A Usurper of Divinity? Maiev had never thought of himself as such. Just yesterday, he was a man who firmly believed there were no gods in this world. How could he be a usurper?
What embarrassed him slightly was that Yunia knew he was a false believer.
It was true. Although Maiev had founded the Church of Truth with his own hands and fabricated a goddess, what he truly worshipped wasn't the false idol, but the tangible, concrete concept of Truth itself.
"Yunia, since you know I am not your believer, why are you still willing to lend your power to me?"
"Because Yunia knows how much effort Papa put into creating Yunia... Yunia has been with Papa since the moment she first developed a sliver of consciousness."
"Developed a sliver of consciousness?"
Maiev raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just descend yesterday? Do you mean you had a form of consciousness before that?"
"Mhm..."
Yunia looked茫然 (blank/confused). "I think so. A year ago, Yunia could sense the surroundings, but I was trapped inside the statue and couldn't birth a true Divine spark."
"Is your descent related to yesterday's earthquake?"
"I don't know..."
Seeing that Yunia knew nothing about her own birth, Maiev didn't press further. He certainly wanted to know which corner of the universe this god had popped out of, but the urgent matter at hand...
Was solving the trouble right in front of them.
A swarm of curse-carrying rats was scurrying through the city. If they weren't stopped in time, the consequences would be catastrophic.
"Yunia, do you have a way to purge the curse carried by the rats?"
"I do!" Yunia giggled. "Just like Fat Orange and Little Black, any believer under the protection of the God can be immune to ordinary curses. But..."
"But what?"
"It's too late."
Yunia looked up at the moon, which seemed draped in a thin veil. Her voice was soft. "Although the rats only carry a common curse, it acts very quickly. Once infected, it flares up in a very short time. And the creatures that die from the curse will spread even more of it. Corpses are the hotbed for the curse's proliferation. Tonight, many people are destined to die... Papa, Yunia can feel it. The number of believers is decreasing."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As soon as she finished speaking, the church door was violently pounded.
Maiev quickly returned to the main hall with Yunia and the two cats. He threw open the door to find several middle-aged men standing outside. They wore brown flannel coats and carried kerosene lamps, their expressions fraught with tension.
These were the workshop owners of New Ross City. They each ran small factories. The leader, a bearded man named Von Browning, was the owner of the brewery where Mr. Jacob worked.
They were also believers of the Church of Truth.
Von Browning's eyes were bloodshot, and he was gasping for air. His beard trembled as he spoke. "Father, something terrible has happened!"
"Don't panic. Tell me what happened."
"It's those damned rats!"
Von Browning stammered, trembling. "They've gone mad! They pounce and bite anyone who walks by. Those bitten fall into a coma very quickly, develop a high fever, and within two hours, their skin festers and they die! No medicine works!"
"It's the Black Death!"
A man standing behind Von Browning shouted, "I've read about this disease in books. It's also caused by rats!"
"And those officials and nobles living in the rich district, they're leaving us to die! As soon as they heard it was the Black Death, they blockaded the streets! We didn't see them move this fast when it came to distributing poor relief funds!"
The cacophony of voices rose and fell. Maiev felt a headache coming on. He subconsciously glanced at the silent Yunia beside him, then turned back to ask, "What is the situation in the city now?"
"Many people have been bitten. And anyone who visited the scene after they died has also caught the sickness!" Von Browning screamed. "The city is in complete chaos!"
"Now the only one we can rely on is you, Father!"
"That's right! Only you can save us now, Father!"
"Me?"
Maiev was startled. Had the secret of the God's descent been exposed?
Did Von Browning and the others rush here to pray for the Goddess's grace?
"The priest from the Church of the Three Fates said that holy water can cure this disease, but their supply is running out. We had no choice but to run here and beg for your help, Father Maiev!"
Holy water can lift the curse?
Are you kidding me...
Maiev, who boiled the holy water himself every day, knew better than anyone. The so-called holy water had no effect on curing diseases or warding off disasters!
It was just a pot of boiled water!
Unless...
Maiev's eyes suddenly narrowed.
Unless the Divine Grace of a God was added to the holy water. In that case, perhaps the holy water really could eliminate the curse in the body.
But why would the priest of the Church of the Three Fates publicize this?
If he sold the holy water quietly, he could not only make a fortune but also fiercely promote his church. Those who survived by drinking the holy water would surely become die-hard loyalists!
Conversely...
This was a trap! A thorough, vicious trap!
Only holy water infused with Divine Grace could eliminate the curse. The priest of the Church of the Three Fates could use this point to heavily advertise his own church. Meanwhile, the small churches without a descended God would offer holy water that naturally had no effect. When that happened, the few believers of those small churches would inevitably think their faith was false!
Wouldn't they turn to the Church of the Three Fates, whose holy water was effective and whose doctrine was 'proven real'?
Furthermore...
If any other church produced holy water that could eliminate the curse, wouldn't that prove that a God had descended in their church as well?
The small churches, which could have originally hidden in the shadows and developed quietly while waiting for the times to change, were instantly forced into a dilemma.
Option one: Produce the holy water, stabilize their believers, and then be targeted by the massive churches.
Option two: Don't produce the holy water to protect themselves. The result would simply be believers leaving the church in droves to join the big churches!
Whichever path they chose, they would have to sever their own arm!
What a ruthless scheme!
Thinking of this, Maiev's expression darkened considerably. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a crisp clang behind him.
Everyone looked back. Fat Orange and Little Black were squatting on the empty baptismal font. On the floor below, the copper pot that originally held the holy water was overturned, spilling water everywhere.
"Ah!!!"
Von Browning clutched his head and let out a heart-wrenching scream. "My holy water!!!"
Seeing this, Maiev's eyes lit up. He hurriedly stopped the crowd, who were rolling up their sleeves preparing to teach the cats a lesson, and spoke rapidly:
"Everyone, as you can see, the holy water is temporarily gone. Please go check other churches first. Give me a little time to prepare."