42 Deity Organ Harvest

"He was…supposed to be the Sickle Deity? What? This doesn't make any sense." Dullip stared at his father in confusion.

"You can think of it like this, kid." The middle-aged man stared at Dullip and smiled wryly, "Not everyone can wield the power of Faith. At the level of a Spirit, the concentration of Faith is pretty low. So, talented bloodline-related individuals won't be affected much. But at the level of an Apostle, it's disastrous."

"My brother here had the highest attunement to the Garobu Faith. Hence, my father made him the Apostle. He was pretty successful as an Apostle. But alas," Merku Garobu sighed, "During the fight against the Fisherman Devil, he suffered crippling injuries that took a toll on his mind."

"Because of that, every time he harnessed Faith, it felt like his entire body was on fire."

"Why…does that happen?" Dullip wondered in shock, "Is our Faith…dangerous?"

"Not exactly," The middle-aged man interjected, "But, the Garobu Faith is only suitable to be wielded by the Sickle Deity, no one else. Everyone else is just borrowing the Sickle Deity's power to manage our city's affairs better."

He then sighed, "Unfortunately, there's a limit to this. A human body can only withstand the torrent of Faith flowing through them for so long. But, if they are the Deity's offspring, their withstanding limit is higher."

"Then…would I also die one day?" Dullip asked.

"It'll come for everyone, but that's not the point." Merku Garobu said, "A Spirit can generally last for around thirty to forty years. Depending on their mental willpower, they can last longer. An Apostle can last for half the time before their mind shatters."

"Usually, that stage hardly occurs because most die under the hands of the enemies. Our cities are constantly under the threat of the Devils." Merku Garobu sighed, "So, at that time, we harvest their Deity Organs."

"Deity…Organs?" Dullip's eyes widened as Merku Garobu gave him a summarised explanation, "Then…"

"Yeah," The middle-aged man nodded, "Since I recovered just now, we're harvesting my Deity Organs. They'll be used to create Laurel Priests."

"Even though a Priest only wields a tenth of the power their source wielded, they live considerably longer." Saying so, the middle-aged man stared at the Accolade Priest nearby, "This old man has been active since my father's generation."

"I haven't been happy for a single day to outlive my Deity." The Accolade Priest bowed in remorse.

"I can't blame you for your service to the Faith." The middle-aged man sighed as he stared at Merku Garobu weakly, "I'm sorry, but it's hard to endure any longer. We need to finish it before I pass away."

"I'll be watching from the side." Merku Garobu said as he stood at the entrance, nudging Dullip to observe the scene.

Keuk!

The middle-aged man screamed in pain as the Accolade Priest continued to extract the small intestine. An hour of rigorous but delicate work later, he had fully extracted the small intestine.

At this moment, the door shot open as two Merit Priests brought in a middle-aged woman on a stretcher. She had a piece of cloth stuffed in her mouth that she bit hard, enduring the pain. Her lower body was bloody as there was a gash on her stomach.

Dangling out of it was her small intestine. She was on the verge of passing out. But the moment she noticed the presence of Merku Garobu, she seemed to have gained enough strength and was able to endure.

"Sir, it'll be distracting to have others here…" The Accolade Priest said once he stared at the middle-aged woman.

"I understand," Saying so, Merku Garobu brought Dullip and exited the room.

"What…will happen next?" Dullip asked, faintly trembling from the atmosphere.

"My brother's intestine will be transplanted into the woman. Following that, the Garobu Faith streaming from me into my brother would change targets and flow into the woman. That would fuse the intestine into her body and successfully turn her into a Laurel Priest. But," He shook his head, "If either of them were to faint in the process, the operation would end up a failure. "

"Because my brother would have to actively transmit the Faith into the woman while she would try her best to receive it and attune her mind to it."

"Is it that dangerous? Then," Dullip asked in worry, "Would they both lose their lives if it fails?"

"Pretty much, since the organ being transplanted is a vital organ." Merku Garobu nodded, "If it fails, we lose an Apostle's Deity Organ and also end up futilely sacrificing the Apostle."

"But, this is where our faith's dark side exists." Saying so, he brought Dullip to another room and pointed at the group of people sleeping there.

"Who are they…wait," Dullip said in shock, "Why are they all Spirits?"

"Among the few dozens of wives I have, there exist two groups." He said in all seriousness, "The first group gives birth to children like you that become Spirits and actively oversee the City's functions. This group is carefully picked to ensure the birthed children have high attunement to our Faith."

"And then," He pointed at the people in the room, "These are the kids birthed by the second group. Their sole purpose is to become Spirits and refine at least one Deity Organ in their bodies. And then,"

He stated seriously, "Their Deity Organ is extracted to create a Priest. That's their sole purpose of existence."

"By the way," He stared at Dullip, saying before the latter had enough time to digest the details, "The children of my siblings are all cordoned off into a separate facility where they train to become Priests. That's the fate of the Garobu bloodline. You can say the state is the same for every other ruling bloodline in other cities."

"We are…raising these people just to harvest their Deity Organs?" Dullip was unable to handle the truth, feeling a blow to his mentality.

"And now, when Keyn becomes the next Sickle Deity, your children would train to become Priests while you'll be harvested for your Deity Organs." Merku Garobu stated in a bone-chilling tone, "If you wish to avoid that fate, you'll need to turn all your organs into Deity Organs. That way, you'll succeed my seat. It's a horrible rat race."

"So," He stared at Dullip, "Do you still wish to serve the people with all your might as you proclaimed before?"

…

"Why did I have to recall the past?" Dullip frowned as he exhaled slowly, placing the memory from his childhood to the back of his mind as he condensed tiny sickles from his fingers and used them to stab into the wall surrounding the city, scaling up the walls like a spider.

"You're wrong, father." He muttered while scaling up the wall rapidly, "We exist to serve the people without hesitation, no matter the cost."

"Only that will strengthen our Faith and change our status from a mere breadbasket to a production powerhouse."