Chapter 83

Belnargo.

The dragon-girl, whose name was Giselle, led me deep into the temple, and at the same time my eyes scanned every room that came our way.

Stone columns reached the ceiling, various items with symbols of the goddess were placed here and there, wide passages and rooms were illuminated by daylight that penetrated through massive windows. In short, everything was large, imposing and, to some extent, pretentious.

But what impressed me was the number of people present inside. It's safe to say that this goddess is very revered. She certainly has no shortage of worshippers. There were indeed a lot of them. Some were praying with their fingers locked in front of them, some were listening to the sermons of priests and priestesses sitting on small benches, and some were just walking back and forth for some unknown reason.

When they saw our duo, they obediently stepped aside and bowed. I guess being an Apostle comes with a few advantages.

Now I'm really curious about Hardy. You can't get that kind of worship based solely on fear.

As I recall, the realm she wields is the underworld, which is pretty vague. Does she possess "the world"? Or is it souls? If the latter, how much of my 3rd magic is able to affect her? And if the former, what is its connection to this "world"?

So many questions...

- Impressive, isn't it? - Giselle remarked snidely - You are honored to meet the goddess in person. Remember that, mortal.

- Sure, sure," I nodded, "Can you tell me what the goddess Hardy has control over? I'm genuinely interested in this subject.

- О? Do you wish to embrace our faith?

- Maybe. I'm new to this world, so I don't know much about it. After all, no one wants to get a cat in the bag, right?

- Heh. You're right about that," she grinned, and then her eyes seemed to light up with pride, "However, worshiping my goddess is the highest reward and blessing anyone can receive. She is the goddess of the underworld. The world where all living beings go after death, where they receive a new and happy life in the form of souls. It is my goddess who ensures its existence, and without her, after death, there will be nothing. Only emptiness.

Hmmm... So she is the pillar of the afterlife that cannot exist without her. Hardy is not a goddess of the dead, as I had partly thought, and her duties do not include looking after the souls of the dead. She merely ensures the existence of the afterlife. Now I can see why she has so many followers, since everyone understands the power of death to some degree.

- I do.

- Now you realize the significance and power of my goddess, don't you? Don't you think it's the greatest honor to serve her?

- Perhaps. - I answered uncertainly.

- I see you're not mature," Giselle grinned, "But that's all right. Mortals are not always ready to accept the truth. Idiots still exist, after all.

After a while, we came to a rather narrow staircase leading down somewhere. It was deep, considering the number of light sources - small magical lanterns hanging on either side of the stairs. At the entrance stood one of the priestesses, who gave the torch to Giselle, and then we began to descend. And passing it, a truly impressive picture appeared before my eyes.

A very, very spacious basement with rows of giant columns going into the darkness. And at the very end was the Hardy symbol carved in gold, near which stood several priestesses in familiar attire. The sources of light were magical lanterns placed by the columns, making the surroundings quite epic.

Once near the symbol, Giselle stopped and looked at me.

- Now the goddess Hardy will descend here. Show her your homage and behold her majesty! - she said and knelt down. And so did the priestesses present. I, of course, did not do so.

The next moment a column of bright white light appeared, which in an instant expanded and took over the entire surrounding space. White particles of light, like feathers, sprinkled from the ceiling, hiding all the interior decoration of the room and leaving only a white landscape. Behind the light came the divinity that swept all around like a tsunami, spreading its waves to all sides of the basement, not missing a single crevice.

A couple seconds later, the feather-like particles in front of us began to gather in one place. It slowly, but surely, formed a human figure shining with pure white light, which looked dreamy and appealing. A moment later, a body-gifted ghostly woman floated before my eyes. Apparently, it was Hardy herself.

I had to say, she looked pretty good. She had a perfectly shaped face with absolute symmetry, long straight silky hair, a body that was neither fat nor thin, but almost perfect. She was wearing a long snow-white dress, which added sophistication and grace to her image. But that's just the appearance. What's the saying? "The calmer the water, the more dangerous the lake"?

Also, from what I understand, she needs a vessel to act with the physical world. Hence, there is some sort of restriction or rule preventing not only her, but other gods as well, from taking physical form. In the Nasuverse, this was due to Gaia and Alaia, who, to say the least, are not comfortable with such an event. There, a god who has taken form, just by his mere presence can unknowingly cause a variety of changes in the Age of Man. And, both good and bad.

But, as everyone knows, neither the Will of mankind, nor the Will of the planet, will not risk what they exist for. They will simply get rid of the problem in the shortest possible time, while affecting the materialization of the god to be sure. Besides, there is the Mystery factor. The manifested gods will already be weakened due to the realities of modern times.

Ignoring everyone else, her intrigued gaze focused completely on me.

- Why can't I hear your thoughts? - She asked, making a pensive face and rubbing her chin.

- It's rude to ask a question without introducing yourself. - I said calmly. And at that, not only Hardy's eyes widened, but also the priestesses and Giselle's, who raised their heads sharply and looked at me with genuine surprise, as if I had done something stunning.

- Did I say something wrong?

- You can hear me. Only Apostles, extremely gifted mediums and the gods themselves are capable of such things," Hardy said in surprise, and then continued with a smile, "Now I'm really interested in you. I can't even see your soul. It's like it's covered by a black and gold shield that won't let me in. Who are you?

I chose to remain silent and wait for her to introduce herself, even if I knew who she was. I had to probe. Giselle reacted to my actions and took it as an insult, realizing what I had said before.

- Answer me, mortal! And how dare you make remarks to a goddess?! - she growled, "Do you want to die?!" she straightened up sharply.

I just rolled my eyes at her words, and Hardy just began to watch what was happening. She didn't besiege Giselle or support her, which means she also wants to study me as much as I do her. Apostle, on the other hand, thought that Hardy was supporting her actions and snapped at me with renewed vigor.

- You think too much of yourself, mortal! Feel God's punishment!

Giselle grabbed her scythe with both hands and swung it in my direction, intending to blow my head off, unlike last time when her target was a hand. However, her strike was stopped before the scythe even got halfway through. The golden chains that had escaped from the magic circle beneath my feet instantly entangled her entire body except for her head, causing Giselle to lose the ability to move and fall to the ground with a loud clinking sound. The priestesses jumped at the sight and pointed their staffs at me, still not moving.

- Let me go! Giselle was about to get indignant when another chain closed her mouth.

- You're kind of dumb, aren't you? - Your goddess is interested in my identity, and if you'd killed me, you'd have gotten the full brunt of it. Besides, she didn't give the order to 'punish' me, did she? I guess the saying that force makes a man dumber applies to this situation. Also, did you really want to hurt me with that toothpick, knowing the outcome of your last attempt?

Indicatively, I took her braid with both hands, placing them in the middle, and then with one easy and confident split it into two parts. Such a thing made Giselle's face show shock and disbelief as her eyes ran from one part of her broken braid to the other. In her eyes I could clearly see the refusal to accept the reality that her weapon had broken like a match in my hands.

- Impressive," Hardy's voice rang out, "Giselle's scythe was forged from dragon steel that I personally blessed. And you are indeed right, it was rude not to introduce myself. I am Hardy, goddess of the underworld. Nice to meet you, stranger.

- Romani Archaman, Magician. Likewise. - I replied, tossing parts of my braid aside Giselle like garbage.

- In that case, how about we chat in a more pleasant setting, Romani? - With a smile on her face, Hardy suggested, to which I hesitated.

That would be nice, I suppose. From her actions, we can deduce that Hardy is adventurous, that she likes to observe and explore. In essence, this means that one can have a perfectly adequate conversation with her, which is a good thing.

However, who knows what the outcome of the conversation will be, right?

-0-

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