Chapter 51 : Awakening of the Divine

Divine power.

It is a special power possessed by those who believe in a god.

It is a catalyst that possesses power comparable to that of wizards and swordsmen, while also strengthening faith in God.

So, where does the source of the divine power that priests possess come from?

The answer is simple: it is the god they believe in.

In other words, God has divine power, or the power that becomes its source.

And now, I, too, possess such power.

‘Is the blue color added because… I’m a blue dragon?’

A sparkling energy with a hint of blue was faintly leaking from all over my body.

The fact that it was visually visible indicated that it was different from the power I had handled before.

‘But the power isn’t unfamiliar.’

It was less awkward than when I first handled water. It feels like I’ve awakened a power that I’ve been unconsciously handling all along.

That’s probably why I was already familiar with how to handle divine power.

‘A dragon is originally a being with divine power, and I was unable to sense it, but I awakened it through my encounter with Ellario.’

Ellario. The first knight of Lunasha.

Considering that the most important and recent event was meeting him, it’s certain.

To be precise, it must be because of the influence of the Sunstone and the Moonstone.

Ellario described the Moonstone as ‘Lunasha’s flesh’. That means the Moonstone is a fragment of God, and the Sunstone is also a fragment of Solia.

If they are fragments containing two ancient gods, it would have been enough to awaken the divine power within my body.

‘Then what can I do with this power?’

Priests who use divine power are mainly positioned as healers or supporters in various ways.

Offensive occupations like paladins and monks also exist, but they too handle common power.

‘That is recovery and purification.’

Through countless mediums, divine power has taken various forms, but its foundation can be said to be recovery.

Among them, two abilities can be considered the most basic.

From light scratches to resurrection that escapes even death, from the acceleration of natural healing to immediate healing.

From contaminated water to the demons of hell, from a single individual to a super-large area designation.

As such, divine power shows a capacity that can be called a ‘miracle,’ depending on how much the target possesses and how faithful they are.

Additionally, in this place, which is less medically developed than modern Earth, divine power is also a force that determines a person’s life.

But there was something strange.

‘Why can’t I use divine power?’

I tried to purify the contaminated land with the divine power surrounding my body, but I couldn’t.

I could clearly feel that the energy of recovery and purification was contained within the divine power, but I could not use it directly.

It felt like trying to move a transparent gift box.

While wondering why I couldn’t use divine power, one thought pierced my mind.

The answer was simple.

‘······I’m a dragon, not a human.’

Originally, a dragon is a creature with divine power. In fact, it is close to God.

I had such a body, but I was judging it from a ‘human perspective.’

God cannot be a priest.

God is the being who gives divine power to the priest. But I was exploring divine power from the position of a priest.

If I want to use this power, I had to think from the ‘god’s perspective.’

‘From the perspective of God, divine power is······ not received, but given.’

To whom? To the believers.

Divine power is what makes believers who follow them able to maintain their faith, and it can also work as an opportunity for those who do not follow.

In other words, divine power could not be entirely called my power.

‘Of course, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s the power of God, but it would be better to see it as a power that is separately classified to give to believers.’

In a way, divine power can be seen as seed money for God.

They wouldn’t go crazy and sprinkle all their power on their believers. No. My power is also larger and stronger from communion with nature.

In the end, through this battle, I got a kind of investment.

And this soon came to me with joy.

‘Now I can treat the believers more properly.’

Until now, all I could do was give them weapons with the power of nature and save the village.

But now I can officially build the appearance of a religion.

‘Then who should be the first target?’

When I realized how to handle this power, a face already came to mind.

I turned my head to the place where the owner of that face would be.

But there was a peculiar phenomenon happening in the place where the Craystist Count’s mansion was.

‘······Two dots?’

Gold and silver.

Two dots were faintly emitting light inside the mansion. A thin energy, like a thread, stretched out from those two dots and connected to this place.

And the end of that energy reached, none other than my divine power.

It was easy to infer the identity of those dots.

‘Rachel and Aria.’

There were no others in the Count’s family who had contact with me except for those two. Strictly speaking, there were also their fathers, Jonan and Count Craystist, but it was unlikely they had a deeper connection than Rachel and Aria, to the point of shining like that.

‘Wait, is it Jonan, not Aria?’

In terms of relationship, it was more likely to be Jonan than Aria. But I shook my head and dismissed that thought.

‘Jonan is only holding a weapon that contains my power, he doesn’t have the feeling that he has directly received power from Rachel or me.’

On the other hand, Aria has a history of being treated by Rachel.

If Rachel’s healing power was related to me, it was understandable that she was shining like that.

Anyway, since there are already two connections, there seemed to be no need to find a new person.

‘It’s better to properly check the abilities of the two first.’

As a god, it is essential to check the qualities of believers. Just as a boss who doesn’t know the abilities of his subordinates can’t give them work properly.

I slowly flew up into the sky and headed toward the middle of the barony.

It wasn’t necessary to hide in the clouds or fly only at night like before.

‘Since most of the people in the barony have already confirmed the existence of me and Rakallushad.’

And since they will serve me in the future, it was necessary to imprint my appearance in advance.

Whether they want it or not.

It was a landscape that fit the word chaos well.

A monster that rose from the mountain. And a huge sword that fell from the sky.

Those who woke up early in the morning to start the city witnessed that scene.

Those who were turning their heads or were in buildings could not help but see that appearance naturally.

How can anyone ignore the sound of a monster piercing the ground and the storm overturning the sky?

In the end, they captured a scene like a passage in a myth that far surpassed the will of mankind.

After that, the city fell into chaos.

Those who tried to escape the city, those who sat down, those who tried to control, those who committed crimes in the midst of chaos—they mixed together and broke the order.

Arnus Count, who returned to the city late, saw that scene and swallowed a groan.

It was less severe where the knights he had sent were, but it was to the point where he didn’t know where to start in the places where they weren’t.

“······First, I’ll go back to the mansion.”

The Count ordered the soldiers to control the chaos, then entered the mansion.

He had to check Aria’s condition. He had awakened a monster to cure his daughter.

Due to that, the northern territory had turned dark red, and many people fell into chaos.

As a lord and a father, he had to bear all of that. He needed to be rewarded for his actions.

Bang!

The Count grabbed his chest and opened the door. The servants inside the mansion were also in chaos. However, they were controlled to some extent by people like Mirey.

The Count passed them and headed straight for Aria’s room. He had to see if his daughter was alright or if something else had happened.

With countless emotions, the Count opened the door.

“Ari······ ah.”

“Daddy!”

Aria was awake. But that wasn’t why the Count was surprised.

“Aria, Aria······. Your body······.”

The Count trembled and approached Aria. His hand touched her shoulder. It was the area where crystals had originally grown due to petrification.

But now nothing could be felt there. Only the soft skin unique to a child could be felt.

The Count’s gaze shifted. Neither the neck nor the forearms, nowhere could he find the red crystals.

It meant that the petrification that had been gnawing at Aria’s body had disappeared.

“I’m not in pain anymore.”

And Aria’s bright smile completely erased the Count’s last negative thoughts.

For the past two years, he had traveled all over the place to cure Aria’s body. To hear just one word.

And now, it came out of her mouth.

“I’m not in pain.”

The Count sat down on the floor as if he had collapsed.

“Thank you, thank you······.”

Count, expert knight, lord, etc.

Countless honors and positions surrounding Arnus Count faded away.

Now, he was just a father.