Sebastian who had just realized what he had been said quickly realized sothing was off with what he’d said—and also beca aware of just how awkward the atmosphere around him had suddenly beco.
Still, as soone who had survived this long precisely because he was a smooth and seasoned old fox, he didn’t think he’d said anything wrong at all.
"I can’t possibly be wrong. If you think I’m wrong, then maybe you need to take a long hard look at yourselves."
That was Sebastian’s true philosophy.
To ease the suffocating tension a bit, he figured he should at least explain himself.
"I only just figured this out," Sebastian explained. "I’ve been wondering for a long ti—why is it that every ti the God of Light descends, his whole body is always wrapped in bright white light? You can’t even see his face. He’s completely different from all the other gods. All the other gods want their followers to rember exactly what they look like, but the God of Light is the opposite."
"Which is why, to this day, every statue in the temples of the God of Light across the continent looks different. No one actually knows what he really looks like. I an, we assu he looks human, right?"
Everyone else: "..."
Honestly, you might’ve been better off not saying anything.
But Sebastian either didn’t notice the collective silence or pretended not to.
With growing enthusiasm, he kept sharing his theory. "Back in the days when gods still road the world freely, I was already puzzled by this odd quirk of the God of Light. But today—finally—I’ve unraveled a thousand-year-old mystery that’s haunted ."
"When I saw that kid brushing layer after layer of defense arrays onto himself, I suddenly understood."
Sebastian lowered his voice with dramatic mystery. "If you don’t believe , take a good look at the figure ahead of us. Don’t you feel like there’s sothing... oddly familiar about him?"
The mont he finished speaking, everyone instinctively shifted their gaze forward.
Illiya was the first one to connect the dots.
Combining Sebastian’s outlandish theory with what a certain head steward had said earlier, it suddenly made a bit more sense.
Ahead of them, Eoryun who is concerned for his own safety had cast over a hundred defense magic arrays onto himself.
Each array emitted a pale, white glow.
Now, with all of them stacked together, the light was so intense it was blinding.
Not only was it impossible to look directly at him, but you also couldn’t see what he looked like anymore at all.
Didn’t this look exactly like how the God of Light always appeared when descending? Cloaked in radiant white light?
It was flawless. Perfect.
It wasn’t just a passing resemblance—it was a complete replication.
Having reached this conclusion, Illiya felt deeply disillusioned.
He really didn’t want to admit that his speculation might be the truth.
It completely shattered the solemn and majestic image he had always held of the God of Light.
Back when he was still living in the Elven Forest, he had read books that recorded information about the God of Light—so even included vivid descriptions of the God in action.
After reading those, his blood would boil with excitent.
Up until just now, that had always been the direction he strove toward.
No wonder that long ago, after he had finished reading those awe-inspiring scenes of the God of Light taking action, he had run excitedly to his teacher and declared that he, too, wanted to beco like the God of Light soday.
Back then, he hadn’t understood the strange, contorted expression on his teacher’s face—but now he did.
At the ti, he had assud it was because his teacher was displeased that a student of his would idolize soone else.
However, looking back now, it was far more likely that his teacher had been trying very, very hard not to burst out laughing in order to maintain his dignity.
That "complicated expression" was simply the result of holding back laughter too forcefully.
He now felt overwhelming gratitude toward all the teachers who had worked so hard to protect their disciples’ innocent, fragile hearts.
But even with that, he still couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d been deceived all along.
In an effort to escape from this cruel—yet likely true—realization, Illiya forcibly convinced himself to forget everything he had just witnessed.
For example, did Sebastian even say anything just now? How strange. He couldn’t recall hearing a single word.
Self-deception remains the strongest form of defense.
Thankfully, Sebastian wasn’t the kind of person with a particularly an-spirited nature, so he didn’t continue to poke at the fragile hearts around him.
After all, who hadn’t admired the mighty God of Light in their youth, right?
Take the elves, for instance—a race naturally drawn to strength and martial power.
Fortunately for Illiya, he remained blissfully unaware of Sebastian’s "considerate" act.
If he had known, he might have actually walked down the path of god-slaying—the infamous point of no return.
As the saying goes: if you want to rid yourself of embarrassnt, just eliminate the source of the embarrassnt.
And what was the source of his current mortification?
That’s right—it was the God of Light.
He was just one step away from picking up the script for a final boss villain.
Perhaps sensing danger through so subtle gut instinct, Sebastian decisively changed the subject, redirecting everyone’s attention to the cautious rfolk who is currently slowly making his way forward.
"Stop zoning out! That little kid is about to step into the Cold Pool!"
Now that was a perfect conversation topic.
The mont those words left his mouth, everyone’s eyes instinctively shifted forward.
No one brought up the "God of Light surviving by self-defense" theory again—perhaps because they were all quietly clinging to their delusions, desperately trying to preserve the pristine image of the God of Light in their hearts.
After all, admitting the truth would be too disillusioning.
So were even starting to feel like... damn, had they been idiots this whole ti for choosing to believe in the God of Light?
They’d been scamd. Seriously.
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