Chapter 293
Power... craving... Balshatt... the gods...
Ryan shook his head in front of the screen, suddenly feeling overlapping musical notes swirling in his mind. These sounds blended perfectly with the witch K's chanting, uncontrollably crashing into Ryan's ears.
It was painful, extremely painful, with a feeling that seemed both distant and familiar, causing Ryan to subconsciously respond to each and every prayer.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch... damn it, stop reading!!!"
As soon as a certain will settled in his heart, the Babel Tower seemed to be guided, releasing a terrifying beam of light from its top, shooting into the boundless black tide!
Then, the world fell silent.
The power of the light wave utterly destroyed the black tide that was eroding the gray space. As the last wisp of darkness was annihilated in the light, Witch K stood there dumbfounded, letting the shockwaves sweep past her and blow her mage hat far away.
Just now... she seemed to hear a distant voice from within the ritual.
"Balshatt... responded to me???"
Chapter 179 Ryan's Advancement [5k5]
The defensive formations of the Babel Tower are an inherent power within the tower, originating from the blessings of Balshatt.
Witch K had only seen Witch A use it once before, and its power was immense.
However, due to the decline of Balshatt's faith, the power of the Babel Tower has also weakened considerably. Witch A specifically warned against using it carelessly, as it might run out of power at any time.
Witch K had no choice; she really couldn't hold them off any longer. If she didn't use them, she and Adele would both die here.
But Witch K hadn't expected it to be so powerful, and... did she just hear something?
"Wait, that voice sounded a bit... aggressive? Damn it, I didn't hear it clearly."
Witch K was starting to lose her composure.
Even when the Kuroshio Current was pressing in, she wasn't this unsettled.
But the ritual of Balshatt has answered me. If this is true, doesn't it mean that Balshatt has awakened, or is awakening in the process of awakening?
"Why haven't I received this response before? Is it just my imagination? Or is it because of me? No, I've tried rituals before, but this is my first time performing Babel Tower ritual..."
Witch A used the Babel Tower, but she heard nothing.
Of course, it's also possible that what I just heard was a misperception.
The witch K had lived for over a thousand years and her mind was usually calm and undisturbed, but she still couldn't help but feel a little excited. She didn't even bother to check if the black tide had completely disappeared and quickly turned around to rush back into the Babel Tower.
'Adele' was still in the array in front of the statue. Witch K looked around but didn't find anything unusual.
"Adele, did anything unusual happen when you activated the array?"
"No." 'Adele' shook her head. "I activated the array just as you told me to."
"What about the statue? Has anything changed about it?"
"No, what's wrong?"
"Have you heard any other sounds? Like someone talking?"
I heard your chanting.
"..."
So it's not because of 'Adele'?
Witch K initially thought it was Adele's talent causing some kind of reaction, but now it seems that's not the case... Could it really be that she's been living too long and is hallucinating?
She patted her head, and the feeling of her fingers touching her hair made her realize when her hat had disappeared. Of course, that wasn't important; what mattered was that she was going to try another method to see if Balshatt had really woken up.
Since the Babel Tower reacted with power all of a sudden, even if it awakens, it is probably in poor condition. If that's the case, then as a devout believer, she should do something.
"The Babel Tower ritual can't be used anymore. What if it's just an illusion, a waste of energy... Let's go up there and take a look."
The witch K called to Adele, and they prepared to go to the top of the tower.
The conversion ceremony takes place at the top of the tower, where the ritual formations of the Balshatt are also located.
"K, what were those black things just now?"
"Adele asked on the way."
"Those are forces from beyond the world, and they are the root cause of the current state of the Rhea Continent. I don't know much more. Over the years, I've been traveling on the edge of the world to observe the situation, and I've discovered that these forces are constantly eroding the Rhea Continent. The Chaos Space you know is created by these forces, and they are constantly trying to erode this place. Perhaps it's related to Balshatt's situation."
When Witch K inherited the duties of the guardian, the War of the Gods had already begun, the primordial had disappeared, and Witch A had just died, without revealing much to her.
So all this information came from her own explorations during her boring travels around the world over the past thousand years.
She had been tracing the source of these powers, but unfortunately, she had no leads. As for the Four Great Outer Gods, Witch K always felt something was amiss.
"Did you know? Balshatt might be awakening." After explaining the less important matters, Witch K solemnly declared, "The Lord of All Gods is returning, Witch Society reappear in the mortal realm!"
Her dark purple hair accentuated her cool and aloof demeanor, while her deep purple eyes beneath her lashes revealed an excitement unlike anything she had seen before. This was the first time 'Adele' had ever seen the witch K so excited.
"Why aren't you excited at all? Oh, after all, you've only just joined the Witch Society and don't understand the greatness of Balshatt... I should have told you before that the so-called gods that humans worship are nothing more than powerful angels. Janus or Heross, the only true god in this world is Balshatt."
"O."
Adele's reaction was calm.
Witch K opened her mouth but didn't continue. She knew about Adele's experience—a special being corrupted by the Chaos Virus since childhood, a born witch who had passively accepted that power for so many years, and probably didn't have much faith in the Spirit of Chaos.
How can you expect someone like that to have faith in a god they've never even heard of?
Impossible.
But it doesn't matter.
If Balshatt were to truly awaken, she believed that 'Adele' would surely be won over.
As they spoke, the two crossed the stairs and arrived at the top of the Babel Tower.
This floor is very similar in layout to the first floor, except that the conference table in the middle has been replaced by an altar, on which sits a huge statue. According to witch K, each floor of the Babel Tower has a statue of the god Balshatt.
No one has ever seen the real Balshatt. Witch K only knows that one of the forms the latter displays is the golden winged beast at the top of the tower.
She told Adele to wait by the altar while she went up to try the ritual. The ritual was very simple; at her level, there was no need for any Singer at all. She herself was the Singer, and she was worth a hundred of them.
"My conversion back then failed. If Balshatt awakens, does that mean I can try again?"
Witch K is walking the path of death, but this is God's choice, not the path she chose herself.
Just like Aria, not all Chosen of the Gods are willing to serve the gods, and among the members of the Witch Society are devout followers of Balshatt... even though only the Primal One had ever seen Balshatt.
At this moment, the witch K proceeded with the ritual. Instead of a pentagram, the array was inscribed with a ten-pointed star, adding five more points representing death, war, wisdom, chaos, and desire compared to the first-level array.
This means that not only can Supernatural Being from the righteous Divine Path convert to another faith, but also Supernatural Being from the Outer Gods path. According to Witch A, as long as you also believe in Balshatt, then it's possible.
Devotion, first and foremost, devotion. Witch K let out a soft sigh of relief; this was the only thing she felt she should be qualified for.
After all, if she had been even slightly less devout, she would have left long ago to enjoy herself elsewhere. Over a thousand years of guardianship is not something just anyone can do.
"Baalshatt of the Gods, lord of this world..."
Witch K prepared all the ritual materials, then activated the array and began chanting.
Black Power of Death swirled around her, echoing the ritual items within the formation. The first to light up were the items on the death star, and after about a minute, the other star points were lit up one after another. The light from the convergence of ten powers all fell upon the witch K.
She could feel these powers entering her body and beginning to merge. The ethereal white power struggled to bloom amidst the colorful light, and this was the beginning of the transformation through Faith Path.
If the fusion of powers can be successfully completed, the Power of Death within her will also be transformed into fusion power. Why does she believe that Balshatt is the ruler of the world? Because the fusion power used by Witch A is to merge with the other powers in this world.
Witch A calls this power 'the Origin'.
"No, the transformation has slowed down. If this continues, it will fail again like it did back then... Am I wrong? Is it that Balshatt hasn't awakened at all, or that He isn't even watching me?"
Witch K's once fiery heart was suddenly doused with cold water, and she couldn't help but feel dejected.
Just then, 'Adele' suddenly walked towards the altar.
She climbed the steps and walked to the edge of the sacrificial ceremony. The witch K, noticing her actions, was greatly alarmed. The ceremony had already begun, and barging in recklessly would surely lead to disaster!
Such immense power was far beyond Adele's capabilities to withstand. She wanted to warn her, but she couldn't; she was already doing her utmost just to keep the ritual running.
Clatter.
Adele stepped into the ritual array that released energy without hesitation.
Witch K's already cold heart withered away. She had even prepared herself for 'Adele' to be overwhelmed by energy and for herself to suffer severe injuries from the backlash of the ritual. However, as time went by, the scene she had envisioned did not happen.
"What... what's going on? The speed of power fusion is accelerating?"
Witch K stood there dumbfounded, completely bewildered as to what had just happened.
But it seems... it appears... the ceremony is about to take place?
Was it Adele's fault? Was the strange phenomenon at the Babel Tower caused by Adele?!
Unable to understand, Witch K quickly cleared her mind and began to concentrate on the transformation ritual.
"Phew! I can finally catch my breath. That hurt like hell! They were yelling at me like I was Sun Wukong!"
This way.
Ryan patted his head and lay back down in the chair.
He was certain that the ritual prayers concerning Balshatt were directed at him.
At least it concerns me personally.
However, Ryan was not happy, because when Witch K started the ritual chanting, his head felt like it was being pricked with needles, and even now that it was over, he still felt a strong sense of exhaustion.
This situation is a phenomenon of excessive Mental Power consumption. Ryan initially speculated that it was because he was consuming Mental Power while listening to and responding to the ritual.
Given the difference in strength between him and Witch K, the outcome of putting him in the dominant position is predictable.
"Um?"
As soon as Ryan lay down, he sensed a mysterious power gathering in his body.
"This is... the power of faith?"
He was taken aback.
After the power surged into his body, Ryan felt his Magic Power being drawn in as well, and it began to grow rapidly. This process was more than a hundred times faster than when he absorbed the Soul Jade!
Boom!
The Magic Power surged like a stream into a great river. Ryan quickly focused his mind and concentrated on absorbing this power. In less than three minutes, the Magic Power in his body reached the peak of the third tier.
You can advance to the next level!
Without Ryan's guidance, the Advancement Fragment that were originally hidden in his body were absorbed by him on their own, and he stepped into the ranks of Fourth Tier Supernatural Being without any hindrance!
But the increase in Magic Power did not stop. Ryan continued to absorb and transform it, and it took about half an hour to completely stop. His strength also successfully reached the Fourth Tier of perfection, and he could advance to the next level at any time.
"Holy crap, is the power of faith really that monstrous?"
Ryan was a little stunned.
If he were to cultivate on his own, it would probably take him two or three months to fully absorb Fourth Tier Magic Power.
But it only took half an hour. If word got out that this speed, even the Chosen of the Gods would be stunned.
"It's a pity I don't have enough Advancement Fragment, otherwise I could have jumped directly to the fifth tier."
"The power of faith... that's too strong. Could it be that someone can absorb faith power by performing the Balshatt ritual? Hmm, it should be like Shally's, similar to a sacrifice. That's how conversion rituals work. Witch K used quite a few offerings to prepare for her ritual just now."
"So this is the power of faith provided by a transformation ritual. If it were an ordinary ritual, there wouldn't be nearly as much. But it doesn't matter, I can win with quantity. As long as enough people believe in me, can't I just advance without lifting a finger?"
Lying down and getting stronger—that's Ryan's lifelong goal.
No wonder so many gods want to vie for faith; even Ryan himself is tempted.
However, there is very little information about Balshatt. There are probably no more than ten people on the entire Rhea Continent who know of His existence... Well, not counting gods, it's impossible to collect faith this way.
Unless, you build the church from scratch?
"Whether I am Balshatt or not, a god has already set his sights on me, so I need to improve my strength as soon as possible."
"The conflict of faith... the Northern Continent and Eastern continents are almost saturated, and with Janus's forces watching closely, the sudden emergence of Balshatt might attract the Pope's attention."
Ryan frowned in thought.
Since the beginning of the Golden Dawn era, the church power on the Rhea Continent has gradually stabilized. The Northern Continent is basically worshipped by the Sun God and the moon god, the eastern continent by the Earth Goddess and the God of Order, Janus is flourishing everywhere.
As for those Outer Gods, the situation is roughly the same. The religions that have developed have taken thousands of years to reach their current scale. Those unknown small churches are generally considered heretical by the Gate of Janus and have been subjected to constant extermination by the Holy Knights.