“What’s wrong? My pious Pope~”
Standing in front of him, the golden-haired loli’s face was alight with satisfaction at her own success. Mu Xuan clenched his fists, two large hash marks faintly appearing on his forehead.
“Then tell me! What happened to my height!” Mu Xuan’s tone showed not a trace of reverence toward the divine. The Goddess of Light, who’d acted so dignified before, was now exposing her bratty little demon side right in front of him.
The last time he’d borrowed her power, it was in this very space, and Mu Xuan had nearly wanted to take this loli goddess apart!
“It’s just a change from 1.78 meters to 1.68 meters, not worth getting so worked up about~”
Hearing the loli goddess’s nonchalant tone, Mu Xuan’s temper flared instantly.
But before Mu Xuan could say anything, the loli goddess abruptly asked, “Then what about you randomly changing the appearance of My statue~?”
“Ah, well…” Mu Xuan was a bit embarrassed, as if he’d been caught red-handed doing something he shouldn’t have. There was just no way to refute having altered the statue’s appearance… Or was there?!
“That’s just your actual body! Who makes their own divine statue way taller than they actually are!” Mu Xuan retorted firmly.
“You!” The loli goddess was successfully infuriated by Mu Xuan’s words, puffing her cheeks in anger and glaring at him. The entire space’s radiance turned blinding in an instant, just like a cat bristling its fur.
Looking at the little face puffed up with indignation, Mu Xuan felt it hard to keep a straight face. Since when did gods have the temperament of a child…
Knowing the loli goddess didn’t want to discuss this further, Mu Xuan waited for her to calm down, then asked in confusion, “Your Grace, since you’re still here, why is this world…”
“You think I want this? I already died long ago!” The loli goddess rolled her eyes, responding in annoyance. But at the mention of it, she grew a bit agitated. “Such a massive church, yet there weren’t even a handful of truly devout believers. My power waned, and I was backstabbed by that idiot woman, Veliel!”
This… Mu Xuan truly hadn’t expected…
“If it weren’t for your powerful spiritual force reactivating the scepter, I might’ve already been obliterated by the arrival of the Calamity…” As she spoke, the loli goddess’s tone revealed a hint of sadness.
“So you don’t know what this Calamity is either?”
“Nope!”
Seeing the loli goddess standing with her hands on her hips, radiating complete confidence, Mu Xuan’s brow twitched.
Rubbing his temples, Mu Xuan changed the topic again. “With more Light’s Power flowing in, my height shouldn’t shrink any further, right?”
“Maybe?” The loli goddess sounded uncertain.
Hearing her answer, Mu Xuan’s fists clenched unconsciously. While trying to suppress his rising blood pressure, he exhaled a heavy breath.
“So why did all this happen?”
“It’s simple. I fused my Core with your soul.”
!?
Oh my god, what do you mean, you fused your Core with my soul?!
“I’m dead, aren’t I? The Core’s no use to me, so I just gave it to you to fuse.” Watching the loli goddess act as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Mu Xuan’s brow twitched again.
This was still her divine Core!
He remembered how, when the strange Core was even slightly damaged, those nearly untouchable rules collapsed like sand. Mu Xuan was speechless toward this loli goddess.
Isn’t it a bit reckless to give me something so precious? Are you sure you didn’t only do it because something went wrong?
“Relax~ Even though that body of yours is ugly, your soul isn’t bad. I can’t use the Core anymore, and all this time, you’re the only one with a strong enough mind and soul to withstand fusing with it.”
Listening to her, Mu Xuan’s lips twitched. This original body of his was really quite pitiful… He hadn’t minded it, but the goddess did!
“You have to promise me first, nothing else will go wrong with my body!” Thinking of the loli goddess’s scheming little demon nature, Mu Xuan said seriously.
He had a strong suspicion that the reason he’d gotten shorter was precisely because of this goddess’s Core! Even though she’d given him something so vital, he still needed to be cautious.
“Relax~ By the Light, I promise My pious little Pope, the Core will only make you stronger~”
Looking at the loli goddess’s beaming smile, as if she’d scored a huge bargain, Mu Xuan’s expression darkened, and he chose to leave this space on his own.
After Mu Xuan left, the goddess gently brushed back her hair, her white feet softly stepping on the pitch-black ground, sending out golden ripples.
Smiling as she gazed at the gathering power of Light in the distance, anticipation filled the goddess’s eyes.
“My beloved little Saintess~ do your best~”
With his consciousness leaving that space, Mu Xuan stood up and announced the end of his prayer.
Taking advantage of the others’ distraction, he quickly left the statue’s side and entered the small house built for him, burrowing inside.
Honestly, Mu Xuan hadn’t expected that the place where he’d first summoned Buzhaji, Gryffinde, and Beikze would turn out to be the resting place of the goddess’s consciousness.
The scepter was originally just a medium linking to that space, but ever since the goddess fused her Core with his soul, Mu Xuan could sense the space without relying on the scepter at all…
Just what is the goddess after… Mu Xuan couldn’t understand…
There’s no way something so good could happen in this world. And it’s impossible that just because he was the Pope, reactivated the scepter, and revived her faith, she would do all this for him…
Although the goddess had shown two very different personalities, Mu Xuan didn’t dare to assume either was her true self…
After all, she was a deity, who’d survived for so long…
But there was no point in worrying about the goddess’s intentions now. He still needed her power—he couldn’t give up what he had now because of some unknowns…
Remembering the terrifying angel from the depths of his memory, blurry and indistinct, Mu Xuan felt a chill run through his heart.
Just one glance had nearly driven him into endless madness…
As the population grew, there weren’t enough houses for everyone to have a room of their own, so several people had to squeeze in together. The increased Faith had also allowed Mu Xuan to allocate several strands to reinforce the Light Barrier around the village.
After all, Mu Xuan couldn’t be sure the old, weak barrier could truly stop those abominations.
Only now did he barely feel at ease.
While planning tomorrow’s arrangements, there was suddenly a knock at the door.
“Your Holiness, Kaman requests an audience…”
Kaman? He was someone Mu Xuan had thought had great potential from the start, and sure enough, he’d eventually become a Fanatic.
But what was he here for now?
With some doubt in his mind, Mu Xuan said, “Enter.”
“Your Holiness, I wish to become a knight. Please grant me this opportunity!”
Entering the room, Kaman knelt on one knee, speaking earnestly.
Looking at Kaman, Mu Xuan pondered for a moment before saying, “There will be an appointment ceremony tomorrow…”
Hearing this, Kaman’s face lit up. “Praise you, merciful Holiness!”
With that, he immediately left, not disturbing Mu Xuan any further.
With a fair amount of Faith left, Mu Xuan saw no reason to hoard it. He didn’t plan to use Faith to increase his own power, so it was better to distribute it, and form the church’s very first foundation.