An argument was taking place right there aboard the Galleon Whale. It wasn’t one of those heated nasty kind of arguments but an argument nevertheless. One side had sparkling and passion-filled eyes, and the other side looked resigned.

“I assure you I’m not a God, not a demigod, and not even an apostle of a deity. If anything, I’m just a Monster King.” He tried for the umpteenth time.

“But you can create angels! Your divine power is obvious. Who else could do that if not a God.” She pushed her argument with religious zeal.

“No-no, this is a misunderstanding. It’s the Monster System that does those things. I don’t fully understand it myself yet, but it seems I am sort of a gatekeeper to the evolutions. And you’ve seen my Status, my affinity is Dark.”

The Radiant nodded vigorously. “I know. I understand now that the magical affinity has nothing to do with someone's alignment or values. I have no problem with it being the Dark God who created angels. I know I am a good person and I will continue walking to the path of Light. If it is darkness which created light, isn’t it even better?”

“I didn’t create angels. If anything, it’s the Monster System.” He tried again.

“Then who created this system?” She had an intense look.

“I wouldn’t know. It just came to be right after we defeated Darkness. Maybe it was some type of a Deity, but it definitely wasn’t me.”

“You told me of this Darkness before. It is your slave now, right?”

He nodded. “Slave is a strong word. Let’s go with a pet.” And it was just Darkness now and not Darkness, but he kept that point to himself.

“You enslaved the Darkness! It’s at your beck and call… and you say you’re not a God?” She said it with a tinge of accusation. “Is it possible you don’t know it yet? Or is it something you must hide from mortals?” She remembered that ‘[Resurrect +1]’ in his status, normal people didn’t have that.

He sighed, she just kept pushing her point ignoring his arguments completely.

The Radiant continued. “And you did tell me that you just came to exist in the Dreaded Place. Normal humans just don’t pop into existence out of nowhere.”

No! Minutes ago, he had told her that he started as a human, as a nobody, but she apparently chose to misconstruct that point of his argument.

“I’m not sure if I should even tell you this…” He hesitated. “But I was brought here by some very powerful entity, if anything, I think it was the one with actual divine powers. I think its divine providence was Chaos in Order. Oh, and there is another one – Order in Chaos. They are similar but different.” It was a confusing mess, so he pressed his point forward. “I’m nothing like them, I’m just an evolved human. Someone just like you.”

“Chaos deities… I’ve never heard of them.” For some reason, her eyes were shining even brighter. “So there are more Gods than just Holy Light… And I don’t think that the Holy Light is a real god anyway. Not anymore.” She gave him a scary look.

He ignored her piercing gaze. “Good, I’m glad we sorted that misunderstanding.”

“There’s Chaos in Order, Order in Chaos… Probably many more.” She said so thinking deeply.

“Probably.” He nodded.

“And there is you, the Monster King.”

He nodded again, finally, she was getting it.

“You’re a God!”

*Sigh – no she wasn’t.

“My King, would you grant me permission to speak.” It was the Centauri Champion who said the line.

She was there at the sidelines listening quietly, and so were the spiders, after all, unfortunately this wasn’t a private conversation; everyone was just aboard the deck.

“If you can rescue me from this zealous angel, please do.” He smiled weakly.

“My King, maybe you’re overthinking this. You are a God.” She stated with a horse-like snort.

He touched his forehead with a palm thinking ‘Oh no, not her too!’.

“Let me explain. Back in the Dermon Realm, the Demon Lord is worshipped by many like a deity. And I recall you telling me that the kobolds like to worship their dragons, isn’t your pet wyrmling in a similar spot? Oh, and if I remember my history lessons well, the now-extinct elves worshipped the Ancestral Tree and the Forrest Spirit. And…”

“I think I understand.”

Indeed, he was going at it from the wrong angle. The Radiant Sword wasn’t thinking of him as a monotheistic god, where he was responsible for creating everything. But rather as an entity with an overwhelming and mysterious power; just one of many. It wasn’t crazy for kobolds to worship dragons, and for the elves to worship their trees. And if we follow that convention, for the angelic monster race to worship the Monster King.

“Elisabeth,” he addressed, “I don’t think I’m worthy of your worship, and I don’t see myself as a God, however, if you want to look up to me and idolise me, I guess that is your choice.” He made that concession.

“Yes, so please allow me to share your blessings with others.”

“Blessings?”

“More people should join the Monster System. I could guide them to the path of Light and make them into Angels.”

And for that, she needed Slug Jelly.

“I don’t see a problem, that is, if it won’t be abused. Power corrupts, and especially the easy access to it, you know that, right?”

“I’m well aware. I’m the right hand of the Chief Inquisitor.” She fluttered her wings. “I know of the dangers and corruption of the human greed.”

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“Ah, the Inquisition. I’m not too sure they will respond kindly to the Monster System.” The word monster would likely cause trouble.

“I’m a Radiant Angel, seeing is believing. I will show them the way, the right way. I will expose the lies of the false gods and the deception of the Holy Light. Angels are real, I am one of them, and I am apparently a monster. But I rather refer to myself as one of the ascended. So they too will understand that ascension is possible. You don’t need to die to meet a god, you don’t need to die to become an angel; the Holy Light was wrong. There is the Sky Fortress here on earth. And I am flying inside it.”

According to the Holy Light teachings, the sky fortress was a place in the heavens where the angles resided. In other words, she confused his flying ship with it, or maybe just used religious legends to rationalize something as unbelievable as a flying ship.

Either way, it was up to him to clear that misunderstanding. “This is not Sky Fortress, this is a Galleon Whale, we made this ship not too long ago. It’s just a marvel of technology me and spiders came up with.”

“Ah, so that’s what the real name is. Galleon Whale…” She stubbornly clung to her misunderstanding.

He had to wonder if she did that on purpose; she was bent on rationalising her own delusions. No doubt there was something wrong here. However, he couldn't deny the fortitude, the strength, and the influence she had.

“If you can guide humans towards a different path. A path where they and my monster subjects and humans could coexist in peace. Then, of course, I will support you. You’ll get the Slug Jelly you need.”

“Thank you, Monster King, I’ll take the ‘Blessed’ Jelly and share it with my comrades.”

Another thing was very obvious, she deliberately ignored the slug part of the name. Without even asking why it was called such. Maybe for the better…

“Well, then I trust you to keep your promise, so, please take the Inquisition and the Army back home to the Holy Empire.”

“I will, and I will spread your wisdom.”

…

The same day, just minutes before the first rays of dawn, an angel descended from the sky. She was so bright and radiant that it would be easy to confuse her with the morning sun. The warm light illuminated the entire camp, basking tired men with the mysterious aura of safety and reassurance. The aura was strong enough to rouse the sleeping soldiers and prompt them to come outside their tents.

Soon, everyone had their eyes on a radiant and angelic beauty. Her long golden locks swayed gently in the morning breeze, her eyes were filled with reassuring warmth, and her pure white wings were fluttering ever so slightly.

“My people, I come back from the heavens bringing gifts.”

A mass of shadows condensed under her feat prompting a startled reaction from the people. They feared the shadows there were to swallow the angel. They were wrong. Out of the shadows popped the boxes, they were open and filled with strange round fruits.

“Don’t be afraid, this is the heavenly mana straight from the sky. Eat it and your symptoms shall be relieved.”

A hesitant hand reached for the yellow fruit and into the mouth it went. The man ate cautiously at the beginning, but the bites were growing bigger and more vigorous, in the end the fruit was devoured with great gusto.

“It's true! I feel refreshed!” The man proclaimed with a broad smile. Someone showing this almost forgotten gesture was a sight much missed.

The army men rushed to the crates grabbing a fruit each and eating it greedily.

“The gifts don’t end there. I have something very special, bestowed upon me straight from God.” There was a crate she kept for herself, a crate she guarded, she opened the crate to retrieve a single bottle, one of many. She raised it high towards the morning light displaying it proudly. “A key to ascend to heavens. This is how I became an angel. And with my guidance so could you.”

Everyone looked at the crystalline bottle with wonder.

“Ah, but I’m not here to deceive you. ‘Blessed’ Jelly undoubtedly will strengthen the soul, but it can bring you to either side, both Light and Dark. So, I believe it's important to hand this blessing only to the ones deserving the most. Only to the ones who adhere to the true teachings and the true God.”

“We’re with Holy Light!”, “We believe in Holy Light!”, “The Holy Light will guide us!”, people said such and so.

The mirthful expression of the Radiant Angel changed to the one of fury. “The Holy Light is wrong! It’s all lies! If you could see my status you would know!”

Incidentally, the warriors and the peasant levy weren’t the only ones marvelling at the angelic beauty. The Inquisition was also looking at her in awe, but also with suspicion. The woman in front of them was a Radiant Sword, but also, she was apparently an angel, this was just Impossible!

“[Read Status]” One of the more powerful inquisitors invoked a Scribe skill. “She’s a monster!” She pointed at the Radiant Angel accusingly.

The angel didn’t seem perturbed by her words. “I am an angel. And in the eyes of the System, I am a monster. How can this be? I’ll tell you! The Holy Scripture is wrong! There in the Sky Fortress, I’ve met the real God.” She glowed ever so brightly. “If I am an evil monster, why can I use the power of Light? [Angelic Heal]!” She showered everyone in the bright motes of light. “There’s something my God told me, something profound: ‘Following the path of darkness doesn't mean you are evil.’, I know it sounds contradictory, but what it implies is that there are good and bad monsters. And isn’t it the same with humans?” People looked at her with confusion, but they were nodding. “If someone belongs to a monster race it doesn’t mean they are evil.” She reiterated her point.

These were the words coming directly from a real-life angel, however strange it sounded it was hard not to believe; clearly, she carried the divine authority to say such things.

Her comrades, the inquisitors, understandably remained sceptical. She knew it would take more than mere words to convince them. However, there was still a task she had to do.

“I’ll say something else. We must retreat. We have no business in the Aurelian Capital. If we continue, we will only suffer.”

The peasant levy cheered in agreement, the Army General, however, wasn’t too pleased hearing that.

Ignoring occasional voices of protest, she continued. “The curses we had suffered here on this fruitless march, we brought it upon ourselves. We had no right to step on this land and we were punished by God. It was a sign we were on the wrong path. So… Let's turn back!” She pointed back towards home. “I assure you that the nightly terrors will not pursue us.”

The peasant levy was just exhausted from this gruelling experience, and they hadn't even started the real fight yet, hence they roared in agreement again.

“Eat your heavenly manna, recover your strength, and let’s go back home to our families.” She ended her speech causing an uproar.

The Army General scowled at the peasants. This was desertion, no, this was worse, it was ignoring the direct orders of the Holy Emperor. If they fled back home, he and the captains of this army would be simply hanged.

“Well, if you want to die… you can do whatever.” He also packed his things, but the direction he’s heading will be the opposite. A few other professional warriors and otherwise loyal men decided to follow the Army General.

A sorry skeleton of a once great army continued its march.

The other side, led by the bright and shiny angel, strolled with vigour back to the lands of the Holy Empire. They weren’t just going home to rest; they were bringing the beginnings of a new faith with them.

There were two worlds, one of the System and the other of the Monster System. One was orderly and static, it offered predictable gains while locking humans to a fixed fate. The other was chaotic, unpredictable, and promised great potential, it could even change one's race; the fate was undetermined.

The old scripture of the Holy Light was compelling, it offered rules and guidance, but a lot of it was myths and flimsy conjectures, it had truths bent and twisted to suit the Holy Emperor and give him power. But the Way of the Monster King was different. There were a lot of differences, but the most important was rather simple. The Way had a real Angel, and radiant at that, to push it forward. Seemingly spontaneously it came to be known as The Way. It was a faith challenging the perceived truths of reality. It encouraged them to question the world, but also it allowed humans to become something more, something better (Minor Angel) or even worse (Corrupted Human). And understandably, it was just too tempting since it offered readily accessible blessings of the ‘Holy’ Jelly.

The Way had the potential to turn the human world upside down.