Chapter 89: The Gods Are Not Majestic

Approaching Watchtower Fort, the vast group of demon hunters moved forward in formation.

Rachel’s face was flushed— not from embarrassment, but from barely suppressed anger, struggling to catch her breath as she shouted, “Teacher, my eyes saw everything clearly! That so-called Truth was covered in blood and looked incredibly evil. I could even sense the demonic aura on her!”

Rachel kept trailing behind Kaver, yelling nonstop, while Truth and Thia quietly watched from the side with interest.

“I’ve already told you, Rachel, you can’t always rely on your innate ability. Even the Eye of Atonement can’t reveal the absolute truth in every situation,” Kaver said, visibly irritated by Rachel’s relentless outbursts.

Truth was covered in blood, and there was a demonic aura on her…

Wasn’t that exactly the Demonic Rampage that happened at the Suho Manor? As a victim, Truth would have been the first to treat the wounded once the demons disappeared, so it made sense that she was stained with blood.

And yet Rachel was accusing High Priestess Thia of murder and burial, suggesting she might even be in league with demons…

Sigh, she still had a long way to go; more discipline was definitely needed.

How the Eye of Atonement judges guilt depends entirely on the user’s own heart.

If the user believes littering is a crime, the Eye would probably condemn ninety percent of Deiya City’s residents.

So how exactly was Rachel determining the priestess’s guilt? Was it improper rescue?

Really, and she even dared to detain High Priestess Thia without permission, even though they were of equal rank.

Fortunately, the high priestess was more approachable; otherwise, it would have been a huge problem.

Lately, Rachel had become more extreme. Sometimes if a demon passed near someone and left behind a trace of demonic aura, Rachel would use that as grounds to arrest and interrogate them.

That was how Truth was caught.

Experienced demon hunters usually played the long game, patiently waiting to catch bigger targets. Only impatient rookies made a fuss at the slightest disturbance, ruining the operation.

“Why say I can’t see the truth? My eyes see everything clearly, okay? Are you saying my eyes would lie to me? Teacher, are you afraid of Thia’s identity?!” Rachel refused to let it go.

“Afraid? I admit, I am somewhat cautious of the two priests you’ve been giving such a hard time,” Kaver answered honestly.

Rachel was shocked by how straightforward the admission was!

No wonder the teacher had been so friendly with them from the start!

You even told me before that no matter if the saintess was corrupted by demons, you would still kill her without hesitation—but today you’re afraid of a high priestess from a border city?

Before Rachel could question further, Kaver continued, “After all, both of them have been personally examined and Blessed by the Life Goddess herself. And Miss Truth even said she’s been chosen by the Life Goddess as a quasi-saintess. She’s attending the Divine Selection Ceremony in a few days, and when you meet her, you’ll have to kneel on one knee.”

“So you think your eyes see better than the Life Goddess herself?”

Tired of arguing with his student who wouldn’t listen anyway, Kaver’s head ached just thinking about how to properly entertain the two priestesses in the dull military camp. So he brought out the Life Goddess.

“What? The Goddess said there’s no problem, so how come you say otherwise?”

“The Life Goddess… personally examined them…”

Rachel suddenly froze, unable to believe what her teacher had just said. What did that mean? Was she questioning the Goddess’s authority?

Meanwhile, Truth and Thia quietly encouraged Rachel from the side, enjoying the spectacle. “Come on, quickly refute your teacher!”

As a devout follower of the Life Goddess for over thirty years, there was one thing Kaver could never say outright to Rachel: gods have emotions and desires, and they aren’t the towering paragons of virtue most believers imagine.

From what Kaver knew, the Goddess didn’t care about the morality of her followers — only whether they could create value for her.

So those in the church, no matter what they did in private, would never face proper punishment as long as they remained useful to the Goddess.

Deities are not human; they don’t concern themselves with petty squabbles.

“I… I don’t believe it! Teacher, you must be lying! I’ll go ask the Life Goddess myself!”

Could it be that my eyes really have deceived me? Rachel ran a short distance away, clutching the pendant of the Goddess tightly at her neck, and called out alone.

Seconds later, within the Sanctuary of the Life Goddess, a Marked Ripple stirred in her small pool.

“That’s the little one with the Eye of Atonement. Why is she suddenly coming to me?”

For highly promising followers, the Life Goddess gave special attention, so she immediately focused on Rachel, whom she had personally marked.

The reason she cared about Rachel was that even deities could be troubled by their own skill trees, just like greatsword players who never mastered the Iaijutsu technique.

The Eye of Atonement was linked to a long-extinct temporal class.

And Temporal Power was a force most deities couldn’t wield. The Life Goddess decided she needed to study Rachel carefully.

Then Rachel’s questions about Truth’s identity entered the Goddess’s mind.

“Oh, isn’t she the little priestess who got an opportunity in the Deiya underground labyrinth? And now she’s met Rachel— quite the coincidence. You must get along well.”

Two promising little ones meeting— good. Grow strong together, the Life Goddess’s caring words echoed in Rachel’s heart.

Then Rachel immediately covered her face, crying as she left the main group and ran back to the camp.

“Waaah!”

What the teacher said was actually true!

Huh? The follower cut off the call already? The Life Goddess was puzzled.

Tsk, young people are always impatient. Well, this works. I might as well have the High Priest of Deiya report back to me on the quasi-saintess’s progress…

–

That night, Truth and her companions arrived at the military camp near Watchtower Fort.

A dozen or so gray, dust-covered felt tents sprawled like a spiderweb.

Iron pots bubbled over campfires, and shouts from demon hunters and regular soldiers training occasionally drifted through the air.

Because of feeling the Life Goddess’s call, Thia urgently needed to get to the nearest Life Goddess church to investigate the matter.

Unlike Rachel, Thia was just a regular priestess in the Goddess’s eyes, without any special privileges.

Truth was taken by Kaver to a particularly large tent, which was remarkably clean. Several plates of fresh fruit were laid out on the table.

This was clearly the best Kaver could offer.

“I deeply apologize for Rachel’s offense toward you. It’s my poor discipline that made her overly reliant on her unique ability.”

“Please wait here a moment. When High Priestess Thia returns, I will treat you with the highest respect.”

After saying this, Kaver left the tent, leaving Truth alone to lie down on a wide but somewhat uncomfortable wooden chair.

“The Eye of Atonement, huh? That was the starting skill of a now-extinct class called the Qiong Cursist from the game’s early days.”

Qiong Cursists could manipulate the timeline and steal skills opponents had used within a certain time frame.

But due to too many bugs with this skill, the class was eventually deleted.

Just a glance was enough to steal a skill. Back then, it was considered overwhelmingly powerful, but after more than a dozen versions, it was like comparing cavemen to advanced aliens now.

Speaking of which, I actually came all the way to Watchtower Fort. I remember there’s a small cave dungeon here, right? Once I finish spying on the Goddess, I can check it out.

Truth started to sneak out of the tent cautiously to observe the camp.

But just as she reached the door, a sneaky shadow slipped inside— the one and only Rachel.