Cthulhu Gonfalon

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

Located in the east of Mifata Federation, there was a small city called "Grey Tower City," which was naturally named as such because it had a magic tower called the "Grey Tower." At that time, an advanced mage named Ronald Hart established this magic tower. Later, with this magic tower as the center, the residents gathered slowly and eventually formed the city.

It was a city filled with the unique features of Mifata Federation, and its history was similar to many other cities, but there were also differences. For example, the most prominent Hart Family in this city placed their beliefs not in the noble Master of Mystery, nor in any of the various human gods, but in a slightly reclusive god—the God of Scholars.

The God of Scholars was a follower of the Master of Mystery, with only low-level divine power. He did not have many followers, of which, the most important one was probably the Grey Tower that was led by the Hart Family. More than 400 years later, following the construction of the Hart Family as well as the gathering of people from all around the continent who believed in the God of Scholars, this city gradually became the Church of the God of Scholars and resembled a Holy City.

Of course, a city with less than half the inhabitants believing in a certain god was not qualified enough to be called a Holy City. A Holy City should either be inhabited by gods, be highly-ranked in terms of historical status, or be a place with belief that was pure enough. An example of the first requisite listed above was "Void City," the Holy City of the Church of the Void Mask. An example of the second requisite was the "Highest Tower," the capital of Mifata Federation. And as for the last type… quite a handful of cities were like this, like the former Garth City, and later on, Rem City, too.

Regardless how hard the Hart Family had been working, wanting to build and establish the Grey Tower as the Holy City of the Church of Scholars, at least judging from the current progress made—or rather, at least since a month or so ago up till the present day—their efforts still proved to be futile.

Then further down the road, this simply became an impossible mission all because the God of Scholars had fallen in the war between the Mystery God System and the Human God System.

The fall of a god was, unquestionably, an earthshattering event. The God of Scholars was not the only god to have fallen in that particular battle, nor was he the most powerful god out of all the gods present in that battle. But to the people of the Grey Tower, especially to the Hart Family, the fall of the God of Scholars was like telling them that the sky above them was about to collapse!

How was that possible? How did the great God of Scholars actually fall?! He had been nothing but kind, amiable and harmonious with the world around him!

But no matter how surprised or angry they were, the fall of the God of Scholar remained an indisputable fact.

Nevertheless, the people of Grey Tower did not give up on their belief in the God of Scholars. They persisted in saying their prayers every single day. Members of the Hart Family even converted the public square in front of the magic tower into a large-scale array for sacrificial ceremonies, and every day, they would lead a team of clergymen into the array to carry out rituals. They did all these in the hope that all their prayers and wishes would gain enough belief for the God of Scholars to be resurrected.

Theoretically speaking, this was fully possible. Even if a god had fallen, so long as there was sufficient belief in him, coupled with some appropriate and timely opportunities, it was indeed possible for the resurrection of a god to happen. In history, there had been more than one occurrence of a god being resurrected after a fall, putting on a live show of the "Return of the King."

However, a theory was, after all, only a theory. There were so many fallen gods, yet how many of them could actually be resurrected?

At least, for the people of Grey Tower City, who had been praying for such a long time, none had yet to see any possible sign of resurrecting their God of Scholars. Under such a situation, they got more nervous and uneasy as they simply did not know what they should do.

Then the Church of the God of Aristocracy and the Church of the God of Knowledge arrived at the Grey Tower City to preach.

These two churches had very different attitudes, and they both had very different doctrines, but they both had one matter where they shared a common view: they both declared that the God of Scholars had been completely annihilated and that it was impossible to resurrect him. They advised the people to give up on their belief in the God of Scholars as such a belief had already lost its significance. It was meaningless to hang on to such hope. They encouraged the people to move on and cast their beliefs into either of the two respective churches.

This statement was not necessarily wrong, but the thing was, it sounded a little hateful.

If it were just the ordinary inhabitants, then what the two churches said did not mean much. However, the Hart Family was quite influential, and on top of this, the Patriarch of the family was an advanced mage who had the power to reign control over an entire magic tower. After he heard what the two churches had to say, he went into a rage and roared, "Who said my lord couldn't be resurrected? All of you are dogs in your true form, merely hiding behind those mustached faces! Uncivilized vultures!"

Then he led an army consisting of the Mage Corps and the City Defense Army Corps. Together, they purged the preachers from the other two churches out of their city. The missionaries from the two churches were driven out of Grey Tower City even before they could gain a firm foothold within the city, and the Patriarch had declared that they were not welcomed in Grey Tower City. He had forbidden them to set foot within the sphere of influence of Grey Tower City ever again.

This matter was not considered insignificant, but it couldn't be deemed extremely significant either. To the current city inhabitants, there really weren't any other events more important than trying to resurrect the God of Scholars.

The days went by, but there were still no signs of resurrecting the God of Scholars.

…

This day, a junior from the Hart Family was praying in the public square when the voice of an elderly man called out to him and interrupted his prayers.

"Young Master Owen, Young Master Owen!"

That was none other than the old butler who had been taking care of him since he was a little boy.

After respectfully bowing to the statue of the God of Scholars, as though the aura of the statue had yet to dissipate, Owen Hart got to his feet and walked out of the array for sacrificial ceremonies.

"What's the matter?" he asked in doubt.

The old butler's expression was a tad complicated to comprehend. It seemed to carry a little anxiety and a little unease, then again, there seemed to also be some relief and ease. Seeing Owen Hart coming out of the array, he smiled and said, "Master is asking you to go home."

Owen froze for a moment, then realized that his grandfather and father, who usually spent more than ten hours here almost every single day, just to pray, were not around.

Not only that, but many members of the Hart Family were also not there.

How strange, where has everyone gone?

He had some doubts in mind but said nothing. He simply followed the old butler and left the public square. Then both of them returned to the magic tower.

The moment he stepped into the magic tower, his heart gave a slight lurch as he keenly felt that there was something not quite right in the atmosphere.

The Grey Tower was different from the other magic towers. It was not just a magic tower; it was also a holy object that contained a great amount of Divine Power. It was almost like a treasure of the Church of the God of Scholars, a treasure that was a magical object. Walking inside this magic tower, not only could one feel the strength of magic power all over the place, but also the warmth and kindness of the place. This place was filled with the tranquil and remote aura of the Divine Power of the God of Scholars.

However, after the God of Scholars had fallen, the Divine Power that spread over and filled the entire magic tower dissipated. There were many people who had long been accustomed to such an environment filled with Divine Power, so they were unable to adjust to the change in environment after the Divine Power dissipated. There was a void in their hearts, and physically, they felt really uncomfortable.

Owen was one of them.

He was not considered a devout follower, but placing his belief in the God of Scholars had long become a part of his life. It had become a form of habit that was engraved in his soul.

Since birth, he grew up in an environment immersed in the Divine Power of the God of Scholars. He had long been used to such a power, which was why, even though he was not a particularly devout follower, Owen would still pray hard every day, hoping that he could help the God of Scholars to be resurrected. He also hoped to be able to help the God of Scholars to relive his life again.

And today, while he was in the magic tower once again, he felt the presence of the Divine Power of the God of Scholars!

"Your Majesty… has been resurrected?" he asked with much astonishment and surprise.

Once again, the old butler registered a complicated expression. Wordlessly, he continued to walk alongside Owen.

Soon, they arrived at the top level of the magic tower—the prayer hall. However, in the prayer hall, what Owen saw was not the resurrection of the God of Scholars, but a specious figure.

"Hello there, young Holy Son," said the figure with a smile; then she continued to explain, "I am the successor of the God of Scholars, I am the God of Knowledge and Culture, Wall."