Goddess Kaleidoscope

End of this chapter

Looking back suddenly, the knight had vanished, and then everything around him collapsed with a deafening roar. Rudd felt a dizzying sensation, and then he abruptly sat up from the temple floor.

Lude looked around; everyone else had also woken up, their expressions varying—some still bewildered, some lost in thought, and others still feeling unsatisfied. Everything they had experienced in the dream had been so real that now that they were actually awake, they almost doubted whether they were dreaming at all.

"Where...am I?"

Of everyone present, the elderly woman who had regained consciousness was probably the most bewildered. She felt as if she had been having a very long dream in which terrifying monsters appeared, but a resolute figure always stood between her and the monsters, protecting her at all costs.

Upon waking, some details of the dream had become blurry, but when the old lady reached out and touched her cheek, tears had been flowing for a long time.

Seeing that the old lady's eyes were clear and her spirits had returned to normal, Lisa couldn't help but burst into tears of joy. For the past year or so, the deaths of her father and brothers, her mother's illness, and the covetous eyes of her malicious relatives had left this twelve-year-old girl in a state of constant anxiety and uncertainty. Her mother's return brought her a great sense of relief and gave her someone to rely on again, so she hugged her mother tightly and cried.

On the contrary, it was her younger brother, Losa, who was still naive and ignorant of the ways of the world, who stood on tiptoe and touched his sister's head with his chubby little hands to comfort her.

On the other side, the female ghost, who had also been brought back to the real world from her dream, wanted to sneak away while everyone around her was still dazed from waking up. But she hadn't crawled three meters away when a huge battle axe blocked her way.

The female ghost cautiously raised her head and found that in front of her were two living people, a man and a woman. The dark-skinned female elf squatted down with a smile, took out a bottle of clear liquid and waved it in front of her. The female ghost immediately felt a power from it that instilled fear in undead creatures.

"If you don't want me to pour holy water all over your head, you'd better behave!"

As for how to deal with the female ghost who had been "captured alive," the three knights, who deeply hated her, wished they could make her soul disappear right now.

Fortunately, Lude stopped them temporarily, explaining that he planned to use her to find the necromancer who was causing the harm, and that he needed to keep the undead being used by the bad guys for the time being, which made them give up for the time being.

Lude instructed the three knights to take the Baron's family back first. Although the old lady was no longer seriously ill, she was still weak from being bedridden for a long time. More than divine healing, what she needed most now was to eat something and have a good reunion with her "long-lost" family.

As for the female ghost, Lude has his own special methods to imprison her without purifying her.

Having experienced a series of encounters in the dream, the three knights had unknowingly come to trust Rudd completely, and therefore had no suspicions whatsoever.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Master."

"Go back and get some rest. I'll let you know if there's any new information."

After seeing off the lord and his entourage, Ludger also had the "Heroic Spirit" Eliven return to the divine realm through the "Gate of Light" in front of everyone. Ludger then instructed Shanis to take the female ghost to the dungeon first, where there was a special dungeon built by the three craftswomen, which could be used to imprison undead creatures like her that could pass through walls.

Luther then called on the "old hand" Hume to go with him to the self-defense force's detention center for a "friendly" chat with Mr. Maine.

Because he had been in a dream with a weak sense of time, Rudd only realized that it was already dark outside when he stepped out of the temple. But Rudd, who had just woken up, was very energetic and decided to have a night trial.

When the man and the god arrived at the detention center, the former militiamen who had become his guards, who had not yet sworn allegiance to Baron Cork, no longer obeyed Master Ludd's orders. They readily opened the door for him and dragged the Mann father and son out of their cell.

Startled awake in the dead of night, Maine instinctively thought he was about to be secretly executed. It wasn't until he was dragged into the interrogation room and met Lud that he vaguely realized something was amiss.

"I've already lost, what more do you want, you charlatan?"

Perhaps knowing he was doomed, Maine was now displaying a fearless, reckless attitude. Seeing his continued arrogance, Lude silently waved to the guard, who immediately understood and dragged over a specially made iron chair, forcibly securing Maine to it.

This iron chair was crafted by a dwarven artisan, and its design was exactly based on the "regret chair" in Lud's memory. It could completely fix the limbs of the person sitting on it. Combined with the slogans on the white wall behind the interrogation room, this place instantly brought back the feeling of being a policeman in Lud's previous life.

“Mr. Maine, you may not be aware of our rules here. It’s called ‘leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist.’ There will be no good end for those who stubbornly resist!”

"Hmph! As if you're going to let me go?"

"Releasing you is indeed unlikely, but your simple-minded son doesn't deserve to die. Local laws mainly involve labor reform; he could be released after twenty or thirty years of working in the cotton fields. Even for his sake, for your only child, are you still going to resist to the end?"

When he heard Ludger threaten him with his son Monk, Maine's expression softened slightly, while Ludger crossed his legs, a smug smile still on his face, looking every bit the big boss of a criminal gang.

Based on the intelligence Lude had gathered, this Maine, though an absolute scumbag who had spent most of his life in the underworld and had committed countless evil deeds before coming to Pine Town, was genuinely good to his son, the kind of father who doted on him.

Therefore, after hesitating for a moment, even though he knew that Lud might go back on his word, Maine still chose to compromise with Lud in order to protect his son.

What do you want to ask?

"I'd like to know more about that necromancer."

Upon hearing Lud mention "necromancer," Maine's eyes widened like saucers, and he instinctively pulled his left hand back. Lud, experienced in interrogation, naturally didn't overlook this small detail.

"What's on his left hand?"

Upon hearing Ludd's order, Hume immediately stepped forward and cleanly tore off Maine's entire sleeve, revealing a large, fat elbow.

Because he was locked in the sturdy Regret Chair, no matter how much Maine struggled, he could not cover the parts he did not want to be exposed. Hume soon discovered a peculiar brand on the inside of his elbow, but the moment he saw the pattern, Hume's expression also became somewhat subtle.

End of this chapter

Noticing Hume's change in expression, Ludd also got up and came over. He saw that there was a burn mark on Maine's elbow, consisting of six thin lines of varying lengths, which at first glance looked a bit like a six-fingered human hand.

"what is this?"

"It's the symbol of the Black Hand Brotherhood."

"You actually know about the Brotherhood?"

Seeing that Hume immediately understood the meaning of the mark, Maine couldn't help but take a few more glances at the dark-skinned elf. Considering that the other party might actually be several hundred years old, it wasn't too surprising that he would know about the Black Hand Brotherhood.

Lud had never heard of this organization before, and judging from the name alone, it was probably not a group that could be brought into the open.

So Luther called Hume aside, who should have known the inside story, and asked him.

"What does this Black Hand Brotherhood do?"

"Uh... it's an underground guild with religious elements. Its members are all people like me who do dirty work: thieves, assassins, human traffickers. As long as you're not a good person, you can join the Brotherhood."

"Oh! The Injustice League! You just said that the Brotherhood has religious characteristics, meaning they also worship a god. Which one is it?"

"It's the god of thieves, the god of thieves Hume!"

"Um!?"

Lude appeared calm on the surface. He pulled Hume aside, glanced back at Maine who was still handcuffed to the chair, and didn't want to admit that this guy was actually on the same side as him.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Don't ask me! I'm totally confused right now! The Black Hand Brotherhood is indeed an organization I founded, but it didn't operate for very long. It should have been wiped out decades ago. I was stunned when I saw the mark on his hand just now."

"You're simply..."

Seeing that even the God of Thieves himself was completely dumbfounded, Lu De felt as if a million alpacas had swept through his mind, eventually coalescing into a giant "grass".

It's a shame he's been trying to find an opportunity to legitimately bring Hume, the god of thievery, into the Pantheon. If he actually does that, and then it's revealed that Maine is a follower of the god of thievery, then half of the positive reputation he's worked so hard to build will be destroyed in the blink of an eye!

However, Lud soon discovered a problem: although Maine was a scoundrel who did all sorts of evil, he was not incapable of having faith.

Ludger, relying on the primordial fire within him, could see the size and color of faith. Thus, he had seen the faith that Maine had generated. It was a grayish-brown ball of light, very small in size, indicating that Maine's heart was not sincere and that he belonged to the lower class among the general believers.

However, the faith he developed did not converge on Hume, who was not far from him, within the town of Pine, which was blessed by the primordial fire. Instead, it kept drifting southeast.

Therefore, the god of thievery that Maine worshipped was probably not Hume.

Back before Main, under Ludd's questioning, Main revealed many details about the Black Hand Brotherhood to Ludd in an attempt to secure a possible survival for his son. The necromancer who could enslave the undead was one of the Brotherhood's high-ranking officers.

In terms of size, the Black Hand Brotherhood is a regional organization, but it's not limited to the Kingdom of Duran. They also have branches in the southern Empire. If what Myne said is true, then the Brotherhood could be described as a first-rate underground force, a second-rate cult.

However, Ludwig remembered clearly that among the various underground sects she had personally helped establish, only two had managed to develop to a certain scale: the Blackfire Altar and the Shadow Cellar.

However, both organizations collapsed last year due to Hume's unreliable and hands-off leadership. Hume had spent more than half a year on a business trip trying to integrate the two organizations, but all his efforts were in vain.

The two organizations died for different reasons. The Blackfire Altar disintegrated due to internal strife and infighting among its members. The Shadow Cellar, on the other hand, was riddled with traitors, with its middle and upper ranks filled with double agents, making it resemble a "drinking ground" in another world.

Even on her return journey, Hume was nearly ambushed by an undercover mole, almost becoming the first god in the world to be imprisoned by mortals.

So after returning home looking disheveled, Hume remained tight-lipped about her business trip. Unfortunately, Kumirad, who had come back with her, was a very simple god and spilled all her embarrassing stories, making Ludwig eat three large bowls of rice while listening.

It's unbelievable how bad God can be!

The Black Hand Brotherhood is different. According to Myne's description, it is a well-structured, complex organization with a tight internal organization, a deep and intricate network of relationships, and extensive connections in both the legal and illegal worlds.

The organization can be roughly divided into two layers: an outer layer and an inner layer. The outer layer consists of subsidiary organizations with a large number of members, encompassing various groups of people from the underground world.

The inner layer is a secret society with obvious religious characteristics. Its members are "talented" individuals selected from the outer organization through a rigorous process. They hold management positions, similar to bishops in ordinary religious sects.

Myne was once a minor leader in the outer organization. By chance, he met "Necromancer," an inner-level cadre, who could be considered one of Myne's major backers.

It's worth mentioning that after listening to Maine's story, Hume suddenly realized that he actually knew about the Black Hand Brotherhood. After all, he had been around for hundreds of years and knew many people through swindling and cheating.

Ironically, because this brotherhood was so powerful, Hume thought it was just a coincidence that it shared the same name as the small organization he had once founded. Furthermore, because he had never been in contact with the inner secret societies, he had no idea that the god they secretly worshipped was actually himself.

In short, it was extremely embarrassing!

Having confessed everything he knew, Maine slumped into the chair of regret with a sense of relief.

His recent leak, while it can be seen as a betrayal of the Brotherhood of the Black Hand, is still just a minor leader in an outer organization. What he said might be confidential to the average person, but it's not difficult for people with a bit of social standing to find out; it's "public information."

Deep down, Maine also hoped to use the Brotherhood's name to intimidate Ludd and see if he could also find a way to survive.

To his disappointment, although Lud's expression was somewhat subtle, it was clearly not fear, but rather he was exchanging glances with the dark-skinned female elf next to him.

For some reason, Maine suddenly had a sense of déjà vu. He felt that the dark-skinned female elf's appearance was somewhat similar to the image of the God of Thieves on the necromancer's identity tag...

End of this chapter

Leaving the detention center, Hume, usually so carefree, wore an unusually serious expression. The information he had gleaned from Maine filled him with worry: a sizable underground organization secretly worshipped the god of thieves, but Hume, the god himself, had not gained their faith.

It feels like... there's another God of Thieves out there!

It is not uncommon for multiple gods to compete for the same divine position. During the War of the Gods more than three hundred years ago, there were as many as thirty or forty gods of all sizes in the world who were related to war.

Different regions and different ideas led to a flourishing of diverse schools of thought in the religious world of the pre-mythological era, but also to constant disputes.

However, it is common for a group of gods to compete for a popular position, but what has happened now is another Hume with the same name, surname, and position. It's like the real Li Kui meeting the imposter!

Having learned about the secrets of the divine realm, Lud knew that the gods who were defeated and stripped of their divine positions during the War of the Gods were not killed immediately. However, without their divine positions, they would lose their source of faith and would become increasingly weak, forgotten by mortals, and eventually vanish into nothingness after their power was exhausted.

This process could take decades or even centuries.

Therefore, some defeated gods who were unwilling to sit idly by and wait for their demise would choose to take a few of their most loyal followers and hide in remote, uninhabited mountains and forests to live in seclusion, maintaining a small, closed community, not exchanging any information with the outside world, continuing to believe in themselves, and barely managing to survive.

Hume's current situation is even worse than this. The god of the Black Hand Brotherhood not only wants to seize her position as the god of thieves, but he also won't let go of Hume's name. It's obvious that he wants to completely replace her!

If the other side succeeds, Hume may face more than just a suspended death sentence.

Knowing what Hume was worried about, Lude patted her on the shoulder and said...

"Don't worry, I will definitely do what I promised you. After all, we are old comrades-in-arms who started the business together. I will definitely not sit idly by and do nothing about your matter. Leave that Black Hand Brotherhood to me."