-This chapter is written using Catherine's POV-
Uniting an entire world, be it through fear or hope, is a challenging campaign. However, those who manage to complete this feat are handsoly awarded with Demonic Power or Divinity, depending on how they accomplish their quest.
Of course, I ended up on the easiest path. For a vampire, instilling fear in others is just second nature.
After becoming a legendary creature, there was no one capable of challenging , and the foolish heroes that tried all t their end, serving only to further spread my na, prolonging and improving upon my legend.
I was satisfied with just surviving, I knew what could happen if my power grew too much, but I had climbed too far up. To the point that I acquired the attention of Hwa, the God responsible for the world I was living in.
Thankfully he was too afraid to challenge and kill . He knew that he would have to bet his life, and at the very least, he would lose enough Divinity to drop his rank among the other Gods.
But one does not survive for so long without being able to maneuver through such a situation.
At the bare minimum, he would lose enough Divinity to drop his rank among the other Gods, so the clever coward ca to
with a proposal.
As long as I stayed in his world, the people would continue to fear , and their faith was going to dwindle due to their God's refusing to intervene.
In this case, he didn't need to kill . He only had to make it seem like he took care of things, and if done correctly, he could even strengthen their faith.
To convince
not to fight, he told
that if I gave up the Demonic Power I had acquired, he would grant
the Divinity he would've had to use in our fight in small portions.
This way, he would be able to maintain his position while also acquiring a new Goddess as his ally.
It was certainly an amusing idea, but the danger was equally high.
I saw him as an enemy, so giving up power had to be a trap.
However, I could use this in my favor.
By dividing my Demonic power and storing it in so of my dolls, I had a way to reacquire it whenever needed.
So, I accepted his offer and waited for an opportunity.
If he showed
his back, or his fangs... I would surprise and turn the tables on him by using all my power at once.
I knew that fighting a God was delusional, but if I had any chance of winning, it would have to be a surprise attack.
But the opportunity never ca. He kept his end of the deal.
Not only that, after I ascended, he helped
look for an unclaid world with living beings yet to blossom.
And so, under the pretense of a blessing, my life as the Goddess of the Red Night began.
My first planet was called Earth, and since it had only a single race living in it, I thought it would be easy to handle and control.
The human race is prominent in most worlds, they are able to spread everywhere and can survive, live, and thrive under all kinds of circumstances.
While not the most capable by any ans, they are still able to use magic, and it doesn't seem like they have a race tendency like angels have for [Light Magic].
Being able to use all kinds of different elents, as well as a physique suitable for physical jobs... not to ntion minds capable of understanding and learning most things... they may not rank amongst the best in any field, but they sure are noteworthy in all of them.
Another benefit of choosing this world was their numbers. The planet itself wasn't that big, but they still had billions living in it.
They were perfectly ripe.
Lapis: "So you went for that one huh..."
Catherine: "Is it famous?"
Lapis: "It's talked about... Its position is quite strange. Far from any other, almost as if purposefully hidden. But if a God purposefully brought life to it, then why was the planet's mana completely dry? So say it was an experint from an old God that disappeared or forgot about it, but... Thinking that it was a trap to start a fight, most are cautious of claiming it for themselves."
I've learned that Gods get more eccentric with age. It's the sa for every race that has a long lifespan, but I expected them to be more... superior...
Like any other race, they aren't immune to boredom. However, they have unique ans to experint and entertain themselves.
They can play with mortals and other Gods. With themselves. Or with an entire world.
Catherine: "I can't say for sure. It might be that life just blossod there on its own. The lack of any mana or magic is definitely strange, but who knows? Maybe the planet hates them or sothing."
It's not that uncommon for life to begin by itself, without anyone taking action, but the rest is pretty much unheard of.
Although it was unique, the novelty alone wasn't enough to make
happy.
The only use I had for that planet, and the only reason I chose it was due to the potential it had to generate large amounts of Divinity.
But I found out that things weren't so easy with the humans of Earth.
They rarely possess feelings and thoughts positive enough to generate Divinity.
Their prayers are filled with selfish requests, and they don't co to
with gratitude.
Instead, they expect
to bend reality to their will, and perform miracles that will only help themselves, even if at the cost of others.
The standard human who has faith in
is still suspicious of my character and actions, which hurts the power of their belief.
When they don't get what they want, the bla falls on . They are quick to turn their faith into rage and hate, which only generates Demonic Power.
Now that I'm a Goddess, the mont I acquire Demonic Power, it enters in conflict with the Divinity, and they cancel each other.
So in the end, making a profit from them is pretty hard.
They are also surprisingly smart at getting one over the others. The amount of sches created by people using my na is incalculable.
Obviously, I don't have any desire to target one human specifically amongst the billions, but that doesn't stop them from blaming
for their own stupidity anyway.
It's been 20 years since I've started performing miracles for them, and many still believe in other Gods and myths... so even claim I'm a governnt conspiracy, whatever that is...
Bluntly, while they have a lot of potential, the amount of Divinity I'm getting from them was hardly worth the trouble.
I was thinking about abandoning this world completely.
I could just throw this Divinity to so dolls, recover my Demonic Power, and then go to start a legend in another world.
I might even be able to go back to the previous one. If I made it appear as if I had won against their God, the fear in them would certainly double, and so would the Demonic Power that they could generate for .
As for Hwa's hopes... Who cares? As long as I get to survive, I don't mind scamming a God or two.
While this was the plan I set in motion, a few happenings made
halt.
Hwa had decided to participate in a Divine event with . He saw how useless and weak the inhabitants of Earth were, and gave
one of his worlds.
The idea was to use the Divinity generated there to allow
to perform miracles more often on Earth. This way, their faith in
should increase, and I would be able to have more room to interfere and put them on the right track.
Since there was no downside for , I started accumulating the Divinity to put this plan into action.
However, before I could invest anything, I sensed the power of The Traveling rchant.
I don't know this man, but it's impossible not to hear gossip about him.
A God-Eating fiend. An unparalleled and unstoppable monster. He stands toe to toe with Asdrea, the oldest God.
They say that just being in his presence is enough to make a new God fall to their knees.
I never thought being like them would have one, but judging by their fear, this guy was their predator.
If he had co for , I would just temporarily abandon all my Divinity using my dolls, but before that...
His presence created an opportunity for .
The Dungeon had to be blocked so that incursions from stronger worlds didn't happen against Earth, and I would normally need the permission of the Gods who placed the barrier to release it.
But the enemy of the Gods changed that. He gave
the perfect excuse to unblock the Dungeon.
While this increased the risks for the people of Earth, I welcod it with open arms.
Friendly exchanges created the possibility of my na being spread to other worlds, and if so countries happened to be conquered, the people of this world would finally start to struggle enough to desperately turn to .
Through wars with stronger beings, the mana in the world and their an level should also increase.
This would grant
more Divinity, and better chances at Divine Events.
While a solid plan, as if to spite , they have managed to control who enters and who leaves quite well...
And more importantly, since I was set on abandoning this place... I made a few preparations that they'll now have to face.
The first one involves this girl, Lapis.
She is one of the oldest Gods I know of. She's even older than Hwa.
The only reason why she's not on par with him is that she loves these underground rings where we bet a lot on Divine Events.
I call them underground rings, but... While they are normally frowned upon, it's the older Gods who participate the most.
Due to their boredom, they seek enjoynt from risks, and due to their standing, it's hard for anyone to point it as a wrongdoing.
Lapis: "Still... you're pretty bold to participate in this rigged ga. As promised, I didn't pick one of my top-tier worlds to go easy on you newbies, but... You do know that Felix and Julie are going to work together, right?"
Catherine: "It doesn't matter. After all the trouble they gave , their loss might actually make
feel vindicated. And if they happen to win-"
Lapis: "I didn't take you for the naive type. I've seen so records, they are shit."
I can't bla her for that conclusion.
While they are said to be humans, their nature is close to that of a demon.
It's not just their faith that is lacking, but also their cooperation. They have a hard ti trusting each other.
Their levels have risen considerably fast in just one generation, but their use of skills and understanding of their own Gifts is still incredibly primitive. Not to ntion their magic theories...
When facing others with the sa level, their loss is pretty much guaranteed.
Catherine: "In my experience, I found out that there's no such thing as zero chances..."
Ti and ti again I've been surprised by unlikely scenarios. The fact that I'm still alive should be a miracle in and by itself.
Since I was going to abandon this place anyway, what would otherwise be a risky gamble actually holds no consequences for .
Even if they lose, I might co out on top.
No... whatever happens... even if I'm thrown at the bottom.
I'll crawl my way back up.
No one will claim my life. I'll use whatever is necessary to ensure my safety.
All that the pathetic humans from this planet need to do is act like the good little stepping stones that they are.
By failing , they are only failing themselves.
The more they show their worthlessness, the more I'll squeeze everything out of them.
Catherine: "It's about ti to announce... shall we start?"
Lapis: "That's a terrifying smile... But I like it! Want
to give you a hand?"
Catherine: "Don't take
for a fool. I might be a new God, but I've been around for a long ti."
She is dangerous. I know that from the bottom of my heart.
Her blood... it has a unique, nauseating sll.
It's hateful. My instincts scream that I should attack her.
But I know that I would be no match. While her outer shell is that of a friendly fool, when I look into her eyes, I see sothing sinister lying in wait.
I'll strive to avoid her as much as possible from now own.
Since the clock was about to strike midnight, we paused our talk to make the announcent.
[People from Earth, listen carefully.
A special Divine Event has started, and Earth has been chosen as one of its participants.
The Dungeon entrances have been sealed, and anyone who has remained on Earth will be considered one of its citizens for the purposes of the Event.
Your world and three others shall be connected and beco one for 500 hours.
During this ti, the other Gods and I will register the number of deaths suffered by each planet.
The world that has caused the most deaths to another during this period will be able to select and take one continent from another world for themselves.
I hope for your safety, and wish you good luck.]
I say that with utmost sincerity, as our fates are linked.
Prove to
that you are worthy. Show
how you struggle and survive even when the odds are stacked against you.
Or at the very least, provide
with so entertainnt before I abandon you.
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