GOD OF DECEPTION Chapter 9 - The Eyes of Other Gods

Chapter 9 — The Eyes of Other Gods

The shrine suddenly felt much smaller.

Much colder too.

The mont Lady Seraphine said other gods had noticed , the atmosphere changed completely.

Until now, everything had almost felt manageable.

A village.

So monsters.

A suspicious saintess.

Accidental religion.

But this?

This was different.

Real gods.

Ancient beings ruling kingdoms and divine factions.

And sohow...

their attention was turning toward .

Fantastic.

Absolutely fantastic.

The red energy lingering in the shrine slowly faded away.

But the uneasiness remained.

Elena stepped closer to Lady Seraphine imdiately.

"Can they locate him already?"

Seraphine’s silver eyes narrowed slightly.

"Not precisely."

Good.

Very good.

Let’s keep it that way forever please.

The goddess looked toward calmly.

"But new divine authorities create disturbances within spiritual currents."

Translation: I accidentally announced my existence to the universe.

Wonderful.

I rubbed my forehead tiredly.

"So what exactly happens when gods notice each other?"

Elena answered before Seraphine could.

"That depends on the god."

Not reassuring.

"At best," Elena continued, "they investigate."

"And at worst?"

Silence.

That silence answered enough.

Seraphine finally spoke quietly.

"So gods destroy threats before they can grow."

Yeah.

That sounded about right.

Powerful beings rarely enjoy competition.

Especially unpredictable competition.

The blue divine core inside my chest pulsed uneasily.

Almost instinctively reacting to danger.

I frowned slightly.

Interesting.

My authority was becoming more alive.

More responsive.

Was that normal?

Or another weird side effect of Earth’s spiritual system?

Honestly I had no idea anymore.

Seraphine slowly walked toward the shrine entrance.

Silver light flowed around her softly.

"You possess potential unlike any authority currently active in this region."

That sounded both exciting and life-threatening.

Elena crossed her arms thoughtfully.

"Technology adapts too quickly."

Exactly.

That was the scary part.

Most divine authorities sounded fixed.

Fire.

War.

Healing.

Protection.

But technology?

Technology evolves endlessly.

aning my authority could theoretically absorb concepts forever.

Communication.

Transportation.

Information.

Weapons.

Artificial intelligence.

The internet.

If faith shaped divine power...

then modern human civilization itself was basically an infinite source of conceptual evolution.

Holy crap.

No wonder the original God of Technology dominated Earth.

Seraphine looked directly into my eyes.

"You must grow carefully."

I nodded slowly.

"Any suggestions?"

The goddess actually smiled slightly.

"Do not announce yourself dramatically to every village you encounter."

Elena imdiately looked at .

"...That explains a lot actually."

Rude.

Technically true again.

But rude.

I sighed deeply.

"To be fair, I wasn’t planning to beco a god when I arrived here."

Both won beca silent briefly.

Then surprisingly—

Seraphine laughed softly.

A quiet elegant laugh.

"Perhaps that makes you more dangerous than those who do."

Interesting answer.

And slightly concerning.

The shrine doors suddenly opened behind us.

Chief Rowan rushed inside nervously.

"Lady Seraphine! Lord Kaiser!"

He stopped imdiately upon seeing the goddess directly.

Then nearly collapsed from shock.

"D-Divine Mother..."

The poor man looked seconds away from fainting.

Seraphine’s expression softened kindly.

"Rise, Rowan."

The chief obeyed shakily.

Honestly, watching actual divine interactions was fascinating.

The difference between Seraphine and was enormous.

She didn’t need dramatic performances.

Her presence alone inspired faith naturally.

Ancient gods probably accumulated overwhelming divine pressure over centuries.

anwhile I was basically running a startup religion with ergency phone applications.

Big difference.

Rowan looked toward anxiously.

"Forgive the interruption, but travelers arrived at the village gates."

Everyone beca alert imdiately.

Elena frowned.

"Travelers?"

The chief nodded nervously.

"A rchant caravan."

That didn’t sound too bad.

Then he added—

"They claim they sensed a divine miracle here."

Ah.

There it is.

News spreading already.

Seraphine’s expression hardened slightly.

"That was faster than expected."

The goddess turned toward seriously.

"You must remain cautious."

Elena imdiately nodded.

"If outsiders discover a newly awakened god exists without an established temple..."

She didn’t finish.

Didn’t need to.

Predators sll vulnerability.

And currently?

I was spiritually equivalent to a newborn animal pretending to be a lion.

A very charismatic lion.

But still.

Seraphine’s projection flickered weakly again.

The goddess sighed softly.

"My strength cannot remain manifested much longer."

Elena’s worried expression returned instantly.

"My lady—"

Seraphine gently raised one hand.

"I know."

The silver light around her slowly dimd.

Before disappearing completely, she looked toward one final ti.

"Kaiser."

The way she said my na felt strangely heavy.

"Your world lost its gods."

I nodded quietly.

"But perhaps..." Seraphine continued softly, "...that world also created sothing entirely new."

The blue core inside my chest pulsed.

Strongly.

Then the goddess vanished.

Silver particles drifted through the shrine briefly before fading away completely.

Silence filled the room.

Chief Rowan still looked spiritually destroyed from witnessing his goddess directly.

Honestly understandable.

Elena stared quietly at the place Seraphine disappeared.

For a mont, she looked smaller sohow.

More vulnerable.

Like seeing her goddess weakened reminded her how fragile everything truly was.

Then she looked toward .

"We need to deal with the rchants carefully."

Back to serious mode imdiately.

Impressive professionalism.

I nodded slightly.

"What’s the danger?"

"Information."

Makes sense.

Faith spread through stories.

And stories traveled faster than armies.

If rumors about a new god spread too quickly...

stronger divine factions might investigate.

Which sounded very unhealthy for .

We exited the shrine together.

Outside, villagers imdiately gathered anxiously.

So clearly noticed Seraphine’s divine manifestation earlier.

Chief Rowan raised his hands quickly.

"Everyone remain calm!"

Nobody remained calm.

Naturally.

The villagers instantly surrounded us with questions.

"Was Lady Seraphine truly here?"

"Did she bless the village?"

"Did she speak with Lord Kaiser?"

Oh no.

The mythology was evolving again.

Elena handled it smoothly.

"Lady Seraphine blessed Erald for surviving the corruption crisis."

Technically true.

Nice.

The villagers erupted into emotional prayers imdiately.

anwhile, I noticed sothing disturbing nearby.

A group of children had built a tiny wooden shrine dedicated to overnight.

Complete with badly carved symbols.

One child proudly held up a drawing.

"Look! I made Lord Kaiser’s divine artifact!"

It was my phone.

Or at least a horrifying dieval interpretation of it.

The drawing looked like a cursed brick possessed by lightning.

Honestly?

Pretty accurate considering their understanding.

I crouched slightly beside them.

"You built this?"

The children nodded excitedly.

One little boy grinned.

"The God of Technology protects us!"

Warm divine energy flowed into again.

Stronger now.

Cleaner sohow.

Faith from children felt different.

Pure.

Simple.

Dangerous realization: innocent belief generated enormous power.

I quickly stood before my conscience started feeling guilty again.

Elena watched quietly.

"You’re smiling."

I blinked slightly.

Was I?

"...Maybe."

Interesting.

I hadn’t smiled this much on Earth in years.

The village suddenly beca noisy near the front gates.

People moved aside nervously.

The rchant caravan had arrived.

Five large wagons entered slowly while ard guards scanned the village carefully.

The rchants wore darker clothing than the villagers.

Cleaner too.

More educated perhaps.

One older man riding the lead wagon narrowed his eyes imdiately when he noticed the shrine glow nearby.

Then his gaze landed on .

And froze.

Ah.

Not good.

The divine energy around must’ve been visible now.

The rchant quickly climbed down from his wagon.

Unlike the villagers, he didn’t kneel imdiately.

Interesting.

Experienced around divine matters perhaps.

But he did lower his head respectfully.

"I am Dorian Vale," he introduced carefully.

"A rchant of the western trade routes."

I nodded calmly.

"Kaiser."

His eyes sharpened instantly.

Just hearing my na affected him.

Interesting.

Dorian glanced subtly toward the villagers surrounding .

Toward the tiny shrine.

Toward the glowing blue traces still lingering faintly around my divine core.

The man was analyzing everything rapidly.

Smart.

Very smart.

Dangerous too.

"You arrived during unusual circumstances," he said carefully.

Elena stepped slightly closer beside .

Protective positioning.

Interesting.

Dorian noticed it too.

Then his expression changed subtly.

Recognition.

Ah.

He knew who Elena was.

Which ant—

he also understood how significant this situation might be.

The rchant smiled politely.

"But perhaps fortune favors us."

That sentence imdiately activated every survival instinct I possessed.

Because on Earth, whenever businessn smiled like that...

soone was about to profit.

And in this world?

Faith itself was the most valuable currency imaginable.