Chapter 17: The Divine Plague and the Pendant

Roland and Kalia continued walking through the dimly lit sewer, their eyes meeting nothing but flowing sewage and swarms of rats along the way. Although the number was not as exaggerated as when they first descended, it was still astronomical. Fortunately, they hadn’t encountered anyone else in the sewer, thus avoiding any potential conflict.

After some investigation, they confirmed that apart from the overwhelming number of rats—some of which had undergone severe mutations—they found no other abnormalities. Though even this alone was cause for grave concern.

“All right, Kalia, it’s time to go. You can finally say goodbye to the sewer you hate so much.”

“Hmph!”

“Come on, don’t be stubborn. It was just using your innate magic to collect a few rat carcasses. You didn’t even have to touch them directly.”

At this, Kalia lowered her head and quickly stepped in front of Roland, then deliberately struck his calf hard. “Listen carefully, Mr. Roland.”

“The so-called witch’s innate magic is like another limb, an extension of the body…”

“If it were just ordinary rat corpses, it might be fine. But those obviously abnormal rat bodies? Just swallowing them with my shadow made me feel utterly filthy!”

She shivered violently, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning slightly forward, her face expressing a helpless “I can’t be appeased” look.

“Sorry, sorry. There was no other way; we need to examine these rat carcasses.”

Roland smiled apologetically, then shifted the topic. “Want to grab some dessert? I know a good place. Even I, who usually isn’t interested in sweets, sometimes go there.”

“Oh, really?”

Though her tone still sounded somewhat cold and annoyed, Roland could tell she was pretending. This woman was far too easy to read—much more so than the one he met during the academy’s trials.

“Of course. As an apology, how about I treat you to a big meal?”

“Forget it. Let’s just go back to wash up first. Going to eat dessert while reeking wouldn’t be good.” Kalia regretted wearing a white sweater today.

If not for the invisibility cloak Roland gave her, this sweater she liked so much would have been ruined. Even so, it would still need thorough cleaning afterward.

When Roland used his teleportation trick again to bring Kalia back to the surface, the sun still hung high, offering some warmth to the wintry city of Riskan.

Once above ground, Kalia looked at Roland and asked, “What do you plan to do next?”

“I’m thinking about that too,” Roland replied calmly. “We could report the situation in the sewers to the Church’s local branch and request support to escalate the matter.”

“But from what I know about Colonel Odmeyer, he’s not the type to cover things up for his own sake.”

“He must have some concerns or hasn’t yet determined the cause of the rat infestation.”

“Of course, maybe I misjudged him… Anyway, our priority is to study these rat mutations.”

“Let’s find a reliable place to research.”

“Eh~~~ It’s not over yet!?”

“Everything else can wait; this is the most critical matter!”

“Oh, what’s there to research? Isn’t it obvious at a glance?”

Kalia gave Roland a disdainful look. “Don’t tell me you collected those rat corpses just to study their mutations?”

“What else do you think I’d do with their bodies?” Roland looked at Kalia with a strange expression, feeling she might have some bizarre misunderstandings about him.

“I thought you might want to make dirty bombs with the pus from their sores—you know, toxins or gases.”

Roland was speechless. “…Why would you think of that? And how could you tell what’s going on just by looking?”

“Eh, don’t you know? Isn’t it common knowledge? When creatures mutate like this, it’s obviously due to the influence of the Demon King’s blood!”

“You know, the Demon King seized the authority and power of an evil deity called the Ulcerous Madonna. The Demon King’s blood represents the power gained from that.”

“It’s a strange toxin, almost like blood, undetectable by any means until fully activated.”

“But once it activates, no method can reverse the mutation or death process. When complete, the infected become walking contagions, their bodies covered in boils and swelling to immense sizes.”

“Everything about them—their fur, blood, even breath and magical aura—becomes a means of spreading infection, and usually, no method can stop the transmission.”

“This is what the Holy Church calls the ‘Divine Plague.’ During the Demon King’s War, it caused considerable trouble for the human alliance.”

“In the end, the Church obtained blessings from the Earth and Fertility Goddess, gaining ways to resist the infection’s spread. But those infected with the Demon King’s blood themselves become greatly empowered and difficult to handle.”

Listening to Kalia’s explanation, Roland slowly asked, “Is this really common knowledge?”

“Not really? This was the bedtime story an old lady told me!”

Damn immortal beings! Even their children’s bedtime stories are so hardcore!

Silently cursing Kalia’s elven teacher, Roland continued, “According to you, those rats are infected with the Demon King’s blood? Then isn’t there a high chance we’ve been infected?”

“Don’t worry. The true Demon King’s blood no longer exists. With the Demon King slain, the authority stolen from various evil gods also vanished.” Kalia waved her hand to reassure him.

“Although it fits the infection’s characteristics, the historical Divine Plague cannot reappear, unless these inferior strains are somehow re-infused with divinity.”

“Even so, we must be cautious. The infectivity has decreased greatly, but the toxicity remains formidable. Accidental exposure could still have disastrous consequences.”

“And these rats definitely need thorough extermination. With so many virus carriers, the Holy Church will probably need to conduct a large-scale purification ritual.”

Despite Kalia’s explanations, Roland remained vigilant. He remembered how the system described Riskan ten years later.

The plague-ridden demon city of Riskan became the source of an unknown epidemic that spread, turning the entire southern coast of the empire into a forbidden zone.

This was no minor matter, contrary to what Kalia implied.

Roland recalled the pendant—the very reason Kalia was being hunted—and why the madmen of the Chaos Brotherhood cared so much about it.

What did that truth-cross-shaped pendant truly represent? Did Kalia really know nothing about it?

“Kalia, can you be honest with me? Do you really not know what that pendant is for?” Roland asked seriously. “Please answer me sincerely.”