Chapter 500: Chapter 501: Deal Established_1
Aiden stood atop the lofty altar in the guise of the goddess of vengeance, below him knelt a host of mercenaries.
When he entered, these mercenaries had been engaged in a bizarre worship around the altar, which was adorned with a pile of skulls. According to the goddess of vengeance, these were the skulls of their enemies.
Those who offered their faith to the goddess of vengeance were mostly driven by the need for revenge, personal grudges, or vendettas rooted in family or national enmities. They sacrificed a part of their spirit and offered unto the goddess irreversible and absolute loyalty, in return for which the goddess of vengeance granted them the power of retribution.
After entering this cave arranged to be a temple, the goddess of vengeance possessing him declared her identity on the spot. Normally, only Aiden’s consciousness could hear the voice of the goddess of vengeance, yet the effect was immediate. Some recognized his identity and prostrated themselves before him—clearly, these mercenaries were the "sacrificial" followers of the goddess of vengeance, she was their master, they could sense the presence of the goddess of vengeance up close and hear her call.
Some expressed skepticism, as not all the mercenaries here were sacrificial followers of the goddess of vengeance. Some were soldiers recruited later, while others simply had a spontaneous belief, unable to sense the presence of the goddess.
Fortunately, those "sacrificial" worshippers held positions like Priest within the mercenary group. Coupled with Aiden performing a "miracle" on the spot with his divine power, he immediately won over the whole mercenary troop.
"How does it feel to gain followers?" the goddess of vengeance asked, standing beside him.
"Nothing special, I feel like a lucky mascot being venerated." Aiden replied.
"That’s because their faith is actually in me, not you. You can’t fully experience the feeling of having authority in hand." The goddess of vengeance laughed, looking at a believer, "Do you need me to confirm their faith in me?"
"You can try, but do not—"
"—resort to trickery! I already know that very well." The smile of the goddess of vengeance twisted, "Being with you like this, I’ll probably turn into an intestinal worm in your belly someday."
"That does sound quite disgusting." Aiden replied.
"My followers, are you willing to lay down your lives for me?" cried the goddess of vengeance, raising her arm.
"Yes, rebellious queen!"
"Yes, master of sacrifice!"
"Yes, guardian deity of us avengers!"
The "sacrificial" followers shouted in unison, only differing in the titles they used.
"Hmm?" Aiden blinked quickly.
"You! Prove it to me!!" The goddess of vengeance pointed at a believer.
The believer immediately raised his face, drew the handgun from his waist, pressed it to his temple, and shouted, "Proof of my loyalty with a crimson cleansing of the world!!"
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Aiden drew his gun and knocked the handgun from the man’s hand.
"Enough." The goddess of vengeance called a halt to the charade, smiling, then looked at Aiden with pleasure, "You see?"
"I see..." Aiden’s focus was not at all on that, "So your believers really do use those titles to address you."
"My esteemed names? I’ve told you about them before, haven’t I? Can’t you remember?" The goddess of vengeance raised an eyebrow at him.
"Doesn’t it embarrass you, your followers calling you that?" Aiden asked.
"Doesn’t it sound nice?" The goddess of vengeance wore an expression as if it was only natural.
Aiden thought to himself, seriously?
"You are more honest than I expected," Aiden suddenly said after a moment’s silence. "Do you really intend to hand these people over to me to use as pawns?" Aiden confirmed with the Goddess of Revenge.
"I won’t go back on my word," the Goddess of Revenge replied lightly.
"I thought you would secretly pull some tricks, and I’ve been on guard against you all the way," Aiden said.
Aiden had remained vigilant because the Goddess of Revenge had always been inciting him to use these followers, considering it a last resort.
"It’s meaningless—just a few followers, how much trouble can they stir up?" the Goddess of Revenge said distantly. "I have lost too much and there is much to reclaim. You carry a ’scent’ that I detest; I can’t bring myself to like you, but you are indeed someone I can use. You are very straightforward, simpler than most I have met. As long as it doesn’t violate your principles and you are not provoked, there’s little you wouldn’t agree to. It makes more sense to do you a favour than to oppose you."
"If you could see that far ahead from the beginning, negotiating with you wouldn’t have been so hard," said Aiden.
"Even if I didn’t look that far ahead, I wouldn’t want my divinity stolen by someone else. That man, after he gets his hands on the Hand of Oblivion, he’ll be able to complete the revenge ritual, right?" the Goddess of Revenge said.
"Your sudden sensibility takes some getting used to," Aiden laughed.
"I’ve changed my mind, boy," the Goddess of Revenge glanced at Aiden. "If you survive this time, we’ll make a deal."
"..." Aiden suddenly fell silent.
"What? Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted?" the Goddess of Revenge asked, puzzled.
"This ’if you survive’ talk sounds very ominous," Aiden muttered to himself.
Isn’t this basically a death flag?
"You are really troublesome," the Goddess of Revenge complained.
"In that case, let’s discuss the terms of our deal."
"You help me reclaim my divine position, and I will do everything in my power to secure your freedom. After that, I’ll leave your country, thoroughly avoiding any potential conflict with you," the Goddess of Revenge replied.
"The body you’re inhabiting still has several years of prison time. You can’t just come and go as you please; that makes things difficult for me."
"Then let her rot in prison; it will only be like sleeping through it for me," the Goddess of Revenge retorted.
Aiden was silent for a long time; these concessions were indeed significant for the self-centered goddess.
"I can’t fully trust you," Aiden said.
"I never coveted your trust," the Goddess of Revenge replied.
"But this deal is indeed what I want, I agree," Aiden stated seriously.
"Aren’t you afraid I’ll turn my back on the deal later? I am fickle and a deity who might break the rules at any moment," the Goddess of Revenge said with a sinister laugh.
"What I am best at is punishing those who break the rules," Aiden laughed too.
In a vague sense, he felt that a subtle understanding was beginning to form between himself and the Goddess of Revenge. It was this understanding that made their potential deal possible.
Of course, as the Goddess of Revenge had said earlier, the deal hinged on Aiden surviving this whole affair—Mr. Bloody Coat must not get his hands on the Hand of Oblivion.
"Goal achieved; it’s time to return," Aiden said calmly. "Let’s go back and see how our witches are doing."
