Name of the God

The morning sun shone brilliantly, casting a pure white glow over the snowy mountains of Western Romania. Even in this wintry world, one could feel the distinctive warmth of winter sunlight. At the window stood Keanu, his eyes catching the silver needle pines in rows, was momentarily lost in this pristine world.

He hadn't anticipated that stepping into the world of Van Helsing's task would show him a chance to admire the natural beauty of the 19th century. In theory, if he doesn't die, he can explore the sceneries of various fantastical worlds in the future.

"You look well, seems like you've fully recovered." Anna's voice came from behind.

Keanu turned to look. She was wearing a bright blue dress with intricate lace around the edges, her hair tied with a red ribbon, giving off an informal yet slightly wild vibe. She was standing at the door, her shoulders wrapped tightly.

"Thanks for your medicine," Keanu responded.

With despicable healing, Keanu had completely recovered overnight. All his wounds were healed after becoming an adventurer. He noticeably felt that his vitality was no longer ordinary; his recovery ability was greatly enhanced. Even without healing magic, one night was enough for him to recuperate significantly.

"You don't have to come up with such an excuse. I know the effectiveness of those medicines. But if you don't plan to speak about it, I won't force you. Everyone has the right to keep their secrets."

"You are indeed an understanding girl," Keanu said, a smile playing on his lips.

Suddenly the town bell rang out, resounding in a melodious and crisp tone. Looking out the window, Keanu saw large numbers of townsfolk gathering again.

"What's happening now?"

"Nothing. It's the church bell. Most of Transylvania's people are devout believers. Today is their sabbath, a day to pray to God." Anna replied.

"What are they praying for?"

"What else could it be? They are praying for god's assistance to help them break from the enslavement of the vampires."

"How interesting. After last night's event, I thought they welcomed the vampires."

"Nobody welcomes tyranny, they just dare not resist. Dracula is too powerful."

Keanu's lips curled into a faint smile. He picks up his coat and heads for the door. "Hey, where are you going?" Anna asks. "To the church." "You're a believer too?" "Everyone has a faith," Keanu replies.

At the church, an elderly priest with white hair was preaching. "Today, we gather here to show our devotion and gratitude to God. This is an appropriate place, as it is full of holiness and is not influenced by worldly evil. As we all know, every demon is not without cause, they are the projection of our inner evil, a reflection of the negative emotions in our hearts such as greed, hatred, jealousy, and fear. God guides us, he is like the sun, warming us, dispelling darkness, and driving away demons."

"God is our lord, any disrespect to the lord is an abandonment of light and a reliance on dark evil. God punishes him, making him surrounded by demons until one day he comes to realize. If he cannot convert, God will bring down his punishment to cleanse the sin."

"Let us pray to the Father, who gives us light, air, flowers, clear water, peace. In the name of the Father, let our hearts remain pure and not be eroded by evil darkness."

"Amen!"

"Amen," all the believers pray in low voices.

After the conclusion of the sermon, the priest usually asks for feedback from some believers. Some believers would loudly express how they have found solace and peace after devoting themselves to God. Others would seek advice from the priest about certain situations, and the priest would provide answers.

At this moment, a townsman was pleading for the priest's guidance: "Silver wolf died yesterday, Father, was this God's arrangement?"

The priest answered, "The Lord's will is unfathomable. We have to obey the Lord's will. If the Lord wants to punish us, we should accept it graciously, if he wants to reward us, we should humbly thank him. Silver wolf was an underling of Dracula, and undead beings are evil. The Lord will inevitably punish and eliminate them."

"But what if Count Dracula comes to trouble us?"

"We should face it with courage, the Lord... has his arrangements."

"The question is, can you see clearly when the Lord's arrangement comes, and can you understand?" Suddenly, a loud voice interrupted the brief tranquillity in the church.

The believers turned around and saw Keanu standing in the doorway of the church.

A large group of people stood up, and someone shouted, "It's the Outlander who killed the silver wolf and brought disaster to the town. He dares to come here!"

"Be quiet! This is a holy place!" The priest yelled.

Everyone fell silent at once. With a smile, Keanu walked toward the pulpit and stood near the priest, "Father, may I ask your permission to speak?"

The priest looked at Keanu, thought for a moment, and finally nodded, "Everyone has the right to express their opinions, God is generous. Even the most wicked person cannot be deprived of his right to speak. But if you blaspheme the Lord, you shall be punished."

He stepped aside, and Keanu formally stood on the pulpit.

Keanu looked around at the villagers in the church and declared in a loud voice, "Before I officially express my opinion, I would like to share a little story with you all."

"The story goes like this. Once there was a believer who touched the merciful God with his piety. Therefore, after his death, he was honored to go to heaven, and God summoned him personally. God asked him, 'What reward do you want?' He replied, 'I hope my son can become a great man.'"

"God agreed to his request. When the believer's son found out about God's reward, he stopped focusing on his work. He abandoned the fields and no longer farmed, waiting every day for God to arrange for him to become a duke of a country. But no matter how long he waited, it never came. But he firmly believed that the merciful God would fulfill his promise, so he steadfastly waited. Day after day, year after year. He became increasingly poor and downcast. In the end, he was forced to live in a broken inn, begging to live, until one freezing and snowy night, he died pitifully without clothes and food."

"After his death, he went to see God and asked why God did not fulfill the promise."

"God said, 'I never forgot the promise to your father. But for you to become a great man, you must first become an official, even if it's the lowest-level public servant, I can make you rise to prominence, but you did nothing. So how can I make you a great man? I have no choice but to change the conditions, hoping you could become a general. Again, I've sent conscription letters to you, but you just throw them away without a glance. If you'd gone, I could guarantee that you would never be injured by the enemy's blade, your achievements in battle would be glorious, but you did nothing. So, I had to change the conditions again, hoping you could become a businessman. As long as you went into business, your trade would always flourish, no matter what you did, your customers would always be crowded, but you still did nothing. In the end, I had no choice but to put some gold under the stone slab in your yard. You just had to clean up a bit and you would discover those gold coins. But you still did nothing... Whatever reward I give you, you need to discover, pursue, and at least try once to get it. So, it's not that I didn't fulfill the promise, but when I rewarded you, you didn't appreciate it, you just ignored it...'"

With a calm tone, Keanu narrated this simple story. He looked at the believers in the church, paused for a moment, then continued, "Regrettably, in my view, the people of Transylvania seem to be like that foolish and lazy child, waiting every day for God's salvation. But when God's salvation has arrived, they do not appreciate it, instead treating the person who came to their aid as an enemy."

"What are you talking about?!" A villager stood up, who was infatuated with Anna, Gasken. "You've heard what I said," Keanu spoke loudly, "As you see when God sent his messenger to rescue you from misfortune, your response was to avoid offending the wicked. Look at what is happening in this town. You are being oppressed by vampires, but you disdain help from the outside world and even try to capture those who killed silver wolf and hand them over to Count Dracula to appease his anger. Is this how you treat the blessings bestowed upon you by God? You pray every day, pray for the light to come and the darkness to leave you. But when dawn comes, your choice is to abandon the light and embrace the darkness! Then, what are you?"

Keanu says loudly, "You all are a bunch of hypocritical believers! A group of selfish, lazy, incompetent, cowardly unbelievers! You blaspheme against God's blessings, ignore God's glory, embrace the dark attack, bow to evil with humility, and then pray for God's forgiveness? Do you think you are worthy?"

"You bastard!" Gasken shouted, his face turning red and his fists tightly clenched.

But he didn't rush to hit Keanu, because someone stood up before him and roared at Keanu, "You outsider, how dare you call yourself God's messenger? When God's grace arrives, we will know!"

It was Nosen speaking. He turned back and shouted at the villagers behind him, "Get rid of this bastard!"

Bang!

The gun went off.

Nosen fell with a cry, clutching his thigh.

On the pulpit, Keanu held a smoking gun.

Everyone was shocked by the gunshot.

The priest yelled, "How could you do such a bloody thing in a sacred place?!"

Keanu turned back and glared at the priest, "The Bible says: 'Those who are loyal to Jehovah have sworn to obey the commandments, decrees, and laws, fulfilling the covenant recorded in the scriptures. Those who breach it will be severely punished. Satan, with God's permission, brought disaster to Job; Moses and Aaron, according to God's will, brought down ten plagues upon Egypt; all who defy the will of God will be punished by God, God is kind, but also stern. His blessing can bring light to you, but if this place is invaded by evil, it must be purged!'"

Having a rich understanding of various passages in the Bible, Keanu's words left the priest speechless. "I am not corrupted by evil! I am God's most faithful believer!" Nosen yelled, clutching his leg.

Keanu scoffed, "Nosen Lahore, born in 1865, into a merchant family. You do not believe in God, your true faith is money and status, and you desire to be a true aristocrat. On the other hand, Count Dracula is the one who rules this land. So you bow to him, providing him with information about the town whenever he wishes, in exchange for the safety of your family. What you want the most is to marry Anna Villares, so you will rightfully become an acclaimed nobleman of the town. But you are afraid of being bound by the vow of the Villares ancestral family, that would prevent you from ascending to heaven after your death. You are a thoroughly selfish being, I am amazed, why would a vile person like you be confident that God would accept you?"

"You..." Nosen was shocked to have his inner thoughts completely exposed by Keanu. How could he know these things that only he knows?

Keanu slowly aimed his gun at the townspeople in the church, "Don't be surprised, all of this was told to me by God. This man's filth is disgusting, he deceives and hoodwinks the people of this town, in the name of God, the shot just now was my punishment to him."

"Impersonating God's messenger, using worldly weapons in the halls of the Father, you are the one who should be punished!" Gasken shouted.

Perhaps because of Anna, Gaston had never had any good feelings toward Keanu.

"Gaston Powell, once an orphan from out of town, you were taken in by the old carpenter here in Transylvania and since then you have settled here. Everyone knows your strong physique, brave and fierce character, and excellent tolerance for alcohol, but not many know that you are a descendant of the Vikings. Even though you're just a tavern helper, like to fight, and seek attention, in truth, you are a true warrior. Unfortunately, you have not taken up the honor and responsibility a warrior should bear, allowing yourself to be obscured in this town, watching as the townsfolk are insulted."

Keanu continued indifferently, as everyone looked at Gasken with astonishment.

The young man looked panic-stricken, "How... how did you know?"

"As I have said, the Lord knows all," Keanu replied impassively.

"Is he really God's messenger?" The townsfolk began to discuss among themselves.

Looking at wounded Nosen, Keanu suddenly walked over, reaching out to place his hand on Nosen's injured leg.

Despicable healing was activated.

Nosen's leg began to heal.

"My God, this is a miracle!" The crowd exclaimed in amazement, gazing upon Keanu with a mixture of awe and reverence.

Keanu said slowly, "This is the grace of God."

Everyone simultaneously knelt before Keanu.