Domain of the Evil God (1)

It was the season of high skies and fat horses.

Under the clear autumn sky, my bank account was drying up without a trace.

It was no wonder, since I had been spending a lot lately.

In the corner of my room, there were stacks of ramen boxes and bundles of bottled water.

Along with them, there were also rows of canned goods that were quite pricey.

They were the items I bought because of the news that created tension over the situation in Africa.

Of course, the fact that the online mall was having a huge discount was also one of the reasons for my impulsive consumption.

“Well… I’ll eat them all someday.”

Maybe it was just a short-lived fuss by the people and it would end soon.

If that was the case, these items would slowly go into my stomach.

They were food items, so I could use them somehow if I needed to.

As long as there was no sudden big expense, I thought I could survive for a while without any problem.

The overdraft account that I opened without much thought also had a lot left until the sign changed, so to speak.

“If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just eat ramen like last month.”

I leaned back on the soft mattress and picked up my smartphone.

I had finished sorting out the deliveries, so now I was thinking of playing some games.

Tap.

As I touched the loading screen and moved to the game screen, the messages that piled up last night came into my view first.

There were a lot of messages in the message box today.

“What? I leveled up again.”

Maybe it was because I used a karma double coupon once and collected a lot of karma in the meantime.

Before I knew it, my player level had gone up.

Unfortunately, because I had consecutively selected apostles, I didn’t have much karma left.

I scrolled down and checked the changes that occurred as my level increased.

-You have reached level 12.

-<Eye of the Observer (Lv.11)> has grown.

-<Eye of the Observer (Lv.12)> has been achieved. You can observe the continent with a clearer vision than before.

As my player level increased, <Eye of the Observer> reached level 12.

Despite the growth of <Eye of the Observer>, there was no noticeable big change.

It happened sometimes, so I shrugged it off and scrolled down further.

-Warning: Excessively biased karma in one direction may trigger <Causality Adjustment>.

-<Balance of Karma> has tilted.

-<Causality Adjustment> has occurred.

-Due to <Causality Adjustment>, [Artifact: Ascalon] has been liberated by one stage.

-Due to <Causality Adjustment>, [Artifact: Hieroglyph] has been liberated by one stage.

-Due to <Causality Adjustment>, [Artifact: Clausolas] has been liberated by one stage.

-Due to <Causality Adjustment>, [Artifact: Astra] has been liberated by one stage.

-Due to <Causality Adjustment>, [Artifact: ■■■■] has been liberated by one stage.

-Due to <Hero Selection>, [Artifact: Dainsleif] has been liberated by one stage.

-Causality Adjustment Progress: 25%

Next, there was information about <Causality Adjustment>.

Before I knew it, causality adjustment had reached 25%.

I had collected a lot of karma in a short time, and on top of that, I used [Contract of Regression].

It would have been strange if the causality adjustment rate didn’t increase.

Of course, as a result, more bosses had grown than before.

“Today’s messages are long.”

Among the messages that said artifacts had been liberated, there were two that caught my eye.

One was an artifact with a broken name.

I couldn’t tell whose artifact it was, as the name was not properly displayed.

And below that, there was an artifact with a familiar name.

“Why are you getting stronger with them?”

The liberation of [Artifact: Dainsleif] according to <Hero Selection>.

In other words, it meant that Peter had also grown stronger as the enemies did.

I didn’t have any skills with the same name, so it was right to think that Peter was actually one of the boss monsters.

Did I tame a boss monster then?

The appearance of Peter, who had been riding a horse, suddenly looked different.

“You’re more impressive than I thought.”

He was a hero who hid his identity and rode a horse.

He was not an ordinary horseman, but a high-class one.

Anyway, it was fortunate that he joined our side.

I thought I should be less harsh on him next time I see him.

As I changed my perception of Peter and scrolled down a bit more, I saw a message with an unexpected content.

-You have acquired <Sanctuary Declaration: Lograshion>.

-<Sanctuary Declaration: Lograshion> is a skill that creates a sanctuary that temporarily strengthens your influence.

-<Sanctuary Declaration: Lograshion> has a 3-day cooldown.

<Sanctuary Declaration: Lograshion>.

It was a message that said I had acquired a new type of skill.

As if to prove the content of the message, a new icon appeared at the bottom of the screen.

It seemed to be a reward for leveling up.

I tapped the case of my smartphone and wondered about the name of the new skill.

“Sanctuary Declaration…”

I was somewhat familiar with the name itself.

It was no wonder, since it was a phrase that the guys who spammed me with sight-obstruction patterns often used.

The guys who blocked my sight would say ‘sanctuary declaration’ every time they activated the pattern.

Then this skill might be similar to the pattern they used.

“Let’s check it out once.”

Would it have the same effect as theirs, blocking the sight?

I had to see it for myself to know the details.

I touched the skill icon of the new skill and opened the detailed description page.

And I started to read slowly from the top of the description of the new skill.

-<Sanctuary Declaration: Lograshion (Lv.MAX)>

-Within the range of <Sanctuary>, long-distance teleportation magic is blocked due to coordinate distortion.

-Within the range of <Sanctuary>, divine power output is reduced by 50%.

-Within the range of <Sanctuary>, magic output is reduced by 25%.

-Within the range of <Sanctuary>, mana consumption is increased by 100%.

-Within the range of <Sanctuary>, some effects of holy relics are blocked.

-Within the range of <Sanctuary>, recovery ability is reduced by 50%.

-Within the range of <Sanctuary>, physical and regenerative abilities of demons are increased by 50%.

-<Eye of the Observer> is not nullified within the range of <Sanctuary>.

The detailed description of the newly acquired Sanctuary Declaration was much longer than the skills I had before.

It was the length that I would only see in equipment items with complex restrictions.

But <Sanctuary Declaration: Lograshion> filled most of that length with valid effects.

The more I looked, the more absurd the effects were.

As I continued to read the description, I understood why the bosses used Sanctuary Declaration whenever they had a chance.

“What is this… What the hell is this?”

I read the skill description again from the top.

But no matter how many times I read it, the text on the screen did not change.

I touched the icon of <Sanctuary Declaration: Lograshion> with a blank face.

Teleportation magic block.

Divine power penalty.

Magic penalty.

Mana consumption increase.

Holy relic block.

Recovery ability decrease.

Demon ability increase.

They were all effects that could give the bosses a shitty experience.

On the other hand, they were effects that had almost no negative impact on the apostles.

“This is really… unbelievable…”

To raise the player’s level, I had to accept the growth of the enemies.

That’s why I thought <Paid Currency Shop> was the most efficient way to grow.

I thought I could catch up with them to some extent with the items I got from the gacha, even though <Apostle Selection> had a great merit.

But today, my thoughts changed completely.

It was because of the skill I got this time.

“…”

Sanctuary, Lograshion.

I was a god within the sanctuary.

***

In one corner of Crossbridge, there is a temple dedicated to the goddess of harmony.

Harmony. It was the most important and most difficult concept for humans.

What kind of life could say that it practiced the teachings of harmony?

The priests who belonged to the temple of harmony always lived with such a question in their hearts.

The priest, Lexion, who was facing the intruders in the temple, was also someone who always kept that question in his heart.

“Why is there still no contact from the temple?”

And now, as he faced the elder who was interrogating him about the hero, Lexion had a few more questions in his mind.

What did the goddess of harmony want from him by giving him this trial?

Could it be that this imbalance was also part of her desired harmony?

He felt a blasphemous doubt rising in his chest as he thought.

Of course, those were all locked in his heart, and he could not utter them out loud.

He just swallowed his complaints and did his role steadfastly.

“Don’t you know? The hero of this era has not received any artifact yet…”

“He hasn’t received any artifact yet? What can a hero do without an artifact?”

The elder sneered at Lexion’s words.

It was an annoying story.

But it was also a hard one to refute.

The hero of harmony had not received any artifact for months.

The hero seemed to not care about that fact, but it was a hard situation for those who belonged to the temple.

Especially every time he went to report this to the council of elders, Lexion felt his blood drying up.

How could he confidently say that the hero had no artifact?

Ever since the saintess brought the hero to the temple, the elders had been constantly criticizing the temple of harmony.

“But, this hero is special…”

“I’ve heard that this hero is special. But that doesn’t mean he has an excuse for not having an artifact.”

“No, that’s…”

“Shouldn’t you at least get a divine trust and report it?”

Sigh.

A sigh escaped from Lexion’s mouth.

It was a well-known fact that the temple had not received any divine trust for a long time.

And they were picking on him for that.

The more he looked, the more nauseous he felt.

Lexion repeated the words he had said many times and clenched his fist hidden by his robe.

“Why are you doing this? The lack of divine trust has been reported several times at the council…”

“Isn’t that because of the saintess’s lack of faith?”

“What did you just say? Do you want to fight with our temple?”

“Are you saying that the goddess of harmony deliberately withheld the divine trust if it’s not because of the saintess’s lack of faith? That’s really an irreverent way of thinking.”

“Enough! Even if you’re an elder, there’s a limit!”

The voices of the elder and Lexion rose at the front of the temple.

The other priests who were working in the temple frowned and looked at them.

The elder ignored the priests’ eyes and continued to spew unpleasant words.

As a sharp tension was about to arise between the elder and the temple.

The elder’s face changed as he spat out insulting words at Lexion.

“Co, cough…!”

“El, elder…?”

“Cough… Sa, save me…”

The elder grabbed his throat and shouted with a pale face.

He couldn’t breathe, and his face turned pale.

The subordinate who was behind him quickly approached him and tried to use divine power.

But even as he grabbed his throat, the elder’s eyes were looking somewhere in the corner.

Thud. Thud.

At the same time as the rough sound of shoes echoed, a girl in elegant clothes appeared from the corner of the temple.

“Do you think an artifact is necessary for a hero? I don’t think so.”

Her navy hair fluttered in the wind.

A white line of hair parted her side bangs.

She was a presence that captivated everyone’s attention with her slow steps.

Lexion took in the unfamiliar appearance of the girl he had faced many times.

She brushed her flying hair with her slender fingers, and watched the elder who was choking and struggling.

A strong killing intent poured out of her golden eyes as she glared at the elder.

The dense killing intent stiffened the air around her, and even disrupted the breathing of those who looked at her.

“Nai… ah… sa, save me…”

“If you’re just a being swayed by a single weapon, you’re nothing without it, right?”

The girl spoke in a different tone from within her domain.

The hero of harmony, Naias.

She was a dragon.