523 Pure Soul
Astoria had been walking by Vaan’s side with her arms wrapped around his intimately without being afraid of the publicity. When they encountered the situation before them, her hands subconsciously tightened.
She wanted to help the mother-son duo but didn’t want it to inconvenience Vaan.
After all, if they decided to help the mother-son duo, they would also have to save everyone else who was suffering. Otherwise, their actions would be regarded as hypocritical.
However, the Holy Knight Empire also had its own issues.
Far too many people were suffering under the patriarchal regime. In particular, witches and Darkan people. Of course, Darkan witches had it the worse.
After all, the Holy Knight Empire was ruled by the Solaran people.
To be born with blonde hair and blue eyes in such a country was a privilege. Darkan people with black hair and eyes could only be lower-class commoners and slaves due to their past history with the Great Darkan Empire.
Unless she reformed the country and fixed the problem at its root, there would still be many suffering people like the mother-son duo before her.
Nevertheless, if it were in the past, she would have helped the mother-son duo without a second thought. But now, her decisions were affected by her considerations for Vaan.
Astoria was surprised by how much she had changed due to him.
…
Meanwhile, Vaan glanced at the mother-son duo and inspected them.
The mother seemed to be a relatively young Darkan lady in her 30s or 40s. However, she appeared older due to her malnourished, weak body and poor living conditions that hid away her original beauty.
She wore ragged clothes that hadn’t been washed for at least three years.
The bruises on her face, neck, arms, and legs also suggested she had been frequently abused, perhaps by a violent partner or master.
Nevertheless, such minor wounds could have been easily healed if she was a witch.
She indeed had the talent to become one as well. But unfortunately, someone had crippled her mana veins. Most likely to prevent her from becoming stronger.
From this, Vaan could tell that the woman’s partner or master wasn’t strong or important.
On the other hand, the three-year-old boy in her arms, while malnourished due to the lack of nutrition, was mostly unharmed.
Evidently, the little kid was protected by his mother.
After Vaan gathered various information from observing their bodies, a general understanding of their situation was formed.
The young woman lived in an abusive household and was frequently abused sexually and physically.
After she became pregnant and gave birth to her son, her body changes from childbirth caused her to lose her former beauty and appeal. She was thrown out after that.
From then on, she was forced to wander the streets, struggling to feed and raise her son alone. No one would take her due to her lack of appeal and talent.
Vaan was rather surprised that she had not given in to her despair and turned into a fallen witch.
Nevertheless, she was near the end of her ropes. Her son’s well-being was the only thing keeping her sanity together. Even when the child could have been unwanted, she still loved him unconditionally.
After all, the child was innocent.
That said, the moment she lost her child, her mind would most definitely fall into the dark abyss of despair.
If Vaan couldn’t give people like her the hope of living and the promise of a better tomorrow, there was no telling what kind of disaster they would collectively become in the future.
Perhaps before getting destroyed by Gehenna, humans would have destroyed themselves first.
Since he had seen it, he could not ignore it. And since he could not ignore it, he decided to act on it.
…
“Get away from the Sun God, you filthy sow!”
After seeing no one willing to step forward and physically remove the mother-son duo, the angry masses decided to hurl stones to remove them.
Seeing the incoming stones, the young mother instinctively pulled her malnourished son back into her embrace and shielded him with her body.
Nevertheless, just when the stones were about to strike them, a wall of fire shielded the mother-son duo from all projectiles.
In that instant, Astoria heaved a big sigh of relief. If Vaan hadn’t acted, she would have summoned a light barrier to protect them a split second later.
She couldn’t help but feel angry.
Vaan hadn’t said anything. And yet, the crowd decided to act on his behalf out of fear for his great power.
“This…”
The angry crowd immediately paused in their tracks once they saw the wall of flames protecting the mother-son duo.
“Compassion for those less fortunate than yourself is an integral part of being human. Without it, humans would be no different from beasts,” Vaan casually said as he swept another glance at the crowd.
“Are you all beasts, or are you all human? I have not said anything, yet all of you act so unsightly before me. Do not let fear twist your hearts. These two are considered filthy?”
Vaan glanced down at the mother-son duo before shaking his head with a
snicker.
“A dirty outer appearance due to circumstances they cannot control does not make them filthy. I only see a great mother wishing the best for her child and an innocent little boy who has not done the world any wrong.”
“In comparison, your hearts were rotten for almost stoning them to death. Reflect on it!” Vaan coldly reprimanded the crowd as he exerted overwhelming pressure from his Demigod-rank soul, forcing them to lower their heads in guilt and shame.
“Only pure souls are deserving of entering my divine kingdom! Please get up. The Sun God will not ignore the woes of his suffering followers,” Vaan warmly assured.
Despite the young mother being very dirty, he still offered direct help with his hand. The young mother trembled with mixed feelings of fear and gratitude.
“Your Divinity, you mustn’t! My body is very filthy!” the young mother cried.
“Filthy?” Vaan shook his head and calmly said, “You must understand that such so-called filth is nothing more than an illusion covering the purity of your heart and soul. It can disappear at any time.”
Shortly after Vaan snapped his fingers, a wave of white flames swept through the mother-son duo.
However, they did not get burned or harmed in any way. They only felt a warm breeze swept past them.
The radiance of the white flames vaporized all the impurities on their bodies and clothes. Even the tiny bacteria and viruses gnawing away at their bodies were erased.
Vaan’s flames only burned what he wanted to burn. The Fire Law was his to control freely.
Nevertheless, in a short instance, The mother-son duo became clean, and their foul odor also disappeared. Although the little boy was still weak and
malnourished, he no longer looked like he was dying from a sickness.
The young mother couldn’t be clearer about their situation. Thus, her tears unknowingly overflowed with overwhelming emotions of happiness.
She immediately dropped to her knees and prostrated with her head planted on the ground as she held her son and expressed her gratitude and worship.
“Thank you, my Lord! My child is saved! You are truly divine! I am willing to worship and serve you for as long as I live!” the young mother vowed.