Even though the entire church could slowly be reformed, it would require time and cause chaos. Right now, there isn't enough time for Lynn to make those changes gradually.
Just as the Evernight Goddess chose to retain the faith of the God of Combat after defeating him, rather than transforming all of the God of Combat's church into the Evernight Church to avoid excessive chaos before the apocalypse, Lynn wouldn't take over the church of the God of Steam and Machinery at this critical moment, even if he immediately submitted. It wouldn't be of much use to him and would waste time better spent on other pursuits. At most, he would use Artisan's name to call upon some members of the church when needed.
Lynn preferred to let his smurf account handle the God of Steam and Machinery's church first, dealing with those who needed to be subdued and dealt with. Then, his main account could take over the established church. This tough task was best left to the smurf account, which had time to handle it slowly, unlike the main account.
'Forget it. Instead of guessing, it's better to see Artisan's reaction later. The priority now is to create the dream space for Roselle and his daughter to meet,' Lynn thought.
Looking at Klein beside him, who was still pondering whether the God of Steam and Machinery would hunt him down, Lynn couldn't help but smile. He patted Klein's shoulder and said, "Don't worry about that. If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up. There's the Angel of Secrets anyway, so they won't come after me."
"More than the God of Craftsmanship..." Lynn glanced at Klein and lowered his voice, "Did you just discover something?"
Klein, coming back to his senses, wasn't sure whether to say Lynn was big-hearted or insensitive. But Lynn was right; if something big happened, there were taller people to handle it.
Relaxing at this thought, Klein also lowered his voice and said, "I might have found a Card of Blasphemy..."
He indeed had some discoveries or suspicions. Klein suspected that among the bookmarks displayed at Roselle's commemorative exhibition, one might be a Card of Blasphemy. He had asked Miss Justice to verify this but hadn't detailed it to Lynn during the exhibition. Now that Lynn asked, he didn't hide it and explained briefly.
...
"That is worth a try..." Lynn nodded in agreement and hesitated before saying, "Speaking of the Cards of Blasphemy, Angel of Secrets might have one—I think it was the Red Priest card..."
Lynn was laying the groundwork for future events. He didn't intend to compete with Klein for the Black Emperor card, as it was less useful to him compared to Klein. However, it wouldn't hurt to trade the Red Priest card with Klein for the Black Emperor card for research purposes.
What? The real owner of the Red Priest card is Medici? That doesn't matter.
"Red Priest card? Which pathway is that from..." Klein was curious but not too surprised about the Angel of Secrets possibly possessing a Card of Blasphemy.
With all the shocking revelations earlier, this seemed normal in comparison.
"It seems to be from the Hunter pathway, but I'm not sure. We can ask later." Lynn shook his head, feigning ignorance.
After chatting for a while, they boarded the tram. Unnoticed by anyone, a blond priest stood in a corner, watching them with a compassionate gaze, as if looking at the sun or simply the view.
"A necessary sacrifice..."
...
Meanwhile, in the divine kingdom of the God of Steam and Machinery, the deity sat among a pile of mechanical parts, clutching his head in pain.
He had just received a memory—a memory that shouldn't have existed but did.
Just like how the Evernight Goddess and others quickly understood that the past had been altered after receiving such memories, Artisan wasn't as ancient but wasn't stupid either. he understood what the memory represented.
He also noticed some knowledge in his mind that wasn't there before, but appeared without his awareness.
Unlike others like Medici and the Evernight Goddess, who were shocked and probing the person in the memory, the God of Steam and Machinery felt one thing: doom!
A terrifying being capable of altering the past was targeting him, aiming to replace him as the Paragon.
To him, this was a nightmare.
'No, I can't be this pessimistic. If he didn't choose to kill my past self and take my Characteristic forcibly, it means I still have value to him...'
He analyzed in his mind. 'So, as long as I obediently give up my position as the Paragon, he shouldn't kill me. I might just need to work for him...'
He sighed in relief but then hesitated.
'But do I really have to do this? I worked so hard to become the Paragon and fully digest the potion...'
He bit his lip in reluctance. He knew the easiest choice was to give up the Characteristic like his past self and become the follower of the powerful being.
But he was reluctant. He had enjoyed the power and pleasure of being a Sequence 0 for too long to revert to a Sequence 2, a mere ant to his current self.
Or rather, he was scared. After becoming a god, he had made many enemies. If he fell to Sequence 2, they wouldn't spare him.
'However, he might protect me, and I might not have to become Sequence 2. Maybe I could become a King of Angels...'
'And... and even Amanises stands with him. He can alter the past, so my reluctance doesn't matter...' He smiled bitterly, accepting the reality that he had no choice.
The past had been changed. It seemed inevitable that he would be replaced as the Paragon.
TN: Alternate Title: Pitiful God of the Fifth epoch.
(End of Chapter)
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