Chapter 88: Wielding the Power of Faith
That evening, the party sat around a bonfire in the elven village.
The three pieces of the 'Light of Ersten' lay in the clearing in the center, their silver blades glinting faintly in the firelight.
"It's worse than I thought," Rhodes said with a sigh, gently stroking a fragment. "'The Light of Ersten' is completely destroyed, and Org has temporarily lost its power."
Norne carefully picked up a piece. "To be able to destroy a holy sword... is this the power of a god?"
"If she couldn't even destroy a holy sword, she wouldn't be called a god," Serie retorted.
"Well, 'The Light of Ersten' is not Org, after all. It's only natural that it couldn't withstand a god's power. We'll see if Dural can reforge it when we go back," Rhodes said, still feeling a pang of guilt. He had promised Dural that he would make the sword, and his name, known throughout the world. Now, that seemed impossible.
"I think he's going to be very angry," Eirik said.
Dural had poured his heart and soul into forging that sword. The pride on his face when he had handed it to Rhodes was a memory that was still fresh in Eirik's mind. And now, less than a year later, it was in three pieces. He was probably going to have a fit.
"I think he'll understand," Somme said. "It was a god, after all. And a holy sword that can go toe-to-toe with a god... there's only one of those, and it's Org."
If it had been broken by some other powerful being, Dural would have been angry. Angry at his own lack of skill, and at Rhodes for not using the sword to its full potential. But against a god... it was a different story. If it had been him, he would have been proud. But he couldn't be sure.
"Ah, what I'm really upset about is all the treasure in the treasury. It's all gone!" Eirik said, a look of anguish on his face. In their hurry, they had only been able to protect the area immediately around them. All the other treasures had been turned to ash in the Divine Strike, leaving only the grimoires they had been carrying. And all of his magical items had been used up in the fight. They had gone through all that for nothing.
"Get over it. You're upset? I'm the dwarf here, and I'm not even upset."
Somme clapped him on the back, a little harder than necessary. "I'm the one who should be upset. What are you getting so worked up for?"
"Ahem, I was just being upset for you!" Eirik said with a sheepish laugh.
"I'm sorry," Olivia said, bowing her head.
"Don't bow your head, your— Ahem, just ignore this guy," Rhodes quickly interjected.
"Hmph. You're awfully forgiving," Serie said with a pout. She was sitting on his other side and knew that he had no intention of holding a grudge.
"Well, out with the old, in with the new, right?" Seeing that his elven friend was unhappy, he reached out and ruffled her hair.
"Don't touch my head, you idiot!"
She shook her head in protest, but in her heart, she was happy.
"'Out with the old, in with the new?' That's a good line. I should add it to the grimoire," Norne said. "I wanted to ask, Miss Olivia, what is the source of a god's power?"
"Part of it comes from the power of faith, but most of it is the god's own power," she said, stroking her silver wing. "Just as our faith can strengthen the Goddess, her own power is the foundation. It's the same for the elves."
Both the elves and the Sky-Winged worshipped the Goddess of Life, but the elves' faith was not as pure. The Sky-Winged were all her loyal servants, fanatics, even. The elves, with the likes of Serie among them, were a different story. But the power of faith was only a small part of a god's power.
"So you're saying that even if we were to cut off the false god's source of faith, she would still be powerful?" Serie asked thoughtfully.
"Yes," Olivia nodded. "But it would still affect her. It's just that... we can't possibly cut that connection." They all suspected that the false god was connected to the demons, but to kill every single demon... it was an impossible task.
But a thought suddenly occurred to Rhodes. "Is it possible to sever the connection between the goddess and the demons with magic?" And could he, perhaps, reverse-engineer that connection, and have their faith flow to him instead? The idea was too terrifying to say out loud.
"But I've never heard of such a spell," Olivia said.
"Then I'll try."
"You have an idea?" Serie asked.
"A small one. But there's something else I want to try first," he said, and stood up. "I was just thinking... could I use this power of faith?"
Olivia's wing trembled slightly. "What do you mean?"
"You're my follower now, Olivia," he said, opening the holy scripture. "In theory, I should be able to use the power of your faith."
He was still too weak. Even if it was just the faith of one person, he had to try.
"Are you insane?" Serie quickly stopped him. "How can a human body withstand the power of faith? There's no record of such a thing in history!"
"Under normal circumstances, you're right," he said, pointing to a page in the scripture. "But it says here that there is a spell that can temporarily store the power of faith in a holy object."
An ordinary body, whether elf or Sky-Winged, could not handle the power of faith. Only a god could. So Rhodes decided to take a different approach.
"I will use the fragments of the 'Light of Ersten' as a vessel to contain this power." He had always intended for the sword to be passed down through the generations. He couldn't just let it end here.
Olivia leaned in to look. "That... it is possible. But it will be very dangerous." The spell in the scripture was for a god to personally infuse a vessel with the power of faith. It would be a safe process. But now, he was going to try it himself. They had no idea how dangerous it would be.
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