Free Web Novel"You need to get used to it. Orthodox Gods are just people, really. Find the right opportunity, and you can kill them too."
"You... I..."
Loren's few words sent the honest girl Paqina into trembling fright. She nervously looked left and right, terrified that someone might overhear their conversation.
"No need to be nervous. We'll be going up against the Orthodox Gods sooner or later anyway."
"Can we actually win..."
Paqina had naturally included herself in the "we" Loren spoke of. Even though she didn't understand why Loren—known for his loyalty to the Orthodox Gods—was privately thinking about fighting them, she had already started considering how she could help him.
"I have plenty of ways to kill an Orthodox God. Don't worry about that."
"Then why do you want to go after them..."
The existence of the Orthodox Gods was undoubtedly a good thing for Loren. He had his current status precisely because of them.
"Because the Orthodox Gods are persecuting the Witches, and I love the Witches. So I'll kill every last Orthodox God, just like they did to the Witches."
"!"
Loren's seemingly casual tone delivered each sentence more explosive than the last, making Paqina wonder if she was dreaming right now.
"It hurts..."
She pinched her cheek and felt a sharp sting. This was definitely not a dream.
Loren was truly thinking about avenging the Witches. Even now, Paqina could hardly believe he had actually said such words.
"You can't tell if you're dreaming by pain alone. The God of Dreams has ways to simulate pain within dreams.
"But you're not dreaming right now. Everything I said is my genuine thoughts."
Even if these words stirred up a storm in Paqina's heart, Loren didn't seem particularly concerned, as if he had just been chatting about everyday matters.
"Alright, let's continue ranking the gods..."
This time, Paqina listened much more intently. She understood now that Loren was genuinely assessing which god would be the hardest to kill.
"Next up is the God of Plague. His methods are vicious, but his combat ability isn't great. Even if he ambushes someone first, he might still lose. But he has plenty of tricks, so he's still a bit stronger than the God of Freedom.
"So we'll rank him as Elite."
Back then, the God of Plague had ambushed the God of Bountiful Harvest, only to be beaten to death by raw stats and have his authority stolen.
"Next, the God of Pain. No mechanics, no stats. Although his authority over pain includes both physical and mental suffering, it's mostly physical, and it's not very effective against people with strong willpower, like Noah.
"So he's even worse than the God of Plague. We'll rank him as NPC.
"Then there's the God of Night and Thunder. His two authorities are somewhat conflicting—night symbolizing darkness and thunder symbolizing light coming together. One plus one might not be greater than two, but it's definitely greater than one. So we'll rank the God of Night and Thunder as Elite."
Paqina listened to these words very carefully. Even if she wasn't a Witch, she would do her best to help Loren. She kept thinking about ways to deal with these gods.
But these gods stood too high. Even she had only just changed her attitude toward the Orthodox Gods. She couldn't even begin to imagine them being defeated, let alone killed.
Angels were already something beyond her reach. The closest she had ever come to an angel was last time, when one descended to handle the affairs of the Gedlan Kingdom.
If angels were like this, then the Orthodox Gods who controlled them were even more unfathomable.
So even if she wanted to fight the Orthodox Gods, she had absolutely no idea how.
"The last god on the Western Continent is the God of Vows and Wind. His two authorities aren't closely related, and they even conflict a bit, but he combined them well. Even if one plus one isn't greater than two, he still managed to make one plus one equal two.
"He integrated his authority into people's daily lives, and his followers genuinely worship him. So the faith power he receives is also strong enough. The God of Vows and Wind ranks as Top-Tier."
This kind of forbidden knowledge was actually quite thrilling to hear, and everyone else had their interest piqued as well.
"There's not much to say about the Eastern Continent either. The God of Dreams has low stats and nothing but mechanics. He's never done anything significant. He just roams around in dreams all day, but in reality, he's pathetically weak. If he lost his authority, he'd be crushed instantly. Useless. Even weaker than the God of Freedom, who's also useless.
"The God of Confusion isn't much better. He gets spun around like a top by the God of Light and Fire all day, and his followers keep shouting victory after victory. But at least he's not as bad as the God of Freedom, who's basically a speed bump. We'll rank him as NPC."
In a sense, it wasn't that these gods were weak. It was that the God of Light and Fire was so overwhelmingly strong that he beat them all into submission. The situation would probably be similar no matter which god took their place.
"Finally, the God of Light and Fire. His two authorities combine perfectly. His strength is unfathomable. He's stronger than any other Orthodox God and the hardest one to kill. He absolutely has to be ranked as Overpowered!"
Using the word "kill" to describe an Orthodox God made Paqina's head spin a little.
"But these things are still far off for now. No need to think about them. If we really want to kill them, we'll have to wait until the Divine War begins, when the gods are busy fighting each other and weakened. That's when we'll strike."
The first time she heard about killing a god, Scarlett had almost fainted from shock. But after spending so much time with Loren, she had long since become desensitized. Now, hearing about killing Orthodox Gods didn't stir a single ripple in her heart.
Everyone continued chatting casually. Soon, the train entered the God of Plague's territory, which turned out to be just an ordinary small country.
Paqina, traveling abroad for the first time, looked out the window again. The scenery wasn't beautiful, but it was novel enough.
The train compartment wasn't very spacious. Everyone huddled together in the carriage, giving Lilith a chance to cling to Loren. She lay in his arms, also watching the scenery outside. She hadn't seen much daylight scenery before. Even though Loren had helped her overcome her fear of the sun during this time, she rarely went out.
Rather than running around, she preferred to stick close to Loren.
The atmosphere in the carriage was warm and cozy, until Paqina's scream shattered the peace.
"Ah!"
Paqina let out a shrill cry and collapsed onto the seat. Her pupils were trembling. She didn't even realize her glasses had gone crooked.
Her whole body shook. She couldn't get a single word out properly.
Loren didn't ask what had happened. He could see for himself.
The window had been splattered red, with bits of flesh stuck to the glass. Loren moved closer to the window and looked outside, only to find a human arm caught on the wheel.
"Don't be scared..."
Loren immediately pulled Paqina into his arms. It was her first time seeing something like this. Her fear was only natural, especially given the sheer impact of the scene.
Now there was just a smear of blood on the window. Paqina must have seen the chunks of a corpse flying past right in front of her eyes.
"I'm here."
Loren stroked Paqina's hair. His calm demeanor gradually helped her settle down.
