Evil Gods Don’t Save People

"Does any of you have a way to solve bad luck?"

Leaning back on his chair, the top buttons of his shirt open as he provocatively sat as if he owned the place, Anderson Hood—who had finished assessing the ressources each Tarot Club member possessed—finally asked what he wanted to know.

Although it would've probably been smarter to wait for a few more gatherings, his situation was urgent, and he may die any time soon due to choking on water.

The only ray of hope was that his bad luck stopped acting up when he was in this mysterious space.

Ma'am Hermit was the first to answer, "I can ask around."

She could probably find a Beyonder item related to the Fate Pathway in a pirate gathering or at the Moses Ascetic Order.

The other Tarot Club members gave similar perfunctory answers and the trades continued.

The Tower would have to at least wait another week to solve his bad luck.

He really hoped he would survive until then.

Afterwards, they exchanged information. The Tarot Club members then began teaching The Sun mysticism languages of the outside world as they learned about ancient myths from him.

During this process, Audrey was a little disappointed and depressed. She had failed to buy anything or share anything this week, and her participation appeared lacking.

In the corner of her eyes, she saw Fors, appearing slightly preoccupied but trying to act normally.

Was she worried about something?

However, her question remained unsolved even as she bade the Fool farewell.

***

The crescent in the sky had turned full, moonlight brightening the night as it seemed stained with blood.

It was a Blood Moon.

"In my hometown, the moon was silver. The streets at night were brightly lit and the buildings reached the sky."

A description that seemed straight out of a fairytale.

It depicted an entirely different world—a bit like when the Sun spoke about the Forsaken Land of the Gods. Could she use this in her next novel?

"We had a much more advanced civilization and technology than now. Everyone was also equal—there were no nobles, no kings, no monarchy. We also had a big cultural heritage in gastronomy, with various foods all different from one another."

The gray fog swirled silently, as if reflecting the mood of its owner.

"There were no gods, so most people were atheists. There were no Beyonder powers either. It was truly a peaceful era."

Interrupting the Fool's contemplation, Miss Magician inquired, "Then what happened next?"

"Then…" The Fool paused.

With an enigmatic smile, he softly declared, "It disappeared."

It disappeared? Why?

"When the stars are right, Chaos will rise from underground, and the Great Oldest One will awaken. It's what you now more commonly call the Cataclysm."

Fors stared blankly at the god who was casually revealing high-level knowledge. Fortunately(?), with her experience in being a Tarot Club member, she was numb to it now.

Moreover, she couldn't understand most of what He was saying.

"Then the Ancient Sun God-"

…Numb to the sensation of her beliefs being shattered and cognition of events overturned. Or to hear about high-level existences' secrets being told as if it were small talk.

The topic was often changed as casually as breathing, going from the creation of Rose Redemption to the birth of the True Creator to a questioningly big amount of Amon-related gossip in a short amount of time.

At least Fors now knew how He had been spending His days as a secret existence.

However, as she listened to the Fool reminiscing about the past, she couldn't shake off that nagging feeling in the back of her mind.

The vague feeling that something may be going wrong.

***

"I have here the Beyonder characteristic of a Sequence 5 Mentor of Confusion from the Black Emperor Sequence pathway. It can be made into a mystical item, and it should possess the power to use the loopholes found in order so as to distort the words, will, and actions of a target. It can also raise one's physical state and create a certain degree of chaos and confusion to the surroundings."

Cattleya, Anderson, Leonard and company exchanged looks, puzzled as to which poor Sequence 5 Beyonder met harm again.

After nearly twenty seconds of silence, Audrey began to ruminate over the Fool's words.

She thought for a few seconds before raising her hand slightly.

"Mr. Fool, what do you plan on exchanging it for? Or how much do you plan on selling it for?"

"5,000 pounds."

Feeling helpless, Audrey reminded Him, "Mr. Fool, a Sequence 5 Beyonder characteristic can at least be sold around 7,000 to 8,000 pounds. The price can be higher."

Then why do you ask?

Miss Justice's gaze swept over the other members, as if to see if anyone would bid higher, "I will buy it at 7,500 pounds, is that alright?"

The Fool nodded. Anyway, all this money would become funds for the Church.

He didn't think He could go very far with a total wealth of 10,000 to 20,000 pounds, but at least that was a good start.

Audrey then turned to look across the table. "Mr. Hanged Man, roughly how much would it cost to pay the Artisan to turn such a Beyonder characteristic into a mystical item?"

Alger quickly did the math and said, "1,500 pounds at the very least. It might be higher."

"Alright."

The Fool added, "There's another Sequence 5 Beyonder characteristic from the Planter pathway, Druid."

Suddenly, the palace that looked like a giant's residence turned quiet.

'Since when were Sequence 5 Beyonder characteristics so common?'

Was Mr. Fool mass-murdering pirates?

After nearly ten seconds, Cattleya recalled someone on her boat who could use that characteristic to advance; Frank Lee.

At that instant, she felt an unprecedented dilemma.

As the captain of the Future, Cattleya knew of the latent dangers that Frank Lee had better than anyone else. She knew that this first mate's strange ideas would at times be about truly terrifying and crazy developments. If it wasn't because those 'creations' had yet to be proliferated and lacked the necessary elements, Cattleya believed that the world would be different.

Of course, if there came such a day, she would finish off Frank Lee ahead of everyone else by feeding him to the fishes.

'With him lacking godhood, many things will be limited in scope even if they're considered a success. It's impossible to distribute out and bring about a greater disaster… Just advancing to Sequence 5 wouldn't result in any qualitative changes, and Frank has been holding back greatly in recent times. In the worse case scenario, maybe I can ask for Mr. Fool's help to get rid of him…' As her thoughts swirled and changed in her mind, Cattleya finally made a decision.

"How much do you wish to get for it?"

The Fool repeated Miss Justice's price, "7,500 pounds."

At the thought of how Frank Lee could be able to afford this sum, and how he wouldn't reject a Druid's Beyonder characteristic, Cattleya pondered for two seconds and said, "Deal. It should take a week to gather the amount."

As the duo's exchange came to an end, Fors asked, "Mr. Fool, I would like to request your help for my advancement ritual."

'An advancement ritual? Miss Magician is already preparing to advance to Sequence 5?' Some members noticed.

Cattleya, who had recently become Mysticologist, would have felt a sense of urgency had she not reached the Demigod-level.

As for Alger, with many members already being Sequence 5 and even someone having become a demigod in the Tarot Club, he completely felt that sense of urgency. Soon, his status as a senior member of the Tarot Club would be worthless.

"Very well."

"What do you want in exchange?" Fors added.

The Fool thought for a moment.

"500 pounds."

Fors hurried to accept before Miss Justice could tell Him to increase the price.

"Deal!"

Seeing the way the Fool set prices, Anderson Hood began to understand the undercurrent of favoritism in this gathering.