Chapter 102: Choosing The Sponsoring Demon Gods

I looked carefully at the options given to me. Apparently four Evil Gods were very, very interested in sponsoring me, I mean, blessing me? Could they even bless someone? Wait, no. They were not “Evil Gods” at all, but “Demon Gods.”

Somehow within this world’s setting, Demon Gods and Evil Gods were two completely separate and different kinds of deities. Evil Gods, from what I could recall, were explicitly evil and only blessed, or rather, cursed, those who were truly malevolent and followed their wicked doctrines without question.

Demon Gods, on the other hand, seemed to exist somewhere “in between” what was considered acceptable and what was not. They were not explicitly malevolent… just different, operating under their own strange rules and values.

And right now those four options hovered clearly before my eyes.

[Number of interested Gods: 4]

[Showcasing all interested Gods in taking you as their Saintess.]

{Demon God of Falsehood and Trickery, Furoh}

“Falsehood and Trickery, the very origin of humanity’s sins themselves. You cannot live without them. If you choose to follow me, I will teach you my Art of Mimicry. In exchange, build an altar in my honor, Mother Goddess Sylph’s Descendant.”

{Demon God of Swarms and Famine, Beelzebub}

“I can bring the end to all your foes. Choose me and I will bring an endless swarm to devour them! Curse your foes and drain them of all they’re worth! Hahahah!”

{Demon Goddess of Burning Punishment, Armageddon}

“I represent the flame of punishment that burns sinners for eternity. Everyone is a sinner, thus, eventually, you will all meet me one day. But I will give you the chance to become my beacon of dark justice. Burn sinners in my name, and earn yourself salvation from my flames.”

{Demon Goddess of Alchemy and Science, Violet}

“I… Uh, I don’t know how to do this. Am I supposed to act all cool? Um, hi? I think I can teach you a lot about Alchemy and Science! We can make new things together… I only ask for a sacrifice every now and then. It can be anything, don’t worry! Animals are fine. Just the soul… well, that’s all. Um, how do I end this? Ah—”

From what I could remember of the game’s lore, Furoh, the Demon God of Falsehood and Trickery, was always depicted as a tall jester-like figure wrapped in all kinds of colorful, mismatched clothes. The power he granted to his blessed ones was “Mimicry,” an incredibly versatile and useful Skill.

I had already decided to choose him without question, but according to Freyja my “Divine Circle” could accept another sponsor as well. That meant I could choose two, just like I had done before with the other gods.

What worried me most was Tierra and Solaris’s reactions! Would they accept this easily, or would they get really, really mad at me for becoming the apostle of two Demon Gods at once?

Seeing how those two usually acted, they might not get that jealous. Both of them were already working together and seemed pretty chill about sharing my attention.

Hm… well, I would deal with the consequences of my actions later. Right now I needed the help of these beings if I was truly going to go against that Lich again.

And I could almost guarantee that if I had gotten this many gods interested in me, that bastard had also received the same kind of opportunities.

He was almost certainly being sponsored by some deities as well, most likely the most malevolent ones, because they enjoyed the way he “played” with the world or something similar.

There were some really nasty Evil Gods out there that would be more than pleased to help a son of a bitch like him as much as possible so he could continue sowing chaos and destruction everywhere.

Anyway… my first pick was definitely Furoh.

“Still not decided?” Freyja asked, floating beside me. “Brunhild, you should hurry. We don’t have all the time in the world around here.”

“Although the Trickster God was a given, the second choice… Agh, it’s so hard to choose between Armageddon and Violet!” I sighed deeply. “…And why does a Demon Goddess have such a cute name as “Violet” anyway?! Was she just an ordinary girl at some point in the past? That would definitely justify her awkwardness.”

“I don’t know, perhaps?” Freyja wondered while rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “The origin of these newer gods… I really have no idea myself. Do you?”

“The game lore was pretty scarce regarding these particular beings,” I explained. “Besides the Ancient Gods and their Forgotten Technology and Ruins, there’s not much stated about The New Gods of this Planet.”

“Well, you’re considering Violet mainly for the potential help she could bring with Alchemy, correct? Why not simply go for that option then?” Freyja asked. “Armageddon might bring you more immediate strength, but Violet will almost certainly be better in the long run, I believe.”

“Yeah…” I nodded slowly. “Okay.”

After Freyja convinced me with her calm reasoning, I finally agreed. I quickly selected the two options, choosing both Furoh, the Trickster God, and Violet, the Cauldron Goddess.

I knew those titles because that was how they were usually referred to in the game. Furoh’s symbol was typically a mask with half of its face smiling and the other half crying, while Violet’s symbol was a dark obsidian cauldron decorated with red jewels.

Furoh was usually worshiped by rogues, bards, and similar free-spirited people, while Violet was typically worshiped by witches, sorceresses, and alchemists. Their cults were not destructive and simply lived alongside normal society in their own quiet ways.

This was one of the biggest differences between Demon Gods and Evil Gods, their cults were not necessarily destructive, nor did they kill people for sacrifices.

Evil God cults, on the other hand, could be extremely dangerous and destructive groups of people that would, almost every single time, harm innocents for their own twisted religious goals.

Anyway.

Ding!

[You have chosen to worship and spread the faith of {Demon God of Falsehood and Trickery, Furoh} and {Demon Goddess of Alchemy and Science, Violet}!]

[The {Demon God of Falsehood and Trickery, Furoh} is surprised you’ve chosen him, saying that he is pleased to work together with you: “It will be a pleasure to work together from now on, Brunhild, descendant of the Mother Goddess.”]

“He knows about who I am?!” I gasped in genuine shock.

[You have received the {Demonic Blessing: Demon God of Falsehood and Trickery, Furoh}!]

[You have learned the Divine Skill: [Mimicry – Tier 3: Level 1/10]

“Aha! There it is!!! Mimicryyyyy!” I celebrated loudly, pumping my fist in the air.

[The {Demon Goddess of Alchemy and Science, Violet} says that she is very surprised to have been chosen! She can hardly believe it. Readjusting her glasses awkwardly, she nods and smiles nervously, looking almost a little creepy while doing so: “U-Uh… T-Thanks…! T-That took me off-guard!”]

“She’s… she’s so awkward, huh?” I wondered, finding her strangely endearing. “Wait, why does a goddess even need to wear glasses?”

[You have received the {Demonic Blessing: Demon Goddess of Alchemy and Science, Violet}!]

[You have learned the Divine Skill: [Demonic Cauldron – Tier 3: Level 1/10]

“Demonic Cauldron?” I wondered aloud. “Huh…”

[You have acquired the Title: [Demon Saintess of the Falsehood and Alchemy]!]

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