[RPoB] Vol. 5 Chapter 153: The Divine Princess (Part 4) (Patreon)

It was a sudden battle, the villagers could never imagine that something like this would happen today. Things were peaceful, not a sign of conflict or anything. But then monsters started raining from the sky — or to be precise, from what they heard, these were demons.

Many of the villagers were capable fighters. They had been living peaceful lives, but they prepared in case of battles. They were no slouches either. Having lived in the grace of divinity for years, starting from their ancestors, or since birth, they were bestowed with magical strength — one could say their bodies were nourished thus resulting in better growth magic wise. They were stronger than the average warriors of the archipelago. More powerful than the elite knights of the Wisteria Kingdom. Blessed with more mana than ‌usual, more than even the nobles back on Wisteria.

However, even they could not defeat the demons. They were lacking a crucial type of magic. It was holy magic. They were never taught that. Not the Empyrean Arsenal used by the Church, not the blood art that was supposed to be taught to some people of the archipelago.

The origin of these villagers was that they were from different groups of worshipers compared to Miyako's ancestors. These were the peaceful worshipers, they were not soldiers of any kind. They were just a group of people in a particular region that came to know of the Goddess. Unlike Miyako’s ancestors, who were warriors, given the chance to fight against the forces of the fallen god.

If these villagers were faced with any kind other than the demons, perhaps they would have put up a good fight. Just like how they had successfully protected this sanctuary against outsiders with bad intentions.

A man swung his sword down at a demon, and with his swing exploded lightning, engulfing the demon. But the damage of the impact on the imp quickly regenerated. Another from afar cast a magic spell, waving her hand, casting the spell “Glacial Tide.”

A wave of ice appeared on both sides of the caster, quickly moving towards the imp. The ice was full of sharp spikes that all pierced through the demon. At the same time, the warrior from before quickly stepped in and thrust his blade through the demon’s neck, ‌then it was followed by an explosion of lightning that severely damaged the demon’s neck, leaving his head dangling.

However, the nerves regenerated, and infernal flames erupted around the demon, melting and shattering the ice before striking at the sword-wielding man. The demon sent slashes of flames; the man defended, but at the same time, the demon swung down at his arm and severed it.

“Agh!”

“Withdraw!” The spellcaster then cast the spell “Bubble Cage”, conjuring a large sphere of water. It shot towards the demon and trapped him in the bubble. It didn’t mean to hold him for long. Just enough time to give a medic a window to retrieve the wounded.

One villager rushed through the battle and promptly grabbed the wounded soldier, leading him away to safety. Meanwhile, the demon destroyed the bubble and charged towards the mage.

The mage leaped backward as she cast the spell “Piercing Hail.” Long and pointed projectiles appeared above and swiftly shot down at the demon, piercing his body like needless to a cushion. But he ignored the wounds and swung his blazing hand at the mage up close. The mage cast “Palm Shield” to quickly protect herself, but it was shattered upon impact. She was flung away as she was burned on the arms. She groaned in pain as she crawled back; the demon menacingly approached, a sinister grin on his face.

Meanwhile, three villagers fought against a giant red demon. One of them was a mage, he cast a “Frozen Burst” spell that unleashed a white mist of frost that rapidly reached the demon, and the cloud instantly hardened, turning into ice that restrained the demon’s large body. With the giant unable to move, one of the soldiers swiftly rushed and leaped over the demon and swung down his magic-filled spear. His swing was powerful, leaving an apparent white trail in its motion. However, his eyes widened as his weapons failed to penetrate its skin.

The man jumped away and clicked his tongue. He was loaded with Physical Enhancement, but even with his strength he couldn’t break through and inflict actual damage.

The demon broke free from the ice, and at the same time, the third soldier swung his sword directly at the demon’s face. But it was to no avail. The giant demon clapped his hands and shot out a burst of flames that the sword wielder evaded barely.

“How do we even defeat that thing?” he frantically asked.

The demon merely chuckled. “You can’t.” With surprising agility, the demon charged at the sword wielder and slammed down his fist.

The soldier barely dodged, and the fist hit the ground, sending dust and debris into the air. The spear wielder moved in and thrust his blade, but the giant didn’t even give the effort to dodge. The giant stomped its foot at him, making the ground shake, but the spear wielder dodged the attempted strike. However, the giant instantly followed up by swinging his fist. The spear wielder was unable to dodge in time, and he took the hit. He was sent flying, violently crashing into a house. 

He was left bloodied amidst the debris. His body was crushed, limbs bent, and he was coughing up blood.

The case was similar to the rest of the villagers fighting against the demons. They were putting up a good fight. However, they were gradually losing. The medics were able to quickly move in to retrieve the wounded, which prevented losses. However, more and more of their people were becoming severely injured. It wouldn’t be long before they’d be overwhelmed, and they wouldn’t be able to save everyone.

More and more blood was spilled, splattering to the ground or to any surfaces.

It was then that the ground shook. And everyone paused once they felt immense pressure filling the air. A crimson light rose upward towards the sky like a tower.

***

The fountain appeared shallow, but it felt like I was deep within. I felt some force wrapping around me. It was warm and gentle. The heaviness and the pain were gradually subsiding. It brought me immense comfort.

I was deep in the water, or rather, the blood, but I did not have trouble breathing. No, here, I didn’t even need to breathe at all. I saw only dark red. But then, images entered my mind. I saw scenery I was not familiar with. It was from the perspective of someone’s eyes.

I saw a fox within my arms, one that had nine tails. A pale hand was gently stroking the little creature, and I saw platinum hair swaying in the wind. And there was the humming of a song. The melody seemed to put the little fox at ease.

“Hm, you have been so alone, haven’t you?” There was a sweet, caring voice. It sounded like it was coming from me. “You’re a pretty little thing. I’ll take care of you.” The way she spoke to it almost sounded motherly. “I shall name you…” She pondered for a moment until it finally came to mind. “... Zennia.”

I already had an idea what this was. These images, this scenery, were the memory of the goddess. But I didn’t see the significance of me seeing this. She took in a pet fox; I supposed that was a nice thing.

Then, another memory came to me.

This time, I was in a room, lying on the bed. Then, in the goddess’s arms was a baby — one with pale skin, similar to the goddess’s. Similar to mine.

“She’s beautiful,” the goddess said in the most tender of voices. One filled with love. She gently poked the baby’s cheek, but the baby didn’t seem to mind it. “I’ll give you everything you need, my precious daughter.” Her gaze then shifted to the side, where a man was sitting beside her.

At that, I was fascinated. The man had dark hair, violet eyes filled with gentleness, and a light complexion. He was wearing a dark, long-sleeved shirt; a wide smile shone on his face. The goddess reached out for his hand, and they held hands.

“She takes after you,” he said. “I can already imagine she’ll be as beautiful as you.”

The goddess chuckled. “I’m sure she’ll be even more.”

Is that… my ‘father’?

I was astonished to see him so clearly. To actually see the face of the other god my kingdom worshipped. The goddess was not hard to imagine, as I would look like her. But my ‘father’ was a different case. Was this around the time I was born? I was still a ‌baby. Everything seemed to be going well, a bright future. Everyone was happy.

However, the scenery changed. And this time, an intense dark emotion filled me.

“NO! NO! This cannot be real!”

Now I saw a bloody scene. At the corner, there was a dead man in armor, a soldier or knight…? Must be someone that was supposed to stand guard. Then, in the child’s cradle there was blood, full of blood. There was a baby with a stab wound in the chest.

“MY BABY!” the Goddess screamed and cried so loudly, one filled with intense pain. Not of the body, but of the heart. She pulled the dead baby into her arms. “No… No… NO!” Such intense emotions. Her cries and screams echoed throughout the city that dark night.

She clung to her daughter, to me; the blood stained her dress and face, but she didn’t care. Her tears fell like rain as she sobbed heavily. This grief was so intense that I could almost feel it myself — as if it were my own memory and feelings. So much grief and anger, enough that could drive her crazy. But then again, losing a child like this would drive any mother crazy.

“Y-You…” she sniffed as tears dropped onto the dead infant. “You will not end here. I w-will not allow it.” She touched the child’s forehead. “Your soul still lingers. With my lineage, through my descendants, you shall live once more.” Golden light shone ‌from her hand.

“You can’t do that.”

A voice then suddenly came, a woman’s voice. The goddess turned her gaze toward a tall mirror. Within that mirror was not her own reflection, but another. It was a young woman with long, dark onyx hair, beautiful silver eyes, and pale skin. She wore a dark and elegant, gothic-themed dress.

The goddess glared intensely at the woman. “Allow my decree, Handler of Souls.”

“To have the soul be reincarnated…? You may be my fellow, but what makes your daughter so different to those who have died? Her soul will come through me, as what is natural. The dead will remain dead.”

Anger boiled within the goddess. “Not this one. My daughter is special!”

“You will violate the rules of nature. Do not be rash!”

“I have no need for you.” She disregarded the figure in the mirror and turned her gaze back to her daughter. “This is my Divine Decree: My daughter will be reborn!”

And the scene was filled with light.

So this is how it happened?

Why I was reborn, her actual daughter. But there were still some things that didn’t make sense. What about the prophecy that the Mystic Race was talking about? That didn’t seem to come from her. Her only wish was for ‘me’ to be reborn. So, where did that prophecy come from? Where does the Mystic Race even get their prophecies from? There was something strange about that. The prophecy itself was strange.

Additionally, what about me from another world? Why the hell did I end up here? And in the body of a literal goddess? Was it all by chance?

This was confusing. But why I ended up here, or how, mattered little to me. I got to live another life, that was what’s most important.

Then the scenery changed. Now I appeared to be lying down. The goddess was wounded, heavily so. In this hazy vision, there were several hazy figures hovering above.

“Y-You… You’d kill me here?! Betrayers?!” The goddess’s hand reached out at them.

A single figure was positioned in the middle. “You betrayed us first. We cannot allow your existence to continue any longer.” It was a man’s voice, deep and full of authority. A voice like thunder.

“I… am the… beginning of life…!” the goddess’s voice faltered, weakening in her dying moment. “If you slay me…”

“We know. But we will take over on your behalf. The loss of a single Ruler is tolerable. Your husband shall be chained forevermore. That way we will not lose another and maintain stability in the world.”

“You…! I cannot let you…!” The goddess tried to stand up, but with the damage she had sustained, she couldn’t.

“We are done here.” It was said in a tired voice. With a bright light, the memory ended.

At that moment, I was filled with power and knowledge of my new nature. As if it were natural that I’d know about it. A great surge of power filled my body, the cracks in my body disappeared, and I returned my previous proper form. I had never felt so good in my life.

So much power, so much divinity, flowed within me all at once. I felt whole.

My ascendance was complete. 

An immense wave of pressure emanated in all directions. The ground shook as I slowly rose from the depths of the fountain of blood. I was surging with so much power that I felt like I could destroy a mountain with a wave of my hand.

I looked down and sensed something calling to me in the blood pool. I reached down and grasped the pole of a weapon. I pulled it out. A scythe with a large crimson blade was unveiled, dripping with blood as it left the depths of the fountain. Just touching it, I could sense the power within it, just for me to use. But it was a weapon I had no use for now, for I was capable of something more. I let go of the scythe, and it floated beside me.

With my thought alone, the blood on the fountain floated in the air, creating a staircase, and I gracefully walked up high. As I did, blood gathered around me, gradually forming a magnificent dress made completely of crimson blood.

Once I reached high, I looked down. I saw the demons and humans staring up at me, their previous conflict now at a pause. Understandable, for their fight didn’t matter at this point. For I was here.

I slowly held out my hand. And then my noble voice echoed across the island. “I am the most holy, the origin of all life. With my breath, the trees and grasses sprouted from the soil. With my blood, life arose and frolicked. With my words, creatures filled the lands, skies, and seas. You exist because of me… And as I was your beginning, if I so wish it, I shall be your end.”

The spilled blood in the battlefield rippled.