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Chapter 54: Pray and Hope
🕑 Added 2024-08-09 14:42:23 +0000 UTCEven though they called it a village, it could hardly be called that. There were about 15 people here, including the girl I had met earlier. My expectations were shattered. I had imagined a fully functioning village, with people farming and craftsmen making things out of wood. Instead, they didn't even have shacks or wooden houses—just a cave beside a river and a roughly dug moat encircling the entrance. Sensing my disappointment, Felicia began to explain.
"Well, for humans who rely solely on tools, constant attacks from Anathema would stunt their growth completely. I didn't expect much from the beginning. It's impossible for humans to thrive under constant attacks from Anathema without any magical tools."
"But…"
"That enchanted spear is nice, but its power is merely on par with the weakest of Tier 1 weapons. Since they're normal humans, it might even be better to use guns. On a closer look, the alignment on the spear is not in Zenith's standard."
"Greetings. You are Magical Girl Black Lily, correct? Jim told me about you," an elderly woman greeted me. I was taken aback. She didn't just look old—she was so disfigured that she barely looked human. Her face and hands were covered in what appeared to be tumors, and her body was filled with so many bumps that it was hard to look at her. She looked like a witch from a cartoon.
"Greetings. Um… Are you ill?" I asked, unable to hide my concern.
"It is the price we must pay to obtain the blessing of Yudism."
"Visual scanning indicates the woman before you is afflicted with various cancers and tumors. The scan suggests Anathema's mana poisoning as the main cause of the disease," Felicia informed me.
"Anathema's mana poisoning?" I tilted my head. This was the first time I had heard about Anathema's mana poisoning.
"Humans are naturally incompatible with mana. Chaos mana emitted by Anathema can directly affect their health."
".… How was New Mesa approved if chaos mana is around?" I look at her aghast.
"Chaos mana comes from Anathema and is dispersed slowly when they die. The process would take about twenty minutes. Humans show symptoms of mana poisoning when they are near Anathema for a prolonged period. By 'near,' I mean within about ten centimeters."
"That distance is basically touching."
"Yes. That's why we deemed the information non-critical and didn't bother to tell the masses. We simply say, 'Anathema is dangerous; don't get too close.' But Anathema researchers in Eden and other sanctuary cities know about these side effects and wore specialized gloves for their research."
"So, is she an Anathema researcher?"
"I don't know."
"I heard you bring medicine and food. Jim also mentioned that you were willing to give it freely. Is that true?" the elderly woman asked.
"Well, yes. But before that, may I ask why you haven't evacuated to sanctuary cities?"
"I see. Well, have a seat. We don't have much here, but please grant us some solace. We are fellow humans, after all."
"Felicia? What food do we have?"
"Raw or processed? 1 point for 1 kg of meat, 1 point for 100 kg of rice. Will that do?"
"Okay."
A black box then appeared before me, containing the items Felicia mentioned. My points decreased by five: 2 kg of meat, 200 kg of rice, and an assortment of spices.
"Food!" the girl screamed.
"Elder, may we prepare the food?" Jim bowed to the elderly woman.
"You may."
While the men and women prepared their food outside the cave, I continued my conversation with the elderly woman.
"Ah! How rude of me. I haven't even told you my name yet. Cough cough. My name is July, but everyone here calls me Elder."
"I see."
"Your eyes show curiosity. Did my appearance frighten you? You seem so young, maybe just a tad older than Catherine. Was I mistaken? You're from Zenith City, after all. You may be my senior. hehehe.."
"I am seventeen."
"I see. So, life in the Sanctuary City is more normal than I thought. I was expecting you to be immortal deities."
"You've never been to Sanctuary Cities?"
"I have. It was beautiful. The splendor of Valhalla still haunts my dreams even after twenty-five years."
"You've survived here all this time? Why?"
"Well, my son was expelled from the Sanctuary Cities. He was my only son, so I followed him. My husband died years ago, and life in heaven would be meaningless without him." Elder July sarcastically called sanctuary cities heaven.
"Expelled?"
"My son was a brilliant scientist. However, he was a bit too ambitious. He stole an emergency barrier, hoping to recreate it from the Zenith. He planned to merely borrow it, but he inadvertently broke the device and didn't tell the Senate until it was too late."
"I see."
"About 50 people died inside the shelter because of his mistake, and so, to calm the masses, the Zenith and the Senate expelled him and his research team."
"Senate?"
"The United Nations of Humanity's former name was the Senate. Its formal name was the Senate of Earth and Zenith, but people simply called it the Senate. It was then disbanded and reformed into the UNH you were familiar with now about fifteen years ago," Felicia filled in the gaps in our information.
"I see. Felicia, can an expelled person be admitted back?" I summoned Felicia, and she answered.
"No. But their family members can. The fault should rest with the person responsible, not their family."
"I see." I nodded, feeling a bit down. Felicia, seeing my distress, added:
"However, if you make a formal request, the UNH might reconsider accepting them back into the Sanctuary."
"Will they actually listen to an E-rank MG?"
"They will at least review it. So, you should frame the request in a way that benefits both parties." I eyed the spear they made. One major difference between Zenith technology and our own is the presence of magic and mana. That's why we were unable to copy their technology. We are incapable of using mana, but these people, though rudimentary, managed to enchant that spear. At the very least, some researchers should take a look. Accepting 15 people and confining them in shelters shouldn't pose a major problem for Eden's economy.
"Elder, the food is ready."
"Thank you."
"So, Zenith, now that you know our situation, will you still care for us? After all the contempt you've shown?" Jim said.
"Um… yes?" I nodded, though I questioned myself. These people were the children of those responsible for terrible crimes, some of whom were still on the exile list.
"Zenith doesn't persecute anyone unrelated to the crimes. Family members included. Through legal, judicial means, we have determined your sins and judged you fairly. Moreover, a vast majority of the populace supported our verdict, including the UNH."
"Yeah, we made mistakes. I know. But… Damn…”
"What about you? Were you with Elder July's son?"
"No, I'm from Salemni Company. I was banished here seven or so years ago," Jim then shared his story.
"Ah! The incident with the Red Justice Knight." My mood worsened. Through the investigation, it was determined that Salemni was manipulating and exploiting Magical Guardians. I tried to ask for an explanation, trying to see things from his viewpoint, but he accepted everything.
"I was arrogant and selfish. This hellhole, I deserve it. I was pampered my whole life and did things the same way my father and my deceased grandfather did. That's how the old world worked. You're the CEO; you make decisions to benefit the company. That's how things are supposed to be. You try to negotiate to make things advantageous to yourself. That's how we always worked. But when I see this hell, I understand why Zenith banished us here." He smiled, but tears started to flow from his eyes.
"Things are dire. Humanity has lost. I see it now. We are supposed to die. We are supposed to go extinct. Yet we were saved. Zenith gave us those islands. But Zenith does things half-heartedly. Anathema still exists, and they can't do anything about it because they need to care for how many billions of other planets or dimensions out there. It is up to us, yet I simply thought and cared for myself."
"Mr. Jim…"
"Well, that's what my father said before he died three months ago. I was his son. I worked under him. For him to change his life vision like that... was unimaginable. It must be true. I realized it now."
"Felicia, was he expelled too?"
"I don't know. We would need access to Eden's network to query that."
"Then… I see. Sorry."
"Even if you broke the radio silent protocol, the query would take days. It's different if we were in Eden. The network connection is pretty bad in the darklands."
I knew what I was supposed to do, yet I couldn't bring myself to do it. All I had to do was break the radio silence and ask for help. It seemed so easy, yet it felt impossibly hard. Every time I thought about contacting Eden, my hand froze. Tanaka's face and his admonishing gaze filled me with dread. How could I bring more homeless people after I'd just made over 5,000 people jobless? I have run away from my duty. Do I deserve to be their Magical Girl?
In the end, I did nothing. I simply watched the night sky as I ate bland rice with boiled meat before returning to my boxable home. Once inside, I was disgusted with myself. I slept in such a comfy home while they slept on the floor. I had never minded it before because this boxable house was smaller than my bedroom. But now, I realized how spoiled I was.
I ended up sleeping on the floor, hugging the pillow from the bed. Feelings of self-blame resurfaced. Should I buy them all houses? But they're nomads; they couldn't possibly carry the homes. The Elder was sick, but I couldn't cure her unless I upgraded my first aid vault to a rare vault and bought specialized surgery bots, which cost three thousand points. I could afford it, but I didn't. In the end, I merely gave them some basic medicines like painkillers and vitamins from the common first aid vault.
If there was any solace, Felicia mentioned that even if I bought medicine and autosurgery bots from the vault, it wouldn't help her much. The Elder was too old, and the Anathema's curse had seeped too deep within her.
"Good morning, Miss Black Lily. Will you join us for morning prayers?" one of the villagers knocked on my house. I followed their lead. Morning prayers consisted of men and women sitting and meditating. When the prayers were done, the Elder approached me.
"Good morning, Miss Black Magical Girl. May I trouble you with something?"
"What is it?"
"Will you catch an Anathema for us? A live one. I don't think I have much longer to live, but I want to show you something. I've seen you eyeing our spears. This shall be our gift to you. It may not compare to your gear, but we have our pride. We shall never take without giving something in return."
"But, Elder… your condition?"
"This is fate. I've accepted the price. Now, the stronger the Anathema, the better. I want to show you something." Elder July looked at my eyes caringly. Despite her disfigured appearance, she seemed so warm, warmer than even my own mother. It was like a grandmother that wanted to give her granddaughter a birthday present. Light of hope and expectation swelled in her eyes.
"Very well, Elder July." I nodded. The resolution in her eyes made me accept it without thinking.
"We shall go with you. We use these ropes to bind the Anathema," Jim said as he motioned to his men.
"No need. I can capture them on my own. Could you tell me where and which Anathema you need?"
"A hound—" Jim started, but Elder July interrupted, "Stronger ones. Maybe a horned one. As long as it's not one of the ghost types; they don't bleed."
Jim mentioned it would take a day to reach the location on foot. When I asked if they wanted to drive, they nodded. I summoned my jeep and motioned for Jim to enter. Catherine, insistent as ever, followed suit.
"Wow, so this is what a car feels like."
"No. This is Zenith's car. Real cars are noisier. We can't use those," Jim answered Catherine. I looked to Felicia, but she shook her head.
"This car wasn't made by Zenith. It was made by humans. Humans developed sound-dampening technology, which makes the jeep silent. There's no enchantment here," she explained.
"I see. It's nice to see that some semblance of human technology still exists. Please, let us use our strength to fight off the Anathema, Zenith," Jim said, looking at Felicia with hope. Seeing them, I felt a tinge in my heart. Was it camaraderie? Patriotism? I don't know.
It only took us two hours to reach another Anathema zone.
