Chapter 180

Whether Maybel’s father had foreseen the future with Silver Wisdom or found a way through sheer knowledge, it’s not something to worry about right now, so let’s move on.

“Hmm… I kinda get the gist of what’s going on, but there’s still something I don’t quite understand.”

“What is it?”

I lightly flicked my fingers, and at the same time, Maybel drifted off into sleep.

After all, this wasn’t the kind of story an almost-sacrifice-for-a-ceremony should hear.

“The sacrificial offering to become the Divine Body of a god… According to what I know, creating a god shouldn’t require such things. Why would it demand that?”

“Wh-what?”

Elle, who suddenly cradled the sleeping Maybel, wore an expression of great surprise.

I’ve manipulated public opinion and propaganda before to create or change several gods, but sacrifices like that were never necessary.

No, in fact, there wasn’t even any ritual to begin with. It was simply about using public opinion and propaganda to draw out the faith of many people and establish a god in the form I wanted.

Thus, rituals for creating gods don’t actually exist.

“A god is born from the belief of countless humans. Therefore, a physical body is meaningless.”

A god is born from the beliefs of countless individuals.

Except for a few special cases where they have a main body, if they lack the belief of humans, they can’t even sustain their own existence—gods are weak beings like that.

Hmm… If you think about it this way, isn’t a god essentially a kind of mental parasite that survives by feeding off the faith of many humans?

That’s a slightly intriguing thought, but the important thing right now isn’t that, so let’s skip over it for now.

“Therefore, the sacrificial offering to become the Divine Body in the ritual for creating a god… It’s strange, you see.”

“Is, is that so? But how does the Dragon Priestess know about this ritual?”

“Hmm… The details are a secret. However, one thing is certain: no one knows more than me about the method of creating gods.”

After all, the method of creating gods was something I used myself.

But the ritual for creating gods that Elle described… No matter how I think about it, it’s different from the method I used.

It’s as if…

“But if you perform this ritual, will a new god really be born?”

“Huh? That… That…”

“I also know a lot about the method of creating gods. However, the ritual you mentioned seems to be something completely different from what I know.”

At my words, Elle’s face began to stiffen.

“That… But…”

Elle couldn’t properly continue her sentence. Hmm…

“Perhaps, the voice that taught this ritual has deceived everyone?”

Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense.

Also demanding absurd things… Could it be a deception to trick the cursed Ashen Rats in a desperate situation and get what it wants?

Then… What does that voice want?

“Explain in as much detail as possible about the ritual the Ashen Rats are preparing. I’ll compare it with what I know.”

“Ah, understood.”

Elle then started explaining everything she knew about the ritual for creating gods.

“First, the preparations for the ritual include a child who will become the Divine Body of the god, a large amount of Mana Stones, and the prayers and faith of those who will become believers of the new god. Lastly, for turning ordinary people’s prayers and faith into pure divine energy, and for the Ascension into a god, a large number of souls were required as sacrifices.”

Hmm… This is bad! Really bad!

This ritual is obviously suspicious! A large number of souls?

Mana Stones in large quantities could make sense since they can use magic power to cause various miracles and magical phenomena, but a large number of souls? That’s a no-go!

It’s not a proper ritual! Clearly a ritual filled with suspicious intentions!

“Definitely a dud. That thing.”

“Huh?”

However… If that voice coming from underground is the one I think it is, did it really want to resurrect at all costs?

Even if it resurrects, it’ll only make it easier for me to find it.

“Doesn’t this ritual seem suspicious to you too? Requiring a large number of souls… Even the gods in the Divine Hall wouldn’t ask for such things. Did the Ashen Rats truly believe in such a ritual?”

“The esteemed elders of the Ashen Rats believed it firmly. Though I’m unsure, at the time, we had no choice but to believe them.”

Firmly believed, huh? Hmm… Was it because the situation was so desperate that they had no other options? Or…

“Hmm… I don’t know exactly who that voice belongs to, but maybe some kind of brainwashing was done.”

“Brainwashing…?”

“Yeah. Otherwise, why would anyone believe in such a far-fetched ritual?”

The only thing among Elle’s explanations that’s actually needed to create a god is the faith of believers.

As for the rest of the preparations… Hmm…

Should I catch that person sometime and dig down deep into the earth?

Roughly judging, it seems like they wanted to extract the magic power from the Mana Stones, absorb a large number of souls, and inhabit the sacrificial body to obtain a complete form.

If this ritual succeeds, they’d likely be able to resurrect with a body possessing a large number of souls and magic power.

Still, it won’t come close to their original state before being shattered.

What fools.

Hmm… But regarding the large number of souls among the preparations… Hmm…

Are they planning to kill all the Ashen Rats and offer their souls?

If not…

“What about the large number of souls required for the ritual? How do you plan to gather them?”

“That…”

Elle hesitated a bit before speaking.

“They said they’d obtain them by wiping out all the residents of Armen.”

“Armen?”

So the Ashen Rats living underground are planning to wipe out the city of Armen above ground?

How…? Well, I sort of have an idea.

Since the Ashen Rats live secretly in the deep sewers, it wouldn’t be hard for them to tamper with the water supply.

Since the people of Armen use the water supply regularly, if they release highly effective poison into the water source, they could easily wipe out the entire city.

Hmm… Wait. Could it be… Was the water supply and sewer system of Armen prepared specifically for this ritual?

Did they prepare the water supply to obtain a large number of souls and set up a village beneath the sewers of Armen as the location for the ritual?

If that’s the case… This ritual has been prepared for quite a long time.

Considering that little Maybel, who’s asleep there, was born before this preparation began… Hmm…

“We can’t just leave this alone. We must stop it.”

“Yes. For Maybel’s sake, the ritual must fail.”

Elle gently stroked the sleeping Maybel’s head again. Her soft touch was filled with deep affection.

“It’s not just for Maybel, but we can’t let the people of Armen be wiped out either.”

Then, what should we do?

The simplest method would be to storm the underground immediately and destroy everything. Hmm… Hmm…

Though they’ve made mistakes, wiping them all out seems a bit… Hmm… Hmm…

Maybe if they had already committed the act, it would be different, but killing them all before they’ve acted feels… Kinda makes me feel soft-hearted.

Well, the Ashen Rats are struggling to survive somehow, so wiping them all out feels a bit wrong. Ruining the ritual alone doesn’t seem enough.

Hmm… Hmm… Hmm…

That’s it.

“Should we just make Maybel a god?”

“Huh?”

Elle’s eyes went wide.

Hey, why are you looking at me like that?

“Did… Did I hear you correctly? A ritual that sacrifices this child and the people of Armen?”

“No, not that ritual.”

If the Ashen Rats needed a god so badly that they resorted to this, then if they had a god to begin with, none of this would have happened, right?

Therefore…

“A proper way to create a god, not that suspicious ritual.”

“A proper way…?”

Elle looked at me with suspicion-filled eyes. Well, I understand.

Thanks to this suspicious ritual for creating a god, her daughter is in danger, and she lost her husband. Not trusting me is understandable.

But…

“This isn’t about sacrificing your daughter to become the Divine Body of a god. It’s about reversing the Ashen Rats’ ritual to directly Ascend this child into a god.”

“Huh, but…”

“In that case… Your daughter will become a living human who ascends to the status of a god, and when her life as a creature ends, she will transform into the God of Rats and protect the Ashen Rats. Wouldn’t that secure the future of your race?”

At my words, Elle fell into deep contemplation before quietly speaking.

“Admittedly, it sounds appealing… But becoming a god means taking on immense responsibility, doesn’t it?”

“It might. But while alive, she’ll become the most noble existence. Aren’t you happy for your child to become such an existence?”

Elle shook her head slightly.

“No, that’s not the issue. It’s just… Being a god, an immortal existence carrying great responsibility… I’m worried that after becoming a god, she might struggle under the weight of it.”

Hmm… Indeed. Ultimately, it boils down to worrying about her child.

Parents always worry about their children, but isn’t this worry a bit excessive?

In that case…

“Why don’t we ask her directly?”

As I spoke, I looked at Maybel, who wasn’t actually asleep but pretending to be.