Chapter 256: I'm sorry
Chapter 256: I’m sorry
After this decisive victory, the end of the long conflict between the Twelve and Devourer was basically determined. The hosts of angels serving the gods were greatly weakened by deaths of their masters, and regardless, most of them had little in terms of special abilities. Consumed by their greed for power, gods only loaned it to a few of them.
Voren didn’t give the gods time to recuperate or to attack him from behind. In the shortest time possible, he gathered what was left of his demonic army and set off to Heaven, which was open to him thanks to the book of magic he still carried in his body.
Meanwhile, gods were struck by the truth Voren told them. Distrust separated them even on the precipice of destruction. Rey, God of Rogues, did the best he could to restore it by accusing an innocent (in that particular crime, at least) angel with the evidence he crafted himself.
Some were happy to believe him, but Goddess of Wizards grew only more bitter with her second death. The angel was interrogated and executed, but Voren gave the gods no time to finish their arguments, striking them at their most vulnerable point.
They still fought to the best they could, knowing full well that Voren won’t leave any of them alive. It wasn’t a matter of winning or survival for him now, but a matter of hatred that he fostered in himself since his rebirth. Hatred—and greed, as Voren saw the green fields and golden palaces of Heaven and wanted to have them for himself.
It was a bloody battle. With his cunning, ruthlessness and accumulated power, Voren devoured the gods one by one. When the few left couldn’t resist anymore, God of Rogues pleaded for his—and their—lives, but found no mercy in his enemy’s heart.
They died, too. Their last attacks wounded Voren greatly, but the inevitably approaching death was not an ultimate obstacle after he consumed the last sparks of the gods’ souls. It was, though, almost convenient for him, when an angel who survived other demons went to finish Voren and avenge his masters.
Maybe he could’ve resisted, but Voren let him—and like that, passed the blessing and the burden of Pest to him, free to jump from a host to host again. There were a lot of such jumps there, as demons and angels still fought. Without their masters, angels lost divine powers, but most of them were still former adventurers and had fighting experience; they also had great numbers. Demons were few, but ferocious to the last.
This was a war made pointless by the nature of Heaven, which was the realm of undying. It lasted for a long time until both sides realised that and grew weary with the violence.
Voren, after his first death since rebirth, shed all his acquired abilities, but could still grow them back without eating the same monsters all over again. There was no lack of EXP to fund these evolutions around him, either. He regained his lost power in no time, and even found Pest to use as a personal teleportator again, since he still needed one to finish his dream.
He took oaths of servitude from those who still lived in Heaven and brought his faithful followers from the mortal realm up there, too. The mortal realm after that was of no consequence for Voren, as well as Hell.
Voren took over the most opulent palace of hedonism, which once belonged to God of Bards, and enjoyed himself to the last, accompanied by the many girls he could now get into his bed, tons of delicious drinks and delicacies, arts and everything gods had used in the past to amuse themselves.
Yvenna kept her place in Voren’s harem, growing much more wild, yet open to herself and others in Heaven. She kept picking up fights with everyone she could, but in Heaven, it brought her no repercussions. She was much happy being able to not restrain herself.
Rosha and Risha never expected that their chance meeting with Voren will end as it did, but accepted the invitation to Heaven with delight. Risha became a professional chef, taught by the best chefs of Heaven, and Rosha kept with her crafts, but purely for the joy they brought her.
Bishop became the unofficial leader of Heaven and official Voren’s right hand. He made sure that everything ran smoothly, and in meantime, watched over the mortal realm, preaching about the glory of the First God and his messiah Devourer.
The Master of Sin wasn’t forgotten by Devourer either, though it took a while for him to find him again. The cunning demon made a good living for himself, hunting monsters and robbing people, even after the mortal realm found that their old gods were gone. He did like it in Heaven much more, though. At first he simply enjoyed himself the same way Voren did, before growing too bored. After this, he became Bishop’s helper in the ruling of Heaven.
Gi and Hector stayed together as they grew up and kept their training, and became as close as brothers. Eventually, the secrets of both came to the light, and they realised Voren was the cause each of them lost their family or their village. One day, they both attacked Voren in tandem, which amused him greatly. After thwarting them, Devourer offered them to go to the mortal realm, where they could live mortal lives, and they accepted.
There they became famous monster hunters, married two sisters, had children, retired and died from old age in the same year.
Pest found himself serving Voren even without a binding contract—as a court mage, as his new position was called. The benefits were significant enough that he accepted the necessity of seeing his prisoner. He now had any body he might want and as many as he might want, for a small price of doing spells for Voren when he needed them. And then he became not the only court mage when he spawned offspring, to Voren’s disgust.
The mortal realm without gods changed for the better. There was no one to grant new powers to adventurers, and like that, the Adventurers’ Guild crumbled. But the humanity wasn’t destroyed by monsters. Those few that attacked were thwarted by monster hunters, who fought them with their skill and equipment alone.
The religion in the mortal realm also changed. Now people prayed to the First God and Devourer, which gave them about as much response as the Twelve did in the past. Many, of course, couldn’t believe the death of their old deities, and some believed and prayed to them anyway, but this was nothing a few purges of heretics couldn’t solve. Those were eagerly provided by the rulers, many of which liked the new religion a lot. Unlike the old one, it allowed to keep several wives and sex outside of marriage.
Though, not only kings liked these scriptures.
The land itself began to heal without the gods sucking energy from it. It took more than a year and more than ten, but with time, it became as fertile as ever. The crisis was averted, and Bishop made sure that people knew about it and praise the Lord Almighty (Devourer, that is). Voren didn’t care.
Without a source of magic for everyday life or a strict influence from above forbidding development beyond a certain level, the mortal world eventually developed more and more advanced technologies. The monsters became fewer and fewer in numbers, and only sometimes a rare dragon could be seen in the sky.
Hell was the only place that stayed the same. Heavenly Judgement, an unfair thing from the start, didn’t change much in Devourer’s hands. He let more people into Heaven so they could work for him, but still threw the rest into Hell, not caring for their goodness. He knew the truth of life—both categories would just eventually reincarnate. The difference was only that those that stayed in Heaven won’t do so until they grow really bored with life.
There was no one to confirm the hints and stories left about the First God’s influence on Devourer. The mysterious being never appeared in the world, and only books left by the Twelve told that this was because his presence in the world created chaos beasts and mayhem. But with time, as his INT grew, Devourer remembered more and more about his past life. While some things always stayed vague, he one day he remembered even the death that brought his soul to the First God.
Yes, he was hit by a truck.
Sometimes, Devourer wondered for what qualities the First God chose him from all people. Sometimes he still thought about destroying the mortal realm out of pure spite, but then, mellowed out by all the pleasures he gathered for himself, would throw away that idea.
No matter how it started, it ended great for him. The conqueror enjoyed his conquered goods—and had no desire to risk them for something like that.