Volume 6, Chapter 35 – The God-Forsaken

“Big sister… Please give me something to eat…”

Just as Yisi was about to take a step forward to catch up with Evelyn, a boy in ill-fitting clothes suddenly darted out in front of her. The boy was not standing or kneeling before Yisi, but was lying on his side on the ground. If Yisi hadn’t reacted in time, she would have definitely stepped on him.

Like all the vagrants and slaves Yisi had seen, the boy’s face was sallow and his eyes were sunken. Only those who had been in a state of long-term hunger and had not had enough to eat would look like this. His messy clothes and tangled hair further illustrated his terrible situation. If one looked closely, they could also see that the boy’s left hand had no fingers, as if it had been shaved off by something, leaving only a round palm.

But the boy was not self-conscious about this. On the contrary, as if to deliberately show it to Yisi, the boy lying on his side on the ground slowly extended his fingerless hand to Yisi, which at first glance was as frightening as a scene from a horror movie.

“Please, I haven’t eaten in a long time…”

“Get lost.”

Noticing the movement behind her, Evelyn blocked the space between Yisi and the boy with the Staff of Divine Retribution, her cold eyes looking as if she would beat the boy to a pulp in the next moment.

“Evelyn.”

“Shut up, Yisi. If you want to know the answer, then watch closely.” Evelyn pointed to the boy’s back with the butt of the Staff of Divine Retribution. “Take off your clothes.”

The boy, who had a triumphant look in his eyes, immediately became flustered. As if to protect his tattered clothes, he expertly crossed his arms over his chest.

“This is the only set of clothes I have!”

“We won’t take your clothes. If you let Evelyn see what she wants to see, she will give you something to eat.”

In as gentle a tone as possible, Yisi placed her hands on her knees and bent down slightly.

Evelyn probably wanted to see if the boy had a Fallen Mark on his body. The Omniscient Map showed that many people in this area were Fallen, and the boy was one of them. But whether the boy was a Fallen or not was a separate issue from whether she would give him something to eat.

However, just as Yisi bent down, the boy suddenly revealed an ugly smile of a successful scheme. He reached into Yisi’s pocket with his other hand, which had fingers. After grabbing something, he didn’t even look at what was in his hand. Like a fish in water, he squirmed and scrambled away.

Evelyn mercilessly smashed the divine staff on the boy’s leg.

Thump.

With the dull sound of a blunt object hitting flesh, the boy, who was about to get up from the ground, lost his balance. His whole body curled up due to the sharp pain in his leg, and he grimaced, sucking in a sharp breath.

Evelyn then took the opportunity to press the Staff of Divine Retribution against the boy’s neck. The cold touch of the object made the boy dare not move. The force, as if it would cut off his neck, was already a warning. If he made any strange move, he would immediately become a corpse.

Her deep green eyes were filled with only disgust and coldness. Evelyn pressed down harder with the Staff of Divine Retribution.

“Take it out.”

Reaԁ on KαtRеaⅾіոɡCаfe

“Tsk.”

An unwilling sound squeezed out of his throat. The boy viciously threw the object on the ground—it was just a handkerchief for wiping one’s mouth. Yisi rarely put things that would jingle, like gold coins, in her pocket. She usually only puts small items like handkerchiefs. So even when Yisi realized that the boy might put his hand in her pocket, she didn’t stop him. She wanted to see what the boy would do and how he would react. In addition, although her motives were not pure, Yisi subconsciously felt that this was a good opportunity to get close to Evelyn. If she had stopped the boy herself, it might have led the story to a different ending.

Without bending down, but using the Staff of Divine Retribution to pick up the handkerchief that had fallen on the ground, Evelyn urged impatiently.

“Scram, or I’ll call the paladins.”

“Damn it.”

Spitting out a curse, the boy limped away and quickly disappeared.

Evelyn picked up the dirty handkerchief with two fingers. Because the boy had not bathed in a long time, even though he had only held it for a short while, the white silk handkerchief had become like a rag, faintly emitting a strange smell that was a mixture of sweat and rotten food.

“Although I’d like to return it to you, Yisi, I don’t think you’d use it again. It’s my responsibility for bringing you to a place like this without explaining the situation properly. I’ll get you a new one when we get back.”

After speaking, Evelyn casually threw the handkerchief into the ruins. The white part of the handkerchief was particularly striking against the backdrop of the surrounding ruins.

“…You’re really ruthless.”

“Ruthless?”

Evelyn raised an eyebrow, a hint of anger in her expression. Yisi could tell that this anger was not directed at her.

Evelyn wiped her hands with another handkerchief.

“This is only the lightest degree. Not breaking his legs and sending him to the paladins is the greatest tolerance. I have nothing to say to the Fallen. Most of the people here are like him: greedy, ugly, selfish, and inferior beings who are good at taking advantage of others’ sympathy. I don’t know how many people who have extended a helping hand to beggars have been used and kidnapped by them. Women are violated and then sold as slaves, and men are killed directly after their money is taken. If I had bent down to pick up the handkerchief just now instead of using the Staff of Divine Retribution to pick it up, I would have either had my throat cut by a piece of stone, or I would have been attacked by some unknown magic. In short, it would not have been good. The Fallen are all such scum.”

Evelyn had a deep resentment for the Fallen. To emphasize here that ‘not all Fallen have ill intentions’ would be a bit tactless. After silently following Evelyn for a few more steps, Yisi changed the subject.

“Have you ever been taken advantage of by a Fallen, Evelyn?”

If Evelyn herself had had such a miserable experience, even if she had killed that Fallen boy just now, Yisi would not have been surprised. Although not all Fallen had ill intentions, most of the time, a person’s impression of a group of people is generalized. It is too strict to demand that everyone can rationally view a certain group of people. Once an impression is formed, it is difficult to change, especially for those who have been left with psychological trauma. For example, a person who has been bitten by a dog will subconsciously avoid even a gentle dog in the future, unwilling to reach out and touch it, believing that dogs are dangerous animals.

Evelyn stopped in her tracks.

“Taken advantage of? Are you referring to being violated, Yisi? I am one who serves God. If I had experienced such a thing, it would be impossible for me to become the next Pope of the church. I’m just giving an example to tell you not to get too close to those Fallen.”

“How did you know at a glance that he was a Fallen? He didn’t have any marks on his face, right?”

“I come here often. Or rather, I was born here. No one in the church knows better than me what a filthy place this is. Whether he is a Fallen or not can be seen from the furtive expression on his face.”

Reаԁ оn KаtReаⅾіոgСafе

“Let go of me! You fools of the church!”

“If you make any more noise, I’ll cut off your tongue!”

The sound of a quarrel-like clamor came from behind. Yisi and Evelyn turned their heads to look behind them. About ten meters away, two paladins in armor were pressing the boy who had just stolen Yisi’s handkerchief to the ground. One was responsible for holding the boy’s hands behind his back, while the other was brutally stepping on the boy’s back, holding a rope and preparing to tie him up. There were more than ten such paladins.

“What are those people doing?”

“Can’t you tell? They’re tying up the Fallen and sending them to the church.”

“…Aren’t they following you?”

“Because of the Fallen attack on me yesterday, the church has started to search for people in the slums who might be connected to those Fallen. These paladins have taken a lot of bribes from the local thugs and usually don’t come here, but today is an exception.”

“And you call yourself the next Pope.”

“The power is not in my hands. I can’t control it even if I want to. Let Julius worry about it himself.”

As if shooing away a fly, Evelyn waved her hand and walked back into the depths of the ruins.

What a relaxed way of thinking.

Yisi took two steps forward to catch up with Evelyn, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with her.

“Where are you going, Evelyn? We’ll be at the foot of the mountain if we go any further.”

“You’ll know when we get there. Instead of that, you seem to have a good impression of the Fallen, Yisi.”

Evelyn glanced at Yisi inconspicuously. Yisi pretended not to notice and said.

“Because I know some very good Fallen.”

“Is that so,” her gaze drifting to the distance, Evelyn narrated in a flat tone, “I was not born the 24th Pope. As you heard before, I was born here. I am just the daughter of an ordinary family.”

Without interrupting Evelyn, Yisi remained silent.

“As far back as I can remember, this ruin was as ordinary as any other street in Mitters Bayer. My family of three lived on this street. My mother was a devout believer of the church, and my father was an ordinary craftsman. Although my father liked to meddle in other people’s business and always argued with my mother, we were still quite happy. And at that time, because I was young, my ability was very weak, and ordinary people couldn’t feel it at all, so there was nothing special about me. This kind of time continued until I was five years old.”

“At that time, a group of Fallen appeared in Mitters Bayer. Under the church’s expulsion, the Fallen formed their own organization. That group of Fallen was a member of that organization. They wanted to assassinate Julius, but Julius’s strength exceeded their expectations. Almost eighty percent of them were annihilated, and the remaining twenty percent couldn’t escape because the church sealed the city.”

At this point, Evelyn’s voice deepened.

Rеаd оn KatRеaⅾіnɡCafе

“Not long after, one night, my father heard a noise in the attic and went up to check. As it turned out, there were three men who were on the verge of death and starving. My meddlesome father took them in without discussing it with my mother. Those three men also concealed the fact that they were Fallen, deceiving my father by saying that they were refugees from outside.”

“While my father was preparing food for them, they discovered the church’s token in the attic and rushed into the living room, questioning whether we were people of the church. My mother would not allow men of unknown origin to live in our house, so a dispute broke out. Although the three men were weak from hunger, they still used the Fallen’s magic to kill my resisting father. Later, in order to vent their resentment for being constantly expelled by the church, they raped and killed my mother, who was a believer, in the most unacceptable way for a woman. I, who was hiding in a closet, could only listen as my mother’s screams gradually became smaller, and finally she could no longer make a sound.”

“In the end, the Fallen also paid the price for overusing their abilities. Their markings covered their entire bodies, and they went berserk. They fought with the paladins who rushed over, and the resulting fire burned half the block to ashes, turning it into what it is now. You must have been wondering just now why I stopped in front of a ruin. That was my former home.”

Is that so…

If this was the truth, it was not strange that Evelyn hated the Fallen. In fact, it would be strange if she didn’t. Growing up under such circumstances, it was a miracle that Evelyn had not become someone who specialized in hunting down the Fallen.

“And after that? Were you adopted by the church, Evelyn?”

“After losing my home, I survived in the slums for half a year. In the end, because the power bestowed upon me by the Goddess grew stronger and stronger, I was eventually used as a money-making tool by the local thugs, attracting believers who couldn’t afford to pay a silver coin to go to the central temple—as long as they handed over food or iron coins, those believers could get the qualification to be touched by me and receive the Goddess’s purification.”

“Perhaps those local thugs really believed that I was sent by the Goddess. Not only did they not use me as a tool to vent their frustrations, but they even gave me the same treatment of good food and clothes as themselves. It wasn’t until my name became more and more well-known and I was finally discovered by a priest of the church that I was adopted by the church. And at that time, I had already lived in the slums for nearly a year.”

“It sounds very short, but before I was discovered by the local thugs, even breathing every day was a torment. I hated the Fallen who had brought me to this state, and I also hated those who stole the food I had begged from others while I was sleeping. I have never seen a peer who could live in the slums for more than a year. Hunger, cold, disease, and the coercion of my own kind. I am glad that I was chosen by the Goddess. If it weren’t for those thieves touching me when they stole things and then eliminating the negative thoughts in their hearts, I might have already been in a brothel, or I might have died on the street long ago.”

“The boy you saw just now, the reason he has no fingers is just because he was caught stealing and they were cut off. But this is a good thing for him. He can use his disability to harvest the sympathy of others.”

As if to adjust her emotions, Evelyn took a deep breath. The hatred on her face gradually disappeared, replaced by a feigned ease.

“This is why I hate the Fallen and treated that boy that way. It is also why I am keen on myself rather than believing in the Goddess. Although the Goddess has bestowed her blessing upon me, if the Goddess really watched over her believers, she should have appeared when my mother needed her the most. Instead of placing my hope in the gods, believing in myself is more likely to keep me alive. That incident taught me this lesson.”

“I see…”

This must be the fundamental reason why Evelyn had agreed to swap souls with Andrea. Because she did not place her hope in the Goddess, she felt that there was no need to believe in the gods. Even though she enjoyed the grace of the gods, in her eyes, this grace would not be taken back just because she did not believe in them. The Goddess did not watch over her believers. The grace was more like something that was scattered at will.

“Is it okay to tell me all this? I’m not a believer of the church.”

“If you were a believer, Yisi, I wouldn’t have said it,” Evelyn smiled lightly and patted Yisi’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, I won’t threaten you just because I’ve told you my secret. It was just a sudden whim, and I wanted to talk to someone. No one in the church likes to listen to stories. They think that under the brilliance of the Goddess, such a scandal could not have happened. I am just exaggerating.”

“That must be quite suffocating.”

Yisi’s complaint made Evelyn stunned for a moment. Then, a low grunt came from her throat. At first, Yisi thought Evelyn was unwell, but after tilting her head to look at her expression, she realized that Evelyn was actually holding her stomach and trying to suppress her laughter.

Evelyn could no longer hold it in and let out a silver-bell-like laugh.

“Puhahaha, I didn’t expect that besides me, there would be a second person who dares to speak ill of the church in Mitters Bayer. You’re not afraid of being punished by the Goddess, you’re too interesting.” The heartfelt laughter made something like tears well up in the corners of Evelyn’s eyes. She wiped her eyes. “I thought you would say something like you understand the church’s position, but to actually say that I’m suffocating… Hahaha, if I can become the Pope in the future, I will definitely give you a cardinal position, Yisi.”

“I won’t help the church do anything.”

Read οո КαtReaⅾiոɡCаfе

“It’s fine. Your task is to talk to me.”

What a relaxing job.

Without saying her inner thoughts out loud, the two of them finally stopped in front of a very dilapidated door that didn’t even look like a house. This place was far from the city center and was even separate from the slums. Coupled with the weeds growing all around, ordinary people would not even give it a second glance.

The Omniscient Map showed that there were about ten light dots in the house.

“This is?”

Evelyn answered Yisi with her actions—she walked up and knocked on the door.

“It’s me, Evelyn.”

With a series of hurried footsteps, the old wooden door, which looked as if it would fall off its hinges at any moment, was pulled open. And what appeared before Yisi’s eyes was a group of children around ten years old. None of them were the Fallen, and some of them were very familiar to Yisi.

“Lady Evelyn!”

“You haven’t been hungry lately, have you?”

“Thanks to you, Lady Evelyn. There’s still some of the grain you had sent over last time.”

The one who answered Evelyn was a young woman with rough skin but who still retained her youthful vitality. She was probably around twenty years old. Her dry hair and slightly dark skin indicated that she often engaged in physical labor.

If she wasn’t mistaken, this should be a shelter that Evelyn had secretly established. The young woman was the one who was in charge of these orphans for Evelyn. Although she didn’t know why she couldn’t let the church take over directly, Evelyn probably had her own difficulties.

After all the children had greeted Evelyn affectionately, their gazes naturally fell on Yisi. At first, they were very wary, until one of the boys recognized her.

“Ah! It’s the big sister who gave us the roasted legs that day!”

“Eh? Roasted legs? Is that what El was talking about before?”

“And it wasn’t just roasted legs. There were many other delicious things too. She’s a big sister we can trust!”

Under the boy’s promotion, Yisi was soon accepted by the other children. Evelyn raised an eyebrow slightly.

“So you were the kind person from before. Because you gave them too much greasy food at once, they had diarrhea for a whole day.”

“…You can’t blame me for that, can you?”

However, Yisi could predict that she probably wouldn’t be able to go back before dinner.