Chapter 578

【DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!】

—

Deep within the forest, the players were still locked in debate over what exactly the Pantheon was

Some of the more perceptive individuals had already begun eagerly questioning the barely-conscious Athos.

They had sensed the scent of a hidden storyline.

Watching these inexplicably excited individuals ask him question after question with gleaming eyes, Athos was rendered speechless.

As a dignified demigod, he truly had no desire to converse with such lowly mortals. However, these deranged beings clearly defied conventional logic.

If he failed to divert their attention and they ended up pulling out another holy statue to cause havoc, his position as a demigod might truly be finished…

Thus, despite the deep hatred he harbored toward these blasphemous creatures, Athos forced himself to remain patient and began to explain:

“The Pantheon… is the place in which where the gods convene. It is the holiest site in the entire universe,” he said solemnly, with a grave and reverent expression.

Of course, in truth, Athos was merely stalling for time.

He needed to stabilize the injuries within his body.

If he could just maintain a sliver of control and avoid being ambushed by these elves, then he could make them pay dearly for their transgressions!

“All true gods are required to leave a divine seat within the Pantheon. Only by doing so will they be accepted by the divine community and be acknowledged as true rulers,” he continued.

After speaking, Athos instinctively glanced at the players.

In Seigües, true gods were the supreme rulers whom all mortals revered and worshipped.

Athos believed that if these elves truly understood the significance of the Pantheon, they would surely become more respectful.

However, he soon realized he had grossly underestimated them.

Not only did these elves lack basic common sense, but they also seemed to harbor no reverence for the divine at all…

“The Pantheon? Is that a new map? A zone where gods appear… could it be a future dungeon?” one elf said excitedly.

“Even if it is a dungeon, won’t it take a while before it’s released, right?” another responded.

“Well, who knows what the future holds? We did just wipe out a God’s incarnation shortly after starting the game,” someone else added nonchalantly.

Athos: “…”

They… wiped out an incarnation of a god?

For a brief moment, he thought he had misheard.

But upon seeing the elves’ casual expressions, he began to suspect it might actually be true…

Indeed, these elves had even dared to exploit divine judgment itself, going so far as to mock Gods openly.

With that being the case, what wouldn’t they dare to do?

That thought only made his frustration deepened.

In his worldview, all beings in existence should revere and exalt the true gods. So why was there such a group here that showed absolutely no reverence at all?

Could this be the result of the Goddess of Life’s teachings?

Was she not concerned about potential backlash?

To Athos, this chaotic and unruly new breed of elves was utterly uncontrollable. He now seriously doubted whether even the Goddess of Life herself could keep them in line…

If nothing else, he couldn’t believe that any true god would allow their own believers to casually blaspheme other deities!

These long-eared creatures…

Aside from their outward beauty and unusually pure magical essence, they were otherwise no different from demons.

Just then, Athos noticed three elves suddenly leap into the air:

“Fuck!”

They almost shouted in unison—a phrase Athos didn’t understand, but instinctively knew was not a respectful expression.

“G-Guys! I just received an oracle from the Goddess! I actually received a divine message!” one elf exclaimed with uncontainable excitement.

“Me too! Me too! I heard the Goddess’s voice directly in my mind! There’s no mistaking it! it’s the same voice from when I created my character and during previous story events!” said another elf, equally elated.

“Haha, just like the system said, if you play a priest well, you might get the chance to receive an oracle. Praise the Goddess!” said a third, drawing the symbol of a Scepter over his chest.

However, despite the gesture being a prayer, there was an undeniable air of ridiculousness in how he performed it…

Upon hearing their priest companions’ claims, the other players immediately erupted in excitement.

“What? You heard a divine oracle? What did it say?”

“Damn… so this is the perk of being a priest? Tch, definitely a favored class… it’s making me want to switch, too!”

“Jealous… I really want to hear the Goddess’s voice too and have a deep spiritual connection with her…”

The crowd of elves suddenly exploded in a frenzy, like hot oil reacting to a drop of water.

Upon hearing their words, Athos’s expression immediately changed.

Had the Goddess of Life truly turned her attention to this place?

In an instant, all the schemes forming in his mind were extinguished.

However, as he looked at the excited long-eared beings around him, Athos suddenly found himself momentarily dazed…

He could understand the fervor and excitement that mortals often displayed upon receiving a divine oracle.

But the reactions of these elves felt… different from what he was used to.

They were indeed excited—no doubt about that—but there seemed to be no reverence accompanying their excitement.

Only joy and enthusiasm.

These beings… weren’t they believers of the Goddess of Life?

Why did they show so little awe when speaking about their patron deity?

And yet, judging by their expressions, they seemed to hold deep admiration for the Goddess. The trust and intimacy in their words were nearly on par with that of devout zealots.

What was going on?

Athos felt as if his logic was beginning to unravel.

Meanwhile, the elves continued their discussion.

“The Goddess said to bring him to the temple in Winterhold,” the three elves who had received the divine message declared with visible pride.

“To the temple in Winterhold?” the other elves echoed, eyes lighting up.

“Wait a second… did we actually trigger a hidden questline?”

Bring him to the temple in Winterhold?

Upon hearing that, Athos immediately became alert, and his expression turned solemn.

The Goddess of Life… had truly taken notice of him.

But in the very next moment, he noticed the elves suddenly falling silent.

Athos turned his head, only to see more than a dozen pairs of curious eyes staring at him in unison.

Even as a demigod, that kind of gaze made him feel an ominous sense of unease.

“Since Her Grace, the Goddess of Life, has issued a divine oracle, what are you all waiting for? Lead the way!” he barked, trying to sound authoritative. Although a subtle lack of confidence lingered in his voice.

And then, he saw the elves suddenly grow excited once more:

“Holy crap! No wonder that orc companion of his was turned to ash by holy bomb and this dude survived… Turns out this man is not just a Legendary mob, he’s actually a demigod!”

“A demigod! Hahaha! We actually ambushed a demigod!”

Athos: “…”

How did they figure out his identity?

He froze slightly, stunned.

Of course, he would never know that just moments ago, all the players present had simultaneously received a new quest titled ‘Demigod Envoy’.

The mission was to escort Athos back.

In fact, to avoid misunderstandings and prevent players from getting too friendly with a high-level NPC, the quest even had a label: “Potentially Hostile.”

“Umm… excuse me… are you… a real demigod?” the lead elf asked, looking at Athos.

Athos: “…”

The corner of his eye twitched. After sensing the divine power still surging through his body, he let out a cold snort.

“What do you think?”

Upon learning of Athos’s demigod status, the players grew even more excited.

Until finally, a soft voice hesitantly asked:

“Then… that silver blood he’s bleeding…? couldn’t that be a valuable material?”

Silence.

The scene fell deathly quiet in an instant.

Over a dozen pairs of eyes once again turned toward Athos.

This time… he suddenly felt as if their gazes had taken on a faintly green glint.

And then, they all advanced toward him in unison.

Athos: “…”

“W-What are you doing?! Stay back—don’t come any closer!”

༺⟐༻

And so, Athos was carried to Winterhold.

Somehow, these elves even seemed to have a strange variety of items at their disposal—stretcher included, apparently a standard part of their equipment.

Although this method of transportation was far beyond anything Athos had anticipated—and dealt a heavy blow to his pride—the remnants of the divine punishment within him had yet to subside, and in truth, he was not capable of moving on his own anyway…

Compared to everything the elves had done along the way, Athos now felt that being carried into the presence of the Goddess of Life in such a manner was the least of his humiliations.

These wretched creatures… upon discovering his true identity, had actually set their sights on harvesting his divine blood!

Throughout the journey, these despicable scoundrels had been pretending to heal him when in truth, they were secretly collecting his blood under that guise!

Athos wasn’t even sure whether the Goddess of Life had noticed what they were doing…

It was humiliating

Utterly humiliating!

Never in his entire existence had Athos been treated in such a degrading manner, not even during his mortal days!

At this moment, he deeply regretted not concealing his presence and entering the temple of Winterhold directly.

If he had avoided these lunatics from the start, none of this disgrace would have occurred.

But alas, there was no “if.”

His original intent had merely been to leverage the authority of the God of War to exert pressure on the Goddess of Life and her followers.

This action had even been tacitly approved by the God of War Himself.

Yet to his great dismay, he hadn’t even made it to the Goddess’s presence before being thoroughly humiliated by a group of ridiculous elves, none of whom had even reached intermediate Silver-rank.

Never before had time felt so torturously slow for Athos.

So dispirited was he that, even upon entering Winterhold—a city he had been quite curious about—he found himself completely uninterested in exploring it.

All he could see were these bouncing, laughing, ridiculously styled elves, each more absurd than the last.

What frustrated him even more was the fact that somehow, the moment he was carried into Winterhold, apparently word had already spread throughout the city.

It was as if every elf knew they had successfully captured a demigod and not just any demigod, but an envoy of the Pantheon.

Crowds of elves surged forward in waves, surrounding him like a prized trophy on public display.

Only after entering the Temple of Life in Winterhold did Athos finally escape the terrifying grasp of the players.

The temple was overseen by a beautiful elven priestess.

Upon seeing Athos being carried into the temple, she nodded toward the players and said calmly:

“Thank you for your efforts. You may leave now.”

The elves obeyed immediately.

Just moments earlier, they had behaved so outrageously, but now in the presence of the priestess, they suddenly donned obsequious smiles.

“It was our pleasure! Of course!” they chirped, backing out of the temple obediently.

The contrast left Athos wide-eyed with disbelief. He couldn’t help but wonder who this elven priestess truly was.

Strangely enough, from his perception, her power didn’t even match that of many of the elves who had just left.

Yet her demeanor toward him nearly moved Athos to tears.

“So, you are the esteemed demigod who wished to meet the Goddess?” she asked warmly.

“I’m truly sorry for the trouble you’ve endured… The Chosen Ones can be rather unreliable at times. However, had you revealed your identity earlier, much of this could have been avoided.”

Although her words carried a subtle hint of criticism regarding his failure to disclose his identity, her tone and attitude were worlds apart from those chaotic mad elves, gentle and courteous.

This…

This was what a real elf should truly be like!

Athos cried out inwardly.

Of course, he had no way of knowing that this elven priestess was a true elf, unlike the others, who were merely players wearing elven skins.

Unlike in the Heart of Nature, the First Legion had almost no priest-class players, and none had even passed the High Priestess Trial.

Therefore, in order to maintain the daily functions of the temple, the First Legion had directly invited the Church of Life to dispatch an actual priest.

This elven priestess was a genuine high-ranking member of the clergy and, incidentally, the only NPC in Winterhold capable of issuing high-tier daily quests. Naturally, the players fawned over her.

After bowing respectfully to Athos, the priestess turned toward a certain part of the temple and gave another formal bow.

“Lady Feynir, the divine envoy mentioned in the oracle has arrived.”

With that, she gracefully withdrew.

As she left, Athos suddenly saw a glowing “butterfly” fluttering from the rear of the temple.

No…

That wasn’t a butterfly, per se.

It was actually a tiny, winged creature with butterfly-like wings.

What kind of race is this? I’ve never seen anything like it before…

Athos wondered, slightly startled.

However, he quickly stopped focusing on the physical features of the tiny creature and turned his attention to her magical essence.

From this being, he could sense a power no weaker than his own…

A demigod!

So aside from the Goddess of Life herself, there’s actually another demigod-level entity in their faction!

The “butterfly” swiftly flew up to Athos, shining brilliantly, before transforming into the form of a young elven girl who looked no older than eleven or twelve.

She extended a finger toward Athos.

To his astonishment, the rampaging divine power within his body instantly calmed down as if washed away by a gentle tide…

Although he was still not fully healed, Athos had regained a measure of mobility.

What a miraculous power… It could even regulate divine energy!

Athos’s expression was one of astonishment.

He struggled to his feet, carefully concealing the surprise and caution in his eyes, then bowed respectfully to the figure before him.

“I, Demigod Athos, thank you for your assistance.”

The girl gave a slight nod and responded calmly:

“I am Feynir, the Fairy King under the Goddess of Life.”

“Come with me. Her Grace is already awaiting you.”

Fairy King?

Athos frowned slightly, silently committing the name to memory, then followed her deeper into the temple.

Passing beyond the temple’s main hall, Athos was led to a small chamber that appeared to have been recently constructed. Feynir, the Fairy King, halted before the door and bowed respectfully.

“Your Grace, the envoy has arrived.”

The Goddess of Life is there inside this room…

At that moment, Athos straightened his posture, and his expression turned solemn and reverent.

“Enter,” came a melodious voice from within.

Feynir stepped aside with a slight bow, signaling Athos to proceed. Taking a deep breath, he reached out and pushed open the door.

The chamber was modest in size.

Seated at the priest’s place was an elven maiden who appeared no older than seventeen or eighteen.

She had lustrous silver hair and a pair of resplendent violet eyes, as brilliant as the stars. Her features were exquisitely delicate, so perfect that she seemed to have stepped out of a painting.

She wore a robe of sacred elegance, and in her hands she idly toyed with a long, ornate scepter.

Athos’s eyes narrowed sharply.

He recognized it immediately.

The legendary Scepter of Life.

And with that, the maiden’s identity became undeniable.

Currently in the present, only one being possessed the Scepter of Life: the one who claimed to be the heir to the divine mantle of the World Tree, the new Goddess of Life and Nature, a mythical entity known as Eve. She was a being who had very likely also inherited the divinity of the former Elven God.

A sudden wave of tension overtook Athos.

It wasn’t the Scepter that unsettled him.

What truly unnerved him was the complete absence of any divine aura emanating from her.

It was as though she did not exist at all.

There was only one explanation for such a phenomenon:

The figure before him was not an incarnation but a being whose divine presence surpassed the limits of his perception.

She was in currently in her true body.

The Goddess of Life… had arrived in person!

In an instant, Athos’s entire demeanor became grave.

To be honest, he had never expected to meet the true body of the Goddess of Life, especially not so soon after she had clashed with one of the subordinate deities from the God of War faction and killed them outright.

Suppressing the unease in his heart, Athos bowed deeply and said with utmost respect:

“I, Demigod Athos, pays his respects to Her Grace, the Goddess of Life.”

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