Decades passed quietly. The era was advancing, but people's lives didn't seem to have gotten any better. The believers who came to Doma to pour out their troubles still spoke of the same uninteresting things. Although people's sufferings were different, in Doma's eyes, they were all more or less the same. They were nothing more than being trapped by birth, old age, sickness, and death, entangled in love and hate, and manipulated by desire.
But even so, Doma never canceled this ritual. After all, what else could these foolish and pathetic people do but pour out their pain to him, hoping to find comfort and salvation from the "Child of God"? "If even I am unwilling to listen to their suffering, then they would be too pitiful," Doma thought. This was his duty, and also his way of observing the diversity of humanity.
Although he felt that people's suffering was always monotonous, over time, a few interesting weirdos would always appear. At those times, Doma would comfort them with compassionate tears, and after they left the temple weeping with gratitude, he would enthusiastically and secretly follow them to join in the fun.
"Things always become especially exciting and interesting then~" Doma sat on the soft cushion on the altar, smiling and swaying from side to side.
"Lord Founder, a believer has arrived." The wooden door was gently pulled open, and a serious and dignified maid spoke respectfully from outside.
"Ah, please let them in, Miki," Doma said with a gentle smile, putting on his Founder's hat.
The maid named Miki showed a worried expression. "But, they have fled from a plague-stricken area."
Doma blinked his eyes. He knew about this. Recently, many refugees had come to the town at the foot of the mountain, and many had received help from the Eternal Paradise Cult. It was said that a plague had broken out in a small town a few miles away. The local officials had sent people to seal it off, but some people still managed to escape. Fortunately, after getting far away from the town, the patients' symptoms strangely lost their infectivity. After confirming this, the local administrator drove the townspeople away, letting them flee wherever they could.
"Is there a problem?" Doma tilted his head in confusion, looking at the worried Miki. "Oh my, is Miki worried about me?" he had a look of realization, a pure and brilliant smile on his lips. "It's okay~ Didn't they say it's not contagious anymore?"
"Ah! But you all should still take precautions. If you get sick, I will be very sad." Doma also showed a worried expression, but his tone was as light as a whine.
Miki nodded with a smile and closed the wooden door. After a while, she brought the believers in. The believers who came to confess this time were a family of three: a haggard-looking couple and a boy of about ten.
Doma maintained a compassionate expression and turned his gaze to the boy, who was wrapped tightly in cloth. "Mmm—I seem to feel Lady Enyo's aura."
He listened with a piteous expression as the couple wept about how the sudden plague had cost them everything, and even their child was sick and didn't have long to live. From their account, Doma also learned the specific details of this plague.
"Hmm? It sounds a bit familiar, like I've heard it somewhere before." Doma searched his memories, but there were too many things to remember, and he couldn't find it right away. He tilted his head, suddenly having the urge to stick his fingers into his brain to rummage through it, feeling it would be easier to find that way. "Mmm~ Forget it. It's very rude to do that in front of others."
Doma's facial expression didn't change at all as he continued to browse his memories. By the time the couple was about to finish their story, he had finally found the source of the familiarity.
"I heard a wandering samurai talk about it twenty-three years ago. It seems there was an outbreak back then."
"Mmm, it's also recorded in a medical book I flipped through out of boredom, a disease called the 'Night Plague'." It had a sudden outbreak, extremely high infectivity and mortality rate, unique and obvious symptoms, and the characteristic of losing its infectivity when far from the outbreak site... It was once thought by doctors to be poisoning.
"It has broken out several times in the last hundred years." Doma shed compassionate tears for the family below the altar, his rainbow eyes as clear and brilliant as if washed by rain. He stood up from his cushion, walked slowly down the altar, and gently stroked the boy's head with pity. "Let me see this poor child," he said gently.
Unwrapping the cloth, the boy's exposed skin had sporadic black spots, like black peach blossoms. Doma knew that when the black spots covered his entire body, the boy's life force would be depleted, and he would die like a withered plant.
"It's definitely Lady Enyo's aura," he thought. "Have you thought about letting him get some sun?" Doma looked at the couple.
"No, we can't! He'll die!" the woman cried, covering her face.
Doma nodded, slowly returned to his seat, and comforted the weeping people in a soft voice. After they left gratefully, Doma lay sideways on the cushion and began to analyze in his mind.
"Is this Lady Enyo's ability? It feels so dangerous~"
"It's like sowing seeds in people's bodies, using their flesh and blood as nutrients to bloom black flowers."
"It spreads at night, germinates within people, and takes over and assimilates the human body in just one night. It relies on the human body to grow, but in turn, it also maintains the body's functions."
"So once exposed to the sun, if the Blood Demon Art is dispelled, the person will actually die faster."
"How beautiful and cruel, Lady Enyo." Doma sighed with a piteous expression. Although he couldn't bear to see his believers suffer, he really couldn't save that boy. Even if he dispelled Lady Enyo's Blood Demon Art, the boy would die, unless he turned him into a demon. "How pitiful."
Doma tilted his head and looked at the spot where the family had just knelt. He felt Enyo's aura linger there for a while before completely dissipating. "Is this the method of transmission? Like pollen, but it only lasts for a very short time."
"Mmm~ The reason it loses its infectivity is probably because the distance is too great, and the pollen can't germinate?"
"It feels very difficult to defend against." Doma muttered to himself, but soon showed an innocent smile without any worry. "Lady Enyo is really amazing~"
"When should I apply for a replacement blood battle with Lady Enyo? I can hardly wait."
"Lord Akaza is so heartless, hiding from me for so many years..." Thinking of this sad matter, Doma drooped his eyebrows and shed tears with a wronged expression.
Hearing a message in his mind, he instantly stopped his tears and showed an expectant expression. "Oh my, has Gyokko finally applied for a replacement blood battle?"
-------
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