Chapter 49: The Origins of the Goddess
After the Goddess retreated, the God-slayers took up residence in a nearby Frankish village. Doni took the opportunity to introduce everyone to how he had spent his three months.
After bidding farewell to Uldin, he had headed north along the Danube. His reason for choosing north was simple: he had let go of his sword, and the tip happened to point north. And so, Doni—without a single copper coin to his name—began walking through this era with nothing but a blade.
First, he acted as a bodyguard for a merchant caravan he happened to encounter, enjoying a free trip in broad daylight. Later, he captured a bandit group that tried to attack, confiscated their illegal earnings, and forced them to reveal the locations of their hidden loot, taking all of that as well...
Eventually, he arrived at this Frankish village, the very place where the God-slayers were staying tonight. According to Doni's memory, the village at the time was filled with a gloomy, pessimistic atmosphere; the villagers were cursing and weeping, lamenting the cruelty of fate.
Doni, naturally unable to suppress his curiosity, pestered a villager until they finally told him that the village was cursed by a god. What followed was the story that Hikigaya and Aisha already knew.
Doni, having fought a great battle against a deity, was naturally regarded as a divine being. First, at the request of the villagers, he became their leader. Then, through a series of standard operations—repeatedly sparring with the god, seizing a Roman city, and attracting more and more Franks who came to join him out of admiration—he logically became the Great Chieftain of the Franks.
Hikigaya felt that if Doni were left alone to keep "vibing" like this, he might end up entering the plot arcs of Naruto or One Piece after a while...
The other two God-slayers had their own reactions to the story. Aisha, for instance, was deeply moved by Doni's "heroic feat" of protecting the Franks. In any case, after a long chat, everyone went to sleep until morning, then set out for Agripina.
The God-slayers sat in a carriage, traveling slowly along the road, while the Frankish tribes Doni had subdued followed on foot. Consequently, their marching speed was not fast. Since it was so slow, the God-slayers continued their conversation.
"By the way, I have a question. Why did that Artio curse the Franks?" Hikigaya asked.
There were many things about that wild goddess that Hikigaya found strange. For example, when facing them earlier, she said, "two more God-slayers have appeared." But there were four of them at the time. Furthermore, it was strange for a Heretic God to strike out directly against humans on a tribal scale.
"Oh, yeah? Why did the Goddess curse them?"
"I'm asking you! Why are you asking me back?"
"Oh... let me think. Right, during the last duel, she seemed to say something. I remember her saying she was summoned to this world by the pain and resentment of the Gallic commoners killed by the Franks."
Doni spoke nonchalantly, while Madame Aisha, standing beside him, wore an expression of heartache. "That Goddess named Artio... she might be a Celtic deity."
And so, Hikigaya simply said, "Oh."
The Celts were truly an unlucky bunch. At their peak, their sphere of influence stretched from Western Europe all the way to the East, and they were experts at iron-working. As the most famous branch of the Celts—the Gauls—they had once beaten the Romans so badly that Rome had to pay tribute to buy their retreat.
Logically, such a group should have left a glorious name in history, but their downfall was that they never established a political entity at the level of a "state," sticking to the tribal system until the end. For this reason, they were first pushed back by the Romans; and just as they were finally adapting to Roman rule, the Germans arrived.
At least Caesar brought along auxiliary troops; the Franks, however, went straight for a population "purge." Of course, historically, the Franks later had a change of heart and actively won over the indigenous people, but by that time, there weren't many genuine Celts left in the Gaul region.
"So, the Celts were the ones who performed the ritual to summon a 'Heretic God'." Hikigaya had his answer and satisfactorily entered "silent mode."
From the perspective of modern values, the Franks being attacked by the Goddess was simply the cycle of karma—divine retribution. There was nothing more to say; the basic logic of the world is: today I mess with you, tomorrow he messes with me.
Among the four God-slayers sitting in the carriage, only Doni had a reason to help the Franks, seeing as the blockhead had become their Great Chieftain. However, there were many reasons to deal with a deity.
Uldin was there as a scout. He didn't care about the life or death of the Franks; rather, he had taken a liking to this land and was considering how to clear the obstacles. The existence of a god was inevitably a massive hurdle for his tribe's migration. Aisha felt that gods should not directly intervene in the human world; as a God-slayer, she had an obligation to help drive that Goddess away.
As for Hikigaya, it was even simpler: he wanted to figure out why that Goddess made him feel a sense of hunger. Simple, right?
This was why the four God-slayers were still traveling together.
Accompanied by the Frankish tribes, on the afternoon of the next day, the four God-slayers saw a large city ahead on the road along the river. The east was bordered by the great river, while the remaining north, west, and south were each guarded by city walls. From a standard military perspective, it was impregnable.
This was Agripina. It was also the city Doni had seized from the Romans. This city was larger than Augusta Raurica, with better facilities and much more military strength. In the past, military strongmen who usurped the Roman throne had even designated this place as the imperial capital. Under normal circumstances, no single Frankish tribe nearby could have captured it—even if they all united.
Until Doni arrived. One man, one sword, handled easily. So, this city had now become a gathering place for a vast number of Frankish tribes.
Doni was the Lord of the city.
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