Chapter 179: The Goals of the Church of Danterno.

Chapter 179: The Goals of the Church of Danterno.

Crimson Saintess?

Those blessed by the gods and chosen for a task were usually called either champions or saints. Champions would be responsible for handling Divine Quests for their patron god, similar to how Aurena tasked me to restructure her church, while saints were like preachers, delivering the words of their gods to people around them.

Saints were pretty much like preachers, there to lead causes for the followers of their church or to demonstrate the teachings of the church. Theodore mentioned Aurenas saints would travel the land or stay inside one church or temple to heal wounds and soothe souls, aiming to convey the benevolence of the Goddess of Light. They were the mortal representatives of their gods ideal.

So, what exactly does a saint of the God of Fire, Danterno, convey?

Why are you calling me the Crimson Saintess? I asked Keith, baffled when he called me that.

The only time when anybody called me Crimson Saintess was when I was still living in Carine Village, and that was cause I was acting as an impromptu priestess for a whole month. I gave out sermons, [Prayers]s, and also healed anybody in need pro bono, well, until Ellaine called me out for it.

Keiths eyes widened as I said that, making me nervous that he would become hostile, but it was unwarranted. Oh no, Saintess, do our Gods words not reach you either? Ahh, our faith has declined that much. All our efforts to spread our God's power and words to better people, to purify them from sins and weakness like no other Origin God could. All for nothing, as the witch that is Plesia dares to weaken an opposing Origin God. Oh woe-

As Keith continued his overdramatic preaching, Talon suddenly grabbed my arm, unperturbed by my robe of fire heating up his arm. I turned those flames momentarily into white flames, so it shouldnt hurt him, but it seems he couldnt stop shaking as if he was in pain.

His glare was piercing, as if he couldnt believe what I just did. What the hell is the-

[I TOLD you to TRUST me.]

Guck! Argh! Recoiling backwards, Talon let go of my arm to hold his head, pain distorting his anger-filled face.

While he was huffing loudly, I continued talking to him through telepathy. [Just trust me, Talon. Like I warned you, this would be surprising, but still, just trust me on this. If you have an issue with that, then fine, but its not like you can do anything right now. Just remember this to calm yourself; I am 100% a priestess of the Goddess Aurena, and I am 100% not a fan of Shiterno or his followers.]

[Telepathy] wasnt just a communication ability but it also served as a method to inflict a mental attack. The wargs and garms from Belzac used shouts and weird sounds to discombobulate you, leading into a finishing blow or just to weaken your focus. Talon making a fuss now was expected, so having my parallel minds ready the moment it happened made the process quick and painless for me.

-oh, but our faith and growth have always been weak. I couldnt hear what Kieth just said with Talon distracting me, but I continued listening now, wanting to learn what happened to Shiterno. However, we are blessed that the pantheon itself hasnt been restricted, Lady Saintess. We have heard from Jistrum and the other Gods of Fire that God Danterno has blessed and appointed a new saint to lead our faith. Blessed with new flames, I was informed that we should seek them out. Close. Find. New flame. Crimson Saint- was all I could hear before a terrible headache stopped me. Oooh, so short was the message, meaning my faith and power werent enough!

So I got that nickname from Shiternos subordinates.

Aurena did mention when she sent that divine message that she couldnt fit everything she wanted to say in, otherwise my brain would explode. Probably literally. She managed to send me a pretty long one due to connection to her through [The Light], but this guy should just be a normal fire magic practitioner. Although, I do wonder how strong a Subordinate God is compared to an Origin God.

He continued, There was so little information for us to work with! However, I knew of this dungeon! Just like us, the saint must be drawn to the powerful fire coursing through the veins of this dungeon. I knew I had to bring my disciples here to welcome the new saint, to aid them in their travels, and to create a place fit for training and to enact our faiths teachings. Ahh, how could I have known it would be a saintess?! Ah, for that, I apologize, Lady Saintess. It is an honor to finally meet someone so auspicious!

It seemed he hadn't seen me in this form when I saved Grimnir from that Slazzigula. As I could see that Ellaine and the students were confused at what was happening, I had my parallel minds inform them of my intentions.

Ignoring the location of his disciples for now, I directly went into the meat of this matter. Yes, a great honor, I guess. Anyway, I didnt receive any information on God Danterno after he gave me my blessing. I am vastly ignorant of the current state of the mighty God of Fire. So, I ask you, Mister Keith, what has God Danternos Subordinate Gods told you.

Of course, Lady Saintess, it is my role to do so. However, excuse me for my suspicion, but, would it be possible to see these new flames foretold in the divine message? I ask you, please, bless me with this learning opportunity! Shrugging, I consented and produced a white and purple flame on each hand with the snap of my fingers. Overly excited at what he is seeing, Keith bellowed out his elation, watching the flickering flame like art. Beautiful! Such colors. It is kept alive with mana but, even then, the beauty of these flames is entrancing. Oooh, what form and movements would it make if we were to burn something down with it?

Burn? Burn?! Is that honestly all this idiot can think of how to use them?

Lady Saintess would it possible to lear-

Hold on, were your first thoughts honestly how to use these two flames to burn things? I asked incredulously, extinguishing the flame immediately to stop him from staring at them like a fanboy.

Why, no! Of course, not! he said, calming me down a bit. My first thought was how beautiful they were as they flickered in the air! My second thought was how magnificent they will appear if used to purify the land of the tainted and sick! The homes of the corrupt and sinners!

Well, okaaaaaay. U-Uhm, maybe he worded that a bit too dramatically. Maybe-

And the lives of the infidels worshipping the water witch! The grand deceiver of the Origin Gods! For giving them her prayers, they are responsible for violating our Gods divine rights! In ashes they shall repent! By fire, they will be purified! May Jistrum and the whole fire pantheon grow in strength with our offerings!

Okay, forget it, this guy is a complete lunatic! A complete fucking psycho!The initial posting of this chapter occurred via Ñøv€l-B!n.

Shut up!

Argh, scheie, I know how you feel but-

However, it wasnt Talon who shouted but one of the students. In fact, none of the five looked even remotely fine with what was said.

Youre just another bunch of selfish fanatics! Kazumi, the most energetic of the group, shouted loudly as she pointed her dagger at Keith. Youre just like every other self-absorbed asshole, trying to justify your actions using somebody else! You dont know anything about your damn gods, and youre trying to cause trouble to the people following them? Ive had enough of this! Sorry, Hestia-chan, but this asshole is a bombshell ready to explode inside some village, killing the people inside, and leaving only tears and ashes behind!

Kohaku pulled out her sword, her water rune activated with a simple touch of her fingers. And well be the ones to have to fix things again, ordered by those condescending priests to do their jobs while they reap the rewards after we leave to fix another problem. Whether its some minor deity or one of the major gods, its just trouble after trouble since we got here.

I agree, lets unroot the problem now, Misaki agreed, unsheathing her bow and nocking an arrow on it in one quick motion. We have enough issues we need to deal with already. Bandit raids, monster infestations, a random cult looking for blood offerings. What's another Danterno cultist preaching his crazed teachings? Tama-chan. Nishio-kun. Your orders?

Scheie! I did not expect them to be this bloodthirsty. I havent even gotten all the information ou-

Feeble followers of the Church of Aurena! I see your Aurena amulets! Keith pointed out the amulets the students were wearing, all to share their allegiance towards Aurenas church, not Aurena herself. They could have taken them off here, but they gave good buffs so it would have been a waste not to.

Keith then spread his arms out, looking even more like a preacher as seconds passed. Ooooh, you call me, a Danterno faithful, selfish but you do not reflect on yourselves? The Church of Aurena only respects those with money and influence, leaving the common priests and priestesses to scrounge for themselves! Regardless of your faith or talents, without a way to appeal to the high-ranking clergymen, a white-robe commoner can never learn their Goddess higher magics! They seek silver and gold for their healing, corrupted by the notion of material goods. They determine for themselves the true religious order of us humans, vying for a kingdoms and countrys control!

You burn people you consider sinners on stakes without even presenting a fair trial or judgement, Nishio countered, glaring intently at Keith in preparation to fight. The Church of Aurena might be flawed, but at least some seek to heal and mend, while your church seems to only want to destroy. If you see a sick man, you purify them in flames. I didnt want to generalize, since you fanatics honestly believe you have good intentions, but you are just as mad as the one we met before.

Of course our intentions are pure! We are not blinded by physical, perishable concepts! In the beautiful fire of Danterno, fire consumes fire. From trials and tribulations, you shall grow stronger. In flames, your sins and weakness shall be purified, and the person that survives will be granted strength. Weakness is created through stagnation, the lack of progress. Why keep a single old tree in a lone land that never changes, when burning it down to create more life would be better? That is Danternos wise teachings. From the ashes, growth will be created for the survivors to reap. Isnt that right, Talon? Havent you grown far stronger than you used to be?

True, Talon murmured, holding his head down.

Yes! Your trials have made you wiser, more confident! When your old, crumbling world was destroyed, you were set free from your cage. Your family was set free from this cruel world and must have been granted a spot in the pantheon, to garner strength for their reincarnation. In their ashes, you have risen, Talon! You have found your worth in this world! It is irrelevant if you are a follower of Marsven, my old friend. If you wish to change the world, then come, join me. Help me release God Danterno from his prison!

Without another word, Talon moved silently towards the overjoyed Keith. Talon? I called out for him with eyes widened, but he ignored me.

Yes, my friend! Hear me, Crimson Saintess Jistrum, God of War and Carnage, has sent me a divine message! Our fiery God, Danterno, was imprisoned by the witch Plesia, stripped of his almighty power and wisdom for granting us, his followers, knowledge on how to better the world! The Goddess of Deceit, yes, Plesia must pay! Keith finally spouted what I desperately wanted to hear. Talon, our meeting must be fate! You have delivered the Crimson Saintess to us, the one the gods have spoken about. The one with flames given to her by our fiery God himself, to aid and teach us lowly practitioners the new power. We shall support her as she leads our faith into a golden age, charging forwards to depose the Goddess of Deceit and to change the world for a better for us fire mages. Talon, joi-

FUCKING SHUT UP! Talon exploded in rage, shouting so loud it caused me goosebumps. Charging towards Keith, the scarred man grabbed the fire priests coat and pulled him up, glaring daggers at him with unleashed fury. You dare speak about my family like that?! You gave me that dysfunctional custom spell, you fucking madman! You gave me a spell to kill myself, thinking I would be thankful to you?! This! THIS! Look at THIS! YOU DID THIS TO ME!

Talon landed a right hook on Keiths face, sending him crashing onto the ground as the latter began to spit out blood. Talon stood before the pyromaniac, throwing away the robe he was wearing, unveiling the horrendous burn scars riddled on the right side of his entire body. You did this to me! It was so bad that only a priest with [Major Heal] could heal me. Even then, I had to live with constant pain to the point I needed to learn runic tattoos just to deaden the pain and have some relief! You BASTARD!

Without any mercy, Talon stomped on Kieths stomach, kicked him in the head, then furiously unleashed punches onto the grounded Keith like a boxer. Talons soft, mage hands were unused to the constant physical trauma, the skin on his knuckles splitting apart, bleeding profusely as Talon continued wailing on his old friend. Keith bloated up from the injuries he was sustaining, deforming into a monstrosity.

Talon only stopped when he groaned in pain, falling onto his back as he clutched his hands. The adrenaline might have stopped the pain from reaching his head initially, but it seems like he reached his limit. From the constant attacks, it seemed Talon broke the bones in his hands.

While the students kept their guard up, I rushed forward and began healing Talon. Tears flowed only from his left eye while his right glared at the wheezing Keith with unrestrained anger. Keith then pulled out a potion from under his robe, drank it, and the wounds on his face began to disappear, though not all of them.

Hopefully that is enough to satisfy you, my old friend. For not helping you, I deserved that, Keith stated, looking earnest.

Fuck you. Once his hands were healed, Talon pulled himself up and unveiled the ritual dagger from its sheath. You never warned me about that spell. If you had, I wouldnt have even tried casting it.

Ah, that spell It was my first attempt at a mighty custom spell. It was powerful, no? Hahaha it seems I have made another mistake in my road to appease my god, to bring the Church of Danterno out of the miserable, declining state it is currently in. Only in death can you forgive me? Kieth looked at his old friend, almost as if he was asking for forgiveness in this whole matter.

Talon pointed the dagger at Keith, pushing the symbol of Goddess of Water ever closer to his eyes, No. My revenge wont stop with only your death. A ritual knife to gut fish to offer to Plesia. I will make sure your soul will reach her first before Ilsaphone. Your death and embarrassment only then will I feel fulfilled!

As Talon lunged forward with the knife, [Foresight] warned me of something Keith was hiding under his hand. Without thinking about it, I stepped forward, grabbed Talon around his waist, and pulled him to the side with me. Not a second too soon, as a magic circle emerging from Keiths hand almost incinerated Talon with a large explosion.

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Wednesday, June 30, 2021 12:46:58 AM Germany [Member of Zard Skwad]

Bio: Hey there, AbyssRaven here. I'm just an avid Light Novel and Fantasy story reader who randomly thought of a story and began writing about it.

I eventually found out that I've been spending a bit too much time with building, planning, and researching for the story, that I've decided to just share it with others.

Writing is mostly a hobby for me, but I would still love any kind of criticism to improve on it.

I'm also german, so please excuse anything that sounds a bit weird...I wouldn't mind you pointing it out though.

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