"Glory to Goddess Helia!"

"The goddess will show us the way!"

"All praise the Goddess."

The worshippers began to chant, not even caring that their loud voices condemned innocent children to a cruel fate. Their desire to please their goddess had already taken over their senses.

The louder these chants grew, the more some kind of power built up. Even the sky began to turn dark, opening some kind of rift.

"Our goddess has given us another chance to right the wrong that has been done. With your sacrifice, we shall mend your souls into one and thus fulfill the prophecy. Bring the children over."

The Cardinal pointed toward the altar, and the guards rushed the children forward.

Resistance was futile. There was nowhere to go but where the Cardinal wanted these kids to go.

Four pairs of eyes looked at me, but I could not give them any reassurance—at least, not at the moment.

[Warning: External force is trying to impact user. Measures will be taken.]

Whatever force was causing this mess was beginning to affect me as well. But I had the system to protect me.

The Cardinal had positioned everything already, and everyone looked at him. The ceremony was about to begin, but there was no sign of Goddess Helia anywhere.

'I cannot delay it any longer. I should call for Goddess Helia before anything happens.'

The vial of blood in my hand felt like a small bomb, and I squeezed it before I dropped the blood.

[+10,000 faith points collected. Would you like to use them to make a connection to Goddess Helia?]

The system asked, startling me. The goddess's blood was a currency for the system as well? Then what about my blood? Could it be used to pay the price too—?

'Are you a fucking idiot? Why would you even ask that question? No, I should forget about this knowledge. It would be bad if I got into the habit of paying with this dangerous method.'

I reminded myself before I made a dangerous decision in the future—especially for a hypothesis I wasn't even sure about.

My feet moved toward the altar as I tried to call Goddess Helia.

[Your message cannot be delivered as you are outside the coverage area.]

'This stupid shit! What do you mean outside coverage area? Where do I need to go—'

I looked at the Cardinal and where he stood. It was higher up on the altar, and something in me told me that I needed to head there.

"Hey, stop! Where are you going—!"

A guard noticed me and tried to stop me, but I shook him off and kept walking. I needed to see my mission through all the way.

Cardinal Joshua saw me as well, and he frowned.

"Shopkeeper, is there anything I can help you with? We're finally about to witness the glory of our faith. Our goddess's will shall be carried out."

The Cardinal announced with a light laugh. The others around him followed, their chants growing louder.

The pressure from these chants made my body feel heavier. It almost felt like invisible hands were trying to hold me down.

However, even after all I had witnessed and gone through, I was a man who did not believe in ultimate power.

Below me, everyone's eyes were on me. They all waited to see what I had to say.

"Cardinal, you are a proud man. Your faith is also something praiseworthy. However, let me correct something you are mistaken about."

I told the man, and he frowned.

"What do you mean by that? Storekeeper, are you…"

The Cardinal was tense as he kept an eye on me. I ignored him as I crossed him and then dropped the remaining vial on top of the altar.

Everyone's eyes were on me, and their gazes stabbed into my back. I remained quiet as I took out my phone and made the call.

[You have consumed 10,000 fate points to make a call to Goddess Helia. Please wait on standby…]

"Cardinal Joshua, I'm afraid you are mistaken about your goddess's wishes. You and everyone else here have fallen for a trap. Allow me to show you the truth."

A sharp beam of light cut through the dark clouds surrounding the sky, and then beams of light attacked the darkness and directly struck the dome's top.

"T-The crystal… our source of power is breaking! H-Hurry, protect it at all costs! We cannot let that gift break, or the dome will fall!"

Someone yelled, and everyone jumped to help. A lot of guards rushed toward me as well, but someone else stopped them.

The griffin had shaken off the guards holding him down, and his injuries were healing due to the sudden light shining down.

"You have all defiled Goddess Helia's sacred will. You shall all pay for your sins."

The griffin told the guards before he opened his wings. Beams of light shot all around, forcing the guards back.

"C-Cardinal, what should we do? Cardinal—?"

The guards asked as they looked at the Cardinal, but the man looked too shocked to speak.

"I-I cannot hear the voice of our goddess. S-She's gone—! Goddess Helia!"

The man yelled, only for a sharp beam of light to strike him. Holy power filled the space where the man had been standing.

Screeeech—

A voice cried out as it disappeared. It gathered around and rushed toward the kids before anyone could do anything.

[Translating cryptic message]

[Darn it! My perfect plan has been ruined. I was this close to gaining even more faith. Tsk, but I will not be done. I will take at least one soul here—!]

The system picked up the message as the dark clouds faded and the disaster stopped. But at the very last second, black smoke headed toward the three kids who were still bound and held down.

Everyone was too slow to get to them in time, and we could only watch as that disaster followed its course.

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