God System: Growing My Cult Across the Multiverse-Chapter 16: Divine Punishment

The morning started peacefully. Woken up by the hustle and bustle of the village, Zayne got up from the bed, stretching his back. There was a bit of tiredness imbued in his muscles, the remains of the 'hard work' he did at night, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He checked on the clothes hanging over the chair, confirming they were more or less dry, and after putting them away, left the house.

Judging by the rather upbeat and relaxed atmosphere, his efforts were still undiscovered.

Well, it was only a matter of time. Unconcerned, Zayne headed to the tavern for breakfast, humming under his nose along the way.

Waiting patiently for anyone to come across the fruit of his labor, he had a delicious meal, freshly prepared specially for him, then went around to 'help' the villagers as he preached to them about the god, spreading the stories about all the miracles bestowed upon humanity by 'god Zayne' throughout the centuries... Most of which never happened, but who would be able to verify that?

Until finally around lunchtime, Priska charged to the village, her hair all tangled up and cheeks flushed from running.

"Y'all gotta see dat!" breathlessly, she called out, stopping in the middle of the square. "Zozek... De shrine..." Gasping for breath, she leaned forward, resting her hands on her knees, unable to utter a single word.

Zayne was the first to approach her. "Calm down first," he said, as he grabbed the girl's shaking shoulders. "Breathe in. Then-"

"De shrine's destroyed!" The women who went to the shrine with Priska finally caught up, interrupting Zayne with their yelling. "Zozek's dead! Offerings gone!"

For once, Zayne didn't mind the slight. Those were the facts he couldn't reveal themselves, so he was rather pleased with their contribution, especially the emotions reflected on their faces as they delivered the news. Visibly shaken, somewhat terrified. Not bad at all.

"What do you mean the shrine is destroyed?" he asked, furrowing his brows as if in confusion.

"Well... Y'all shoulda go see demselves..."

Zayne looked back, sweeping his eyes over the group working on the square. Well, that HAD BEEN working, to be precise. Once the commotion started, almost all of them paused what they were doing, their attention focusing on the women instead.

"I don't think it's necessary for everyone to go. I'll take, let's see..." he paused, glancing back at the women. "Are there any monsters around?"

"Huh? Nah, dere's none..."

Pondering over it, Zayne nodded his head. "Alright, then, let's say, ten people should be enough for now."

"Me, I wanna go!"

"Me! Me too!"

"Nah, I needa go!"

One by one, the villagers started volunteering.

Zayne scrutinized them briefly, before making his choice. "Then you'll go with me now. Thank you for your willingness to help." He was originally planning to take a few more experienced hunters, but the young men who stepped forward could be a better choice after all.

Mainly because, it wasn't their 'willingness to help' that prompted them to volunteer, but rather sheer interest and excitement about the unusual events. With such an attitude, they were more likely to overlook Zayne's mistakes - if there were any in the first place, of course! - and then spread the news in a more sensationalized way. Which was exactly what he was going for.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

He led the group of men - twelve of them tagged along in the end - out of the village, and toward the shrine...

The first thing they discovered was Zozek's body, floating in the river, hitting the rocks in the rhythm of the waves. He was facing up, looking ghastly with his pale complexion, which seemed almost bluish in the water. The women must have turned him around, while checking whether he was still alive, 'cause he was still too fresh of a corpse for the decomposition to have progressed enough for it to happen on its own.

Not that it mattered. As long as he appeared to have drowned on his own, without anyone but god's intervention, it was all according to Zayne's plan.

And he did. There was not a single bruise or a scratch out of place, with the only wound on his body being the one on his shoulder, sustained during the fight with the werewolves the previous day.

"Take him out of the water, so he doesn't get washed away," Zayne commanded the group. "The least we can do for him is give him a proper funeral..."

Then, he turned toward the shrine.

Even from the outside, it was obvious that something was not right. The door frame was marred by countless knife marks. And things only got worse once they stepped inside. The walls were all ruined, slashed all over with boundless anger and viciousness, the altar cloth dirtied and cut into tiny scraps, and all the generous - at least for the village's standards - offerings squashed and stomped on, until nothing but a muddy pulp remained...

Zayne wasn't feeling regretful about it at all. The shrine was in dire need of repairs anyway. As for the offerings... Zayne already received the points for them, so leaving them untouched would have benefited him no more anyway.

Still, for the sake of his image, he put on a grave expression, observing the interior in shock.

"Wo-woah... He did dat all?" one of the men behind him muttered.

At his words, Zayne couldn't help but pause, examining his surroundings seriously again.

...Did he overdo it? He really went on it last night, swinging the knife in an attempt to create a convincing reason for the divine punishment sent upon Zozek... The result was not his fault though. Even if he used a tiiiny bit too much strength, the wooden walls were simply too degraded, rotten to the point of such softness, that slashing them felt like cutting through warm butter...

And besides, all the marks were done with the knife taken from Zozek, which was now stuck back behind the man's belt. So, if the villagers investigated it later, they would undoubtedly find clear evidence of Zozek being the one and only culprit.

Yes, everything was just right. Zayne nodded to himself internally, before turning back to the group of men.

"It seems Zozek committed a truly terrible act," he sighed, shaking his head, his eyes filled with endless pity and sadness. "I was worried about him after hearing him slandering the god's name, and advised him to correct his actions, but... Alas, it seems that instead of repenting, he chose..." Lost for words, Zayne paused, shaking his head again. "It's truly unfortunate, but after committing such offenses, it's only natural he met such a tragic end..."

He turned his gaze back to the squashed offerings. Or rather pretended to do so, while in reality, he briefly disconnected from his human senses, in order to secretly observe the men's reactions.

Not all of them seemed fully convinced, a few exchanging doubtful glances. After all, dumb as Zozek might sometimes have been, was he really stupid enough to offend the god in such a way? A few words said in the heat of a moment were one thing, but causing such deliberate and extensive destruction...

Well, it was fine. Suspicious as it might be, all the evidence and the facts aligned. Sooner or later, they would all have to come to accept it.

After all, if it wasn't Zozek, then who else could have committed such an act? It's not like the god would desecrate his own shrine... right?