Masked Knight

Prometheus, or rather, Kara, stared at Rody’s expected astonished expression.

Rody’s expression seemed as though it solidified. He continued to stare at the other person and his slow mind made him speechless.

’Kara?’

’True God Kara?’

’The original God of the Radiant Continent! The person the Church calls a devil? It is the devil destroyed by God in the God and Devil war thousands of years ago?’

’According to legend, Kara was very powerful and was born from the blood from Heaven. He was able to destroy heaven and earth. He could move mountains and fill up the oceans. The lightning in the sky was his servant and the flames of hell was his slave.’

’This person stands in front of me and just told me his identity with a smile.’

’But! This person is the leader of the Temple? The True God Kara became the leader of the worshippers of God?’

"I know that you are surprised." Kara laughed. "I also know of the description the Church has given me."

He laughed with ridicule and said, "Hmph...The Radiant God killed the Devil, turning his flesh and blood to dust. The Devil’s heart was confined to the flames of hell. God’s teachings itself is an outright lie but there was no point lying about this."

"But..." Rody gulped. He felt as though he did not have enough brain cells. The person standing in front of him was the God, Kara. Rody thought for a long time and then slowly said, "But how come you are here?"

Actually, Rody’s doubts were not just limited to this. His mind was jam-packed with a lot of questions.

’Are you really Kara?’

’How could you be Kara?’

’Why is Kara also Prometheus?’

’Why is Kara, the enemy of God, at the Temple? On top of that, why is he the leader of the Temple?’

Kara laughed and slowly said, "You are a wise person. I reincarnated as Prometheus to hide at the Temple. Naturally, it is to settle my thousand-year-hatred with those fellows in heaven!"

Kara pointed up as he said, ‘those fellows in heaven’. His tone also sounded cold when he said ‘hatred’. Even Rody could not help but feel cold.

"Those fellows destroyed my body, took my territory and killed my people. They even imprisoned my heart. Hahaha..." Kara laughed wildly and then shouted, "We are all Gods. They could not kill me and could only imprison my consciousness. This was so that they could wear off my heart after thousands of years. But how could I, Kara, die so easily?"

He opened his arms and proudly stood in front of Rody. Rody could feel Kara’s aura become more powerful as though he could embrace the whole world.

"Those fellows did not know that I have returned!" Kara raised his chin and slowly said, "I came back a few decades ago! My thousand years of sleep was just like a snap of the finger to me. However, the few decades I was awake was, in fact, an endless torment."

Rody shook his head in anguish and smiled wryly. "You...how did you come back?"

Kara looked back at Rody. He did not answer Rody’s question immediately. Instead, he asked something strange. "Do you know how this life was made?"

Rody was unable to answer this question. Fortunately, Kara never meant for Rody to answer this question as he continued, "It is of the flesh and the spirit. When I say spirit, I also mean consciousness!"

"I know that with your current education, it would be difficult to understand this concept...Let me simplify it..." Kara slowly explained. "Thousands of years ago, I was really defeated. Perhaps it went according to what that despicable guy had planned but I did not really die. This was because I have surpassed the rank of God. With Divine Primordial Spirit, there is nothing in the world that can kill me! That despicable guy only destroyed my body and imprisoned my Divine Primordial Spirit. However, my consciousness or thoughts was not destroyed alongside my body! My remaining consciousness...Hmph. Probably because of resentment, I drifted and slept for a thousand years. That is until one day, an intense voice woke me up!"

"Woke up?" Rody was stunned.

"Yes." Kara’s voice was filled with emotion. "The voice sounded weak, but it contained strong resentment and perseverance. It resonated with me who was also full of resentment. So...I woke up!" He then looked at Rody and lightly said, "That person whose voice woke me up was Prometheus, a young man that was seventeen years old!"

Kara seemed remorseful as he said, "Do you know what I ... about Prometheus’ story? I believe that because we were enemies, you must have made inquiries. Mouse must have also told you this. Do you still remember what happened to the seventeen-year-old Prometheus?"

Rody thought about it and remembered the story of the ‘God’s Chosen One’ told by Mouse.

’The seventeen years old Prometheus.’

That year, there was a drought in the Gordon Kingdom. There was not a single drop of rain for ten consecutive months. Prometheus that had just given up knighthood became a devout priest. According to the stories, during that year, the low-ranked Prometheus was laughed at by everyone as he kowtowed every ten steps from the Temple all the way to the Gordon Kingdom. He piously prayed to God the entire way.

Rody had slowly said what he knew.

"Yes," Kara replied mockingly. "At that time, Prometheus was a true human. He was a young fanatic who had faith in God. He gave up being a knight also because he was very kind. After seeing the brutal and bloody battlefield, he was determined to stay away from it. He wholeheartedly served the Gods in his heart. He hoped for their guidance so that he could bring light to the world. Hahaha...How ridiculous. He can only be considered a stupid and silly boy!"

Although Kara was laughing, his tone was filled with sincere respect.

"In other words, before the age of seventeen, Prometheus was not you?" Rody asked.

"No!" Kara’s voice became cold again. "When he was seventeen, he was a devout fanatic of God. Fortunately, his fanaticism gave me the first valuable opportunity in a thousand years!"

"When he departed from the Temple and went to the Gordon Kingdom, kowtowing and praying to God all the way, he was ridiculed by others. To ridicule a person praying to God would provoke an intense rage. To Prometheus, who treated the prayers as sacred, their actions were blasphemy!" Kara slowly narrated. "However, when he saw what was behind him, his resolve was shaken."

"What did he see?" Rody frowned.

"Do you want to know?" Kara looked at Rody. "Close your eyes. I will show it to you."

Rody did not hesitate to close his eyes. Kara then stretched out his hand and pressed Rody’s eyes.

Rody’s vision suddenly turned bright.

’Disaster victims everywhere!’

Rody saw an illusory image. Although it was just an image, Rody could see the starving people at the roadside and even hear their miserable cries. These people were haggard and miserable. They had looks of despair, seemingly with their arms torn apart.

Rody could not help but sigh as his heart sank.

Another image then appeared to him.

Outside of the places of prayers were lean, haggard people standing opposite to clean but nauseating clergymen. The starving people gave their last copper coins away to the representatives of worship. That was the atonement tax.

The sad and pitiful laymen still believed that the disaster was a punishment from heaven. It was because they had sinned. After giving away their last belongings, they asked for God to bless them and protect them from suffering.

The image changed again.

Inside a holy and radiant temple, there was a white tablecloth with silver candlesticks. There were also golden wine cups filled with bright red wine. On silver plates were foie gras with thick sauce and fat juicy steaks. A group of people wearing clothes of high priests were sitting at the table with unbridled smiles as they engaged in casual conversation.

The three scenes began to change quickly. It entangled together and then rotated quickly. It continued to change over and over again. It made Rody feel dizzy. However, there was a faint cry of anger.

The cry was not clear but Rody could understand the anger, disappointment, and distortion.

The cry seemed to shout, "Why!"

Rody could feel a powerful pressure twist in his heart. His breath quickened, and he suddenly opened his eyes as he stepped back. His chest heaved up and down and his forehead was pouring with sweat.

"You understand now?" Kara’s voice was gentle. "It was at that moment the devout fanatic Prometheus had doubts about his faith and despaired. He completely abandoned his faith...That cry was the one that woke up my drifting soul.

"Prometheus was a fanatic. Otherwise, he would not have done that crazy action. It could be imagined that only someone with such strong spirit could gather that much resentment...and awaken the Devil Kara!

"So when I woke up, he carried the weight of my consciousness while I obtained his body." Kara smiled. "A young man in despair had questioned his faith and his soul was filled with doubt. When he unexpectedly woke up, we had a talk. The result of the conversation was that he would exchange souls with me. I would obtain his body!"

Rody gave a long sigh and looked at Kara. Rody seemed as though he could not say a single word.

"I came back." Kara faintly said, "My first wish was naturally to take revenge on those guys up there. However, looking at this world makes me sad and in despair. The world worships those despicable fellows and has been conquered by them! A steady stream of prayers flooded the world. With the strength of a young man that was seventeen years old, I am unable to do anything. Although I, the True God Kara, had revived, I was still just a young man that was seventeen years old. All I had was some elementary Light Series spells."

"So you decided to hide in the Temple...After that..." Rody spoke until ‘that’ then he sighed. He slowly added, "I understand."

He looked at Kara and said, "You used the identity of Prometheus to climb the ranks of the Temple. You wanted to obtain the position of the leader. However, your real intention was to overturn the Temple."

"Yes." Kara laughed. "I often thought to myself, ‘What kind of wonderful expressions would those guys up there make when they see their teachings overturned?’ I want to take my things back. All I need to do is to overturn the religious tool used by them to control the world."

"What then?" Rody could not help asking.

"Are you interested?" Kara laughed. "However, this is not the time to discuss this. We have more important things to do. In fact, I need your help!"

"Oh?"

Kara nodded and spoke in a serious tone. "Although I have returned, I have become an ordinary mortal. Although I have a God’s soul, I cannot think of any method to be used in this weak body. The funny thing is that I, the True God Kara, is building up my foundation step by step. Prometheus’ body is too weak." He could not help but look at Rody as he suddenly laughed, "If the body I took those years was your current body, I would not even need a year to master domain powers. However, with this body, I could not master domain powers until ten years ago."

He then laughed and said, "I, the True God Kara, needed to go back and train. What a joke.

"As I have told you earlier, I was here ten years ago. I removed that sorcery array outside to look for this thing." Kara glanced at Rody and said, "I have spoken so much. I believe you are also anxious to know what this thing is? Let me tell you. The Temple is afraid of the thing in here. However, there is one other thing that only I know. That is, there is another thing in this place. You all do not know about it, but this thing can give those guys up there a headache!"

Kara paused for a while and then slowly laughed, "That thing is my Divine Primordial Spirit. Once I retrieve that, I would become a real God."

"Divine Primordial Spirit?" Rody could not understand.

"That Divine Primordial Spirit is the foundation of God’s power! Hmph...Once you can break through God rank, you will have your own Divine Primordial Spirit!" Kara felt as though he was going out of topic and then continued, "When I was defeated, they deprived me of my Divine Primordial Spirit and imprisoned me here. They wanted to slowly wear it away after thousands of years. Ten years ago, I searched here...Unfortunately, those guys were very careful despite being despicable. They would not let it be taken away so easily."

Rody shook his head. He was silent for a moment as if he was still digesting Kara’s words. He then asked, "What does this have to do with me? Is there some kind of difficulty here that you need me to get back your Divine Primordial Spirit?"

Kara smiled. "That is the last part of those words. It cannot see people! Although I am the True God Kara, right now, I am still human. I cannot deal with the guardian here and have no other way forward!"

"Guardian?" Rody laughed bitterly. "You are making me confused."

"You already saw the guardian...That is the Hakone Serpent."

Rody frowned. "That snake appear tough...But can’t you kill it with your strength as someone with domain powers?"

"That big snake?" Kara suddenly laughed. "If it was just a snake, I can deal with hundreds of them. However, let me tell you this. I tried to fight it ten years ago. Right now, my current strength is not enough to win."

"Alright. You want to persuade me to help you deal with that monster..." Rody shrugged his shoulders. "Then where is your Divine Primordial Spirit?"

Kara laughed. "Didn’t you see it earlier?"

He suddenly stretched out his finger and pointed to the distance.

He pointed at the blood red area where the red light shined through with an evil atmosphere. It was shining down high in the clouds.

"That is the thing?" Rody exclaimed.