I Became the Apostle of an Evil God Chapter 15

Somehow or another, Jaena had officially joined the party, but contrary to Van’s worries, he and Orma didn’t butt heads all that much. To be precise, it was closer to Orma thoroughly ignoring Jaena, while Jaena didn’t pay much attention to Orma either.

Had it been barely a week and two days since they left the village? Thanks to Orma’s authority, they were free from the sun of the calamity, but that alone couldn’t solve every single problem.

“Phew, pant… Master Van… please give me some water… I am so incredibly parched.”

“…The water we had earlier was the last of it. Please endure it just a little longer. If we spot a village nearby, we’ll stop by.”

“Whine…”

Unlike Orma, who had no biological need to drink water or eat food, Van and Jaena strictly abided by the laws of living creatures. Since they had originally bought barely enough provisions for just Van’s share, their food and water naturally ran out in no time. Upon hearing the news that there was no water left, Jaena ultimately collapsed sideways across the horse, completely disregarding Orma’s sharp glare.

“Sit up straight.”

“Oh god… Your believer is about to drop dead of thirst. Please, rain down some water for me…”

“Do I look like Banan to you? Just dry up and die.”

“Ugh… sir Orma is far too merciless.”

“My mercy was already fully demonstrated by letting you live.”

It was annoying enough that the brat was mooching off Van’s food and water, and now he was whining to Orma for water. Me putting up with this is exactly where my mercy lies. Watching Orma explain this with a murderous grin, Jaena pouted his lips.

And Van, who had been quietly observing Orma’s attitude, flinched.

…We’re in big trouble.

In truth, Van also had a favor to ask of Orma. The main reason he had only prepared a modest amount of food and water for himself in the first place was due to the financial aftermath of buying two horses. His thoroughly hollowed-out wallet was practically screaming bankruptcy; at this rate, even if they arrived at a nearby village, they would be sleeping on the streets instead of an inn. One might argue that since he had personally played the game this world was based on, he should know a trick or two to make some quick money—but that exact point was precisely why Van was walking on eggshells around Orma right now.

“What is it with you now?”

Sharply reading his apostle’s gaze like a hawk, the deity whipped his head around and demanded. Van offered an awkward smile, scratching his cheek.

“Um… sir Orma.”

After boldly declaring in hell that he would rescue him and ensure he wouldn’t be lonely, turning around now to ask him for money was deeply embarrassing. Van’s voice naturally grew smaller, and a flush crept up his face.

To Orma, Van suddenly looked as though he was shyly blushing while calling his name, causing the deity to blink blankly in spite of himself. But at the words that followed, even he could only ask back with a dumbfounded expression.

“You mentioned before that you hid your treasure in a dragon’s lair. Is that actually true?”

“…What?”

“There’s a legend passed down, you see. That the evil god hid the world’s greatest treasures inside the lair of a wicked dragon.”

“So what if it’s true? Don’t tell me you’re asking for it?”

“…Yes.”

Van replied in a tiny, shrinking voice. Orma stared at Van for a long moment with a completely blank face, thoroughly denying reality.

No way, there is no way he just uttered that kind of utter nonsense with such a pure face… But in the end, he couldn’t hold it back and roared out loud.

“Are you seriously extorting a god now?!”

“Um, it’s not extortion… It’s more like asking you to please aid your poor apostle and believer.”

“You certainly have a brazen tongue.”

“Whine… oh Orma, if we keep going like this, Master Van and I will starve and die of thirst!”

“Then die. Just both of you starve to death. This is exactly what happens when you engage in this tedious, foolish business of trying to stop the destruction. Why not just let the world rot? Why don’t you both just throw in the towel and drop dead.”

Despite the harsh language and savage glare, Van remained steadfast. Strictly speaking, the accusation of extorting a god wasn’t entirely wrong, so he figured he might as well lean into being shameless. Of course, a lingering trace of embarrassment remained, leaving his cheeks flushed pink despite his expressionless face.

“If I die, sir, who is going to put you to sleep?”

“…What?”

“You hold me in your arms to sleep every single night, so if I perish in agony, won’t your proper sleep end that very same day, sir?”

“Ah! No wonder! Sir Orma holds Master Van so tightly every night, but are you saying that wasn’t nighttime service, man?”

“Since he can only sleep when I am there, it technically is a form of nighttime service…”

“Will both of you shut the hell up?!”

Orma practically flew into a rage, barking that these two were completely out of control with their words. The terrifying aura radiating from the god made even the previously docile horses start rearing up, and caught right in the middle, Jaena rattled around, completely unable to steady himself. Jaena shrieked, “Ow, ow, ow, I’m dying!” as he begged for help, but the only thing Van could do was wait for Orma’s fury to subside. After throwing a tantrum for quite some time, Orma glared murderously at Van, his breathing heavy and ragged.

Hmm, but judging by this reaction, he wasn’t actually all that angry. When Orma was truly enraged, black shadows would ripple out from beneath his feet in all directions, creating a complete blackout that brutally slaughtered everything dragged inside. Recalling that terrifying sight from the game, Van stole a cautious glance at Orma.

He debated whether to prostrate himself flat on the ground like he did back at the inn, but remembering how that had only made Orma angrier, he decided to change his approach. Come to think of it, his god seemed to be far more compliant when he was simply begged earnestly.

“Sir Orma, please help me…”

“…I told you not to look at me with those eyes.”

How exactly am I looking at him to make him flinch like that? Van thought he was putting on a perfectly miserable and pitiful display as a tragic apostle. Hadn’t that exact tactic been working beautifully to make Orma go easy on him all this time?

“Sigh…”

Unable to hide his immense exasperation, Orma let out a long, heavy sigh. He then looked at Van with a face that practically screamed headache and spoke.

“Fine, whatever. Petty trinkets like that hold absolutely no meaning to me, so I can give you as much as you want. However, there’s no guarantee that the beast is still sitting in its nest.”

Orma’s point was entirely valid. Van nodded, his mind conjuring up the illustration of the wicked dragon, Galeust, from the game. A terrifying dragon that commanded pitch-black darkness and boasted gleaming red eyes. Though it had reportedly gone mad after being corrupted by Orma, it was still said to be a fiercely loyal subordinate, so it wasn’t far-fetched that Orma had entrusted his treasure to it.

Lost artifacts, grimoires, a holy sword imbued with divine power, not to mention a sprawling hoard of massive gemstones the size of a human fist and magic crystals… If they could just get there, they wouldn’t have to worry about travel funds, let alone their retirement funds. The only problem, as Orma stated, was the location of the dragon’s lair.

“Ho! Treasure! I think I have heard that tale before as well, brother. But where exactly is this wicked dragon’s lair that you speak of?”

“Up there.”

“Up there?”

Orma simply tilted his head toward the sky. Naturally, Jaena didn’t comprehend the meaning and merely tilted his head in confusion, but Van knew. True to its fantasy game genre, it was an island floating in the sky—a ‘sky island.’

It was also the location of the final battle against Orma, but unfortunately, by the time Van saw it in the game, Orma had already gone berserk and blanketed the entire area in pitch black, leaving nothing but black ash and swirling sand in the sky. According to the game’s lore, it was usually so breathtakingly beautiful that people whispered it was a place where angels resided.

However, just as Orma said, ever since the calamity began to unfold, there was no telling whether even a dragon could continue to reside on an island floating so dangerously close to the blazing sun.

“Are you perhaps implying… the sky, man?”

“Yeah.”

“Ha, tales of islands floating in the sky only exist in fairy tales, brother.”

Jaena’s eyes went wide. Finding the reaction amusing, Orma chuckled as his golden eyes flashed brightly. It seemed Jaena’s quite comical response had tickled Orma’s fancy; he lightly flicked his hand, piercing through the empty air. Reaching deep into the rift, he pulled out his golden spear.

“Whoa! How did you do that? I want to do that too!”

Jaena made an absolute fuss. To be fair, when Van had first witnessed Orma and his weapon in the game trailer, his own eyes had sparkled with immense awe. Orma completely ignored Jaena, who was bouncing around beside him, constantly chattering away about whether he could touch the golden spear, how it had suddenly materialized out of thin air, and whether Orma could teach him spear techniques. Instead, the deity merely took a couple of steps back, looked up at the sky where the scorching sun poured down… and hurled his spear straight into the heavens!

“Wh-what?! Master Van! Sir Orma just threw his spear into the sky!”

“Well, that’s the method used to summon the island.”

“Huh?”

How does that make any sense? Even if I look like a child on the outside, I am twenty-five years old, so please don’t tease me like a toddler… Just as Jaena was about to object—

In the middle of the parched, cloudless sky, a brilliant flash of light suddenly erupted, followed instantly by a thunderous explosion that sounded like a localized lightning strike. Once the deafening roar subsided, a heavy silence descended, as if nothing had happened at all.

Just as Jaena opened his mouth to ask what on earth had just occurred, a massive shadow began to drape over them, as if dark storm clouds were suddenly rolling across the sky. Simultaneously lifting their heads, what met their eyes was…

“An… island?”

“Oh, it’s the sky island!”

An island roughly the size of a massive lake was drifting grandly, floating high up in the sky.