Chapter 81 Before Leaving the City
The abyss… had already crawled out from the mud without anyone noticing…
This sentence echoed in my mind twice.
After a brief moment of mental blankness, when consciousness started to function again, my first reaction was: This is impossible.
What kind of joke is this? Weren’t there two legions stationed there? The movements of the abyss were so significant; how could they have been overlooked… Were those people blind or deaf? How could it escape unnoticed? This was absurd. What were the Church knights doing?
“Generally speaking, once the mud starts boiling, it heralds that the abyss will soon awaken from within.” Margaret, sitting opposite me, continued to speak calmly, “Based on past centuries of experience, excluding those rare cases with no prior signs, the time cycle is usually one to two months. However, this particular abyss is clearly different. The mud has been boiling for quite some time, yet we haven’t seen any monsters emerge from the swamp. This is highly abnormal.”
“And under our strict surveillance, the mud has now gradually calmed down after boiling for a while. Miss Silvija, you might know or you might not. There are only two scenarios where the mud would calm down: the death of the abyss or ten days after its birth… Given these possibilities, which one should we prepare for?”
I stared at her face.
The gentle and saintly maiden leaned slightly forward. She paused, her tone and expression becoming increasingly serious.
“We must be prepared for the worst-case scenario. The abyss may have awakened more than ten days ago. And even more terrifyingly, we don’t know where it is or what actions it will take. We’ve never encountered such a situation before. This might be the most unique abyss in history. But regardless of the facts, we must figure everything out as quickly as possible.”
…Damn it.
Margaret is right; I was thinking too simply.
But if things really are like this, where could the abyss have gone… There have been no reports of attacks anywhere… It’s very likely still in the canyon… But if I go straight there, what about the city… If anything happens, I might not even get word of it, let alone respond… Then what about Victoria… What should I do…
“Miss Silvija, we must leave for Raberil Canyon immediately. Every second counts. If the abyss truly left the mud long ago, the Holy Church needs your help to confirm its whereabouts. That monster is probably still hiding somewhere in the canyon. We must find it and eliminate it. Another papal knight is still on their way to the royal city. I don’t know if time will be enough, but perhaps by then… Miss Silvija?”
Her fair and slender fingers waved back and forth in front of me, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“I’m…”
“Did you hear what I just said?”
“Mmm…” I scratched my hair irritably.
Ah! My head is in such disarray…
“Get ready to fight outside the city. Do you need anything? Weapons?” Margaret asked softly.
“At the mansion…”
“Then go back and make all the necessary preparations… Perhaps what we’re facing is something unprecedented… I hope it’s not.”
“But…”
The unicorn-drawn carriage galloped rapidly, shaking violently.
I lifted the curtain to glance at the battlefield south of the city, but the rows of houses passing by blocked my view completely, making me even more anxious.
After hesitating for a moment, I couldn’t hold back my inner anxiety anymore. “What about the royal city…”
The carriage fell silent for two seconds.
Frustrated, I lowered the curtain and heard Margaret take a deep breath.
“If all abysses possessed your empathy, it would be wonderful… Unfortunately, they are cold-blooded monsters.” She sighed, as if lamenting something, softly saying,
“Miss Silvija, I understand your concerns. But to be frank, even if you stayed here, what could you do? You can do nothing.”
I knew that…
“Human society is much more complex than you imagine. Just as countless warriors are fighting on the city walls, dying every minute, they are children of the gods. Perhaps they pray to the great existence as they die… As the Holy Church’s maiden, I can only sit in the carriage, praying silently in my heart, pretending not to hear those sounds outside… I am sad, but this is the rule that maintains basic stability in the world. It is precisely because of this that we must understand our value… Can you understand what I’m saying?”
I knew…
“You and I, the only way to truly help the royal city, the people in the city, and even more citizens of Ethenbel, is to go out and find the abyss, and kill it. Instead of staying here, allowing the monster to devour lives and grow stronger until none of us can—”
“Margaret,” I interrupted her.
The pure maiden sat upright, listening attentively.
“We’ll go to the mansion first. Then, take me to find Victoria, okay?”
To kill the Abyss.” I stared at her, tightly pursing my lips, trying hard to make an uncompromising stance.
The Holy Maiden pondered for a moment, then looked at me and smiled lightly.
“Alright.”
She agreed…
“Thank you.”
In response to my gratitude, the Holy Maiden only gave me a more friendly smile.
After a brief silence, she turned her head aside, as if casually adding, “Actually… the Church has secretly provided financial support to Her Majesty the Queen.”
That was all that needed to be said.
But I felt somewhat relieved inside.
“Hmm.”
…………
The carriage drove into Londale Street and slowly stopped in front of number 2 residence.
“Wait for me, I’ll be right back.”
I jumped out of the carriage, not looking back, and said to Margaret.
Running to the large iron gate, I pushed off with my right foot, leaping over the railing, crossing the lawn, and jumping onto the terrace. I took out the key from under the flower bed, opened the window, ran into the bedroom—all this took about twenty seconds.
I wanted to take a bath, but time was tight… I quickly took off my dress, threw it aside, kicked off my leather boots, and took out a new black leather battle skirt from the cabinet, along with a chainmail glove, silk stockings, and a pair of hard leather boots from the central workshop. After putting on everything, I tied up my hair, squatted down, opened the drawer of the wardrobe, took out a chest protector, and put it in my pocket. Then I opened another drawer and searched through it.
Strange…
I remember bringing it with me. Where did I put it? Ah, found it.
I pulled out two long cylindrical wooden barrels, each about two fingers wide, and held them up in front of my eyes, smiling slightly.
These were the ones I had plundered from Varall, which had once disgusted me…
At that time, I had been holding a grudge and asked Hoover for them, intending to use them on Carlos. Later, I forgot about it because there was no opportunity. Now… I would give them to Victoria before leaving.
Just in case.
I put the barrels in my skirt pocket, tilted my head, thought for a bit, and then ran to the desk, taking out a piece of paper and writing a note to Ellie with a quill: Sister is going on a long trip, we will meet again on the next rest day.
After folding the note, I put it in my skirt pocket and quickly walked to the corner, putting the black leather box containing Captain Gray’s belongings on my back.
That’s it.
Let’s go…
Leaving the bedroom and returning to the terrace, I locked the window and put the key back under the flower bed, then jumped down.
Thud!
I landed steadily on the lawn, my feet sinking slightly into the soft soil. I looked up and saw the lush and tall honey fruit tree beside me.
…When I come back, I wonder if the fruits will be ripe?
If they are ripe, that would be great…
Without a care, I pulled my feet out of the mud, left the courtyard, jumped over the wall again, and after landing, turned around and stuffed the note into a gap in the stone pillar on the right side of the iron gate. I tilted my head to check if it was obvious enough. If Ellie came looking, she should be able to spot it easily.
“Are you ready?”
Margaret’s voice came from behind.
“I am,” I replied.
“Then let’s go.”
“Okay.”
As I turned back to get into the carriage, my gaze accidentally caught sight of a notice posted on the opposite wall. It seemed to be another missing person poster, just like the last one, but there were now more of them… Huh?
Why does the portrait in the middle look familiar…
Forget it, let’s hurry.
It wasn’t until the carriage had left Londale Street that I suddenly remembered where I had seen the face in that portrait before.
“Margaret.”
“What is it?”
“The person I asked you to inquire about last time… was the one I injured…”
That night, I was hungry and sleepy, and stumbled into a tavern for food. A drunk man harassed me—though he was so drunk his face had changed color, and the portrait was crude, I still felt it looked somewhat familiar, so I wanted to confirm with Margaret.
“Hmm?”
Margaret thought for a moment, then realized, “Ah, sorry. I almost forgot about this… I asked the bishop, and he said no injured man came to the church that night. The person you mentioned might not have been as seriously hurt as you thought.”
…Is that so?
I hugged the leather box tightly, fiddling with a strand of black hair by my temple, my brows furrowing slightly.
Hopefully…
There was no time to worry about it now.
Creak… creak…
Three carriages with platinum and silver stripes sped through the bustling city streets.
As time passed, the rumbling sound from the south had stopped, but the voices outside the carriage grew louder. I lifted the curtain slightly and saw a burning two-story building nearby. Amidst the crowd running about, a woman wrapped in a gray and white headscarf clung tightly to a boy and a girl.
The younger girl was crying loudly, while the boy stood silently, pulling at his mother’s clothes. They stood alone on the street, looking up at the burnt building, turning their heads in confusion when they heard the noise of our carriage, meeting my gaze.
The dazed look in their eyes made my eyes ache.
“Quickly leave here… All of you!”
Several guards from the royal city approached and shouted at the woman, trying to drive them away from the dangerous area… The carriage swept past them, and I lowered the curtain.
The city hadn’t been breached yet.
But this place was already at the foot of the city walls, and the woman’s home had been hit by a fireball… Luckily, everyone seemed to be okay.
Despite this, I no longer felt like talking.
Not long after, the carriage arrived at its destination.
