**Chapter 98: The Silly Saintess**
The golden light enveloping Margaret gradually faded into the stars.
She looked stunning as always, her injuries mostly healed. Except for a bit of dirt and the overly pale new skin on the right side of her cheek, she was still a beauty.
But boy, did she look tired.
“If you wouldn’t mind, I wish for you to accompany me back to the Royal City…”
She said this with a slightly anxious look.
She must be worried that this whole event left me with a bad impression of the Church and her. Margaret was hunching her shoulders, trying to appear calm, yet her eyes refused to meet mine.
But I was taken aback.
“You knew?”
“What…”
Margaret’s gaze snapped to me in shock.
“What are you wearing… Ah, your eyes…”
Huh?
My eyes?
“What’s wrong…”
“Your eyes are red now.”
What…
I instinctively touched my eyelids.
Red… Do I have that?
Seeing that I seemed genuinely clueless, Margaret asked, “Don’t you feel anything?”
I shook my head.
Nothing at all… Just a bit of a headache.
Lately, I’d been getting headaches for no good reason. It seemed like every time I used my powers, especially the Chaotic Power, I’d get them. I was starting to get used to it, not that I couldn’t bear it.
Forget it, let’s not dwell on that…
I looked at Margaret’s face and said solemnly, “The Abyss might be… right in the Royal City…”
She blinked in stunned silence, then grew pale.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded seriously, “Pretty much confirmed.”
Then I briefly explained the information I’d gathered from the Abyss Mud.
“Hallucinatory abilities… no wonder it could escape without a sound…”
Margaret murmured.
“I was planning to head back to the Royal City to summon the Raven and tell the Pope about the situation here so he could arrange a meeting with you… Now things have got complicated…”
She raised her index finger over her head, a faint golden light blooming from her fingertip, “Whoosh!”—tiny sparks shot into the night sky.
“Miss Silvya, if what you say is true, then that Abyss has already started eating people in the Royal City. I must leave immediately. I have to find that Abyss with the strange powers before things become irreparable… And as for a Pope Knight reinforcement, they should be on their way soon… I hope they make it in time. The Royal City is dangerous right now. If it is truly as you describe, and retains some humanity, maybe we can communicate with it…”
She paused, her eyes reflecting a hint of urgency.
“Are you still willing to help me?”
Of course, I was ready to help.
This was Victoria’s country; the Royal City was her home, and its people were her citizens. No matter what happened, I wouldn’t just stand by.
Moreover, the new Abyss recognized me; it remembered a lot, and I had a ton of questions for it.
But…
I tilted my head.
“Nero, what do we do?”
That fat guy had escaped.
He was incredibly dangerous. After our little showdown, his dislike for me would surely escalate into outright hatred. He would definitely strike again, this time planning it out meticulously, going all out to put me six feet under. Honestly, I was a bit scared.
It wasn’t that I was timid, but being remembered by someone wielding power from the top of the pyramid didn’t feel so great…
I had to k*ll him.
But before that, I needed to tackle the crisis in the Royal City, which was a bit more pressing.
I had to consult Margaret or rather the Pope’s opinions first.
“We’ll handle the matter with Nero. Please trust the Pope; he won’t let you suffer. After this, he’s probably angrier than you are… Given his nature, he might even take matters into his own hands.”
Margaret said earnestly as she tried to compose herself.
“Rest assured. Nero is badly injured; he’s been eroded by your Dead Smoke… that’s something no miracle or method can heal. Even with divine blessing, a human body remains fragile. If it weren’t, the Abyss wouldn’t be so terrifying… Where exactly did you injure him?”
“Chest, face… lots of places.”
Margaret burst out laughing at that.
“If it’s just arms and legs, he might cut them off to save himself. But the chest and head… then I can only pray to the Deity. Whether Nero survives is still a mystery; the power of Dead Smoke will continuously erode his flesh. He’ll have to constantly release his faith power to resist. The Church has fought the Abyss for hundreds of years, and this situation has occurred with high clergy before. The life-binding Dead Smoke may linger for months, even longer. It’s a long and painful process… So, it’s likely Nero won’t show up in front of you for quite a while… unless he’s trying to get himself killed.”
Hearing her say this, I felt a little better.
I thought miracles could do anything and heal everything…
Not long after, two nun riders from the Saintess Class galloped in on their Horned Horses. They were the only survivors this time. They had followed Margaret to the town, sporting some serious injuries. When Margaret came to help me, she told them to wait outside the town and keep an eye on the knights’ movements, rushing to join me when they got the signal.
When I was fighting Nero earlier, those knights had been left far behind, but they were still riding Horned Horses; it was odd that they were now silent. Upon asking the Saintess Class, I learned they had watched from the hills for a while before turning and leaving.
They actually ran away…
I quickly informed Margaret that the remaining knights were heading this way.
But Margaret had no intention of dealing with them.
“The vice captain of the Second Knights Order is Nero’s trusted aide; he won’t listen to me, and I don’t trust him. All the people I could trust are dead in the valley… This situation can’t just be smoothed over; they’ll all be punished.”
She gave instructions to the two nuns, one to pursue the fleeing knights while the other stayed behind to monitor the remaining group of under a thousand.
The War Chariot had been destroyed, but the packages full of food and clothes were still intact. Margaret’s nun outfit was in tatters; she needed a change of clothes. I glanced down at my own armor, spotting the terrifying crack on my abdomen, and I felt I could fix it using Chaotic Power. But I thought maybe I shouldn’t go to the Royal City dressed like this, so I also asked them for a nun outfit.
It was late at night.
The moonlight was hazy, and after I extinguished the surrounding flames with the Frost Order, I could barely see anything beyond five meters. I found a patch of grass, closed my eyes, and tried to connect with my armor.
Focused, just like manipulating the black flames…
After a moment, the sturdy armor wrapping my body gradually softened, transforming back into the pitch-black Abyss Mud and quickly slithering into my body.
Just as I expected.
Dead Smoke, black flames, and this Abyss Mud were essentially all manifestations of the Abyss’s Chaotic Power, differing only in their forms and attributes.
The special power that formed the armor was something I had stripped away from the Endless Abyss, a power I referred to as “Shaping”.
But I didn’t want to use these powers unless absolutely necessary…
The night breeze was chilly, brushing against me and giving me an involuntary shiver.
Not because I was cold, but out of a sudden wave of embarrassment at being exposed.
I quickly changed into the nun’s outfit, shook my hair free from the confines of my armor, and while running my fingers through it, walked over to Margaret.
The outfit was a bit large, feeling loose and saggy…
Margaret had also changed into a new nun outfit, one adorned with golden edges, identical to mine. She was standing next to the Horned Horse, hastily chewing on a piece of coarse bread, looking famished. When she saw me, she pulled out two more pieces from the package and handed them to me.
“Eat something; then we can head out.”
I was indeed a bit hungry, so I took it without a second thought and started munching, crumbs flying everywhere. In just a few seconds, I polished it off and blinked, staring at Margaret’s face.
She quickly shoved the last bite of her bread into her mouth.
“…That’s all.”
“……”
If there’s none, then there’s none! Why the rush?
“Let’s go.”
Margaret hopped onto the beast’s back, shifting her body forward to clear some space on the saddle.
“Get on.”
…Right, the War Chariot was gone.
I immediately shook my head, “I want to fly.”
“Do you want everyone to see your black flames?”
“……”
But…
“All those knights already know…”
There were too many people; there was no way to keep this quiet… Soon, I’d probably hear some bad rumors, right? Sooner or later they would—
“So what?”
Margaret’s slender waist stood tall as she gently stroked the beast’s shiny mane.
“Who would believe the words of a guilty person…”
I was momentarily stunned by her words.
Then it clicked, and I understood what she meant, as well as the fate awaiting those knights.
But judging by the situation in the valley, some of them were probably just forced into choices they didn’t want to make…
But what difference did that make?
They made their choices.
I shook my head, dismissing those tangled thoughts, mustered my courage, and walked forward, stepping onto the beast’s back.
Then I tightly wrapped my arms around Margaret’s waist.
“Ha—”
With a melodious breath, the Horned Horse took off into the night, galloping southward.
The night wind rushed in, flipping my hair into a chaotic mess. I clung to Margaret, inhaling her faint scent, and I couldn’t help but close my eyes, feeling a wave of fatigue wash over me.
So tired…
This is so bumpy.
Headache…
“It’s just the two of us now.”
After a while, I groggily heard Margaret speak.
“How ironic…”
She whispered, her tone filled with deep exhaustion and disappointment.
“I told you before to use facts to prove that you’re not who he thinks you are… Am I not silly?”
I didn’t know how to respond.
Margaret was indeed a bit silly for asking an Abyss if it was silly.
“I thought they only squabbled at court meetings, arguing endlessly for their interests, with each person sticking to their beliefs, unable to persuade one another. The Church has been this way for centuries, but when it comes to crucial matters, no one dares to act recklessly… How naive I was to believe that…”
She spoke while I listened quietly.
“There was a nun who followed me for several years, and she returned to the embrace of the Deity…”
“She was so meticulous, everything she did was methodical… And she just shattered right in front of me…”
“I hate them…”
