When the son of god strummed the first string of the harp, the boiling crowd suddenly fell silent.
Then, the clear and melodious lyrics continued to flow down from above.
“…In the extreme north of the snow mountain, under the dark abyss,
There proliferated the ugly demons, and the most evil Demon King;
Fire nurtured them, forging a greedy heart,
Cruelty, coldness, and cunning, transformed into sharp teeth, hard scales, and sharp claws,
That was originally the bloodline of sin and evil, the brethren of evil;
The Goddess sealed them, on the border of Gasuo,
Until the demons were reborn, and the flames of war burned through the city walls;
Bringing the shadow of death, endless sorrow,
The people yearned for salvation, their cries heartbreaking…”
The fingers strumming the strings were slender and white, more like a work of art than the snow-silver leaf harp.
Those were the hands of a young man, but they played a heavenly melody that made many white-haired musicians feel inferior.
So, people couldn’t help but sing along.
“Inheriting the will of the Goddess, the son of god drew the longbow,
Slaying the evil demon king, on the frozen cliff;
Ah, my omniscient and omnipotent Goddess, my bright golden sun!..”
Among them, there were devout barefoot believers, old men with headscarves, merchants in silk, beggars, patients, hand-in-hand girls and boys, and babbling babies held by their parents.
They all gathered in the square, the closest place to the high tower of the Brett Temple.
This was the early autumn of the year 891 in the Great Light Calendar. Before the son of god, Langmuir Brett, ascended the high tower with his harp, people had already gone mad here all night.
In the very center of the square, at the very bottom, stood a bronze statue.
It was carved into the shape of a demon, with bulging eyes and a protruding tongue, a ferocious face, horns growing from its head, claws raised ready to pounce, and a huge iron ring pierced through the scaly tail behind it, symbolizing its eternal seal of evil – it was said that the demon king born in the abyss looked like this.
Last night, countless people gathered in the square. They praised the Goddess, cursed evil, and threw stones at the “Demon King”.
This was the “Evil Purification Ceremony” held annually by the Brett Temple. It was said that those who hit the demon would have good luck in the coming year.
People were enthusiastic about this. So much so that every year at this time, the temple had to send out knights to maintain order, to prevent the emotionally charged crowd from knocking down the demon statue and affecting the subsequent ceremony.
But this year’s ceremony also came to an end.
Because the son of god, Langmuir Brett, had already appeared.
The young man had skin as white as snow. His eyelashes were long and curled, his nose was delicate and straight, his deep golden hair was as soft as a chick’s feathers, and he wore a wreath of lilies, roses, and olive branches on his head, a beauty that would shock even angels.
He was dressed in a pure white robe, sitting barefoot at the top of the divine tower, above all the frenzied crowd, his tranquil demeanor was out of place with everything below.
Unmarried girls clasped their hands, looking up with devout and loving eyes, murmuring, “Ah, son of god…”
Old men with tears in their eyes, shaking their white beards, “Langmuir, our son of god!”
Then, in a small corner of the crowd looking up at the son of god, some sighs sounded.
“I remember, Langmuir is fifteen this year, right?”
“In another three years, he will ascend the throne as the Holy Monarch.”
“Yes, yes, time flies so fast. I still remember the year the son of god was born. A son of god of royal birth is unheard of…”
“Now it seems, just as the elder prophet said, Langmuir is indeed the most beloved child of the Goddess.”
These whispers were soon interrupted by a burly man in front.
“Quiet, you in the back,” the burly man turned around angrily, “Don’t disturb us from listening to the son of god’s holy sound!”
Before long, Langmuir finished playing, and collected the last note beautifully.
A young knight in armor came forward, knelt on one knee behind the son of god, and respectfully presented a gold plate.
“Lord Son of God, please shoot the arrow.”
There was a longbow and three small arrows lying across the plate.
Langmuir lifted his eyelids, revealing a pair of light purple pupils.
He put the harp beside him, took the longbow in his left hand, took an arrow in his right hand, nodded and smiled at the knight, “Thank you.”
So, the knight understood, holding the gold plate and retreated, his face full of pride.
– The Evil Purification Ceremony was to end with the son of god playing the song, and shooting the demon bronze statue within three arrows.
Since Langmuir presided over the ceremony, he had never used the second arrow, let alone the third.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, the blond young man slowly drew the bow, under the sun, his arm was white and strong.
“I act on behalf of the Goddess’s will, to dispel the sins under the sun.”
Langmuir didn’t take it seriously when he drew the bow, it was too simple for him.
After a customary chant, the arrow, carrying Mana, turned into a meteor and streaked across the sky, piercing straight into the heart of the demon bronze statue.
The golden light symbolizing Mana spread in a few seconds, causing the ugly bronze statue to crack quickly, and “bang” shattered into countless pieces.
Woooah–
Suddenly, the crowd cheered like a boiling wave, countless arms waving, and the brilliant sunlight fell on the moving heads.
They sincerely called the name of the Goddess, the name of the son of god, and then closed their eyes, clasped their hands and murmured prayers.
–In the land where the sun shines, no one does not believe in the Goddess of Light.
Everyone who believes in the Goddess of Light, no one does not love the son of god, Langmuir.
No one knew that on the way back to the temple from the high tower by carriage, the son of god was quietly repenting.
This year’s Evil Purification Ceremony, he was not as focused as in previous years, which should not have been the case.
Inside the carriage, Langmuir lightly touched his chest guiltily, biting his lip and silently chanting the name of the Goddess.
The Goddess should forgive him, the young son of god thought, he was neither slack nor irreverent–
It’s just that when he learned of the news that a real demon king was born in the abyss, the “Bronze Demon King” in the ceremony seemed so irrelevant.
The carriage was escorted back to the temple by the knights, and on both sides were the people who came to see the son of god with flowers in their hands, some of whom had requests for him.
Langmuir had something on his mind, in fact, he wanted to get back to the temple quickly. But he still made the carriage stop every time he was called. Along the way, he gave alms to more than a dozen poor people, healed three patients with Light Magic Array, comforted seven lost people with holy teachings…all of which happened every year.
In the end, Langmuir even prevented a violent incident.
At that time, two young men were chasing an old woman. They chased her out of the bustling city, grabbed the old woman’s cloak at the corner of the street, and pressed her to the ground, ready to kick and beat her.
The young knight of the son of god noticed it with sharp eyes and immediately shouted to stop. Langmuir was also startled, lifted the curtain of the carriage and was about to get off.
The knight Gilbert hurriedly stopped him, “Lord Son of God, you must not be contaminated with filth!”
Langmuir frowned and said, “Bring them to me.”
Gilbert immediately did so. Soon, the old woman was helped over, her white hair was full of dirt, and her eye sockets were deeply sunken. She looked like a strange and gloomy person at first glance.
Langmuir said coldly, “Why are you hitting someone?”
The two young men who had caused trouble buried their heads like quails–repenting for their violence and vulgarity that had disturbed the son of god.
But they also felt that the old thing in front of them must have deeper sins, so they stiffened their necks and explained.
“Lord Son of God! This old thing not only does not participate in the holy Evil Purification Ceremony, but also never prays to the Goddess, there must be a ghost in her heart.”
“Yes, yes, she must have been bewitched by demons and possessed by filth!”
Langmuir said solemnly, “The Goddess teaches us to love each other. The Holy Teachings say: All people in the world have connected bloodlines.”
The young man said, “But, but she refuses to throw stones at the demon bronze statue–”
Langmuir: “You also know that the demon in the Evil Purification Ceremony is just a statue. Are you going to hurt your real brethren for a fictitious demon?”
“As for whether to pray or not, it is not a sign of defining good and evil. Can’t there be devout good people among the mute who can’t speak?”
“Those who are guilty will be punished, and those who are innocent should not be speculated. You need to apologize to this old woman.”
The young men were stunned when they heard this, and looked at each other. Langmuir patiently advised them a few more times until their faces showed the color of awakened shame.
One said, “Oh my god, Lord Son of God, it turns out that the one who was bewitched by the demon was me…”
The other said, “Lord Son of God, please forgive our ignorance and cleanse our unintentional sins!”
Langmuir lightly touched his chest.
“The Holy Teachings say: Everyone living in the world bears sins.”
“Those who are awakened, who know their mistakes, repent and make up for them, will receive the guidance of light. May the Goddess forgive you.”
The two young men honestly apologized to the old woman, turned out two or three copper coins from their pockets, and reluctantly put them into the old woman’s dirty hands.
The old woman stared at them with a strange look, and then glanced at Langmuir. She didn’t thank them or praise the son of god, but walked away muttering with the copper coins in her hand.
“This old woman…”
Gilbert’s face was somewhat ugly. This was the capital city, near the Brett Temple, and it was rare to encounter such an uncouth person.
But Langmuir didn’t mind, he saw the old woman’s ragged clothes, and was rather worried, whispering to the knight to take care of her in the future.
After that, there were no more twists and turns, and the carriage returned to the temple at noon.
When Langmuir got out of the carriage, there happened to be four or five girls in white skirts and white flowers passing by, happily saying, “Lord Son of God has returned from the ceremony.”
They were the holy women serving in the temple, each of them graceful like elves.
One of the older ones said, “Lord Son of God, the elder prophet is waiting for you in the chapel.”
Langmuir nodded politely, “I know.”
The son of god walked along the arched ceiling corridor into the temple, his bare feet stepping on the warmed carpet, and every place under his feet was free of filth.
When he arrived outside the chapel, Langmuir asked Gilbert to wait at the door, and he pushed the door and entered–
Under the red, blue, green, and purple stained glass windows, the elder prophet was waiting there.
The old man was dressed in a golden robe with a sunflower pattern. He walked towards Langmuir, showing a gentle smile, “Lord Son of God, you have worked hard in the Evil Purification Ceremony.”
“Everything is the same as in previous years, it’s not hard.”
“But the ceremony can only soothe the hearts of believers, but it can’t kill the real incarnation of evil.”
“I came for this.”
The old man looked deeply at the blond young man in front of him, “Are you afraid, my child?”
Langmuir shook his head and said softly, “Elder, you once said that I am the son of god with the highest Mana in the history of the kingdom.”
“And the Demon King was also born before my eyes. I always think, is this the destiny given to me by the Goddess? Was I…was I born for this?”
The elder sighed, placing his palm on Langmuir’s head, “My proud child, you can think like this, even the Goddess would be relieved for you.”
Langmuir gently hummed in agreement.
“So, Son of God–”
The old man closed his eyes and retracted his love, his face became serious, and the icy light in his eyes shot straight.
“Are you ready?”
Langmuir said solemnly, “Yes, I am ready.”
“Please grant me that bow of light, I will act on behalf of the Goddess’s will, and truly dispel the sins under the sun.”
…….
That year, the Son of God Langmuir was just fifteen, the same age as the Demon King.
He was beautiful, pure, and spotless; loved by all, and also loved all; believed in the divine, believed in destiny, believed in all the good things under the sun.
Therefore, when he smiled, there was no melancholy in his eyes that would not go away for the next fourteen years. His eyes were also without tear-like scales.
