Blood of Mercury

Shocking fact.

The temple is unrighteous, the gods are selfish - what Claudia and the old woman say almost upend Cyrah's worldview.

Strictly speaking, this is the second time. Last time, what Roland said to him in the White Tower made him doubt the Pope, but this time, what Claudia said to him made him doubt even the gods.

"...But the plague cannot be cured..."

Despite this, as a priest for more than 30 years, Xila subconsciously wanted to defend the gods: "From this point of view, they seem to be right. Since the plague cannot be cured, then completely cut off the plague from the deepest part. The basis for contagion... As long as the social structure does not collapse, no matter how many people die, they can recover in a short period of time."

"—well said, but it makes no sense."

Shira was only halfway through when Claudia interrupted him: "What you need to know is, 'Plague cannot be cured by magic' - I hope you know what that means."

Xila pondered a little, as if realizing something, her pupils shrank instantly: "I can't pass the magic... Could it be—"

"That's right. Any means other than magic can work. At least it can alleviate the plague."

Claudia sighed.

"Aren't you going to ask the children at my door? Then I'll tell you that these people are infected with bloodstain syndrome and have developed to the terminal stage."

As she said this, Claudia's expression became calm, her blue pupils seemed to be the purest crystal. What light shines in it.

She looked at Sheila, as if she was looking at something behind Sheila, and stated softly: "In fact, when I found this place. This place has become a refuge that has nothing to do with high or low. These are the only people who can survive the slaughter of knights."

"I still remember that when I first came here, the people here tried their best to drive me away. They attacked me, scolded me, and just hoped that I could get away from them. I just hoped that I would not contract such a disease."

Claudia got up. He wrapped around behind the old woman, helped her sit down, and gently combed her hair behind the old woman. In just two breaths, the old woman who was almost crazy before was comforted by her again.

"When I first came here, I was also very distressed. I have magic that can restore wounds, but the only thing I can't dispel the plague. Dying. When I couldn't do anything about it, I almost broke down."

"But at this moment, I found that an old man with two legs chopped off died four days after the bloodstains appeared, and I had an idea at that time."

"Then, with the permission of a mother, I cut off her child's limbs—because the disease dries up the blood, and even cutting the arteries won't squeeze out much blood. And even the left arm. , the blood on the right arm will also cause the body to collapse. After the limbs were cut off at the same time, someone kept swinging their limbs to squeeze out the blood that had turned black. Her child successfully survived the second day, But after I treated him and sealed the wound, he died."

"I understood then that this disease must be related to blood. As long as the blood is kept bleeding, even if there are blood stains, it will not die in a short time."

When Claudia said this, her happy eyes almost gleamed. A flush of excitement appeared on his face: "Then, no one will die because of the plague. All I have to do is to cut off their limbs and let people help them keep lifting their limbs to squeeze the blood, and then when they are about to lose blood When they die, pray to the teacher to perform a miracle to restore their bodies, and then repeat the same process. Although it is very tiring, I am very happy because no one will die before my eyes again.”

"But, is your divine grace enough?"

Xila couldn't help but ask: "You are not a voter, and your divine grace should not be enough to support the consumption of divine magic of this level. In the case of a great miracle, even you can only perform it twice in a row at most."

"That's right. But the Master answered my prayers and gave me a new artifact—"

Claudia smiled slightly: "That is the Scarlet Holy Grail filled with scarlet blood. It is rumored that this is the blood of the ancient beast 'Scourge'. During the war of the gods, Elcate's Scarlet Knights were drawn from the scarlet blood. the power gained from it.”

"...No, wait."

Xila suddenly felt a chill behind her: "What have you done?"

"As you think—I've exchanged blood for them."

Claudia answered without shyness: "I did this after asking each of them their opinions and getting their permission."

"They have animal nature because of this. After the ceremony, even if they don't need to eat, a steady stream of scarlet blood will be produced from their hearts, and the poisonous black blood will be squeezed out of the wounds of the limbs. Their bodies are changing. , every day is different - the best thing is that their blood is coloured again, they can even lift their bodies and become stronger."

"In order not to trouble others, they have tied the sterilized oak sticks to their severed limbs since yesterday morning, moved their limbs and tried to squeeze out the old blood. After a full week, Iris The flowers in the swamp were also poisoned by the blood, and the swamp turned dark red. Since yesterday, the hot blood even caused the swamp to bubble up, exuding an unpleasant smell. "

"Those kids were doing it to repay. They splattered their blood on the outermost perimeter of the swamp, letting the unpleasant, sickening, even plague-infecting stench drive away priests and Templars who came to investigate—this It's the only thing they can do."

Claudia said lightly.

Sheila was completely speechless.

The formation of this strange new order is undoubtedly a slap in the face of Xila, who believes in his heart that "the law and enforcement of the gods are the source of order".

"...But, won't they lose their minds?" Sheila asked as if struggling.

"so what?"

Claudia asked back: "They are still children. When I cut off their limbs, they were almost paralyzed, and their internal organs began to rot, but they didn't cry. They accepted me with a smile. surgery."

"These kids are strong enough. They did everything they could. The rest is up to us adults."

Claudia looked at Xila meaningfully: "Do you know what you should do now?"

"...I think I get it."

Sheila's eyes became firm again.

"I think I get it."

In the Black Fire Bar, the man in black robe suddenly spoke, and his buzzing voice attracted everyone's attention: "I understand... what the gods think."

Saying so, he took off his hood, revealing a crow-like beak mask that completely covered his face.

He buzzed: "Introduce myself, everyone... My name is Kakarit. I swear by my honor, soul, and ancestors that everything I say next will not lie." (To be continued. .)