8:30 PM. The bright moonlight illuminated the yard, coating the mountain of dead rats with a layer of silvery crystal sheen.
Maiev stood holding the kerosene lamp, staring at the pile of rats that reached nearly to his waist. His expression was extremely grim.
One wave had not settled before another rose. He hadn't even figured out how to meet the Fourth Prince, and now a pile of dead rats appeared out of nowhere...
For Maiev, who had severe mysophobia (fear of germs/dirt), dead rats teeming with hundreds of bacteria and viruses were absolutely the last thing he wanted to touch!
Why raise cats?
To catch mice!
But...
He never expected the biggest traitor to be right beside him...
The rats all had their throats bitten out, traces of blood at the corners of their mouths. Judging by the bite marks, they were killed by different cats.
What made Maiev despair even more was that even as he stood there, he could see stray cats jumping onto the wall, dropping dead rats from their mouths into the yard.
Fortunately, at this moment, Fat Orange raised a paw and gave a soft cry:
"Scatter!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The stray cats perched on the wall vanished instantly upon hearing Fat Orange's command. Their movements were uniform. In less than half a minute, they were all gone, leaving only the pile of rats.
"Big Brother is so wise and martial, meow!" Little Black in Maiev's arms offered his flattery.
"Check it."
Ignoring Little Black's praise, Fat Orange wiggled his round bottom and picked up a dead rat. "Don't come too close. I'll demonstrate."
Fat Orange placed the rat on the ground nearby. He extended a sharp claw that glinted coldly and gently sliced open the rat's soft belly. Skin and flesh separated instantly; the cut was smooth, as if made by a razor, not a claw.
Just as Maiev was marveling at the sharpness of the claw, a mass of vague black mist rose from the wound. Like a maggot attached to bone, it instantly lunged at Fat Orange!
Prepared for this, Fat Orange dodged, hooked the black mist with his claw, and slammed it onto the ground!
Poof!
With a muffled sound, the black mist was smashed into fragments. It didn't dissipate immediately but writhed tenaciously, like a snake that had lost its head. It was utterly bizarre.
Seeing this, Maiev narrowed his eyes. He stepped forward slowly, squatted down, broke a twig in half, and carefully picked up a fragment of the black mist to observe.
"Little Black, stay alert," Fat Orange suddenly warned.
"Meow! Don't worry, Big Brother!"
Little Black sat in front of Maiev, swearing solemnly, "With me here, no one can hurt Master, meow!"
From the brief confrontation, Maiev could see the black mist was far slower than the cats. With Fat Orange and Little Black guarding him, he wasn't worried.
After examining it for a long time, Maiev found that his knowledge couldn't explain this strange mist. However, he deduced it was either a 'symbiote' made of countless microscopic insects or some special power beyond his understanding.
After a moment's thought, Maiev removed the glass cover of the kerosene lamp with one hand and held the mist fragment over the flame with the twig.
Sizzle... Sizzle...
After roasting for a while, the black mist finally showed signs of melting. It writhed madly, its body melting like fat, finally turning into a black liquid drop that fell onto the edge of the lamp base, losing all activity.
Maiev let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know what this ghost-thing was, but at least he found a weapon to counter it.
"No smell of burnt feathers. It seems there's no protein in it. But to judge it's not a living organism based on that would be too arbitrary..." Maiev muttered.
"Fat Orange, did these rats behave strangely when they were alive?"
"They were more aggressive and much bolder," Fat Orange said.
Maiev nodded. "Your judgment is correct. This black mist is not normal. It's highly aggressive and dangerous..."
"Papa! Papa!"
Yunia's voice came from the house. Maiev responded immediately, "I'm in the yard!"
Soon, Yunia ran over clutching her bear. "Papa, dinner is ready. Mrs. Cecil is calling you to eat..."
"You go ahead. I'll come when I'm done."
Throwing away the twig, Maiev dusted off his hands. He planned to dig a pit, pour kerosene on these contaminated rats, and burn them clean. Then he remembered something.
Before today, this strange mist had never appeared. It showed up right after the Gods descended. In that case...
Would Yunia know something?
"Yunia, come here."
Yunia, about to leave, trotted over, blinking. "What is it, Papa?"
"Do you recognize this?"
Maiev pointed to the remnant of the black mist.
Yunia leaned in, stared at it for a moment, then suddenly reached out her small hand and grabbed a piece. She rubbed her fingers, and the mist crumbled into dust, skipping the struggle entirely.
"It's a curse, Papa."
"A curse?"
"Mhm." Yunia nodded like a pecking chick. "I don't know the specific type, but the common nature of curses is contagion. All living things that come into contact with the cursed will be infected."
Hearing this, Maiev's heart skipped a beat. He looked at the mountain of dead rats and gulped.
He had heard of curses, of course. But a contagious curse... to him, it sounded more like...
A plague!
A plague spread by rats?
Wasn't that the Black Death?!
"This isn't a disease as humans understand it."
Fat Orange seemed to see through Maiev's thoughts. He spoke seriously, "Since Yunia says it's a curse, it proves it's fundamentally different from ordinary plagues!"
"Yes, Papa," Yunia agreed. "With human methods, plagues can be controlled and cured. But curses cannot. Once infected with a curse, no medicine can heal it. Only the grace of a God... can save them."
Saying this, Yunia giggled and hugged Maiev's arm. "Papa, you don't need to worry. Although Yunia can't give you grace, Papa can use Yunia's power anytime! These little curses can't hurt Papa at all!"
"Can't give me grace, but I can use your power?"
Maiev looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Only believers who offer loyalty to the God can receive grace. Papa is not Yunia's believer, so Yunia can't give Papa grace. But... if the God herself truly believes in another God or human, then that person can use her power without restriction."
Yunia hugged Maiev tightly. "I love Papa the most!"
"Using a mortal body to usurp the throne of a God..."
Fat Orange looked at the thunderstruck Maiev, his eyes turning into vertical slits.
"Truly... a Usurper of Divinity."