Cthulhu Gonfalon

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The five colored lights formed a rainbow, which hung in the sky. Countless spots of light fell from the sky as though they were rain, yet disappeared without a trace upon hitting the ground. Only those who had been stained by it could feel youthfulness and vitality gushing out from the bottom of their hearts, as though they had become younger by quite a few years.

Deep singing echoed between heaven and earth. It sounded like praising, yet at the same time chanting. If one were to listen out for it especially, they would be unable to hear anything but the wind. Those who heard the song would feel warm all over, as though they had taken a hot bath in the middle of winter. There was a certain kind of warmth which penetrated their bones.

The gentle breeze blew slowly, yet had an unimaginable penetrating power. It blew through clothes, through skin and flesh, even through the body, through the soul. It let people feel like their entire being had been cleansed, whether it was from physical injury or spiritual defilement. All had been purified as though they had returned to the innocence of childhood: physically healthy, spiritually pure and carefree.

Experienced magic casters all clicked their tongues in amazement. These were commonly seen as divine favors. But spreading so many different types of them, while keeping their potency so high? Exactly how much divine energy would that have used?

The most famous Divine Ritual was the yearly Sun Fiesta held in the Kingdom of Holy Angels. On the noon of the summer solstice, high-ranking members of the Church of the God of Light would initiate grand prayers nationwide, and the great Sun God would rain down his divine favor, bestowing blessings upon the believers. In the central square of the capital city of the Kingdom of Holy Angels, the City of Light, the divine favor was so thick that it was seen in the naked eye as a golden drizzle. It was so misty it appeared to block out the sky.

Many people in the audience participated in the Sun Fiesta, personally having experienced the golden rain-like divine favor. They thought that the divine grace in the world had already hit its limit, but did not expect that in the award presentation ceremony of this Peerless Martial Meet, they would actually experience an even more intense blessing.

"How wonderful…" A white-haired old man closed his eyes and felt the blessing permeate his body, murmuring to himself, "I feel like I'm ten again…"

This old man was seated at the VIP table. He was actually an esteemed guest invited by the church of Void Mask. Indeed, all who knew him were extremely respectful, as he was the previous king of the Kingdom of Holy Angels. His Majesty Nilo Sang had only recently abdicated his position.

His Majesty Nilo was already 67 years old that year. He had experienced many Sun Fiestas and received countless divine blessings. However, even he had never felt such a wonderful blessing.

Of the blessings that the God of Light had bestowed, there were many that had been stronger. But their effects were mostly singular, and not as abundant and comprehensive as this.

For this old man, who already had one foot in the grave, it was a truly worthwhile trip to return to his childhood and experience his youth once more, even if it was only for a while!

"Our Majesty is a very kind God. These blessings were actually spread by a few Gods together." Light surged around his body, transforming into the image of the God of Knowledge, Wor. Curiously, the guards by his side remained unaware of what was happening.

Nilo turned his head, looking at the man who was the most wanted in the Holy Kingdom of Angels ever since he had been a child, and could not resist laughing.

"Disseminator of knowledge, I am very glad to see you in such a situation," he said neither humbly nor haughtily. "For you to be calm enough to talk to me, it is both my honor as well as the joy of the entire country."

Wor also smiled. Ever since he lost his Godhood, he had let go of any grudge he had with the Kingdom of Holy Angels. The only thing he could not let go of was the chance to take revenge on the sun God.

It was just revenge; he had no intention of killing the sun God. He finally realized those he needed to hate, those who were his true enemies, had already died under his blade long ago or perished over the course of time.

To him, "revenge" was just a human remnant. He would not immediately quell such an idea, but he also would not be heavily influenced by such a small thought.

For example, Nilo Sang was the nephew of the then Duke of Holy Fire, so strictly speaking he was Wor's enemy. However, back when Wor cleaved the Duke of Holy Fire and smashed his way out of the capital, Nilo was still only a young child.

"Time flies." He looked at the old king before his eyes that had gradually succumbed to old age and sighed. "Even you have become old."

"Yes. For the great immortal, us mortals are akin to the dead leaves on treetops. Even if we appear to be an eyesore, after taking a nap or having a meal, we have already fallen from the tree, having been crushed into the soil," Nilo Sang sighed. "Disseminator of Knowledge, if you have an interest in returning to your hometown, the descendants of the sun would gladly give you a grand welcome."

Wor's eyes flashed for a moment, remembering the hometown buried deep in his memories, remembering his childhood and adolescence.

"Perhaps…" He did not give a direct answer, but just lightly sighed.

Maybe once the last grudge was resolved, he really would go back to his hometown to have a look around, to see how many traces of the scenery in his memory still remained.

Just when this man and God were talking, upon the huge platform, the prize presentation ceremony had officially begun.

The man in charge of the award was a lionman in armor. His head of golden blonde hair was as bright as the sun, and his heroic face did not show a hint of ferocity, but rather a majesty that one could not help but admire. It was as though he was a born king, destined to live above everyone else.

On the other hand, the director of the awards ceremony was a handsome young man in a loose robe and long black hair so soft that women envied him beyond belief. He did not carry any weapons or armor, and only had a flute made of bamboo on his waist. Although it was plain and unorthodox, there was a natural sense of dignity, which prevented him from looking as though he was poorly dressed.

The prizes that had not yet been awarded were all placed upon a suspended turquoise platform, which was round and had many thin silk ribbons hanging off it: a rather strange appearance. Yet everyone who looked at it did not find it queer but instead felt it affable and warm.

"Are you not going on stage?" Nilo Sang watched the few who were on stage, unable to hold in his laughter.

"It's fine. As long as Your Majesty is happy, I will not be joining in the fun." Wor smiled as he shook his head. "I'll be content just watching from below the stage."

There were others who were satisfied with not going up on stage. One of them was a tall and bulky man dressed like a beggar, who was made to wear a presentable gown by a bearman reeking of alcohol dressed in neat robes. He muttered, "You're so old already and yet still so formal with me. I won't bother about this with you." Beside them were two guys, one bald man who was tall and skinny yet somehow had short arms and legs, the other a fat man with a big grin and a long, drooping mustache. Both of them were guffawing dumbly, the cause of what was making them laugh unknown.

Farther away, there were several figures observing everything that was happening.

"Do you feel it? The movement of the origin force…"

"I felt it. The position for a God of "Martial Competition" is about to be formed!"

"Are you sure you still want to make a move? That huge jellyfish has some formidable strength!"

"There are some matters which absolutely have to be fought for!"

In the more distant gloom, a figure wrapped in black robes was whispering to a group of fellows of strange shapes and sizes. Their language was strange and gave off a sense of unease. A mortal would be poisoned to death upon hearing just one or two words. Even a powerful angel would be polluted and tainted, falling to become an evil and twisted monster upon hearing just a few sentences.

They were quietly, patiently waiting for the scheduled opportunity.

The first prize to be given out was to the third runner-up, and Soocher Magnus stepped on to the stage following the cues of the emcee. With a wave of his hand, the emcee broadcasted highlights of her fight to the entire audience before introducing to everyone this female knight who hailed from the country of Thunder and Lightning, praising her integrity and valor.

Amidst the applause of the audience, Soocher received her award from the hands of the Lion man.

A golden card with a number on it: this was a special exchange card for Void Mask's amusement park. It could be exchanged for the corresponding amount of money. There was a pendant so exquisite the magical light twinkling off it was almost blinding, and a bronze medal shining with the same magical light.

There was not much to be said about the money, but the medal was magically reinforced. It had the property of never wearing out and even had the ability to heal medium injuries once a day. It was said to be a very practical magical item.

Of the prizes, the most valuable was still the pendant. It not only had the ability to increase the wearer's constitution but kept the wearer's power calm. Still, it would not remove the hot-bloodedness necessary for heroic feats. For Soocher who was always troubled by her power surges and sometimes unable to suppress the elemental explosions that occurred as a result, it was the treasure she had been bitterly searching for.

As the three items were imbued with magic that explained how to use them. Soocher was overjoyed to fully understand their uses the moment she received them. She hurriedly put on the pendant and felt that the spiritual energy that was always suppressed by her armor had calmed down for the first time. She was almost sobbing with joy.

After putting on the pendant, she eagerly took off her helmet, revealing her clear face, which had always been hidden, to the public.

Due to the lack of sunlight, she looked a little pale, but the excited smile on her face added a lot of beauty to her otherwise normal looks.