Chapter 99: Prophetic Powers*
Roseus stood on the red sands, heaving. At that moment, all he was focused on was trying to recover his energy.
But he knew that he couldn’t.
He had yet to receive the words from his system telling him that he had slain Mikoto and absorbed his soul. So, he dragged his feet through the sand, slowly making his way towards the still man.
When he arrived by his body, blood was pouring into the red sands, staining them an even darker crimson.
Mikoto’s purple eyes were still open, and his lustrous hair cascaded along the sand. He looked up at Roseus with blood leaking from all of his orifices.
A faint smile spread across his face. One that didn’t seem to carry any anger.
"M-my life, taken from me by a fellow man of storms... Death angers me, but there are worse ends that I could have met."
Every word seemed to take more and more life out of him. Any moment now, Prophet Mikoto would succumb to his wounds.
Roseus didn’t find himself feeling joyful about the death. After all, Mikoto had not personally done him any harm before they had met.
If not for the fact that their patron gods were rivals, he thought that they might have even been allies.
"What is the difference between a priest and a prophet?" Roseus asked, hoping to glean some information from the man before he took it to his grave.
Mikoto laughed slightly, which made him cough up more blood.
"Questioning me even in my d-death? Heh, this is fine. It’s been years since I’ve spoken to a fellow man of storms."
"Other than the additional three powers that one gains, as well as the improvements made to all previous powers, there is something that makes a prophet truly stand out from the ranks below. This is because a prophet can speak to their patron god whenever they wish, and also perform miracles in their name."
Roseus considered this for a few moments.
He had certainly spoken to Rai’zac before, mostly through the use of the Greycloud Longsword due to its unique effect. However, he could not speak to the god whenever he wished.
Of course, he could offer his prayers whenever he wished, but Rai’zac was not obligated to answer them.
It seemed that becoming a prophet changed this and also allowed one to sometimes perform miracles in the name of their sea god.
Captain Roseus nodded his head, satisfied.
"Can you tell me about the three new powers that were given to you once you became a prophet?"
Mikoto coughed up more blood. Much more blood this time.
"If I h-have the time," he croaked, before giving a brief explanation.
"Electrokinets allows me to blast lightning from my hand. You saw me use it a few times... It can also create bolts that can be used as a melee weapon."
"Consecration allows me to g-gift items with the power of lightning. Think of it as a blessing that can turn certain items into lightning treasures. The... The e-effect is random, and the more in tune I am with the storms, the g-greater the effects become."
"O-oathbreaker is a power that shows me who is and isn’t lying... In my vision, small s-sparks appear around someone’s body. When they have a secret they are hiding from me specifically, the sparks appear. The bigger the secret, the stronger the sparks..."
After finishing his explanation, the fight slowly began fading from Mikoto’s eyes. It was taking everything he had left in his body just to get the words out.
For this, Roseus found a deep appreciation for the man. He did not need to explain this to anybody, let alone a man who had just taken his life.
"Thank you, Prophet Mikoto. I only have one more question before you rest."
Mikoto didn’t respond, yet his eyes remained open. Roseus wasted no time asking.
"What can you tell me about Sea God Susanoo? Any information is helpful to me."
"..."
Mikoto’s eyes remained open.
Roseus waited patiently for an answer. He wondered whether the man was considering which words to use when describing his patron god.
And then—
[You have defeated a Salt-Blood Prophet]
[Elite Soul Absorbed]
[The Ocean Beckons You...]
Mikoto’s eyes remained open, but the purple spark faded away.
"..."
Roseus solemnly used his fingers to close the man’s eyes.
He contemplated saying a prayer over his body, but knew it wasn’t possible. Although they were both men of storms, they followed two completely different gods.
If the afterlife existed, Rai’zac certainly wasn’t going to help the prophet arrive there safely.
Roseus momentarily wanted to check the changes that had taken place within his systems, but decided against it for now. He didn’t know when the desert around him would collapse into the chasm.
So, he took what he needed from the scene and hurried through the desert back towards the entrance. On the way, he met back up with Blodwen and Lencho, both of whom looked drained, but especially Lencho.
From the item in his hand and the look on his face, they could both tell that Roseus had finished the man off. What confused them was the absence of joy in his expression.
Despite having taken the enemy’s life, as well as his head, which was the item he now held in his hand, Roseus didn’t seem too pleased with the victory.
The journey the rest of the way home was mostly silent. Roseus walked ahead with his two men following behind him.
He checked his system for changes and found that he was now 75/100 through his pact rank with Rai’zac. It seemed that taking the life of a Prophet within the same domain had made a huge leap for him.
As for his Sailor System, he was now 60% through the Deckhand rank, already making swift progress towards becoming a Salt Blood.
His Ranged Combat had increased to Rank IV, giving him the skill: Double Shot (Lv.1).
His Distance Multiplier skill had also increased to Lv.2. Now, the further away he was from a target, the more likely he was to land his ranged attacks.
