Chapter 171
Chapter 171: Azure Flames Consume the Moon, Blood Stains the Royal City (Part 5)
***
The hidden wall at the end of the passage was open, and through the flickering firelight, I could vaguely make out the cellar beyond.
Almost there... 50 meters... 30 meters... just a little more... hang in there...
My calves had gone past pain into numbness.
My feet... I can't feel my feet anymore.
I couldn't even tell if I was still running. There was no sensation of my feet hitting the ground, I felt like I was floating, I was afraid that at any second I'd suddenly trip and fall, and never get back up again.
The good news was, the distance between me and the exit kept shrinking.
15 meters... 10 meters... 5 meters...
A gust of hot air brushed against my cheeks.
The next second, the narrow walls suddenly opened up before me, and the scorching heat around me dropped sharply. I finally emerged from the hidden passage, back in the same cellar where this all started.
The flames hadn't reached here yet.
Sizzle...
The leg armor, seared a deep red, pressed against my skin and let off a thin stream of smoke. The sound coming from my feet and calves scared me... they were probably done for. Strangely, the pain wasn't as sharp as before.
But they could still move.
This wasn't the time to let my guard down. Elle and the little boy wouldn't be safe until we were out of the clock tower.
Rumble rumble rumble—
Without warning, the entire cellar began to shake. A relentless, thunderous rumbling came from behind me, and I stumbled from the impact.
It's going to collapse...
The moment that thought hit me, I frantically scanned my surroundings, recalled from memory where the cellar ladder was, set the 2 children down and grabbed them back up again, then staggered toward it. I bent my knees, and leaped.
BANG—!
The wooden boards covering the cellar hatch went flying as I headbutted them open. Dust and splinters exploded everywhere. I burst up through the floor with the 2 children in my arms, rolling into a pile of debris on the ground floor of the clock tower.
The moment I landed I let go, setting Elle and the little boy down among a heap of wooden planks. The momentum carried me rolling a few more times. I came to a stop, sat up immediately, and opened my palms toward my legs, spraying ice mist to cool them down.
Hisssss—
The instant the steam rose, a tearing, soul-rending agony ripped through my nerves.
"Nngh—"
I threw my head back and bit down hard on my lip to keep from screaming. My trembling body writhed desperately, searching for even the smallest relief, but it was no use. The intense pain suddenly blacked out my vision, and I nearly lost consciousness.
Rumble rumble rumble...
The ground continued to tremble faintly.
The leg armor gradually cooled down, locking against my legs in a thin layer of frost.
The skin underneath must be completely destroyed... My legs kept shaking uncontrollably, beyond all control. Cold sweat dripped down my cheeks, soaking a wide patch on my back.
The pain eased, just slightly.
I slumped to the ground, breathing hard, and turned my head to check on Elle... She looked completely unharmed.
Thank goodness...
The muffled rumbling from below grew louder and clearer. The entire clock tower began to sway, and dust rained down from overhead.
I couldn't stay here, I had to get them somewhere safe.
I propped myself up on my elbows against the uneven ground, struggling to stand. One try, then another...
I couldn't get up. My legs were like rubber, with nothing in them at all.
...Fine. I'll crawl.
I flung Captain Grey onto my back, gritted my teeth, and crawled on my stomach through the debris and wooden planks until I reached the 2 children. Then, all at once, my calves started to itch.
Had the flames burned through the nerves in my legs...? Whatever. A good night's sleep will fix it.
I didn't dwell on it. I reached out and picked up Elle, tilted my head in thought for a moment... there was no way I could carry the little boy too.
Get Elle out first... so itchy... I really want to scratch...
Why are my legs so itchy...
A few seconds later, the itch deepened, until it felt like countless insects burrowing and crawling beneath my skin, an itch so unbearable I couldn't leave it alone. I couldn't stop myself. I set Elle down, twisted around, grabbed my legs, and scratched like mad.
So itchy... so itchy!!
My whole body started itching.
My hands flew all over myself in a frantic frenzy. I was almost being driven out of my mind.
What's wrong with me...
I looked down at my body.
Through the torn holes in my black skirt, the horrific burns left by the Fire of Sin were moving. The charred skin was visibly shifting, healing at a speed I could actually see with the naked eye.
This is...
After staring blankly for 2 seconds, I also realized — my legs could move again.
I rotated my ankles, then tried once more to stand up... It was easy.
I couldn't quite believe it. I bounced on the spot a couple of times, then quickly pulled my silk stocking leg armor down a little to check the skin underneath... My entire lower leg was smooth and flawless, as if it had never been hurt at all. The other wounds on my body followed suit, the charred dead skin gradually flaked away, revealing beneath it fresh, porcelain-like skin, reborn.
The unbearable itching faded away, and for a moment it felt as if my entire being had been renewed, brimming with energy.
The power of the Abyss... has grown again...
Rumble rumble rumble...
The clock tower's swaying was getting worse.
...Never mind, this isn't the time to think about it.
I shook my head, threw out the clutter running through my mind, bent down, scooped up Elle and the little boy, and ran for the exit.
Out through the archway, I immediately sensed something was off.
Something had changed... something was missing... what was it...
BOOM—
A massive crash rang out in the distance. I spun around at once, looking toward where the sound had come from.
About 50 meters away across the lawn, in the pale moonlight, the silver-haired nun stood holding her double-bladed great axe in one hand, gripping the hook-nosed man by the head, she swung him overhead in a wide arc and slammed him into the ground.
BANG!
Dirt flew everywhere.
The next moment, Lecter's phantom-like figure emerged silently from the darkness, cutting through the air in an instant and vaulting to the top of Theresa's head. The short blade in his hand, about the length of a forearm, flashed cold and sliced toward her neck. Theresa reacted on instinct, she twisted aside, dodging the ambush by a hair's breadth, then kicked high with her right foot, leaving an afterimage, and sent Lecter flying a full 10 meters away with a single "BANG." At the same time, she snatched the hook-nosed man, who was still struggling on the ground, back up and slammed him down again.
BANG!
She picked him up again, slammed him down.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
After a few of those, the hook-nosed man's body had gone completely limp. Theresa grabbed him by the head and casually hurled him away. He hit the ground in the distance, twitched twice, and went still.
He was dead... I spotted someone from the Sword of Kanri by the wall trying to rush in and take a shot at her... No. They're no match for Theresa...
I gently set the 2 children down on the ground.
I stood up, unhooked Captain Grey from around my body, and pulled the trigger.
Click click click—
The cold great scythe took shape in my hands. My feet shifted beneath me without thinking, and I broke into a Moon Step sprint, charging forward.
The gale howled past my ears.
My tattered skirt cracked like a whip behind me, and in an instant I was at Theresa's side, I raised the scythe and swung it down.
"Ahh—!"
CLANG!
The blade bit into the back of her axe.
She blocked it, her reflexes are insane...
Even so, the surprise attack still sent her stumbling. Theresa didn't look back. She immediately ducked low and lunged forward, putting distance between us at speed.
"...Just as I expected."
As if she'd seen this coming all along, she turned around in the same motion, and smiled.
I quietly raised my guard, keeping my eyes locked on her, and called out to Lecter behind me: "Lecter—! The 2 children over there! Get them somewhere safe!"
Theresa blinked, looking genuinely surprised.
"You actually brought people out with you? Through flames like that... impressive, truly impressive!"
She smoothed back a few stray strands of silver hair.
"Even better, actually... even better. Now there's nothing between us to hold back either side. We can go all out... and have ourselves a real fight."
BOOM—
The massive axe blade crashed down into the earth, and the dust it kicked up scattered quickly in the night wind.
"Come then, Miss Sylvia..."
A smile spread across her face, warm, and absolute.
"Theresa Antoniel, the 3rd Councilor of the Gate of Truth, the Daughter of Betrayal... I humbly ask for your guidance."