Otaku Witch

"..."

The meeting room at the Moon Rabbit Palace suddenly fell silent for a moment. Everyone turned to look at the engineering hammer that Dorothy had just laid on the coffee table, then lifted their heads to stare at her, completely baffled.

How could this hammer be treated as scripture?

"Miss, are you serious? I must remind you that for a religious sect, scripture is really important. Only sufficiently good scripture can win the greatest approval from the followers; it's not something to be taken lightly."

Ruthfiel's delicate face also furrowed into a frown, earnestly persuading.

The essence of faith is the overflowing Power of the Heart from the believers; this pure heart energy is a dangerous thing, with extremely strong contaminating effects on others' minds. Even Angels and Angel Witches, who are best at manipulating faith, and have the support of an Angel Halo to manage it, are actually very cautious about this.

After all, this is essentially a very risky game of playing with fire. One slip, and you might find your own true heart corrupted and polluted by the massive faith of your followers.

In that case, it would actually mean that you, as a person, have died inside, and what continues to live is merely the divine shell that the believers have faith in.

To avoid the risk of having faith turn against them, Angels and Angel Witches have strict requirements for the path of faith, and that's why religious Churches have all sorts of strange rules and complex rituals that seem difficult to understand to the common person.

In short, when it comes to faith, everything must be approached very carefully.

Among these, the scriptures of a religious sect play the role of guiding followers towards a more regulated form of worship.

For instance, the scriptures of the Goddess of Love and Beauty often praise love and beauty, while the scripture of the God of Forging might be a complete book on forging, and so on.

These scriptures usually recount some deeds of the deities to let the followers easily understand the character of the deity they worship, what kind of Divinity they possess, and what hardships they should pray to the deity for help with.

Otherwise, if you go to the God of Forging and pray to become more beautiful, or if you seek the help of an evil War God to grant you the Strength to uphold justice—aren't you just asking for trouble?

Moreover, if a large number of such inappropriate prayers reach the Deity, it can put a lot of pressure on them and, in severe cases, might lead to them losing control.

Just like how an Evil God who suddenly encounters an outpouring of benevolent prayers might get purified into a Benevolent God, and then the original Evil God would essentially die.

"So, Miss, do you understand?"

Miss Fallen Angel lectured earnestly and patiently, trying to make the whimsical miss realize the seriousness of the situation.

You, a Moon Worship Cult that believes in the Moon God, using a hammer as scripture — how does that make any sense?

The thought of a cold and beautiful Moon Goddess holding a hammer like a Construction Worker at a work site made Ruthfiel shiver; the image was too beautiful, and she dared not contemplate it. Enjoy new stories from My Virtual Library Empire

"But I really am a Construction Worker. You also said that scripture needs to be close to reality, and my reality is that of a civil engineering witch," Dorothy replied after a moment, blinking innocently.

Ruthfiel: "....."

Miss Fallen Angel fell silent.

Alright, it seems that Miss Fallen Angel had truly believed her to be a reserved Moon Deity due to her previously revealed divine form and had forgotten the miss's actual profession.

emmm, when thought of this way, it seems like there isn't exactly a problem with this hammer being treated as scripture...

There's no problem my foot, even if that's the case, using a hammer as scripture is still preposterous. Besides, what special symbolism could a worn-out hammer have?

Ruthfiel still frowned, looking at the miss across from her and waiting for an explanation. If the miss couldn't persuade her today, she wouldn't continue to help.

After all, she couldn't possibly harm the miss and naturally wouldn't stand by and watch her engage in self-destructive behavior.

"Specifically, what does your broken hammer represent? Does it have any special significance?"

Miss Fallen Angel crossed her arms over her chest, scrutinizing the young lady seriously and earnestly.

Dorothy, however, was not intimidated.

Ruthfiel's earlier explanations not only failed to deter her but actually strengthened her resolve to use the hammer as her scripture.

After all, if using the Power of Faith truly involved the unavoidable risk of being eroded by the faith, then she hoped that the faith eroding her was one she liked.

If she could perfectly embody that faith, it would mean she had become the person she wanted to be.

"This hammer represents the worker, it represents strength, and it also represents diligence. I hope the believers will have more faith in this hammer than in me, the Lord Moon God himself."

"There may be a savior, but people should never place their hopes on someone else, let alone the elusive hands of deities. One's fate should be in one's own hands. I hope that all the Moon Rabbits will be able to grasp their fate and their future just as they grasp this hammer."

"I am not the kind of savior who can rescue you. I don't possess such great power. The reason I established this church is actually to teach you how to rescue yourselves better. The world of the Moon Rabbits will need you to slowly save it and reshape it with your own hands."

"My relationship with you should not be that of deities and believers but rather that of a guide and the guided. We are companions on the same path, travelers together."

"So I ask you, would you prefer for me, an external deity, to save you, or would you rather save yourself?"

Yet the Homebody Witch didn't look toward Ruthfiel, who was waiting for her response. Instead, she turned to face the three Moon Rabbits opposite her.

"I ask you, do you wish to control your destiny?"

She passed the hammer she was holding to them and calmly looked at the High Priest, the Knight Commander, and Sidwell before speaking again.

"Of course, I'd rather lay it out plainly that this is a path destined to be full of setbacks and challenges. If you are willing to follow me on this path, be prepared to endure hardship. After all, there are things I can do easily, but that doesn't mean you can do them too. Some things that are natural for me might be difficult for you, and possibly, even your entire race put together wouldn't be as efficient as I am alone."

"But I swear to you, your suffering will not be in vain, your blood and sweat will not be shed for nothing. The future will witness everything, and every bit of your effort will make your lives better. This dying world will also head towards a new era of glory in your own hands."

"I'll ask you one last time, do you have the resolve to walk this thorny path with me?"

Upon this, the three Moon Rabbits exchanged glances. As the elders, the High Priest and the Knight Commander seemed hesitant.

The long years had brought wisdom and experience to these elder Moon Rabbits but had also taken the edge off their ambition. In their minds, it was enough for the weak to follow the strong; only under the protection of the strong could the weak survive. Although the words of the Lord Moon God did indeed stir their blood, but...

But before the two could speak, Sidwell had already stepped forward.

"I can."

The young Queen of the Moon's face was resolute at that moment. She knelt on one knee, bowed her head, and raised her hands high, as though she wished to receive the sacred hammer from her deity.

However, the Moon Deity opposite did not let go.

Sidwell, puzzled, looked up, wondering if she had done something wrong.

But before she could feel any panic, a gentle force lifted her up.

"My comrade, remember that from now on, there is no one else worthy of your easy kneel."

When Sidwell was completely standing, Dorothy released her hold and handed the ordinary engineering hammer to the Queen of the Moon.

Upon this, Miss Moon Rabbit paused for a few seconds, looking down at the hammer she was clutching in her hands, her gaze gradually solidifying.

She felt she was beginning to understand.

...Miss Moon Rabbit having an epiphany...