Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 502 Requiem

These are symptoms that Mary is most familiar with.

She spent most of her life fighting this plague.

Coughing up blood means that the infected person's internal organs have ulcerated, and bloodless skin means that the patient is facing severe blood loss.

This red snow brought an even more severe plague, and the disease was deteriorating much faster than the scarlet plague she was familiar with. Everyone in the square was terminally ill, and they didn't have a week or so to recover. At the current rate, Oasis City would become a dead city after tonight.

Their lives will continue in another distorted form.

She had seen many towns that were completely "necrotic," with writhing tumors covering the streets and human limbs pieced together irregularly. Only their tattered clothes vaguely revealed their identities before the disease and told later generations about the despair brought about by the spread of the scarlet plague.

No one knew better than her how to stop the spread of the plague.

The immediate priority is to isolate all those infected with the disease. Although cruel, this will only leave them to die in pain and despair. To prevent the spread of the plague, the mutated monsters should be burned after most people have died. Even so, this will only slow down the spread of the plague.

Because there will always be some who slip through the net.

Whether it's a mistake made under high pressure or a violation of regulations due to the inability to let one's loved ones go... there will always be someone who becomes the weak point. Once the plague tears a hole in the city's lockdown, it will drag the entire city into hell overnight.

The reading of the crimes ceased.

Mary stood on the high platform, looking down at the miserable residents of Oasis City. She had seen too many such sights, so no one knew better than her that the city was doomed.

The most sensible course of action is to eliminate the source of infection to ensure that the source of the plague is completely eradicated in Oasis City.

To combat the Scarlet Plague, one must strip away human emotions and become a heartless machine in the eyes of others.

If it were the old her, she would have immediately launched an operation to eradicate the source of the plague—from the moment they were infected with the scarlet plague, these people were no longer their compatriots, but rather the messengers of the plague spreading the infection.

Also witnessing this scene were Laris's accomplices, who were trapped in the underground sewers and had been driven to the brink by Salman.

The twisted flesh still retained its last vestiges of consciousness. The red snowflakes falling through the slabs of the underground sewers stopped the "doctor" from his futile battle, and a low, indistinct murmur came from beneath his disfigured face.

"It's so beautiful, it's absolutely so beautiful."

Everyone underestimated Larry's determination.

He would not hesitate to offer himself as fuel if it could ignite the city.

This red snow was a fire he ignited.

He heard a coughing sound beside him. The massive body that had been fighting against the "metal can" with brute force was also affected by the red snowflakes. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and the sharp pain in his chest caused him to fall to the ground like a fish out of water. His mouth opened and closed, and he could only utter hoarse groans.

Only death can bring about absolute equality, even for them.

Larry's obsession has permeated the snow, spreading to every corner of Oasis City.

The continuous coughing and painful wails were Larry's requiem for them. Although they couldn't stop the "metal can" from moving forward in the end, they became the biggest winners.

The officials of Oasis City, the people of the Lower City, the saints of the Holy See, and themselves—all will return to nothingness after death.

A few days later, the plague will spread to other cities, sweep across the far west, then the empire, and then spread to the western continent with a few merchant ships. In the end, no one will be spared.

This time, they aim to go even further than the Crimson Age, accomplishing a feat that even the Crimson King could not achieve.

The Seventh Age is called Death.

……

"It seems you underestimated his determination."

Bazalian gazed at the crowd in the city center square and spoke calmly.

They were all terminally ill, their very souls were being twisted, and even with Mary's reverse powers, she couldn't keep up with the speed of the plague's spread.

She could burn the infected to ashes as those who had done in the past, but the infected animals and insects, driven by Laris's consciousness, had already left the city and headed to various cities in the far west.

He did not have the selfish motives of the Crimson King and did not intend to establish an empire ruled by infected beings.

The plague was merely a means to achieve his goal, which was clear and unambiguous from the beginning—to spread death throughout the world.

"I won."

"Bazalian said in a low voice."

At this point, Mary was powerless to change anything. "You really should have taken my advice."

Through Laris, she realized the idea she had when she awoke. With the spread of the plague, disorder and death would quickly sweep across the world, and she would also witness firsthand the collapse of the order that "another her" had worked so hard to build.

She should be overjoyed, but now, those painful cries of agony held no interest for her.

Even death, the ultimate concept for humankind, has lost its meaning.

Perhaps only Ethan's reaction could pique her interest even a little, because ever since she met this interesting man, Ethan had always seemed to be in complete control of her, as if nothing was beyond his grasp.

As it turns out, even Moriko has her moments of going too far.

Bazalian was curious about Ethan's next reaction—would he jump up and down in anger like the others? Or would he smash things in a fit of rage?
"Anzi, are you happy?"

Surprisingly, Ethan remained calm, as if the impending death was nothing more than a grand fireworks display to him, and he even had the leisure to ask his companions about their viewing experience.

"Why do you ask?"

"What you wanted to do has been achieved."

After a moment of silence, Bazarian finally spoke, "Too simple, boring."

Only at the very beginning of the mayoral election could she feel a tiny bit of excitement, but that tiny bit of excitement disappeared as she gradually got to know Mary better.

Would a god be overjoyed to win an election against a human?

In fact, it will not cause any emotional fluctuations.

The election should have ended this way; she could even have comforted her rival afterwards, saying that as a human being, she had done her best.

"It seems you really have too much free time."

Bazalian's reaction was much as Ethan had expected; bringing destruction to the world was merely a diversion in her boring life.

A soul driven to the extreme of loneliness may resort to death as a means of seeking stimulation, but now it seems that even death itself has lost its appeal for Bazalian.

"Now is not the time to worry about me."

Bazalian reminded Ethan, "Maybe you can still put up a fight. I don't mind if you break the rules and do everything you can to influence the course of this election."

“In that case, the election would lose its meaning.”

Ethan shook his head. "Win or lose, I hope you'll accept it willingly." Mary wanted to bring justice to Oasis City, and if she couldn't achieve her goals by following the rules, everything she did would be a bubble that burst at the slightest provocation.

Almost simultaneously, Mary, who was on the high platform, also began her operation.

"Lady Mary, I feel...not quite right."

These are the new city hall members personally selected by Lyon. Although he is terminally ill and suffering greatly, he still tries his best to maintain his dignity. "Perhaps we should temporarily stop the trials and treat the residents of the lower city. If they die, it will be meaningless for us to try a thousand more officials."

He still hoped to remain objective, but the obsession that existed in the red snowflakes had penetrated into everyone's minds, binding their consciousness together and pushing them toward the abyss of death.

There is no cure for this plague.

"Here, drink it."

Mary picked up the water glass and handed it to the other person.

"……This is?"

The man looked puzzled. He knew very well that the cup contained only ordinary water, which they had prepared specifically for Mary to prevent her from getting a dry throat while reading out the charges.

"Hot water."

Mary said calmly, "When you're sick, you should drink more hot water."

Despite his many doubts, the man did as instructed.

Because that's what Mary said.

As the hot water entered his throat, a warm feeling instantly filled his entire body. All the pain vanished under the wash of the heat. Immediately afterwards, all his doubts turned into belief. He couldn't explain the principle behind how a cup of hot water could cure the plague, but belief didn't need a reason.

At that moment, Mary's figure seemed to overlap with that great being.

They didn't need to ask, because the answer had been right in front of them from the beginning.

Thus spoke the goddess of life.

"Take a ten-minute break and go get some hot water to drink."

Without panic or struggle, Mary calmly told everyone present to get a cup of hot water in the face of the sudden red snowflakes, "Leon and Grave have also prepared some delicate snacks for you."

She didn't even focus her attention on the plague itself.

For Mary, it was just a sneeze after winter had arrived, nothing particularly noteworthy.

It was precisely this calm attitude that stopped the wailing crowd. When they witnessed the man who had drunk the hot water recover to normal at a speed visible to the naked eye, his pain seemed to lessen.

"They've prepared hot dog rolls!"

Before long, someone in the crowd exclaimed in surprise. For many ordinary people in the lower city who couldn't afford meat, hot dog rolls were undoubtedly a luxury. But now, they were associated with the words "free".

Excitement spread rapidly through the crowd until all the wailing ceased.

Mary found a chair, poured herself a cup of hot water, and let the red snow fall on her shoulders.

She thought a lot during those three days. After Ethan's "mysterious disappearance," Bazatos became her mentor.

She fully understood the boundary between humans and gods.

If it were the old her, she would have immediately isolated herself and tried every possible means to control the spread of the Scarlet Plague, even if it meant bearing the hatred of many people. She would have forced herself to become ruthless, because only in this way could she become a machine to fight the plague.

However, now she only advises them to drink more hot water.

It's just a sneeze and spitting out blood, right?
What's the big deal?
"It seems I'm your only listener now."

Mary opened her hand and caught a red snowflake. "As a human, you've done quite well."

The condescending tone was nothing short of a great mockery of the losers.

The obsession with fighting against the whole world, the decision to sacrifice oneself for it, is no match for a cup of hot water in the face of the gods.

"Meaningless!"

Larry still retained some consciousness, but he had to accept the fact that Mary had become his only listener. She used only a cup of hot water to expel him from everyone's minds. Those who were already on the verge of death held a cup of hot water in the winter and talked and laughed about the free hot dog rolls.

"Even if you can bring them temporary justice, what then?"

He questioned Mary, which was all he could do: "The Papacy has proven the failure of order for thousands of years! Look at the far west today, look at those lowly, struggling people! This is the world created by the rightful gods!"

A long, yet rotten world.

It gives people false hope.

"So what if he is a so-called omniscient and omnipotent god?"

"I am not Him."

Faced with the constant questioning from the red snowflakes, Mary simply raised her water glass.

"Goooooooooo."

Her nonchalant attitude suggested she hadn't taken his ramblings to heart at all. Only after the ramblings had ceased for a long time, and the red snowflakes in her palm were almost melting, did she slowly say, "I will surpass them."

The ceaseless chatter vanished at this moment.

Larry stopped shouting, as if he were re-examining Mary through his last vestiges of consciousness.

In just a few words, he expressed an unimaginable determination. For a believer, this was a challenge to his faith, and its severity was no different from apostasy.

At that moment, he suddenly understood why he had failed.

He utterly hated the world created by the rightful gods, yet until the very last moment, he still needed to rely on the goddess's power to exact his revenge on this world.

How ironic?

However, the woman before him claimed that she would surpass all the established gods.

This was a path he had never even imagined before.

Laughter erupted from the red snowflakes.

Larry seemed to have reverted to his old, unrestrained attitude.

"Shameless talk!"

His voice grew weaker and weaker, and the sudden turn of events was drawing to a close. "Then just wait and see, Mary! I'll be waiting for you at the ends of the earth."

(End of this chapter)