Chapter 3: Chapter 3 - The Saintess of a Dying Goddess

Chapter 3 — The Saintess of a Dying Goddess

The howl echoed through the village like a death sentence.

People screamed outside while the wooden walls trembled from heavy impacts.

I stood near the doorway trying very hard not to panic.

Inside my head?

Complete chaos.

Because the truth was simple.

I was not a god.

I was a guy from Earth whose greatest combat achievement was surviving ranked multiplayer games without breaking my keyboard.

And now magical demon wolves were attacking a medieval village that believed I could save them.

Wonderful.

Another violent crash shook the building.

Chief Rowan’s face turned pale.

"The outer fence won’t hold much longer."

The hunters immediately grabbed their weapons.

One of them looked toward me desperately.

"Divine one... please protect us."

The warmth inside my chest pulsed again.

Faith.

Their belief was becoming power.

But I still had no idea how to use it.

I took a slow breath.

Think, Kaiser.

Technology.

Psychology.

Fear.

That’s all you have.

I stepped outside.

Cold wind hit my face instantly.

The village had descended into chaos.

Torches flickered wildly while villagers rushed toward their homes carrying children and supplies.

Then I saw them.

Six massive shadow wolves stood beyond the broken wooden fence.

Their glowing blue eyes stared directly at me.

One of them was enormous.

Nearly the size of a car.

Black mist leaked from its body like smoke.

The hunters nearby trembled.

"That’s the Alpha..."

The creature growled deeply.

The sound alone made my stomach tighten.

No normal animal should sound like that.

The wolves slowly approached the village.

Confident.

Predatory.

As if they already knew nobody here could stop them.

Then the Alpha looked directly at me.

Its glowing eyes narrowed.

Interesting.

It sensed something.

Or maybe the divine energy gathering around me.

The villagers quickly hid behind me.

That should not have made me feel responsible.

Unfortunately...

it did.

I sighed internally.

Great.

Now my conscience was getting involved.

"Lord Kaiser..." Chief Rowan whispered nervously. "Can you defeat them?"

Absolutely not.

But obviously I couldn’t say that.

I slowly raised my phone.

The wolves paused slightly.

Good.

Animals feared unfamiliar things.

That meant intimidation could work.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

Please work.

I opened the flashlight again.

Bright white light illuminated the dark village.

Several villagers gasped in awe.

The wolves growled uneasily.

Interesting.

Sensitive eyes.

Useful.

Then another idea appeared.

Actually...

maybe not terrible.

Sound.

Most animals hated sudden loud noise.

My phone battery was low.

But if this worked, I only needed one attempt.

I opened my music app again.

This time I selected something different.

Not heavy metal.

Something louder.

Something explosive.

Cinematic war music.

If I was pretending to be a god, I might as well commit fully.

The Alpha suddenly lunged forward.

Villagers screamed.

I pressed play.

The village exploded with thunderous orchestral music.

Drums.

Choirs.

Violent horns.

The sound echoed across the entire village like the arrival of an army.

The wolves froze instantly.

Even the villagers looked horrified.

I raised my glowing phone toward the sky dramatically.

"Be still."

My voice echoed alongside the music.

The divine energy around me suddenly reacted.

Blue light swirled through the air.

Wait.

That wasn’t from the phone.

My eyes widened slightly.

The faith energy inside my body was responding to my actions.

The villagers stared at me with worshipful terror.

"Divine miracle..."

The Alpha growled aggressively and charged again.

Okay.

Plan B.

I grabbed a small metal lighter from my pocket.

Thank God I smoked occasionally.

The villagers watched closely.

I flicked it open.

A tiny flame appeared.

The wolves immediately recoiled.

Their instincts screamed danger.

But to the villagers?

It looked completely different.

A divine flame appearing from empty air.

One hunter fell to his knees.

"He commands fire..."

More faith flowed into me.

Warm.

Powerful.

And suddenly—

something inside me snapped open.

Energy surged through my chest.

My body became lighter.

Sharper.

For a brief moment, I could feel the spiritual energy around the village itself.

Invisible currents flowing through the air.

Holy crap.

I could sense it.

The Alpha hesitated.

Then I pointed the lighter toward the wolves.

"Leave."

The divine energy around me surged unconsciously.

The tiny flame suddenly expanded.

Not much.

Only slightly.

But enough.

The lighter burst into bright blue fire.

My eyes widened.

The villagers gasped loudly.

The wolves immediately backed away.

Even I was shocked.

Did I just use divine power?

The Alpha snarled one final time before retreating into the darkness.

The other wolves followed quickly behind it.

Silence covered the village.

Then—

cheering erupted everywhere.

"The divine one saved us!"

"A miracle!"

"Praise Lord Kaiser!"

People rushed toward me with tears in their eyes.

The warmth inside my chest exploded violently.

So much faith poured into me that I nearly stumbled.

My breathing became uneven.

The energy was addictive.

Warm.

Powerful.

Alive.

I understood instantly why gods desired worship.

Faith felt incredible.

Dangerously incredible.

Chief Rowan dropped to both knees.

"From this day onward, Erald shall honor the God of Technology!"

The villagers immediately repeated the words.

"The God of Technology!"

"The God of Technology!"

Each chant strengthened the energy inside me.

This was insane.

Absolutely insane.

I had just scared away magical wolves using a lighter and a Spotify playlist.

And somehow it worked.

As the villagers celebrated, I suddenly felt something strange nearby.

A different energy.

Cold.

Sharp.

Watching me.

I slowly turned.

At the edge of the village stood a young woman wearing silver-white robes.

Long black hair flowed behind her in the wind.

Her blue eyes remained fixed directly on me.

Unlike the others...

she wasn’t worshipping.

She was observing.

Carefully.

Suspiciously.

A silver symbol glowed faintly on the back of her hand.

Divine blessing.

A real one.

Not fake like mine.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Chief Rowan noticed my gaze and immediately looked nervous.

"Ah... Lady Elena has arrived."

Lady Elena.

The woman walked toward us calmly.

The villagers lowered their heads respectfully as she passed.

A priestess?

No.

Something more important.

She stopped a few meters away from me.

Her sharp blue eyes studied my face.

"You possess strange divine authority," she said quietly.

Straight to the point.

I liked that.

Unfortunately, she was also dangerous.

People like her noticed things.

I maintained a calm expression.

"And you are?"

She placed one hand over her chest.

"Elena Valeris."

The silver mark on her hand glowed softly.

"A servant of Lady Seraphine."

The minor goddess from the shrine.

Right.

So this woman worked directly for a real goddess.

Fantastic.

That definitely wasn’t terrifying.

Elena glanced toward the burned blue flame marks near my lighter.

The villagers watched us nervously.

Then she asked the worst possible question.

"Which divine temple trained you?"

Ah.

Problem.

Big problem.

I knew nothing about temples.

Or gods.

Or literally anything in this world.

But hesitation would expose me.

"I answer to no temple," I said calmly.

"I walk my own path."

Elena narrowed her eyes slightly.

Interesting.

Suspicion confirmed.

She stepped closer.

Close enough for me to notice how beautiful she actually was.

Great.

Now was not the time to become distracted.

Her voice lowered.

"There are no records of a Technology God."

Sharp.

Very sharp.

I smiled faintly.

"Then perhaps your records are incomplete."

The villagers gasped softly.

Elena stared directly into my eyes.

Trying to read me.

Unfortunately for her...

I had years of experience pretending to understand things during school presentations.

"You speak confidently," she said.

"You doubt me confidently," I replied.

For the first time, her expression shifted slightly.

Not anger.

Interest.

Good.

Much better than hostility.

The silver symbol on her hand suddenly flickered weakly.

Elena’s eyes darkened for a brief moment.

Worry.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Her goddess was weakening.

Just like Chief Rowan said.

That meant Lady Seraphine was losing believers.

Which meant...

her church was vulnerable.

A dangerous idea formed inside my head.

If I helped restore faith to their goddess...

then I could gain allies.

And believers.

Lots of believers.

Elena suddenly looked exhausted.

Tiny dark circles existed beneath her eyes.

She had probably been struggling alone for a long time.

For some reason...

I felt slightly bad for her.

Annoying conscience again.

Chief Rowan quickly spoke.

"Lady Elena protects our village shrine."

Elena nodded slightly. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Though my powers have weakened recently."

Honest.

Interesting.

Most religious authorities probably wouldn’t admit weakness openly.

Maybe she trusted the villagers deeply.

Or maybe she was too tired to pretend anymore.

Honestly...

I understood that feeling.

She looked back toward me.

"If you truly are a god..."

Her blue eyes sharpened.

"...then why have you appeared now?"

The village became silent again.

Good question.

One I didn’t fully know myself.

I looked toward the three moons overhead.

Then answered honestly.

"Because something is changing."

Not entirely a lie.

Earth.

The device.

The spiritual energy.

Something definitely was changing.

Elena studied me quietly.

The wind moved gently through her dark hair.

For a brief moment, neither of us spoke.

Then suddenly—

the silver symbol on her hand dimmed again.

Elena’s body swayed slightly.

I instinctively reached out and caught her arm before she fell.

Her eyes widened.

Soft skin.

Warm.

Very human.

Not some untouchable holy figure.

Just a tired girl trying to protect her people.

She looked up at me in surprise.

For a second, the entire noisy village disappeared from my mind.

Then she quickly pulled away.

"I’m fine," she said quietly.

Definitely not fine.

But I didn’t push further.

The villagers looked nervous.

Chief Rowan sighed sadly.

"Lady Seraphine’s blessing weakens every month."

Elena lowered her gaze slightly.

That expression...

I recognized it.

Fear mixed with helplessness.

She was watching her goddess slowly die.

And there was nothing she could do about it.

Except pray harder.

My mind began moving rapidly.

A weakened goddess.

A struggling saintess.

A desperate village.

And me.

A fake god with modern Earth knowledge.

Honestly?

This situation sounded exactly like the beginning of either a legendary rise...

or a complete disaster.

Possibly both.