A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"..." This time, it was the doctor's turn to fall silent.

Surely the patient's family isn't playing a trick on them?

He's exhausted from dealing with patients and their families every day; I really hope Bray isn't joking.

"How about this, let her rest here for a day, and I'll see how she is. Her situation is a little different from the others."

"It's probably because her physical condition is too good, ridiculously good, so I couldn't figure out what was going on for a while." It took him a long time to finally utter the word "ridiculous".

Although Levy looks sick, the doctor thinks she's perfectly fine.

In fact, a large number of people fall ill, and the illness suddenly begins on this day of the disease-removing ceremony.

This situation had already occurred some time before the disease-removing ceremony.

There are just more patients today.

Most clinics in the city were packed with people and extremely busy.

“There are a lot of people getting sick lately, so you should take care of yourself,” the doctor told Bray.

"Has it been like this lately?"

"Yes, countless people have fallen ill, and I'm almost overwhelmed with work," the doctor said helplessly.

Fortunately, no one else needed to see a doctor after Bray, otherwise he wouldn't have had so much free time to chat with Bray.

"I really hope this disease-removing ceremony can truly help people stop getting sick." He sighed deeply.

It's a pity, but as a doctor, I know that things like disease-curing rituals are unreliable.

He was afraid that some kind of plague was about to break out in the city. If it really was a plague, then if he didn't do something quickly, it would be too late.

"I can only pray that this isn't a plague," he murmured, shaking his head.

“You can let her rest here, you can go back first,” the doctor said to Bray, who was standing there.

“It’s okay, I’ll just wait by her side.” Bray didn’t go back, because he knew that Levy would definitely look for him after she opened her eyes.

It's become a habit; when Levy can't see herself, she runs around aimlessly.

Her frail physical condition makes it unsuitable for her to run around.

"Cough cough..." While thinking about Levy, Bray suddenly coughed a few times.

He instinctively covered his mouth with his hand, so he didn't cough very loudly.

When he removed his hand, he saw that it was covered in blood, and some blood was even flowing down his chin from the corner of his mouth.

"Are you...are you alright?" The doctor was shocked to see this.

It turns out that not only this little girl was sick, but Bray was also sick, and his condition might even be more serious than hers.

"It's nothing, I'm perfectly fine." But Bray waved his hand, indicating that he was completely alright.

"Are you really alright?" The doctor looked at the blood-stained hand waving in front of him and was a little incredulous.

"I get this every few days, it's alright."

Bray was already used to this kind of massive bleeding.

After the Heavenly Fox Tears merged into his blood, he would occasionally experience a burst of blood.

It looks terrifying, but in reality, Bray is perfectly fine. He just needs to put in some effort to suppress the restless Heavenly Fox Tears within him.

"Looks like I need to use up these playing cards sometime," Bray muttered to himself, his hand resting on the deck.

If I don't use up all the magic on the cards, I'll have too much life force left.

Even at full health, it's manageable, but being hit by a health spike is truly unbearable.

"Okay, you'd better take care of yourself." Since the other person had said that, the doctor didn't say much more.

"Are you sure you don't need to take a look at me?" the doctor added.

"Really, no need," Bray said helplessly.

The doctor didn't add anything further and went to see the next patient, leaving Bray to stay with Lebby.

After helping Levy brush her bangs aside, Bray casually found a stool to sit down. This was the first time he had seen Levy sick.

I don't think I've ever been sick.

Of course, the symptom of Tianhu Lei vomiting blood is not considered an illness.

People with strong physical health are generally less likely to get sick.

Under normal circumstances, Levy, being a hybrid of an Aragami and an Elf, would never get sick.

So this is definitely not normal. Unfortunately, Bray is more interested in spending time with Raby than in finding clues.

"Brave..." Levy vaguely began to regain some consciousness and started groping around haphazardly.

She calmed down once she touched Bray's fingers.

The expression that was originally =A= gradually relaxed =V=.

Seeing Levy's tense little face soften, Bray's expression also softened considerably.

He was genuinely at a loss when he saw Levy vomiting on the beach.

"Was it like this a few days ago?" Bray squinted his right eye and murmured.

He had initially thought the incident occurred after he arrived, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.

A few days ago, considering the three days Bray stayed in the area, he couldn't help but think of the time when he received the white envelope.

No, how could these two things be related?

Wait a minute, we can't jump to conclusions like that. Let's think about it carefully; we should be able to find some clues.

He couldn't leave Levy's side for the time being, so he had a lot to think about.

This is what they mean by having too much free time.

Don't rush, think it over slowly.

He felt as if he had grasped a thread, but he couldn't see the other end of it.

“The Alliance of the Gods…” Bray raised an eyebrow, suddenly realizing something.

He wasn't referring to the time when people in the city started falling ill; according to the doctor, it was basically around the time before and after the White Face destroyed the "Alliance of Gods."

"That guy with the white face didn't explain something clearly." He clicked his tongue.

He knew nothing about what happened after the "Alliance of the Gods" was destroyed.

---

In the dead of night, Bray sat beside Levy, unable to sleep.

"Bray, Bray..." Levy, who had been unconscious for most of the day, opened her eyes and instinctively took Bray's hand.

"I'm here." Bray immediately noticed Levy's awakening and responded softly to her call.

"Hmm~" Levy felt instantly relieved after hearing Bray's voice.

Yes, although she still felt a little nauseous, as long as Bray was still around, the end of the world wasn't so scary.

"Squeak squeak squeak—" Just as Bray was about to let her rest a little longer, he suddenly heard the sound of a mouse.

If it were just the sound of a mouse squeaking, he wouldn't even bother to listen.

He doesn't even need to worry that the rats can scare Levy, the police lion.

However, this is not simply a matter of mice making noises.

Before nightfall, and even before the sound of mice squeaking, he had not noticed the atmosphere emanating from the city.

Just like the Heavenly Fox Tear within his own body, it was undoubtedly a concept.

However, this concept was too weak, even weaker than the Silver-ranked beings that Bray had fought in the past, which is why Bray didn't notice it even after staying here for several days.

What truly made him realize that there was a concept entrenched in this place was the rustling sound of mice.

"I'll be leaving for a little while. Can Levy rest by herself?"

“Levy is okay~” she said cutely, releasing her little hand from Bray’s fingers.

“But it can only be for a short while,” she continued.

Levy will be very lonely if Bray is gone for too long.

“Just for a little while.” Bray nodded, agreeing to Levy’s request.

So she wrinkled her little nose and obediently closed her eyes.

However, her twitching ear told Bray that she wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon.

Once Bray had walked a little further away, she secretly lifted the cup, glanced at Bray, and then closed it again.

Bray, on the other hand, used his keen intellect to directly locate the rats scurrying around the streets.

He noticed Levy's little trick the moment he used his mind-reading ability, but there was no need to expose it.

Pretending not to know, and then watching Levi and Coco** is quite nice.

"Squeak squeak squeak!!" A mouse that had been caught by Bray was instantly killed with a single sword strike.

Bray's sword pierced through the unusually furred rat.

Unlike ordinary rats, their fur is like flowing emerald lava, and their hair is so hardened that even ordinary iron tools cannot penetrate it.

"Contaminated by concepts?" Bray murmured, slaughtering all the remaining rats around him.

The moment the rat dies, it instantly unleashes a plague that exists in conceptual form.

Unfortunately, Bray's sword and the Heavenly Fox Tear within his body perfectly negated this already weak concept.

What is certain now is that the people around us who are getting sick are definitely connected to these rats.

"plague?"

But this is not the plague people imagine; it is a conceptual one that cannot be contained by ordinary means.

“These rats shouldn’t have been this arrogant before.” If they had been this arrogant before, Bray would have discovered the existence of the concept long ago.

If there are no silver seeds and no strange cults, then where do these concepts come from?

Bray lowered his right eye. Although he could use his mind's eye normally, if he really wanted to see "deeper," he had to first let his vision be shrouded in darkness.

His perceived world was initially pitch black, then his senses expanded as if by an explosion, continuously extending.

You could say you "saw" it, or you could say you "heard" it.

But no matter which word you use to describe it, it's incomplete.

Amidst the myriad threads of information, he suddenly grasped the most crucial point—

That giant tree that was revered as a deity.

It was reasonable and expected.

The giant trees by the sea lean steadily against the shore.

Some pebbles got stuck in its body, preventing it from swaying in the storm.

It is the god that people hope has just left during the disease-removing rituals, but it still exists today.

The disease-removing ceremony has reached its final moment, but unfortunately the plague has not gone away.

Bray stood on the beach, looking at the deserted shore.

According to the locals, the night of the disease-removing festival should be very lively, but now he can't see anyone around him.

The sudden illness of some people clearly caused panic among the public.

“How do we do this…” Bray stroked his chin, examining the large piece of wood.

Although it exudes a very faint conceptual aura, from any angle it is just a relatively large piece of wood.

No, it's too big to be described as just "that".

Standing near the giant tree, Bray felt incredibly small, and wondered how long it would take him to climb to the top.

After thinking for a long time, Bray still couldn't come up with a good idea.

In the very end, he chose to give up thinking.