Mission:051 Death of Black

Mission:05-1 Black Death

After a night's rest, at first light, Ritsuka once again left the town with Mephisto and Giorgios.

There were two purposes to this trip. The first was to keep trying their luck and see if they could run into any wandering lone Servants in the wild. The other was to take Giorgios, who excelled at dealing with demons, to the forest from before and see if they could break through and reach the cave.

With Giorgios's Noble Phantasm, perhaps they could attempt a large-scale sweep and annihilate the monsters' effective forces in one stroke.

And so the one staying behind in town today became Nero. Though they called it staying behind, it was impossible for Nero to truly sit in the Lord's Mansion for an entire day. After bidding farewell to Ritsuka and the others, she went out alone onto the town's streets.

The present time was the mid-fourteenth century, the dark and ignorant Middle Ages, before the radiance of civilization had yet to illuminate the world. As a result, the town's sanitation could absolutely not be called good. Even if one did not look at the filth hidden away in the various corners, the streets themselves carried a faint, unpleasant smell. Combined with the deathly still atmosphere in town, the entire place was like a stagnant pool of reeking dead water.

Naturally, there was nothing much worth seeing on streets like these. Nero was not a saint like Giorgios, willing to offer all kinds of help to the townspeople for free, so she soon grew bored. She walked aimlessly along the streets, wondering when she would be able to go back.

As she walked, a faint yet grating cry reached Nero's ears. Nero's brow twitched, and a slight bad premonition rose in her heart. She quickly walked over.

On the outskirts of town, in a filthy alley, an old woman with a headscarf was holding an unconscious Young Man, tears and snot streaming down her face, at a complete loss.

"What are you crying about?"

Nero's figure appeared at the mouth of the alley against the sunlight, casting her shadow over the two of them. The old woman looked at Nero, let go of the man in her arms, and crawled over on hands and knees, sobbing, "You must be a noble! Please, please save my child!"

Nero looked at the man. In a daze, she realized that he only looked unconscious. In truth, he had fallen into a delirious state. He was still awake, his eyes open, staring blankly at the sky, yet he could neither hear nor see. Only faint breaths and jumbled words kept spilling from his mouth.

The sight made Nero's heart tighten. "Is he sick?"

As a demon, Nero was not afraid of being infected. She stepped past the mother and entered the alley, coming up to the young man. Without the slightest politeness, she tore open the coarse cloth tunic he wore.

Then the large black patches covering the other party's body made Nero draw in a sharp breath despite herself. She reached out and tried touching his forehead. As expected, it was scorching hot.

There was no doubt. This was the Black Death. The great Plague that had swept across all of Europe in the fourteenth century.

As its name suggested, this virus carried by rats would cause large black patches accompanied by intense pain to appear on the infected person's body, and they would quickly lose consciousness and die within two to three days. Highly contagious, highly lethal, and rapid in onset, it was the Black Death Reaper that truly shrouded medieval Europe.

"Damn it. It just had to be today?" Nero stood up through gritted teeth, leaving the crying mother and son behind her as she strode quickly toward the Lord's Mansion. She was not Giorgios. She had no way to make God reveal a miracle and heal the sick. For patients already infected, all she could do was give them a quick end.

But for the town of Ratchvenge, this was not a matter of a single life. Nero remembered the clothes that person had been wearing. The Serfs belonging to the lord all dressed that way. The appearance of this first Black Death patient proved that the Rat Swarm that had attacked the day before yesterday had definitely been carrying pathogens. Everyone who had been attacked by rats that day might fall ill in the next two days, including Fujimaru Ritsuka!

When that time came, the town would turn completely into hell.

And so Nero began calling Chaldea's supporters. "Mash, can you hear me?"

After a while, Mash's voice finally came from the void. "Miss Nero, is that you calling me?"

The urgency of the matter forced Nero to keep it brief. "The Rat Swarm that day was carrying pathogens. The Black Death is about to break out in town."

With just that one sentence, Mash immediately understood the severity of the problem and said at once, "I'll notify Master right away!"

The communication cut off. Nero pushed open the lord's door without the slightest courtesy, swept past all sorts of unimportant people and objects, and arrived before the lord himself without any announcement. "My Lord, a plague is about to break out in town."

The lord, who had originally been about to put on a displeased face because of Nero's rudeness, instantly changed expression. He frowned, looked at Nero, and asked, "Truly? How do you know?"

Nero's lips moved slightly. She wanted to say that she had already encountered a patient. But the problem was, she was not a doctor. How could she predict the outbreak of a plague from just one patient?

Although the Black Death had already been quietly spreading across the European continent for more than a year by now, this was, after all, the Middle Ages. Transportation was inconvenient, and information did not circulate. Even if the lord before her knew there was a plague occurring on the continent, he would not know its specific symptoms. How could Nero use a patient to make him believe her?

So Nero bit her lip, and in the end could only answer, "Because this is a demon's method."

That was right. This was the best explanation, using superstition to make the lord submit to Nero's Words. No matter how one put it, this was not exactly a lie, and the abnormal rat tide from the day before yesterday could just happen to serve as evidence.

"...A demon."

The lord repeated the word with a grave expression, and the solemn look on his face gradually twisted. "I knew it!"

Nero, meanwhile, was still working to prevent a large-scale outbreak of the disease. "This illness was brought by those cursed rats. Those infected will show black patches on their bodies, become delirious, and fall into a coma. If possible, may I trouble you, my Lord, to isolate the sick, as well as those who encountered the Rat Swarm..."

"I understand."

The lord waved a hand to indicate that he understood, then walked toward the depths of the Lord's Mansion with a cold expression.

With that, everything Nero could do was done. She sighed and turned to walk outside.

All that remained was to pin their hopes on the others. If the lord could separate the crowds in time and prevent infection, then have Giorgios find a way to cause another miracle... perhaps they would be able to suppress the outbreak of the plague.

Now, she could only wait. After a while, Mash's voice came to Nero's ear once more. "Miss Nero, you can rest easy!"

"Mm?" Nero made a puzzled sound.

"Master and the others found a new Servant by the seaside. It seems they have the ability to control plagues!"