Chapter 13: Am I a God?

If anyone does not feel awe for Stonehenge, then they must lack any intellect.

Standing tall on the ice plain, the massive stone structure floating in the sky possesses exactly such terrifying power.

The wails emitted by eleven dying Great Demons before their end created a huge and terrifying wound in the real world, and those symbolic Brands shine brightly upon the megaliths.

These demons locked within the megaliths will be tortured for eternity; the megaliths shining in mid-air guide the wails of the tortured demons into the rift, and that massive rift in turn feeds back pure energy, baptizing everything in the vicinity in waves.

The affected areas are filled with magical energy, and this cruel and terrifying ritual site restores the conditions of the first hunt by intelligent life.

The most primal energy and the rift rampaged across the Chaos Wasteland, only to be intercepted within this two-hundred-kilometer radius. The vast energy, acting as an extension of Li Ang's consciousness, altered the nature of the Magic Snowfield.

The excess mana vibrated through almost the entire Stonehenge, and one could almost see the energy accumulated in the Chaos Space rift being guided to the Trial Area High Tower at the Landing Site, creating a brilliant, towering Wonder in the sky that looked like starlight.

Standing beneath Stonehenge, looking at the great structure before him, Li Ang sighed as he gazed at the architecture, then patted the Norscan on the shoulder in appreciation.

"You have done well, very well. This is exactly what I needed."

'Your Wonder, Stonehenge (Magic), has been completed!'

'You can now freely manipulate all magical flows within a two-hundred-kilometer radius!'

'Optional: Change and reconstruct all Magic Snowfield, Mofabingmian, Magic Ice Mountain, and all other magical areas according to your own ideas in a short time.'

'Each large-scale Magic Manipulation requires anywhere from one day to one month, depending on the needs of the manipulation. This effect will take effect immediately.'

'Manipulating and twisting the direction of the Winds of Magic may lead to unexpected results. Please be aware.'

'You have built a brand-new Wonder! Your civilization progress has increased!'

'Your civilization Wonder progress has accumulated to 100%. After the civilization is created, this trait will become a part of your civilization.'

'Your civilization construction currently lacks population, a cognitive turning point, a second city, or a sprawling area.'

'Please keep working hard!'

A Wonder, the beginning of a great civilization.

The shitty terrain of the Magic Snowfield will no longer restrict the development of the civilization.

However, Li Ang was standing here not just to look at this Wonder.

He called everyone out, and beneath the vibrating Stonehenge, Li Ang looked with some curiosity at the Southerner, who was bound but still held his head high with a burning gaze.

After Li Ang left, this Southerner did not fully explain everything according to his instructions; instead, he embellished the story, claiming Li Ang was an aspect of the Goddess and calling on everyone to believe in the Goddess.

So, it was perfect; Li Ang looked at the Southerner before him and rubbed his chin with a playful expression.

"Because I lifted the seal on the Holy Grail and happened to call out to you, you think I am an avatar of the Goddess?"

"Yes."

The bearded Southerner stood on the snowfield; despite being bound, he still held his head high and said with great spirit:

"Perhaps you yourself have not realized it, but without a doubt, the relationship between you and the Goddess is unquestionable. If it were not for the Goddess's blessing, you could not have obtained the Holy Grail."

"But it is right here, regardless of the reason. It would have been mastered by me sooner or later, wouldn't it?"

"You are wrong; the Holy Grail has its own spirituality."

Seeing Li Ang's subtle expression, the Southerner shook his head with a solemn look.

"The great Holy Grail will not be tainted by anyone. Even if the most terrifying Undead Mage were to take it away, they would ultimately have no way to break the Holy Grail's confinement. Only the Lady of the Lake, authorized by the Goddess, or an avatar of the Goddess, can open the Holy Grail's seal and unleash its power."

"Oh? And what power does it have?" "Because I was called to become a Knight Errant, that is the best proof."

Under the surprised gazes of the Norscans, the Southerner easily snapped the thumb-thick ropes, walked to Li Ang, knelt on one knee on the snowfield, and bowed his head deeply.

"I will offer my loyalty, my lord. You are undoubtedly the avatar of the Goddess, her walking will, and I will follow you forever, until the end of the world."

"..."

Can it really be interpreted that way?

If it weren't for the abominable 'fallen' options marked above, I might have actually believed it.

Looking at the man kneeling piously on the ground, Li Ang toyed with the Holy Grail overflowing with emerald aura in his hand, his mind turning with calculations.

He could certainly go with the flow, claiming he possessed the Goddess's power to completely conquer these people, but Li Ang felt he had a better choice.

Because he could decide all of this himself.

"I do not care about your myths and deities, everyone. But I think I can give you an explanation. An explanation for why I can influence the Holy Grail."

Looking at the man kneeling in the snowfield, Li Ang sighed, tossed the Holy Grail into mid-air, and let it float back to his side.

"Perhaps it is simply because of my oath and the Brand I arrived in this world with that I am considered a God of Gods. I can manipulate the miracles of all your deities because, to me, they are merely understandable traces. Your gods are too insignificant to me."

"Just like this Stonehenge before you, you should understand that this miracle is the only Wonder in the world. I was able to achieve this Wonder in the Chaos Wasteland, under the gaze of the dark gods, but I can do even greater things."

"Perhaps you do not believe it, but I truly can. For example, you have been troubled by this snowfield for a long time, haven't you? But I can change all of this. Like this."

Seeing the confused and bewildered gazes of the many Norscans and Southerners, Li Ang stood beneath Stonehenge and smiled as he snapped his fingers.

And in an instant, the cold wind howling across the Chaos Snowfield came to a standstill.

The falling snowflakes gradually turned into a fine, gentle drizzle. And the snowfield on the ground instantly lost its terrifying, deathly chill, dissolving and seeping into the ground as if collapsing.

In the near-terrified gazes of everyone, beneath the magical roar emitted by Stonehenge, the snow-white color in everyone's field of vision quietly retreated, and the scenery that had been suppressed by the Magic Snowfield for countless years—the world's most primal appearance—appeared before them.

The violent and terrifying storms from the Chaos Wasteland were blocked by the ritual of Stonehenge. The vast Magic Ice Plain turned into fertile soil and high mountains.

There even appeared a hint of verdant green.

Plants that had been buried for who knows how many years actually sprouted new seedlings under the manipulation of the Winds of Magic, vigorously displaying their forms in the fine, moist drizzle.

In this silent, world-altering, and terrifying scene, Li Ang looked at the people before him and smiled, spreading his arms. The vast magical energy even rushed toward the sky along his will, dispelling the eternal, cold gloom.

The sacred light shone upon the youth, setting off his figure as incomparably majestic.

"I do not care what your faith is, but you may only respect me alone; you shall not revere any other gods."

He said.

"Perhaps your faith is in deities, but I am not. I am not a god. But I am far greater than them."

The massive magical ritual slowly ceased, and the flow of that immense mana even left indelible traces upon Li Ang's body.

A spiral shining with starlight was branded into Li Ang's pupils, and looking at those spiral eyes full of brilliant starlight, everyone bowed their heads in awe, knelt on both knees before this slender man, and instinctively expressed their loyalty.

"……Your will, my lord."

The sparse, scattered voices sounded in unison with the light rain, causing Li Ang to reveal a satisfied smile.

(End of this chapter)