Chapter 34: The Evil God Emerges

Black smoke poured from the hole Bernell stabbed, flowing like liquid. As he pulled his sword to strike again, an invisible force repelled him, sending him crashing back.
Thud! Thud!
The space shook as if something massive slammed against a wall.

From the hole where the leader hid, something protruded—a scarred snout, followed by wiry whiskers and large, yellow incisors.
Chitter, chitter.
Chilling rat cries echoed from all directions.

“Did we just poke the hornet’s nest…?”
The sound alone confirmed the café was surrounded by a massive rat horde.

“It’s dangerous! Get inside!” Bernell shouted.
“What about you?”
Even as I spoke, I bolted for the café. Unlike Bernell, who could fight, I knew my fragility.

“Please…”
Through the glass, I watched a massive form emerge from the hole.

A snout, blood-red eyes, tattered triangular ears, and clawed forelimbs appeared, followed by a long body. The tail took ages to fully emerge—so immense was the creature.
The leader was a colossal rat, disturbingly humanoid, dressed in clothes, its face a grotesque blend of man and rodent.

Chitter. “You!”
A fresh scar oozed black smoke from its right eye—Bernell’s doing.

“A talking rat. Disgusting,” Bernell remarked, unfazed despite facing an evil god, having seen talking birds, cats, and even a stone.
“You dare wound me!”
“You harmed my sister. You deserve punishment.”

Though “just a rat,” its aura was overwhelming, pressing fear into me like the nightmare in Catsy’s dimension.
Yet Bernell stood resolute.

The rat sniffed, eyeing him like prey. “This place reeks of cats. I’ll raze it and make it my children’s lair!”
Its intent to destroy the café was clear.

Bernell gripped his sword and charged without a word.
Chitter, chitter.
Rats poured from the holes, blocking his path. Weak individually, their numbers overwhelmed, pushing him back despite his strikes.

The leader chittered, enjoying the spectacle, until our eyes met.
Its gaze inverted the food chain, making me feel like prey.
“Ugh…”

My first true encounter with an evil god churned my stomach with its dense malice.
Homesickness, loneliness from being stranded here, unspoken resentment, and anger surged like waves, clouding my mind.
My vision warped, thoughts in disarray.

“Eun-ah.”
A hallucination of my dead friend appeared, tears of blood streaming as she stared.
Always negative, draining me, always seeking advice.

“Please, stop relying on me! Live your own life!”
Words I’d never voiced erupted at the vision.
I’d sworn off depending on others because of her, fearing I’d look as pathetic in their eyes.

“Snap out of it!” Bernell’s shout shattered the hallucination, clearing the fog of intrusive thoughts.
He’d spared attention for me mid-battle.
I swallowed my gratitude.

“Evil gods are… something else.”
They were a nexus of dark, negative forces, their presence polluting just by existing.
Inside the café, I felt more attacked than Bernell outside.

“Bbi bbi!”
A damp cry rang out. The pig-bird, sent upstairs, stood at the steps, eyes teary, staring at me.
Did it sense my fear?

“Stay in the room.”
“Bbi!”
It waddled forward. Its short legs and large body made descending alone impossible, but I wouldn’t help.

“No.”
The chaos outside wasn’t for a young bird to see.
Bernell seemed immune to the evil god’s influence, but the pig-bird, like me, could be overwhelmed by negative emotions, impairing rational thought.

“Don’t come. Stay there.”
Defiant, it lowered its head and rolled down the stairs.
Thud, thud, thud.

Panicked, I ran to it, but it hugged me, unharmed, its fluffy feathers cushioning the fall.
“Why’d you roll down? What if you got hurt?”

“Bbi bbi!”
Oblivious to my worry, it clung, thrilled to be near me.
“It’s chaos outside. There’s nothing good to see—hide!”

But something strange happened. The evil god’s amplified negative emotions vanished, washed away by the pig-bird’s comforting fluff.
“Bbi…”
It didn’t seem to consciously use any power.

“You’re a demigod like Bernell… do you have special abilities?”
Did it risk the fall to comfort me?
The thought made the little creature feel precious.

I’d assumed it was scared, seeking me, but it came to soothe me.
Stroking its feathers, I steeled myself.

The negative emotions had clouded my judgment, but now my mind cleared.
Watching Bernell fight alone, I resolved to act. To reach the leader, we had to clear the rats.

I recalled the dried silver vine flower tea’s Latte Art: Good-Evil Reversal.
[10 minutes] Inverts 25% of the target’s good-evil alignment.
[Cooldown: One Dream]

Only 25%, but it had staggered a nightmare in Abelgart Manor.
“Bernell’s fighting to protect my café. I have to do something.”

I wouldn’t go outside—that was too dangerous.
Could Latte Art reach through the glass or affect multiple targets?
“Let’s try.”

Pressing my palm to the window, I summoned the tea’s card.
Its bittersweet aroma filled me, and a milky-white force burst toward the rats.
Butterfly-wing patterns from the silver vine flower appeared above them.

Chitter?
The skill targeted a “subject,” affecting only one rat.
A butterfly symbol glowed above its head. It stopped attacking Bernell, stood upright, and—shockingly—restrained another rat, as if stopping it.

The 25% reversal shifted its behavior, like a human hesitating over a small spark of conscience.
The affected rat became a target, attacked by its own kind.

I saw potential.
“If I use this enough…”
I spammed the Latte Art, hitting random rats. Their erratic behavior snowballed, disrupting the horde.

Some restrained others, easing Bernell’s path to the leader.
I kept firing, but a crushing drowsiness hit. My body grew heavy, eyelids drooping.

“Bbi bbi! Bbi!”
The pig-bird frantically patted me.
The skill’s cooldown—One Dream.
How was I using it repeatedly?

“Bbi!”
Its feathers tapped my arm, which felt… strange.
Stopping, I saw my arm turning transparent.

“What…?”
My body was fading, like wet tissue.
I realized ignoring the cooldown was causing this.

Boom!
Outside, Bernell’s strikes were blocked by the evil god’s claws.
The rat swarm hindered his full strength, unlike when he fought nightmares.

“Kyaa!”
He landed a hit on its forelimb, black smoke oozing.
A prolonged fight might favor him—until I saw the rat’s eye scar had healed.

“It… regenerated? Can Bernell, a demigod, not beat an evil god?”
Then—

“Tch, is this all my power can do?”
Catsy’s voice rang out, but she was nowhere.
A strong presence drew my eyes to her glowing yarn ball idol.

“Struggling against measly rats?”
“Catsy, he’s a new demigod. Maybe he’s not fully bonded with his divine artifact?”
Aewol’s voice joined her.

If they saw this, why not help?
“Wait… divine artifact bonding?”

Bernell’s ability window flashed in my mind. Why hadn’t I thought of it sooner?
<Dreamcatcher (0/4) Rank> Mental-Type / Feline-Type
Vaguely senses the protective power of the divine artifact bonded to the soul.
Bonding increases with higher presence.

Catsy’s dreamcatcher made him a demigod, but at rank 0, he only sensed its power.
Was that why he couldn’t fully wield its protective strength?
Against an evil god, he needed that power, not just his knightly skills.

Without hesitation, I poured 12 cheok of Causality into his ability.
<Dreamcatcher (1/4) Rank> Mental-Type / Feline-Type
Not only senses but can use the protective power of the divine artifact.

His sword glowed white.
But my memory stopped there.
The overwhelming drowsiness consumed me, and I blacked out.