Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 553: Together With The Evil God

“What, another weird thing crawled out? Evil gods? If you ask me, the heavenly gods are the evil ones.”

Seriously, what even is an evil god? Something like that can’t exist. How could a demon that feeds on the evil in people’s hearts be real? Sure, ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg’ is a good debate topic—but ‘which came first, humans or demons’? No contest. Demons are created beings.

I turned to the regressor.

“Shei. What’s an evil god?”

“Demons. In the past, they were incarnations of sin sealed away by the very first Saintess. They were all eradicated before the first year of the calendar even began, but traces of them still remain.”

“Why would something like that suddenly show up now? Weren’t we supposed to be stopping the King of Sins?”

“The evil gods are where it starts. You could say they created the very concept of sin.”

Never heard of this before. If it was that important, it should’ve come up a long time ago. Ugh, I give up. At this point, they’re probably just messing with me.

“I don’t know all the details, but apparently priests of the evil gods have been running rampant in All Nations lately. I’ve even heard rumors of an entire village being sacrificed, and survivors from those tribes are wandering from place to place. A lot of those wanderers are ending up here in this Fiou village.”

“That’s a solid lead. Can we meet them?”

“Of course. I’ll introduce you. Guards!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

At Callis’s call, a boy wearing a huge bone earring ran up and stood at attention. Callis issued her orders to him as naturally as if she were still in the Military State.

“Are the Skull Tribe still staying in the shelter?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Escort these people to the Skull Tribe. Tell them you brought them on my recommendation. I’ll head there myself as soon as I finish the rations.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The barbarian boy, trying hard to mimic the Military State’s formal discipline, approached us. It looked awkward—he didn’t even have a proper uniform—but you could tell he genuinely liked the idea of military formality.

“This way! Please follow me!”

With full military gusto, the barbarian boy led the way.

Honestly, it was a strange experience. The Skull Tribe wore beast skulls on their heads. Because they had a tradition of having to hunt ever-larger beasts to match the growing size of their heads, they had, over generations, evolved toward having smaller heads. These people, with heads even smaller than the regressor’s, spoke in echoing voices beneath deer skulls:

The earth opened up, and the evil gods emerged. Priests of the evil gods had already sacrificed several other tribes.

It was all so long-winded that none of it was useful. The only valuable bit of information was the location where the Skull Tribe had allegedly seen an evil god. After spilling everything they knew, the tribe members turned to us in desperation.

“What of the Immortals?! Are they not sworn to protect the people of All Nations with their undying strength?!”

“All Nations fell a long time ago, you know.”

“What?! All Nations fell? Don’t be ridiculous! We’re still right here, alive and well!”

“Are things just a thousand years delayed here, or do you genuinely believe that as long as the people live, the nation lives on too? Romantic much.”

From the start, All Nations was nothing more than a loose alliance of barbarian tribes.

Its government had a fairly structured system, like a kingdom or empire, but most barbarian tribes saw the Mu-hu as more myth than reality. Ironically, that’s what allowed the Mu-hu to maintain authority—civilization couldn’t control people living in jungles and plains.

Maybe that’s why they didn’t seem to notice its fall even now.

“How long do the Immortals intend to watch and do nothing?! If the Fiou keep dying off, soon there will be nothing left but Immortals in All Nations!”

“You sure are being demanding for someone asking for help. Maybe dial it down a bit.”

Surprisingly, Rash gave a firm response. The Skull Tribe, antlers quivering, shut their mouths. Rash shrugged and went on.

“We’re keeping an eye on things too. As you said, if evil gods have appeared, then we’re probably next. But we also need permission from our Offering God. Until the next offering, we can’t act rashly.”

“The Offering God...”

The mention of a deity left even the Skull Tribe speechless. Unlike their gods—purely symbolic and traditional—the Immortals' god was real.

“That great spirit who bestowed immortality upon the tribal people... Does it still speak to the Immortals?”

“Of course. That’s why we’re still Immortals, isn’t it?”

Since they needed divine permission, there was no use pressing further. The Skull Tribe bowed their heads in despair.

“But it doesn’t necessarily have to be us who help you, does it?”

“...Are you saying someone else will help?”

“Right here. These are outsiders from beyond the plains. I’ve heard they’re out to stop the end of the world or something. I don’t really get it myself, but if anyone can help you, it’s them!”

The Skull Tribe gave us a once-over from head to toe, then nodded slowly.

“Outsiders? I thought they looked too small to be real Immortals.”

“Hahaha! They may not look like much, but their strength is the real deal! Judge them too quickly and you’ll regret it!”

“...Hmm.”

Still, they couldn’t completely shake their preconceptions. The Skull Tribe gave Shei and me a skeptical look.

“They don’t even look strong enough to snap a twig. What could they possibly do against priests of the evil gods...”

Ding! Ding! Ding!

It happened then. A series of deep bells rang out. People instinctively ducked their heads, then rushed outside to see what was happening.

“What’s going on?!”

“We’re under attack!”

Callis’s sharp voice rang out. Immediately, the barbarian villagers clad in makeshift metal armor began sprinting toward the fence.

Amid the chaos, someone pointed up into the trees and shouted.

“It’s the monkeys!”

Fiou village had high, sturdy fences—but no fence could be taller than the ancient trees that had sucked up the land’s essence for a thousand years. Hundreds, maybe thousands of branches now stretched toward the fence, encroaching from above.

Barbarians in monkey masks were perched in those trees, staring down at us. A grating, mocking laughter echoed beneath their masks.

“Kikiki. Hiding your heads like ostriches, huh? You really think the Immortals will keep saving you forever?”

The lead monkey mask raised a hand. Around twenty others, clinging to the branches, began to slink down toward the village, cackling like animals.

I turned to Rash and asked,

“Monkeys? What are those?”

“They’re thieves who command jungle monkeys! Nasty little bastards with sticky fingers!”

“And why are they here?”

“There’s only one reason thieves show up! To steal!”

“Steal what, exactly?”

Before I could even ask, the monkey masks showed me with their actions.

The masked figures swung over the fence on vines and scattered swiftly throughout Fiou Village. As people screamed and fled in panic, the monkey masks bounded through the chaos on their long limbs, shouting:

“Get the young and fresh ones! The Great Spirit loves pure souls!”

“They’re human!”

As soon as the words were out, Rash kicked off the ground and charged. At the edge of his vision, a monkey mask was about to snatch a child from a woman’s arms.

“You picked the wrong place!”

Rash threw a massive punch—an impossibly fast strike for someone his size. The monkey mask sensed his approach and flipped backward, dodging the blow. Rash followed up with another barrage of cannon-like punches, but the masked figure leapt and weaved with unnaturally long limbs, avoiding every strike.

“Damn! There’s an Immortal here!”

“Kikiki! He’s slow! Ignore him and grab the kid!”

Similar scenes played out all across the village. Callis and her self-styled militia pushed back the intruders in formation, but it only reduced the damage—they couldn’t defeat them outright. The monkey masks mocked the militia as they tore through the village.

The regressor, watching the chaos unfold, muttered:

“Well-timed, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) isn’t it.”

“Is this another one of the Saintess’s blessings?”

“She must’ve blessed us good this time. Trouble showed up right on cue.”

“At this point, it feels like they know where we’re going and send trouble to greet us. Are we sure this is a blessing and not a curse?”

“Hey, it’s still something we can fix. That’s better.”

Then, a shadow loomed behind us.

A monkey mask—more agile and stealthy than any beast—crept up and reached out with a long arm, grabbing the regressor by the waist.

“Kikiki! What’s this? Another strange-looking little one! I’ll take you—”

“Who are you calling little?!”

Heavenly Rebound, Thunderstrike.

Tianying flashed out like lightning.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The arm trying to snatch her was cleanly severed, a spray of blood arcing through the air. The barbarian behind the mask let out a scream as he stared at the stump where his famously long arm had been.

“KIIIEEEEEEKKK!”

The agonized scream stopped the monkey masks cold. They turned to look. The wounded one clutched his bleeding stump and shrieked.

“Wukki! What the hell?! What happened?!”

“We messed with the wrong one.”

The regressor stretched Tianying out and scanned the surroundings.

Rooftops, behind walls, in the middle of the street, near the fences—she spotted every monkey mask in a single instant. Then, with a single breath, she slashed them all down in one strike. Invisible blades carved paths into roofs, walls, roads, and fences, shredding the masked intruders.

Blood sprayed like a storm wind as the monkey masks were cut down and flung aside. The survivors, stunned by their comrades’ deaths, screamed in panic like animals.

“KIEEEEEEEK! Wind! She commands the Wind Spirit!”

“RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”

“It’s too late.”

Now that the attack had happened, there was no reason to let them live. We only needed a few for interrogation—the rest could die. I’d already read their thoughts anyway.

Still, there was no need to kill all of them. Before the regressor could finish them off, I stepped in.

“Wait a second.”

Just as I reached out to stop her, the world flipped upside down.

The moment my hand touched her shoulder, the regressor ghosted beneath me like a phantom and slammed me down in an instant.

At this point, I was more than used to it—I was sick of it. Another Heavenly Rebound. Does this damned technique not know the difference between friend and foe? As my back hit the ground, she was about to stab Tianying straight into my chest, blade reversed in her grip.

‘Oh no—Heavenly Rebound again!’

At least I won’t die just from getting stabbed a little now. I was already going limp to take the hit when the regressor realized what was happening. She pulled back hard just before my back hit the ground, yanking Tianying behind her in a panic.

Trying to shift positions so suddenly, we ended up tumbling together in a heap.

“Don’t just touch me out of nowhere! I almost cut you in half!”

“How was I supposed to stop someone from murdering people without touching them?!”

“And why were you trying to stop me in the first place?!”

Grumbling, the regressor got up and spotted the monkey masks disappearing into the trees. She could have chased them—but the jungle was dense and dark. Tracking each one as they scattered into the forest wouldn’t be worth the effort.

“If you hadn’t stopped me, I could’ve killed them all right here!”

“And thanks to that, we now have a lead on where their base is.”

“What?”

“Those who’ve been thoroughly beaten will run home. All we have to do is follow them, and we’ll know exactly where their base is—without lifting a finger.”

I could always read one of their minds if I needed to, or grab one and torture the answer out—but why go the long way around? The regressor paused, then admitted:

“Huh... You’re right. That’s actually smart.”

“It’s simple. You’re the one blessed by the Saintess, and you didn’t even think of that?”

“You thought of it. Good enough.”

Still grumbling, she got to her feet and looked around at the aftermath. Despite the sudden attack, the people of Fiou Village didn’t seem particularly shaken. Life in this savage land meant that raids like this were just another day.

Dragging a monkey mask corpse behind him, Rash muttered in disbelief.

“They really came all the way into our territory, huh? Hah. If they’d just come peacefully, I might’ve even fed them...”

Callis responded to his offhand remark.

“Strictly speaking, this isn’t Immortal territory. Fiou Village is only a resting place for the wandering Fiou. Without the Immortals’ ‘consideration,’ it wouldn’t survive. And if we can’t defend ourselves during raids like this, we’ll remain under their protection forever.”

Cold and calculating, Callis turned to the lined-up militia. Clad in rough armor and holding spears, the self-made guards scattered to check for casualties.

One of them ran up to a crying woman and shouted:

“A child is missing!”

To the mother, that child was everything. But to the village, it was just one among many. For the scale of this attack, losing only one child was practically a miracle.

“...Regrettable, but we can’t chase monkeys into the jungle.”

The woman’s grief didn’t factor into it. As a former military magic officer, Callis made the rational decision. The village barbarians didn’t openly object—but deep down, they agreed with her.

Of course, we didn’t need to follow Callis’s judgment.

“We’ll bring them back.”

They took exactly one kid. Just perfect.