"Fat Orange, Little Black, well done!"
After sending away the furious Von Browning and his group, Maiev quickly closed the church doors. He picked up Fat Orange and Little Black, ready to plant a kiss on them.
Little Black 'reluctantly' accepted its master's kiss, but Fat Orange pressed a paw against Maiev's chin and said calmly, "Stop. Time is tight. New Ross City is a border city with less than ten churches, large and small. The supply of holy water is limited. Others will come knocking soon. We must find a countermeasure during this interval."
"You're right."
Maiev nodded in deep agreement. "With insufficient clues, I can't determine where the curse came from. But now that the Church of the Three Fates has made a move, we must respond."
"Fortunately, we have Yunia. We don't have to worry about how to solve the curse... Yunia?"
Speaking of Yunia, Maiev realized he hadn't heard her speak for a long time. She was usually lively and active; why the sudden silence?
He turned around and found Yunia standing behind him, head lowered. Her eyelids were drooping heavily as if weighted with lead, and her body swayed, ready to collapse at any moment.
"Yunia, what's wrong?"
Seeing her state, Maiev quickly pulled her to sit on the bench and asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Fat Orange and Little Black sat aside, equally nervous.
"Papa..."
Yunia's voice was as faint as a gossamer thread. "The power provided by the believers is getting weaker..."
"Meow! Look!"
Sharp-eyed Little Black stared with wide eyes, pointing a paw at Yunia's legs dangling off the bench.
Maiev and Fat Orange looked quickly. They discovered that at some point, Yunia's originally solid legs had begun to turn illusionary and transparent, as if they were about to disappear.
Connecting this with what Yunia had told him last night, Maiev immediately realized that this situation was likely due to the believers.
The outbreak of the curse in the city caused many people to die or lose consciousness. They could no longer provide the power of faith to the God. For large churches with a massive believer base, the believers of a single city wouldn't shake their foundation. But for a small church with few believers...
The wildly rampaging curse was fatal.
Maiev had some premonition of this, but what surprised him was that the symptoms came so quickly!
With over 800 believers, the Church of Truth wasn't a large church, but in New Ross City, its scale ranked at least in the top five, second only to the few major churches!
If even the Church of Truth fell into such a critical situation...
Did other small churches have any possibility of survival?
"Don't panic... don't panic..."
Taking a few deep breaths and tapping his temples with his fingertips, Maiev forced himself to calm down quickly. He needed to keep himself in a state of rational thinking.
Once completely calm, he began to ponder. His mind flashed through every memory related to believers, looking for a way to salvage the situation.
Maiev believed that to stabilize Yunia's crumbling godhood, he first had to increase the number of believers. Since he couldn't yet determine if the quality of the believer was linked to the amount of faith power provided, increasing the quantity was always the right move.
But the problem was...
New Ross City was ravaged by curses, and people were panicked and helpless. Was it useful to preach doctrine to them at a time like this?
Was there enough time?
At this critical juncture, whoever could save them was the only God!
"I must find a group that can remain calm when the curse strikes, and is numerous..."
His brow furrowed deeply, and his fingers rubbed his temples faster and faster. Suddenly, Maiev opened his eyes. His nearly black irises lit up.
The Black Death was a terrifying plague that made everyone pale at the mention of it.
Everyone knew it was caused by rats.
So...
The group that feared rats the least would be the one most capable of remaining calm during the outbreak of the Black Death!
They... no!
It was them!
The fingers rubbing his temples stopped abruptly. Maiev looked at Fat Orange and Little Black sitting nearby.
"Since Yunia can grant you grace, it proves you are believers of the Goddess."
"Of course, meow! Cats have faith too!" Little Black said.
Fat Orange beside him didn't respond, but he seemed to understand Maiev's meaning.
"Little Black."
"What are your orders, Big Brother? Meow?"
"Follow me."
"Understood, meow!"
Little Black followed Fat Orange and leaped onto the church windowsill. Before leaving, Fat Orange didn't look back but said:
"Wait for me. Half an hour."
With that, the figures of Fat Orange and Little Black disappeared, leaving only the bright moonlight spilling into the spacious church, shining on Maiev holding Yunia.
"Truth is a beam of light. Wherever it goes, followers will swarm."
Stroking Yunia's smooth long hair, Maiev murmured, "For cats, what is Truth?"
"Follow Goddess Yunia, and there will be dried fish to eat! There will be balls of yarn to play with! And endless canned meat, meow!"
In a dark alley by the harbor, Little Black stood on a high wooden crate, raising a paw. He shouted to the cats below—a gathering swarm that was constantly growing with newcomers. "For us cats, filling our bellies is the Truth, meow!"
Hearing Little Black's deeply bewildering speech, the cats looked at each other, vaguely tempted.
Who didn't want a life without worry about food and drink?
Wandering was wild, yes, but wildness wasn't a necessity. Filling the stomach was.
Especially for the stray cats who frequented the markets and streets, chased and beaten by everyone. Stealing fish and meat was standard operation for them to eat. A slight mistake...
And they would end up dead on the street.
If not forced by life, who would be willing to wander?
Just as Little Black was about to persuade them, a threatening growl came from the darkness. A large calico cat led several lackeys into the alley. The arrival of the boss caused the tempted cats to hurriedly step aside, opening a path.
The calico cat scanned the surroundings coldly, then looked at Fat Orange standing on the wooden crate and said, "This isn't your turf! Get out!"
"Turf?"
Fat Orange jumped down from the crate, landing silently. He circled the calico cat. "Ah-Hua, do you think there will still be a distinction of turf in the future?"
"You are a house cat. You have a master to support you. You are a pet! Pets and stray cats are distinct!"
The calico cat arched its back with a low growl. "You have no wildness at all! You don't deserve to be a cat!"
"Is drinking the wind and eating the dew, and knowing how to fight, what you call wildness?"
"Of course! This is the instinct carved into our bones! We are carnivores!"
"Then I will teach you what survival of the fittest means."
A shrill scream echoed through the alley. The confrontation ended in an instant. Fat Orange pinned Ah-Hua firmly to the ground. No matter how much the opponent struggled, it couldn't move an inch.
"I have received the Goddess's grace. This isn't a fair fight."
Fat Orange released his claws. Ah-Hua immediately fled to the side, watching him warily.
Fat Orange turned and leaped onto the wooden crate, standing at the highest point. Behind him was the bright full moon. He looked down at the group of cats and spoke loudly: "A cat, a qualified cat, should support the weak, maintain the family, and support its wife and children, not bully the males and dominate the females, showing off its strength!"
"This is the Truth!"
He paused, then looked at Ah-Hua hiding in the corner. "Whether stray cats or house cats, they should all unite. I possess the Goddess's grace. The current you is not my match, but I am willing to promise you: if, in time, you can defeat me, then I will yield the position of leader to you. Not just Ah-Hua, this is my promise to all of you cats!"
With that, ignoring Ah-Hua's somewhat shocked gaze, he raised his paw high:
"The era of wandering is over! From today on, I will lead you to build a subterranean kingdom belonging to cats! Believe in the Goddess!"
"Meow!!!"