Faith is Temporary

"You did well, Lucienne, I am proud of you." Sitting atop her throne, Lilith had been patting her loyal servant dressed in white cloth who laid upon her thigh, "You managed to get enough information on Carmine and escape unharmed. You make me proud, Demon of Calamity."

"Just so you know, I'm doing this for the sake of my friends, not for you, Lilith." Lucienne stood in the middle of the room, removing the hoodie from her head, "Here." Throwing a small magical device towards the Great King, she caught it with one hand, smug as ever.

"Yes, of course. I'm doing this for the sake of everyone else as well, so we may return to our world, and escape this dreadful nightmare."

"You seem rather calm when you say that, Lilith. Sounds to me that you don't want to escape Isekai World Online." Lucienne squinted her eyes, frowning at the Great King.

"Oh? But I do. Is me being calm a bad thing? Do you want a ruler of such a great Nation to bawl her eyes out like a sad little girl?!" Lilith teased Lucienne in her tone of voice, rubbing her eyes as she fake cried.

"Whatever. Just tell me what's that magical device for, and why did you need me to analyze Carmine specifically?"

Lilith's resting smile returned to her face as she lifted the device in her hand, "This is the Usurper, a magical device created from Datasets. As you may know, Primordials don't use magic, they utilize Datasets to perform their techniques, which is why it's harmful to us Great Kings. We naturally resist all types of magic from our resistances, but Datasets are separate from magic. I needed you to do this because you're quick on your feet if you needed to flee."

"Wait a minute… are you telling me that the monster I've been analyzing this whole time was a Primordial?!" Lucienne widened her eyes, shocked to hear Lilith's deceiving tone.

"Oh my, I didn't tell you, did I? Whoops." She covered her hand with her mouth, tittering at herself, "I nearly botched the operation, how foolish of me."

"You… bastard! You tried to get me killed!!" Lucienne dashed towards the Great King in a fit of anger, summoning forth her Supreme Grade Weapon.

Her speed transcended the perception of every guard in the room. Nobody could react in enough time except for the Great King.

"Kneel."

But with just one word, the Demon of Calamity was forced to kneel. She slammed into the floor on her knees, dropping her weapon as she bowed her head.

"I understand your anger, Calamity, but if I were to tell you that you would be analyzing a risky opponent, then you wouldn't have taken the job. But be grateful that you're alive. Being cheesed off about the past is quite foolish, no?"

"…." Lucienne could only glance at the vampire with her eyes, clenching her hands into a fist.

"Fufufu~! Good. Now to explain the Usurper; its purpose is to analyze all creatures, no matter how great they may be. The information it obtains allows me to prepare beforehand against certain foes to learn their weaknesses and exploit them during battle. It's a useful tool that allows me to stay one step ahead." Closing her hand, the magical device vanished.

"I don't understand… why are you planning to destroy Carmine?" Asked Lucienne in frustration.

"Kill her? No, by all means, she needs to stay alive. I'm not some monster, Calamity."

"Then why? Why did you have me risk my life against such a terrifying enemy?"

"Because, I will create my own Primordial Fragments, just like the four on Terra."

"What?!?"

***

"Damnit, it's too strong… we might as well be mining obsidian with a wooden pickaxe at this point!" Pocchi was slouched over, panting with two daggers in his hands while Robert kept his cool, holding his Longsword in front of him, saying, "I have to save her. Alexa won't survive without my help!"

Pocchi glanced over at the knight, lifting his brow in astonishment, "You're one stubborn son of a bitch, aren't you?!" Robert chuckled at his words, responding, "If a friend is in danger, it's only logical that the other will use everything they have to save them. No matter how dire the situation may be."

"Oh yeah?" Pocchi laughed, "Hahahaha!" Nearly falling forward, he kept laughing, holding his stomach with one hand, "I can't compete with resilience like that! Man, you guys always crack me up. The hero-types who always believe they can win, as long as they keep standing, and never give up."

"Isn't that just part of life?" Asked Robert.

"…" Pocchi went quiet by his words and shrugged, "You got me there, I guess it is part of life. Touché big guy."

"Hmpf." Nodding his head with a smile, Robert took a deep breath, "I will use everything to save her life." A shimmering light illuminated the warrior's body as he closed his eyes, chanting to the Gods from above, "Odin, bless me with your Divine Grace, give me what is needed to reach new heights, and claim victory over my enemy." The light continued to expand around his body, emerging Pocchi into its essence.

"Holy shit-!" The Assassin class player was taken aback by this light.

It was faith itself, and only those with tremendous faith could utilize this power.

When a player in this world worships a God or follows a certain religion, they can earn FP (Faith Points)—this is usually earned by completing missions given to them by the church that they're a part of, or if they say prayers before battle, and honor their god's name. There are many ways to earn FP, and Robert by far has the most faith out of everyone in the Norse Religion.

"Blessed by Odin and his grace, fate will protect me!" Robert stood his ground, enchanting his blade in a foreign Mana.

"Wait… that's?" Pocchi knew what this mana was.

Mana originated from the Database itself, but creatures over the millennia have modified it to fit their race's origins. Demons had modified mana to become Sinful Mana, Angels modified it to become Holy Mana and the Gods modified it to become Divine Mana.

That is what Robert used. He used divine mana, granting him the power to breach through the heavens beyond space and time itself.

Such power could even destroy the world.

"How the fuck are you using so much Divine Mana? Not to mention… your Faith points are off the charts, just who the hell are you, Robert?!"

"I'm nobody, but for now I will become a hero."

"…?"

Responding with a vague answer, the warrior Knight charged at the Primordial in front of him, slashing his blade with all his might. The Divine Mana took the form of a crescent as it rushed forward, slicing the Primordial's arm off.

"Holy shit, he cut it!?" Shouted Pocchi in astonishment, "Keep it up! Don't give it time to regenerate!!"

"I will not!!" With his newly enhanced speed and power, Robert rushed down the Frost Queen, frantically slicing at its body. Its arms and legs had been decapitated, while its figure was being ripped apart into pieces, "Odin is by my side! He controls my fate until the very end! I will not lose!"

A flurry of slashes. The Frost Queen had no time to regenerate—

So he thought.

"Oh… shit, not good! Robert, get the hell outta there, your attacks aren't doing anything!!" Pocchi yelled loud as he could, gaining the knight's attention, but he didn't stop.

"My fate lies in Odin's hand! This monster will not defeat me!!"

"Odin?" The Frost Queen had spoken, despite its shredded body floating in midair, "You believe Odin can defeat me?" Its voice was overlayed by another, giving it a demonic tone, "And you believe his fate will protect you?!"

"Impossible… I sliced you to ribbons with Divine Mana…" Robert was bewildered, floating in midair with his Divine mana slowly depleting.

"What a foolish creature. All of you. Humanoids, Abnormal's, and even the Gods. You believe you're the apex predator. You fools believe that you're the strongest in the entire world, unable to be defeated."

"No one believes that… we all have our limits, Primordial."

The Frost Queen laughed, "Hahahaha! You say that now human, but just a moment ago… you believed you were unbeatable with that power. Am I wrong?"

("But how…? Did it read my mind? This creature… defied the Fate of Odin himself and created its own. My attack was supposed to kill it from Odin's will, but it decided to supersede his, and form its own destiny.")

"Surprised? You would've killed me if I hadn't taken you seriously. Be grateful that I find you as a threat, Robert the Warrior Knight."

Robert looked down in anguish, shaking in his palms, "So… this is the end of me, is it?"

"By my fate, yes, it is the end of you, warrior."

The Frost Queen reformed herself back into existence, merging with its shredded body parts. Naturally, the only way you could kill a Primordial is with powerful Supreme-Grade Equipment.

All Supreme Grades have the ability to nullify the regeneration of Primordial Fragments, which are creatures who can reform themselves back into existence from the conceptual destruction of their Data Core.

The same could be said for Divine Mana, however, Robert wasn't so lucky that this creature took him as a threat.

"Begone with the wind."

The Frost Queen conjured spears of ice into the sky, all targeting the warrior Knight.

"You've fought well."

"…Damnit all!" Closing his eyes, the brave warrior accepted his fate.

The spears of ice fell from the sky and aimed for his body.

"Shit! You fucking bastard, Frost Queen!!" Pocchi yelled from the top of his lungs, angry that he couldn't save someone else, but only watch them die… once again.

"Avalons Oath!"

But, in the midst of despair, a barrier would form around Robert, shielding him from the danger above. The Spears of Ice would bounce off this golden Forcefield and evaporate into the air, unable to pierce its defenses.

"You know… I'm getting really tired of you egotistical Primordials! Your kind really pisses me off except for one."

Standing behind Pocchi was a group of brave warriors- No… a group that was feared across the game itself. A Guild so fearsome that even the Gods cannot fathom their unlimited power.

"From my orders, hold nothing back."

"Loud and clear." (All)

Emperor stood next to Crimson who held the Phantom Mutiny's flag in his hand, sticking it into the ground.

"Let us show the Primordial's what true strength is." Maverick grinned wide as ever, prepared to unleash hell.