Chapter 40: Coming Up With a New Plan

After several moments of staring, Luke shook his head, silently berating himself for his thoughts.

He shouldn’t be blaming Fidall for the actions of others. It wasn’t as if the god had given his blessing to his ex-comrades to betray him and seal him with the evil god. That had been their choice, not the god’s.

Still, why hadn’t Fidall answered his prayers? Did he think Luke had turned his back on the god and chose the evil god?

While he wanted to say it was ludicrous, there were plenty of people who proved it otherwise. Fidall probably thought he was one and as such ignored his prayers.

Luke smiled self-deprecatingly.

“Well, you don’t need that lousy god anyway. I’m the only god who’d listen to you,” the evil god said, making Luke grimace.

“Things only turned out this way because of you,” Luke said as he briskly continued his journey through the forest.

“Are you really blaming me for your comrades’—I mean, ex-comrades'—choices? Isn’t that a bit unfair?” the evil god asked in a mock hurt voice.

“If you never existed in the first place, it wouldn’t happen to begin with,” Luke shot back.

“But then you would have never known their true nature. You would have been kept in the dark. Isn’t it better that you know the truth now?” the evil god said.

What did it matter that he now knew the truth?

The whole world was against him now, as he was left scrambling to deal with the consequences of their actions. He wasn’t even sure anyone would care if he revealed what happened now that he was associated with the evil god.

For some reason, Luke thought he felt smug satisfaction radiating from the evil god, but he couldn’t be sure.

It was hard to tell what the evil god was doing or felt unless he spoke.

Shaking it off as his own imagination, he walked until he saw the first rays of sunlight in the distance. He stopped in front of a river, watching as the beams of light landed on the glistening water.

Apparently, he had been walking northward if he was encountering another river.

He even recognized the area, as he had traveled near there by wagon not that long ago, which meant he was near the main road, where plenty of people would pass through.

If he wasn’t careful, someone was going to notice his presence and report him.

The thought of his ex-comrades catching onto his trail made him curl his hands into fists. His nails dug so hard into his palms that they drew blood.

What should his next move be?

At the moment, he was clueless at what to do and where to go.

Should he try hunting down the evil god’s followers to see if they had an idea how to deal with the dark energy?

It hadn’t crossed his mind before, as he would have never thought of speaking with them, but he was low on options.

Unfortunately, he had no clue where to find them, nor did he have any ideas on where to start.

Would he be able to track them down before he was tracked down by his ex-comrades?

The chances were low, but he didn’t completely discard the idea. If he couldn’t come up with anything else, he would try it out, as it was better than doing nothing. He might even get lucky and have them approach him instead.

It would be ironic if that happened.

Before, it would have been their misfortune to come across him. Now it would be good for him if they crossed paths.

Fate was truly bizarre.

Luke had already scrapped the idea of going to another country so he wouldn’t bother with it again. He had already come up with more reasons why it just wasn’t a feasible plan while walking through the forest. Wasting any thoughts on it wouldn’t be worth it.

Other than that, he really couldn’t think of anything else that didn’t involve death.

The thought of trying to contact Fidall again flashed in his mind before he firmly squashed it without mercy.

He had already tried once. Luke wasn’t going to put himself through the humiliation and pain of trying and being ignored again. It wouldn’t make a difference even if he went to another church. They were basically all the same.

Granted, some churches were better than others, especially in bigger places. They tended to be more effective against monsters and were connected to Fidall.

As this thought crossed his mind, something he hadn’t considered popped into his mind.

What if Fidall hadn’t been purposely ignoring him? What if he simply couldn’t hear Luke?

With the evil god latching onto him, it would be easy for the evil god to interfere with Luke’s attempt to ask Fidall for help. The evil god’s presence would be stronger here than Fidall’s even when Luke was in the church.

The fact that the statue of Fidall cracked was proof of that.

Then what if he went somewhere where Fidall’s presence was stronger? No, where Fidall’s presence was the strongest? Would he be able to reach Fidall and receive his help?

Fidall’s presence was the strongest in Wald, the capital.

“Why do you insist on trying? Do you really think he would listen to you even if you go to the seat of his power?” the evil god demanded.

Hearing the evil god’s words only encouraged him.

If the evil god was so anxious about Luke going to the capital, then he must be on the right track and absolutely had to go.

“Do you hear me? Do you really intend to throw your life away on something that won’t work?” the evil god pressed.

“I think it will work, which is why I will go there,” Luke said, scanning the area for any signs of vehicles passing by.

“Do you understand what you’re saying? It’s the capital. You will be dead before you even get the chance to reach the church and attempt a prayer,” the evil god said.

Luke froze.

“See. You know it too. It would be a death sentence to try something so foolish. Since you’re so determined, I can help you find one of my followers. You just have to listen to me,” the evil god said.

However, Luke just shook his head.

He took a step forward and said, “No, I will head to the capital whether you like it or not.”