Chapter 1 - Part 3: Usually, goddesses are too popular!
Elliot Brave became the first pilgrim in the last four hundred years.
Certain conditions need to be met in order to become a pilgrim; Elliot fulfilled all of them.
‘Pilgrim’, in other words, the ‘Hero of promise’.
Such a title is, as per the norm, not in the slightest bit insignificant.
All the pilgrims in history have been great warriors and kings who ruled the human world, as the gods, and, divine beasts watched over him and the lower world from the skies –that’s the kind of person that Elliot Brave will certainly become, if he fulfills the duty which he accepted so wholeheartedly.
There is no need for justification.
And, the Goddess said, now that Aidan Alastair was no longer inside the throne hall:
“My name is Ambrosia. Once again, pleased to meet you all, dear heroes!”
She paused, apparently looking forward to hearing some replies, before sighing as she transformed, her hairs turning towards a hue of green, just like her clothes, and, a huge deer appeared beside her.
A deer which looked like both a demon, and, a divinity.
The deer was not that big, but, it’s presence was still monstrous in the throne hall.
Overall, the goddess’s appearance remained the same.
Unchanged face of epitomal beauty; unchanged gentleness and light in her eyes.
It must be that…
However, she felt more comfortable in this appearance on this day for the first time; the other person had borrowed her previous appearance to pick some people, but, had chosen only a few persons to be a hero despite having so much time. About the few picked by the other person – she did not know the exact number of otherworldly inhabitants that that other person had chosen.
Doubtless… it must be that her appearance was much more natural and real in this form.
“I am the goddess of nature and water Most of your lives were bitter since birth. Knowing this, I chose to summon you people to give you the happiness which you’ve missed. It might be for a short time, but, you can marry anyone whom you want, eat anything you want, enjoy as much luxury as you want, and, live the way you want to the fullest. You are free. Just don’t do anything bad to my own people.”
It sounded like she was used to such speech, but, the summoned heroes took no notice of that.
A few even hesitantly went ‘whoa!’ at the end of her speech.
Ambrosia’s face remained of pristine demureness even as she received their reactions, or, rather, lack thereof.
‘Aidan Alastair must have been one of the humans chosen by that inexperienced person. It’s going to be a headache, as always, to deal with this kid’s choices,’ thought the goddess, smiling at the summoned heroes with a seemingly radiant glow.
“I...I can eat all I want?”
“Hai.”
“Can I marry you?!”
“That’s possible, but, only after you defeat the demon gods. You’ll have to ‘date’ girls just as you do in your world for marriage here. Well, about everything else will be provided to you, all in a timely manner though.”
“Is there internet here? My laptop got transferred over along with my body.”
“Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait for at least two more centuries to see anyone willing to come up with a method to produce electricity through science. There is magic already, and, us gods prefer not interfering with our kids’ efforts unless they really need us.”
“That’s quite the convenient excuse,” mocked the man in the suit clothes, before sighing with exaggeration, and continued:
“Well, let me confirm the contract – I, Dmitri Ford, vow to annihilate the demon gods for the sake of humanity.”
A steel-blue light blossomed forth from Dmitri Ford’s being, as his shirt got torn apart – quite the unusual style, since it seemed like the status bestowal was for another reason other than strength, said reason being:
“Look at those abs! Do you think that he works out every day? Kyaa!”
Even the goddess seemed impressed.
But, if she was blushing, she hid it from her face really well.
“Congratulations, Dmitri Ford. You appear to have been blessed by the will of the gods of science and metal. I’m sure that your class title will be something uniquely strong. I’m looking forward to seeing your strength,” said the goddess while revealing a board right beside her.
‘At least one of that person’s choices turned out to be decent. Dmitri Ford, huh?’ – so thinking, Ambrosia, goddess of nature, presented a ranking chart clinging to the board.
Currently, it was like this:
NAME: Walter Wilbur Stanford
RANK: 1
CLASS - LVL: Draconic Knight - 5
AGE: 41
HIGHEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Conquered the Eastern city ‘Eldawn’
...
NAME: Emmanuel Song
RANK: 2
CLASS - LVL: Phantom Templar - 5
AGE: 38
HIGHEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Assassinated dozens of kings and ministers of the Collard Empire.
...
NAME: Norman Fox
RANK: 3
CLASS - LVL: Blue mentalist - 6
AGE: 45
HIGHEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Learnt the ultimate magic of a [night shade] draconic pack leader.
...
NAME: Clarice Godwin
RANK: 4
CLASS - LVL: Survivalist - 5
AGE: 33
HIGHEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Conquered the first dungeon of ice attribute
...
NAME: Linda Eisenberg
RANK: 10
CLASS - LVL: Spirit summoner - 2
AGE: 20
HIGHEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Summoned a familiar of the rank of a LVL 3 mid-boss.
...
NAME: Elliot Brave
RANK: 11
CLASS - LVL: The Pilgrim - 0
AGE: 18
HIGHEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Became worthy of the unique class [the pilgrim]
...
NAME: Dmitri Ford
RANK: 12
CLASS - LVL: The Armada (Original) - 0
AGE: 20
HIGHEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Received the blessings of the god of metal, and, that of science.
...
NAME: ???
RANK: 13
CLASS - LVL: ?? - 0
AGE: ??
HIGHEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: ???
The ranks 5 through 9 were not disclosed.
Each name, strangely, glowed with a different color.
Blue for Norman Fox and Linda Eisenberg.
Blood-red for Emmanuel Song and Clarice Godwin.
Golden for Walter Wilbur Stanford and Elliot Brave.
Dark amethyst for Dmitri Ford.
And.
Completely black for ‘???’ – most likely, Aidan Alastair.
Each hue seemed to be entrancing the heroes who looked at it, as if they were in the presence of unjustifiable beauty, especially the figure of Linda Eisenberg, whose image appeared to have been projected from the illuminated board, alongside those of Dmitri and Elliot.
“Armada?” voiced out a stoic woman.
Correct. ‘The armada’ was Dmitri Ford’s class.
“What’s a ‘survivalist’?”
Aidan Alastair’s silhouette appeared to be blurred, almost like a ghost, even if he did not commit himself to a vow in order to appear on the ranking chart.
“This is the hero’s achievement board. Any grand hero who leaves his mark on it will have his life recorded in order to serve as paragon to inspire the common people. The people projected here are those heroes currently present in the capital city of the Jannat kingdom, ‘Schema’,” explained the goddess while caressing the projected images with deceptively seductive movements.
Ambrosia was much more different from the actual ideal of a goddess than she let on.
Linda Eisenberg was incomparably beautiful, with pale azure-colored hairs, and, a contrastingly simple brown attire, which gave off a sense of extreme cleanliness and elegance; her eyes were lit up like a cat’s, giving the illusion of them changing from emerald to gold even as an image – the goddess reticently touched the latter’s porcelain-like white skin.
And her hand stopped just short of touching the image of Aidan Alastair.
“Aidan Alastair was an unfortunate mishap. I hope that he does not suffer for long, and, that he joins his fellow heroes,” whispered the goddess only so much as to let her voice travel across the hall.
Not a soul spoke, as she explained even her slightest actions:
“Linda Eisenberg is a good child. I just feel that she could be more confident, and, prideful about herself. It makes me sad to see her struggle.”
Her green eyes simmered moistly with what appeared to be worry, as she longingly chimed on:
“Walter is a hardworking and diligent child, but, I don’t understand why the other children would be so willful, and, different from him. I haven’t seen Norman and Emmanuel for a long time now. What should I give them next time they come to see me?”
She was completely ignoring the heroes, and, for the worst, her presence exerted an unbreakable pressure as no one dared to speak, with the stag staring alternatively into each person’s eyes with superiority which no one dared to hold up to.
They were all weak in front of such an existence, which wasn’t even aware of the feelings which it instilled into their very core.
“My lovely children, I’m happy that you are courageous enough to combat your inner ego, and, stand in front of me obediently,” she said with uncalled-for mirth.
All in all, it would make one suspicious of such a natural arrogation of their bodies.
…And, she hugged Dmitri and Elliot while smiling cheerfully, rubbing her cheeks against theirs alternatively.
“Excuse me…!”
It was a young woman who called out – a petite woman with European features, who gave the impression that she was used to talking to people with higher authority than her.
Wearing way too simplistic clothes, and, an unadorned face which could only be described as plain, she faced the goddess while holding a stark-white hand up to indicate that she was the one who had spoken up.
Ambrosia patted the heads of the duo at her sides, before disappearing, and, rematerializing in front of the throne, which was on higher ground. And, asked:
“What is troubling you, my child?”
“Why can’t you defeat the demon gods by yourself? Are you the only good god left? Also, are you ashamed of having a child with a human? The baby might inherit your abilities, and, fight for you. This is what I humbly ask. Please – some insights could help me perform better if I do become a hero,” listed the woman while looking at the goddess into the eyes.
“That… I’ll lose my powers if I become the consort of a human. My child might–”
“Excuse me, but, how old are you? Why do you keep calling us as children?” asked a man while stepping out of the group of summoned humans.
“I’m seventeen years old, but–!”
“Seventeen years old? You’ve got to be kidding! I’m five years older than this self-proclaimed goddess! Isn’t she just a high magician or witch in disguise?!” exclaimed someone else while refusing to meet the troubled eyes of the goddess.
“In the first place, why can’t you make heroes out of your own people?!” asked another man.
“Hey, stop it!” cried Elliot while taking a step towards them.
A few people hesitated, before one of them broke out:
“What? The so-called great pilgrim is going to hurt innocent civilians?!”
Just then, something appeared behind the speaker, making him unable to move.
“Hugh!” shouted the goddess, as that thing which had appeared behind the abusive man dispersed.
The beast in question had been wrapped in the shadows, so, no one saw what it was.
“She won’t harm us!” remarked an unknown person.
“Just how are they supposed to be innocent civilians?” muttered Dmitri as he moved forward, and, barred the goddess’s body, indicating that he would protect her if anyone tried to approach.
“You didn’t even tell us your name!” said a jeering person, as someone else corrected him:
“Idiot! Her name is Ambrosia!”
The fool breathed heavily as he tried to appear serious by going to extreme pains to think up another question, before blurting out:
“T-Then! What are your body measurements – I mean, why do I have to fight for you? Return me home!” he replied.
The man waited, but, nothing happened, unlike how Aidan had suffered just a few minutes ago.
“That’s right! Bring me the finest women and food. Only then will I consider saving your little country!” shrieked a skinny man.
“Offer up your body, I have preservatives!” said another man.
“Women!” shouted a fat adolescent.
“Money!”
“Hey, give me those preservatives!”
The women could only watch in terror at those people who had crazed eyes, as if outside their personal jungles for the first time.
Eighty humans present in a grand hall. Some were being coaxed into going along the flow – into becoming immoral beasts.
Dozens of them screaming unruly words, as the summoned girls tried to find a way to escape from this situation while the men looked at the women’s body with predatory eyes.
And.
Elliot Brave transformed his body as he ran towards the gathered men with an astounding speed.
They waited with abated breaths, before Elliot pulverized the first person who came to match up to him – pulverized towards the far, east side of the walls encompassing the throne hall.
Some tried to take hostages, but, unexpectedly, a few unaffected men protected the girls even when they were bashed up by the exalted beasts of lust.
Ralph Raymond looked up to these solitary resisting wolves even as he was punched repeatedly for defending a young woman.
“Hell yeah! I get to show my valor!” barked an idiot while standing between a young girl and an aggressor, before he went down with a single punch, as was the opponent blown away neatly from an unknown force – a rigid-looking man stood behind the latter.
Currently, another lone person who seemed unapproachable. Someone else, who seemed to be having fun hunting the others who preyed on the women, making sure to thoroughly trash each victim. Two girls who managed to hold back their assailants while partnering up. And, the unfortunate ones who couldn’t escape the wave of more than forty men, and had their clothes torn up to the critical point.
Only a few seconds had passed after Elliot acted.
Suddenly.
The simple humans all lost consciousness.
***
A gale blew the remaining three people back.
“A-Awesome!” mouthed Elliot, as he looked at the bodies lying in front of him.
Even that seemingly unapproachable man had fainted in the end
Dmitri only looked at them carefully, before relaxing his guard, and, removed his hand from in front of the goddess.
“I don’t know about what exactly happened, but, I guess that I did try to protect the most important person here,” said Dmitri Ford as he sighed.
“Ulysses, Hugh. You went overboard once again,” complained the goddess as she looked at the stag, and, something which the two heroes couldn’t see.
Ulysses, it seemed, was the name of the stag.
Dmitri hesitated.
“About your guards…”
“I told them not to interfere unless I was in immediate danger. I did not predict that I would not be the only one in danger.”
“So, they did not come.”
“Still…”
Tears of blood formed at her eyes unnaturally, as Elliot was forced to retreat a few meters away from her because of the uneasiness he felt.
And an abrupt outburst followed:
“Nineteen people dead because the summoning for them failed! Thirty-two more lie dead here because they incurred the wrath of my guardians. I have no control on them. Hey, dear heroes! Do you think that you can defeat the demons which I couldn’t defeat?! This world already has magic. It doesn’t have potential. No matter how much I wish, I can’t make my people strong enough by my own powers! Please…! Help me save my family!!”
Her voice trembled horribly when she said those words. Her body was a mere leaf in the face of such responsibility.
Blood flew from the mouth of a few people lying unconscious.
It would be wrong to blame it on the fact that she was too young.
It would be wrong to think that she was an airhead who said her thoughts aloud, and, did not care about her actions.
Despite the fact that she was hiding something.
She was not alive; she was simply acting in order to play the noble role of a goddess.
How noble a goddess was supposed to be – even Ambrosia did not know.
Dmitri kneeled in front of the goddess, ignoring her hand, which she automatically extended for him to kiss, as he said:
“I’ve already responded to your call. I don’t know if your family is the people of this country, or, your fellow gods, but, it does not matter in which world I am. I’ll protect you until my last breath. Just don’t discard me, or, I’ll come back to haunt you.”
“I-I, too, will protect you!” blurted Elliot while hastily kneeling down beside Dmitri.
“My goddess!” screamed someone else, and, the two heroes looked back to notice something quite peculiar.
