Chapter 749: Dave

“Uweeeek─!!”

Under the black sky where a dragon was swimming and spitting fire.

Someone, while drinking water, suddenly vomited.

Drinking water itself was not an unusual thing.

Humans needed to drink water to survive. Especially with the massive fire in the capital, just standing still made one’s throat dry enough to require drinking water.

The strange part was the vomiting.

Why did they vomit? Did they choke?

That was possible, but there was no sound of coughing, so it wasn’t because they choked.

It wasn’t that the act of drinking water was the problem, but the water itself.

“P-P-P… blood?”

A person waiting for their turn to evacuate amidst the burning streets mumbled while looking at the liquid they had vomited.

Indeed, it was blood.

The deep crimson color, the dizzying stench of blood, and the sticky texture.

In terms of its color, smell, and feel, it was undoubtedly blood.

“B-Blood…blood!?”

The man who vomited murmured dazedly, looking around as if he’d become a fool. That’s how confused he was.

Just a few minutes ago, it had clearly been water, yet now it had somehow turned into blood.

This incomprehensible situation left him stupefied, making others view him with strange gazes.

“For now, please stand up! Sitting like this—”

“B-Blood! It turned into blood!?”

A scream, filled with an eerie sense of déjà vu, interrupted the words. Everyone turned their heads to see what was causing such a commotion.

And then, they knew.

The fountain, which had been spewing water into the sky even amidst the fire and chaos, suddenly started spitting out red blood.

“Uugh…!”

The grotesque stench from the massive fountain caused many of the nearby people to cover their noses and mouths.

This was not an ordinary blood smell.

It went beyond the nose, making people feel light-headed and lose their sanity.

The stench was so horrific that people forgot what they should even do next. And it was spreading throughout the entire capital— perhaps even beyond.

Ribbit.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

A sticky red fountain shot out a single frog, followed by countless more frogs hopping out.

“…!”

Faced with this unbelievable scene, people stepped back, recoiling in fear.

And naturally so; anyone would feel a visceral rejection upon seeing so many frogs. But these frogs were especially odd.

They lacked the basic survival instincts any living creature should have.

Splat!

They were crushed underfoot.

Bang!

Even when shot with a gun, they burst.

Ribbit. Ribbit. They only croaked and filled the empty space, behaving more like something far from living creatures.

Despite not posing any direct threat, their bizarre appearance made everyone freeze in terror, paralyzing their bodies.

Only one word circled in their pale, blank minds: danger.

Tap!

Just then, a solid thud broke the stillness, freeing the people from their paralysis.

The source of the sound, standing majestically against the backdrop of eerie silence, was Woodsman Dave.

‘Wait… silence?’

As they stared at Dave in a trance, people noticed something—the frogs had stopped.

Though they had been relentlessly pouring out, the frogs now stood still and quietly watched Dave.

With all eyes on him, Dave gave the frogs an order.

“Go back to where you came from. That’s an order.”

Amazingly, the frogs, which hadn’t stopped even in death, obediently began retreating back into the blood fountain with just Dave’s words and gestures.

Not just the frogs near the fountain but all across the capital, the frog swarms began to return to their origin.

Ribbit. Ribbit. Croaking as they went.

Tap… tap… tap.

Dave walked the now-clean streets, his quarterstaff tapping rhythmically along the way.

Tap… tap… tap – stop.

The tapping sound ceased when Dave arrived at the fountain.

Inside the fountain, where the frogs had returned, the blood remained.

The blood was so thick that it looked almost black. The smell alone could make one’s stomach churn and their mind feel clouded.

It was a stench so severe, it couldn’t possibly belong to this world.

Yet Dave faced that horrid smell without so much as scrunching up his face.

Was it because he was a Dark Sorcerer? Or Randa’s greatest Contractor?

Yet, even then, the image of him standing before the blood fountain seemed almost divine.

Sshing.

While quietly staring at the fountain, Dave drew a dagger from behind his waist.

It was an old and worn dagger, the only unusual thing about it being its blade, which was blood-red.

Dave planted his quarterstaff upright and then immediately sliced his palm open.

A red, smile-like wound appeared on his palm, and blood began to drip out.

Plop.

Dave let a drop of his own blood fall into the fountain.

“Return to your original state. That’s an order.”

He commanded again, this time addressing the disaster itself.

And unbelievably, the calamity obeyed His command: the fountain washed away the blood, returning to its original clear state.

Not only the fountain but all water that had turned to blood throughout the capital, and even beyond, returned to its normal color.

The people who witnessed this silently stared at Dave, their eyes wide with disbelief.

“Haa…”

Dave let out a deep sigh, as if exhausted.

“Ah… ahhh.”

A voice filled with awe and reverence escaped from the crowd.

The voice carried feelings of pure amazement and worship, detached from reason.

Thud…

Thunk.

Bang…

One after another, the people watching Dave began dropping to their knees.

Some fell weakly, others knelt with such force it seemed they’d break their knees, while others knelt as if they were completely devoted.

No distinction was made: nobles, commoners, laborers, beggars, men, women, children, and the elderly all knelt equally.

From their mouths came groans deeply drawn from their chests.

“Ah.”

“Ahh…”

“Aah… ahhh!”

Some pressed their faces to the ground, some shed tears as they gazed up at Dave, their hands lifted towards him.

In their desperate postures, they expressed humility and reverence, raising their hands like they were reaching for the heavens.

Those with broken arms used their remaining limbs, faces, or bodies to express their devotion, rubbing against the ash-filled ground.

It was a genuine and pitiful display of faith.

The only sound that could be heard was the groaning of these lowly worshipers.

Even the raging flames fell silent, as if blessing this holy worship.

“Don’t do that.”

A voice colder than ice pierced through the sacred silence.

It was a blasphemous act, yet none dared to criticize it.

For the one who broke the silence was Dave himself, the very master of the quiet.

“Haa… everyone, please stop.”

Dave spoke again to the people, pleading with them.

This man, who had single-handedly calmed the city’s chaos and reversed a calamity, begged the lowly people.

The people trembled, feeling a fear they couldn’t describe.

It was like facing a colossal wave or a typhoon— even when it harbored no malicious intent, they were terrified of it.

“I am not someone to be worshipped, nor is this something I desire. I came here to offer you a bit of help.”

Looking down at the people bowing before him, Dave spoke again.

He made it clear he was not one to be revered, and that he had come only to lend a helping hand.

In his expression were hints of sadness and resolve, and upon seeing these, the people gradually regained their composure.

“So stand up, move your legs. The reason God gave us heads is to think for ourselves; and legs, so we can move on our own. Don’t pray— get moving.”

Tap!

As he finished speaking, Dave struck the ground again with his quarterstaff.

At that moment, the people felt a discomfort inside their clothes and began checking themselves.

Inside, there were swarms of lice crawling, which quickly crumpled into dust.

“Go now!”

Dave, turning the sudden lice swarm into dust, shouted.

The people who had been kneeling and bowing swiftly came to their senses as they got up and began evacuating again, following the path through the fire.

But still, more time was needed.

Bzzz… bzzz… bzzz…!!

As the people moved, a bothersome buzzing sound resonated from the black sky where the dragon’s flames burned.

Bzzz… bzzz… bzzz… bzzz… bzzz!!

An infinite swarm of flies, too numerous for the dragon’s flames to fend off, was descending.

Dave raised his hand toward the sky and gave them a command.

“Go back. That’s an order.”