Chapter 53

There is one thing the Hero does not remember.

That is the appearance and the identity of the Goddess who reincarnated him into this world. She deliberately wiped his memories out for some reason.

However, deep down, there is still a link between him and that Goddess, which has made it difficult for him to pray to the Goddess that many places of Nohin worship.

Back then, unlike Sam or Lily, Hero did not bow down to the statue of the Goddess in the garden, the place where Marie gave Sam the rejection notice. Subconsciously, he rejected that statue.

Because he felt like that Goddess was not the one he should be bowing to. Inside his head screamed that Hero would suffer if he did something that stupid.

Yet he kept on believing in the Goddess of Nohin, the Goddess of Love to be the one who brought him into this world. The Hero did not know who to think of, so he did what everyone was doing.

And right now, looking at the image of the Goddess in front of him, the only memory that remains from the back of his mind that day is ignited.

The appearance of her is not important, he does not remember that anyway. What matters is the sound.

It is the sound of cogwheels moving and the hissing of water, coming from steam engines. It is the sound of progression, of science, of technology.

It is the sound of Tomo, the Goddess of Curiosity.

A superior race, something he would like to become.

A Manaborn.

Manaborn beings were created after the Big Bang when all the mana gathered due to gravity. And if the convergence of normal atoms and particles created stars and planets, the convergence of mana particles created these Gods and Goddesses.

They are the same as celestial objects, researched by astronomers and physicists. With the total mana of a planet or even a star, these beings are immensely powerful.

Manaborn beings are the unthinkable forces of nature with a will of their own. Their purpose is to answer the question what if the sun had a soul.

Such a significant existence is now looking down on the Hero and Lord Kan.

But yet, this holy figure standing in the air is not even the Goddess in her full sovereignty. It is a copy, an image that contains only a fraction, maybe a hundredth, or a thousandth, or even smaller than that of the true Goddess.

Nonetheless, the sheer pressure emitting from her is simply incredible, being able to force both Hero and Kan to kneel on the floor with ease. If the actual Goddess were to be here, even if she just stood there, this capital, or this whole country, would be destroyed.

"I have been very, very disappointed in you, Hero." Her ethereal voice emerges from the inside of Hero and Kan at the same time. She talks like a choir simultaneously saying the same thing. With the voices of many different people mixed in together, there is no way to determine which one is her real sound, or maybe that is her real voice.

Although she says that she is disappointed, her voice is clearly indifferent. There are no real emotions in her words.

Kan kneels there with his head touching the floor. His whole body trembles beyond control but he does not notice. There is a sense of fulfillment, of ecstasy coursing through his veins.

It has been one of his biggest wishes, to be in the presence of a God. Being the devout person he is, Kan is struggling to hold back his hysterical screams.

Such grace. Such superiority. As his jaws keep trying to hit each other, he thinks in his heart. This is the Goddess, this is the definition of true strength.

I am blessed. I am very blessed indeed.

Tears begin to flow through the crevices of his eyes. Those are not fake. He cries with the most sincere joy he has ever had.

No matter how much money or political connection, nothing can give Kan such a desperate feeling. The old man feels like his entire body can be crushed at any second, and without any effort.

Similar to primal fear, there is no reason for Kan to be so conservative. Still, there he is, crouching as low as he can, but crying with gratification.

As for the Hero, he is stunned by the appearance of Her. Because he has no recollection of the meeting with the Goddess, he has been taking the appearance of the Goddess of love as his benefactor.

Why is she here? Why now all of a sudden?

If the feelings of Kan are that of happiness, for Hero, they are the complete opposite.

All that he can feel right now, is fear. The purest form of it.

She is disappointed, but why? He has not lost a single battle since he was reborn. Why would she be dissatisfied?

*Boom* *Crack crack crack*

"Gaaaahh!!"

A huge surge of pressure is put onto Hero's body. His entire body sinks deeper by at least an inch, forming cracks on the floor all around him.

"Do not question me, Hero. I am not here for unnecessary chatter."

But I did not even say a thing out loud! This is outrageous! Still not learning his lessons, Hero thinks.

*BOOM!!*

"GAAAAAAAAH!!"

The pressure increases at least twice, causing Hero to scream out of pain. His back, which is the thing pointing upward, feels like they are being pressed down by a truck.

"Please! Goddess! Please forgive me!" He yells from the bottom of his lungs, begging her to stop.

Immediately, the pressure disappears. On the Hero's face are a sense of relief and a huge amount of sweat. He really just went through purgatory.

The Goddess brings her right arm forward, aiming at the Hero and the ground beneath him.

Yellow light quickly envelops his body, causing any wounds that have been made, any scratches when his body sink through the floor also closes in a blink of an eye.

Not only that, but the floor as well returns to its previous state.

Seeing such power before his very eyes, Kan's devotion towards the Manaborn rises to an all-time high. In his mind, there is nothing in the world that can make him feel the same way anymore.

The Goddess turns her bank face towards Kan. Without eyes, She can still see what is hidden behind the old face and the hysterical tears Kan has.

Being glanced at by a superior being, he bows down constantly, hitting his head on the floor with a bang time after time, until his head breaks open and blood covers his face.

She feels satisfied.

His zeal soothes her. This is what her followers should be doing.

"Your loyalty appeased me." She says to Kan, spreading her index finger to point at his forehead. The wound closes right after that without any delay.

"Thank you...my Goddess...thank you!"

It does not matter to Kan whether or not this being in front of him is the one Nohin worships. She is a superior existence, so he does not feel any shame or regret paying attributes to Her. His thoughts are just like how a normal person should feel when they meet the President of another country.

The Goddess nods briefly and continues looking at Hero.

"Please, Goddess, please tell me why I am being punished!" Hero says so with the utmost care that he can mutter.

"You, ..." Her magical voice says. "...have made me bored."

"What have I don...? Ack! Ugh?" Hero's vocal cords stop working all of a sudden. "Umfh? ahfm?!!"

"Do not answer when you are not asked. Do not speak when I am speaking. This is the first warning."

The Hero bows down desperately.

She then continues.

"Do you know the meaning of an Apostle? Nod or shake your head to answer."

He nods.

It is to bring pride to their Gods or Goddesses, to bring more people to their feet.

"Correct. Then what have you done to make me feel that way? I am the embodiment of Curiosity. My power is stronger even among the Manaborn. I gave birth to civilizations, I grant knowledge.

Throughout the billions of years, this current age is the best one. Other Apostles some are waging war on their planets, some are dominating an entire race, some are making advancements you would never even think of it.

But you, you can not even handle a small scandal. How do you expect to win the War? Nay, how do you expect to pass the Selection?

Such a miserable Apostle you are."

The Goddess says at a slow pace. Her voice is monotonous but clear.

Yet, the Hero slumps down. He feels cold in all of his limbs.

"I do not know should I keep you or not."

No, no! Please! Don't abandon me!

"I put you here, on Earth, because I thought that it would be the most suitable for you. You came from a world just like this one, after all.

I was...curious. I wanted to see whether or not someone from another mirror dimension could bring a change into this boring world.

It turns out, you did not.

Other Manaborn keeps laughing at me because you can not win against a world without an Apostle of its own.

It is not even a 1.0 civilization!

Pathetic.

Absolutely disgusting, Hero."

The Goddess turns her black face away from the Hero. She 'stares' at Kan, who has some questions in his head.

"The current civilizations in this Universe are categorized by The Scale. It represents the energy and Mana consumption of each.

A 1.0 civilization, namely Ena, means it can harness all the mana and the energy of its home planet.

A 2.0 civilization, Mena, means it can harness all the power of its home star.

A 3.0 civilization, Thena, means the whole galaxy.

You people, Kan, are a 0.9. Not a 1.0.

If you were to participate in a War, you would most definitely lose against an Ena.

I brought him here so that he can take over this planet, yet..."

*Rumble*

"Yet, he has not shown anything."