Devouring World Dragon

Chapter 142 Prayer Before Death
Years later, in a house in Nazareth.

Hanna, who was already twenty-seven years old, was carefully taking stock of the instruments and many herbs in her room. Some doctors in the Roman Empire had already noticed the blood circulation in the human body, and some extreme scholars even used death row prisoners as experimental subjects, dissecting them and analyzing the human internal organs.

However, due to limitations in the medium, most books at the time were recorded on tanned sheepskin, which was expensive and time-consuming to produce, so only a very few people could access this knowledge. Hanna, far away in the Middle East, naturally couldn't. He learned his medical skills from local doctors, who were extremely conservative at the time; medicine was practically their only means of livelihood. Even after much pleading and more than a decade of effort, Hanna only learned a very limited set of skills. Most of his knowledge came from his continuous practical experience and exploration.

At this moment, he was about to go and diagnose a patient outside the city. These instruments and herbs were the tools he needed for this trip. However, before he could get ready, a loud laugh suddenly came from behind him.

"Hanna, it's been a long time!"

Upon hearing the voice, Hanna turned around and saw a middle-aged priest wearing a white linen robe and sporting a large beard looking at him. Hanna was both surprised and delighted and exclaimed in surprise.

"John."

He put down what he was holding, shook hands warmly with the bearded priest in front of him, and asked with delight.

"John, it's been so many years!"

John is a very common Jewish name, so common that if you call out "John" on the street, someone will definitely turn around. But for Hanna, the John in front of her was very unusual, because he was her cousin.

Hamnah's mother was Mary, who had an older sister named Elizabeth. Elizabeth was much older than Mary and married Zechariah, a priest. She later gave birth to Zechariah's only son, John, who inherited his father's priesthood. Because of her age, Elizabeth guided Hamnah in Jewish faith and taught him theology when he was young. She was Hamnah's cousin and also his godfather, and their relationship was even closer than that of their parents.

However, unlike Hamnah, who chose to give up his father’s shop to study medicine, John, as a priest, chose to work hard and speak out for the Jewish independence movement, and had a considerable reputation in the Jewish kingdom.

The two brothers hadn't seen each other for a long time, so they naturally had a chat. During their conversation, Hamna learned that John had been ostracized by other Jewish priests who were trying to curry favor with Pilate, the governor of the province of Judea, because of his conflict with Pilate.

John would grit his teeth whenever he spoke of Pilate, but he hated Herod even more when he talked about him.

"This fellow is in cahoots with the Romans and is utterly unfit to be our king!"

At the height of his anger, John couldn't help but slap his thigh and curse.

Herod the first king was not Jewish, but an Edomite. However, because he saved Caesar's life and married two princesses from the former Jewish royal family, Caesar appointed him king of the Kingdom of Judah, replacing the former Jewish royal family. However, precisely because of his awkward origins, although he was a Jewish king, he was clearly closer to the Romans than the Jewish kings. For the Jews who had lived there for generations, this king of illegitimate birth naturally held a deep resentment towards him.

When the Roman governor Pontius Pilate arrived, this conflict was further exacerbated. In order to maintain his rule, the son of the first Herod, now the king, chose to unite with Pilate to rule the Jews.

A king of a different people, an empire devoid of any sense of identity, exorbitant taxes, brutal rule... all of this led to a series of Jewish independence movements within the Kingdom of Judah, and John was among the most fervent. Even when he arrived in the fiefdom of Israel under King Herod, he showed no sign of softening and continued to mock the Jewish king.

"John, don't talk nonsense."

Hanna's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly whispered a word of advice to John.

He was well aware of John's actions, but Hannah did not enjoy conflict, nor did he share John's strong sense of independence. Instead, he preferred that all parties sit down and discuss the matter properly. In his view, any peace was far better than bloodshed...

As a doctor, he had witnessed far too many deaths.

John, on the other side, glanced at him, snorted, but said nothing more, simply engaging in normal casual conversation.

……

In the dimly lit house, a person reeking of stench lay on a bed. His festering sores made everyone, even his relatives, afraid to approach him. Everyone had abandoned him, and he could only lie on the hospital bed, occasionally muttering a few words unconsciously.

But Hanna was not afraid. His hands and body were covered with layers of cloth to protect him from possible disease—this was his armor as a doctor, and the herbs were his sword. He approached the patient, whom everyone had abandoned, put down his medicine box, and began to apply the herbs to his body.

"hiss……"

With a faint sound, the patient seemed to sense something. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only a calm voice rang in his ears.

"do not move!"

Hannah continued treating the patient afflicted with the plague. This was his fourth visit, but with his medical skills, he could only offer the patient some psychological comfort. His actions were almost meaningless; anyone could tell that the patient was nearing the end…

But Han Na still didn't give up. He unconsciously clenched his teeth, trying his best to think of every possible way...

He didn't like people dying, he didn't want to see anyone die in front of him, and he wanted to save him.

"doctor……"

From that dry, hoarse throat came an unusually weak sound. Han Na looked up and saw the patient in front of her, whose face was ravaged by abscesses, with only a pair of eyes still faintly visible.

Tears welled up in his eyes. His life instincts told him he wanted to live, but he knew he no longer had the strength to survive.

"Am I... going to die soon?" The hoarse voice, though asking a question, contained no doubt, only understanding.

Han Na remained silent, not answering the patient's question. The patient, in turn, seemed not to be expecting a reply from Han Na, but rather muttering to himself.

"Doctor...everyone has left me...even my child...is afraid to come near me anymore, why are you still here..."

Hanna ignored his words and continued to try to do something with the herbs and knife in her medicine box, but what else could she do?

The hand gripping the scalpel was clenched tightly.

He hated himself for being so powerless, for having to watch others die in front of him again.

But the patient just looked at him calmly, and after a long while continued to murmur.

"Doctor... tell me, where do people go after they die...?"

Han Na was silent for a moment, then spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Probably... going to heaven."

"Heaven? But I am a follower of Baal, not the God of your Jews..."

The patient smiled wryly. Baal is a widely worshipped deity in the Middle East, and many non-Jewish peoples believe in him.

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly, he gasped for breath and spoke to the struggling Hanna in front of him.

"Doctor, can I... have faith in your God? You are so kind, your God... must be as kind as you... Please, let me have faith in your God in the last moments of my life."

A strange light shone in the patient's eyes as he looked at Hanna in front of him, almost pleading.

However, both the patient and Hannah understood that Jews do not preach to outsiders because they firmly believe that only those chosen by God are qualified to receive God's mercy. Even if they preach, they must have Jewish blood, and he clearly did not meet that qualification.

He opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to refuse. All the theological knowledge he had received since birth told him that he should refuse this impolite request. But looking into those eyes, all the words that were about to come out of his mouth became stuck in his throat.

However, if he were to accept the patient's request, it would mean that he would be violating the teachings of Judaism, which would be blasphemy against God and a distortion of God's will. He had been taught Judaism since childhood, and his parents and he himself were devout Jews. It was something he had never thought of turning away from God.

However, if he didn't accept it, it would mean he couldn't fulfill the wishes of this dying man before him, and as a doctor, how could he bear to do that?

Between God and the sick, which should he choose...?

A fierce battle was raging within his mind, with two opposing thoughts locked in conflict. Just then, a force surged through his arm.

"doctor."

The patient gripped his arm tightly with incredible force, and his previously cloudy eyes suddenly shone with an unprecedented brightness and desperate pleading—his final pleas…

He opened his mouth, remained silent for a long time, and finally, as if he had made an extremely important decision, he gritted his teeth and simply stretched out one hand and gently stroked the patient's forehead.

Without saying a word, the patient, whose vision was already blurred, felt a touch of warmth on his forehead and understood the choice made by the person in front of him. A strange sense of peace welled up in his heart, and his body relaxed. A deep sense of exhaustion washed over him, and he slowly closed his eyes.

“Josh...Shua…”

In his final moments, gazing at the figure seemingly enveloped in light, he spoke incoherently.

Joshua is a hero in Jewish folklore who led the Jews to establish themselves in Israel. His name means "salvation," and if pronounced in Greek, it would be...

Jesus.

……

Inside the underwater temple, a pair of eyes suddenly opened, their depths cold and dark.

"Finally... we found it."

Laughter began to echo through the temple, accompanied by deep sounds.

(End of this chapter)