—A long time ago— Ana continued, —the gods used to be constantly at war, and some discovered that the faith of humans gave us more power. So, several of us came to this world to make them demonstrate their devotion to us—
—The greater their test of faith, the greater the power the gods obtained. Some gods started holy wars among humans, or human sacrifices, or genocides— the goddess explained.
The dark-haired girl took a deep breath.
—Now, this part may be controversial for you— she said.
Rodrigo felt that everything was controversial. When he was a child, he had been told that the gods worshipped in ancient Iberian Peninsula were demons, and now this girl was telling him that she was one of those demons. Inside, he couldn't believe it.
—Rui, Christianity... isn't real. Neither is Islam or Judaism. Some religions like Buddhism were also attempts at the same thing. The gods seek to abolish human religions— Ana continued explaining, blushing slightly.
Rodrigo continued to look at her with eyes of uncertainty. If she said that Christianity was false, then it was the biggest proof that his companions were demons. In that moment, the young man felt very worried and nervous.
—The king of the gods, Elyon, fought against a very powerful enemy who used the power of human faith. Fortunately, the enemy was defeated and sealed a long time ago. However, the gods continued to fight among themselves, causing great sacrifices among gods and humans— Ana explained.
—Tired of so much bloodshed, the gods began to seek peace among themselves and decided, almost unanimously, to stop using humans as power farms— Ana continued explaining.
Rodrigo started to ignore what Ana was saying, trying to convince himself that these girls were good, that they were possibly just misinformed. Tania pinched him to recover his attention and continued to hear what Ana was telling him.
—So, Elyon experimented with a religion that didn't worship any real deity and brought this faith to a small village within the region of Canaan. These are the Jewish people that you know— the goddess continued her explanation.
—Later on, attempts were made to give humans a better life by spreading messages of brotherhood and humility through Christianity and Islam. The goal was to make humans unite and stop fighting, while achieving peace in the world of the gods— the goddess explained.
Rodrigo had stopped paying attention to what Ana was saying and started to feel sleepy, eventually falling asleep.
—Of course, not all gods have agreed, and some, like the Norse gods, and especially the gods in India, have posed significant obstacles to our king's peace project. And to make matters worse, despite these religions being created to seek human peace, humans found ways to divide themselves and cause massacres and genocides among each other— she added.
—Christians killing Jews, Muslims killing Christians, and so on. However, since we cannot intervene in their conflicts, we have only limited ourselves to observing how they have created a hellish existence for themselves— Ana concluded and sat back down.
Rodrigo was asleep. Tania pinched him again to wake him up.
—Did I bore you, Rui?— Ana asked, slightly annoyed, as Rodrigo jumped in his seat from the pinch of the red-haired goddess.
—No, no... not at all— Rodrigo nervously replied.
Ana sighed deeply and continued with her explanation.
—Tania and I are goddesses tasked with observing humanity, but our function is literally to prevent any strange god from intervening in this world. That's why we were assigned to regions corresponding to our ancient pantheons— Ana explained.
—I should be on the island of Ireland, but... I don't like being there for long periods with the conflicts between my people and the Vikings, so I spend some of my time with Tania. It saddens me not being able to defend them— Ana continued explaining, a tinge of sadness and pain evident on her face.
Rodrigo tried to pay attention to Ana's words to avoid further annoyance. After all, upsetting a lady, even if she is mistaken in her way of thinking, wouldn't be fitting for a gentleman.
—We also have to ensure the progress of Christianity and Islam— Tania interjected. —Both religions are the peace project of our king, Elyon. We have some 'flexibility,' such as playing in favor of certain wars or inspiring people in dreams as angels. But we can't do more than that—
—Yes— Ana nodded. —I can use some influence to help the Christians in Ireland and defend them against the Vikings. However, behind those armies, there are monsters like Thor or Odin, and I have very little ability to mount a strong defense against them. Nonetheless, my people are strong and have held their ground so far—
Rodrigo finally spoke up.
—Excuse me, ladies, but I really don't understand anything—
—Sleeping through half the conversation doesn't help either— Tania replied, annoyed.
—Well, Rui, don't worry— Ana responded. —I understand that this is a lot of information for you. We can leave it at that while you try to process all of this. I just wanted to add one thing, our classifications, so that you understand what or who you are—
And then Rodrigo saw it. Ana waved her fingers, and a kind of magical whiteboard appeared. The dark-haired goddess began to draw a sort of chart.
I. Elyon: King of the gods.
II. Elohim: Protectors of Elyon.
III. Anunnaki: Leader gods.
IV. Katteres: Higher gods.
V. Grigori: Higher gods delegated to observe humans.
VI. Igigi: Intermediate and lower gods.
VII. Nephilim: Demigods, offspring of gods and humans.
VIII. Malakim: Messenger and soldier angels.
IX. Behemoth: Beasts and monsters.
X. Ruah: Mischievous low-level spirits.
—The gods are classified into these ranks— Ana continued. —Tania and I are grigori, as we observe humans, while we believe you are a nephilim—