Although the radiance was so intense that James could not truly see her, he remembered that this was the feeling the Goddess gave him. He glanced at the figure with love, seemingly lost in her grace.
However, it was at this point that night suddenly fell. The once serene pond turned into a churning, black abyss, and from its depths, a colossal snake emerged, its scales gleaming like polished obsidian, eyes glowing with malevolent fire. The sight was horrifying, an unholy blend of darkness and terror.
The snake moved with a terrifying grace, its massive coils undulating with a sinister rhythm. As it rose higher, its maw opened wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp fangs dripping with venom. The air around it crackled with dark energy, a palpable sense of dread enveloping everything. James’s heart pounded as he watched, paralyzed with fear.
In a horrifying instant, the snake lunged forward with a speed that belied its size, swallowing the radiant figure whole. Blood splattered everywhere, mingling with the once pure light, turning it into a grotesque mix of red and gold. The Goddess’s screams echoed through the darkened landscape, a haunting cry of agony that chilled James to the bone.
"Goddess!" James’s voice was a mere whisper, trembling with disbelief and horror. His eyes were wide with shock, unable to process the brutal spectacle unfolding before him. The snake, now dripping with the Goddess’s blood, turned its fiery gaze upon him.
The creature’s eyes bored into his soul, stripping away any semblance of sanity he had left. "I am your God now!" The voice was a thunderous roar reverberating through his mind, filling him with an all-consuming dread.
The ground beneath James trembled as the snake’s coils tightened around him, squeezing the very life from his body. He could feel his bones creaking under the immense pressure, his skin tearing as blood oozed from the wounds. The world around him spun into a dizzying blur of pain and terror, the once glorious vision of the Goddess now replaced by this monstrous deity of destruction.
Vlad glanced between Jormungandr and the captain from the Azarin Empire. He saw nothing, but his senses could feel the psychic interaction between the two and knew their minds were locked in an illusion.
After a few seconds, James’s entire body trembled, and he vomited a mouthful of blood. His face grew pale as his vitality began to rapidly wane. Whatever Jormungandr made the man see, it not only broke his compulsion towards the Goddess but also shattered his will to live to the point that his own brain was shutting down his body.
"You can now ask your questions, Boss. However, you must be quick; his mind will only resist a few more minutes before shutting down. I might have overexerted myself with Nightmare Weaver, and once he falls unconscious, I doubt he could wake up." Jormungandr spoke in an exhausted tone. The Bloodline Ability Nightmare Weaver was terrific, but it also demanded immense energy and put tremendous pressure on his mental faculties.
Vlad nodded to the small yellow cat and, without hesitation, continued the interrogation, "Tell me more about Pope Jerom and the Goddess Church!"
James would have normally bitten his tongue rather than revealed those secrets, but his mind was broken now, having seen the horrible death of the Goddess. He began to talk with a dissociated tone: "The Pope is the head of the Church of Glory. He can channel the Divine Power of the Goddess and has become the highest-level Mage in the entire empire."
Vlad’s eyes narrowed, and a somber expression appeared on his face. According to the man’s description, Pope Jerom was not really a Mage but a Priest. That class shouldn’t exist in a New Plane since this one shouldn’t have Gods, but there was no way to deny the evidence.
Priests do not gather Magic in their Sea of Consciousness; instead, they use the much more powerful Divine Force. This energy can give birth to Holy Spells of catastrophic proportions and accumulate at a shocking speed, allowing someone to rise in Level very fast, as long as they have enough grace from their God.
Of course, one could not simply become a Priest because they wanted to. It took a long time of preparation and training, which could take years, but Jerom had found a way around it.
James opened his mouth but stopped for a moment as he felt the following information should never be uttered. However, after a few seconds, a feeling of hopelessness invaded him, and he continued, "The Church of GLory was created to spread the might of the Goddess Lucia. She is the savior of the world. As we pray, her voice reaches our souls, making us understand we are the chosen people, and all others should obey us as good monkeys."
Vlad’s eyes widened as he heard those words. Up until this moment, he had been under the misconception that the Azarin Empire was using xenophobia to enhance its cause and promote its people toward the church, but he had things backward.
"As they pray to her, she sends forth her voice telling them they are the chosen people and that everybody else is corrupting her world. No wonder all the soldiers are so adamant in their twisted version of the world." Vlad’s voice was solemn. If the Goddess brainwashed everybody who worshiped her, then the entire Azarin Empire would be hellbent on killing the citizens of Constantine Country.
"Have you ever seen the Goddess? How is she?" Vlad needed to know more about this figure, as it was the one he needed to take down unless he wanted to perform a genocide and butcher every soul in the Azarin Empire.
When James heard that question, pure and utter sadness appeared on his face. In his mind, the Goddess was already dead, devoured by the devil king of gluttony. "I saw her once as I advanced to captain. She was so beautiful, a golden giant of ten meters basked in golden light that fell from the heavens. A veil covered her face, but she was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen."