Anser rushed into the bedroom like a gust of wind. His gaze swept over the scabbed wounds covering Osborn's body before settling on the rise and fall of his chest.
'Thank goodness.'
The man was still alive, but his condition was far from good.
Scattered across Osborn's cheeks and skin were patches of dark green-black lesions. Black miasma seeped from them, carrying a faint foul stench.
The lesions were still spreading outward—slowly, but relentlessly.
"He's been hit with Contagion." The man by the door turned his head toward Anser, forcing a bitter smile. "Give me a little time. I can save him."
Anser glanced at him. From this angle, he could clearly see the bloodstains behind him. The priestly robe had been split open by a cross-shaped sword wound, and blood had soaked nearly half his body.
However, with the man leaning against the door, it was impossible to tell how severe the injury really was.
"You alright?" Anser asked out of courtesy.
"I'm fine." The man shook his head slightly, then turned to look at Brunhilde by the doorway with a complicated expression.
Anser quietly shot Brunhilde a look before placing his fingers on Osborn's forehead. Dense white radiance poured forth continuously, and the lesions began fading at a visible rate.
Yet even after his Lay on Hands pool was completely exhausted, the lesions still hadn't disappeared. As soon as the healing stopped, they gradually worsened again, quickly returning to their original state.
'That troublesome?'
Anser raised an eyebrow.
Contagion was a 5th-level Necromancy spell. It infected the target with a magical disease that lasted seven days. During that time, the victim continuously suffered necrotic damage and remained poisoned.
Diseases and poisons were broad categories. Within them were countless variations, and the difficulty of curing them varied enormously. Some could be overcome by ordinary people, while others could bring down even legendary adventurers.
Anser's Paladin level was still too low. His Lay on Hands pool held only 20 points. It could neutralize ordinary poisons, but it was powerless against Contagion.
He wasn't disappointed.
Without hesitation, he pulled a magical potion from the Alchemist's Potion Belt. As he shook it, tiny glowing bubbles danced through the clear crimson liquid.
It was a Potion of Health.
It could cure the vast majority of diseases while also removing blindness, deafness, paralysis, and poison.
He pried open Osborn's mouth and carefully fed him the potion little by little.
Once the potion was down, Osborn's complexion immediately regained some color, and the ugly lesions on his skin began to recede.
Unlike spells, however, magical potions required time to take effect.
Not much time, but enough to require patience.
Anser finally relaxed. He stood and walked to the window, looking down into the alley below.
The Royal Guard and the court mages still hadn't left.
But neither had they advanced.
The situation felt strangely off.
"What exactly is going on?" He was still somewhat confused.
"The man in black armor you drove back is Emmanuel, the Second Prince of the Cozar royal family of the Rock of Bral."
The priest struggled to his feet. His complexion looked much better than before.
Anser froze for a moment, then chuckled.
"That explains it."
A Chosen of Bane appearing within the royal family of the Rock of Bral sounded both perfectly reasonable and deeply ironic.
The Rock of Bral had been plagued by conflict lately. There was a good chance that prince had played a major role in it.
Judging by the pattern so far, most Chosen also served as clerics. But a Cleric level as high as 9 couldn't possibly have come entirely from divine blessings. That meant the Second Prince had been involved with Bane's followers long before this.
"Are you one of the Silver Mother's Chosen?" Brunhilde asked softly.
After meeting this priest, she was no longer worried.
After all, he was a cleric of Selûne.
Selûne was one of the oldest deities in existence. She was known as the Moon Goddess, the Silver Mother, the Moonmaiden, and the Lady of Silver. Though her influence had risen and fallen throughout history, she had been a greater deity for most of it.
His sister was the Dark Goddess Shar. The two were both sisters and mortal enemies.
"That's right. My name is Evan. I'm the bishop of the Church of the Silver Moon in the Upper City's Temple District." The man bent down to pick up his staff and walked over to Anser's side. The two stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing out into the night.
Evan looked to be in his thirties. He had an average build, pleasant features, and a soft, unhurried manner of speaking. There was nothing particularly threatening about him.
Anser glanced at him from the side. The die spun slightly and displayed his information:
[Selûne's Chosen — Evan, Human, Level 16 Cleric (Twilight Domain)]
'Kind of weak. Looks like not every Chosen is a peak-tier adventurer,' he thought to himself.
"Tonight, I was invited to attend a royal banquet. I never expected to run into Emmanuel after he'd fallen into the embrace of an evil god. I exposed him in front of all the guests..." Evan recounted softly, lingering fear visible in his eyes.
The Rock of Bral was close to the moon and was considered the place nearest to the Moon Goddess. As a result, countless followers of the Moon Goddess came on pilgrimage every year, giving the Church of the Silver Moon tremendous prestige and influence.
Even the royal family treated it with great respect and readily granted its requests.
Evan wasn't particularly skilled in combat. He had believed that simply revealing Emmanuel's true identity would earn the support of everyone present.
Unfortunately, he had underestimated both the fanaticism of an evil god's Chosen and the attitude of the royal family.
Emmanuel didn't argue.
He drew his blade and attacked immediately, decisive to the extreme.
The believers and adventurers who stepped forward to stop him were no match for a Chosen of an evil god and failed to make a meaningful difference. Forced into the fight himself, Evan was still unable to prevail.
Throughout the entire incident, the royal family remained on the sidelines, supporting neither side.
Fortunately, Evan was highly respected, and many people helped hold off the enemy. After he was severely wounded, Osborn managed to rescue him amid the chaos, allowing him to narrowly escape with his life.
After fleeing the Upper City, Osborn brought Evan to this stone building. He had assumed it would be more concealed than the Burrows, but he hadn't expected Chosen to be able to sense one another's locations. Since Bral wasn't very large, Emmanuel tracked them down before long.
When the fighting began, Anser happened to arrive at the scene and was mistaken for an ally, leading to the skirmish that had just taken place.
Anser found it rather surprising.
He hadn't expected that when he encountered the evil god's Chosen, the man had already fought through several rounds of battle and was still terrifyingly powerful.
Had Emmanuel not been wary of facing all three of them together, there was no way he would have retreated so easily.
'Does going dark really make you 30% stronger?'
Every Chosen received different blessings and started from different levels of power, so vast disparities in strength weren't particularly surprising.
Selûne was powerful, but Bane was no weaker.
After returning from death through his offspring, he had forcefully reclaimed his former portfolios and even gained the portfolio of fear, taking complete control of the four domains of Strife, Tyranny, Hatred, and Fear, once again ascending to the ranks of the greater deities.
Moreover, Bane had an enormous number of followers, including many nobles, military officers, and other powerful figures.
"Does the Church of the Silver Moon have any stronger adventurers?" Anser asked, feeling somewhat hesitant.
Evan was clearly no match for Prince Emmanuel. If Anser left with Osborn, Evan might not even be able to protect himself.
And with the royal family's position still unclear, people like Osborn who had helped Evan might end up implicated as well.
"Don't worry. As long as the temple receives word, they'll definitely come rescue us." Evan's eyes were firm, his tone filled with confidence.
Anser tilted his chin toward the Royal Guard below and smiled faintly.
"Are you sure? What about the royal family?"
"The royal family would never dare make an enemy of us!" Evan replied coldly, his tone absolutely certain.
"We can only hope so." Anser remained unconvinced.
The royal family might not openly oppose a church led by Selûne, but standing aside and allowing an evil cult to act was certainly within the realm of possibility.
Thinking about it, that made sense.
If someone's family suddenly produced a Chosen, they would naturally make careful plans around it. Some might even take the risk of throwing their support behind that person and gambling on the future.
At that moment, a disturbance broke out behind the Royal Guard.
Dozens of clerics arrived one after another and formed a blockade at the mouth of the alley.
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
"They've arrived!"
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