"We got here as fast as we could and HOLY shit it's fckn blazing!! What's going on???" Nate asked as Night dropped him down. He looked around to see Layla and Everzone sweating buckets whereas Eve only looked slightly bothered with tiny droplets beginning to form on her head.

"We don't know yet, we were hoping you guys would have an idea but it looks like that isn't the case," Eve replied as she looked straight into the forest without wavering, "do we go in? I mean we don't really have any other option, going around will take far too long, I guess we handle whatever it is that stands in front of us?"

​​

"Hmm yes, I like that idea, fighting sounds fun," Night said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"If that is what My Lord desires then it shall be done," Shade replied in his usual tone.

"Of course you would say that," Nate said as he looked at Night, "did you stop to think it might be some Guardian's work? Maybe there's one of them big ass things inside?"

"That isn't the case Sir Nate, I can't sense a Guardian," Shade said while cocking his head.

"You guys can sense each other?" Night asked out of curiosity, "if so then wouldn't that mean you knew of the one that attacked me in Kriol?"

"It isn't exactly like that My Lord, I would never intentionally put you in harm's way. It's more of a feeling I have,"

'More of a feeling huh? I should really squeeze out all the information I can get from him. It's going to be useful in the future for sure,' Nate thought for a second before looking at Layla, "what do you think we should do?"

"*pant* Honestly....I think we should.....go right into the forest and slaughter whoever it is that's causing this, it's annoying," Layla said as she used her hand as a fan, she was clearly out of breath but she still made sure to answer Nate.

"Alright, whatever it is let's take it on,"

.

.

.

Faith. In the times where plagues and famines were a frequent occurrence and death and misery were a common sight, people looked up to those with the power to stop such things. Those with the power to defy nature itself. This feeling of submissiveness slowly turned to faith, while initially, it was beautiful, bright, and warm. The poison of corruption rotted the system.

Men were forced to spread the words of the almighty, women and children had no choice but to follow HIS way, refusal meant punishment. Every single act of denial meant blasphemy. Heretics were born from this pandemonium.

To the public, they were peaceful and forgiving individuals who spread the word of God through peaceful means. Naturally, belief became an integral part of the functioning of society, and the one closest to God was someone important, so much so that the King of the nation would make sure he was on good terms with this individual.

Of course, this lead to further corruption and misuse of power. A fine example of such a religion would be, the followers of the God of Hunting, Artemis, or the believers of the God of Family, Hera. Principals of these Gods were forced onto the others and as mentioned before, denial meant suffering.

However, there were some Religions or Faiths- Dionysus and Demeter, the followers of these two Gods were peaceful and festive, they were broad-minded and open to change, they accepted faults in their faith and looked to their Gods for a solution.

The entire Kingdom of Vraun followed many religions, however, the majority of the population believed in Dionysus and Demeter. One was the God of festivity and wine, while the other was the God of agriculture and farming. Although, there were some towns or people that focused on the teachings of Artemis. However, they were left alone considering the fact that the number was less than 100.

An unfortunate mistake, being part of a minority religion, it only made sense that they would seek more attention or growth, and the situation with the Guardians attacking the Forest of Silence was the perfect opportunity to exploit.

"The Goddess Artemis is the ultimate huntress, with her blessing the monsters wouldn't dare touch us!! The forests are nothing but a playground for the Great one! My Lady of Chastity would never let anyone inflict harm upon us. However, do not fear my friends! The Goddess is extremely forgiving, she accepts you for you, It isn't too late to convert!"

The man sounded more like a cheap salesman than a missionary, however, it was more than enough to trap the weak-willed. It was an error, the royal family did try to keep the public calm by not letting them know of the situation, however, panic is often compared to a wildfire for a reason.

While the majority of Vraun was still unbothered by the situation, places like Denren which was considered a danger zone would naturally, not keep quiet about this. They would look for someone to blame, someone new to look up to, a change, anything that helps them with the anxiety and the panic.

"Mhmmm? what are they doing here? Doesn't the majority of Vraun follow Dionysus or Demeter? and they don't look like either.." Leo said as he looked at a bald man running around screaming something. The man wore a dark blue religious robe that had a moon on the back and a bow and arrow on one shoulder and a deer on the other.

"As far as I know those are the followers of Artemis, I may be wrong though. Although, I wonder what he's doing here? It doesn't make sense, is there any point in running around? It's not like anyone is going to convert anyway," Noxx replied as he scratched his head.

"There's something going on. These missionaries exploit situations like this, my bet? somewhere in Vraun, the followers of Artemis are spreading their faith, why should they care what happens? All they need is influence and power. I have to say, whoever the pope of the church is, he's a smart one, cunning actually."

The people of Vraun were fundamentally energetic and cheerful since the Kingdom was one of the few that actually experience peace, it's natural that people would enjoy life to the fullest. The smell of liquor and burning meat, friendly betting, drunk people singing, it was definitely a fascinating sight. This behaviour had a lot to do with the fact that their Patron God was Dionysus, however, at the same time, the citizens were focused when they had to be, with Demeter being the second Patron God, it was obvious that their agriculture would flourish.

There was practically no scope for a follower of another God to convert anyone, until of course, the situation regarding the disappearance of the Guardian of the Forest of Silence came up, while it was only a rumour, in the beginning, the news that the Guardian's from different locations invading Vraun, proved that the supposed rumour was in fact, the truth.

Denren was the first victim of this panic wave, the once joyous city was now struck with the anxiety of imminent destruction. Neither Dionysus nor Demeter were actual Combat Gods, as far as the general public knew, they were only focused on what they symbolized, which is Wine and Agriculture. However, there was another God who wasn't as popular as the other two, this God was an actual Combat God, one of the strongest even. Obviously, this was Artemis, and her followers were like vultures, they pounced on the chance.

Just within the span of two days, the majority of Denren was now following the teachings of Artemis. Vraun now had three Patron Gods, the third and the latest one was unofficial of course.

Pope Moonstar, the head of the church of Artemis was the one behind the frantic conversions and the spreading of the rumours. They were exaggerated to a point where people believed that their own destruction was the only option left.

"Kukukuku It has begun My Lady," Pope Moonstar said as he looked up at the marble statue of Artemis. It was unusually small and made out of some kind of cheap marble and wood. She was seated on a deer and held a bow in her hand. At the back of her ranger outfit was a moon that had cracks on it. "Soon, the world shall know the true strength of the Ultimate Huntress. The plan is set in motion and nothing can stop it, as I speak, followers of mine are deep inside the Forest of Silence. They are preparing for the fest I informed you, My Lady."

"Bless the Holy Father! It has begun! The summoning! It has begun!" a voice echoed outside the chamber.

"All hail Father Moonstar! All hail Lady Artemis, The Ultimate Huntress!"

"It seems the children are excited as well, kukukukuku. What can we do but wait....."