I'm the Only Totem in Another World - Chapter 173

Chapter 173: Escape from the Spirit World No. 1 （4）

I left the territory of the Blue Moss Tribe, or more precisely, the area where Malak’s followers gathered.

“We have a long way to go. Let’s hurry.”

Nike stepped forward, offering to be our guide. She said that she was the only one who knew the location of the Spirit Gate because she had traveled all over the Spirit World.

“Over there.”

I followed her, asking what I had been curious about.

How did she end up in that kind of （?） relationship with Rakan, what did she think of Rake… things like that.

“Rakan-nim foresaw the apocalypse. He knew that the civilized people were doing something terrible.”

Unlike Ishtania, who had little interest in this world until the demon invasion, the Loa Rakan seemed to have been quite interested in earthly matters.

He had noticed that the empire’s leadership, specifically the imperial family, was making some kind of deal with the Evil God Shamishur.

“Rakan-nim tried to inform the priests, but it was impossible. It was a time when there were few priests with the spiritual ability to hear the Loa’s revelation, or rather, to contact him and not go mad.”

Even Muri, who was one of the best priests who worshipped Rakan, did not have such spiritual abilities.

I wondered if there was no correlation between being good at making totems and having spiritual abilities. Well, sculpting is not a superpower but a craftsman’s skill.

“How is Muri-nim? Is she doing well?”

Nike, who had been explaining diligently, asked about Muri’s well-being.

Muri was the only person who had been kind to Nike, a civilized person, unlike other barbarians who rejected her. I understand why she was interested.

It was almost as if Muri had raised Rake, Nike’s daughter, all by herself. One person had taken care of both mother and daughter. At this point, she was practically a grandmother.

“That’s right.”

She was getting tired and spending more time inside than outside, but that was because of her age. Still, she was very healthy for a woman of her age.

“That’s good to hear.”

Nike continued.

“Anyway, that’s when I appeared. A civilized child, but born with exceptional spiritual abilities.”

Rakan appeared in the dreams of Nike, who had become his follower, and tried to communicate with her. He failed many times, but he did not give up.

“Those were truly agonizing days. I felt like my head was going to explode. It’s still horrifying to think about it.”

Nike was smiling, despite her words.

Rakan… listening to this, he sounded like a pretty moderate and human-friendly god. What the hell happened that made him father Rake and run away?

“Thanks to Rakan-nim’s efforts, I came to understand his will. I came to understand him deeply.”

Nike had the expression of a girl in love.

Unlike what I and Rake, and everyone else knew, it seemed that Nike and Rakan were in love.

“Rakan-nim wanted me to be a bridge between the civilized people and the barbarians. He believed that if we joined forces, we could prevent the destined apocalypse.

But I didn’t have much time. I was born with strong spiritual abilities, but in return, I was destined to die young.”

“Hmm.”

“I decided to dedicate my short life to the greater good. Because death is not the end.”

Rake was not only the fruit of Rakan and Nike’s love but also a desperate measure to save the world.

But, something was strange.

“Why didn’t you explain that to Muri?”

Then Rake wouldn’t have misunderstood, thinking ‘That bastard Rakan sacrificed my mother’s life.’ This was all due to a lack of communication.

“When we decided to have Rake, I had lost the energy to communicate with the outside world. My soul was leaving my body.”

Hmm. There was nothing she could do about it.

I had one more question.

“Why didn’t Rakan communicate with Rake?”

As a demigod, Rake should have been capable of communicating with Rakan. If Rakan had conveyed his message to Rake properly, wouldn’t the barbarians, if not the civilized people, have been able to cope better than they did now?

“The birth of a divine being requires a lot of divine power. Rakan-nim used most of his divine power for Rake.”

“Ah.”

“But sometimes, very rarely, he would try to communicate by consuming a small amount of divine power that wouldn’t be burdensome. But it all failed.”

“Why?”

“Rake didn’t respond. She didn’t notice… no, I should say she pretended not to know.”

Rake had said she sometimes felt a gaze watching over her. She had said it might have been Rakan.

Rake had said that Rakan had only been watching silently, but in reality, it was Rake who hadn’t responded. She had been unconsciously rejecting Rakan.

She must have thought that Rakan was the one who had killed her mother and made her a different, unmixable being from others.

“…”

Wasn’t Rake’s hatred of humans and her sense of superiority ultimately rooted in her inferiority complex towards ordinary people?

She wanted to believe that she was not a monster different from others, but a superior being. She wouldn’t have been able to endure it if she hadn’t thought that way.

This was just a guess that it might have been like that in the beginning. Because the current Rake did not have such an inferiority complex.

“I see.”

“When you get back to the surface, please tell Rake. Her mother and Rakan-nim love her….and they are sorry they couldn’t be there for her.”

“I understand.”

I had encountered an unexpected truth in an unexpected place. To ease the burden on Rake’s heart, I should tell her when I have the chance later.

“So that’s what happened. It would have been good if Chieftain Tur and Priest Bojak had known this.”

It was Nix who had been listening next to me.

Tur and Bojak. The leaders of the Golden Sun Tribe who worshipped Rakan. When I first met them, they were losing faith in Rakan, who was not responding to them.

I still remember the scene of Rakan’s totem falling to the ground. At that time, I thought he was a real bad guy and I was happy about it.

“When I get back, I’ll tell them what happened.”

I decided to help restore Rakan’s honor.

If Rakan hadn’t formed a relationship with Nike and created Rake, it would have taken me longer to establish the Tribal Federation and subjugate the demons. Many people would have suffered for a longer time.

He was not a bad guy like other Loas. He tried to help.

It just got a little messed up and caused problems, but compared to guys like Tuga or Udan, he was an angel.

“From here on is Gabun-nim’s territory. He is not aggressive or territorial, but be careful just in case.”

I entered the jungle following Nike, along with my followers, including Nix, Denzo, and Gukbap.

Gabun… I had heard the name. A turtle Loa, worshipped by a few tribes, including the Autumn Leaves Tribe.

“Hmm.”

The Autumn Leaves Tribe was the tribe that Karon belonged to. Karon was the guy who became twisted because the Loa did not answer his prayers until the very end.

In a way, it was because of this Loa, Gabun, that the current Karon was born. Not that this justified Karon’s actions, though.

Should I go see what kind of guy he was?

“Pant, pant.”

I was sweating profusely as I walked.

“It’s Gabun-nim. I’ll slow down.”

I checked the direction Nike’s finger was pointing.

“Huh.”

A turtle bigger than a mountain was stretching its long, snake-like neck and munching on the leaves of giant trees.

A very powerful and gigantic being reminiscent of the Black Tortoise. I felt a sense of awe, but I also thought:

‘Does this guy also shrink like Udan when he comes down to Earth?’

Looking at it that way, he didn’t seem like much.

Well, even a dog is half eaten in its own house, as they say. This was the Spirit World, the dimension of the Loas, so it would naturally make them seem more powerful.

“I-It’s Gabun-nim.”

Although these people mainly worshipped Malak, it didn’t mean they didn’t worship other Loas. They were polytheistic, after all. It was natural for them to be happy to see Gabun.

“Gabun, the Water God!”

“You are so magnificent…!”

“Oooooh!”

I moved along, listening to the barbarians’ fuss. I carefully observed the Loa.

He might notice that I was Malak’s representative. He might be hostile towards me, so I was being cautious.

Of course, it was a needless worry.

Chomp. Crunch…!

He just kept eating plants with his cloudy eyes. He didn’t show any interest in us passing right in front of him.

Maybe the reason he didn’t answer Karon’s prayers was that he simply didn’t care about humans. My followers lost their tribe, their children, but it’s none of my business, right?

“Tsk.”

To be honest, he looked more like a giant beast than a divine being. There was no sign of intelligence whatsoever.

Were all the other Loas like this?

I sighed and went into the community. A ton of private messages had piled up.

]Not a Netkama: There are some guys with a weird vibe. Did they get private messages from that corpse guy and hear something?]

]Petit Noah: I don’t want to believe it, but there might be a possessed person who fell for Karon’s words. What should we do?]

What the hell did they hear to make them side with that psychopath?

Well, there was, of course, a way to identify traitors or potential traitors.

]Call the Saint.]

This would be a direct hit.