Riser

25-296

Added 2025-10-04 21:28:24 +0000 UTC

EP.296. [The Hero Who Dreams of Revenge Against the Goddess.]

“The descent of a hero, huh? Now that the Demon King blessed by the Demon God has appeared, the goddess must be preparing to create a hero as well.”

After putting Margaret to sleep, Eugene Schneider returned to his guard post. There he found elf Priscilla, who had come to relieve him, and Charlotte, who was bringing warm water to the sentries. The three began to talk, and Eugene shared what he’d heard from Drake with Priscilla.

As a result, Priscilla nodded thoughtfully and began to share her deep elven knowledge.

“Nun, what’s the official doctrine on the descent of the hero in the Radiant Goddess Church?”

Eugene directed his first question at Charlotte, who had been quietly listening.

“Well... According to the story, the goddess appears in a dream to the chosen one, gives a revelation, makes them undergo seven trials to gain enlightenment, and then bestows the holy sword, making them a hero.”

Charlotte recited the official legend of the hero’s descent, as told in the scriptures of the Radiant Goddess Church. There are about ten such legends, and while details vary, the core narrative is as Charlotte described.

“That’s a lie. It’s a typical myth created to strengthen the church’s power.”

Despite Charlotte’s devout retelling, Priscilla bluntly called it out as a fabrication.

“D-don’t blaspheme, elf!!”

Charlotte, normally gentle and kind, was so offended by Priscilla’s bluntness that she snapped back. Even so, her reaction was relatively restrained, given Priscilla’s special status with the church.

“Ah, sorry. I’m trying to fix my way of speaking, but it’s not easy.”

Priscilla herself was trying to be more considerate, especially after becoming involved with Eugene and his other women.

“Ugh... If you apologize so quickly, I just feel awkward for getting mad...”

Charlotte was flustered by the elf’s rare apology.

“As I said before, the church doesn’t officially recognize the Demon King blessed by the Demon God, so they present a more proactive version of the hero’s creation. But the real mechanism is written in the ancient elven texts.”

Priscilla then explained the true system:

“When the Demon King blessed by the Demon God descends, the goddess first creates a holy sword at a place touched by her spirit. It appears embedded in the ground.”

“A place touched by her spirit?”

“That would be a sacred site of the Radiant Goddess Church one of the original holy sites, not the many later ones created for political reasons.”

“There are so many possibilities...”

“The elven texts say the order is fixed. If you look through ancient sources the church calls heretical, you can piece it together.”

There are many “holy sites” across the continent, but most were created after the empire’s unification for political reasons. The original, ancient sites are where the holy sword appears, in a fixed order.

“Once the holy sword descends, the goddess links to her chosen vessels sometimes directly, sometimes through revelation. Then the so-called hero candidates try to draw the sword.”

“Wow, that sounds plausible, Priscilla!”

“Just a little knowledge, hehe...”

Priscilla was proud of her encyclopedic knowledge, and Eugene was genuinely impressed.

“Can anyone just pull it out?”

“Sometimes, yes. Other times, the candidate has to grow stronger through trials. That’s where the current church’s story comes from.”

“So that’s how it connects...”

Eugene mimed drawing a sword, asking for more details, and Priscilla glanced at Charlotte before answering. Charlotte, too, was soon nodding along, caught up in the story.

“If that old story is true, then by now a holy sword should have descended at one of the original holy sites.”

“Yes. If there were a saintess, she would have announced it. The saintess would feel it.”

It had been about two days since the Demon King’s advent, so Eugene guessed the goddess’s response would be underway.

“If there were a saintess...”

Priscilla looked a little disappointed if she were a saintess, she could help more.

“Don’t look so down, nun. If the goddess’s revelation or the hero’s birth happens, you’ll sense it. If you haven’t felt anything yet, it means the hero hasn’t been chosen. So, before that, we should consult the ancient texts and find where the holy sword has appeared.”

Priscilla, in her tsundere way, comforted Charlotte and suggested a practical plan: since Eugene’s group cares who the hero is, and Charlotte can sense the goddess’s movements, they should act preemptively.

“Aha! That makes sense! Sister, you haven’t felt anything unusual lately, right?”

“No... Even when I pray, nothing seems different...”

“Then the revelation hasn’t come yet. Like Priscilla said, we need to find where the holy sword has appeared.”

Eugene decided they should look for the holy sword, since the revelation hadn’t come.

But then

“!!!!!!!!!”

Charlotte’s eyes suddenly flew open.

And then

Fssssssssssss...!!!!!!!!

A golden divine light flashed in her eyes.

“The holy sword truly dazzling.”

Antoine gazed in awe at the holy sword that had descended at the Sky Altar. He had long planned for this moment and, knowing the ancient heretical texts Priscilla mentioned, had secretly researched where the holy swords had appeared in the past. He calculated that the Paramis Sky Altar would be the site this time and he was right.

“If I draw that sword and become the hero, I can kill the Demon King blessed by the Demon God and achieve my goal.”

The dazzling light was just four steps away. After killing Alexis, Ulysses, and staging a coup, his goal was nearly within reach.

“But even if I try to draw it now, nothing will happen. I might even be gravely injured by the goddess’s wrath.”

The holy sword can only be drawn by someone chosen and sufficiently tempered by the goddess. Anyone else risks being crippled for life.

“But, goddess... I must draw this sword. I must summon you and make my wish come true...”

Antoine looked up at the moonlit sky, his eyes gleaming with madness. Even though he was not chosen, he intended to take the sword by force.

“Do you remember a man named Judah?”

He touched the pendant at his neck.

“Judah, the hero you abandoned for the evil in his heart.”

Judah was a fallen hero, cursed and erased from history after being rejected by the goddess.

“Judah’s descendants have long sought to reach you again, burning with revenge. And I have obtained the fruit of their efforts.”

Those who rise to the top and fall are haunted by the shadow of that light. Judah’s obsession and vengeance were passed down for centuries. As a young man seeking the holy sword, Antoine finally met them.

“This is Ea.”

Fssssssssss...!!!!!

Antoine summoned his sword, Ea.

“Let me introduce you to the name Judah’s line gave it.”

Slash!!

Antoine pointed Ea at the holy sword.

“Ea, the sword that steals.”

He would corrupt and steal the goddess’s holy sword.

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

Antoine drank from the pendant.

Flash!!!!

His eyes shone gold, like a saint or hero.