371 - The Birth of a New Demigod

"They're just demigods." Rainsister replied calmly. "Even gods can get injured. You know... even I don't dare say I'm invincible. There are threats that are still deadly for ancient entities like me."

"Anyway..." She continued. "The three demigods tried to use the city as a chessboard. They orchestrated a massive clash of authorities among the Royal Faction, the Churches, the Academy, and the illegal organizations."

The goddess sipped her tea and continued. "Their main purpose was likely to force the Royal Faction to use the [Forbidden Chalice] and resurrect one of their powerful ancient heroes. Letting them pay the price and suffer the consequences, while reaping the harvest afterward. Robbing the power of the resurrected one for their advancement."

She paused for a moment. "However, things did not go according to their grand designs."

Jack remained silent. His glowing spectral eyes were fixed on the Goddess. Waiting for her to continue.

"What happened afterward?" Amaranth asked. Her voice was a mix of curiosity and dread. What happened was definitely out of their league after all.

"The Elrush King indeed made the gamble the three had predicted." Rainsister answered. A hint of dry amusement was in her tone. "He resurrected an ancient, legendary hero of Elrush Kingdom using the [Forbidden Chalice]."

Alice and Adam Lingreen tilted their heads in unison.

"Who?" Adam asked in a flat voice.

"The Valiant Paladin." Rainsister replied calmly.

"I've heard about him." Baroness Artheim commented. "Sir Orthas Palehound. An great hero who single-handedly defended the Elrush Pass from the attack of the demon horde during the early medieval era."

"We've known about him too." Alice and Adam said together in perfect sync.

"The knight who rode a winged lion." Alice said without any expression on her face. "A hero with blue eyes and golden hair."

"The man who wielded the Sword of Eternity." Adam added, also with a flat tone. "The great warrior who had slain the evil dragon, Narkamaze."

The goddess raised her eyebrows. "Orthas is indeed the name of the Valiant Paladin. But what's this about Palehound last name and those strange accomplishments?"

"I've met Orthas a few times and I remembered him quite well." Rainsister said casually. Not minding about showing off her incredible age. "He was an orphan without any family name. An honorable man with a very strict self discipline and silent demeanor."

"He was indeed involved in defending Elrush Pass." She continued. "But he didn't do it alone. He led a small team of seven or eight people if I don't remember it wrong."

She looked at Alice. "The Valiant Paladin that I knew had brown eyes and black hair. And he rode a huge Starlight Stallion, not a winged lion."

"And..." She switched to Adam. "He didn't wield a sword at all. His main weapon was a halberd. It's called the [Halberd of Dusk] I think."

"As for killing that dragon?" She continued. "Well, he did kill many monsters, including wyverns and land dragons. But I've never heard any dragon called Narmakaze."

"Anyway, back to the story..." Rainsister tapped the arm of her chair. "If Orthas had just lost his life recently and was resurrected by the [Forbidden Chalice], it might not be a problem."

"But he died centuries ago." She continued. "As I've told you before, the [Forbidden Chalice] is pretty reliable when it is used to the recently dead person. But for those who had died for too long? Not so much."

She smiled. "It's called 'forbidden' for a reason. In this case, this forbidden thing did not bring back a savior. It brought back a calamity. A demonized fallen hero. Transformed into a monstrous entity known as the Wrathful Fiend."

"This creature brought terrible destruction to True Lonestone City." Rainsister continued. "Slaughtering many transcendent beings and devastating several districts."

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"A demonized paladin?" Jack made a low, eerie sound that passed for a chuckle in his specter form. "Classic historical irony. How strong was he?"

"Strong enough to contend with the three demigods simultaneously," Rainsister stated. "The Wrathful Fiend fought Saint of Joy, Saint of Blade, and Saintess of Temptation to a near standstill."

"That powerful?" Jack whistled. He remembered that his rakshasa incarnation was also a fiend, an archfiend even. Could he be that strong in the future?

"That powerful." Rainsister nodded. "As far as I know, it resulted in a brutal, multi-way battle for almost ten hours long. The three saints eventually managed to bring the fiend down, but..."

She paused again to sip her tea. "... but victory turned to greed. There was only one source of power that the fiend dropped. A crystal known as the [Dew of Growth], or well... some demigods called it the [Divine Fertilizer]."

"Something that strengthen [Divine Seed]?" Jack asked.

He remembered that this was what made demigods, the sanctified beings much stronger than illuminated beings. This was what made the Saint of Joy threw the [Forbidden Chalice] to the Despair Valley and used it to acquire that [Divine Seed of Pain].

"Yes. The [Dew of Growth can indeed strengthen [Divine Seed]... or give aid in condensing a new [Divine Seed]." Rainsister answered. "One thing desired by three people with pretty much equal power. You can imagine what happened next, can't you?"

"Backstabbing, huh?" Jack commented and chuckled. "Predictable."

"Indeed." The goddess agreed. "Driven by a desperate desire to absorb the [Dew of Growth], they turned on each other. Betraying their alliance mid-fight. That internal betrayal is precisely what left them mutually injured."

Jack narrowed his spectral eyes. A cold, analytical calculation formed in his mind. Even these demigods could fall due to greed. They were not invincible.

"So..." Amaranth murmured. "The three demigods were down? What happened to the [Dew of Growth]?"

"Well, it fell to the hand of the one they tried to manipulate." Rainsister said. A faint enigmatic smile touched her lips. "It was acquired by King Willion, the man who initiated the resurrection."

She continued. "The king seized the opportunity as the three demigods were incapacitated. He grabbed and absorbed the [Dew of Growth] and broke through to the sanctified level."

"The king became a demigod?" Baroness Artheim asked and opened her mouth wide.

She was a noblewoman from Elrush Kingdom. She had seen the king and knew of him. A talented, yet proud and cruel man.

She knew he was a strong transcendent being. And she had suspected that he was an illuminated level character. But becoming a demigod... she had never imagined he would be one.

"Technically... yes." Rainsister replied. "He has officially reached the sanctified level. Ascending to become the new demigod. He was forced to abandon his nurtured [Divine Seed] though, gaining one that didn't really fit him."

"Didn't fit?" The baroness asked in bafflement.

"The king had been nurturing the [Divine Seed of Royalty]." The goddess explained. "But, when he took the [Dew of Growth], that seed was destroyed. Instead, he awakened another one... the [Divine Seed of Rage]."

"So, he is now the Saint of Rage?" Adam asked in a flat tone and expression.

"Indeed." Rainsister nodded.

"Is 'Rage' a bad divine seed?" Alice asked with the same tone and expression.

Rainsister smiled. "Not exactly 'bad'. No divine seed can be categorized as good or bad. It depends on the owner of the seed."

"Let's take my [Divine Seed of Rain] for example." She gave an example. "Is 'rain' good or bad? For the scorched earth that needs water, it might be good. But for the one which is about to be flooded, not necessarily."

"The problem is not whether it is good or not." The goddess said. "But whether it is suitable or not. And, this [Divine Seed of Rage]... it didn't really match well with the king's personality, position, and desire."

"Did it affect his power because they didn't match?" Amaranth asked.

"Precisely." Rainsister said. "King Willion is one of the weakest and the most unstable among all the newly awakened demigods I've ever known. He was lucky the other three demigods were seriously injured."

A heavy silence fell over the cozy living room. It was indeed a serious piece of news. A new demigod had been born in the Elrush Kingdom. Born from blood, betrayal, and forbidden artifacts.

"This changes many things." Baroness Artheim gloomily said. Looking genuinely troubled. "The power hierarchy of the Western Ourean Continent has just been violently changed. Especially for Elrush Kingdom."

She took a deep breath. "The newly ascended demigod will very likely try to stabilize his position. And it won't be through peaceful means."

"Precisely." Rainsister confirmed. Looking straight at the baroness. "For these coming few months, the Elrush Kingdom, and Lonestone City in particular, will be intensely unstable."

"It will become a death trap for any 'special' transcendent beings." She predicted. "Fateless individuals like all of you, or power inheritors... they would be considered 'risky elements' to be removed."

She warned them... "The new Saint of Rage will be purging these risky things, consolidating his domain, and testing his newfound authority."

Jack floated on air in silence. Processing the information. This massive upheaval happened back in the territories they had already left behind. It wouldn't affect them much at the moment.

His expedition was currently sailing far away from Elrush Kingdom. Toward the uncharted wonders of the Myriad Island Archipelago.

He and his crew would get far more trouble from ancient ruins and mystic incidents there than the chaos back in Lonestone.

However, he couldn't feel entirely detached from the drama. He had some friends and close acquaintances in Lonestone after all.

He couldn't help but worried about Nick Glaiver, Alenna Keener, Harold Mason, and the others he knew back there.