novellhall Chapter 2 Lilith's Astonishment
Chapter 2 Lilith's Astonishment
Flandre knew, of course, that Rhodes would never agree. After all, Rhodes was the eldest son of a divinely favored family. It was simply unrealistic for someone of such high status to submit to them and become a monster.
Therefore, she was just deliberately teasing Rhodes, wanting to see him break down.
Haha, she's really too wicked, this won't do—
Excitement and elation filled her body; the moment she felt these morbid emotions, her face flushed slightly.
But as she was so engrossed in her fantasy, Rod's calm response shattered it.
"Does your boss crave my support abilities, or my physical body?"
Rhodes's voice was so sudden that Flandre didn't even have time to react.
Flandre paused for a few seconds before her expression froze, her head tilting slightly.
"Huh...? Of course, it's both."
"Okay, let me think about it some more."
"..." Flandre's expression was not very pleasant. "A casual, perfunctory response is meaningless."
"You only have half an hour left to think. If you still haven't figured it out by the time our eldest sister comes back, we'll really swallow you whole."
No, that's not right. For someone of your level, we'll first cut open your stomach, remove and clean your internal organs, and then cut your muscles along the grain like beef. Just thinking about it makes me happy..." Her face now showed a sickly look.
But she quickly became indifferent again, because she didn't see the fear she wanted to see on Rhodes' face.
"In short, don't be so foolish as to actually think we won't kill you, and don't forget that you're just food in a nice-looking shell."
Flandre glanced at Rhodes with a slightly disdainful look, then turned and left.
In the brief moment she turned and left, Rhodes could clearly hear a piercing scream from a young male student echoing throughout the dungeon.
At the same time, a sound of flesh twisting exploded with a bang, as agitated as fireworks, blood splattering everywhere—
Rod recognized the man's screams.
One of his classmates at the academy... Although their relationship was just so-so, Rhodes remembered him as a rather ordinary and quiet guy.
All of this is using other people's lives to intimidate Rhodes. It's no wonder he's a monster. Even if he was originally human, he's no longer human.
Why bother?
Rhodes took a slight breath.
He was certain that if he did not agree to become Flandre's accomplice in the slaughter of humans, he would indeed be devoured like the other corpses in the cell.
But his choice from the very beginning was neither to seek help from Lilith beside him, nor to surrender.
"In my first playthrough, I managed to escape by building a good relationship with Lilith and having her break into the dungeon while concealing her true strength, but this time I don't want to have anything to do with her again."
"Besides, I'm not the same as in the game anymore."
In an instant, Rhodes's panel appeared in his eyes—
[Rhodes]
[Upgrade Level: Once]
【property:】
Physical fitness: 6
Agility: 4
Physical condition: 9
Spirit: 7
[Faith Deity: Outer God (Unique) (Abnormal)]
[Talent: You can fuse the characteristics of all other divine species to create entirely new talent skills.]
[Currently possesses the divine seed: God of Souls (original faith)]
【当前技能——聆听LV.1：可无障碍交流所有人类语言、灵魂连结LV.1：可以共享精神思考内容，範围10米、灵魂增幅LV.1：您可以提升单一角色的精神抗性5%】
[Current number of God Seeds obtainable: 1]
Please choose a new faith to make your divine seed even more terrifying.
Yes, along with the time travel came this completely different talent!
In fact, all the power in this world revolves around the twelve gods.
The twelve gods each ruled over different kingdoms of humanity, and those born in different kingdoms were born with the opportunity to receive divine seeds bestowed by the gods and become their chosen ones.
For example, the Star Goddess Lilith also has her own kingdom, called the Merlinlank Empire.
The character "Rhode," created by Rhode himself, is a favored one of the twelve gods—the smallest and rarest, and most captivating, soul goddess, Azsalyn.
This is why Flandre treats Rhodes differently. Soul beings like Rhodes are born with the ability to communicate with all living beings and assist spiritual power, making them extremely sought after.
But none of that matters. The key point is that any individual can possess at most one divine seed. If they possess multiple divine seeds simultaneously, they will degenerate into a demonic seed, becoming a man-eating monster like Flandre.
Rhodes' unique skill undoubtedly broke the cage of being bound by a single god and gave him the opportunity to become a god on his own!
A unique opportunity had been presented to him, and Rhodes knew it was time to end this opening scene!
He knew perfectly well which god he would choose next, and thus instantly began to sense it.
The Twelve Gods.
[Star][Dragon][Wilderness][Life][Death]...
For Rhodes, the Star God is obviously not an option. After Lilith's fall, the Star God faith will only last for three months at most.
This is the crisis that Rhodes will face next.
Because he was located in Lilith's kingdom—the Linlank Empire—the people, unable to communicate with the incomplete god after three months, would fall into fear and chaos, and countless would fall into the demonic race.
Therefore, the Linlank Empire is a future hell on earth. Rhode must either choose to escape or choose...
In short, the Star God is not suitable. Therefore, among the twelve gods, apart from the first Star God, the next one is the second, the god who killed Lilith—the [God of the Sky Soaring Dragons], the Dragon God—Osterano.
This is a powerful warrior god, possessing immense physical strength and terrifying defensive enhancements.
Without a doubt, Rhodes was absolutely confident that after obtaining this divine seed, he could kill the two demonic seeds outside!
"Come, Dragon God Seed."
[Dragon God Seed]
The moment his decision was made, those three dazzling golden words appeared in Rhodes' mind, and the source within his mind began to change—
When the gods bestow their favor, a clean, round ball of clay will appear in the mind of the chosen one. This clay can accumulate power and transform into weapons.
At this moment, Rhodes had an additional crimson-gold sphere, existing alongside his original transparent, glass-like sphere.
You will fuse divine seeds to create entirely new skills.
[The current divine seed supply is saturated. Please upgrade to obtain more space.]
[Attribute Enhancement]
Physical fitness: 6→8
Agility: 4→7
Physical condition: 9→11
Mental state: 7→9
You have gained 3 skills.
[Dragon, Soul Seed] [Listen to the Song of the Dragon LV.1]: Allows for seamless communication with all species, and grants a blessing upon use, increasing all attributes by 5 points.
[Dragon, Soul Seed] [Dragon Heart LV.1]: Can share mental thoughts within a 20-meter radius, and can launch mental attacks that pierce the soul.
[Soul Enhancement LV.1]: You can increase a single character's Spirit Resistance by 10%, Constitution by 5%, and Agility by 10%.
Looking at the new skill he had acquired, Rhodes' interest was instantly piqued.
"The woman and the one-eyed monster are not very strong; they are both ordinary beings who have been upgraded to level two. After all, the other students have already used special handcuffs to seal their power, so there is no need to strictly control them."
But how could they have imagined that I, who was clearly a support character, now possessed the power to break through these ordinary handcuffs?
So, as they say... better safe than sorry. Your boss was like this from the very beginning, and in the end, he remained the same, without any improvement. At this moment, Rhodes stopped acting, stood up, and pierced Flandre with sharp eyes.
At this moment, his murderous intent surged!
……
...
Regardless of Rhodes's preparations for battle, and Flandre's glance at Rhodes realizing something was amiss, there was one thing...
Lilith sat nervously in place, waiting for Rhodes to come and chat with her as he always had—for a very long time.
"Why hasn't he come to talk to me yet? Why hasn't he come to talk to me yet... This isn't how it's supposed to be in the story..."
Every minute and every second was an extreme ordeal, because this was the moment she saw the young man again after countless years.
Yes, Lilith Umbra, the goddess of glittering stars, clearly remembers every moment she shared with [Rhodes].
Although she didn't understand why she had returned to this very moment, she knew that it was something she had always dreamed of and longed for.
Her biggest regret was not being able to confess her feelings on the altar.
Why hasn't he proposed to me yet? Why hasn't he proposed to me yet?
[Does this mean I have to take the initiative and tell him? That can't be right! I just can't bring myself to say it!]
[Fine, I'll wait an hour. If he still doesn't say anything after an hour, I'll muster up the courage to speak up!]
Wait, it's not ready yet, please wait another hour.
[One more hour.]
[The last hour.]
[Damn it...! Why didn't you tell me? Why did I have to tell you?! I just can't bring myself to say it!]
Until the very end, when the altar was closed and she was forced to step down, she felt utterly lost and disoriented.
But this is not a sad thing...
The truly heartbreaking moment was when, after the altar disappeared, she mustered the courage to run to Rhodes' room the next day to find him.
Rhodes has died under mysterious circumstances.
He lay peacefully and serenely on his bed, forever trapped in death.
No one knows what happened, no one can understand why the incredibly powerful Rhodes would die after defeating an invincible enemy, but anyway...
Even if she didn't want to believe that the boy who had accompanied her in killing all her enemies would suddenly die...
The moment she touched Rhodes's cold, icy fingers, her heart shattered.
……
...
In her previous life, she was filled with regret for her inability to express her emotions honestly. Now, the world has given her another chance.
She didn't care about the truth or falsehood, or anything else.
All she knew now was that she wanted to perform even better, so she had even struck a more graceful pose just now in order to change the outcome.
Therefore, when she saw Rod stand up, her heart leaped into her throat, her hands clenched tightly, and she silently chanted in her mind:
I must succeed later, I must speak properly... I can't keep acting so indifferent...
But, just as she was thinking this,
Instead of walking toward her as before, Rod suddenly snapped the chains and violently slammed his hands into the dungeon's iron bars, tearing open a hole!
"?"
Lilith's mind went blank, as if in a brainstorming session, and she suddenly stood up!
???
Wait, something's not right with this plot!
Why didn't Rod come over to chat with me and try to win me over with his two sentences? Instead, he just rushed out!