God told the priest, "God is without emotion or desire, without thought or longing. The so-called seven emotions and eight sufferings are merely imposed by mortals."
By then, the priest had become acquainted with the God who occasionally descended and knew of this deity's benevolence. He irreverently asked, "Then why do mortals struggle in misery because of divine revelations?"
God said, "Because mortals have desires. What is called a divine revelation is merely the desire of mortals."
The priest asked, "Then can You save mortals from their sea of suffering?"
God remained silent for a long time. Just as the priest thought He had fallen asleep once more and rose to leave, a sigh drifted from the void:
"Old desires are buried, and new desires shall be born. So long as humanity endures, Sin shall remain."
In the eastern district of Holy City, Vede stared at the side quest and muttered, "Who knows what this reward, a spark, is even for? Rather than cutting off flesh to donate, I'd rather strip on the plaza and dance..."
Without a shred of humor, Asakura Yuko replied, "Then you'll be arrested as a 'heretic.'"
The donations before them had undergone another change. Perhaps because the previous method had been too inefficient, the believers had voluntarily formed a long line and approached the priests.
Like docile sheep, they cut flesh from their own bodies as though they could not feel pain at all. Their pace remained unchanged as they moved through the line. After placing the meat into the jars, they left directly, as if they had merely completed some trivial task like eating or drinking.
Asakura Yuko watched their wounds heal rapidly, lost in thought.
Such powerful regenerative abilities had actually appeared in ordinary NPCs. Combined with the information Flor had previously