"Got a girlfriend already, Niall? Asfi here got a little annoyed that you weren't coming to the classes you wanted so much," Hermes teased his loyal companion with a cheerful tone, but Asfi didn't appreciate it.
She adjusted her glasses as always and gave me a disappointed look, the kind a teacher gives a troublesome student.
"I know, I know! But it's a long story. I seriously wasn't able to come to the classes—I was stuck inside the dungeon for some time...."
Hermes and Asfi tilted their heads in confusion. "So you got trapped inside the dungeon until you found a party to escort you back, right?" Asfi asked seriously, and I couldn't help but appreciate how smart she was. Good thing she didn't know who escorted me, but whatever.
"Yeah, that's right, but let's leave that aside for now... I want to start the classes again tomorrow if possible. I need a little rest before I use my brain for anything remotely useful."
My joke made Hermes chuckle while Asfi just sighed. "Fine, but if you don't come tomorrow, then we won't be having any classes."
She was a strict teacher, for sure. Not that I minded, but what happened inside the dungeon was something I couldn't foresee, no matter how much I tried. For a while, I won't be going back down there, just to make sure nothing like that happens to me again.
And that scary voice during my flight in space from before... somehow I feel that voice had something to do with what happened inside the dungeon. Maybe not, but for my sake, I won't be going down there for some time.
My plan now was to learn how to fly so I could never be trapped like that again. Perhaps I could find some other way to farm excelia if there were any.
"If you two have made a deal, then perhaps I can finally get to the point. Niall, do you perhaps know anything about the explosions over there?"
Hermes' smile revealed a mix of emotions—he wasn't suspicious of me but rather curious about my connection with the Player Familia. It was a good thing he saw me exit their home, as I could use that as a defense for now.
"Nope, I only heard the explosions while I was having dinner with them, and Emma isn't my girlfriend, by the way."
Hermes nodded and seemed to buy my lie with ease, though he looked a bit disappointed that Emma wasn't my girlfriend. She was a pretty girl, I can't deny that, but I've never been much interested in romance, and I wasn't sure how Azathoth would react to any other girl.
"Alright then, see you tomorrow, Niall, and don't be late!" Hermes waved, and he and Asfi disappeared into the crowd. The voices of the crowd quickly covered their footsteps.
With one problem out of my way, I moved back to the abandoned church. I hadn't been there in a while, and my only hope was that no one had tried to take it away.
As I navigated through the streets of Orario, I noticed large groups of Ganesha Familia members patrolling around, looking for any suspicious people. This meant they had found out about the massacre, and things were just about to heat up.
"Hey, have you heard? Someone butchered the entire Aeshma Familia. They say they can't find the god Aeshma anywhere!"
"What?! Did someone kill a god?!"
"Idiot, we would see the divine light if that were true! The god Aeshma probably ran away, or in the worst case, got kidnapped..."
"Kidnapping a god? Who would do such a foolish thing?"
Gossip was spreading faster than any adventurer could move, fast enough to cause a major stir in the city. Someone capable of killing an entire familia like Aeshma's must've been a high-level adventurer and someone crazy enough to kidnap a god.
But they didn't know that the one crazy enough to do that was me. And I didn't kidnap a god—I killed him.
Wanting to avoid any possible confrontation, I picked up my pace toward the hidden church. Eventually, I arrived.
As I approached, I noticed that nothing had changed—the door was still intact, and no one had tried to barge in. I entered the old interior and opened the secret door that led to the basement.
I jumped on the bed and decided to do nothing for an hour straight. In the midst of my chilling session, I started thinking about what I should do next.
I've decided it would be best to lay low for a while until things calm down. The disappearance of a god would eventually create a major stir among the gods and other inhabitants of Orario.
There was no divine light when Aeshma died since he perished in a different dimension, realm, or whatever that place was. Perhaps some god could sense his death, but I doubted that.
But the good thing was that I could now kill a god permanently. By that, I mean their divine soul would become a normal one like any other. This meant they couldn't remember their past life or ascend to heaven anymore.
A list of a few gods started forming in my mind—gods I had to take down for the sake of myself and the entire world.
First, there were the gods involved with Evilus, like Morana, whom I haven't met yet but look forward to encountering. Ishtar was a priority too; despite her beauty, she was an annoying piece of work that I never liked.
God Ikelos belongs on the list too. I want to see his face in fear and desperation once he realizes he can't return to heaven.
The same applies, of course, to the god Dionysus. He thinks everything is a joke just because he can always return to heaven. But I'll prove to him that beings like him aren't true gods—just mere fools with divine powers.
With enough rambling in my head, I decided to summon the Necronomicon into my hand and open the book to see my new status.
"This is interesting..."