LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 1085: Two Choices.
Chapter 1085: Two Choices.
Earth, North America Continent Somewhere in Former Canada, Temple of The Blood God.
In the center of the city, the Temple of The Gods stood out for its robust and elegant structure. The white marble walls caught the sunlight, illuminating the path that led to the temple. A series of steps led to the portico, supported by Corinthian columns that lined up towards a detailed frieze with images of one of The Emperor's 'Divine Battles! Inside, the bronze doors opened onto a vast space. The floor was covered in mosaics depicting battles and mythological events, while statues of Deities were arranged in niches along the walls. Each statue showed unique characteristics, capturing the essence of each 'official' Dragon Goddess that was part of the Pantheon.
After all, some Dragon Goddesses were not there because they did not want to be worshiped or because they did not make public appearances. Women such as Bruna, Kaguya, Eve, Roberta, Maria, and Maya were not present here, as were many others who did not make 'public' appearances.
It was estimated that not even the temple knew how many Dragon Gods there were. Because of this, when a Dragon Goddess appeared, she was immediately registered as part of the Dragon Nest Pantheon. Usually, when this happened, one of the Bishops of the Religion would come with basic information about this particular Goddess and what kind of Domain she represented.
Although these Goddesses were important, they were not as important as The Emperor himself for the faithful. They came here in search of The Emperor's teachings. After all, he was the God-King who created all the other Gods in his Pantheon.
If you asked the faithful which God they worshiped the most, 10 out of 9 would point to the image of The Emperor.
And that was all well and good since it meant that The Empire's efforts were coming to fruition, and the more people believed in the Emperor's Divine Grace, the better it would be.
In the heart of the temple, there was a golden altar where the faithful left offerings of fruits and grains. Incense burned softly, perfuming the air. The open ceiling over the altar allowed natural light to shine into this central area, creating a focal point for the ceremonies.
Suddenly, a portal opened on the altar where the highest-ranking Bishops usually stood, and a woman stepped out with two other women who had their faces covered.
"Y-Your Holiness." One of the faithful gasped as he saw the face of the Supreme Authority of The Blood God Religion, the woman closest to The Emperor, and who had been trained by him, the Leader of the Religion, High Priestess Valeria Alekerth. A small wave of murmuring began to spread before these murmurs turned into low-voiced conversations, and soon everyone present was talking.
"Is that the Priestess? The woman closest to God?"
"This is the first time I've seen her in person."
"She's so beautiful."
Ignoring the murmurs, Valeria looked at the women who were approaching with dresses that looked like an alternative version of nun dresses.
The dress was tighter, highlighting the women's bodies. The dress was not too big, but not too small either, and was just big enough to not obstruct their movements. After all, they weren't just nuns, they were the temple guards too.
On their shoulders was the image of a Dragon's head, and all of them were wearing a hood to hide their identity. Obviously, the clothes they were wearing were not normal, and although they were not as special as The Empire's armor, they were still dresses made by a Rune Master.
They were battle nuns, Sisters who protected the temple, and the other sisters. And, if necessary, they also performed missions for the highest authorities of the Religion of The Blood God. Their levels varied, but without exception, all of them could fight a mature Vampire, some even being capable of fighting and defeating some Elder Vampires in training. Together, they could even defeat a Low-Level God.
The Religion of The Blood God followed the dogma of The Emperor. They did not promote mediocrity, and those who reached the combat positions were, without exception, all excellent. And to exercise such a vital function, all were Blessed not only by Aphrodite but also by Scathach and Nyx.
The reason they wore hoods was to protect their identities. After all, it was a dangerous job, and someone could always want 'revenge', although the fool who did so would have a one-way ticket to Hell. Attacking a Battle Sister was the same as declaring War on the entire Religion of the Blood God.
And if there was one thing the Religion of The Blood God was not afraid of... It was going to War.
"Your Holiness." The ten Battle Sisters who approached immediately knelt in front of Valeria.
"Pass on my orders, Sisters." When Valeria began to speak, the entire hall immediately fell silent. Her presence commanded respect, and her words carried an immeasurable weight to these 'normal' people. Her words echoed throughout the temple. Even if she wasn't shouting, everyone could hear her clearly.
"The promised day has arrived. I want everyone moving towards the goal. By dawn, everything must be in the Emperor's hands." Valeria ordered.
For a few seconds, the Battle Sisters did not register what she had said, but when their minds processed the information, their faces immediately lit with happiness and
anticipation.
Slowly, smiles began to appear on the Battle Sisters present here, and they
immediately stood up and began giving orders.
"The temple is closed!"
"Visitors must kindly leave!"
"Sisters spread the word. The promised day has arrived! I repeat the promised day has
arrived!"
Valeria's words were not only heard in this specific temple, but were also heard in all the temples scattered across the Earth.
As a united force, in less than 5 minutes, all the forces of The Blood God Religion were moving towards their goal.
The Battle Sisters immediately joined forces with the Bishops, formed a squad, and
began to act.
Their plan? There was no plan.
The promised day meant one thing. At dawn, everything will be in the hands of The Emperor, and they must eliminate all the important figures of the Pagan Gods who
refused to 'ally' with The Emperor.
Immediately, a squad of a thousand Battle Sisters was present in front of Valeria.
Slamming her Staff on the ground with a bang, Valeria raised her left hand as she spoke with a voice that resonated not only to these thousand Battle Sisters but to all the temples and Battle Sisters spread across the planet: "Sisters! The promised day has come! Today, we stain ourselves with blood so that tomorrow, our descendants will not have to. Today, we will eliminate the sins of this world. Today, we bring the grace of The Emperor to these Pagan Gods! Take care of your Sisters, sharpen your weapons, trust your instincts, and kill all enemies! "Today, we offer our blood and the blood of our enemies to The Blood God!"
"Blood for The Blood God!"
"Blood for The Blood God!"
"Blood for The Blood God!"
"Blood for The Blood God!"
With a bloodthirsty smile on her face, Valeria shouted as she swung her Staff:
"For the Emperor!"
Immediately, everyone present here was covered by a Dark Aura with violet hues, and not just the Sisters present here but all the Sisters of Battle and the Bishops of the planet received this Power. After all, they were all connected to the Supreme Priestess.
"For the Emperor!"
"For the Emperor!"
"For the Emperor!"
These words resounded throughout the entire planet.
European continent, somewhere near England.
"W-What!? What are you-"
"АННННН!"
"Don't let anyone escape. All those of high rank, who are linked to the Pagan Gods,
must die!" A woman with wolf ears and a wolf tail ordered.
"You lunatic whores-"A Battle Sister appeared behind the man and pierced his chest.
In an attempt to fight for his life, the man grabbed the woman's hood tightly, but that didn't stop the woman's hand from grabbing a dagger and cutting off the man's head.
"Disgusting heathens." The woman spat, now showing her face. She clearly had a non-Human appearance, with cars that looked like fish fins, her neck was covered in blue scales, and her hair was an unnatural blue; she was a Mermaid.
"Sister, your hood. The werewolf woman spoke. "Yes," She quickly covered her face.
One thing in common with all Blood God worshipers across the world was that their
members were not entirely composed of Humans. They were composed of all Races, even nearly extinct. Races that saw religion as a form of protection like this Mermaid.
"Archbishop, everyone is dead."
"Good, let's move on to the next targets!"
"For the Emperor!"
"For the Emperor!"
Scenes like these were spread across all areas of the globe, regardless of whether the
territory belonged to a different Pantheon or not.
All those who were not allies of the Emperor were targets, meaning that the territory
of the Hindu Pantheon was no different.
Shiva Temple.
"And that's what's happening...
"Thank you, you may leave."
"Yes!"
"Kali, do you have any idea why the Emperor is moving this way?"
Kali shook her head in denial.
Shiva sighed. "The entire planet is being systematically attacked in all spheres of
influence."
"The Emperor is eliminating all forces that possibly oppose his Empire and ideology,
no matter how small or weak. This is a mass purge." Shiva had to admit, he was quite
impressed. Victor's method of eliminating the root of the problem was something he would actually do if he had the Power Victor held.
'How envious... If I had that Power, I would be the one in this position! He thought.
When Kali opened her mouth to speak, she and Shiva immediately looked in one direction.
The sunny atmosphere of the Pantheon darkened, and Space was shattered as a horrible and macabre pressure fell over the Pantheon.
"He's here..." Kali whispered as she increased her Power. She wasn't confident in
winning, but she wouldn't stand still if her Pantheon was attacked. From the darkness of the Void between Dimensions, an enormous hand grabbed Space and entered the Territory of The Gods.
Standing five meters tall, wearing his Imperial Armor that had a cape composed of Miasma, The Dragon Emperor, Victor Elderblood, was here.
Shiva wanted to laugh. The defenses he had carefully raised from within his Pantheon
were like wet tissue paper in front of this monster. When The Emperor's presence completely entered the barrier of the Pantheon, the pressure felt by everyone became even more extraordinary.
No matter if they were High-Level Gods or even Primordial Gods, everyone was feeling such tremendous pressure that they were unable to breathe normally. Low-level Gods simply died from Victor's own overwhelming presence. Normally, Victor regulated his own existence since he was so overwhelmingly strong that his own presence distorted Space and caused damage to his surroundings. Even his Daughters, who were his blood, couldn't withstand this kind of Power, and because
But now...? Victor wasn't limiting himself. He was letting all of his Power as the Dragon God Emperor out.
..20... 30... 100... 1000... Just... Just how many Divinities does this monster have!?'
Shiva just realized that he had misjudged this monster. Everyone had misjudged him,
and even though he tried to overestimate Victor's Power, his limit was something far beyond his imagination.
As the God of Negativity, Victor represented all Negative Divinities, and in his Divine
Wars consuming Gods, he'd consumed their Divinities as well. The limit of Divinities? Victor didn't have any. The more he consumed, the stronger he became. And even now, his 'clones' were consuming useless Gods from the Celtic Pantheon and other smaller Pantheons that refused to join him.
Still in the same position in the air, Victor spoke: "The time for playing is over, Shiva."
"I will give you two choices." He raised two of his fingers.
"First, surrender now, and annex yourselves to The Empire, thus losing all your
Authority,"
"Second, die here and be useful in death."
"Choose."
...Victor, why don't we make an alliance? You weren't against it before, right? Why this
sudden change."
Victor looked at Kali, his stoic face never changing. "An alliance is only viable when
both parties are of equal strength and standing"
A blue Power began to leak from Victor's body, and suddenly, the sky of the Pantheon changed color to crystal blue, and enormous Beings could be seen. Gigantic Leviathans, the smallest of which was the size of a damn mountain.
"Bloody Hell..." Shiva and Kali gulped.
From the hole in Space behind Victor, The Emperor's Heralds emerged and positioned
themselves around him. Their strongest Herald, War, was even stronger than Shiva, and his other Heralds were on par with him.
It didn't end there, as red portals opened in the sky, revealing Demonic forces whose numbers were incalculable. The vanguard of these Demons were the Demonic Dragon Goddesses, Victor's Wives, who were just waiting on the order to invade the Pantheon.
Commanding the entire Legion of Demons from Hell was none other than Scathach Elderblood, the Godkiller, anxiously waiting for Shiva not to surrender. Adding these Beings, with those monsters in the sky, the forces of The Empire, The
Emperor himself, along with the Dragon Goddesses who were his Wives, not to
mention his allies from other Pantheons...
They really had no idea of the Empire's strengths. The disparity in strength was so ridiculous that it wasn't even funny.
"Do you think you're on the same level as me?"
"..." The answer to that question was obvious.
"In order for there to be an alliance, you must offer something in return. Yes, I could
make you useful, as you two are the strongest Gods outside of my group, but you
Shiva."
"You won't change. Even if you joined my Empire, you will scheme against me."
"
Victor's Draconic Eyes looked at him as if he was seeing the Core of the God's Soul.
"In a way, you are the same as me. If you had all my Power, you would be doing the
same thing as me, right? Putting everything under your control."
"... I think all the God-Kings would do the same thing as you," Shiva spoke honestly.
"That's true." The only reason Shiva didn't do what Victor was doing now in the past
was because he didn't have enough strength to do so. The same applied to the other God-Kings.
They were all greedy, and they all yearned to conquer more.
"But it's okay to possess such a scheming personality... I can fix you and make you
useful."
Victor took the cliché expression: "I Can fix her", to another level with that statement.
A small smile appeared on Victor's face: "Breaking your spirit completely and making
you docile like an obedient dog is very easy" Shiva shuddered slightly for a few seconds when he saw Victor's face distort into something horrible. 'What is that...? Was that the same as last time? But this feeling is much worse than before!
"So? What is your decision? Alive or dead, it doesn't matter to me. You will be useful to
me all the same."
If they surrendered, they would be useful in future wars. If they chose to fight, Victor
would just kill them and use their Divinities to empower his allies.
He would have to kill Kali first. After all, of the two, she was the more dangerous here.
If she became a Primordial, she would enter the jurisdiction of the Primordials, and
this conflict would escalate even further, so her expedient death was essential. Looking around, Shiva sighed and opened his mouth; "I.."