Chapter 27
What was an Apostle?
Who became an Apostle?
What qualities were needed to become one?
There were no clear answers.
However, through the long years and countless experiences he had endured with his own body, Yohan had learned a few things that were close to the truth.
A deity usually shared its power and Authority with an intelligent being because of influence.
Most Inner Gods belonged to this category, and their reason for appointing Apostles was not very different.
For believers, whose faith generally increased with numbers, more was usually better.
Apostles, however, were different.
In Dagon’s case, he mainly relied on fanatical creatures called Deep Ones.
Because of that, there was more than one Apostle leading them.
On the other hand, some gods focused on the individual strength of a single Apostle rather than overwhelming enemies with numbers.
In those cases, an Apostle might remain unchanged for decades.
Great Old Ones such as Agorsh, Cthulhu, and Hastur belonged to this category.
Either way, their purpose was clear.
They wanted to increase their influence by making others feel awe through the existence of their Apostles.
For that reason, they tried to gather as many believers as possible.
This was especially true for weaker deities with less influence.
But if the deity was one of the gods from outside this world, an Outer God, the story changed.
For reasons no one understood, those gods had become caught in this world.
They supported the Four Great Factions and dreamed of liberation together with them.
Their standards for choosing Apostles were completely different from those of the Inner Gods.
The most important value was will.
A person needed the powerful will to achieve their goal no matter what it took.
Most Apostles of the Four Great Factions had become Apostles because their determination was highly valued.
Many among them were heroes whose names were no longer even remembered in legend.
Of course, not every Outer God chose Apostles by the same standard.
Willpower alone was not enough for everyone.
The world called the four pantheons connected to the Four Great Factions by these names.
Humanity, the Sapien faction, had Terraforce.
The beastfolk, the Were faction, had the Lantern.
The fair folk, the Elf faction, had Aurella.
The dwarves had the Golden Land.
They protected different races, yet all called for the liberation of every intelligent being.
Their common goal was liberation and salvation.
However, their methods for achieving it differed greatly.
That was one of the main characteristics of the Outer God factions.
For example, Terraforce emphasized the power of unity.
The Lantern emphasized individual martial strength.
Aurella emphasized gathering information.
The Golden Land emphasized the importance of weapons and equipment.
Their slightly different positions naturally affected how they chose Apostles.
Terraforce preferred Apostles with leadership strong enough to unite the Four Great Factions.
The Lantern preferred Apostles with overwhelming combat strength.
Aurella preferred persistent Apostles capable of gathering information from across the world.
The Golden Land preferred blacksmith Apostles who could create legendary weapons, or grave robbers capable of finding them.
People naturally favored their own kind.
At first, the Outer Gods had also chosen Apostles mainly from the races they protected.
However, differences in their values gradually created exceptions.
A Were who valued leadership over strength might receive Terraforce’s call.
A Sapien with an obsessive hunger for information might receive Aurella’s call.
Yohan had watched this entire process unfold as a raider.
In the end, he reached one conclusion.
For an Apostle, personality and values mattered more than race.
That was also the standard he had used when judging Isabella.
She might not suit the Lantern’s taste, but Aurella could find her exactly to its liking.
While Yohan reached that conclusion, his body continued slaughtering enemies almost independently of his thoughts.
More than two hundred magic beasts had already failed to break through his spears of blood.
Their bodies were torn apart in every direction.
The Giant Thunder Scorpion, which had been controlling its followers with screams, sent part of its force toward Aren and Isabella.
It probably believed those two, at least, could be defeated easily.
However, even that was not so simple.
“Hyaaah!”
Isabella carefully targeted only the most dangerous beasts approaching her.
CRACK!
ZZZT…!
A magic beast struck by her mace, which was filled with electricity, twisted violently from the shock.
Nearby beasts that failed to react in time were caught in the movement and disabled as well.
The Harpoon Fish were smaller and far more numerous, making them difficult to deal with one at a time.
She blocked most of them using Aura.
The rest were left to the Blood Bubble.
Shwaak!
Gwooog… TING!
Harpoon Fish trying to pierce the bubble and stab through her face sank into the surface, then were thrown backward by the rebound.
Unlike normal Oxygen Bubbles, this bubble was made of thick, sticky blood.
It did not burst easily, nor did it become damaged.
The only small disadvantage was that everything looked darker and red through it.
She had to open her eyes wider to see clearly.
After driving the enemies away once more, Isabella breathed heavily and looked toward Yohan.
“He’s slaughtering an army that large while perfectly maintaining Blood Bubbles around both of us… I don’t even know what to say. The difference in level is too ridiculous.”
That was her honest impression.
However, she had no time to remain amazed.
Another group of magic beasts attacked, forcing Isabella into another battle.
Aren was the same.
“D, don’t come! Don’t come!”
There was a limit to how many beasts he could avoid with Refraction Magic and a Mana Barrier.
His best option was to desperately dodge the attacks that broke through.
Even then, avoiding everything was impossible.
Small wounds began appearing on his body.
Blood mixed with green and red seeped from the elf’s thin, pale skin and spread through the seawater.
“……”
When the metallic smell reached Yohan’s nose, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
The goddess also smiled with satisfaction and licked her lips.
[Now this is finally getting interesting. Don’t you think?]
Before Yohan was the Giant Thunder Scorpion, charging with a gigantic sea serpent beside it.
