I Became the Apostle of an Evil God Chapter 6

“….”

Orma gave no answer to Van’s words, simply staring at him for a long time. However, seeing that a system message popped up at the same time stating that his faith had been decided, it seemed he had accepted Van.

“Um, you’ve accepted me, right? Shall we get out of here first then?”

“…More importantly, what is your name?”

“Ah, I haven’t introduced myself yet? I am ‘Van.’”

“Van.”

Orma muttered Van’s name, appearing lost in thought for a moment, before slowly standing up and picking up his spear from the ground. Infusing the spear with power, he lightly slashed through the air. The fragile rift in space tore open instantly, pathing a way outside.

It’s so effortlessly light and simple it’s almost exasperating…. Tiltilting his head slightly toward Van, who was staring at him with a bewildered face, Orma spoke.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“…I’m coming.”

As expected, he could have left at any time but chose not to of his own free will. If the priests had known this, they would have passed out from shock. It was a pity he couldn’t witness that, but Van dutifully followed behind Orma, who had stepped outside first.

By the way, if they left like this, wouldn’t the priests try to throw in another sacrifice? He worried they might push an innocent life to its death without even realizing Orma had escaped hell. But since rumors of Orma’s existence would spread while stopping the calamity, they would have to move quickly….

It felt like they had entered hell during the dim twilight of dawn, but the outside world boasted brilliant, scorching sunlight. Looking up at the sky, the intense glare was blinding enough to cause sight loss, yet Orma stood still as if it were nothing, waiting for Van to draw near.

Whether he also possessed an ability like a game inventory, his golden spear—which was as tall as he was—had vanished without a trace. Standing there with a serene face, quietly gazing at Van, Orma looked entirely detached from the recent commotion or anything resembling hell.

“…Aren’t you hot, sir?”

“Not really.”

“Is it not too bright for you?”

At the repeated question, Orma’s face twisted into a scowl. Wondering if he was already annoyed after just two questions, Van read his expression, causing Orma to let out a small sigh.

“Do I look as fragile as glass to you?”

“It’s not that… it’s just that a calamity has befallen the world.”

“A calamity?”

Only then did Orma glance around his surroundings. The area outside of hell, where he had carved out an exit at his own whim, was a small forest near the temple where Van used to stay. However, it was now in such a state that calling it a forest felt embarrassing; the trees and plants were withered and dying.

“For the record, it’s winter, not summer.”

At the added comment, Orma conceded that it was indeed hot for winter. That dry observation was the extent of it, but soon, as if something had crossed his mind, his handsome face twisted sharply as he whipped his head toward Van.

“You were spouting nonsense about being an apostle and whatnot; don’t tell me you asked me to stop the calamity?”

“Judging by the fact that you didn’t know until now, you’ve never spoken to the humans who came all the way to hell, Mr. Orma. I find that fact even more surprising.”

Just as he had initially done with Van, he must have simply thrown his spear to kill them without exchanging a single word. Orma looked at Van’s bitter expression with displeased eyes before letting out a long, heavy sigh.

“Ha…. Unnecessarily noble….”

“You shouldn’t regret coming outside already.”

“If the world just goes to ruin, I wouldn’t have to deal with such bothersome things. Why won’t the world just end?”

Perish, perish, just perish. Let everyone die. Like the evil god he was, Orma muttered incantations as if laying a curse, sneering.

Yet, even upon hearing such words, Van approached Orma with a calm face and pulled the hood attached to the back of his coat over his head. Since Orma was nearly a head taller than him, the gesture looked almost like an embrace, but Van didn’t mind.

“W-what is this?”

Getting close so suddenly caught Orma off guard. His golden eyes widened in surprise as they hurriedly scanned Van’s face.

“It’s the sunlight of the calamity, after all. It’s not good to be exposed to it directly.”

“What about you?”

“I’m fine.”

Thanks to leveling up like a game all this time, Van’s body had surpassed human limits. This much heat felt no different from an ordinary summer day. Furthermore, since he had once obtained a bizarre passive skill like ‘UV Protection (Rank E)’ as a daily quest reward, he was more than fine.

However, Orma snorted at Van’s words.

“Look who’s worrying about who….”

“Me, worrying about a god?”

“….”

“And for now, I think we need to buy some clothes…. Your appearance stands out quite a bit, Mr. Orma.”

“Because of my eyes?”

Those brilliant golden eyes, brimming with radiant light, belonged to a god. Combined with his pitch-black hair, anyone would immediately think of Orma, the evil god imprisoned in hell. However, Van tilted his head and replied with a peculiar expression.

“There’s that too… but more than that, if a man this handsome is dressed like a beggar, everyone is bound to stare.”

“A b-beggar?”

Leaving out the compliment about being handsome, Orma flared up instantly at the word ‘beggar.’ Van had thought Orma wouldn’t care about such things after rolling around in hell all this time, but apparently, he still had enough sanity to get annoyed when it was pointed out.

Regardless of whether his god was angry or not, Van kept his eyes fixed on a dangling button on the ragged coat and asked.

“Yes, a beggar. And I have a question: how on earth did this outfit survive in hell? Isn’t that a place where even bones and iron melt away?”

“How do you know that?”

“I asked first, sir.”

He doesn’t back down by a single word. Orma bit his lip, swallowing down curses.

The humans who had stood before him usually trembled in fear, terrified to even meet his eyes when he got angry like this. Then again, it’s precisely because he’s out of his mind that he spouts nonsense about serving me as his god…. For a guy, his face is as pretty as a mermaid’s, tsk tsk.

Whether they realized they were both deeming each other crazy or not, Orma quickly accepted it and grumbled as if it were a chore.

“It’s under a divine blessing.”

“This outfit is…?”

Did he place the blessing himself? Well, perhaps this style of clothing was the trend back then. Since his looks were what they were, he tended to look great in anything…. Van tried his best to think positively, but unfortunately, he couldn’t control his expression.

Seeing Van’s unfocused eyes, Orma suppressed his sense of injustice and shouted.

“I didn’t do it! That bastard Serca suddenly took it upon himself while I was suffering….”

“Understood. Then you don’t need new clothes, right? As you can see, I’m covered in blood, so may I just buy mine?”

“…Buy mine too.”

Having already been called a beggar, he threw a tantrum, asking why he should keep wearing this kind of clothing. Only then did Van grin and lightly walk ahead.

Orma had a strong premonition that the guy claiming to be his apostle was far from ordinary, and that he had been dragged into a troublesome affair regarding a calamity or whatever. Damn it, I really don’t want to go. As Orma dragged his feet, Van turned his head back again, his refreshing sky-blue eyes sparkling.

“Do your legs hurt, sir? Shall I give you a piggyback ride?”

“No!”

Orma recoiled in horror, as if telling him not to say such dreadful things. Van then scolded his god with a stern face.

“Then please walk quietly.”

Slightly disheartened, Orma followed closely behind Van with a deflated face as they headed toward the nearest town.

“There isn’t a single human on the streets.”

“Because of the calamity.”

The time already pointed to 8:00 PM, but the sun hanging in the sky was still lingering as if reluctant to leave. With no humans walking around like this, it was only natural that attention would be drawn even more to a man as conspicuously handsome as Orma, even if he just stood still.

Van entered a clothing store in front of him, planning to buy two sets of breathable, thin shirts, cotton trousers, and loose black hoodies. Because of the stinging sunlight, street vendors who had vanished from the roads would now hitch a ride at places like inns to sell their goods. Those who at least had a shop building welcomed the few customers they had with bright, radiant faces. Even if the customers were a suspicious holy knight covered in blood and a beggar wrapped in a ragged coat.

“W-welcome! Customers… right?”

Perhaps noticing Van’s appearance late, the owner’s voice grew smaller and smaller, but Van nodded with a calm face.

“My companion and I came to buy some comfortable clothes to wear during our travels.”

“T-travels?”

Since there was no way a sane human would travel when a calamity was unfolding, it was understandable that the owner stared with such shocked eyes. Van merely nodded with a slight smile. The clothing store owner hesitated before glancing at Orma, who was standing right behind Van with his head lowered quietly, showing no interest.

“We do have comfortable clothes suitable for traveling, but the gentleman behind you is so tall that I’m not sure if the length will fit.”

“Well, please show us for now. If you have loose black hoodies, please give us two of those as well, and also….”

While Van discussed what kind of clothes he was looking for, Orma slowly turned his head to look around the interior of the shop. The windows were blocked darkly to prevent the hot sunlight outside from entering, but it looked clumsily made, as if done in a hurry. It seemed the intensity of the calamity had worsened only recently.

Furthermore, the clothing store owner hurriedly turned on an additional light after Van and Orma entered the shop. Usually, they seemed to live under bated breath, keeping only a single small candle lit.

If that were the case, outdoor activities had to be considered almost impossible, and the most fatal part would be the inability to do work necessary for immediate survival, like farming. Not just humans, but animals would also starve to death. For now, since it was said to be winter, they might accept it as a naturally difficult season… but if this situation prolonged, it was bound to take a turn for the worst.

Realizing he was firmly entangled in a bothersome matter, Orma let out a small sigh. How on earth did things end up like this? That guy with nothing but a pretty face had clearly bewitched him with sweet, pleasant nonsense about being an apostle.

Chewing on his regret, Orma dropped his head in self-reproach, wondering if he had always been this weak against a pretty face.