Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Ahheman's Treachery
Ahheman ventured down from the special raised area after a long service. His body was soaked in sweat from the relentless penances he had been making for the past couple of days.
As he descended from the special raised area, he noticed that the entire town was deserted and chuckled to himself.
"... probably gotten the plague by now."
In truth, he had known in advance that the Red Passing was coming to Balak.
More interesting things had occurred. In fact, it was Ahheman himself who had helped Leviathan unleash the Red Passing on the wilderness.
He had been in touch with the outside world for a long while.
Whether it was assisting the Leviathans in conducting clinical trials of new drugs or toxins on unwitting locals in the water, or aiding and abetting common families in their unfair trade practices.
In exchange for Aheman's secret supply of locals to test toxins and drugs on, the Leviathans would freely provide him with new toxins or medications, which in turn would solidify the power of the shaman.
The shaman's authority was established by subtly administering poison to harm a target and then using the medication to cure the target to gain their trust.
Chaos and remedy.
If someone did not submit to him, he would secretly poison them and make them sick.
Not only would this poison the patient, but also their family and loved ones.
In the close-knit community of Balak, this was simply natural.
Only when the patient's life seemed in danger would Ahheman intervene.
He would perform a convincing ritual, administer an elixir, and cure the patient, and their loved ones would become his devoted followers.
The man's authority was unchallenged, and his loved ones bowed before him.
Recently, he had felt the shaman's power waning, and he was on the verge of a crisis.
The younger ones, including the chief's daughter, Aiyen, had never been sick or harmed, so they did not know how to respect the shaman's authority.
This had been exacerbated by the recent arrival of the Stranger, an unwelcome newcomer from the Realm.
Youngsters would go hunting without the blessings of the shaman, and other rituals were considered unnecessary and strange.
Then came a proposition from the Leviathan family.
"I'm considering conducting a large-scale epidemic study on the water."
Ahheman swallowed hard at the words of the Leviathan's messenger, who was cloaked in a dark shroud.
The Leviathan's messenger provided him with the microorganism of the Red Plague and its antidote.
He was to spread the plague when the time was right, and administer the antidote when necessary.
Through this trial, Leviathan hoped to control the population of the Red and Dark Mountain locals and gather clinicopathological data to pave the way for new ventures.
By actively participating, Ahheman sought to elevate the power of the shaman in the land.
So he secretly released the Red Passing into the river and drowned countless people in it.
Now that the plague had struck and everyone was wandering in the wilderness, he would make a grand entrance, release the cure, set out to rectify what was happening, and partake in the power of a tribal leader.
Even the arrogant youths who had looked down on him would now admire him with respect and awe.
'... I've even infected my granddaughter, just to be sure.'
The situation was perfect: he had made his own granddaughter a plague victim to avoid suspicion that he had deliberately released the toxin and positioned himself.
This was Ahheman's plan.
As he walked to the center of town, he couldn't help but scratch his head.
The town was mostly deserted.
The sick, their families, and friends were inherently vulnerable, searching for a place to rest.
They had put all their faith in the ritualist, yet no one had come to greet them.
"Are they all gone already?"
Ahheman frowned. Had the plague been so severe that it had wiped out all of Balak?
That would be a problem. They should just be wiped out to the point of death. One must be alive to become a follower.
Ahheman stitched the sack containing the antidote he had received from Leviathan to his side, then quickly crossed the town square.
But the dwellings around him were deserted.
Only a frog croaked in a depleted pool on the ground.
Then.
Ahheman froze in his tracks.
Thick smoke was rising from a corner of the town.
And he could see every face he knew gathered there.
All the people of Balak were there, together.
Laughing and talking joyously, picking at stores of meat.
"????"
Ahheman's mouth dropped open.
How? How could they be so alive, when he had surely seen them in the throes of red death just moments ago?
He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, but it changed nothing.
And the woman before him, stirring the boiling pot with a spoon, was none other than his granddaughter, Ahul!
Ahheman's jaw dropped even further when he realized that his granddaughter was completely healed.
He turned back to the incredible scene.
He ran into the evening glow, crossed the town boundary, and headed for the water source—the same river where he had released the Red Passing.
"... Huck, huck!"
Running like the wind, he arrived at the water source in a matter of moments and was once again horrified.
The water source, which should have been contaminated by the Red Passing, was still flowing with clear water.
The white salt shoal was still there, with carp swimming up the waterfall.
Monkeys that should have been infected and killed by the Red Passing were bouncing around in the trees, and the children of other clans who had come to catch the carp looked healthy.
There was no sign of death anywhere.
"'Absolutely no way, how... !'"
Ahheman pulled at his hair.
Then.
"Why, are you surprised to see so many of them alive?"
There was a voice that cut deep into his lungs.
He turned his head, angry.
Then, a boy appeared behind him.
Vikir. His red eyes gleamed at Ahheman.
Meanwhile.
Vikir had led Balak's warriors here, including Aiyen and Ahun.
Aiyen remembered vividly everything Vikir had said to them.
"When the ritual is completed, Ahheman will check on the locals, and when he sees that they are well, he will run right back here.
Since he was the one who spread the red death across the wilderness.
Vikir had heard of Ahheman's misdeeds before his relapse.
He couldn't recall Ahheman's name, but he could vaguely remember that he had a contact in Balak who had spread the Red Demise, and that the contact was an old man in the shaman's house.
"The enemy and about half of the locals of the Dark Mountains were killed then.
To satisfy his greed, Ahheman waited for the plague to reach its peak.
He planned to appear gloriously and become the savior of the entire wilderness.
But Ahheman failed.
The plague had spread uncontrollably, and most of the patients were dying in droves.
The massacre that followed was so horrific that it was recorded in the history of the realm.
It was the helpless and vulnerable civilians who were dying due to personal interests.
But the rightful use of poison and medicine is a shaman's way of control, Ahh
eman had gone too far. And for too long.
"... What is it?"
Ahheman scowled at Vikir with wary eyes, but he said nothing.
All of Balak's warriors had already surrounded him.
Young and old alike, they all stared at him. With deadly eyes.
It was infuriating to Ahheman, who expected to be viewed with respect.
"How did they cure the plague?"
Ahheman was speechless.
Then.
Someone stepped in front of him.
His face went white as he recognized the man.
The Night Fox, tribal leader of Balak. Aquila gazed down at Ahheman with a furious glare.
She held a piece of paper, an official report that she had personally received the previous night when she went to the Realm.
"Blessed House Quovadis has declared a crusade against Fanatic Leviathan, accusing him of artificially creating and releasing a plague known as the Red Demise. This is a proclamation demanding the truth about the Red Passing."
"Is that so, and why did you send it to me... ?"
"Shaman. You find it strange, don't you, why the plague that the Leviathans have been studying has erupted here in Depths?"
"I, I, I don't know. I just emerged from the special raised area holding a sacrifice for the complete recovery of the clan members... ."
Then Aquila raised her hand, interrupting Ahheman.
She exchanged a glance with Vikir beside her before speaking.
"No part of that. I would like to see what's in that sack at your waist."
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