Kael leaned back against the headrest and made himself comfortable, while also taking an apple from Rias. Its delicious aroma had been assaulting his nostrils for a while, so he really wanted to try it.
After keeping everyone in suspense for a few seconds, he explained, "The Beasts are very weak currently, and the sudden appearance of a Labyrinth means a chance for them to get stronger."
"But beasts can’t access the Labyrinth..." Kiona stopped midway and whispered, "Outsiders."
"Yup! The opening of the Labyrinth signifies that there is an outsider here or maybe a whole organization. Since there was no commotion before the opening, it means the beasts are colluding with the outsiders." Kael nodded.
"And since the beasts are getting weaker, it makes sense for them to get help from other races," Kiona said, realizing the situation. "The beasts discovered a Labyrinth, and since they can’t access it, they decided to sell the information to outsiders in exchange for support and resources."
"Correct! Or at least that’s what the humans might think," Kael flashed a smile. "The beasts obviously wouldn’t go to the humans, and the Dwarves won’t come down here. It simply isn’t worth the trouble for them."
"That leaves us with the Elves..."
Kael nodded. "Yes. The only race who can support and protect the beasts from humans are the Elves. Now, the humans would see this as a very big threat. If the beasts really grew stronger with the help of Elves, and the Elves grew stronger with the help of the Labyrinth, the days of humans ruling Eldryn are numbered."
Rias looked at him with a hint of respect as she said, "So, you are planning to get into an alliance with the Elves?"
"Kind of." Kael sighed. "We wouldn’t be able to hide for long if we really want to establish the Beast Empire. And once that happens, the humans will launch a full-blown war to destroy us. I honestly don’t know why they hate beasts so much, but it’s clear they wouldn’t allow a powerful beast alliance to exist in this world."
He took a bite of the golden apple, savoring its juicy flesh, and continued, "The problem isn’t just that. The Elves have a neutral stance most of the time, but they also don’t see beasts as equals because they are weak. If beasts suddenly begin to rise, it would definitely make them hostile."
"They wouldn’t allow another race to stand equal to them. They already hated humans and Dwarves for that," Kiona said, remembering the lessons her teacher had given her. "We would be attacked from both sides."
"Yup. A pincer attack isn’t something we can survive any time in the near future. Two dominant races with Gods behind them can easily annihilate us," Kael said. "That’s why we need to get into an alliance with the Elves and promise them that we’ll help them overthrow the Dawnfire Religion and allow them to open churches in our regions."
"Master, is that really safe?" Kiona asked. "I mean, to have our people put faith in their God?"
"He didn’t say he would help them convert faiths to their God," Rias spoke from the side. "To Gods, faith is very important. You could even say it’s an anchor for every single one of them. I have to say, your idea is very good."
The beasts might have had a God in the past, but ’He’ was long dead, and aside from some rare tribes, nobody worshipped ’Him’ any longer.
It meant that the beasts were without any Gods, so their faith was leading nowhere. If a new religion was helping them, they would definitely choose to place their faith in that particular God.
Even if the chances were low, Kael knew the Elves wouldn’t miss such an opportunity to spread their religion everywhere.
As for the trouble it may cause, he would see to it later. If they didn’t even survive, what was the point of worrying about those troubles?
Kael was strong and was probably one of the most talented people among the myriad races, with his Legendary Soul. However, Gods stood on a different realm that he simply couldn’t even think of opposing.
If they wanted to contend against an established religion with a powerful Goddess behind them, they needed the help of another God.
’If only that old man wasn’t sealed, I could have just made dozens of churches for him,’ Kael’s eyes widened as he noticed something in Rias’s words.
’Faith is very important to Gods and it’s basically an anchor to them. Does that mean Gods need people’s faith to stay as Gods? Or maybe that’s what makes them a God?’
Suddenly, everything around him shattered. It felt as if reality itself had vanished, replaced by an eternal darkness. His thoughts began to slow down, making him panic.
’What... is... happening...’
His body screamed at him, telling him to quickly escape. But even that signal came slowly, as if ages had passed since he encountered the danger.
Everything felt like it was dissolving into nothingness...his thoughts, his body, his soul, everything was vanishing from existence.
Then, a purple lightning streaked through his vision, though he couldn’t truly see it because even his sense of vision had been cut off from his main body.
The lightning seemed to have lit up a flame inside his non-existent self, burning so brightly that it scorched the darkness around it, filling the entire dark world with golden light.
Kael’s soul twitched and a sense of... awareness began to flow through it as the flames began to reattach and regrow everything he had lost to the dark world.
Consciousness returned to him as he felt everything snapping back to normal. His soul and body reformed from the last sparks of flame, but the flame seemed too stubborn to vanish and instead made a safe place inside Kael’s soul, perching there and sending warm currents throughout his being.
[Interesting! You really have succeeded.]
Kael snapped awake and shouted to no one, ’What in seven blue hells just happened?’
He realized that he was still in a strange dark world where he couldn’t do anything, including not feeling his physical body or its senses properly.
But this was clearly different from the Astral World he had experienced many times.
’I need to get out of here. But how?’ He remembered his assistant and called out to her. ’Alpha?’
[She won’t be able to communicate with you in this state.]
Joy flickered in Kael’s eyes, which seemed to be the only things shining in this dark world as he recognized the familiar voice.
’Old man! I swear I didn’t touch or do anything this time.’
[Heh! Stop bullshitting before this Primordial One. You think you can fool me?]
Kael tried to shake his head and said, ’No, I really didn’t do anything aside from forming theories about the... nature of Gods...’
By the end, even he realized the problem he had caused, and the result was definitely something horrifying. He just couldn’t properly remember what had happened.
[Yes, and that is a big problem. Since you’ve received the blessings of the flame, I suppose I can give you some secrets I’ve been withholding.]
’Eh? Flame?’ Kael suddenly felt the warmness coursing through his soul and asked, ’Did the God holding the Authority over Fire bless me?’
[No. It’s a different thing—and actually the reason I’ve been trying to do those experiments. But I’ll have to keep it a secret for now.]
’Old man, do you hold the Authority over Secrets?’ Kael asked in annoyance.
[Haha! I’m actually looking forward to the day you meet the God of Secrets. Last time we met, I punched his face so hard that even that lass couldn’t heal him.]
Kael was speechless. He had only been joking about the old man’s habit of keeping secrets, but who knew there really was a God of Secrets. This world sure was bizarre.
[Anyway, there are things that you simply shouldn’t know and I’m sure you understand that very well. You just went through one of those situations after all.]
’So, my guess was correct?’ Kael asked with hope.
He had made that theory based on Rias’s words and also the clue Draven had left behind. His Ultimate Skill could help him become a God.
And what did his Ultimate Skill do best?
It gathered subordinates... or rather, people who were grateful to him and would worship him. Even if it wasn’t because they revered him, it would be for the skills.
It also made sense as to why these divine beings cared about the mortal worlds and established their churches. It was to gather believers of their religion—people who would worship them and become their anchors.
’And there have been many religious wars, which means that whenever Gods fight, their first targets are the believers. As long as they affect the opponent’s anchor, they would have a huge advantage. Well, it’s all just my guesses.’