GOD OF DECEPTION Chapter 3 - The Saintess of a Dying Goddess

Chapter 3 — The Saintess of a Dying Goddess

The howl echoed through the village like a death sentence.

People scread outside while the wooden walls trembled from heavy impacts.

I stood near the doorway trying very hard not to panic.

Inside my head?

Complete chaos.

Because the truth was simple.

I was not a god.

I was a guy from Earth whose greatest combat achievent was surviving ranked multiplayer gas without breaking my keyboard.

And now magical demon wolves were attacking a dieval village that believed I could save them.

Wonderful.

Another violent crash shook the building.

Chief Rowan’s face turned pale.

"The outer fence won’t hold much longer."

The hunters imdiately grabbed their weapons.

One of them looked toward desperately.

"Divine one... please protect us."

The warmth inside my chest pulsed again.

Faith.

Their belief was becoming power.

But I still had no idea how to use it.

I took a slow breath.

Think, Kaiser.

Technology.

Psychology.

Fear.

That’s all you have.

I stepped outside.

Cold wind hit my face instantly.

The village had descended into chaos.

Torches flickered wildly while villagers rushed toward their hos carrying children and supplies.

Then I saw them.

Six massive shadow wolves stood beyond the broken wooden fence.

Their glowing blue eyes stared directly at .

One of them was enormous.

Nearly the size of a car.

Black mist leaked from its body like smoke.

The hunters nearby trembled.

"That’s the Alpha..."

The creature growled deeply.

The sound alone made my stomach tighten.

No normal animal should sound like that.

The wolves slowly approached the village.

Confident.

Predatory.

As if they already knew nobody here could stop them.

Then the Alpha looked directly at .

Its glowing eyes narrowed.

Interesting.

It sensed sothing.

Or maybe the divine energy gathering around .

The villagers quickly hid behind .

That should not have made feel responsible.

Unfortunately...

it did.

I sighed internally.

Great.

Now my conscience was getting involved.

"Lord Kaiser..." Chief Rowan whispered nervously. "Can you defeat them?"

Absolutely not.

But obviously I couldn’t say that.

I slowly raised my phone.

The wolves paused slightly.

Good.

Animals feared unfamiliar things.

That ant intimidation could work.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

Please work.

I opened the flashlight again.

Bright white light illuminated the dark village.

Several villagers gasped in awe.

The wolves growled uneasily.

Interesting.

Sensitive eyes.

Useful.

Then another idea appeared.

Actually...

maybe not terrible.

Sound.

Most animals hated sudden loud noise.

My phone battery was low.

But if this worked, I only needed one attempt.

I opened my music app again.

This ti I selected sothing different.

Not heavy tal.

Sothing louder.

Sothing explosive.

Cinematic war music.

If I was pretending to be a god, I might as well commit fully.

The Alpha suddenly lunged forward.

Villagers scread.

I pressed play.

The village exploded with thunderous orchestral music.

Drums.

Choirs.

Violent horns.

The sound echoed across the entire village like the arrival of an army.

The wolves froze instantly.

Even the villagers looked horrified.

I raised my glowing phone toward the sky dramatically.

"Be still."

My voice echoed alongside the music.

The divine energy around suddenly reacted.

Blue light swirled through the air.

Wait.

That wasn’t from the phone.

My eyes widened slightly.

The faith energy inside my body was responding to my actions.

The villagers stared at with worshipful terror.

"Divine miracle..."

The Alpha growled aggressively and charged again.

Okay.

Plan B.

I grabbed a small tal lighter from my pocket.

Thank God I smoked occasionally.

The villagers watched closely.

I flicked it open.

A tiny fla appeared.

The wolves imdiately recoiled.

Their instincts scread danger.

But to the villagers?

It looked completely different.

A divine fla appearing from empty air.

One hunter fell to his knees.

"He commands fire..."

More faith flowed into .

Warm.

Powerful.

And suddenly—

sothing inside snapped open.

Energy surged through my chest.

My body beca lighter.

Sharper.

For a brief mont, I could feel the spiritual energy around the village itself.

Invisible currents flowing through the air.

Holy crap.

I could sense it.

The Alpha hesitated.

Then I pointed the lighter toward the wolves.

"Leave."

The divine energy around surged unconsciously.

The tiny fla suddenly expanded.

Not much.

Only slightly.

But enough.

The lighter burst into bright blue fire.

My eyes widened.

The villagers gasped loudly.

The wolves imdiately backed away.

Even I was shocked.

Did I just use divine power?

The Alpha snarled one final ti before retreating into the darkness.

The other wolves followed quickly behind it.

Silence covered the village.

Then—

cheering erupted everywhere.

"The divine one saved us!"

"A miracle!"

"Praise Lord Kaiser!"

People rushed toward with tears in their eyes.

The warmth inside my chest exploded violently.

So much faith poured into that I nearly stumbled.

My breathing beca uneven.

The energy was addictive.

Warm.

Powerful.

Alive.

I understood instantly why gods desired worship.

Faith felt incredible.

Dangerously incredible.

Chief Rowan dropped to both knees.

"From this day onward, Erald shall honor the God of Technology!"

The villagers imdiately repeated the words.

"The God of Technology!"

"The God of Technology!"

Each chant strengthened the energy inside .

This was insane.

Absolutely insane.

I had just scared away magical wolves using a lighter and a Spotify playlist.

And sohow it worked.

As the villagers celebrated, I suddenly felt sothing strange nearby.

A different energy.

Cold.

Sharp.

Watching .

I slowly turned.

At the edge of the village stood a young woman wearing silver-white robes.

Long black hair flowed behind her in the wind.

Her blue eyes remained fixed directly on .

Unlike the others...

she wasn’t worshipping.

She was observing.

Carefully.

Suspiciously.

A silver symbol glowed faintly on the back of her hand.

Divine blessing.

A real one.

Not fake like mine.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Chief Rowan noticed my gaze and imdiately looked nervous.

"Ah... Lady Elena has arrived."

Lady Elena.

The woman walked toward us calmly.

The villagers lowered their heads respectfully as she passed.

A priestess?

No.

Sothing more important.

She stopped a few ters away from .

Her sharp blue eyes studied my face.

"You possess strange divine authority," she said quietly.

Straight to the point.

I liked that.

Unfortunately, she was also dangerous.

People like her noticed things.

I maintained a calm expression.

"And you are?"

She placed one hand over her chest.

"Elena Valeris."

The silver mark on her hand glowed softly.

"A servant of Lady Seraphine."

The minor goddess from the shrine.

Right.

So this woman worked directly for a real goddess.

Fantastic.

That definitely wasn’t terrifying.

Elena glanced toward the burned blue fla marks near my lighter.

The villagers watched us nervously.

Then she asked the worst possible question.

"Which divine temple trained you?"

Ah.

Problem.

Big problem.

I knew nothing about temples.

Or gods.

Or literally anything in this world.

But hesitation would expose .

"I answer to no temple," I said calmly.

"I walk my own path."

Elena narrowed her eyes slightly.

Interesting.

Suspicion confird.

She stepped closer.

Close enough for to notice how beautiful she actually was.

Great.

Now was not the ti to beco distracted.

Her voice lowered.

"There are no records of a Technology God."

Sharp.

Very sharp.

I smiled faintly.

"Then perhaps your records are incomplete."

The villagers gasped softly.

Elena stared directly into my eyes.

Trying to read .

Unfortunately for her...

I had years of experience pretending to understand things during school presentations.

"You speak confidently," she said.

"You doubt confidently," I replied.

For the first ti, her expression shifted slightly.

Not anger.

Interest.

Good.

Much better than hostility.

The silver symbol on her hand suddenly flickered weakly.

Elena’s eyes darkened for a brief mont.

Worry.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Her goddess was weakening.

Just like Chief Rowan said.

That ant Lady Seraphine was losing believers.

Which ant...

her church was vulnerable.

A dangerous idea ford inside my head.

If I helped restore faith to their goddess...

then I could gain allies.

And believers.

Lots of believers.

Elena suddenly looked exhausted.

Tiny dark circles existed beneath her eyes.

She had probably been struggling alone for a long ti.

For so reason...

I felt slightly bad for her.

Annoying conscience again.

Chief Rowan quickly spoke.

"Lady Elena protects our village shrine."

Elena nodded slightly.

"Though my powers have weakened recently."

Honest.

Interesting.

Most religious authorities probably wouldn’t admit weakness openly.

Maybe she trusted the villagers deeply.

Or maybe she was too tired to pretend anymore.

Honestly...

I understood that feeling.

She looked back toward .

"If you truly are a god..."

Her blue eyes sharpened.

"...then why have you appeared now?"

The village beca silent again.

Good question.

One I didn’t fully know myself.

I looked toward the three moons overhead.

Then answered honestly.

"Because sothing is changing."

Not entirely a lie.

Earth.

The device.

The spiritual energy.

Sothing definitely was changing.

Elena studied quietly.

The wind moved gently through her dark hair.

For a brief mont, neither of us spoke.

Then suddenly—

the silver symbol on her hand dimd again.

Elena’s body swayed slightly.

I instinctively reached out and caught her arm before she fell.

Her eyes widened.

Soft skin.

Warm.

Very human.

Not so untouchable holy figure.

Just a tired girl trying to protect her people.

She looked up at in surprise.

For a second, the entire noisy village disappeared from my mind.

Then she quickly pulled away.

"I’m fine," she said quietly.

Definitely not fine.

But I didn’t push further.

The villagers looked nervous.

Chief Rowan sighed sadly.

"Lady Seraphine’s blessing weakens every month."

Elena lowered her gaze slightly.

That expression...

I recognized it.

Fear mixed with helplessness.

She was watching her goddess slowly die.

And there was nothing she could do about it.

Except pray harder.

My mind began moving rapidly.

A weakened goddess.

A struggling saintess.

A desperate village.

And .

A fake god with modern Earth knowledge.

Honestly?

This situation sounded exactly like the beginning of either a legendary rise...

or a complete disaster.

Possibly both.