"Old Hoffman was a mber of the Church of the Harvest Goddess, but he was also a mber of the Secret Keeper sect, a minor faction under the Church of the Harvest Goddess, responsible for guarding an Evil God that had been sealed by a legendary hero in the previous epoch."
Under Ferreiro’s narration, Malin heard a sowhat absurd story—that legendary hero had slain an Evil God in a small village. Because the Evil God possessed the characteristic of eternal life, he ultimately sealed the god inside a sacred Starstone and then... planted it in his chest.
Malin thought about many questions, but in the end, he asked the one that puzzled him the most—How big was the stone?
"The kind of question you’re asking is the problem, lad. Everyone else asks how powerful the Evil God is, only you would ask this," the old Bishop of the Church of the War God said with a look of surprise.
"Being sealed by a legend, how powerful can such an Evil God be?" Malin turned his head and spoke, "Compared to the horrors I’ve seen, if this one can’t beat a legend, what right does it have to call itself an Evil God."
After thinking it over, the old Bishop of the Church of the War God laughed and nodded, "Indeed, you’ve climbed the staircase, so you are entitled to speak this way."
Malin knew that the old man was referring to the day he t with that horror, and he also nodded with a smile—as for ntioning that horror’s na, it was even simpler for Malin; he had t it himself, so what was there to worry about rely ntioning its na.
Moreover, in Malin’s view, Chaos Folk at the level of petty vendors could be called Evil Gods, those from Ails’s realm of death could be called death gods, but the so-called Evil Gods from his own land... they were nothing but minions. Compared to them, they were rely Transcendent beings who had stepped beyond the mortal realm and still needed faith to nourish their divinity. Yet, they could be sealed by legends... it was hardly a loss of divine face to ntion it.
The last ti in Farol Principality, he could see that Chaos warriors lacked even proper armor, and those believers were rely experts at taking a beating in their tattered clothes. It was only with difficulty that a Chaos Priest appeared, and they were so weak compared to their colleagues on the northern frontline. If the combative power of the northern priests could be represented by a value of five, then the priests from Farol would only be a decimal point after a zero, with no comparability whatsoever. If they had to compare, it was perhaps like the difference between a tiger and a mouse.
Old Hoffman chuckled and coughed a few tis: "Look, this kid Malin has a different perspective from ours. Yes, this Evil God has been sealed for a long ti, so long that no one knows it exists anymore. Its power has weakened with each consecutive seal, but it remains an Evil God, and no one dares risk it breaking out of the seal again. We might not know its na, but we all know its domain—the desolation that stands opposed to the harvest. If it were to erge, how many more famines and deaths the world would face."
"I know, so, what exactly is this stone like?" Malin looked at his ntor.
The latter unbuttoned his collar and then took off his coat, revealing the oval Starstone at his chest. The gem was enveloped by flesh, and underneath the skin, it appeared as if flesh and stone were fused together.
Malin took a deep breath: "How many generations have the Secret Keepers been passing it on?" He looked at his old ntor—he wanted to know how long such a sacrifice had lasted.
"When my ntor passed it to , I asked the sa question. His answer was that he couldn’t rember. From the last epoch to now, such a lengthy period has passed. Humanity has gone through declines, and the grand library that recorded the Secret Keepers has long been burned in the fires of war. I only know what my ntor told , the only one who can replace must be a male under the age of 30, with steadfast faith," Hoffman said with a sigh.
"Won are not suitable?" Malin looked at Old Hoffman with a serious expression, "Young won are also people, they also have steadfast faith. Why aren’t they suitable? Does the seal also discriminate between male and female, or is it that you, my teacher, do not believe in them?"
"Actually, it doesn’t differentiate, but the sealing process causes harm to the human body," Old Ferrero spoke.
"Ferreiro ntor, why is that? Ergency dical science has already confird, in fact, that won have a higher tolerance than n! Childbirth is the most painful physical pain known in this world, and I don’t think there’s any other bodily harm that could be less bearable. So, what kind of harm requires the Secret Keeper sect to choose only n as the real suitable candidates? One of the Fallen I killed this ti included a female Apprentice," Malin said, looking bewildered at his ntor.
"Malin!"
"Enough, Ferreiro, let give the kid an answer," Old Hoffman interrupted Old Ferreiro’s roar, and looking at Malin, he began to explain how to beco a Secret Keeper: "To beco a true Secret Keeper, one must abandon all desires. This is because the Evil God is sealed inside the Star Crystal, and it is constantly seeking to escape, but it cannot break the sacred Starstone by itself. So, tempting the bearer of the seal becos a very effective thod. Therefore, Secret Keepers must undergo surgery to remove the source of desires, and with our current surgical capabilities, the mortality rate for won during the procedure is seven tis higher than for n... So, my child, girls are always the last choice."
Malin was stunned by this deceitful tactic of the Evil God and then noticed Old Hoffman’s beardless face, and it reminded him of Mason’s clean-shaven face as well. This answer made Malin uncomfortable, but he still had to ask, "Must the sacrifice go to this extent?"
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