To be honest, Lind originally wanted Sean to continue managing the River Valley, after all, this land was originally Sean’s fief, and Sean had managed it well.
After careful consideration, Lind still decided to let Sean continue to be responsible for the railway transportation. Although the River Valley is very important, promoting Sean would instead be a downgrade.
Moreover, this arrangement could easily lead to some unnecessary misunderstandings, so in the end, Lind let Lauri temporarily take charge of military control over the River Valley.
Just returned to the Graywhite Territory, there were still many things to deal with, so Lind first arranged for Tia to meet with the Lantern Dream.
When Bernice saw the pulsating black flesh, she exclaimed, “Oh Goddess, what a desecration this is!”
Although she really wanted to touch it with her fingers, Bernice ultimately resisted the impulse.
Tia, curious, asked from the side, “So? Can you determine what this thing really is?”
Looking at the black lump of flesh, Tia couldn’t even eat snacks anymore and just wanted to quickly figure out what this black lump was.
“There is no doubt that this is a piece of Outer God’s flesh.”
Bernice circled around the black piece of flesh, continuously observing it carefully.
Lind was not surprised by this conclusion; he had already speculated when he saw those monsters. Although the actual performance was different from his previous life’s understanding of the Outer Gods, the shape was abstractly the same.
However, Lind was somewhat curious about how Bernice was so sure, so he asked, “Is there any evidence?”
“None.”
Bernice shook her head and replied, “Both this piece of flesh and the characteristics of the monsters you described match certain early religious texts and mythologies. Many details can be matched.”
Bernice glanced at Tia and said, “Just like the accounts of the Elves, the early texts of every religion record some details that piece together a complete image of the Outer God. I have to say these pseudo-god records are somewhat insightful.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Tia’s expression immediately became quite displeased. She glanced at Lind beside her but suppressed her anger and asked rationally, “Then why can your so-called pseudo-god records record these images of the Outer Gods? This piece of flesh and the monsters of the Demon Clan have already proven the existence of the Outer Gods. Are all gods fake except for the Outer Gods and the Goddess?”
Faced with this question, Bernice merely smiled mockingly, a look on her face as if she were looking at an ignorant person, unworthy of explanation.
Lind had to step in to smooth things over and said, “Alright, let’s talk about the Outer Gods again, and put the matters of other religions aside for now.”
Lind could only rub his forehead in frustration. Even in his previous life, matters involving religion were extremely troublesome, as many major and minor wars in history were caused by religion or conducted under the pretext of religion.
Let alone the fact that there truly were gods in this world.
However, seeing Bernice’s proud expression full of superiority, Lind somewhat understood why the Lantern Dream was currently being suppressed by the Church.
Bernice was still very respectful, or rather, fearful of Lind, so after he stepped in to smooth things over, she quickly brought the topic back to normal. But before that, Bernice said meaningfully, “Just because the gods are fake doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”
Then, looking at the black lump of flesh, Bernice said, “But to be honest, none of us expected to actually witness the Outer God.”
Bernice began to briefly introduce what the Outer Gods really were to Tia. Of course, compared to her explanation for Lind, Bernice clearly concealed many details or didn’t think it was worth mentioning them at all.
This lump of black flesh would be considered a profound desecration by anyone who has faith, because even the Outer Gods, the villains in mythological texts, are held in disdain throughout various texts by gods, but those texts do not deny that the Outer Gods are also gods; even if they are considered a lower rank of existence, they still share equal status with their own revered deities.
This being, which should only exist in myths, was now clearly placed before everyone.
After listening to Bernice’s introduction, Tia looked at the black lump of flesh in front of her, her expression filled with awe and fear, understanding now why Bernice had initially shouted about desecration.
That was the flesh of a god. Would the god she believed in also be cut and have its flesh severed like this?
“The Outer God, also known as the Demon God’s faith, is it really alive?”
Tia continued to ask while looking at the pulsating lump of flesh.
Bernice glanced at Lind, confirming that he wanted a detailed explanation before replying, “According to the various religious texts we have, there shouldn’t be any living Outer Gods in this world. If the texts are correct, then the Demon God’s god on the Demon Clan side cannot possibly be a living god.”
But Bernice then added, “However, regarding these deities, we still have too many unknowns. For these gods, death may only be a state, not an end.”
Lind stroked his chin in recollection, “Based on what the Demon Clan had said on the battlefield, they referred to these things as Holy Corpses, or rather, the flesh of the Demon God. This implies that their Demon God should indeed be in a state of death.”
“The Demon Clan has excavated the Outer Gods in the Eternal Frozen Land, discovering that the flesh of the Outer Gods possesses a certain efficacy that can transform the Demon Clan into monsters resembling the Outer Gods. Thus, the Demon Clan worshipped the Outer Gods as their own gods.”
Lind continued to summarize, “Thus, most monsters do not have self-awareness and can only be controlled by one or more self-aware monsters. As for how a monster possesses self-awareness, that remains unclear.”
Although Lind had killed all the Demon Clan members, he didn’t think that those who were left on the battlefield, responsible for menial tasks, knew much; the actual experimental subjects were definitely still hiding behind the Demon Clan.
“Moreover, from the battlefield observations, these so-called Outer God flesh pieces are lethal to humans. It’s uncertain what would happen if a human were to consume this black lump, but that black blood would corrode humans and transform them into monsters wrapped in sludge.”
The final form would be similar to the slimes he used to enjoy encountering in RPG games.
In this world created in an otome game, there are no classic slime elements defined for monsters.
Lind believed that these corroded humans wouldn’t merely become sacrifices for the recovery of those monsters.
Tia kept recording and digesting the information she received that day. Although these were all based on speculation, the truly accurate information only came from what Lind had gathered from the battlefield, but for the Elves, with their long history, having this information allowed them to purposefully search for similar information from historical records.
Finally, Tia looked at the black lump of flesh that didn’t seem dead and was still pulsating, asking, “If for gods, death is merely a state, then will that Demon God of the Demon Clan resurrect?”
