The Apostle and the Plague’s Shadow

A dreamless night.

Allen was spared from being dragged back into the illusory stellar sea woven by The Observer. It truly seemed to have departed, leaving only the brightening sky outside his window.

Allen’s eyes snapped open, greeting the new day.

He habitually stretched his still-aching body, yet an unusual sensation beside him caught his attention.

He tilted his head slightly, and his pupils instantly dilated. Marianne was curled up beside him, her head resting on his pillow, her breathing even and deep, sleeping soundly. She was almost entirely tucked into the blankets, revealing only half of her small face, her dark hair fanned across the pillow. Her sleeping visage was as serene as an angel, a stark contrast to her usual, somewhat morbidly obsessive demeanor. An aura of peaceful contentment emanated from her, utterly unreserved.

Allen: ‘…’

He froze for a full three seconds. Yet, after the initial daze, what surged within him was not astonishment, but a peculiar sense of calm, as if this unexpected scene was, in some strange way, harmonious and natural.

‘When did she sneak in?’ Allen’s mind began to race.

Observing the defenseless sleeping face of the dark-haired girl, he tried to comprehend the reason for this drastic change. While Marianne was indeed his nominal younger sister, this level of intimacy was far too much.

‘Ah, right! She started working at such a young age, caring for her younger brothers, but rarely received any affection herself. She must see me as a brother she can rely on! That’s why she’s so dependent and close! Is that it? So Marianne is seeking a brother figure. And that’s why… I felt confused, and why I treated Marianne like a machine!’

A sudden realization dawned on Allen, and with it, a profound sense of paternal responsibility blossomed within him. Since Marianne yearned for familial affection, Allen resolved to embody the role of a ‘brother,’ providing this strong yet vulnerable girl with the care and security she deserved.

“Marianne,” Allen’s lips curved into a cold smirk, “Do you truly believe I’d think that? You, are merely feigning sleep, aren’t you?”

“…”

Marianne’s long eyelashes fluttered a few times in her ‘sleep’.

“I saw everything.”

“Tsk.”

Marianne indeed opened her eyes, looking at Allen with a faint blush on her cheeks and a hint of shyness. “Young Master… how did it feel to share a bed with me?”

Allen quickly looked down to check his clothes—thankfully, they were perfectly neat. He let out a sigh of relief, pointing at Marianne in warning. “Let me tell you, don’t even think about fabricating slander! I didn’t do a single thing!”

“You… you’ve already taken away my most important possession, yet you deny it so readily?” Marianne’s gaze was filled with resentment.

“It’s far too early for such lewd jokes!” Allen scoffed, throwing off the covers and getting out of bed. “Your most important possession is Livia, and I won’t let you take her. Get up, you foolish maid!” He began to dress himself with practiced efficiency.

Allen’s utter lack of romantic inclination shattered the intimate atmosphere Marianne had painstakingly crafted, dissipating it without a trace.

“Young Master, shouldn’t I be the one to help you dress?”

Marianne remained persistent. Such intimate contact, helping him dress, might just make the Young Master rediscover her feminine charm!

However—

“What are you thinking?” Allen said, buttoning his shirt. “As a great villain dedicated to overthrowing feudal oppression, should I really need someone to help me dress? How disgraceful!”

Marianne immediately felt a pang of disappointment. If even the maid’s duties were being usurped, what else could she possibly do for the Young Master?

Allen sensed her dejection and added, “Pull yourself together! Today, we have important matters to attend to.”

“Eh?” Marianne’s eyes instantly sparkled. “Is it… a date?”

Allen offered his signature villainous, charmingly evil smile. “To save humanity, from this day forward, we will undergo high-intensity morning training every day! After that, I will give you cultural lessons!”

“Eh?” Marianne was somewhat surprised. Morning training she understood, but what did ‘cultural lessons’ mean?

Allen immediately posed a question. “Tell me, who is Saint Elliot? What were his deeds?”

Marianne knew Saint Elliot was a saint, and that the headquarters of the Royal Church was the Saint Elliot Cathedral. But she had never read the *Holy Scripture*—she couldn’t understand those awkwardly elegant sentences. She only knew some stories of saints from when Livia used to tell her bedtime stories as a child.

She honestly shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“See?” Allen spread his hands. “I am a messenger of God, and you are my apostle. Yet you haven’t even properly studied the *Holy Scripture*. How can this be?” He had formulated a plan yesterday, and from now on, it had to be strictly implemented! Only protagonists could act on impulse; a true villain must possess long-term, meticulous planning. The disparity in raw power was not the deciding factor; the remainder must be compensated with ingenuity!

“Starting today, I will drill you in cultural lessons! Religious texts, accounting for record-keeping… you will understand them all!”

Marianne didn’t know what ‘accounting’ was, but she understood record-keeping. What she cared more about was, “Eh? Apostle? Me?”

“Of course!” Allen explained. “Since you are my companion, and you’re going to save humanity with me, what else could you be but an apostle? So, cast aside all those meaningless identity shackles! Maid, sister—if possible, you should transfer all your affections to Livia.”

“No,” Marianne stared intently at Allen, then offered a smile. “Am I the first and last apostle?”

“How could that be!” Allen was about to say he needed more allies when he saw Marianne’s pouting, jealous expression. He frowned. “What kind of look is that? If you’re unwilling, then I’ll…”

Before he could finish, Marianne had already pounced, wrapping herself around him like an octopus. “I’m willing! Young Master! Don’t abandon me!”

“Whoa! Let go of me! You rascal! How dare you take advantage of me! Where are your hands going!”

Allen frantically pulled her off, took a deep breath, and tried to compose a calm expression. “Marianne,” he looked at her, “Today, we must also redouble our efforts to save humanity!”

Marianne gazed at Allen, her eyes slightly moist. “Yes, Young Master! I am also a ‘redoubled efforts’ knight!”

With that, she tried to pounce again.

“Knight is fine! But don’t you dare try to ride me!” Allen quickly held her back.

Watching his little maid become increasingly clingy and possessive, like a small black cat that would bite if not petted, he felt a pang of regret. ‘How did I end up manipulating such an obsessive girl? This is it, I’m doomed! If Livia returns and finds her childhood friend sleeping in her bed… I’ll be dead! Even if it’s not my fault, I’ll be dead!’

Allen resolved to put three locks on his door and seal the windows. Let’s see who could pull off a locked-room murder now!

****

Morning training took place in the garden. After a high-intensity combat session, Allen began teaching Marianne military close-quarters combat. Marianne was no longer a Cult assassin but an ordinary maid, and this sharp, close-quarters fighting technique was well-suited to her current self. During practice, Allen casually asked Marianne about the abilities of the false mark she had previously transplanted.

“Death Evasion?” Allen was slightly surprised. His days as a cultist in the Cult flashed through his mind. Death Evasion was a common false mark ability among cultists. It sounded formidable, but it couldn’t actually avert death. Its true effect was to limit incoming damage to a certain threshold; any damage exceeding that threshold would be converted into continuous damage. For instance, if someone with Death Evasion sustained a fatal wound, the ability would reduce it to a non-lethal level, transferring the excess damage to other parts of their body. Of course, receiving too much damage at once during Death Evasion would still result in instant death. Death Evasion was a highly practical warrior skill; its only drawback was perhaps its cultist-exclusive nature. However, for an assassin who emphasized one-hit kills, Death Evasion seemed rather superfluous.

Allen curiously asked Marianne why she had chosen to transplant such a false mark.

Marianne simply replied, “During that time, I was truly terrified that one day, Young Master, you might beat me to death. With Death Evasion, the pain would be much less. Though, now I rather miss your particularly creative methods of torture.”

As she spoke the last sentence, a morbid blush bloomed on Marianne’s delicate face.

“My sincerest apologies!”

Marianne leveraged Allen’s guilt, successfully convincing him to agree to go out on a ‘date’ with her that afternoon. However, this so-called ‘date’ had been part of Allen’s calculations from the start. He already had an errand to run that afternoon. Initially, he had intended to go alone; now, it was simply a matter of Marianne joining him.

‘A date? What a joke! Would anyone truly have time to indulge in shallow romantic affections when the world is on the brink of collapse? How wonderful it would be if *Starlight Reverie* were a world-spanning work where young men and women could simply fall in love and fight monsters to save the world! Allen would gladly pilot a giant robot, annihilate humanity’s enemies, and then joyfully initiate the Human Instrumentality Project. If all of humanity became orange juice, indistinguishable and merged into one, wouldn’t that also be a Happy End? Even if I can’t pilot an EVA, piloting a Getter Robo would suffice! Of course, if it were a yuri date, Allen could forgive it. Yuri is humanity’s ultimate salvation! Without yuri, what do we have left?! Lose humanity, lose much. Lose yuri, lose everything! Why don’t you understand the beauty of yuri…呜——!! 唔唔!!!’

Having been forcibly gagged by a supreme being, Allen finally ceased his outrageous pronouncements.

Yet, thinking of the false marks, Allen finally realized today that his body, once hollowed out by alcohol, seemed to possess a basic strengthening effect from a false mark. He mused, ‘Could my Future Sight be some kind of unmarked false mark? Am I not only targeted by The Observer, but also by an evil god?’

During one reincarnation where Allen became an Abyssal Walker, he had possessed the full power of a false mark. He understood that when a false mark’s bloodline grew powerful enough, its use would affect one’s mental state, amplifying certain desires, such as slaughter, debauchery, eternal life, or the pursuit of knowledge. Once completely consumed by their own desires, the host of a false mark would fall into depravity, becoming a dangerous individual indistinguishable from a cultist. The so-called Abyssal Walkers were, in essence, acrobats riding unicycles on a tightrope of sanity; once they lost their balance, they would plunge irrevocably into the abyss of madness.

In contrast, Allen’s ‘Future Sight’ felt peaceful, devoid of any dangerous sensation, more akin to a blessing from a legitimate Creator. This was likely the distinction between benevolent and malevolent deities. According to the *Holy Scripture*, the Creator’s love for humanity was like sunlight bathing the earth; It demanded nothing from humans, nor did It show any particular favoritism, only those who refused to enter the light remained in the shadows. Under such pervasive sunlight, some would inevitably feel that if common folk could receive the same love as nobles, wouldn’t that mean common folk could stand as equals to nobles? ‘How could that be! God truly loves only His ‘chosen ones’! Everyone is equal, but some are more equal.’ Many who yearned for special divine treatment chose to embrace evil gods.

Unlike the slumbering Creator, evil gods truly responded to the prayers of their ‘chosen ones’. But to gain their love, one had to pay a heavy price, unimaginable to humans. ‘All gifts from fate come with a hidden price tag.’ False marks were the perfect embodiment of this adage.

Marianne’s false mark brought physical enhancement, but at the cost of ten years of her life. Yet, such a price was utterly insignificant compared to other costs. In the original *Starlight Reverie*, Marianne frequently used her false mark abilities, severely depleting her life force, ultimately leading to her death as a young woman, bidding Livia a final farewell.

When discussing her shortened lifespan, Marianne remained remarkably calm. “Young Master, my most optimistic outlook on my life is merely to live to see thirty or forty. You say humans can live up to one hundred and twenty years; that’s far too distant for me.”

This statement weighed heavily on Allen’s heart. To advance human society, increasing the average lifespan was also crucial. Even in a prosperous metropolis like the Royal Capital, the average lifespan was only around thirty-five years. Moreover, with the threat of plague in the Royal Capital, the average lifespan would only…

‘Wait? Plague?’ Allen recalled the relevant plot from the original *Starlight Reverie*, and a shiver ran down his spine. In the original story, the Royal Capital’s plague was not a simple epidemic but had a supernatural element. This plot arc began with a dying plague victim suddenly disappearing. Livia coincidentally received a request from the family to find the patient. After some investigation, Livia successfully located the missing patient, but he seemed… off. Livia was puzzled as to why he appeared dead yet was still moving when she was suddenly attacked by a horde of ‘Plague Walkers’! These Plague Walkers continuously attacked healthy individuals, spreading the plague. Livia, being the protagonist, successfully eliminated a large number of Plague Walkers and promptly informed the Church. The Church immediately imposed a full lockdown on the Royal Capital, searching for and annihilating any undiscovered Plague Walkers to prevent the infection’s spread. Finally, the Church distributed ‘Holy Water’ blessed by the divine throughout the Royal Capital, completely resolving the plague that had tormented its citizens.

Allen suspected the Church’s ‘Holy Water’ was some form of mass-produced antibiotic; resolving a plague with antibiotics made perfect sense! But ‘Plague Walkers,’ these living dead, didn’t seem like a scientifically explainable phenomenon; they felt more like the work of an evil god. If not for Livia’s protagonist’s aura activating, the hundreds of thousands of people in the Royal Capital would have been in grave danger!

Now, Allen knew the truth about the false marks, and he could no longer trust Livia’s protagonist’s aura. If she truly was a puppet of an evil god, would she still resolve this terrifying medieval biological crisis in this reincarnation? Allen suddenly thought of the Blood Priest who had escaped! Could his false mark ability be related to the plague? It seemed he needed to find a way to capture and interrogate him!

Another item was added to Allen’s to-do list. The Royal Capital Plague was slated to erupt in January of Redemption Era 1083 (A.S. 1082), leaving them a mere half-year to prepare. Since he couldn’t rely on the protagonist, Allen would have to resolve this crisis himself, ahead of schedule.