### Chapter 81: Before Leaving the City
The Abyss… quietly crawled out of the Abyss Mud when no one was looking…
This thought echoed in my mind twice.
After my brain experienced a brief blankness and my consciousness restarted, my first internal response was: This can’t be happening.
What a joke! Didn’t they say there were two legions over there? With such a commotion from the Abyss, how could anyone not notice… Are all those people blind? Or are their ears deaf? How could it just slip away without a sound? That’s ridiculous! What are the Church Knights even doing…
“Generally speaking, once the Abyss Mud starts bubbling, it indicates that the Abyss will soon awaken,” said Margaret from across me, casually chatting as if this wasn’t the end of the world, “Based on the last few hundred years of experience, except for those rare instances that show no signs beforehand, the cycle is roughly one to two months. But this Abyss is obviously different; the mud has been bubbling for ages, yet there’s still no sign of the monsters. This is extremely abnormal.”
“And under our careful watch, the Abyss Mud, after bubbling for quite a while, is now gradually settling down. Miss Silvya, you may know, or maybe you don’t; the Abyss Mud only calms down under two circumstances: the d*ath of the Abyss or ten days after the Abyss awakens… Which of these do you think we should prepare for?”
I stared into her face.
With a serene countenance, the Holy Maiden leaned slightly forward. She paused, her tone and expression becoming more serious.
“We must be ready for the worst-case scenario. That Abyss may have awakened for over ten days. And worse still, we currently have no idea where it is or what actions it will take. We’ve never encountered this situation before; this might be the most unique Abyss in history. But regardless of the reality, we need to figure everything out as quickly as possible.”
…d*mn it.
Margaret was right; I had been too naive.
But if that’s the case, where could the Abyss have gone… No news of any attacks… It’s likely still in the canyon… But if I just head over there, in the city… If something really does go wrong, I won’t even hear about it, let alone respond… And Victoria… What should I do…
“Miss Silvya, we have to head to Rabeli Valley as soon as possible, without a moment’s delay. If the Abyss really has already left the Abyss Mud, then the Holy Church needs your assistance to confirm its whereabouts. That monster is likely still hiding somewhere in the canyon. We must find it and eliminate it. Another Pope Knight is on his way to the Royal City; I don’t know if there’s enough time. Maybe by then, we’ll only have… Miss Silvya?”
Soft, pale fingers waved in front of my face, snapping me back to reality.
“I’m here…”
“Did you hear what I just said?”
“Yeah…” I grumbled, raking my fingers through my hair.
Argh! My head is such a mess…
“Prepare for battle as we leave the city. What else do you need? Weapons?” Margaret asked gently.
“At the mansion…”
“Then let’s go back first, get everything ready… Perhaps what we are about to face is something no one has ever imagined until now… Let’s hope it’s not.”
“But…”
The War Chariot raced forward, bouncing violently.
I lifted the carriage curtain to try and catch a glimpse of the southern battlefield, but my view was completely blocked by a series of tall buildings, making my mood even worse.
After hesitating for a moment, I couldn’t help but spill my anxiety, “What about the Royal City…”
The carriage fell silent for two seconds.
I irritatedly dropped the curtain and then heard Margaret take a deep breath.
“If all the Abysses could have empathy like you, that would be wonderful… Too bad they’re just cold-blooded monsters.” She sighed, or perhaps she was lamenting something, saying it softly.
“Miss Silvya, I understand what you’re worried about. But forgive me for saying this, what can you do by staying here? You can’t do anything.”
I know that…
“Human society is much more complicated than you think. It’s just like how there are countless warriors fighting to the d*ath on the city walls right now; every minute someone dies. They’re all children of the Deity, and perhaps just before they d*e, they’ll pray to the great beings… And here I am, as a Holy Maiden of the Church, just sitting in this carriage, repeating prayers in my heart, pretending not to hear the sounds outside… I’m sad, but that’s the rule for maintaining basic stability in the world. That’s why we need to understand our own value… Do you understand what I’m saying?”
I do…
“You and I, right now, can only help the Royal City by leaving and finding the Abyss, killing it. That’s the real help for the citizens of the city, for the people of Ethanbel to survive. Not hiding here, letting the monster devour lives and grow stronger until no one of us can—”
“Margaret.” I interrupted her.
The pure and pristine Holy Maiden sat up straight, all ears.
“First, we go to the mansion. Then, you take me to find Victoria, okay?”
“Uh…”
Margaret opened her lips to say something but stopped.
“I just need to talk to her. Just a few words. Then… we leave the city and go k*ll the Abyss.” I fixed my gaze on her, tightly pursing my lips, trying to project an undeniable aura.
After pondering for a moment, the Holy Maiden smiled gently at me.
“Okay.”
She agreed…
“Thank you.”
Margaret responded to my thanks with a kinder smile.
After a moment of silence, she turned her head slightly, as if casually adding, “Actually… the Church has secretly provided financial support to Her Majesty the Queen.”
That was all.
But it felt a little better inside.
“Yeah.”
…………
The War Chariot rolled into Longdoll Street and came to a gentle stop in front of Number 2 Mansion.
“Wait for me, I’ll be quick.”
I jumped down from the carriage, not looking back at Margaret.
I dashed to the big iron gate, leaped over the railing with my right foot, skimmed across the lawn, and jumped onto the terrace, grabbing the key from underneath the flower bed, opening the window, and running into the bedroom—all this took less than twenty seconds.
I wanted to take a shower, but time was tight… I quickly shed my dress, tossing it aside, kicked off my little boots, and grabbed a new black leather battle skirt from the wardrobe, putting on lace gauntlets, stockings, and hard-soled boots from Central Workshop… Once I was dressed, I tied my hair up, crouched down, opened a drawer in the wardrobe, took out my heart-shaped mirror, tucked it into my clothes, and rummaged through another drawer.
Strange…
I remember bringing it! Where could it be… Ah, found it!
I pulled out two cylindrical, finger-thick wooden tubes, waving them in front of my eyes, a smirk creeping onto my lips.
These were the smoke tubes I had scavenged from Valar—once made me nauseous…
Back then, I had wanted to take revenge and asked Hoover for them to use on Carlos, and then I completely forgot about it. Now… I need to hand it over to Victoria before I leave.
Just in case.
After stuffing the smoke tubes into my skirt pocket, I tilted my head and ran to the desk, took out a piece of stationery, and wrote a note for Aili: Sister is going away for a trip; we’ll meet again on the next Rest Day.
After folding the note and putting it into my skirt pocket, I quickly walked to the corner of the wall and slung Captain Gray’s black leather case over my shoulder.
That should do it.
Let’s go…
I exited the bedroom, locked the window, returned the key to the flower bed, and leaped down.
Thud!
I landed steadily on the lawn, my feet sinking slightly into the soft soil. I looked up to see the flourishing Honey Fruit Tree standing tall beside me.
…When I come back, I wonder if the fruit will be ripe?
It would be great if it was…
Not caring, I pulled my feet out of the dirt, left the courtyard, and leaped over the wall again, landing, then turning around to stuff the note into the gap by the stone pillar on the right side of the iron gate, tilting my head to ensure it was obvious enough. Aili should be able to find it at a glance if she comes looking.
“Are you ready?”
Margaret’s voice came from behind me.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“Then let’s hurry.”
“Mm.”
The moment I turned to get back into the carriage, my gaze accidentally caught a notice on the wall across the street—looked like another one of those missing person posters, but there were more of them this time… Huh?
Why does that middle picture look kind of familiar…
Forget it, let’s just go.
It wasn’t until the War Chariot had left Longdoll Street that I suddenly remembered where I had seen that face from the picture.
“Margaret.”
“What’s up?”
“That person I asked you about last time… the one I hurt…”
That night, I was hungry and tired and wandered into a tavern looking for food when a drunken man harassed me—despite his face being all red from booze and the picture being rough and simplistic, I still thought it looked somewhat similar, so I wanted to confirm with Margaret.
“Hmm?”
Margaret thought for a while, then seemed to realize, “Oh, sorry. I almost forgot about that… I asked the Bishop, and he said no injured man visited the church that night. The person you mentioned might not be as hurt as you think.”
…Is that so?
I hugged the leather case tight to my chest, fiddling with a strand of my black hair, my brows knitting together.
Let’s hope so…
But I can’t think about that now.
Creak… creak…
Three platinum-and-white War Chariots sped through the bustling streets.
As time passed, the rumbling sounds from the south had stopped, but the noise from outside the carriage only grew louder. I lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and saw a burning two-story building in the distance. Amidst the commotion, a woman wrapped in a gray-and-white scarf was tightly holding onto two children, a boy and a girl.
The younger girl was crying loudly while the boy just stared blankly, tugging at his mother’s clothing. They stood alone by the street, looking up at the burnt building, and when they heard the commotion from our War Chariot, they turned their confused gazes toward me.
That dazed expression made my eyes ache.
“Get out of here! You all need to leave!”
Several Royal City guards stepped forward, urging the woman to take her children away from the danger… The carriage slid past them, and I let the curtain fall.
The city isn’t destroyed.
But we were already at the foot of the walls, and the woman’s home was just splattered with fireballs… Fortunately, it seemed that everyone was okay.
Even so, I no longer felt like talking.
Shortly after, the War Chariot reached its destination.
