The Freak Show Foreman

The church was not far from the village hall.

Beyond the buildings on the hill, a dome rose in a circular shape.

It was said that patients in critical condition had gathered there.

We couldn't afford to delay even for a moment, so we hastened our steps.

However, an unexpected obstacle blocked our path.

"Oh, Saint, Saint."

"Please heal us too!"

"Saint Victor, tend to the sick."

The street that had been empty just a while ago was now filled with cursed plague patients.

Their condition was worse than those we saw at the hall.

It was commonplace to see limbs mutilated, and some individuals struggled to breathe because their faces had collapsed.

People who had been lying at home waiting for death suddenly came to life and rushed towards us, their eyes ablaze.

Infected individuals used their arms to crawl forward, and those too weak even for that rolled on the ground in an effort to approach us.

No, to be precise, they were approaching me, not us.

The news of those I had treated spread throughout the town, and desperate residents rushed out of their homes towards me.

They reached out, trying to grab at least the hem of my clothes.

"What's going on!"

"Hey, stop!"

"Step back!"

Soldiers tried to block my path, but they couldn't overcome the strength of dozens of people.

The residents approached me relentlessly.

"Oh, may the grace of Saint Victor be with us!"

"Grant us your blessing too!"

"For a moment, shine your light upon us!"

People mistook me for a priest of the Holy Church.

Having cured the curse with a single touch, coupled with the fact that I was dressed like the monks of the Holy Church, it was not unreasonable for them to think so.

"Please! The more urgent patients need attention now!"

Even Ivanenko's sharp shout did not make the people retreat.

Residents who would usually bow to the authority of a knight disregarded everything when their lives were at stake.

Even when he drew his sword, their hesitation was only momentary. They squeezed into the gap and tried to get closer to me by any means.

The sight of hundreds of people with grotesquely deformed bodies screaming and rushing forward reminded me of a scene from a zombie movie I had seen before.

Ivanenko and the soldiers, who had become accustomed to the curse plague over the past few days, also couldn't help but curse and recoil at the sight.

"Director, should I use magic?"

Maya stood in front of me, her voice cold.

Although she didn't express any fear, disgust, or contempt for the townspeople, she had the determination to strike them down if necessary.

"There's no need to go that far."

Watching their desperate struggles, a pitiful feeling crept into my heart.

The orphanage where I grew up was operated by a foundation affiliated with a cult.

All the children in the orphanage were uncomfortable in some way or another.

There was only one thing we wished for.

A pastor who could make a paralytic stand and cure a person with cancer with just a touch.

Receiving his 'blessing' once was our lifelong wish.

For that, we memorized the Bible and saved up funds through hard work.

I couldn't bring myself to dismiss people clinging to me, as I understood their desperate situation.

So Maya prevented them from being blown away by her psychic power.

I tried to comfort them with gentle words, promising to treat them after I took care of something important.

However, people, seemingly cornered at the edge of a cliff, did not easily back down.

They clenched their fists, lying on the ground, blocking the way.

They shouted that we could not pass until they were treated.

Thanks to them, we couldn't move forward even 10 steps in 10 minutes of pushing and pulling.

When both we and the residents were gradually getting tired, someone's hand touched my leg.

Unexpectedly, something emerged from the gaps between the people at an unexpected angle.

Crunch.

With a sound of something crunching, blood splattered.

Red stains spread on the white monk's robe.

Intense pain surged.

I looked down.

Flesh on one thigh was torn and blood was flowing profusely.

A mouth with shark-like teeth was chewing and munching on my flesh.

It was attached to a woman's hand. The owner of the hand also looked surprised at what her hand had done.

"Director!"

Maya, who had been pushed far away, shouted desperately.

The people blocking her way fell over.

She scattered psychic power around and ran straight towards me.

Normally, people pushed or knocked down would get up and fight back, but seeing me bleeding, they stood frozen in place.

I looked down at the woman's hand that had caused me harm.

Kirurur.

The teeth attached to her hand's fingers smiled, letting blood trickle down her lips.

If I were in normal condition, such teeth wouldn't have left a scratch on my body.

My tissue resilience ability was at a level of a plate Armor with a muscle strength of 4.0.

However, due to the plague debulroots, my body had weakened significantly.

The burden on the system and body had lowered my basic stats.

"Director, are you okay?"

Maya sat down in front of me.

Her expressionless face, always maintaining composure, surprisingly showed anger enough for ordinary people to recognize.

She looked pale at the wound on my leg, then turned to the woman trembling on the ground.

"Ap, apologies! Sa, Saint, I, I didn't mean to…"

"What are you doing…"

Maya's usually calm voice was trembling slightly.

As she reached out, the woman's body floated into the air.

Illusion-made blades appeared around her.

Dozens of thin and flat polyhedra clearly intended to cut off the woman's arms.

"How dare you…"

The atmosphere emitted by Maya was so ominous that not only the villagers but also the knights and soldiers took a step back, astonished.

With just a flick of her hand, the woman's arms would become minced meat.

And that was not the result I wanted.

Not because of the petty reason that fewer debulroots would be absorbed by me.

I rescued Anais, who had fallen into the abyss, deceived by Wonderstein.

I rescued Shaila, who had been trapped in a ghost cage and turned into prey.

I rescued Minova, who had twisted into resentment and inferiority after losing his daughter.

Guiding the victims of unfortunate endings in the game to a different future, I felt a sense of accomplishment unrelated to quest rewards.

Being able to help someone when I had lived my whole life relying on others was undoubtedly a joyful experience.

But now, I was facing the exact opposite situation.

The sorceress Maya was one of the heroes in TTT.

Due to her indifferent attitude, she didn't gain popularity like the Knight or the Thief, but she was not an antagonist, just someone with a strong sense of self.

The Maya I saw here was no different.

Despite being misunderstood due to her indifferent attitude and below-average social skills, she was neither selfish nor a bad person.

But now, she seemed to be in conflict with something.

She was in a position where her fate changed due to my interference in history, bringing her into the circus.

As the ringmaster and a player in TTT, I had to take responsibility for her changed destiny.

What if she gained notoriety through this incident?

What if she turned into a ruthless person, devoid of blood and tears?

I would feel despair equivalent to the sense of accomplishment I had felt by changing the future.

I couldn't let that happen.

I grabbed her shoulders.

"Stop, Maya. I'm a-okay."

My face was unintentionally smiling widely.

My voice was calm.

I hoped she would calm down seeing my composure.

Maya looked at me and then slowly opened her mouth, grinding her teeth.

"Seriously… What's… fine… about this…"

Even though I unintentionally smiled while blood was dripping, it was definitely not normal.

I covered her wounds with my robe, trying to comfort her again.

"It's not her intention. I don't blame her."

Not blaming her was sincere.

Of course, I cursed internally when the fangs sank into my flesh, but I didn't feel the need to seek revenge against her.

People with disabilities unintentionally caused trouble due to inherent flaws.

Among friends in the orphanage, there were also kids like that.

Those whose bodies couldn't be controlled spilled plates during mealtime or screamed loudly with night terrors during bedtime, making life difficult for those around them.

But no one resented them.

Everyone understood.

The tolerance and consideration given to them were no different from what one should generally endure while living together.

We, too, lived in a situation where we received help and consideration from each other in our lacking areas.

Maya turned away from me, clenching her hands.

Her illusion blades disappeared, and the woman who had been floating in the air fell to the ground.

I approached the woman holding my bloody hand.

"S-Saint… I'm s-sorry… I… I…"

"I understand. You didn't intentionally attack me."

I bowed and held her hand.

"Now there are people in the church in critical condition. I'll treat them first and take care of all of you. Oh, this hand is a bit dangerous, so I should deal with it now."

I absorbed the debulroots attached to the woman's hand.

A hot energy flowed through my arm.

[Acquired De$#%$t 19.]

[The H$%#inning of As$%#ion to De&^#t.]

[In D%&@n 4^&le, there is a burden on the body and sys3#m.]

The toothed mouth on the woman's arm lost its strength and fell off.

Krrr…

The bastard made a disturbing laughter until the end, then stuck out its tongue and withered away.

There were traces that something had been attached to the woman's arm.

She looked at her now intact arm and burst into tears.

"Ah, th-thank… thank you! I… I…"

"Oh, I understand. You're welcome! I don't resent you."

I bowed my head and held her hand.

The woman's arm, which had been attached to the fangs, showed only traces that something had been there.

She buried her face in the ground and cried.

Others, too, whether influenced by the miracles they witnessed or not, nodded one by one and made sobbing sounds.

"Oh, the reincarnation of Saint Victor."

"Please cure the plague demon…"

"Thank you, thank you. We'll wait, we'll wait."

A path split through the crowd, leading to the cathedral.