Starting with the defeated female knight

But as for the scrap materials, let alone providing any support, even the anesthetic used in the surgery was secretly brought in by him using his tentacles after Vanessa had someone hide it.

It was fine when it was just the Sheila sisters, because nobody cared about the junk, and no matter what they did, as long as they huddled in that little house and closed the door, they would basically go unnoticed.

But the situation changed after the 'materials' increased.

A lone piece of trash goes unnoticed, but when they come together, especially when different families gather together.

Even if others are completely blind, it's impossible for them not to notice at all.

This place isn't Dawn City; there's not much space for him to move around, especially since he's an Ancient God... He meant that in other people's eyes, he's an Ancient God.

If he were discovered, it wouldn't matter if his branch base were lost, but these kids would be truly beyond saving.

Therefore, he must be careful and cautious.

However careful and cautious we are, we still have to do what needs to be done.

For example, as the weather gets colder, he can use Vanessa's connections to get some warming supplies for the children.

"These are clothes, these are holy blessing amulets, and some other odds and ends... There aren't many, so you can distribute them among them."

The man who met with Green was a young, blue-eyed male pastor named John.

After delivering what Green had requested, he looked at the tentacles and asked a question.

"Are you free now? My child is sick and I might need your help."

John didn't get involved in the waste disposal, but he set up a makeshift chapel in the slums specifically to shelter and protect those who were struggling to survive, including children.

Green did not refuse John's request.

While the miracles of the Church are powerful in healing, they are more effective for physical and spiritual recovery. They are not very effective for internal medicine conditions such as tumors, congenital disabilities, or other issues.

Moreover, because they specialize in different miracles, even priests who specialize in healing find it difficult to address all types of traumas comprehensively.

Of course, John could also go to the church to recruit people.

The problem is, even setting aside the fact that in the church today, he knows at most two people whose names he can recall.

Even if he knows more people, it's unlikely they'll be able to help him.

Yes, setting up a small chapel in the slums to shelter people can improve the church's image, which is beneficial to the church. So even if it is not applied for and approved, everyone can turn a blind eye, and it is even acceptable to do some favors.

But you want money? Sorry, no way.

Just kidding. The church's money is used to reward devout believers. How could it possibly be given to those ignorant and foolish poor people so easily?

Faith? Do they even understand their own faith?

Cured? If just anyone could be treated, how could the priest possibly keep up?

Furthermore, John is a full-time war priest. Let alone healing miracles, even auxiliary miracles are limited to casting a light at best, and the success rate is not high.

In this situation, even though he is a priest, he doesn't actually have any healing abilities, and he can only ask Green for help.

Okay, lead the way.

The tentacle nodded, used its other tentacles to carry the items back first, and then left one behind John to follow.

A moment later, they followed John to the place and had John cover the boy's eyes.

First, apply anesthesia, then cut open the skin, find the source of the disease, transform it, remove it, discard it, and allow the wound to heal.

After everything was over, John carried the child, whose breathing had calmed down considerably, back to the church. After thanking Green, he sat down on a dilapidated bench.

Raising my head, my gaze passed over the poor, dilapidated alleyway that reeked of decay, and over the thin, shivering figures wandering about, finally settling on the magnificent and splendid cathedral, which stood a few dozen meters away, separated only by a few walls.

"Why do you think things turned out this way?"

He seemed to be asking Green, but also seemed to be asking himself.

【You ask me? 】

Its tentacles swayed slightly, its gaze swept over everything in front of it, and it shook its head.

I don't even know how to cure those little guys, how could I possibly know this?

If this place were near Dawn City, he would have been arrested and sent to a factory by now due to a labor shortage.

But this is the capital city.

John had no money, no connections, and no relationships. Even with his best efforts, he could barely keep a church afloat in the alley.

Green had previously set aside his mental obstacles and prepared not to spare even the little boys, but then he discovered that the little boys were more valuable. Not only were they easy to detect if he took action against them, but even if they were slightly decrepit, they might be taken away to have their tendons and bones removed and stewed for soup. In the end, he could only pick up a few of the most pitiful little girls.

Kindness is like water, but this is a desert.

The waves they created were barely enough to nourish a few blades of grass, let alone an oasis.

John sat in the chair, scratched his head, and then sighed.

As a resurrected spirit, being suddenly pulled up was enough to confuse him.

Now, a few days after his resurrection, looking at the current state of the capital and the church, he felt even more confused.

Is this how things should be?

They halted the demonic tide, sealed away the gods, and under the protection of the blue wings, the empire thrived.

Food production gradually increased, noble bloodlines continued to flourish, the church's faith became more steadfast, and even scholars' research was thriving—provided that the occasional antics and explosions were ignored.

Everything is changing, everything is getting better. After the shadow of the ancient god faded, the entire empire was rejuvenated with incredible vitality, and even the lives of ordinary people were rapidly improving, with smiles appearing on their faces more and more often.

Especially because of the existence of blue butterflies, humanity's greatest fears—death and disease—have been completely erased.

Not only nobles or church members, but the merciful Mother Goddess is willing to bless every child under Her wings equally. Even prisoners who have committed serious crimes can obtain eternal life with blue blood as long as they sincerely repent and kneel down to pray.

Although there were some troubles during this period, such as the Mother Goddess occasionally drifting around and getting lost, and the people of the church running around looking for her, and some warriors becoming very eager to fight after gaining immortality, constantly dragging their comrades into battle and consuming resurrection resources.

For example, because no one would die, in order to prevent a population explosion, the church gradually began to oppose marriage between men and women, which gradually led to the prevalence of certain trends that have even influenced us today...

But these are minor issues. Although John occasionally gets a headache because of them, it's just a headache.

Overall, John was very satisfied with the state of the Empire at the time and sincerely looked forward to the day when blue blood flowed in everyone's body and the entire Empire entered eternity under the protection of the Mother Goddess.

At that time, humanity will complete its ultimate evolution, the empire will unveil its eternal chapter, everything will remain at its most beautiful moment, and the true gates of heaven will open.

He sincerely looked forward to, hoped for, and longed for that day to come.

Until that incident happened.

Isidorelus.

Childhood playmates, school deskmates, and comrades-in-arms on the battlefield.

Even if the other becomes the Pope, the two of them will secretly drink together like thieves, complaining about things inside and outside the church.

He entered the room, holding in his hand the enormous scepter, a gift from the Mother Goddess, which he privately complained was so big and heavy that he rarely carried it.

The veins on his hands were bulging, and his expression was one of madness.

"help me."

Just those two words.

There is no explanation.

Then John picked up the hammer.

"Where?"

"Cathedral, help me guard the outside."

"Row."

After that, until his body turned into blue liquid and his consciousness completely dissipated, John had no idea what had happened.

But at the very end, he turned back to look at the cathedral behind him, as if he had sensed something.

Did he kill the Mother Goddess?

But there was no regret, nor fear.

Because he believed that Isidores must be right.

He never imagined that, many years later, he would open his eyes again.

Before them lay the empire of who-knows-how-many years later, as described by the Mother Goddess, which had been altered by Isidore.

very bad.

This was his first impression of the empire as it is today.

Even so, he did not go directly to the church to confront his friend, who was said to be old and senile.

Because he didn't want to hear only one side of the story, nor did he want to look at the surface. He wanted to witness it firsthand, to understand the most authentic and complete situation of this place, to figure out what exactly happened, why it turned out this way, and even some minor details that no one might care about.

Then, go find that friend and ask him if this is the future he expects.

An unexpected incident occurred just as we were getting to know each other.

As one of the original members, he simply could not ignore those sufferings.

Especially after seeing that even the ancient god's avatar, Tentacle, was taking care of the child, he was even less likely to stay out of it.

Heaven knows why the ancient gods were taking care of the children while the nobles were killing and eating people. When he first realized this, he was stunned for several seconds.

After all, as a combatant, he was active on the front lines against the ancient gods back then. Besides his fellow church members, he was surrounded by nobles of high moral character and noble blood. This formed a stark contrast with the twisted and insane ancient gods on the other side. Moreover, the words and actions of those nobles made him feel very fond of this group.

They are powerful, elegant, fearless of authority, and protect the weak. They are extremely reliable as allies and full of martial virtue as enemies.

But now you tell him that the ancient gods he once fought against were full of reason and benevolence, while it was the nobles who were doing distorted things.

This was far beyond his comprehension.

[Just to reiterate, I am not an ancient god.]

I'm a person, or you can call me a tentacle monster, but I'm definitely not an ancient god.

John's lips twitched.

Those tentacle mouths are really hard; they're so hard he almost wanted to curse.

But soon, with a sigh, he turned his gaze back to the alley and church in front of him, looking at the vast difference between them separated by only a wall, and his back gradually bent.

So, why did things turn out like this?

John still couldn't quite understand.

Just as the person and the hand remained silent, footsteps sounded.

John paused for a moment, glanced at Green who stood beside him without flinching, and after a brief moment of thought, made no move.

A moment later, accompanied by the sound of armor clashing, a man carrying a gray-white greatsword appeared at the end of the alley. After approaching, he stroked his chin, examined John for a while, and then suddenly realized what was going on.

"Oh, you're that...who was it again?"

"John."

"Oh, yes, John."

John sighed deeply again as he looked at the strange man who had suddenly appeared in front of him.

"So, you are?"

“Henry, we’ve met before.”

"We've met before? Please don't joke around, I don't know you at all..."

He's been dead for over two hundred years, and this person in front of me doesn't have blue eyes, how could he possibly know him... Wait, Henry? That Henry?

As he recalled a moment, John's body tensed, and his entire demeanor instantly changed from relaxed to solid and menacing.

"Oh, it seems you remembered. You used to hit me when I was a kid."

The man named Henry didn't react to John's reaction. He casually pulled up a stool, sat down, and looked down at the tentacles.

"We meet again, a fellow human whose name I don't know."

My name is Green.

Also, I am not your kind.

The tentacle wiggled twice, then looked at John, whose body was tense and whose expression was wary.

What's wrong? Is there something wrong with him?