Chapter 133: Light and Dark (Thirty)
There stood a little girl in the middle of a deserted street, looking quite lost and possibly having dashed out of her house in a panic. Shockingly, she was completely bare, not a stitch on her, with a body that glistened like a slippery fish. At her feet lay a corpse clad in silver armor, and behind her, the ground was a gruesome canvas of dark brown bl**d.
She appeared dazed, frozen in place, looking down at her pristine hands as if they were the most interesting things in the world. She muttered something, but Duke Lex was too far away to catch her words.
A breeze swept through, stirring up the dust on the street.
The girl’s lovely silver hair danced lightly, revealing jewel-like, scarlet eyes hidden beneath her tousled locks.
She didn’t seem to notice him.
Whose child is this? What on earth is she doing here… isn’t she scared?
A hint of confusion crept in, but Duke Lex quickly pushed it aside.
He didn’t care much about what the little girl had gone through or how she ended up this way. What mattered to him was that she was alone—just her against the world.
And the young woman seemed to be nowhere nearby.
Maybe she went off to the north… which would be just perfect.
However, just to be cautious, Duke Lex began contemplating whether he should take a risk and run over to the little girl, snatching her up as a hostage. If that crazy girl really did find him, at least he’d have some bargaining chips instead of becoming a sacrificial lamb.
If he really needed a hostage, a kid was, well, a prime choice given his current condition.
But the problem was… there was a high chance the little girl would scream, and being down one arm meant he might not cover her mouth in time. Once she screamed, all bets were off… was this risk really worth taking?
After all, that crazy girl from Shanter Castle had a few screws loose; would threatening her with the life of a civilian even work?
Just then, as Duke Lex was caught in his dilemma, a figure suddenly stumbled out from an alley across the street.
His heart raced, and his head buzzed—he nearly shouted in alarm, thinking it was the young woman. But then he looked closely and recognized the familiar silver armor.
It was an Iron Guard.
cr*p…
Just when I didn’t need this!
The young Iron Guard was covered in bl**d, but unlike the previous crazies, he seemed a bit panicked rather than feral.
When he burst onto the street, he spotted the little girl standing there and froze, as if caught in a trap. After a moment’s hesitation, he took a few cautious steps toward her, all the while keeping his eyes darting around like a paranoid squirrel—until their gazes collided.
Both froze.
d*mn…
Duke Lex felt a sinking sensation in his heart.
He dared not act recklessly, pressing himself against the wall, fists clenched, praying that this Iron Guard wasn’t his son’s buddy, or at least not fiercely loyal enough to turn him in. In these desperate times, it would be nice if he could just turn a blind eye and let them both escape unscathed.
But fate had other plans. The Iron Guard kept staring at him, and Duke Lex could see his expression drastically shift before he slowly unsheathed his sword.
“Look who’s come to join the party… haha, it’s Lord Lex!”
With the eyes of a fierce wolf, the Iron Guard shouted his name, lunging forward with his sword at full gallop.
“This glory is all mine—”
Oh for crying out loud.
Duke Lex was panicking and furious, wishing he could skewer the guy like a shish kebab. But since he ditched his sword back in the alley to lighten his load, he had almost no means to defend himself. He couldn’t afford to be quiet anymore; he just bolted.
But two steps later, he noticed that the little girl had finally caught wind of the commotion. She looked up.
In an instant, a dark mist erupted from her smooth body, twisting like a serpent, soaring toward the Iron Guard and enveloping his form, before passing right through him.
Everything happened in a flash—Duke Lex barely had time to react, let alone comprehend what was happening. All he heard was a loud ‘clank’ as the Iron Guard’s sword hit the ground.
The Iron Guard’s face morphed into one of confusion, his wide eyes still fixed on Duke Lex. Then, with a thud, he fell to his knees. The silver armor was swiftly engulfed by ugly, charred marks, spreading like a virus, creeping up his face, accompanied by a sound reminiscent of flesh sizzling on hot coals.
“Ahhhhh—”
The Iron Guard let out a heart-wrenching scream, his face frozen in agony, as he was rapidly consumed by the black mist, turning into dust before Duke Lex’s eyes, just like the previous monster.
Meanwhile, pale blue light swirled up, intertwining with the black smoke, and returned to the little girl’s body.
Duke Lex stood there, dumbstruck.
He watched the tiny ashes swirling in the wind, the remnants of black smoke hovering nearby, evaporating into nothingness.
He stared at the little girl still standing far away; his body felt as cold as ice, paralyzed with fear, unable to move.
She noticed him.
That pair of eyes, which he’d just marveled at for being as bright as gems, now glinted menacingly, narrowing as if he were nothing more than a tasty treat trapped in a cage.
Boom—
A distant yet earth-shattering sound exploded in Duke Lex’s mind.
He recalled all those whispers he had dismissed in the past.
The Church’s over-the-top tales of the “great human enemy”—terrifying beasts that crawled out of a chasm known as the “Abyss.”
According to the stories, these monsters emitted deadly black smoke that could devour all life, feasting on souls to grow their powers. They possessed an insatiable hunger and chaotic power that shouldn’t even exist.
Pure “destruction”… sounded pretty terrifying.
But Duke Lex never bought into it.
He always believed that the Church exaggerated these monsters’ existence, promoting so-called “heroes” who fought against them, namely the Pope Knights endorsed by the Pope himself, simply to solidify the Church’s grasp on power, making fools out of the masses, convincing them they couldn’t survive without the Church.
That was it.
Maybe those monsters did exist, but certainly not as mystical as the clerics claimed—no matter that Cardinal Nero had once let slip some inside info, Duke Lex brushed it off.
Because many things simply didn’t hold water.
Like the whole soul-devouring bit… what even is a soul? Can anyone explain that clearly?
Nope.
Not even the clerics could give a coherent answer.
Because souls don’t really exist; they were just a concocted idea the Church dreamed up. Even the original creators of that concept probably hadn’t thought it through—after all, the gullible would always believe it. Just like those so-called “deities,” the Church says they grant humanity blessings… but has anyone ever actually seen one?
Nope.
Just a bunch of tricks to con the masses.
Duke Lex never bought the Church’s spiel; he always trusted his own judgment—the earlier disaster in the Royal City had clearly been caused by those dark-robed heretics and Teresa, while the papers blamed it on Abyss monsters… just based on that, he scoffed at their claims.
What monsters… what heroes…
Pure manipulation tactics.
Before today, that’s precisely how he thought.
But in this moment, Duke Lex suddenly understood—perhaps everything the Church claimed was, in fact, true.
Terrifying black smoke devoured the soldiers, pale blue light erupted forth, entering the little girl’s body… this scene looked strikingly like… soul consumption.
And those frenzied Iron Guards, the dead monster, and the girl who had fought the monsters… wasn’t this all just like what the rumors described?
Duke Lex got it.
No wonder…
No wonder, after all this time, the Church hadn’t reacted positively. No wonder the Saint and Miss Peilo left the city. No wonder Cardinal Nero had hinted to him that the Church was too busy to handle the Royal City.
It was because… they were off handling the monsters from the Abyss.
And now, for reasons unknown, that very monster had come to the Royal City, right in front of him.
Suddenly, a wave of pure, crippling terror crashed over him.
Duke Lex stared back at the little girl, who was fixated on him like a deadly snake watching its prey. He dared not move, nor even breathe loudly, unsure of her intentions, feeling ice cold and a stream of sweat rolling down his face.
d*mn…
Why did it have to be a little girl… could those previous monsters really turn into humans?
What should he do now…
How could he survive this dreadful disaster… and escape the Royal City alive…
