to transport those eggs there.
'...What is happening?'
Before they realized it, they had arrived in front of the temple.
Alon observed the structure with a hardened face.
The temple was full of red eggs attached everywhere, as if it had turned into a nest.
"...Let's go up."
"Yes, Master."
Carefully, Alon placed a foot on the reddish surface of the temple and began to form seals with his fingers inside his pocket.
He already felt it.
From inside the temple, the energy of a divine form clearly emanated.
That is why he advanced prepared to react at any moment, holding the seal as he went inside.
They walked in silence through the reddish blackness for a good while—
Until finally Alon and Yutia arrived at the center of the temple, where the ceiling opened up to the sky. There, the first thing Alon saw was a gigantic sphere.
A huge red sphere, so colossal that it seemed to contain within itself all the energy of the world.
And in front of that sphere... Alon saw a human being levitating in the middle of the temple.
—No. That wasn't a human.
Alon corrected his thought.
That was not human.
His figure from behind resembled a man.
Unlike the grotesque Divine Bloods he had seen until then, his appearance was surprisingly human.
But Alon identified him instantly.
It was a Divine Blood.
And furthermore—
The possessor of a power superior to any other he had encountered.
And just when he understood that—
"Hm?"
The being that had been absorbing the great red sphere in silence turned his head.
His frontal appearance, just like his back, was almost human.
Almost.
But evidently different.
On the left side of his face—
"What the hell...?"
—two additional red eyes moved repulsively.
And when those eyes fixed on Alon—
"...Oh?"
A slight sound of surprise escaped the Divine Blood's mouth.
As if the situation seemed incredible to him, he moved one of his eyes —and then the three on the other side— looking at Alon and Yutia.
"My, this is curious."
He murmured with evident enjoyment.
"The Star Eater really came, didn't he? It's as if—"
A twisted smile appeared on his lips.
"—you came so I can kill you comfortably."
The speed at which rumors circulated among the Divine Bloods varied enormously.
Among them, conflicts were complex and numerous. The groups that had fallen to the world were divided into factions highly hostile to one another.
From the four most powerful groups—
To those who formed communities with individual goals.
To others who remained hidden without belonging to any faction.
In that chaos, rumors could spread fast... or not spread at all.
The rumor about the Star Eater, capable of absorbing and distributing abilities, had not spread too much yet.
Instead, there was an event that spread with terrifying speed.
The event in question:
The Father of Maggots —the right hand of the Rotten Mouth— had been unilaterally killed by other Divine Bloods.
That fact, which involved the leader of a group belonging to the First Circle, spread immediately.
And the rumor reached the ears of the Burning Tree, who resided in the Allied United Kingdoms, without difficulty.
[Hm... this is not good.]
The Divine Bloods around him nodded.
His words contained many meanings.
The first: merit.
Until now, the Burning Tree had accumulated the trust of the Star Roots by constantly presenting himself, defending the Allied United Kingdoms, and demonstrating loyalty.
But what Darkness-Eating Sword and the late subordinates of the Star Roots did clearly exceeded that merit.
Eliminating enemies infinitely was one thing.
Eliminating the cause so that they stopped coming... was something much greater.
The difference was obvious.
[Tch! Damned latecomers!]
[They tried to steal our merit!]
[Tried no. They did it! And now we are left behind!]
The Divine Bloods burned with indignation around the Burning Tree.
And with good reason.
Everyone had perfectly seen Darkness-Eating Sword's intention.
[They don't have a shred of ethics.]
[I agree. Tch. To do such a thing...]
[But now it's worse. Without the Father of Maggots, they will come for revenge.]
Burning Tree nodded.
The second problem was much more serious:
The possibility of open war had increased.
The Divine Bloods had never touched the Father of Maggots for several reasons:
First: his power. He was capable of even facing several Divine Bloods without flinching.
Second: he had the favor of the Rotten Mouth.
Third: his death would provoke an inevitable war.
Darkness-Eating Sword, although he eliminated a threat, also unleashed that conflict.
That is why everyone was worried, until—
[...Khom.]
After a long thoughtful silence, Burning Tree cleared his throat.
All the Divine Bloods turned their gaze toward him.
When he made sure he had their attention, he spoke slowly.
[If I think about it... this could be an opportunity.]
Voices erupted immediately.
[How the hell is this going to be an opportunity? Darkness-Eating Sword took the merit and we were harmed!]
Burning Tree, maintaining his calm, continued:
[What's done is done. Darkness-Eating Sword and the latecomers eliminated the Father of Maggots.]
[Then it's already over.]
[No... it's not over.]
[What do you mean?]
[There is still the next part.]
[...The next?]
At the confusion, Burning Tree nodded.
[The Divine Bloods will come here now.]
[And you think stopping them will generate merit? It might be, but in the long run we will lose... it is almost a fact.]
A reasonable doubt.
But Burning Tree smiled serenely.
[If it were just stopping them, yes. It would be the same.]
[Then?]
[But... what if instead of simply rejecting those who come... we recruit them for our faction and increase our power?]
That fell like a thunderbolt.
[...]
Several Divine Bloods opened their eyes wide.
[Then this would be a great opportunity. An incredible opportunity... to demonstrate our merit before Him.]
The Burning Tree's eyes shone as he smiled.
