Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Impending Raid
“Sister…”
In a daze, I heard someone calling for me.
“Sis…ter…”
Crash bang boom—
Raging inferno blazed in my vision.
A sea of flames as scarlet as bl**d swallowed everything within a thousand miles, spewing thick black smoke. There stood a strangely dressed woman at the heart of the fire, her crimson hair cascading down her back, looking like an elegant silhouette.
But as the vision zoomed in, I realized that her figure was as massive as a mountain, swaying slowly, turning her head down, her hateful golden eyes gleaming like stars, seemingly staring right at me. A blazing flame flickered in the golden glow as that face gradually came into focus—the terrifying visage from the Land of Dragons.
“‘Abyssal Tongue’ Rabis… Hermes…”
Her voice was hoarse and sharp, as if coming from the end of the sky: “‘Abyssal Tongue’ We… victory and defeat remain uncertain… we will… compete once more… with the gift of infernal fire, through this body, I will… reignite the embers… the essence… revive…”
Whoosh—
The scorching flames swept past my eyes, and suddenly, everything vanished, leaving only endless darkness. Yet in the depths of that darkness, a piano floated, thin beams of golden light cascading from above like stage spotlights, illuminating the frail back of a white-haired girl sitting before it.
The melodious notes of the piano began to flow, and that girl flashed a playful smile, glancing back.
Her eyes, scarlet as bl**d, were vibrant and lively.
“‘Abyssal Tongue’ Chaos, infernal fire, Gidales… pure power of the deities…”
She tilted her head mischievously: “‘Abyssal Tongue’ There are already two… no, three such forces within your body, right?”
The music ceased, and the girl stood up from the piano.
“‘Abyssal Tongue’ So, do you understand what the abyss is now?”
I couldn’t utter a word, unable to respond.
“‘Abyssal Tongue’ The abyss is not a force of destruction, but a force of fusion… a power that merges all things, even deities are not exempt.”
Her face, strikingly similar to mine, quickly faded away, and the outline of the girl’s body also began to dissolve.
“‘Abyssal Tongue’ You cannot accept me, but in fact… fusion has always been quietly taking place. You see, you’ve long since stopped resisting the power of the abyss, haven’t you? Hee hee hee…”
“‘Abyssal Tongue’ I—”
She looked at her fading hand, stretching the end of her sentence long, playfully blinking her eyes: “‘Abyssal Tongue’ Do you know who I am?”
“Sister…”
Suddenly, that faint call came again.
“Sis—!”
The girl’s figure completely disappeared into the darkness.
In the next moment, I suddenly opened my eyes.
“Sister, wake up quickly! Something’s happened, something’s wrong!”
I shot up, my vision blurry for a moment, then gradually focused on the disheveled little girl in front of me, her face caught between sleepy and frantic.
Something’s happened…
!
I stared at Betty’s face, and after two or three seconds, I suddenly realized.
“Wha—what happened… Hah~”
My head was still buzzing, not fully recovered from the chaotic dream I just had. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, instinctively asking her as I slid my feet into my long boots, just as the little girl tossed my robe over my head.
“Knights! Knights! So many knights!!”
“Knights…?”
I fumbled to get dressed.
“Yep! From the east. No, from the west… Uncle Mond saw them first. The town’s in chaos! Grandpa’s negotiating with people about what to do! Sister, let’s hurry out and talk!”
In a rush, I threw on the robe, slapped my face to wake up, and little Betty tugged on my hand, racing toward the cellar door.
I was still a bit foggy, confused about why so many knights had suddenly appeared, feeling like I was still dreaming, my head spinning as she dragged me out of the cellar, up the narrow, steep staircase to the earthen house. I heard a commotion outside, and upon pushing the door open, chaos unfolded before me.
“What’s going on? Explain clearly! Why do we have to leave…”
“It’s those fake believers from the Western Continent! Gather your things, pack up and leave now!”
“They’re coming towards the town! With knights!”
“By the goddess’ blessing…”
“Cabata, you take people to the west and investigate!”
“Mayor—”
Under the night sky, shouts erupted along the dirt road as figures dashed around. The patrolling sword-wielders extinguished their torches, and the wind sandblasted my face—everywhere was a tangled mess.
“This way, Sister! This way—”
Little Betty dragged me across the dirt road toward a building diagonally across. I spotted Old Man Robert standing there, looking dejected, talking to a few armed men nearby. A woman holding a swaddled baby was next to them, the child crying loudly. As we ran over, all eyes turned to me.
“Y-Young Lady…”
The old man called out to me, his face a bit dazed, hands shaking slightly as he held his pipe, his lips trembling: “The church’s knights are coming…”
“Mommy…”
Betty released my hand and dashed toward the woman holding the baby, clinging tightly to her waist. Watching that scene, then glancing at the old man’s pale face, and seeing the men around me with clenched jaws—at that moment, it was as if I truly woke up from a dream.
What the heck…
The church knights are really coming?
And they seem to have quite a few?!?
What the heck!
This place is remote and desolate; there aren’t even many places along the way to get supplies. The church’s knight army? Just how many people are there? They just appeared out of nowhere!
A barrage of questions exploded in my mind, and I instinctively asked, “What’s going on?”
“Golden light! It was golden light… I saw the knights, the false believers, coming out of golden light… over there!”
The rugged man named Mond suddenly pointed towards the night sky in the west.
I turned to look. Amidst the gray clouds, wisps of flowing golden light still lingered, much like the aurora, illuminating a vast expanse of the brilliant night sky.
That’s…
Oh no, that’s a teleportation!
They set up a teleportation node over here!!!
Who did this?
When?
Panic churned in my heart.
d*mn it…
Who would suddenly come here at a time like this…
Angel?!?
“They’re clearly coming for Meiser Town, Young Lady.” Old Man Robert approached me, trembling, “The situation is dire. It’s no longer safe to stay in the town. You… you should…”
He hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth: “You should leave here as soon as possible.”
“……”
Leave here?
And then go where…
I haven’t even seen that woman yet…
“Mayor!”
Before I could speak, one of the men quickly stopped the old man: “She can’t leave here! Otherwise, what should we do? Those church knights are definitely coming for Meiser Town! We can’t just sit around and wait! But Miss Ailna isn’t here; right now, we only have the Young Lady… she should fight alongside us!”
As he spoke, that man cast a somewhat guilty glance at me before quickly looking away, his voice dropping a fraction: “We… we need her power…”
“Nonsense!”
Old Mayor took a deep drag of his pipe and pointed at him, reprimanding: “Fight alongside? What qualifications do you have to stand against the church army?! Do you know who’s coming? It’s that Sword Saint Ryan! You can’t—cough cough…”
Getting worked up, the old man was choked by the smoke and started coughing. Little Betty hurried to pat her grandpa’s back, while the men froze at the mention of “Sword Saint Ryan,” their earlier fervor dousing into silence, all collectively going mute.
“But…”
After a moment, the burly man named Mond gritted his teeth, showing a look of anguish: “But even if we give up resisting, those knights won’t spare us, right…”
