Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1469 Martial Law
The cordon around the Clockwork River district was executed swiftly under Father Thorne's orders, and the five merfolk, including Lorda, who were temporarily staying at the church, were also sent out by Father Thorne to check the water quality. Before many people knew what had happened, Knight Gael barged into the nearby houses and delivered the order to them.

Although Sir Gael was a rough man, he carried out Father Thorne's orders meticulously, even if it meant pulling someone by the ear or having someone watch over them, he wouldn't let anyone drink a drop of water.

After receiving the sample from Father Thorne, Vanessa immediately began separating the impurities from the water and started studying the properties of the toxin. Unfortunately, the pharmacist had been out most of the time and was unaware of what was happening here.

Veronica helped conduct a thorough medical examination of the children at the church, and fortunately, the discovery seemed to be very timely; at least none of the children showed signs of poisoning. After the examination, she rushed to find Vanessa.

"Veronica? You've come at the perfect time."

Vanessa looked up from the lab table as Veronica pushed the door open, a medicine bottle in her hand.

"Have you already concocted the antidote?"

“Do you think I’m a god?” Vanessa shook her head. “I’ve only extracted the toxins, but I need your help to determine their properties. You know more about biological toxins than I do, so help me figure out what exactly is responsible for this toxicity.”

Veronica walked around to her side: "Okay, describe it."

Vanessa set the medicine bottle aside and began to narrate.

"We tested it on mice. Skin contact with this toxin does not cause poisoning, but ingestion or injection will produce poisoning symptoms. After poisoning, the person becomes lethargic and does not like to move. Then, rhabdomyolysis occurs. This process is relatively slow, and the pain will not be felt until it is halfway through. When the entire body's muscles have dissolved, it will become a bag of fleshy broth. At this point, any wound will cause the body's own liquid flesh to flow out."

"It's somewhat similar to some insect venoms. The soluble toxins allow their sucking mouthparts to consume their prey. However, the method of poisoning doesn't resemble insect venom... it's more like a plague."

"The plague... is almost certainly it. I'm just looking for its source. Poisoning water sources is a method used by plague apostles, but there are many problems with it. It's not just about the dilution effect of running water on the plague, but also the unpredictable impact of impurities in the water."

"Can a plague be affected by impurities in the water?"

"Because if the plague is to spread through water, it must be water-soluble. And once the plague is successfully created, it is only a physical substance. You should know that even the most heavily armored magical armor can be corroded by acid."

"Oh……"

“So plague apostles usually choose better carriers, and monsters are made specifically for this purpose.” Vanessa shook the contents of the bottle. “To counteract the muscle-dissolving toxicity, we need your help, which will also allow me to learn more about biological toxins.”

"Okay, I'm here to help."

The two, who hadn't worked together in a long time, began preparing the medicine, but the situation outside wasn't as good as the rapidly sealed-off Clockwork River district.

Firstly, some of the children at the Minute Church were sent from even further afield in the southern district. Now that Father Thorne had ordered a lockdown, these children naturally couldn't go home at night, which caused a major problem. The younger children cried because they couldn't see their parents, while some of the older ones became excited by the atmosphere of running away from home. If it weren't for the responsible monks and nuns keeping them in check, they probably would have turned on everyone. Those outside who couldn't get in were also anxious. They didn't know what was happening, and Knight Gael offered no explanation whatsoever, simply keeping everyone outside.

Soon, it wouldn't be their turn to raise questions, as various churches launched similar operations one after another. This time, not only knights, but even the cardinals began to act as a team. When the search Poirot had mentioned went from covert to overt, it meant that the church and the actual rulers of Violet City had reached a consensus.

The guards quickly began to block off and search the streets. Members of the Burial Monarch, dressed in black armor, moved through the streets, while another group of red-robed monks, each with three eyeballs hovering above their heads, patrolled the streets like machines. Once a red light shone from those eyeballs, the monks of the Burial Monarch would immediately draw their weapons and rush into the house indicated by the red light.

This scene would be terrifying to the average person, and would instill a deep sense of unease in anyone with a modicum of knowledge. If members of the Warning Council were to actually begin patrolling the streets within the church's controlled area, something truly horrific must have occurred.

Is there anything even more terrifying?
Just two days later, a group of monks wearing white robes with gold trim joined the group.

Anyone who has any contact with the Church can learn about the seven cardinals. The one one encounters most frequently in daily life is naturally the Cardinal of the Savior; if one becomes a believer, then the Cardinals of the Heart and the Cardinal of the Oaths are also cardinals one will need to meet. When these cardinals go on their daily pilgrimages, they are often treated with great respect by many people.

In addition, the cultivators of the Mystic Vision are often popular companions among adventurers because they can go anywhere and enjoy researching everything. Conversely, the appearance of the Burial Vision and the Warning Vision basically means that a battle is about to begin, and they are rarely seen taking action.

Very few people know that the most serious situation would be if Kishi's people appeared in the Church's forces. This would mean that a quick crush or blitzkrieg would no longer solve the problem; the Church would be forced into positional warfare, and the battle would escalate from individual spells and firepower to high-level divine spells of rank eight or higher, such as bombardment or artillery attacks on positions.

Those who knew about it were stunned when they saw the monks of the Church of Christ appearing in droves, wondering why the Church had made such a decision in just a few days.

Monks in white robes, carrying large suitcases of varying colors and shapes, silently walked down the street. They approached the houses, crouched down, and pure white tools and materials began to emerge from their suitcases. They started building walls and chiseling in foundation stones. The compression technique that the apothecary was eager to learn was one of the spells that Kishi was skilled in, and their suitcases—personal chapels—were the final result of this spell.

Houses were rapidly transformed into specialized fortress-like structures, quickly connecting the streets and stretching through Violet City like a silver veil tinted to its veins. Even the apothecary, standing on high ground, could not help but marvel at the rapid unfolding of these fundamental structures.

Surprised?

"Isn't it true? The power of the church, or rather, the power of God, always inspires an indescribable sense of awe..."

[Pharmacist, you're still too slow. Putting aside the matter of finding the tourist list, you've wasted far too much time trying to contain the plague in the city.]

The pharmacist could not deny it.

Although we share memories, our personalities are fundamentally different. Logically, if you were a member of the Burial Manor, my actions would be easier.

"Feel sorry."

No, this is part of your personality, and I have no intention of assimilating or erasing your excellent qualities. I just need to urge you to speed things up. I had you give the Plague to Vanessa because it wouldn't be of much use to you. But now there's something you can do.

"You mean..." [Believe it or not, I do know what the Plague Lord is, though it's certainly something you shouldn't be too familiar with. And your understanding of gods is too narrow, which is a good thing. The magical system allows you to ignore unnecessary harmful aspects and borrow a portion of power. The Church and its gods reside within your world, while the Plague Lord exists outside of it.]

“I know that, but I still don’t understand what you mean.”

[In other words, I can give you a spell. However, your current spells are ineffective in direct combat; don't deny it, that's just how the Savior's spells work.]

"Uh?"

My teacher once told me that if a world's magic has a relatively standardized system, then applying that knowledge to other spells is the easiest thing to do. I'm not as talented as my teacher, but this amount of time has been enough for me to research and master this spell.

A model appeared in the pharmacist's mind. She was slightly surprised because this spell configuration did not exist in any spells in the present world. If she had to say, the most similar one might be "Embrace the Stars".

[You've probably noticed the commonalities between this spell and some known spells. There's nothing wrong with them; it's just that those spells were like blind men feeling an elephant—a chaotic, indeterminate process, ultimately only producing a certain effect. But this one… let's call it 'Touching the Stars.' Its effect requires a definitive name attached to it; otherwise, it won't work.]

The pharmacist noted down the spell.

Of course, its danger level is the same as similar spells you know. Don't imagine any possible names to invoke it; you must concentrate. If you think you can't do it, I'll do it.

"No...no need...who should I call?"

[...Daytime Prince.]

The pharmacist had never heard of this name before, yet she could tell that, like Marie Scarlett, it must be a "divine name."

"I need to know how dangerous this is?"

[Normally, there shouldn't be any danger, because it's just borrowing a magical power, and Bai Tianzi won't respond to the call. This is the only name I know that can be considered safe. I wouldn't dare let you call out the other unsafe ones.]

Why don't I recognize this name from your memory?

[Good question. Perhaps you should consider why you discourage people from casually uttering the name of God.]

The pharmacist sighed and patted her head. She was indeed too nervous. People in the church are always very cautious about matters related to the gods, and she was no exception.

This is also a huge difference.

As a group of priests from the cardinal tradition arrived below the bell tower where she stood, the Pharmacist also descended. She glanced at the leading priest and nodded slightly to him.

Elti, a nun from the Church of St. Ist, would probably be sitting in a position similar to a Sunday priest if she weren't too young and lacking in seniority. Elti clearly recognized this saint of the Cardinal Saviour, so she gestured with her hand on the emblem as a sign of respect.

"Why are you staying here? The entire city is under martial law. Even if you can act as you see fit, you'd better think it over. After all, we need to completely annihilate all the plague apostles in Violet City."

“Since you’ve said it’s an apostle of plague, the Savior’s Seat certainly needs to be careful,” the pharmacist replied with a smile.

Elti frowned. "If it's about treating patients, it's reasonable for you to take charge. But to eliminate cultists, it's better to leave it to more professional personnel. Given your esteemed status, even if you don't return to the Church of St. Ist, you should at least find a safe place. Once we've taken care of everything, we'll naturally send the innocent infected to the Salvation Hub for treatment."

“Everyone has their own expertise, Sister Elti. The Sacred Heart’s treatment of the plague also requires observation of the scene and research into the cause of the disease. We can’t possibly entrust even something as simple as taking samples to you, can we? Setting up positions and building houses are your specialties, but I don’t think that someone who is good at using axes and saws can also understand how to use scalpels and needles.”

“Fine, I can’t argue with you,” Elti said bluntly. “In that case, I can only trust that you can protect yourself.”

"Speaking of which, I'm still unclear why the Church issued a martial law order so quickly. This is no small matter. What exactly prompted the Church to make this decision?" the pharmacist asked.

Elty hesitated for a moment before saying, "You probably have the right to know about this. The church discovered a group of beggars and laborers with abnormal appetites. At first, they thought it was some kind of plague spread by the apostles of the King of Hunger, but these people did not show any signs of infection. Instead, it seemed as if they were affected by some kind of magic."

"You've switched from using plague to magic? No, plague is also a product of magic... Sister Elti, please explain in detail."

"The Savior has examined them. These people are not the kind of infected who would lose control of their appetite and become abnormal. However, when they feel hungry, they will recite something that sounds like a story made up by a bard, and then lose consciousness. Even at this time, no infection can be detected. After a while, they will wake up and will no longer be hungry."

"...Are they really full? Or is it just an illusion?"

Elty sighed, "If only it were the latter."

The pharmacist pinched her brow, though she desperately didn't want to see this happen—

“They were really full. This isn’t an infection, it’s ‘split limbs’.”

To be more specific, these people have become part of a certain existence, essentially one with it. As long as they are not all captured, the outer limbs can share the nutrients they obtain, ensuring the survival of the other limbs.

Those who possess this ability are usually filthy.

A filth had somehow fallen into Violet City.