After Claire’s explanation, the three of them went outside the tent.
The so-called Dark Plague is a strange disease that, once contracted, causes the body to gradually turn black.
Each outbreak brings unbearable pain and loss of sanity.
People afflicted with the Dark Plague often commit suicide before the disease fully manifests due to the unbearable pain.
The most despairing part is that neither healing magic nor magical potions with healing effects can cure or alleviate the Dark Plague.
Those who die from the Dark Plague cannot even be controlled by necromancy after death.
As a result, even necromancers, who are generally despised, avoid those with the Dark Plague.
The name “Dark Plague” was given by the church.
According to the church, people contract the Dark Plague because they collude with the Dark Ones, surrendering themselves to darkness.
The blackening of their bodies is evidence of their collusion.
Normal people who come into contact with someone with the Dark Plague will be tempted by the Dark Ones in their dreams and become one of them.
Therefore, those with the Dark Plague are not only feared and avoided by others but also have to evade the church’s search.
If caught by the church, they are publicly burned at the stake.
It’s reminiscent of medieval witch hunts.
The man with the blackened body was still struggling.
He seemed tireless, his painful screams as intense as before.
The five or six men holding him down had already been replaced, and the new ones were tying him to a wooden bed with coarse ropes.
“He’s beyond saving.”
“Stay away from him, don’t get infected.”
A little further away, countless poor people who had come out of the tent were watching.
They covered their mouths as they gossiped, pointing at the man whose body was entirely black.
The crowd almost completely blocked the road.
With a serious expression, Claire approached the man.
He wore only a pair of shorts, leaving the rest of his body exposed to the crowd.
Blackness spread from his forehead to his feet under his skin.
If it were just that, Fia might have thought he was naturally dark-skinned, but the blackness on his body was uneven, forming large, connected patches.
“Make way for Miss Claire.”
The leader waved his hand, signaling his men to make room for Claire.
The man with the Dark Plague was now firmly tied to the wooden board, unable to move, only able to tense his body and twist his neck, letting out incoherent cries of pain.
“—’Dispel Light.'” Claire softly chanted a spell, and silver light dots appeared on her outstretched right arm.
These faint silver lights floated towards the man, and within a few breaths, he stopped screaming, slowly closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
The tall man, the leader, immediately stepped forward.
“Miss Claire, how is he? Is there any hope?”
“As you said, there’s no hope after the next outbreak.
The black spots have spread all over his body, and even the previously unaffected areas have turned gray.
Let him say goodbye to his family when he wakes up—remind him not to do anything foolish that would harm others.
The Dark Plague isn’t contagious; that’s just what the church says to control you.”
“Tch.” Hearing Claire’s verdict, the leader put his hands on his hips and asked unwillingly, “Can’t you suppress the Dark Plague to prevent it from recurring? If it doesn’t happen one last time, he won’t die.”
“If I could, I would suppress it to prevent an outbreak.
But if there were a way to control the Dark Plague, the church would have used it before me.”
Claire opened a white silk cloth covering a bamboo basket, took out a packet of powdered medicine, and handed it to the slum leader.
“All I can do is make him lose consciousness to get through this time.
The powder can temporarily relieve his pain.
When he wakes up, have him take the medicine.”
“Ah, thank you, the money—”
“I didn’t do much, so there’s no need for money.
Is this man important to you?”
“He was injured for me; he’s my trusted aide.”
Unwilling to say more on the topic, the leader clicked his tongue and waved to the side.
Only now did Fia notice a few women and children crying nearby, likely the family of the man whose body was entirely black.
“Take him back, watch him, and don’t let him run around.”
“Leader, is there really no other way? He’s always been loyal to you!” The woman’s words made the leader pause for a moment, then shake his head.
“Even Miss Claire says there’s no hope; I’m powerless.”
“What about the temple? If we send him to the temple, they might have a way!”
“Hey, are you out of your mind? The temple is eager to catch people with the Dark Plague.
Sending him there is a death sentence.”
Scolded by the leader, the woman froze.
For families like theirs, once the man of the house dies, all that’s left is endless debt and a life of begging.
Fia wondered if her nanobots could work on the Dark Plague.
Despite her curiosity, Fia didn’t speak up.
This wasn’t like the tent; she didn’t want others to see her blood’s healing effect.
Although Anastasia had disguised her well, so no one could recognize her as the elven princess, the fact that “someone can cure the Dark Plague that the church can’t” would be as explosive as the appearance of the elven princess.
She didn’t mind opposing the church, which was already an enemy, but if it implicated Claire, she would feel guilty.
Gradually, the woman standing there began to breathe heavily, her eyes filled with hysteria.
“It’s all those hiding with the Dark Plague! It’s their fault! If they hadn’t come here, my husband wouldn’t have caught this disease! It’s all their fault! Leader, we should catch those criminals with the Dark Plague and hand them over to the temple!”
“Calm down, the Dark Plague isn’t contagious.”
“Impossible! The Pope himself admitted the Dark Plague is contagious!”
The woman’s voice suddenly grew louder, and then, as if remembering something, her hysterical face showed a glimmer of hope.
She stopped speaking to the leader and turned to kneel at Claire’s feet.
“Doctor, you must have a way to cure him, right? There must be a way, right? He’s the pillar of our family; we can’t live without him.
Please, think of a way, we’ll pay any amount!”
“Don’t trouble Miss Claire.”
The leader stepped forward, grabbing the woman’s shoulder to pull her away, but she shook off his grip, her knees scraping the muddy ground as she looked up at Claire with eyes full of despair.
“Um…” Claire hesitated for a moment, then gently placed her right hand on the woman’s hand clutching her skirt, speaking in the softest tone possible, “I’ll try my best, but don’t get your hopes up too much.”
“Thank you! Thank you!!”
With Claire’s assurance, the woman’s despairing face quickly brightened.
As if afraid of disturbing Claire, she quickly stood aside, and Claire returned to the man’s side.
Unlike before, this time Claire first sprinkled some unknown potion on the man, then chanted a much more complex spell.
It didn’t take long for a large number of silver light clusters to appear around Claire.
After the light clusters merged into the man’s body, the blackness on his skin quickly faded.
Soon, his eyelids twitched, and with a groan from his throat, he awoke from his slumber.
“Uh…”
The miraculous scene left everyone stunned.
It wasn’t until the woman threw herself onto the man with the Dark Plague, sobbing loudly, that people snapped out of their shock.
What followed was simple.
People untied the ropes on the man, who excitedly checked his body.
It was as if he had become a different person; the man who had been incoherent and monstrous was gone, replaced by a healthy, energetic man.
“It’s all thanks to Miss Claire!” Gasping for breath, the woman who had pleaded with Claire excitedly approached her.
“I haven’t asked your name yet; please tell us, and we’ll send the money to you when we get back!”
“Claire.
I live at the clinic not far from here.
Give the money to him; I’ll collect it from him.”
With an expressionless face, Claire pointed to the slum leader.
“Okay… okay, I’ll definitely send the money to Miss Claire when we get back!”
Without responding verbally, Claire simply nodded, watching the family leave.
As the man left, the onlookers dispersed under the slum leader’s urging, leaving only Fia and Claire on the street.
Only then did Fia look up, searching Claire’s eyes for something.
“Claire, he… isn’t really cured, is he?”
