"Fat Orange and Little Black, well done!"
After ushering out the still-fuming Fons Browning and others, Marvin quickly closed the church's main door, picked up Fat Orange and Little Black, and puckered up to plant a kiss.
Little Black 'grudgingly' accepted his master's affections, while Fat Orange extended a paw to Marvin's lips, calmly stating, "Hold on, we're pressed for time. New Ross City is a frontier town with less than ten churches of all sizes; the Holy Water supply is limited and soon others will come knocking. We must use this interval to find a solution."
"You're absolutely right."
Marvin agreed wholeheartedly, "Lacking clues, I can't say where the Curse came from, but now that the Church of the Three Fate has made their move, we must respond."
"Fortunately, we have Goddess Yuniya, so we shouldn't have to worry about resolving the Curse... Goddess Yuniya?"
As he spoke of Yuniya, Marvin suddenly remembered that he hadn't heard her voice in what seemed like a long time. The usually lively and active deity, why had she suddenly fallen silent?
He turned around and saw Yuniya standing behind him, her head lowered, her eyelids heavy as if weighed down by lead, her body swaying as if she might collapse at any moment.
"Yuniya, what's wrong?"
Alarmed by her condition, Marvin quickly helped her sit on a bench and asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Fat Orange and Little Black sat nearby, equally anxious.
"Daddy..."
Yuniya's voice was weak as she said, "The power supplied by the believers is getting weaker..."
"Meow! Look quickly!"
Sharp-eyed Little Black, with wide eyes, pointed at Yuniya's legs, dangling from the bench and cried out.
Marvin and Fat Orange immediately looked and discovered that Yuniya's once solid legs had begun to turn ethereal and transparent, as if about to vanish.
Recalling what Yuniya had told him the night before, Marvin immediately realized that this state was probably due to the believers.
The outbreak of the Curse within the city had caused many deaths; they could no longer provide the Divine Power of Faith. For The Great Church with a vast base of believers, the loss of a city's worth wouldn't shake their foundation, but for a smaller church with a scarce number of believers...
The rampaging Curse would be lethal.
Marvin had some foreboding about this but was surprised at how quickly the symptoms had appeared!
The Church of Truth, with over 800 believers, might not be large, but by New Ross City's standards could still rank in the top five, following only a few other big churches!
If even the Church of Truth was in such an urgent situation...
Could other smaller churches stand a chance of surviving?
"Don't panic... must not panic..."
Taking several deep breaths and gently tapping his temples, Marvin forced himself to calm down quickly; he needed to maintain the ability to think rationally.
After thoroughly collecting himself, he began to ponder, his mind flashing through all memories related to believers, looking for a way to salvage the situation.
Marvin believed that to stabilize Yuniya's faltering Divine Grace, the first step was to increase the number of believers. After all, he couldn't yet determine whether the quality of believers had an impact on the Power of Faith provided. Since that was the case, increasing quantity was certainly the right move to start with.
But the problem was...
With the Curse ravaging New Ross City, and people in a state of panic, was it any use to preach to them now?
Was there enough time?
At this critical juncture, whoever could save them would be the sole deity!
"We must look for a group that remains calm in the face of the Curse and is also numerous..."
His eyebrows deeply furrowed, his fingers rapidly rubbing his temples, Marvin suddenly opened his eyes, the irises nearly black, shining brightly.
The Black Death, the fearsome plague that terrifies everyone, is well-known to originate from rats.
So...
The group least afraid of rats would be the most likely to remain calm during the outbreak of the Black Death!
They... no!
It's them!
The fingers rubbing his temples came to an abrupt halt as Marvin looked towards Fat Orange and Little Black, who were squatting nearby.
"Since Yuniya has bestowed her blessings upon you, that means you are believers of the Goddess."
"Of course, meow! Kitties have faith too!" said Little Black.
Although Fat Orange didn't respond, he seemed to understand what Marvin meant.
"Little Black."
"Do you have any orders for me, Big Bro, meow?"
"Come with me."
"Understood, meow!"
Little Black followed behind Fat Orange, leaped onto the church's windowsill, and before departing, Fat Orange said without looking back, "Wait for me half an hour."
After they spoke, the figures of Fat Orange and Little Black vanished, leaving only the bright moonlight streaming into the spacious church, casting its glow on Marvin holding Yuniya.
"Truth is a ray of light; wherever it goes, followers will swarm to it."
Caressing Yuniya's smooth long hair, Marvin murmured, "For kitties, what is the truth?"
.....................
"Following Goddess Yuniya, you get to eat dried fish! You get yarn balls to play with! And endless cans of food, meow!"
In the dark alleys of the harbor, Little Black stood atop a tall wooden crate, raised his paw, and shouted to the gathering kitties below, who kept increasing in number, "For us kitties, a full belly is the truth, meow!"
The kitties, when they heard Little Black's deeply beguiling speech, looked at each other, seemingly tempted.
Who wouldn't want a life free from hunger?
Roaming is wildness, but wildness isn't a necessity; filling the belly, however, is a basic need.
Especially for the stray cats that roamed the streets of the marketplace year-round, shunned and chased, for them, stealing fish and meat was already a routine. A slight slip-up...
would lead to a death on the streets.
If it weren't for survival, who would choose to wander?
Just as Little Black was about to convince them, a threatening growl suddenly came from the darkness. A large-calico cat, accompanied by a few underlings, arrived at the alley. The arrival of the boss caused the kitties, who had been wavering, to hastily make way, clearing a path.
The calico cat coldly surveyed the surroundings before looking up at Fat Orange on the wooden crate and saying, "This isn't your territory! Get out!"
"Territory?"
Fat Orange jumped down from the crate, silently landing on the ground and circled around the calico cat, "Flora, do you think there will still be a distinction between territories in the future?"
"You're just a house cat, fed and kept by an owner—a pet! Pets and stray cats are clearly different!"
The calico cat growled and arched its back, "You have no wildness! You don't deserve to be a cat!"
"Is struggling for survival and fighting what wildness means?"
"Of course! It's the instinct engraved in our bones! We are carnivores!"
"Then, let me teach you what 'survival of the fittest' really means."
Piercing screams echoed through the alley; the confrontation ended in an instant. Fat Orange firmly pinned Flora to the ground; no matter how much she struggled, she couldn't move an inch.
"I have already received the Goddess's blessing, this wasn't a fair fight."
Fat Orange released his grip, and Flora immediately fled to the side, warily watching him.
Fat Orange turned and leaped back onto the crate, standing at its peak, with the bright full moon behind him. Looking down at the crowd of cats, he proclaimed, "A cat, a worthy cat, should support the weak, maintain a family, provide for their spouse and children, and not bully others or show off their might!"
"That is the truth!"
After a pause, Fat Orange looked towards Flora, who was hiding in the corner, "Whether stray or house cat, they should all unite. I have the Goddess's blessing; you are no match for me now, but I promise you, given time, if you could defeat me, then I will give you the position of leader. And not just Flora, this is my promise to all of you!"
Having said that, he no longer regarded Flora's somewhat shocked gaze and raised his paw high, "The era of wandering is over! From today on, I will lead you to create an underground kingdom for kitties! Believe in the Goddess!"
"Meow!!!"