novelraw Chapter 87 : Performing a Divine Miracle
Chapter 87 : Performing a Divine Miracle
Chapter 87: Performing a Divine Miracle
Weng——
A dazzling white light burst forth from his palm, instantly enveloping the entire hospital ward.
Under the gaze of hundreds of millions of viewers, a miracle happened.
The girl’s originally ashen complexion rapidly turned rosy; her shriveled body began to fill out, and even her hair grew back.
Less than five minutes.
The little girl who had been sentenced to death by doctors actually sat up from the bed and cried out crisply, “Mom!”
“Long live the Cult Leader!”
“The Church of Myriad Spirits is the only truth!”
The surrounding believers all dropped to their knees, shouting “The true god has manifested!”
Camera flashes went off one after another.
The television station’s live broadcast cameras faithfully recorded everything.
“Dear viewers!”
The host’s voice trembled with excitement, “We are witnessing history!”
“That man of the Church of Myriad Spirits (review issue) Master has once again displayed a divine miracle!”
“He has cured an elderly woman who had been paralyzed for many years!”
“This proves that gods exist!”
“The gods are right by our side!”
“That man, Master, do you have anything you would like to say to the people of the entire nation?”
The host handed the microphone to that man’s mouth.
That man took the microphone, wearing a compassionate smile filled with mercy for all beings.
“I am merely a servant of God.”
“Everything I do is to spread God’s radiance.”
“In this era plagued by illness and disaster.”
“I hope that everyone can obtain God’s salvation.”
“Our Church of Myriad Spirits will provide free treatment to all those suffering from illness and pain.”
“As long as you harbor kindness in your heart, as long as you believe in God.”
“God’s radiance will shine upon you.”
The entire Neon Metropolis boiled over.
In front of television sets, countless viewers watching the broadcast burst into tears, kneeling on the ground and shouting praises of miracles.
Afterward, countless people frantically surged toward the Church of Myriad Spirits, yearning to obtain God’s salvation.
……
Watching the waves of faith frenzy rising higher and higher, the smile at that man’s lips was almost impossible to suppress.
Everyone had been deceived by him, and no one knew.
That little girl who had been “cured” had not actually recovered.
That man had merely used immense power of faith to forcibly overdraft all of her remaining vitality, fabricating an illusion of a last burst of life.
This kind of “cure” was like dousing a nearly extinguished candle with a bucket of oil.
Although it burst forth with dazzling light in an instant, the price was being burned to ashes.
Before long, this little girl would die from complete exhaustion of her vitality.
And her death would be a hundred times more painful than cancer.
But so what?
By then, he would already have ridden this wave to ascend to an even higher divine altar!
At that time, would there still be anyone who could judge him?
……
Neon Metropolis, Bunkyo Ward.
This was a famous academic district, and also a gathering place of cheap apartments rented by many down-and-out writers, painters, and manga artists.
Inside a narrow apartment piled full of discarded draft manuscripts, instant noodle cups, and instant coffee packets.
“No… if I don’t finish this page, the editor will kill me…”
Sano Manatsu lay sprawled over the drawing tablet, the pressure-sensitive pen in her hand trembling as it traced twisted lines across the screen.
She had a head of messy short hair; heavy dark circles under her eyes made her look as if she had not slept for a week. She wore a loose T-shirt printed with a cute-style character.
She was a manga artist, a severe narcolepsy patient, and also a third-rate horror manga artist struggling on the brink of cancellation.
“So sleepy…”
Sano Manatsu felt as if her eyelids were filled with lead, unbearably heavy.
Her consciousness also began to blur.
On the screen in front of her, that “Limb Centipede” she had just designed—composed of countless severed limbs and eyeballs—seemed to begin dancing on her retina.
“Can’t sleep… really can’t sleep…”
Sano Manatsu muttered to herself.
Pa-da.
The pen in her hand fell onto the desk.
Her head slammed heavily onto the drawing tablet, and she instantly sank into deep sleep.
Hrrr——
A faint snoring sound arose.
And while she slept soundly, deep within her mind, a cold and grand divine oracle descended with a thunderous crash.
【Welcome to ‘Game of Gods’】
【Matching player identity and faction】
【Identity match complete】
【Faction match complete】
【Player: Sano Manatsu】
【Identity: Dream Taker】
【Faction: Radiance】
【Reality is dull; only dreams are eternal】
Weng——
An invisible ripple, centered on the sleeping Sano Manatsu, spread outward toward the street beyond the window.
……
Downstairs from the apartment building, at the entrance of the convenience store.
Several bosozoku youths who were smoking suddenly felt the streetlamp flicker.
“Hey, what’s going on? Power outage?”
A blond-haired youth looked up at the streetlamp.
The next second.
His pupils abruptly contracted, and the cigarette in his mouth fell to the ground.
Under the dim yellow halo of the streetlamp.
The asphalt road began to writhe like melted chocolate.
Gurgle—gurgle—
Disgusting swallowing sounds came from beneath the ground.
“Th-that… what is that?”
Another youth pointed at the ground, his voice trembling.
They saw a pale, swollen gigantic arm, covered in black coarse hair, suddenly thrust out from the ground!
Then came the second, the third…
Countless arms tangled together, like a flesh-and-blood tree growing out of hell.
“Roar——!!!”
A howl that sounded both like an infant’s wail and a beast’s roar resounded through the neighborhood.
That monster completely crawled out of the ground.
It stood two stories tall; its body was stitched together from countless twisted human limbs. It had no head, only a vertical mouth filled with sharp teeth split open at the center of its torso.
This was precisely the creation from Sano Manatsu’s pen—the Limb Centipede!
“A monster!!!”
The bosozoku were scared out of their wits, abandoning their motorcycles and sprinting away.
Puchi!
The monster’s arm-formed tentacles suddenly stretched out, grabbing one youth who was running last.
“Help! Save me!!”
The youth struggled desperately in midair.
The monster fed him into the huge mouth at the center of its torso.
Kacha!
Accompanied by the teeth-grinding sound of shattering bones, fresh blood spilled from the corners of the monster’s mouth.
“Delicious…”
A muffled, indistinct voice, as if countless human voices were layered together, came from within the monster.
Fear instantly detonated across the entire neighborhood.
Screams, alarms, and cries rose one after another.
Residents poked their heads out of windows, saw this hellish scene, and were so terrified that they immediately shut their doors and windows tight, trembling in fear.
The monster rampaged through the street.
It swung countless arms, flipping over roadside cars and uprooting utility poles.
It was like an uncontrolled manifestation of terror, wantonly smearing paint called “fear” across this rational city.
……
Just as the monster was about to grab a car and smash it toward a nearby ramen shop.
“Hey, big guy.”
A rough, deep voice laden with blatant provocation came from the other end of the street.
“You’re making a racket in the middle of the night. Don’t you know you’re disturbing other people’s sleep?”
The monster’s movements halted.
It slowly turned around, all those countless arms pointing simultaneously toward the source of the sound.
At the end of the street.
A man nearly two meters tall, built like an iron tower, had his hands in his pockets and was strolling over at an unhurried pace.