Chapter 75 75: Pressure Of God

The white-masked face looked at Keith from the broken roof. The huge body was leaning on the building and tried to reach inside toward Keith.

But some kind of barrier on the building stopped the fallen god from being able to touch Keith. It seemed like Keith was safe for now but only as long as he stayed in the building.

'Our…key…to…salvation…send…to…us…'

The voice of that fallen god was much clearer this time. It also made sense to Keith and he wanted to close his ears to not hear the useless talk. It was stabbing in his head, beckoning him to come out.

"I am not your salvation. Get lost, you fell god."

Anger seeped into Keith's voice and it was not his emotions which influenced him. It was the emotions of the original Grandmaster that was making Keith lash out.

Keith could not help but flinch at the timing of his body's eruption. Out of every available time, it had to lash out when Keith was in the most danger. What kind of sense did it make? Keith was going to die at this rate.

'Our…key…to…salvation…send…to…us…'

But the fallen god did not let Keith go. The fallen god seemed to not have heard Keith's insults as it tried to keep on reaching inside for him. Keith backed away until his back hit the idol and he noticed a small ring on the idol's finger.

Keith quickly took the ring seconds after the main barrier broke.

The huge entity kept on reaching for Keith and he clutched the ring tightly in his hand.

A surge of power blocked the fallen god's hand from reaching for Keith and Keith was sure it was due to the barrier surrounding him. The ring was acting as a conductor and a protector for Keith right now.

The fallen god looked surprised as he noticed Keith's current position and his inability to touch him.

The fallen god was about to try again but then the sky was changing. The sun was finally beginning to rise. And the fallen god hissed as soon as the first ray of the sun touched him.

It quickly picked itself up and took one look filled with longing at Keith before disappearing.

'I survived. I just went up against a god and survived the encounter.'

Keith could not help but slip down toward the ground. It had been such a close call for him and now his legs had no strength in them. But Keith was happy to see he had survived this night.

He clutched the ring on his finger and leaned forward in a praying position. He then tried to recall the feeling he had invoked before.

'Please let me go back home. This place is too dangerous.'

Keith prayed in his mind but nothing happened. He was still in this weird place and nowhere near aLtheria.

So, with a disappointed face, Keith decided to head back to the village and ask around for a way to get back. Someone must know some way for Keith to get back.

He had a feeling that he would die of stress if he stayed here. Not to mention, that fallen God seemed to be after Keith as well. It was just not safe to stay here any longer.

No one seemed to recognize Keith from last night but it was a given because of everyone's similar clothing. Keith tried to ask around but the vendors gave him the same response as yesterday - there was no way to go back home.

So, Keith spent his whole morning and afternoon in such a dejected mood. Keith was about to turn in for the night when he noticed a suspicious ally. The person inside looked drunk as he beckoned Keith closer.

"I heard you are looking for a way out of this rift. Well, I know of a way you can get out but it will be difficult to do. I don't think anyone ever succeeded and that's why it's a rumor."

The drunk man paused before he continued with a mysterious voice.

"There is another rift somewhere in this village. But it leads to the ruins of aLtheria, the fallen land of the gods. That place is the only way to get back to the human world. If you are interested, then meet me out here tomorrow morning and I will take you to the rift."

Keith found this offer very suspicious.

The whole day, everyone had said that there was no way out of this place. And now this drunk person said there was a way?

"If there is a way out, then why did not one tell me about it?"

Keith questioned the drunk leader and the creature laughed out loud at Keith's naïve attitude.

"You give these people too much credit. Everyone here hid their faces and lives a somber life. So, there is never any growth in population unless people fall. If people began to actively leave, then it increases their odds of being chosen as a sacrifice."

"Besides, these people have lost their hope of ever escaping and they have become pessimistic. You cannot expect anything from them. Besides, it is not easy to leave this place and you'll know why once you see the location of the gate."

Keith wanted to say that these assurances were the talk of a drunkard man who did not know what he was saying, but it did not seem so to his instincts. And that was the only reason Keith decided to go with his gut right now.

He decided to take a risk by trusting this man.

"Fine, I will trust you this time and come here tomorrow. I hope you will not be chosen as a sacrifice today."

The drunkard man laughed out loud at Keith's words. He looked amused by Keith's concern.

"Man, I am flattered by your kind words but I will be safe tonight. The fallen one does not come two days in a row. He comes once every couple of months and that's why we still have people left here."

The drunkard man spoke with confidence but Keith had a feeling the fallen god would show up today.

The encounter he had with the fallen god yesterday was still fresh in his mind and the fallen god seemed not to have given up when the sun rose.

The drunk man noticed Keith's silence and he suddenly sobered up.

"Tell you what man. Maybe we should hide the night out in the temple. It will help you feel better, right?"

The man asked and Keith nodded. He had a feeling he would be safe in the main temple, just as he had been in the side temple yesterday. These places seemed to have some kind of protection built inside them.

The drunk man accompanied Keith to the huge temple and they quickly hid inside.

It did not take long for screams to sound out in the village and the sound of footsteps to rush into the village. Everyone seemed to be in a panicked mode.

Keith felt sorry for them all since he knew why the fallen god had come here. But Keith was also not going to show himself and be captured by that entity.

"W-Why did the fallen one come here two days in a row? It had never happened before, right?"

"R-Right. And he is not choosing someone but looking around. What is going on."

"O-Oh god. Is it walking toward the temple right now? This has never happened before. Will the temple be safe?"

"I-It's reaching out into the temple hurry and prey to the god so that we can get protected."

Keith gripped his ring of protection tighter in his hand. He was not sure what would happen tonight but he knew he needed to run away from this place as soon as he could.

This place was not safe for him with that fallen god looking for him.

"L-Look, it stopped. The fallen god is not able to reach in. Hurry up and continue with the prayers. We need to continue this until the sun rises."

The people were trying their best to survive. The sound of prayers and bells made the temple vibrate. It was a struggle to keep it up the whole night, but people were strong when they needed to survive.

In the end, the night passed away and no one died. The fallen god went away as soon as the run was up.

"What was that? Why did the god come here?"

"I don't know but I am suddenly afraid. Is this village going to fall as aLtheria did? I don't want to die."

People all around Keith moaned and cried as they made it through the night. Their words concerned Keith since aLtheria was his destination. That was the name of the birthplace of his false identity.

'Oh god, what did Priestess Athena do? I thought aLtheria was a normal place, but it is now. Then, what shall I do now with this information?'