NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6: CHAPTER 6
Divinity (2)
"Hello, everyone. It's been a while since I last streamed. This is Park, the farmer from Jeolla Province."
Hey, what's up at this hour? When are you uploading the traditional liquor content?
Farmer Park was a YouTuber on the side, showcasing his rural lifestyle with content about farming, eating frogs, hunting wild boars, and more. A typical countryside YouTuber.
He had come to check out the rice fields of Mr. Kim from the neighboring village, who had to stop working due to a recently appeared Gate.
"I mentioned this on the community board before, right? That a Gate popped up in Mr. Kim's fields?"
Yeah, you did. Didn't the Phoenix Guild win the bid for that? Mr. Kim even treated the Phoenix Guild hunters to a big feast to ask for their help.
"But then a dungeon break happened, you see?"
Come on, Park, don't lie. You're saying even the Phoenix Guild, with S-rank Lee Yong-wan and over forty A-ranks, couldn't close a Scarlet Gate? Bullshit. Even without Lee Yong-wan, they should've cleared it easily.
Park felt frustrated at the viewers' disbelief. He had seen Mr. Kim wailing over his field, contaminated by mana.
Though he didn't know much about hunters, he understood that the Phoenix Guild was one of the top ten guilds and had incredible skills.
Yet, a dungeon break had still occurred, and Mr. Kim's field remained tainted with mana. It was every farmer's worst nightmare since the Great Cataclysm 30 years ago.
"I swear it's true! Even Association staff are here. It's a complete mess. The rice has rotted away because of mana contamination."
Park zoomed in with his camera, showing the tainted soil and the Association officials confronting the Phoenix Guild members.
It wasn't just the decayed rice—the scattered remains of skeletons hinted at what had emerged from the Gate.
…This is real? If mana spread to the Honam region, this year's crops are screwed. Why isn't this on the news? We're doomed. Food self-sufficiency is already dropping, and they only just increased farming subsidies. What's the point of subsidies if there's no land left to farm? The answer is smart farming. Time to invest in Dujung Future Foods. Get out, stock market shills!
Park continued filming around the Gate.
There was a restricted zone, but he managed to sneak around the crops undetected, making the viewers even more anxious.
"Oh… there's a foreigner."
A blonde man appeared on his camera, prompting a wave of comments.
Who's the foreigner? A Phoenix Guild member? Doesn't seem like it. His equipment is too poor, and he's not even wearing any gear. Then is he with the Association? No European staff in the Association. But damn, he's handsome. Why are there so many middle-aged ladies there? And they're all holding something? Zoom in, Park.
Park focused on what the women were gathered around.
He saw a straw effigy and a makeshift altar that had been set up by the blonde man.
'Are they holding a ritual?'
Rituals on mana-contaminated land weren't unusual.
People often conducted them, hoping to purify the tainted soil. However, the only real way to cleanse it was by injecting Magitower's purification solution.
Was that blonde man a mage dispatched by the Magitower?
No, he didn't look like a mage at all.
For some reason, Park couldn't take his eyes off him.
It wasn't just because of his looks.
Even from a distance, the light and grace emanating from him were unmistakable—he had an aura of nobility and sanctity that no wealthy elite or celebrity could ever fake.
In today's world, the modern aristocracy consisted of high-ranking Awakened individuals and corporate leaders.
But true nobility and bloodline could never be imitated.
And then, in that moment—
Farmer Park witnessed the event that would change his life.
Leon was the First Knight of Ariana, the Goddess of Light and Justice.
Throughout history, the Lionheart Kingdom's Lionhearted Kings had always been Ariana's first champions.
But in a nation where serving and harmonizing with the gods was a virtue, some deities were essential to worship, and thus, the Lionhearted King often served as a champion for multiple gods.
「Lionheart, my child.」
"I greet you, Mother Earth, divine of life and abundance, Demera."
Leon knelt on one knee before the straw effigy, showing his respect and reverence.
Even among the many gods in the Pantheon, Demera held great importance—she nurtured all life and governed prosperity.
As the voice from the effigy echoed, most bystanders couldn't understand it, but Leon could.
「This new land is also under attack by evil. The soil is tainted.」
"Yes, abominations have taken root here. And yet, the divine is absent, leaving only the vile and wretched to stain the Goddess's sight."
Upon returning to Earth, the first emotion Leon felt was disappointment.
It wasn't about Awakened individuals or survivors—that was secondary.
The faint memories of his past 20 years were merely nostalgic.
But the first thing he saw upon returning was the tyranny of the top ten guilds and the incompetence of the government.
It was both pathetic and pitiful.
「Ignorance and greed are not always sins. Such is the nature of mortals. What do you intend to do?」
"I do not favor them, but I cannot simply overthrow a lawful rule. This land elects its leaders through the pitiful process of voting, yet that is its legitimacy and law."
This was the sole reason he acknowledged the authority of the nation's president.
Their inability to control mere swordsmen was laughable, but the right to rule was sacred. Thus, he would follow the legal process.
"I will establish a world where rights and duties align. I shall teach the ignorant and lead them onto the correct path."
This world—
A land where strength and wealth dictated justice.
His homeland.
A world devoid of divinity.
Leon would rebuild the Pantheon on this land.
The lost gods of the Pantheon would regain their power, and the Holy Grail Knights would rise again.
To achieve this, he needed faith—priests, believers, and true devotion to the Pantheon.
「Child, do you have a request for this mother?」
Demera, sensing his intent, smiled.
Leon was no longer just Ariana's champion.
When the Pantheon chose him as the Guardian of the Holy Grail, the gods placed all their faith in him.
They believed he would vanquish evil and survive until the end.
For 200 years, he had upheld their trust, and now he had found a new land of opportunity.
Thus, the gods would grant whatever he wished.
"I do, Lady Demera. The people of this land suffer from the corruption of mana. I know it may be difficult, but I ask you to heal and purify this soil."
The straw effigy's hands glowed with divinity.
It was but a fraction of the blessing she once wielded when she received prayers from countless believers.
But in this land devoid of faith, it would be seen as nothing short of a miracle.
The divine power spread across the land.
The tainted soil was purified, and the rotting rice vanished.
In its place, fresh golden stalks of rice flourished.
Seeing this divine miracle, Leon raised his voice.
"Look and understand! You ignorant masses who neither learn nor know! This is a world where the divine walks among us!"
Golden fields of rice stretched before them, shining brilliantly where there had been only decay moments before.
"Be fruitful and multiply! For this is the duty of all living beings. This bountiful land shall stand as the everlasting testament of our covenant!"