Please don't question multi-week players

Chapter 429. The Story of the Third Playthrough (6)

After that day, Vera achieved a balance between family and career. With her brother's support, she was finally able to devote herself wholeheartedly to promoting healing techniques.

More and more people learned about the Blue Leaf God, and the faith spread like wildfire. At some point, people at the bottom of society began to worship the Blue Leaf Grass.

They smashed the original idol to the ground and placed green leaves in the shrine. Thousands of believers began to unite, and the offered green leaves seemed to have acquired magic, emitting a faint green light.

The Vatican quickly took notice of this, and they were furious. Every smashed idol represented a lost faith, which they believed had been stolen by Aoba.

What kind of healing magic is that? It's clearly a despicable and shameless thief of faith!

Anger surged, burning fiercely among the clergy. The nobility, equally disgusted by the existence of the God of Green Leaf, remained aloof and immune to the plague. However, the existence of healing magic disrupted the existing medical system.

Most noble families have long-term medical partnerships with Rose Medicine, and they have invested heavily in medical care. Now, even the lowly lower classes can achieve the same therapeutic effects as Rose Medicine using that green light.

What about the huge medical investments that I've lost?
In some domains, even some nobles would cooperate with Rose Medical to obtain medical resources and then sell them to the lower classes at double the price.

The appearance of Aoba no Kami has overturned all of this, naturally causing their displeasure.

Anger, like fire, united the clergy and the nobility, and they began to conspire on how to annihilate this wild god.

The God of Green Leaves can cure diseases, and the faith has spread too wildly, so they plan to take direct coercive measures.

Therefore, a new regulation jointly issued by multiple papal courts was promulgated—

Blue Leaf is ominous, sinful, and base; all who believe in the God of Blue Leaf will become lowly slaves.

Even if their children escape from illness, they will be trapped in the mire of the lower class, unable to learn any cultural knowledge or participate in any respectable social work.

The homeless will become their final destination by scavenging through garbage, and cleaning the filthy latrines will be their only job.

They will become the lowest of the low, never to rise again.

Once the law was announced, the people who had not yet recovered from the epidemic did not take it seriously, but most of the people who had been cured by Aoba Shin hesitated.

Although Aoba saved himself...

But is it necessary to jeopardize the future of one's descendants for the sake of such an unrecognized god?
They still have to survive under the Vatican's rule, so why offend the Vatican?
Hesitation spread among the followers of the god Aoba, and under further pressure from the new rule that the aristocracy had to hire laborers to inspect the shrines in their homes, an unprecedentedly massive rebellion began.

The green leaves that were originally offered were torn up and abandoned in the wilderness, and the orders for the statue sculptor were once again overflowing.

The faith in the gods was once again sung in the realm of belief, and the healed people acted as if nothing had happened.

Faith is shrinking and backfiring, and the more powerful clergy and nobles are determined to completely suppress the healing power represented by "Blue Leaf God".

They once again ordered the hiring of assassins to launch an expedition to the Realm of the Original Sin God, vowing to kill the girl who was spreading heresy.

In this dire situation, things are only getting worse.

Vera noticed that her brother's face was getting paler and paler, and he would often cough violently behind her back, wiping something with a handkerchief.

One time, she couldn't hold back any longer and ran forward to snatch the handkerchief, only to see a bright red patch of blood inside.

Edric looked at her weakly, but still spoke gently:

"These are just some old ailments, don't worry, little sister."

Vera knew he was lying, because the young man was only lying because he kept blinking, looking very guilty.

Vera actually knew the real reason why she vomited blood.

She looked at the thick, dark book on the table, picked it up, climbed the ladder, placed it on the top shelf, and then warned the young man:

"You're not allowed to use the spells from that book anymore. It's the Grim Reaper—you know that?"

"It will only take your life, until your flesh and blood, your whole being, are offered to it!"

The little girl in the tutu stood there angrily, her voice so sad she was almost crying.

The young man just smiled wryly and said:
"Actually, I've already overdrawn my resources."

The spells of the God of Death are extremely powerful, with the minimum price being a hundred years of lifespan. It's not without reason that it's listed as a "forbidden scripture," because there are no weak spells within it; every single one comes at the cost of life.

From the moment he used the first spell, he had already sacrificed his life to the god of death and silence; every spell after that was like a loan.

Edric didn't know how long he could borrow money, or when the god of death would collect its debt.

All he knew was that Death was merciful, allowing him to live year after year.

Now that he suddenly vomited blood, he understood that the God of Death was demanding a reward, and the god's cold footsteps were slowly approaching.

……

Edric's condition deteriorated rapidly.

From the moment he started vomiting blood, he was bedridden and unable to move within three days.

It was a snowy night when the Vatican's assassin team found the two men's cabin and surrounded it.

Inside the house, Edric lay on the bed, barely breathing, his face pale, on the verge of death, no longer able to protect his sister.

Vera sat by his bedside, weeping, and asked:

"why why……"

She once studied medicine all night, believing that effort would yield results in everything in the world.

But later she discovered that some things require more than just hard work; there are things even more important than hard work.

Like a madwoman who died of illness, like a dying brother, like this mad society.

"Little sister...you must take good care of yourself..."

Edric touched her face, and then his hand fell heavily to the ground.

"pat-"

Almost simultaneously, the assassins outside rushed in, and a knife instantly pierced Vera's chest.

"Pfft—Buzz—"

Blood dripped onto the bed, and a healing power suddenly erupted, causing the wound in the heart to heal.

In that moment of dazed disorientation, she saw behind her brother, at the window of the hut, sitting a black-robed deity holding a huge scythe.

She said nothing, but simply swung her sickle slightly.

“Buzz————————”

A deep black aura spread out like ripples on water, and everything in its path fell silent.

Everyone in the room except her collapsed silently.

"you……"

Vera was about to say something when she saw the god raise his head first, revealing a face just like hers, but expressionless.

"The God of Death and Silence, his position is vacant. I have obtained a portion of his authority, but it is not enough—I want it all."

She looked at her coldly and said:

“In a previous playthrough, I saved the world with a single sword strike and gained a large amount of faith, which allowed me to use that faith to build a ladder to meet you.”

The black-robed god raised his hand, the tip of his scythe pointing directly at Vera:
"I need more faith."

"You give it to me."

Then, her gaze shifted to the young man on the bed, and she said coldly:
“He offered me a price far exceeding what I could repay. If you give me faith, I, with full authority, can change his inevitable demise.”