012 The New God Of The Village (1)

Aurelius smiled as a plan formulated in his mind. He turned toward Sarah and asked, "Is there an old woman who is influential on this street and has any problems, like sickness?" 

'If I am able to convert an old, sickly woman in front of other young women, I will have a significant advantage.' He mumbled in his mind. 

'They will see a miracle happening right in front of their eyes and will become easier to manipulate.' His eyes narrowed as he thought about any X-factors that might affect his plan, but he just didn't know enough, nor did his women know enough to be of any help. 

"Yes, there is a woman named Hannah in our village. Although she is just fifty years old, she looks like a woman in her eighties. But she is very respected among the villagers as she takes care of the newborn children's health in this village," Sarah answered honestly with a big, happy smile on her face. 'I am happy that I can be helpful to God!' she exclaimed inwardly. 

Aurelius narrowed his eyes as he thought about healing Hannah in front of a group of young women. 'But I have to choose another one. Hannah is too important for the village, and if I heal her, I might get the attention of the elders when I am not ready to.' 

His mind raced to think of any merits for choosing Hannah, but he decided that Hannah was a no-go for now. "Is there anyone else?" 

Sarah went into thought; images of old women on her street flashed in her mind as she crossed a few of them. 

"I know!" Elara yelled from beside him. She quickly grabbed his shoulders and said, "There is a woman who lives at the end of the street. She is almost sixty years old and has no family. She suffers from an illness that causes pimples all over her body and makes her smell bad. Although she was a nice lady before she got the illness. She turned into a rude one almost immediately after she was ostracized by the village elders, who feared that others might get the illness." 

Aurelius carefully thought about it. 'The woman is sickly and old but is disliked by almost everyone in the village. I don't have to worry about rumors spreading if I successfully convert every woman that I have invited. But if I don't, then I will also have to worry about that.' 

Aurelius was having second thoughts about his plan; after all, if the village elders caught him, then it might as well be over, as he could not guess their reactions. But then a question popped into his mind: 'Does it matter?' 

'Even if I am able to successfully convert level one, ten to twenty women, I can reach level four or five at the bare minimum. I don't need to worry about their reactions as I can manipulate women below level ten.' 

His mind raced to think if he had missed anything, and then he thought of something: 'He was being too careful! He was a god! He didn't need to be too careful!' 

"Girls, I have a mission for you," Aurelius muttered, grabbing their attention. "I want you to....." 

............. 

It was late in the night; the village was covered in eerie silence, with a few crickets and insects creaking in a rhythm. 

"Fast!" a voice said in a hushed tone as the person gestured to the women to walk faster. 

"Aria, you said that we are going to meet some new friend of yours. Is it really true? Weren't you sick yesterday and the village elders said that it was incurable? How are you alright?" A girl in her late teens asked as she narrowed her eyes at Aria. 

The rest of the girls, who were friends of Aria, halted in their tracks and looked at her, waiting for her answer. 

A small smile appeared on Aria's face as she thought about Aurelius. "You will know when we get there!" she said as she smiled mysteriously at them. 

The girl who asked the question still stared at her but wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt and followed along with the rest of the girls. 

They soon reached the hut which their mothers had warned them not to enter. "Wait, Aria, why are you taking us to that old witch's hut?" the girl asked again. This time, she was not going to enter without answers. 

She placed her hands on her hips while she glared at Aria. 

Aria, by now, was a little annoyed; she was going to fulfill her mission and get praise from her god, but this girl was stopping her every step of the way. 

They both stared at each other as the girls around them gulped in nervousness. They had sneaked out of their huts and didn't tell their parents, as Aria had warned them not to. 

'If she goes and tells our parents, then we are done for!' one of the girls exclaimed in worry. Her hands trembled as she imagined just how her parents would react to her sneaking out. 

"Lily, maybe we should trust Aria; she is our friend after all," one of her friends tried to appease Lily, the one who is staring at Aria. 

"But this is the old witch's house. Our parents have warned us not to go anywhere near here," Lily said, putting forth her point. 

SNORT 

"Our parents have also said not to sneak out at night, but haven't you done it?" Aria retorted as she scoffed at Lily. 

Lily bit her lip at Aria's retort, "It's because we trust you!" she said, while not realizing that she had made a mistake. 

"And that's what I want too; I want you to trust me and come with me to the old witch's hut. I promise, you will see a miracle there..." Aria said with a mysterious smile. Her black eyes shone with a passionate and fervent devotion as she mumbled, "....A handsome miracle!" 

Lily looked at her friend, scrutinizing her body. Her mind wanted to go back, but her heart. Her heart was curious to know just what happened to her friend. She doesn't hate her or anything. She was just skeptical by nature. 

"...Alright," Lily gave in, making the other girls sigh in relief; the last few moments felt like a battleground for them. 

Aria's smile widened while her eyes shone in victory. "Then come with me, I promise that you will not regret it." She said as she turned around and walked into the hut. 

The girls gave a last glance at each other before they too entered the hut. 

Lily looked at her friends walking into the hut one by one; she clenched her fists as she slowly walked toward the entrance of the hut. 

She entered the hut and looked at her friends who had their eyes wide and mouths hanging agape. If she were in a normal situation, she would have joked about how she could fit an entire apple in their mouths, but, 'What are they looking at?' 

She questioned as she turned her head around. Right then, her eyes widened when she looked at the man whom she thought was the most handsome man in existence. 

He had silver-white hair that matched the robes he was wearing; the golden embroideries on his robes nicely contrasted with his shining deep blue eyes. But the most captivating thing about him was his smile. 'I want to see that smile forever!'