Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 475 Another Puppet

Are evil gods brought to this world by the upright gods and the middle gods?
Everyone was captivated by Carlo's almost insane remarks. Anyone else would have been immediately regarded as a madman spouting nonsense.

Coca-Cola?
Although this man was indeed somewhat eccentric, he was the current Pope of the Church of Life and the de facto ruler of the far west. He had also been in close contact with Julius. No one present dared to say that they knew the Goddess of Life, or even the other orthodox gods, better than Carlo.

Moreover, even if they wanted to refute Carlo, they simply couldn't provide any concrete evidence.

However, this is just too difficult to accept emotionally.

Those gods who were regarded as the guardians of the world by everyone for the past six eras, and who were worshipped as their spiritual totems, were actually the culprits who caused the world to fall into the control of evil gods.
Mary's expression shifted between light and dark as she fell into deep thought, carefully considering Carlo's outrageous words.

As a former saint of the Papacy, her understanding of the power of the goddess of life naturally far surpassed that of other believers. It was for this reason that she noticed that unsettling connection when examining Bazarus's body.

If the goddess of life and the power they possess are ultimately the same as the evil god, or perhaps they are simply two sides of the same coin...

Thousands of spells suddenly flooded Mary's mind. The more she learned about the Scarlet Plague and the worshippers of Bazartos, the more she realized the similarities between the two. If visual effects were disregarded, the flesh and limb regeneration techniques mastered by Bazartos followers were strikingly similar in effect to the blessings and healing spells mastered by high priests.

Even their fighting styles... are subtly connected.

The followers of the Cult of Life infused their magic into vegetation, making vines and thorns their regular means of combat. The followers of Bazartos were even more radical, seeking to infuse their magic into the human body, thus giving birth to those twisted flesh and blood creations.

So what would happen if she infused the same amount of magic into a human body?
The thought that suddenly popped into Mary's mind made her heart skip a beat.

Their spells can heal the human body and regenerate severed limbs because "Magic Control" is the first course every priest learns in healing magic. Only after passing this course can priests of the Holy See be qualified to treat patients.

In this course, almost every high priest conveys the same idea to their students—healing magic can also be a dangerous means of killing.

Uncontrolled infusion of magic can place a burden on the human body beyond its tolerance in a short period of time. The most likely result is that the patient will explode and die. Such cases are not uncommon in the history of the Vatican. Every year, some careless priests accidentally kill their patients.

But the crucial question is... what happens after that?

Mary had never thought about this question before.

Because causing a patient to explode and die during the healing process is an unforgivable offense, meaning the end of their priesthood, not only that, they will also be arrested by law enforcement and tried within the Vatican.

However, if we take this process a little further back, for example, by using some means to restore balance between the soul and body of the patient after their body explodes, although this will undoubtedly make the patient unrecognizable, it will allow them to survive in another way.

It's like... those flesh and blood creatures infected with the scarlet plague, twisted to the point that they are no longer recognizable as human.

Those twisted creatures are still alive, but they have lost their ability to think.

This idea sent a chill down Mary's spine.

No wonder that from the moment she joined the Church and first came into contact with healing magic, the stern high priests warned them in an authoritative voice that no one was allowed to violate this commandment. They had to strictly abide by the rules for using every healing spell, and there was no room for "free exploration" of these spells.

This is a precept that has existed since the birth of the Church of Life in the First Era.

If left unchecked, the secret would be discovered if any of the Holy See's saints were to attempt to "go further."

As for the reasons for wanting to go further, perhaps it's to cover up the mistakes they've made, or perhaps it's simply to satisfy their curiosity, or maybe...

Mary's face turned deathly pale.

To remain calm, she gripped her arm tightly, her right fingernails digging into her flesh. Only the pain and the smell of blood could keep her dignified under the watchful eyes of the many jurors.

The truth revealed by Carlo was not enough to affect her heart. What truly terrified her was another strange yet familiar scene that surfaced in her mind amidst her myriad thoughts.

That was the Third Age, when the Scarlet Plague raged.

She and her team of priests from the Vatican were constantly on the move between different cities, dealing with countless infected and monsters every day. She thought her heart had long been strong enough to be immune to all poisons, until one day she suddenly received a letter from the Vatican headquarters.

The letter delivered devastating news to her in the briefest possible language:
Her sister contracted the plague.

It happened during an operation to distribute supplies to disaster victims.

That was the last remaining relative she had in this world.

By the time she rushed home, the illness had reached its most severe stage.

Coughing up blood means that the infected person's internal organs have ulcerated, and bloodless skin means that the patient is facing severe blood loss.

Mary had seen this scene far too many times; she only needed to glance at it to know that her sister probably wouldn't make it through the night.

In fact, according to the regulations of each city, her sister should have been expelled from the city as an infected person long ago. The Vatican, considering her identity, blocked the news of her sister's illness and isolated her in the church cellar to ensure that they could see each other one last time.

As a saint of the Papacy, and as someone on whom countless people placed their hopes, Mary knew she should make the most rational judgment.

She should treat everyone equally and end the suffering her sister is going through.

However, she ultimately did not do so.

As she prepared to leave the cellar, a near-mad thought came to her mind: she didn't want to just let her only remaining family member leave like this.

The plague is corrupting the patients' internal organs; this is an irreversible process.

So, how can we speed up this process?

If the patient's life and soul are sustained through external means during the decay process, and the patient's body is reshaped after the entire process is over...

This is a part that has never been recorded in any book of healing spells, and it seriously violates the precepts of the Holy See that have lasted for three eras.

However, to cure the scarlet plague, a "further" transformation is necessary.

Ultimately, she crossed that line and did something absolutely unforgivable.

However, the treatment failed.

She managed to keep the patient alive and her soul afloat, but her control over magic was not enough to stop the changes in the patient's body caused by the disease and the invasion of a large amount of magic. The entire treatment lasted for half an hour. During this half hour, Mary witnessed her sister gradually losing her human form and becoming increasingly distorted.

The patient completely lost consciousness during the treatment, but this failed treatment led Mary to discover a startling fact.

Two completely different paths, yet they ultimately led to the same destination.

That might also represent the essence of their faith, and a secret that the person who wrote that commandment absolutely did not want people to discover.

……

A deathly silence quietly spread.

Mary was somewhat dazed. What had invaded her mind just now was not an unrealistic fantasy, because those flashback fragments were so vivid that it was as if she had actually experienced that treatment. Every detail was so clear that it made her tremble. However, during that half-hour process, she had to suppress her emotions, which would cause her to lose focus and thus disrupt the balance of the magic infusion.

but……

Her sister had never been infected with the scarlet plague.

They survived the Crimson Age unscathed.

Mary remembered that after everything was over, her sister became a high priestess in the Papacy, teaching children who joined the church, and her life was smooth sailing from then on.

"This is the true version of the story of Mary the Blood Priest."

From the last row of seats, Winter spoke with great interest.

That was Mary, who was on another timeline. Before she and Ethan indirectly changed the course of time in the contaminated zone, she had also witnessed the birth and death of the Blood Priest with him—the story of the first witch recorded in human history.

She just felt that there were many missing parts in that book.

For example, would a saint of the Holy See, who has witnessed countless tragedies and possesses an iron will, really abandon her faith because of her sister's departure?

“What’s harder to accept than the loss of loved ones is the collapse of faith.” Winter looked at the seven-eyed woman sitting next to her. “I thought it was you who took advantage of the situation and changed her perception and consciousness.”

"I wouldn't do that."

The seven-eyed woman shook her head, three of her eyes looking at Winter. "What I need is a pure work of art; anything else will only corrupt her."

His other four eyes were watching Pope Carlo with great interest.

Barzatos had expected this to be a boring formality, and that he was only staying because of his friendship with Ethan and his desire to learn from him how to deal with humans.

He did indeed remain resentful about Mary's affair.

Ethan stole his most admired artwork, but what concerned Bazatos more than the "stolen artwork" itself was Ethan.

His friend changed Mary's mind with just one meeting.

Between Him and Ethan, Mary ultimately chose the latter.

This is the only bad friend who managed to steal His followers, so He has to learn something from Ethan.

But now, with Carlo's questioning, this boring trial has suddenly become interesting.

Three eras later, another follower of the Church of Life has glimpsed the hidden truth.

……

Meanwhile, everyone's eyes were on Ethan, including Mary's.

Their eyes were eager; they desperately wanted Ethan to say something, to refute Carlo with strong facts, and to once again leave him speechless and ashen-faced, just as he had before.

The same goes for Carlo.

He wasn't worried about Ethan refuting him, because everything he had just said was an undeniable fact.

He couldn't refute Ethan either.

Carlo was even somewhat looking forward to Ethan's response. Despite being on opposing sides, Ethan was probably the only one who had glimpsed the future like him.

He has confronted his own conscience and revealed this secret that could shake the very foundations of the Vatican.

And what about Ethan?
What is this person's inner world like?
"Witness Ethan, what do you have to say about this?"

Mary asked.

"Unfortunately, the question Carlo just raised is not much different from the truth I know."

Ethan's candid response immediately caused an uproar among the jurors. Some of them even turned ashen-faced and slumped on the sofa, looking as if they had lost all hope.

Carlo also looked surprised; he hadn't expected Ethan to so readily admit the secret he had presented.

"However, out of my personal curiosity, I have some questions I would like to ask Mr. Carlo."

"Just ask."

Carlo did not back down; he was fully prepared.

"So in your view, what you are doing is a great cause to liberate people from the lies of the right God and to free them from the threads that hang over them."

Ethan thought that this was probably why Carlo always had the phrase "for a greater cause" on his lips.

He was filled with a sense of destiny, as if the entire era had placed a great responsibility on his shoulders, making him different, above all things in the world, and the one closest to the truth.

Ethan responded with a cold snort.

Carlo didn't seem to intend to answer Ethan's question directly, because he considered it a complete waste of time.

"Doesn't this scene seem familiar to you?"

"What exactly do you want to say?"

“There was once a group of people who shared the same idea as you. For this, they did not hesitate to give up the temptation of immortality and eliminate their innate ‘unclean’ power, because they, like you, wanted from the bottom of their hearts to help humanity break free from the manipulation of evil gods and to make them no longer puppets used to satisfy the evil gods’ perverse pleasures.”

"Are you saying that after the Day of Redemption comes, I will become like them?"

Carlo looked at Veronica with a cold smile. He could answer Veronica's questions at the same time. "Veronica, my promise to you comes from the bottom of my heart. When the day of redemption truly arrives, I will reveal my actions to the world. And at that time, there will no longer be any 'gods' in this world."

"What a noble awareness."

Ethan did not intend to waste time questioning whether Carlo could truly keep his promise by then. In his view, there was no need for a debate that would never come to a conclusion to be staged in the courtroom. "Another liberation movement to break free from manipulation, but it has given me a new question."

He looked at Carlo. "But how can you be sure that you haven't gone from being a puppet of the goddess of life to becoming a puppet of another group of people?"

Carlo paused, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word of rebuttal.

"Besides the 'truth,' don't you think the 'future' is too specific in its guidance for you? So specific that it can precisely find every remnant of the Goddess of Life in this vast land of the far west."

The next moment, Carlo's expression suddenly changed, he clutched his chest tightly, and knelt down on the ground, trembling all over.

"And what will the 'future' do to you once it discovers that you can no longer be used by them?"

Carlo felt a sharp pain in his heart, and a strong feeling of suffocation overwhelmed him.

...............................

Meanwhile, outside the Cathedral of the Dawn's Crown, a woman with half her face veiled gracefully entered the confessional.

She sat in the cold, hard chair, examining the wall that separated them with great interest.

Is this the world she dreamed of?

"Open your heart to the goddess of life, my child."

From the other side of the wall came the priest's question, his voice sounding weary and impatient.

The process had been rehearsed countless times, and even the responses were based on a fixed template.

For the Vatican, the only thing that matters is that penitents put their penance fees into the donation box before queuing up.

"Face your heart, confess your sins to the goddess, and she will forgive you."

"My crimes?"

The woman paused, then gently placed her raised hand on the wall. In an instant, the hard wall transformed into writhing chunks of flesh, and crimson energy extended along the cracks in the wall to the other side of the confessional.

The terrified screams lasted only a few seconds before abruptly ceasing, followed by low, incomprehensible murmurs.

Sensing something amiss, the residents of the Holy City who were still queuing at the entrance scattered and fled. However, before they could take more than a few steps, they were horrified to find that their ankles were embedded in sticky flesh and blood.

The earth beneath their feet was also infected.

Arms emerged and grabbed their thighs, then their bodies, which instantly transformed into a breeding ground for flesh and blood.

"My crimes."

The woman smiled, her gentle voice echoing like a lullaby in the confessional, "Destroying everything she cherished... Father, can such a sin be forgiven?"

(End of this chapter)