"No way, isn’t this supposed to be Ti Stop!? Everyone else’s ti should freeze while I can move freely!"
This wasn’t the Ti Stop I knew!
I grunted and tried to move, but my body felt completely frozen, as though encased in ice, refusing to budge.
Did I spend about thirty minutes trying to move within this frozen ti?
Eventually, I managed to take a single step forward.
How did I do it?
By painstakingly designating my body and the space I was advancing into as small zones where ti would resu, taking a step forward, and then reapplying Ti Stop to the newly unfrozen areas. It was a laborious, frustrating, and ntally exhausting process.
What kind of skill is this!? Why is it so complicated!?
The controls were absurdly difficult!
It was clear that using Ti Stop on the sa level as those ridiculous s would require an insane amount of practice.
All I wanted was to step outside and take a break, but even that wasn’t allowed.
Life really...
Sucks.
I sighed deeply and released Ti Stop.
“Saint! Saint!”
“My son is sick! Saint, please!”
The cries of the sick and the poor reverberated like a chorus.
At this rate, the saint’s going to die!
People, co on, let rest!
I debated shouting at them to scare them off, but then—
"Make way! Make way, you filthy wretches!"
A group of people pushed through the crowd surrounding with loud, commanding voices.
Their chests bore a distinct emblem of flas: the insignia of the Sun Church, worshippers of the sun god Rofus.
I’d heard of the Sun Church before.
They believed that status and wealth were gifts from their god.
Naturally, they also believed that poverty and low birth were curses from the divine.
Like the Church of Lilia, they were known for offering healing services, but only for the wealthy elite.
To put it in modern terms, they ran hospitals exclusively for VVIPs.
The priests of the Sun Church arrived accompanied by knights in plate armor and ard guards wielding pistols and clubs. The slum dwellers hesitated, parting like the Red Sea before Moses.
At the forefront was a hulking figure, so massive it was hard to tell if he was a priest or a bear, stomping his way toward .
"So, you’re the so-called Healer Saint, sent by the goddess Lilia?”
I’m terrified.
Absolutely terrified.
I’ve never even uttered the na “goddess Lilia” before! Why am I suddenly being accused of claiming to be a saint from a specific church!?
What a goddamned trap.
There was no way out of this.
I had no choice but to double down on the persona I’d created.
Straightening my back, I looked the giant man in the eye with the calst expression I could muster.
"I belong to no church."
Unregistered magic use is a cri punishable by hanging, but falsely claiming to be a saint sent by a specific deity? That’s punishable by burning at the stake. So, I had to answer this way.
Apparently, this was a mistake too.
"Not serving any god, are you? Then where does your power co from? Are you a magician?"
At the word "magician," the knights and guards subtly reached for their weapons.
Unregistered magic use equals hanging.
Unregistered magic use equals hanging.
Even though I felt like I was about to wet myself from fear, I feigned calm.
I had to respond vaguely, with sothing saintly sounding.
Ambiguous words...
"I’m simply a servant of the lowly and downtrodden."
There! Ambiguous enough!
The slum dwellers murmured among themselves, then began shouting.
"He healed us!"
"You dirty businessn chasing after the wealthy! You’re not going to heal us, so why are you even here!?"
"Get lost! My son is sick! He needs treatnt!"
At their outcries, the Sun Church priest roared back with a voice brimming with divine power.
"Silence, you filthy scum!"
It wasn’t just a yell—it was a miracle or magic of so sort.
No human voice could reach that volu naturally.
Hearing it at point-blank range, I froze on the spot, unable to move. The priest seed to interpret my frozen state differently.
"Such boldness. You’re either a remarkable con artist or a genuine saint, judging by your refusal to flinch."
I remained frozen, unable to reply.
The priest laughed and looked around at the crowd of slum dwellers.
"And you lot! Look at yourselves, swarming like locusts and cockroaches at the re ntion of a saint! Begging for miracles without paying a single coin! How are you any different from animals? The Sun Church has always been open to you! We only ask for a modest fee!"
"That fee is outrageously expensive!"
"If you want to live, can’t you at least earn that much money!? Is your will to live so cheap!? You are shadows, beings unworthy of the Sun’s grace! There’s a reason Rofus has abandoned you!"
The slum dwellers seed furious but didn’t dare speak up, cowed by the knights’ swords and the guards’ pistols.
Despite his grand speech, his true intent was obvious: he was upset that I was taking potential clients from their territory.
That priest would undoubtedly do whatever it took to crush for the Sun Church’s prosperity.
After all, it’s best to stomp out competitors while they’re still fledgling.
What should I do?
Should I bow down and confess that it’s all a lie, that I’m just putting on a show to prevent the world from ending?
No.
That would lead straight to the gallows.
What should I do, then?
If apologizing won’t work, I have to double down.
That ant I had to push back harder.
"Demanding money from those born into suffering, crippled by their circumstances and battered by the world? Telling soone who can’t even walk to go out and run?"
I shouted, surprising the priest.
Good.
It’s working.
Keep pushing! Avoid the gallows at all costs!
"Who are you to belittle their will to survive!? They are not cheap! All I’ve done is return those who were robbed of even a starting line back to the starting line! You, who insult the value of life and the will to live—you’re the one who’s cheap!"
Honestly, even I didn’t know what I was saying anymore.
The words just spilled out, almost unconsciously.
Deep down, I was terrified of being hanged. I felt like I was about to cry.
Tears welled up as I feared that hulking man would strike .
"No matter what you say, no matter what those knights and guards do to , I won’t stop bringing the wounded and downtrodden back to the starting line! Because that is the mission entrusted to !"
Tears streaming down my face, I finished speaking. Suddenly, I felt imnse pressure behind .
The slum dwellers were glaring at the Sun Church priest with murderous expressions.
"Don’t you dare harm the saint!"
"He’s soone who performs miracles!"
"He’s not a fraud!"
The beggar I had treated first erged from the crowd, adding fuel to the fire of their fervor.
"Look! Look at ! He healed ! He touched with the grace of the divine! The boils that covered my body are gone, and the twisted leg I was born with is now perfectly straight! How can you say this man is not a saint!?"
"That’s right!"
The thunderous cheers caused even the police and knights to hesitate.
The burly priest from the Sun Church seed flustered as well.
"Silence! I said, silence!"
He roared again, his voice splitting the air, and the slum dwellers instinctively stepped back, though their eyes still burned with defiance.
Realizing that shouting alone wouldn’t work, the priest appeared to shift tactics.
"Fine. Since you all insist on worshiping this man as a saint, let’s put him to the test."
The priest sneered, spreading his arms wide and thumping his chest.
"Do you know how to tell the difference between a fraud and a true saint? A saint can perform multiple miracles. Frauds, having only learned a smattering of basic magic, are limited to one or two tricks at best."
His eyes turned toward , glinting with the cold calculation of a predator.
"If you’re truly a saint, perform a miracle other than healing! Show us a miracle that will convince everyone!"
It was a trap. I knew it instinctively.
Damn it.
Body Modification was out of the question.
If I used it again, he’d point at and say, "See! A fraud who can only perform one miracle!" and I’d be marching straight to the gallows.
What about 3000x Sensory Amplification?
If the priest suddenly cried out, "I’m climaxing as a disgraceful male piglet with flaming nipples! Oooohhh♥♥," the knights would imdiately brand as a heretic and drag away.
That’s a one-way trip to execution too.
How about Absolute Hypnosis?
Hypnosis...
That’s execution material as well.
If the priest suddenly changed his tune, claiming, "Oh, he truly is a saint! He reached into my mind!" even I would think it looked too much like a heretic’s spell.
That left only one option:
Ti Stop.
No choice.
Bluff. Bluffing is my only way out.
"You don’t believe I’m here for the downtrodden?" I said.
"Do you know how many frauds exist?" he sneered.
"You’re not worried about being a fraud. You’re just a rchant fretting over losing potential clients for the Sun Church."
"Are you insulting the Sun Church now!?"
The knights began drawing their swords in anger.
Turning the Sun Church into an enemy would be suicide.
Quickly, I added, "I’m not insulting the Sun Church or Rofus. I’m simply saying that the man before is dirty."
The priest burst into mocking laughter.
"You talk too much. Words are empty. If you’re truly a saint, prove it with a miracle!"
Raising my hand, I decided to follow through with my plan.
From my earlier attempts with Ti Stop, I’d learned one thing: the skill allowed to freeze ti in a localized area and release it as needed.
I intended to freeze ti around the priest’s legs, rendering him immobile. Then I’d declare, "Behold! Your lack of faith has brought divine retribution!"
That was the idea, anyway.
But my control over Ti Stop was far from perfect, and I was worried.
Still, I had no other option.
If I didn’t act, it was certain death.
"Punishnt for the unbeliever."
After uttering a suitably dramatic phrase, I targeted the priest’s legs and activated Ti Stop.
Wait.
That’s not where it was supposed to go.
This isn’t working.
My lack of experience with the skill made my control... oh, crap!
"Guh! Gaaaaahhh! Aaaaaaahhh!"
The priest suddenly clutched his chest and began convulsing.
"Urgh... Urgh... Urgh..."
He collapsed, seemingly suffering a heart attack.
I frantically tried to release Ti Stop, but my panic only made it harder to control.
"Father Barduk! Father Barduk!"
"Please, wake up!"
The knights rushed to the fallen priest while I stood frozen, my hand still raised.
Release it already! Please!
After what felt like an eternity, I managed to undo the localized Ti Stop around his heart.
"Cough! Gaaahhh!"
The priest gasped, breathing again, but the knights’ expressions turned murderous as they drew their glowing swords.
"You heretical fraud! You dare impersonate a saint and attempt to kill a priest of the Sun Church!?"
"We’ll burn you at the stake!"
I was dood.
I froze again, too terrified to move.
If they took one more step toward , I’d collapse to the ground, begging for my life while wetting myself.
But they didn’t take that step.
"Father Barduk! You’re safe!..."
Unlike the knights readying to arrest , the ones supporting the fallen priest suddenly froze mid-sentence.
And they weren’t the only ones.
Everyone, including , the slum dwellers, and the police, stared at Barduk in stunned silence.
Why?
Because Barduk’s appearance had changed.
The muscular priest was gone, replaced by a slender, snake-like man with sharp features.
And on his forehead was a vivid inverted pentagram.
The man frantically touched his forehead, his face turning pale.
"A worshipper of the Evil God!"
One of the slum dwellers shouted.
"The Evil God’s worshipper was in disguise all along!"
This ti, it was a police officer who shouted.
The knights joined in.
"The inverted pentagram on his forehead!"
"The symbol of the Evil God!"
"Arrest him!"
Chaos erupted as the man disguised as Barduk was restrained.
I stood there, wide-eyed, blinking.
This... turned out well, right?
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