Chapter 107. Distorting the Will of God
The “God-Forsaken Land” district of Monsa City.
Old Neil was nearly fifty years old. In Monsa City, where sanitation conditions were far from ideal, this was considered an exceptionally long life.
He had never drunk the Divine Water, yet he had lived longer than many priests who had.
That fact offended a passing priest.
The priest believed that his own father had died from illness at the age of forty-five. How could soone who had never even drunk the Divine Water live longer than a priest blessed by the god?
Thus, the priest delivered punishnt on behalf of the god. He exiled Old Neil to this district and warned him that he must never return.
After arriving here, his story spread among so kindhearted people. They invited him into an organization that specialized in taking in those who had been driven here by the priests for absurd reasons.
As the God-Forsaken Land, the people who ca here included both the wrongly accused and those who had truly committed cris and were punished.
The two groups were like fire and water, constantly clashing with one another.
Una’s exile, however, had been caused by sothing far more shocking. The High Priest had been enraged.
In the eyes of many people here, the High Priest himself was still good—it was rely the other priests who were corrupt.
With nearly half the group opposing the idea, Una had not been allowed to join them. At the sa ti, the group of actual criminals refused to accept her as well. After all, she was only a little girl. If she entered their territory, she might not survive even a single day.
On this day, after finishing a day of work and preparing to return ho to rest, Old Neil was stopped by one of his few friends here.
“Old Neil, don’t go back yet. The administrator wants us to gather at an open field. He says there’s an important announcent,” Lyle shouted to him.
Old Neil found it rather strange. What could possibly be important in a place like this? Those criminals would not launch a coordinated attack against them—it simply would not be worth it.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. I just saw Una standing beside the administrator. You know, that girl. I think the administrator might be...”
Old Neil imdiately understood.
Was the administrator planning to ignore everyone else’s objections and forcibly accept poor Una into the organization?
“That little girl really is pitiful. If the administrator truly intends to do that, I’ll support him,” Lyle added.
He simply could not understand why the others opposed accepting Una. Was it really because of that damned High Priest?
Old Neil remained silent.
He walked quietly behind Lyle without saying a word.
Emotionally, he pitied Una as well. He believed the little girl truly deserved to be accepted.
But...
The opposition from many within the organization restrained him.
He was already nearly fifty years old. He still wished to live longer.
He did not want to see the organization fracture, so on that day he had kept silent.
When the two of them arrived, the scene before them was completely unexpected.
A temporary platform had been erected. A person wearing a yellow robe stood at the center of the stage.
In front of her sat a large pot, and in her hand she held a tattered book.
That alone was nothing remarkable. At most, they might have glanced at it a few extra tis.
But behind the yellow-robed figure stood two individuals whose appearances made it impossible for them to look away.
Their bodies bore the characteristics of magical creatures. Scales covered their skin, and one of them even had long claws on her hands.
What shocked them even more was that the administrator stood beside them, speaking with them casually.
“Una!” Lyle recognized one of them and shouted in surprise.
Una turned around, said sothing briefly to the others, and then ran toward him.
“Brother Lyle, you ca at the perfect ti. Co up here.”
As she spoke, Una carefully grasped him with her palm, trying not to scratch him with her claws, and pulled him toward the stage.
Lyle had no way to resist Una’s strength.
“Una, why do you look like this? You were already wearing that robe this morning. Were you like this since then?”
As the two of them walked onto the stage, Old Neil did not rush after them.
Looking at the scene before him, he could already tell that sothing major was about to happen. So he chose to watch quietly.
After a while, he noticed that many mbers of the organization had arrived.
But sothing strange caught his attention.
They were all faces that had supported accepting Una when the issue had been discussed earlier.
The sight made Old Neil uneasy.
He feared that the next mont the administrator might announce the organization’s division. His peaceful life might soon co to an end—and he was powerless to stop it.
“Everyone, welco.”
Fulan clapped her hands, drawing the attention of everyone below the stage. Then she continued.
“First, I would like to congratulate you. Your sentence in this ‘God-Forsaken Land’ has ended.”
The crowd imdiately burst into murmurs.
Although the people present were not particularly devout, they all knew they had been sent here as punishnt by the priests.
You are not even wearing the priests’ robes—so what authority do you have to declare our sentence over?
“Additionally, I have another announcent.”
Fulan paused for a mont before continuing.
“The god worshiped in the center of Monsa City is a false god. Naturally, the priests worship a false god as well.”
“And I will bring you the revelation of the true god.”
The crowd instantly fell silent.
No one dared to speak.
In Monsa, faith in the god was considered more important than anything else.
Even though most of the people present disliked the priests, very few dared to deny the god.
They were delighted to hear that their punishnt was over.
But speaking of gods in such a way was sothing they had never even dared to imagine.
Fulan glanced around at the crowd.
Seeing that everyone had lowered their heads—so even covering their ears and eyes—she chuckled softly.
“You may now witness the gift granted to you by the true god.”
With a wave of her right hand, she signaled the people behind her to step forward.
Lyle and the administrator walked forward, each holding an empty bowl.
The administrator appeared calm and composed.
Lyle, on the other hand, looked sowhat nervous. He still did not fully understand what was happening.
Two streams of liquid slipped through the gaps of the pot and flew into their bowls without spilling a single drop.
Following the instructions, the two raised their bowls for the audience to see the orange-colored liquid inside.
“That is... Divine Water!”
Old Neil exclaid in shock.
It felt as if lightning had struck his brain, and the words escaped his mouth without thought.
One of the reasons Old Neil had lived such a long life was his family’s wealth.
When he was young, he had often stood nearby while others drank the Divine Water.
He was absolutely certain.
Even though the color was different, it was Divine Water.
His hands trembled uncontrollably. He could not believe what he was witnessing.
At the sa ti, the two n drank the liquid in their bowls.
A light thud echoed as the wooden bowls fell to the ground.
Then the crowd saw the changes occurring on the stage and could not help but cry out in shock.
Lyle underwent the most dramatic transformation.
His clothes split apart as a pair of dragon wings spread from his back.
The wings unfolded fully, reflecting in the eyes of everyone present.
“That false god has stolen the power of my god. The true Divine Water should be like this.”
“And this kind of Divine Water—every single one of you here will receive it.”
The crowd erupted into cheers.
Their eyes locked onto the wooden bowls lying on the stage, staring intensely.
Lyle slightly folded his dragon wings and looked down at the crowd, roaring loudly:
“Down with the false god! Kill the heretics!”
“Down with the false god! Kill the heretics!” the crowd shouted back in unison.
At that mont, the tattered book in Fulan’s hand slowly began to repair itself.
A faint golden light radiated from its cover.
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