Chapter 240.1

Chapter 240 : The vessel of god

The little dragon growled and began flying around Naya.

“Eh? K-Kyaaaahh…! P-Please stop that…! Stop…!” (Naya)

Naya panicked  and ran away, but the little dragon kept following her, as if playing with her.

“Don’t be so scared, Bookworm. That’s the dragon you summoned.” Eldmed said.

“B-But sensei, this dragon doesn’t listen to me at all!” (Naya)

“Khahaha! For now, just stand still.” (Eldmed)

“Ehh…?! B-But…” (Naya)

“Just stand still. From what I can see, it doesn’t seem hostile to you. Or are you planning to keep running away forever, hmm?” (Eldmed)

Resolving herself, Naya came to a stop.

She shut her eyes tightly as the small dragon flew towards her.

It growled and landed on her shoulder.

“Ah…” (Naya)

She breathed a sigh of relief and placed her hand on her chest.

“You’ve summoned an interesting dragon, Bookworm. A dragon that eats other dragons — a dragon even the Demon King has never seen before.” (Eldmed)

Eldmed approached the dragon and focused his gaze on it with his Magic Eyes.

“Does it eat demons too? Try producing one of those magic spheres like before.” (Eldmed)

“Eh? Eeeh?! Th-That’s too dangerous, sensei!” (Naya)

“Khahaha! I just want to see if it will eat my finger.” (Eldmed)

When the Conflagration King lightly tapped the dragon’s mouth with his fingertip, it licked it with its small tongue.

“I see, I see. It seems demons aren’t to your taste, Cannibal.” (Eldmed)

“C… Cannibal? What do you mean?” (Naya)

“That’s this dragon’s name. Or do you want to name it yourself?” (Eldmed)

Naya shook her head from side to side.

Eldmed tapped his cane on the ground and peered into her face.

“Well, well. Things are getting interesting! Bookworm, why don’t you try summoning a god next?” (Eldmed)

“Eh? Uh, okay… Wait, a god? Like, a god-god?” (Naya)

Naya looked back at the Conflagration King with a bewildered look on her face.

“P-Please wait a moment. You have already completed the Divine Calling Ceremony and earned the qualifications to become priests of Jiordal. However, summoning a god is no simple feat.” (Bishop)

The bishop, who had been in a daze, suddenly spoke in a panic.

He probably still wasn’t fully aware that he had just been brought back to life, but he began to explain in order to fulfill his duties.

“After joining the faith, you will study various doctrines, overcome trials, and finally learn the formula of the <Causal Summon Liteld> spell for summoning a god. Only then will you undergo the Pledge Ceremony. However, even if you make it to that ceremony, only a handful of chosen believers can actually summon a god. As of now, you are not even permitted to know about the summoning of gods.” (Bishop)

The bishop continued to explain while making gestures of prayer.

“I understand how much you are loved by the gods. Through continued devotion, you will surely make a pact with a god. Let us learn together and walk this path of faith together.” (Bishop)

The bishop wore a pious expression.

The Conflagration King cackled with a joyful expression.

“It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter. At all. Since we have a Pledge Jewel, we can handle things from here. If you can’t teach us the <Causal Summon Liteld> spell for summoning a god, then we’ll just have to re-create it from scratch.” (Eldmed)

“That… That shouldn’t be possible…” The bishop said with a mix of surprise and disbelief.

“Of course it’s impossible! It’s not like I, the Conflagration King, was capable of such a thing.” (Eldmed)

The bishop breathed a sigh of relief.

A sly grin spread across Eldmed’s face.

“But if it’s the Demon King, it’s a different story.” (Eldmed)

As he spoke, the Conflagration King turned towards me.

“This makes you curious, doesn’t it? Hmm?” (Eldmed)

He cast a sideways glance at Naya.

He was right. Just as the Conflagration King said, this was intriguing.

That cannibalistic dragon clearly possessed different characteristics from normal dragons.

Maybe there was something about Naya, the one who summoned it, that made her particularly suited for summoning magic.

“Hmm. Then let’s give it a try.” (Anos)

I drew a magic circle there.

“This is the formula for the <Causal Summon Liteld> spell, designed to summon gods.” (Anos)

As soon as the bishop saw it, his eyes widened in shock.

“…Im… Impossible…” he squeezed out of his throat.

“…Where did you learn that spell…? No, it’s impossible for you to know… Then, are you saying that you truly re-created it right here and now…?” (Bishop)

“This is nothing. Once you understand the need of this Pledge Jewel, the dragon-summoning formula for the <Causal Summon Liteld> spell and the pact, the optimal solution for the formula becomes apparent.” (Anos)

The basic structure didn’t seem much different from that of the <Selection God Summon Guala Nateh Forteos> spell I used to summon Arcana either.

“Just to be clear, this is the <Possession Summon Azept> spell.” (Anos)

I drew another magic circle and showed it.

“Ah… Even the <Possession Summon Azept> spell…?!” (Bishop)

The bishop gasped, words spilling from his mouth in astonishment.

“How is this possible…? To think that he could truly summon… Oh, no, but even if you understand the spell formula, to summon a god, you must first have a pact with them. Unlike dragon summoning, it’s not something that happens simply by casting the spe—” (Bishop)

I walked straight towards Eldmed.

Then I raised my right hand lightly and pierced his left chest.

“Gah…!” (Eldmed)

“A-Anos-sama…! W-Why did you stab him…?” Naaya asked, sounding confused.

“…Khahaha. Don’t fret, Bookworm. It seems the divine body of the Conflagration King can’t manifest order without being in mortal danger…” (Eldmed)

Eldmed laughed as he spat blood.

“Fool who spits at the heavens. Accept thy punishment for disobeying order. Behold the form of a god.” (Eldmed)

Those were the miracle-working divine words that Nosgalia used to say.

Eldmed’s body was enveloped in a dazzling light, and his magic power swelled to an overwhelming magnitude.

“KHAHAHAHA!” (Eldmed)

Eldmed’s body began to transform.

Unlike the time when Nosgalia possessed him, his body remained unchanged as a vessel, but his hair turned to gold, and his eyes blazed with a fiery red light.

Magic particles gathered on his back, forming wings of light.

A deafening rumble rang out, and the earth trembled.

His mere presence there caused the air to burst, shaking the world.

As if an immense mass of magic power had manifested, the true form of a god appeared there.

“…What on earth… is this…? <Possession Summon Azept>…? No, it’s different… He’s not using magic…” (Bishop)

The bishop turned his Magic Eyes towards the figure and exclaimed in fear.

“Could it be?! Could it be?! could it possibly be…?!” (Bishop)

A tremendous shock pierced his heart.

“Could this really be a god?! A god sent from the heavens to descend upon this earth… Oh, what a miracle! What a blessing! O Almighty Radiance Equis… Please tell me which god he is…” (Bishop)

As if witnessing the greatest miracle of the day, the bishop knelt and offered prayers.

“S-Sensei…! You’ve grown wings…!” Naya commented as she looked at Eldmed.

She only focused on his appearance because her Magic Eyes were unable to discern the Conflagration King’s current amount of magic power.

“Khahaha! Bookworm, I have usurped the power of a certain god. In short, I, the Conflagration King, am something akin to a god.” (Eldmed)

“…Eh? Mr. Conflagration King, you’re… a god…?” (Naya)

Naya seemed unable to follow what he was saying.

“Exactly. Allow me to show you proof.” (Eldmed)

Eldmed picked up his top hat and juggled with it.

The hat then split into four.

“Khahaha! Off you go.” (Eldmed)

He sent them flying one after another.

After flying a certain distance, the top hats stopped abruptly in mid-air.

“In accordance with the order of the Heavenly Father God, I, the Conflagration King, command four orders to be born. Come to life, Keepers of Reason!” (Eldmed)

From the four top hats, a large amount of confetti and ribbons of light rained down in glittering streams.

As if performing a magic trick, they rapidly formed into divine bodies.

Four Keepers were born.

A young girl with unusually long hair holding two staves.

It was the Keeper of Restoration, Nutra Do Hiana.

A winged centaur lady.

Reize Na Ile, the Keeper of the Sky.

A robust giant with a massive shield strapped to his back.

Zeo La Opt, the Keeper of Protection.

A black shadow wielding dozens of blades, including spears, axes, swords, arrows, and scythes.

Atro Ze Sistava, the Keeper of Death.

“…O… G… God…” (Bishop)

Overwhelmed with awe and reverence, the bishop was barely able to speak properly.

“…The Order that gives birth to Orders… The god who radiates the greatest light of the Almighty Radiance Equis… the Heavenly Father, Nosgalia…!” (Bishop)

Hmm. It seemed that insect was held in quite high regard down here in the Underground World.

“Oh… Oooohhh… What a miracle this is…!! To live and witness such a sight with my very own eyes… Oooohhh!!!” (Bishop)

Overcome with emotion, the bishop fell to his knees, tears streaming from his eyes.