Chapter 704: Dead City

“Good morning, Master Mentor.”

Loren had barely opened his eyes when he heard Anna’s voice. At some point, she had snuggled into his arms. Her pink eyes were fixed on his, her gaze practically smoldering.

“Good morning, Anna.”

Loren yawned and started to get up.

“Master Mentor, spend the day out with me, okay?”

Hearing this, Loren glanced at Anna. There was nothing outside now but empty houses and ruins. Even the corpses had been cleared away by his Return to Earth spell.

“Sure.”

Still, Loren didn’t turn down Anna’s request. She didn’t really want to stroll around nearby. She simply wanted him to spend some time with her.

Loren had been so busy lately that he’d barely had any time for them.

…

After breakfast, Loren took Anna outside. The place was very desolate, though only because there were no people. There were still plenty of animals.

Although there were no Bountiful followers left here, it was still the God of Bountiful Harvest’s territory. The vegetation was lush, making it an ideal home for wild animals.

When Loren and Anna reached the River of Blood, blood surged up and formed a bridge.

“…”

If it had been an ordinary river, this would have been quite romantic. But since it was made of blood, it seemed a little eerie.

Even so, Loren led Anna across it.

“Where else can we go?”

Loren glanced around. Ruins stretched in every direction. The shockwaves from the fighting had damaged many of these houses, and not long ago, the Plague Believers had fought their way here, destroying plenty more along the way.

The houses a little farther away, though, had escaped the damage and remained mostly intact. They were just a bit dusty.

“Let’s see how that cake shop we used to visit so often is doing.”

Anna took Loren by the hand and led him in a certain direction.

But as they walked, Anna suddenly stopped and looked down at the hand holding hers.

They were only holding hands normally. Anna adjusted their grip, lacing their fingers together, then smiled and continued onward.

Now that their relationship had changed, even the way they held hands had to change.

“…”

Loren said nothing and let Anna do as she pleased.

Anna led Loren to the cake shop they used to frequent. Their family had been regulars here. Whenever they bought cakes, they’d practically clear out the whole stock.

So every time the shop owner saw Loren, he’d greet him with a broad smile and eagerly recommend one product after another. Loren would usually end up buying one of everything.

But now the place looked utterly desolate. Dust had buried the cake models displayed by the entrance, and the real cakes had long since rotted away, chewed to pieces by rats.

There were also family photos of the owner inside the shop. They were a family of three, with a daughter.

Usually, the mother made the cakes, while the father took care of the rest. Their daughter was still young, but she could help out with little tasks.

“Wonder if they’re still alive.”

Loren sighed when he saw the photo.

They had probably fled after Anna chose to stay here. They were skilled at what they did and had saved up quite a bit over the years, so even if they’d fled somewhere else, they shouldn’t have had too hard a time.

Prices had risen since the Divine War began. Loren wondered whether the money they’d saved would be enough.

“I really miss this place…”

This shop was part of Anna’s childhood memories. She had been coming here often for as long as she could remember.

At first, Loren had limited how many sweets she could eat. But after discovering that Anna had a special constitution, he’d pretty much stopped holding her back.

Anna’s life had been happy. Her family hadn’t been very well off when she was little, but she didn’t remember much from that time. All she remembered was Loren; the rest had faded from her memory.

By the time she had come into her own, her family’s circumstances had improved. Loren would buy her just about anything she wanted.

The most painful period of Anna’s life had been the four years Loren was away. Fortunately, he had eventually returned.

“Come on, let’s go somewhere else.”

Just as Anna was about to lead Loren away, a voice suddenly came from inside the cake shop:

“Master Mentor, what would you like?”

A woman suddenly walked out of the shop. She looked exactly like the mother in the family photo.

And she wasn’t alone. When Loren turned around, he saw the father and daughter from the photo walk out, too.

They wore smiles, looking like a happy family.

“What do you have?”

Loren asked. The woman pointed to the display case and began listing the cakes, long rotted and dried out:

“We have Black Forest cake, fruit cake…”

She spoke as though there really were cakes here, which made the whole scene feel eerie.

“What’s going on?”

Anna asked quietly. She was a little surprised by what was happening, but she wasn’t panicking. She knew Loren would take care of everything.

All she had to do was obey Loren’s orders. There was no need for her to think about anything.

“Are you Pseudohumans?”

Their bizarre behavior immediately made Loren think of the Pseudohumans.

Normally, Pseudohumans had to kill someone before taking their place. But if those people were already dead or had disappeared long ago, there would be no need for the Pseudohumans to do the killing themselves.

“Yes. As expected, we can’t hide anything from you.”

“Where is Gabriel?”

Once he confirmed that the figures before him were Pseudohumans, Loren immediately asked where Gabriel was.

“We don’t know where Gabriel is.”

The Pseudohuman shook its head and answered Loren’s question honestly.

“Then why are you here?”

“There’s no one here, so it’s an ideal place for us. We can reproduce and live here.

“One day, we’ll replace all of humanity. Then there won’t be any heretics left in the world. Everyone will be your follower.”

After speaking, the Pseudohuman devoutly traced an Inverted Cross and an eye over its chest.

“Was this Gabriel’s order?”

“Yes.

“Besides, we Pseudohumans really are better suited to survive than humans. We don’t hate one another. We don’t have conflicts or misunderstandings. We understand one another forever.”

The Pseudohuman explained its advantages to Loren, but he understood the nature of the Pseudohumans all too well:

“That’s because you don’t have feelings at all. No matter how harmonious or loving you seem, it’s all an act.

“In fact, I’m beginning to wonder whether you can even provide faith.”

A Pseudohuman was a Pseudohuman, not a human.

Loren remembered a way to identify Pseudohumans. If a family was especially harmonious, never quarreled, and always understood one another, then they were most likely all Pseudohumans.

“We may not have feelings, but unlike humans, we’ll never betray one another or betray you.”