Chapter 3: The Night Welcomes Its Faithful Follower

Trapped in the territory of the demon wolves, Hermione was fully aware that she was now in grave danger. More precisely, without the presence of the lady called "Misfortune" before her, she would have inevitably ended up as nothing more than food for the ravenous demon wolves.

Yet, through her communication with "Misfortune," Hermione keenly sensed that this enigmatic lady harbored a certain fondness—or at least curiosity—toward her, or perhaps toward the human race in general.

Though "fondness" might have been a hopeful overinterpretation, the mere fact of this curiosity was enough for Hermione to realize that if she wished to increase her chances of survival in this gathering place of the demon wolves, she must find a way to secure the protection of "Misfortune."

Hence, Hermione’s demeanor at this moment was exceedingly sincere.

As for whether "Misfortune" had the power to protect her life among the bloodthirsty, brutal demon wolves—who regarded all living beings merely as prey—even though neither Hermione’s memories nor the recorded explanations in the video had contained any information about this lady, Hermione had already deduced her true status within the demon wolf hierarchy.

This lady was undoubtedly a subordinate deity of Fregla, the Demon Wolf King.

In the age of chaos, eight ancient gods had risen, all possessing violent natures. Among them, Fregla and Fabuti, the Demon Lord, were the most terrifying. They acted solely on instinct, exhibiting madness and near complete lack of reason, bent on destruction and corruption.

Fregla, the bloodthirsty, was even called the "Destroyer of Demon Wolves." When roused, he would cruelly slaughter his own demon wolves and offspring to satiate his savage nature.

Thus, no living creature dared approach Fregla. Only his subordinate deities could stand before him without risking death.

And if "Misfortune" was able to come safely from the Demon Wolf King’s palace, carrying this living woman unharmed, she was certainly one of those subordinate deities.

Such a subordinate deity was a formidable existence, second only to the eight ancient gods in the current era.

The video had explained the hierarchy of the mysterious world’s powers: ranks nine, eight, and seven were low; six and five were middle; rank four and above were demigods; rank zero was a true god.

Subordinate deities were a title unique to the era of the eight ancient gods, generally referring to the powerful rank one and two beings beneath them.

"Misfortune," therefore, was absolutely one such subordinate deity.

Concealing all monstrous traits, "Misfortune" resembled a peerless beauty among humans, her face veiled in black gauze, her expression faintly visible. Suddenly, her deep crimson lips curved into a slight smile:

“You may stay with me.”

Upon hearing this, Hermione’s spirits steadied somewhat. Though she had suspected the lady would likely grant her plea, actually receiving the reply filled her with joy and gratitude.

“You're quite clever. Perhaps you have already guessed that I have a certain interest in humans,” Misfortune continued.

After a brief pause, she smiled faintly and said, “But this is a recent interest of mine… If you wish to survive here, you must prove your worth before me.”

Worth…

Hermione was confident she had plenty of that.

Not out of conceit—if this mysterious world truly unfolded as the video foretold, she was essentially a "prophet."

Moreover, she held a relatively clear understanding of the plot’s direction!

Through that video, she had acquired knowledge of the alchemy system, the laws governing extraordinary traits, the yet-to-be-born Desecration Tablets, the future true gods from all paths, even the Old Ones beyond the true gods, and more.

This knowledge far surpassed that of any intelligent being in the current Second Era, even exceeding the great statuses of the ancient gods themselves.

Yet, just as her confidence swelled, her expression suddenly changed.

She recalled the video’s repeated warning: the more one knows of this mysterious world, the faster one dies.

Without sufficient rank, comprehending the true nature of the gods, understanding the truth of the starry heavens, why Earth was special, the identities of the God and the Celestial Sovereign, and even the primordial Creator—all this knowledge was far from beneficial.

Any one of these revelations would attract the attention of high-status beings, leading to loss of control and corruption into monstrous forms.

But… why was she still unscathed?

Could it be that in this era many high-status beings had yet to ascend to true godhood?

For instance, the Night Goddess, the Eternal Sun, and other true gods worshiped by humans in later times were obviously still hidden somewhere obscure during the ancient Second Era under the rule of the ancient gods…

If she could befriend these future true gods before their ascension, wouldn’t that allow her to stride boldly through the coming ages?

Alas…

The video provided little information on this point.

Hermione only knew that the future True Gods—the Storm Lord, the Eternal Sun, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom—had once been archangels under an unparalleled figure who rose from the chaotic seas during the Second Era, a ruthless Soviet researcher, savior of humanity, and ancient solar deity.

Heaven and earth bear witness! This string of titles was the video uploader’s blasphemous exaggeration, utterly unrelated to Hermione herself!

Yet… even if those future true gods had not yet been born, and her extraordinary knowledge and memories had not drawn their attention, what of the Outer Gods coveting Earth among the stars?

Such as the fallen Mother Goddess dwelling on the moon; the Desire Tree that grants men childbirth; and the backdrop figures like the Decay King, the Super Star Ruler, the Ring of Destiny, and other Outer Gods from the primordial creator’s age…

As Hermione recklessly contemplated these forbidden, terrifying truths, she could clearly sense that she remained intact, unharmed, not twisted by any strange anomaly.

Could it be that the warnings in the video were false?

Or were those secrets themselves false?

“You look confused…” Misfortune’s voice interrupted Hermione’s thoughts.

“I…” Hermione snapped back to reality, pausing briefly before deliberately showing a frightened expression and saying to Misfortune, “I just recalled a secret rumor known only to a very few among human tribes.”

“Oh? What rumor?” Misfortune asked with keen interest.

Hermione took a deep breath and slowly said, “That staring directly at a god results in death.”

“So that’s what’s troubling you,” Misfortune’s tone lightened as she cautioned Hermione, “It’s not merely direct gaze at a god. Even seeing the mythical form—no matter how incomplete—can damage your spirit, pollute your mind, and cause uncontrollable death.”

“Like your fainting this time—it was caused by witnessing the partial mythical forms displayed by me and those siblings.” Misfortune paused, then continued:

“You were fortunate this time; it was only a fainting spell. If you experience this again, you may not be so lucky.”

“So, here, beyond avoiding becoming demon wolves’ prey, you must not listen to what you shouldn’t, nor see what you shouldn’t. You must even find ways to evade those things you’re not meant to hear or see…”