"Lord Tenra, do you… want to become a god?"
Semilia's voice trembled with disbelief. Around her, the other Maidens stared at Tenra as if he'd sprouted horns. They'd only skimmed a few pages of the Codex, but that was enough. They understood exactly what he was proposing.
Tenra smiled, unruffled by their shock.
"Is there a problem with that?"
"I want divinity. I want to become the Supreme God—one who stands above everything."
"If you wish to follow me, you must offer more than your bodies, your souls, your loyalty, and your love. You must offer your faith."
The words hung in the air, heavy as prophecy. Tenra seemed to loom larger, his presence swelling until the Maidens instinctively shrank back. To become the Supreme God, to transcend all—was this truly the ambition of a human? Or even a devil?
Semilia finally found her voice, though it shook:
"Lord Tenra… if we cannot accept, what will you do with us?"
From the moment they'd opened the [Codex of Divinitas et Diabolus], they'd glimpsed secrets forbidden to ordinary believers. The realization struck all at once—if they refused, would they even be allowed to leave?
Tenra's smile softened.
"Relax. I saved you—I won't turn villain now. If you choose to follow and believe in me, you're welcome. If you can't accept it, I'll erase your memories of this conversation and let you go."
He shrugged, matter-of-fact.
"Of course, if you leave, whatever happens next—whether the Church hunts you or the Underworld chases you—is none of my concern. I'm not a charity, after all."
The Maidens exhaled as one, relief and gratitude mingling in their eyes. No one liked being cornered, even by a savior.
Tenra watched their reactions with detached amusement. He wasn't lying—he had no need to force anyone. With tens of thousands of followers already, cultivating a few new Maidens was child's play. Susan, for instance, was coming along nicely—he'd been training her personally.
"So, what's your choice?"
He clapped his hands, turning the moment back to them.
It was a hard decision, and Tenra gave them time. Silence stretched, until finally Semilia stepped forward.
"Lord Tenra, I wish to follow you."
Her voice was steady now, her gaze unwavering.
"Oh?" Tenra's lips curled in a teasing smile. "Let's hear your reason. Is it just because I saved you twice? Would you really abandon the god you've worshipped all your life for that?"
The other Maidens looked at Semilia, astonished. They didn't know the truth about God's death. For Semilia to choose this path meant she'd already cast off her faith—something even Tenra hadn't expected.
Holy Maidens were chosen young, indoctrinated since childhood, their devotion unbreakable. When Tenra had recruited Asia, it was only after her faith shattered upon learning God was dead—a rare vulnerability he'd exploited. Normally, these girls would die before betraying their Lord.
But Semilia surprised him.
"It's true, Lord Tenra, you've saved me more than once. That's a debt I can never repay."
She paused, her expression hardening.
"As for God… I abandoned my faith in him long ago."
Her laugh was cold, bitter.
"The god I prayed to—when I was lost, when I was desperate, when I begged for help—never answered. Never saved me."
"All that talk of suffering as the Lord's trial? Lies. All of it—lies from a pack of frauds."
Anger twisted her beautiful features.
In those endless nights of despair, she'd seen through the divine deception.
The other Maidens nodded, pain and resentment flaring in their eyes.
They'd once believed, truly believed, that their Lord could save the world. But in their darkest moments, he'd left them to suffer.
"If the Lord abandoned me, why shouldn't I abandon him?"
"Lord Tenra, I wish to follow you. I wish to believe in you."
Semilia pressed her hands to her heart and knelt before Tenra.
Disillusioned and betrayed, this Maiden had fallen—and now, she willingly embraced the "Heretic God."
Tenra's eyes glittered as he looked to the others.
"And the rest of you?"
"We wish to follow you, Lord Tenra. We wish to believe in you."
With Semilia leading, the others joined her, hands to hearts, kneeling at Tenra's feet.
If the Church saw this, they'd rage—condemning them as heretics, as witches. But the Maidens no longer cared. This was revenge—revenge against the god who had failed them.
How pitiful for the Biblical God—dead, unable to answer, abandoned and resented by his own.
Tenra, of course, had no intention of defending the dead deity. On the contrary, he relished their conversion.
He could feel it—the surge of faith pouring into his soul. Former Holy Maidens, their devotion both pure and powerful, far outstripped ordinary believers.
Tenra reached out, lifting Semilia's chin with gentle fingers, his expression radiating paternal warmth.
"Welcome home, my suffering children…"
Bathed in holy light, the Maidens gazed at him in awe, tears streaming down their faces.
After so much pain, so much betrayal, they had finally found—
Their true Lord.
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