#102

What do they mean by something intruded?

Is someone hiding in the prayer room?

‘What about Athanas?’

I first checked Athanas’s gaze.

Athanas was still looking at me.

‘…If there were an intruder in the prayer room, Athanas would have noticed.’

Because a Halo appears when using a Miracle.

Seeing as there was no sign of tension on her face, it seemed Athanas hadn’t noticed the ‘intrusion’ itself.

‘Was I the only one attacked?’

Why?

No, the reason isn’t important.

‘How’ did they target me?

‘It’s impossible to use a Miracle remotely without a medium.’

If that were possible, Order wouldn’t have needed to start a war.

They could have just dropped a bolt of condemnation directly on the leader of the enemy nation to kill them.

‘Is there anything among my belongings that could serve as a medium?’

I counted the items I had in my head.

The reliquary I received from Athanas, the Sacred Relic the Saintess gave me, the sock ties engraved with Casimir’s name, a pocket knife, a tin soap box, a handkerchief, the thread bracelets I made with the kids, the leftover spool of thread from making those, and a pebble I was given because it was pretty….

‘…The pebble? The only thing here with an unknown origin is the pebble.’

“Is that a name you’ve heard before?”

“Pardon?”

“You looked surprised the moment you heard it.”

Athanas’s words snapped me back to my senses.

‘A name?’

Wait, can a name be a medium?

A warning I had heard once came vividly to mind.

[…Certain names, simply by hearing and remembering their pronunciation, create a door and a passage in the mind through which a higher being can intrude upon the spirit.]

‘Was that the God of Oblivion?’

A chill suddenly ran down my spine.

‘Then Athanas….’

Had she been ‘intruded’ upon already, but just hadn’t realized it?

“Fabio?”

Athanas looked at me with a puzzled expression.

But I couldn’t give any answer.

‘…Is it because of me?’

Athanas had decided to investigate ‘Oblivion’ because of the words I brought up.

And the reason I brought up the story of ‘Oblivion’ was….

‘That son of a bitch God of Records!’

He told me to go around asking for a name that creates a backdoor in my head just by hearing it once?

‘You called it hope! You said it was my hope!’

Who the fuck does this kind of thing to “hope”?

Where is the crazy bastard who puts a knife to a lifeline!

‘I should have known he was an untrustworthy piece of trash from the moment he threatened me with the lab director!’

“…You don’t look well.”

Athanas leaned down to meet my eyes. Her deep blue pupils stared at me without blinking.

“So, have you heard it before?”

“…No.”

“Then why were you so surprised?”

I swallowed hard.

‘Her expression….’

Something felt off.

It didn’t feel like something ‘Athanas’ would say.

Athanas opened her mouth.

[

SYSTEM

: ‘Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Reign Supreme’ effect is defending against ‘Intrusion’.]

“-Is that name really so strange?”

“Ah, no.”

“If it’s not strange, try saying it.”

“What?”

“I told you to say it.”

“Athanas, why all of a sudden….”

[

SYSTEM

: ‘Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Reign Supreme’ effect is defending against ‘Intrusion’.]

[

SYSTEM

: ‘Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Reign Supreme’ effect is defending against ‘Intrusion’.]

[

SYSTEM

: ‘Heaven Above, Earth Below, I Alone Reign Supreme’ effect is defending against ‘Intrusion’.]

The system windows flashed with a dizzying speed.

“…Is that name so difficult?”

As the system windows closed, Athanas’s face became visible.

The capillaries in her eyes were bursting. The whites of her eyes were quickly staining crimson.

“To the point where you cannot even remember it?”

Athanas reached out and grabbed my face.

‘Shit!’

This isn’t Athanas!

Definitely not!

The moment I reflexively tried to grab the Sacred Relic inside my clothes, Athanas grabbed my wrist and twisted it.

“Agh!”

“That is the object that blocked my ‘intrusion.’ Please excuse me for a moment.”

Athanas’s hand reached inside my clothes. I tried to stop her, but with a Strength of 30, it was useless.

Because she yanked the Sacred Relic so abruptly, it momentarily choked me.

“This is….”

Athanas frowned. Because of that, the pooled tears of blood flowed down, leaving red streaks on her face.

“You are not the target for disposal.”

‘…Target for disposal?’

“Next time, please present the Sacred Relic first. Descent consumes a great deal of cost.”

As soon as those words ended, Athanas’s body collapsed on top of me. My legs gave out instantly, and I slid down while hugging Athanas. Fortunately, there was a wall behind me.

‘What just….’

The sound of my heart thundered in my ears. I couldn’t breathe properly.

‘…What happened?’

I couldn’t organize my thoughts. Sentences wouldn’t complete and kept breaking in half. Perhaps because of the surge of adrenaline, I felt detached from reality, as if I were floating.

‘That thing just now….’

I hugged Athanas tightly. It felt as though my heart was beating twice as fast as the unconscious Athanas’s.

‘It was… a god, wasn’t it?’

It was my first time ‘witnessing’ a divine being.

Though I wasn’t sure if I should call that thing a god.

‘I see why the legends aren’t passed down.’

When things happen that belong in a ghost story category rather than a myth, of course the Doctrine doesn’t spread.

‘A god that installs a backdoor in your head just by hearing its name.’

How is that a god belonging to Order in any way?

It’s more like an Othergod than an Othergod.

‘…Is Athanas okay?’

Descent puts an enormous strain on the body. Units below the rank of Archbishop can suffer permanent damage that cannot be recovered even with the Blessing of Healing if the Descent is maintained for too long.

‘Her heart rate and breathing are stable now….’

I dragged Athanas to the bed, laid her down, and sat beside her. The dried marks of blood-tears remained clearly on her face. It bothered me, so I scrubbed them off with a handkerchief.

‘Athanas….’

All I could do was wait for her to wake up.

‘I feel like I’m waiting in front of an operating room.’

That helpless feeling of having nothing to do but pray, even though I don’t believe in gods….

‘…But I can’t even pray right now.’

After experiencing cosmic horror and having my SAN value plummet, I wasn’t in the mood to pray.

Who on earth would I pray to?

Order? The ‘Oblivion’ that made Athanas like this is working exactly for the sake of Order.

Just then, Athanas frowned slightly.

It was a sign she was waking up.

“Athanas!”

I raised my voice in relief, then immediately shut my mouth. Since she had just regained consciousness and would be confused, I planned to ask about what happened later if she wanted to rest.

However, seeing Athanas open her eyes, I had no choice but to ask this one thing.

“Are your eyes okay?”

“…Is there something strange about my eyes?”

“It seems there’s no problem with your vision. That’s a relief.”

‘If the world looked different than usual, she would have said something.’

The damage to her eyes seemed to be limited to the burst capillaries.

That was a relief.

“Is there any reason why something strange would happen to my vision?”

‘She doesn’t remember.’

Where do I even start explaining this?

“Well, you said yesterday that you would investigate the God of Oblivion.”

“…Did I?”

‘She doesn’t remember from this point?’

I thought only the memories during the Descent disappeared.

What the hell did that Oblivion bastard do?

“…Now that I think about it, it is strange. To be a being powerful enough to grant Blessings to everyone entering the library, yet not to be listed in the Pantheon.”

‘No, don’t think about it.’

“I’ve even completely forgotten that I said I would investigate….”

Athanas frowned.

That expression, as if she were trying to recall something, made me anxious.

“…It seems I encountered a priest of Oblivion while investigating. Is that correct?”

I did not answer.

“If not, then what on earth happened?”

“Athanas. Do not be curious about the God of Oblivion anymore. Do not think about it, and do not pay it any mind. I am saying this for your own sake.”

There was a high probability that Athanas not remembering the name of the God of Oblivion right now was a trap.

‘It’s probably wondering what I’ll say, thinking I’m under the illusion that the backdoor is gone.’

If I reveal the truth here—that the God of Oblivion can ‘intrude’ and that Athanas had already been ‘intruded’ upon?

‘I’ll encounter Oblivion again.’

Athanas could die in that process.

So, I had to persuade Athanas somehow.

‘To make up a reason that Athanas would find convincing….’

“I understand.”

‘…She understands?’

I was a bit stunned by Athanas’s quick agreement.

I didn’t explain what happened, why I was worried about her eyes, or why she shouldn’t investigate Oblivion.

‘But she’s just letting it slide?’

In the end, I couldn’t help but ask.

“Aren’t you going to ask more?”

“Because you told me not to be curious.”

“Or perhaps you’re thinking of investigating behind my back….”

“…Unlike you, I have never broken the terms of an agreement.”

“But….”

Athanas let out a short sigh.

“You seem terribly worried that I might break your warning. While you yourself don’t seem to care about the warnings I’ve given.”

‘…When did I not care?’

This is unfair.

I’m always mindful of them.

It’s just that moments come where I have no choice but to break them.

“Do you now understand a bit of how I felt when I gave you warnings?”

‘…I don’t.’

Athanas is the one who would never understand how I feel right now.

She doesn’t know what it’s like to experience something terrifying and spine-chilling, only for the person who was with you to not even remember it.

Chapter 103