Roaring Heroes Battle the Overlord (Ainz) - Part 1 (Chapters 1 to 200)

Chapter 155: Impure Faith

"Why would you say that?" EeDechi was genuinely surprised. She recalled Alphonse once saying that Daniel's faith "wasn't pure."

The problem was, if Daniel's faith was impure, then EeDechi had no faith at all. As a dyed-in-the-wool atheist, she wasn't sure if she could guide this naive kid through his religious doubts.

"I've killed three elves," Daniel said, his clear eyes locked onto EeDechi's.

Okay, maybe the "naive kid" label needed some tweaking, EeDechi thought to herself.

It made sense, though. Alphonse was the Divine Commandant of Clearwater Scripture, one of the Slane Theocracy's elite Six Scriptures units. No way a group like that was made up of soft-hearted nobodies. Daniel, under Clearwater's banner, was clearly no lightweight either.

"I'm an arcane soldier of Clearwater Scripture. In the Battle of Orosan, the second elf I killed was an elven priest.

"The battlefield was hell—artillery roaring, bodies everywhere, broken swords... Before I ended the elven priest with a Deathbreath Curse from my blade, I heard him praying. He was praying to Elariontha, the elven god. After he finished, something unbelievable happened to his body—and everything around him."

Confusion clouded Daniel's eyes, his gaze distant, haunted by the same old doubts. He continued:

"The elven priest had a gruesome wound through his gut. After he finished praying, the wound closed up at an insane speed. Just one simple prayer, and he pulled off the equivalent of a 3rd Tier healing spell. How's that possible?

"At the same time, I felt this... indescribable force, powerful and warm, like some radiant, holy woman was looking down on me from above. It was so pure, I couldn't even think of defying it.

"I couldn't lift my head. All I wanted was to drop to my knees and gaze at her sacred face. But I held firm, chanted my spell, and killed the priest. That overwhelming pressure vanished right after. Later, I realized—that was the 'divine power' of a foreign god."

"The Battle of Orosan ended, but the war in my head was just getting started. Since then, I've been wrestling with a question: why do other nations, other races, get power when they pray to their gods? Even goblin priests can borrow magic from their savage deities.

"But when we pray to the Six Great Gods, we get nothing. On the battlefield, when I was on death's door, I begged the God of Life to give me the strength to survive. No answer. In the end, it was my teacher who showed up and saved me with a healing spell.

"My teacher, the bishop, the priests—they all told me the Six Great Gods are way stronger than the foreign gods other races worship. So why don't the Six Great Gods answer their loyal followers?

"Then I noticed something. Other nations and races, their armies always have divine casters—priests, clerics, you name it. Not only can they sling healing spells like nobody's business, but they can also pray for blessing magic."

"But in our Slane Theocracy, our divine casters—bishops, priests—their prayers to the Six Great Gods are just... prayers. Just empty muttering."

Daniel's eyes bored into EeDechi, the so-called "Divine Envoy," as he said:

"It's like talking to six plain old rocks that never answer back."

The moment the words left his mouth, Daniel clapped a hand over it, his forehead beading with cold sweat, terrified at his own reckless outburst.

Clap, clap, clap.

EeDechi calmly applauded. In a nation ruled by religion, having such independent, free-thinking spirit was rare indeed.