On the eve of Chapter 56, those who suffered from the plague were actually...

Before Catherine woke up in Tarasco, she had already begun to mentally prepare an explanation.

Her physical transformation is a fact, and if Tarasco despises it, then simply hiding it won't last long.

Lies will always be exposed, no matter how perfect they sound at first.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Catherine had no intention of hiding or deceiving anyone; instead, she chose to portray herself as a "victim."

The witch has no choice but to take the blame.

After all, it was she who extended the invitation, so she probably wouldn't mind such an occasional, harmless "little joke"—especially since she wasn't wrong. Initially, the witch did indeed insert the spider eggs into her body after she refused. Then, everything was her own choice, but that didn't stop her from using it as an excuse.

The witch outside the door sneezed for no reason. She glanced at the door behind her, pursed her lips, and rolled her eyes.

Before long, it was evening, and Catherine began to feel hungry.

Calculating the time, from when she woke up this morning until now, plus the time she was unconscious before, she should have gone without food for almost three or four days. However, she only started to feel a little hungry now.

Catherine attributed this to her "evolution" after becoming a witch.

Its senses become sharper, its combat power is enhanced, and at the same time, it gradually becomes less dependent on food—my God! This is simply a perfect fighting machine.

Hmm... So the witch was eating with them all this time just because... she was craving food?

Catherine felt that her filter of witches seemed to have shattered a little more.

Although there was very little of that thing left.

She got up from Tarasco's body, met his gaze, and blinked shyly, "I...I'm hungry."

The witch yawned and pushed open the door, just in time to see Catherine and her companion walking out of the room opposite.

She smiled and looked Catherine up and down: "Oh~ you only came out because you were hungry?"

Because of what Catherine had said earlier, Tarasco had a very poor impression of witches. When he saw her appear, his face darkened, and he kept trying to launch probing attacks—most of which were stopped by Catherine, of course.

The witch merely chuckled at this, then raised her hand and pointed at Tarasco: "You shouldn't go down there. The way you are will only scare away the timid humans."

Tarasco was clearly reluctant, but Catherine whispered in his ear, explaining the social rules of the human race.

Unfortunately, what the witch said was true.

So Tarasco had to stay in the room, while Catherine jumped off her armor and went down with the witch to see if there was any food.

As they walked up the wooden stairs, on the third floor, Catherine asked, "I'm actually a little curious. You said before that I'm a witch now, but I look nothing like you."

The witch tossed her long hair: "It seems necessary to give you a basic introduction to the common knowledge of 'witches,' little girl~ not all witches are the same. In fact, it depends on what kind of power their genes prefer."

"As you can see, I have a natural affinity for vines and plants, so my body integrates well with them, and I absorb their power. And the first affinity of your genes is the genes of the alien spider."

Catherine raised an eyebrow: "To be honest, I always thought that you just randomly picked something and put it into my body."

"So that's what you think? Oh, that really hurts my feelings." The witch put on her dramatic performance. "In fact, the moment I saw you, I knew you would be one of my kind."

"Hehehe~ Little girl, I fell in love with you at first sight~"

Catherine was already used to the witch's sweet talk and exaggerated performance, so she didn't react to it.

"But you have magic..."

“Oh, that’s something you need to learn, little girl.” The witch tapped Catherine’s nose. “But don’t worry, those who can become witches all have extremely high talent for magic… It sounds a bit unfair, but that’s how the world is.”

As they spoke, they had already descended the stairs. The rain had stopped long ago, and the sunset outside was even more magnificent. The warm, lingering sunlight streamed into the lobby on the first floor, bathing the tables and chairs in a warm orange hue.

Catherine glanced around and noticed that the lobby was filled with travelers drinking. They were chatting animatedly about interesting things from various places, creating a lively atmosphere.

She walked to the counter, asked the waiter for a menu, ordered bread and milk for herself, and then turned to the witch beside her: "What would you like?"

"Meat! I want to eat grilled meat."

Catherine raised an eyebrow and handed the menu back to her: "Two more whole roasted lambs, one to go."

"It's for the little spider, isn't it?" the witch chimed in from the side, but there was a hint of sourness in her voice.

Catherine smiled but didn't reply.

They found an empty table and sat down, waiting for the food to be served. It was lunchtime, and the hall was filled with the aroma of creamy bread and intoxicatingly fragrant wine.

A group of people at the table behind her were having a lively conversation, their voices rising and falling. Bored while waiting, Catherine overheard a bit and discovered they were talking about the recent outbreak in the surrounding cities; it sounded like the plague was getting worse.

It can be said that 80% to 90% of the border towns have been devoured by the plague, and the town they are in now is a rare haven.

The lives of the poor at the bottom of society have become even more difficult as a result. Many people, even those who have not been infected, have been forced to leave their hometowns where they have lived for many years due to the deterioration of their living environment and the severe shortage of food, becoming displaced refugees.

Catherine's expression shifted.

Previously, their main concern was that their numbers were too small to face the sheer number of people in the Holy See and the endless stream of controlled magical beasts; their chances of victory were too low. But this new information has given her a reminder.

Those who suffer from the plague are actually their allies.

Of course, many people would be afraid if you directly said you were going to storm the Vatican. But they could first try to entice them by presenting their actions as "seeking holy medicine from the merciful Vatican to save their lives," and most people would be persuaded.

Thinking of this, Catherine suddenly realized that she hadn't seen Lucas and the others since she woke up.

"Where are Lucas and the others?" she asked the witch, turning her head.

"They left the day before you woke up, hmm, that's about three days now~ They should be pretty close to the Holy See by now, hehehe~"

"Gone?" Catherine was somewhat surprised.

They were just ordinary humans, with perhaps some experience fighting magical beasts. If such a group were to encounter the previous monster tide while traveling alone, it would almost certainly be a catastrophe.

“We were about to leave anyway, because the longer we stay in one place, the more dangerous it becomes. But you’ve been unconscious, and after you wake up, you’ll need time to fully fuse with the spider eggs, so we’ve stayed until now.”

"Little girl, look how good I am to you."

Catherine felt something was off. While it was true she was unconscious and unable to move, many others had also fallen unconscious from severe injuries during the monster horde…

Wait a minute! Catherine suddenly realized that quite some time had passed since the previous monster tide. The Holy See had acted shortly after they left the Devil's Forest, so how could they have allowed such a long period of rest and recuperation afterward?

Catherine suddenly realized: "You want them to draw attention to you! Actually, the person the Vatican really wants to kill has always been you."

Seeing that she had been exposed, the witch didn't try to hide it. Instead, she smiled cruelly: "But there really is a holy medicine, isn't there?"

"Indeed, I do need them as vanguards, but I have not lied. The holy medicine that can suppress the plague is within the Papacy, and I have clearly told them both the lucrative fruits and the thorns beneath them."

"I just had a little bit of my own purpose hidden in it."

"Hehehe~ Little girl, the witch's blessing always comes with a price."

Catherine's eyes flickered. She felt a belated sense of relief that she had joined the witch's camp and become one of her kind.

Should I be grateful to the witch for having a higher level of affection for her the first time we met?

Meanwhile, Lucas and his companions, who knew nothing about these things, had just stopped to rest at an inn.

The town where this inn is located is already very close to the capital. If all goes well, they should enter Duis City by the evening of the day after tomorrow, which means they are getting closer and closer to the Papacy.

In the darkness, Lucas unconsciously turned over again.

He tried to move quietly, but his roommate Benson still noticed: "Can't sleep?"

The child was shy and a little embarrassed when he heard this: "Um, I'm a little nervous about Uncle Benson."

Benson chuckled: "What's there to be afraid of? We've survived so many chases. We're finally about to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You should be happy."

Lucas forced a smile, but it was impossible to force it. He slumped his shoulders and sighed, "Uncle Benson, I can't smile."

Benson chuckled again, seemingly mocking Lucas's cowardice. Then he turned over and went back to sleep.

Lucas looked up at the ceiling of the Black Tide, where a gray water stain had been left by years of rain in the corner near the window.

He couldn't help but recall the pursuit they had faced over the past few days. They had only been separated from the witch for three days, yet they had already encountered four small monster hordes, two attacks by papal knights, and one large monster horde…

Over the past three days, they have probably slept for less than an hour in total.

This situation has continued to this day.

Perhaps due to their proximity to the Vatican, they were being hunted less frequently, with only a few sporadic minor disturbances. However, this situation did not bring relief but rather worry; it was the calm before the storm.

Benson's snoring came from beside him; his deep voice, in the current environment, actually brought a sense of peace. Lucas, his mind a jumble of thoughts, gradually drifted off to sleep.