I’m the Only Totem in Another World

Chapter 159: Paya’s Strange Adventure （3）

I bestowed Divine Possession upon the Saint.

Hmm. She’s blind, so she can’t see. It’s obvious, but I thought she’d be different since she’s a psychic.

I thought I would be able to see the world through the Saint’s eyes. This is a bust.

Is it impossible to share abilities even when possessing a kinsman?

“Just a moment.”

I carefully touched the sleeve of the Saint’s nun’s habit. Then, as I infused it with energy…ah. I can see the Saint’s memories embedded in the sleeve.

It seems the Saint’s ability is activation-based, not continuous. In a way, that’s a relief. If I saw memories every time I touched something, I’d go crazy too.

‘You have a special ability. You can make the world a better place.’

I see the moment when the Saint, an orphan, received her nun’s habit from the Mother Superior who raised her like a daughter.

‘What an amazing power. It must be the Goddess’s guidance that brought you here.’

The moment she was recognized for her abilities by the previous Pope.

‘Don’t get cocky just because you know some witchcraft. You’re just a country bumpkin.’

When the Saint was competing with other Saint candidates to become the Saint.

‘The statue of the Goddess flashed! The Goddess has chosen you!’

The moment she won the competition and proudly received the Goddess’s recognition.

‘The Saint can’t use healing magic… Cardinal Holland, is this also the Goddess’s will?’

‘Don’t be troubled. Instead, hasn’t the power the Saint possesses become stronger? The Goddess must have judged that the Saint’s ability is more important than the healing magic that other priests can use.’

I was startled by Holland suddenly appearing before my eyes. That’s right, he said he knew the Saint from before.

…It’s a strange feeling to see a dead person again, especially someone who sacrificed themselves for me.

‘Yes. The Saint’s ability will be of great help in catching the wicked.’

Another Cardinal added.

‘She will be able to help the unjustly accused. She will be able to deliver the fairest judgment of all.’

The moment she realized that her role was different from other previous Saints.

‘Ah, Saint…!’

When she became the Saint and helped many people.

‘The Imperial Family is avoiding contact with me. They must be up to something.’

‘Saint, those in power are often those who have committed many sins. They are simply afraid of your power.’

‘Cardinal Holland, is there no way to find out?’

‘We can look into it, but if they find out we’re investigating them, things will get out of hand. We’re barely maintaining a cooperative relationship as it is. If we’re not careful, it’ll be war.’

‘…I understand.’

When she suspected the Imperial Family was plotting something and fiddled with her sleeve.

‘Mo, monsters have attacked the Imperial Palace!’

‘They didn’t attack, they came out of the Imperial Palace!’

The moment of the apocalypse that finally arrived.

‘Cardinal Holland? What’s going on? Where is the Pope…’

‘Demons have surrounded the Cathedral! While the Pope is holding them off, you must escape, Saint! Let’s go to the safe house! Quickly!’

And the memories of hiding from the demons that emerged from the dimensional gate.

All the stories contained in the nun’s habit unfolded like a film in my mind.

She believed that this world was a cruel place, that the Goddess was not entirely benevolent, and that people were unstable beings who repeated the same mistakes, yet she loved them all the same.

Perhaps that’s why she became the Saint.

━ Hmm.

The flashback ended, and my vision went dark again.

“It seems to be working well.”

The Saint’s voice can be heard.

“At this rate, I think it’s safe to say there’s no burden that would be a ‘bad variable.’ Can we start?”

━ Go ahead.

“Yes!”

Paya and I answered simultaneously.

“If anything happens, I’ll separate you. Priestess Paya, I’ll hold Malak-nim’s totem.”

“…Okay.”

I also received a promise from Rake, who had taken Totem No. 2 from Paya（?）.

“Alright, I’ll start now.”

The Saint infused Paya and the totem with energy.

As my vision, which had been dark, brightened again, my perspective shifted from the Saint to the totem.

‘Oh valiant Udan! The Starlight Naru Tribe greets you!’

I can see the Barbarian chieftain and priestess praying to the totem.

‘How dare you frown and walk around in front of Udan-nim’s altar! This is blasphemy!’

‘Eek! I’m sorry!’

Even the sight of a man being beaten with a club for frowning in front of the altar.

Do I have to see all these trivial memories? This will never end.

━ Can’t we move the timeline to the recent past? I want to see at least from after the demon invasion.

“Okay.”

The scene in front of me flipped through like a fast-forwarding film. She can do that too.

Why didn’t she do it sooner?

‘A horde of Infected is crossing the river! We must flee!’

‘A, abandon the tribe? The land of our ancestors?’

‘Man! We’re all about to die, does that matter? We have to survive to continue the tribe!’

‘Damn it!’

I see the Starlight Naru Tribe members hastily evacuating. It must be the early days of the demon invasion.

‘Grrrr…’

A pack of wolf Infected occupied the empty Starlight Naru Tribe. They ravenously devoured the food the evacuees had left behind and destroyed things.

However, they couldn’t approach the totem and the altar, seemingly afraid of the divine energy. I guess attacking a totem requires a certain level.

Well, if all the demons and Infected had rushed to destroy the totem like the Night Stalker Demon, it would have been hard for me to become a late bloomer.

After that, there was nothing much. Rain fell, wind blew, birds pooped and flew by… time flew by.

When summer came with the chirping of insects, a group of people approached the totem.

‘We’re too late. I am Jira, daughter of Gomon and Nabu, the new chieftain of the Starlight Naru Tribe. We have come to reclaim our homeland.’

A sharp-looking woman stood before the totem.

Does their absence here mean they were eventually killed by demons?

Time flew by again.

‘Udan-nim? Are you trying to descend now? Priest Toto! Proceed with the ritual!’

The Starlight Naru chieftain looks at the totem with surprise.

Uh, what? Descend? Udan descended?

This isn’t good news. If a Loa other than me has descended, it’s likely to be an opportunist like Tuga.

And considering that the Starlight Naru Tribe is nowhere to be seen in the present, there’s a high probability they met a bad end.

…Could the Loa that Karon defeated be Udan?

‘Thank you for choosing me as your Avatar, Udan-nim! I dedicate the earth to you!’

The chieftain, now transformed into a beastman with brown fur, declared triumphantly.

‘Udan! Udan!’

‘God of Valor! God of Valor! God of Valor!’

‘By Udan-nim’s command! Capture and kill the infidels who disturb the earth and drive out the demons!’

The tribe’s warriors, transformed into half-human, half-bear, or werebears, roared.

Ah, this is the same as that. The warriors who received Tuga’s blessing.

They transformed into crab-humans, and these transformed into werebears. It must be a blessing that transforms followers into a form similar to their god.

That infidel is undoubtedly Karon. They fought him and lost. Such a weak Loa.

Even the title ‘God of Valor’ sounds weak. Not God of Wind and Rain, God of Wisdom, or God of Heaven, but ‘God of Valor.’ Not even ‘God of War’ or ‘God of Battle.’

Maybe he has no special abilities, so they just went with ‘Anyway, he’s valiant’? That’s why he got beaten by someone like Karon.

…It’s a secret that I almost lost to Karon a few times. That was before I finished becoming a late bloomer.

‘Let’s go! To battle!’

‘Let’s offer the infidel Karon to Udan-nim!’

The Starlight Naru Tribe, transformed into werebears, set off for battle and never returned. They didn’t even have time to remove the ritual tools they had placed before the altar.

They must have been wiped out by Karon.

Even a Loa’s Avatar only has the power of a high-ranking demon. Asha, who was Tuga’s Avatar, was also defeated by Dina, who was Level 8, and Rake, who was around Level 7-8.

I don’t know what will happen if they keep growing, but it’s unlikely they can defeat Karon.

Karon commanded three high-ranking demons: the Stingray Demon, the Centaur Demon, and the Giant Demon. There’s no way he could be defeated by becoming the Avatar of a weak Loa.

After that, night and day passed several times.

At some point, Udan’s totem’s vision suddenly shook and was enveloped in a black aura.

‘Uwaaaaaaaa━!’

With a beastly roar, a giant brown bear ripped through space and appeared.

Udan, did he even manifest?

Did his followers earn a lot of points before they were defeated by Karon? Hmm. This is tricky. It doesn’t seem like the other Loa have the same mechanism as me, where they need to accumulate points to manifest.

‘Sniff!’

As if very angry, Udan snorted and walked with heavy steps. Every step he took made the ground tremble and trees fell.

It’s like a ‘Karon you bastard! Come out!’ kind of feeling.

He was quite majestic, but he didn’t look as overwhelmingly powerful as Jin Malak’s manifestation. Unlike Jin Malak, whose size was comparable to a skyscraper, Udan was only about the size of a lord’s mansion.

Well, he does look stronger than a normal high-ranking demon. Are the other Loa around this level?

Because of their immortality, they can’t die, but physically they’re not overwhelmingly powerful beings.

Of course, this could be because they’re spiritual beings from another dimension who have been nerfed as they gained physical power.

If divine beings descended to earth with all their power, it would be too much of a balance breaker. Usually, this is normal. Jin Malak was just too strong even after being nerfed.

I watched as Udan walked away.