Huh? There's a magic school here.

"No, you are blaspheming!"

"Brother Andra, how dare you!"

"We are all believers of the God of Light, and you are a priest of the God of Light! Now you are asking us to change our faith, aren't you afraid that God will punish you?"

"Enough, you lowly people! God is already punishing us, but it's not the God of Light who's punishing us, it's Lady Dianyi, the Goddess of Ice and Snow! Look at the ice and snow around you, how long can you endure this environment! If you want to live, if you want to live better, you must believe in Lady Dianyi, the Goddess of Ice and Snow!"

"No, this is betrayal! This is blatant betrayal!"

"We have believed in the God of Light our whole lives, and we will never change our faith!"

"Yes, we will not change our beliefs!"

Ben's younger siblings, still young and somewhat bewildered, joined in the excited shouts of the crowd. Meanwhile, Ben, also known as Daris, had a strange thought swirling in his mind. "Gods, bullshit! They're just more powerful humans!" This thought flashed through Daris's mind, and he was immediately horrified by his own reflection. How could he think like that? If others found out, he'd be hanged!

Just as the villagers were hurling insults and curses at Louis Andra on the platform, Darius was bumped by the crowd behind him. Coming to his senses, Darius immediately pulled his younger siblings, who were being pushed forward by the crowd, back away. For some reason, he felt a vague unease. Darius's unease was indeed justified; even as the crowd continued to shout curses and move closer to the monk...

Brother Andra on the platform raised his right hand high and then gave a loud command to the knights behind him.

"Kill these heretics! Only those who kneel and pray to the Ice Goddess Diany will live!"

Upon receiving the order, the knights immediately drew their swords and weapons, slashing at the crowd. Those at the front of the crowd watched in terror as the knights desperately tried to retreat, but the immense inertia of the crowd propelled them forward.

"Killed!"

"Help!"

"Run!"

"Stop pushing! Run back! They've killed someone!"

Screams echoed throughout the village, startling everyone present. The villagers, who had been indignantly cursing the priests for blasphemy, scattered in terror, and the area that had been at the front was now a river of blood. Because Darius had been retreating from the beginning, they were on the outermost edge of the group when the massacre began. Therefore, they were the fastest to flee, leading their younger siblings home to fetch furniture and block the doors. The slaughter in the village continued until no one else appeared outside, at which point the knights considered their mission complete.

Then Brother Louis Andra began knocking on doors, his sole purpose being to distribute the statue of the Ice Goddess, Déi. Those who accepted the statue and destroyed the statue of the God of Light would live; those who refused would be killed. When Louis Andra arrived at Darius's house, Darius smashed the statue of the God of Light almost without hesitation. This surprised Andra, as most others were somewhat afraid of the gods and hesitated to act, requiring him to intimidate them. He hadn't expected this young man to act so swiftly and decisively.

Surprised but not having time to investigate further, Andra left because he had other villages to visit. After this incident, the atmosphere in the village became strange. Many people were terrified and began secretly worshipping the Ice Goddess, while others, though keeping statues of the Ice Goddess to save their lives, did not actually worship her.

These people initially made up the majority; after all, people had been worshipping the same deity for so long, and it wasn't something they could easily switch to. At first, when they learned that some people were worshipping the Goddess of Ice and Snow, they would indignantly curse them at the door, calling them heretics and blasphemers. However, later, when they discovered that those who worshipped the Goddess of Ice and Snow were no longer afraid of the cold, their attitudes began to change.

Those who secretly worshipped the Goddess of Ice and Snow found that after their faith, they were no longer afraid of the bitter cold, and even the heavy snowfall ceased to approach their houses because of their piety. It was as if a barrier surrounded their homes, isolating them from the heavy snow. Then they tried planting vegetables near their houses. To their surprise, the vegetables survived and grew just as well as before.

Seeing that these heretics had actually managed to grow food, the others began to waver. Because people need to survive, they needed to eat. Gradually, others also began to worship the goddess of ice and snow, including Darius's family; they were among the first to believe in the goddess.

But Darius knew that his family received the blessing of the Ice Goddess not because of him, but because of his younger siblings. For some reason, a voice inside him kept telling him that the gods were fake, that they were just more powerful humans.

Life returned to its previous routine: hunting, farming, chopping wood. People had forgotten their fear of the ice and snow, and life went back to normal. In the following years, Darius married and had children, while his younger brother, due to his talent, became a priest of the goddess of ice and snow. Later, Darius's brother gradually rose to become a bishop under the goddess, and his power increased accordingly.

When Darius turned forty, his brother brought their entire family to the kingdom of the Ice Goddess in Sunset Valley. There, they constantly felt the divine power of the goddess, and everyone there was a devoted follower. Darius, however, was an exception. Although he prayed devoutly every day like everyone else, only he knew that he didn't believe in any gods whatsoever.

Just as Darius turned sixty, rumors suddenly spread throughout the Kingdom of God that heretics had invaded! When Darius heard this news, his heart skipped a beat. These young people didn't know the cruelty of war he had experienced firsthand. He understood how brutal the holy war between gods was, and that the fanatical followers of those churches would not let any heretics go unpunished.

Darius wanted to leave the divine realm with his family, but they were all followers of the Ice Goddess and refused to leave, believing Darius was being too cautious. In their eyes, the goddess was so great and invincible that she would never fail, so for her sake, they should fight to the end and kill all heretics.

The holy war raged for five or six years. Darius's brother had long since died in battle. Darius's son also gave his life for the goddess, and Darius himself, due to his advanced age, was on the verge of death.