Chapter 30. Such a Pity!

"The power to kill gods?" Rod mused with a sigh.

Indeed, he possessed such power, but it was fleeting, lasting only for one minute.

And after that single minute, there was a cooldown period—an entire day of waiting.

Twenty-four hours of charging for just one glorious minute of insane domination.

For that brief span, he could make even the mightiest gods bow before him, forcing them to act as mere mortals. But the moment passed, and he was just a man who could stand toe-to-toe with the divine, but not much more.

"This is all your fault." he muttered, glaring down at the crumbled palace beneath his feet.

The destruction caused by the battle had left the once magnificent structure in ruins. The altar, stained with blood, and the skeletal remains scattered across the ground now lay bare beneath the sunlight.

Among the wreckage, a figure stood—pale and dressed in the fine clothes of a tailor. The sacrifice to the evil god.

The man's eyes were dead, filled with a hatred that could no longer be contained.

He had long been consumed by the evil god's influence. His heart and soul twisted beyond saving.

"There's no hope for you now," Rod murmured. "Best to bury it all."

A flicker of fire danced on Rod' fingertip.

With a single motion, the sun's power was unleashed, incinerating the entire palace, reducing everything to ash.

Dust to dust.

The dead should remain in the earth, or else, become ashes.

____

"How can someone like this exist in the world? And it's a human?"

Inside the nearby hotel, Yulia couldn't hide the shock on her face.

Others might not have known what the creature was that had tentacles writhing across its grotesque form, but Yulia—being a legendary mage—knew all too well.

An evil god.

And not just any evil god, but a demigod of terrifying power.

Such a being could scarcely be seen, even in the imperial capital. No one could eliminate it—not even the Holy Pope, the mightiest figure in the Shinra Empire. Armed with divine artifacts and sacred objects, the Pope could perhaps drive it away, but as for killing it?

Only those at the absolute peak of power, gods themselves, could hope to eliminate an evil god completely. The true terror of these beings was their endless, near-immortal vitality.

Even the gods themselves could only seal them away, never fully extinguish their existence.

But what the gods could not do, a mortal had done.

Yulia was in complete awe. She had fought alongside this monster of a man before, yet only now did she grasp the magnitude of his power.

That she was still alive after being in his company was nothing short of a miracle.

____

Rod gently descended to the ground, the weight of his power evident in his every step. As his feet touched the earth, he felt a gaze upon him—someone watching closely.

Turning his head slightly, he spotted Van Helsing's familiar face.

Beside him stood a priest clad in red robes, an older man whose devout faith radiated from his very being. Surrounding them were several Holy Church followers, all with fanatical eyes and auras of conviction.

Rod barely glanced at them before dismissing the scene.

He had met Van Helsing once before, but the rest were strangers to him.

Greet them? There was no need.

With a shrug, Rod hooked his magic axe to his waistband and began walking toward the hotel.

The matter of the evil god was resolved, though not in the most satisfying way. The earl's family and everyone in the palace had been sacrificed to the god, but at least the threat hadn't escalated beyond that.

A few lives lost to save many more—that was, tragically, the best outcome.

And as for the earl himself?

Who cared?

Had it not been for that pompous fool inviting a demon tailor into his castle, today's disaster wouldn't have happened at all. While others invited the God of Wealth into their homes, this idiot had summoned the God of Death.

If he wasn't doomed, who would be?

____

"Sir, please wait a moment." a voice called out from behind.

It was the old man in red, his tone unusually respectful. Behind him, the Holy Church believers all wore expressions of shock and disbelief.

Despite the old man's high status within the church—where he commanded respect from even the highest nobles—he now spoke with a humility that seemed out of place.

His eyes held an undeniable awe as he stared at Rod.

Being a cardinal in the Holy Church was no small feat. He was one of the highest-ranking figures, just beneath the Pope himself. With that authority, even the emperor of the Shinra Empire would receive only a moderate level of deference.

But the man before him was different.

This was an existence capable of expelling, or even killing, demigod-level evil gods.

Even if Rod wasn't a god himself, he had already stepped into that realm of the sacred and transcendent.

A being of such magnitude could not be compared to mere mortals. In the presence of someone who could rival the gods, all worldly titles and statuses meant nothing.

Even if the Pope himself were here, he would have to show due respect.

And the cardinal? He was just a small figure in comparison.

"Is there a problem?" Rod asked, his voice cold as he turned slightly.

"I wonder… would my lord be interested in joining our Holy Church, to follow the God of Glory? If you are willing, we have a vacancy for the position of Chief Judge," the cardinal said, lowering himself further.

The Holy Church was structured under the leadership of the Pope, with three major institutions beneath him: the Legion Commander, the Presiding Judge, and the Knight Commander. Each controlled a vital part of the church—the Iron Cross Legion, the Inquisition, and other vital branches. These three leaders were second only to the Pope in authority.

Currently, the Presiding Judge was nearing retirement. If Rod could be convinced to take the position, it would be an unimaginable boon for the church.

The cardinal was sure the Pope would gladly approve.

___

"Follow the God of Glory?" Rhodes raised an eyebrow, his tone a mixture of disdain and amusement.

"Is there any god in this world worthy of my faith?"

"Go back and ask your god—see if he's worthy." [T/N: Satisfied... Nothing less expected from Escanor's counterpart.]

In his eyes, gods were nothing more than cattle waiting to be slaughtered. When his mood soured, he might very well decide to butcher one.

Worthy of his faith? The thought was laughable.

The cardinal's face flickered with anger at Rod' blatant insult, but his rational mind kept him in check. After all, the man before him might very well be a being on par with the gods themselves.

And could a dispute between gods even be considered blasphemy?

It was hard to say. But one thing was clear—this was no battle for mortals like him to interfere in.

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