Chapter 93

“It’s more chaotic than I imagined.”

I had thought that being a Count would mean a respectable status and a considerable fortune, but that was merely my misunderstanding.

“I don’t want to eat this!”

“Aida, there are many people outside who are starving because they have even less than this. You shouldn’t complain.”

Aida, my younger sister, threw the bread aside and burst into tears, while our father, Count Bradley Somerset, sternly chastised her.

I glanced at the food placed before me, thinking that the dining scene in a noble household might resemble that of an ordinary family.

On the table lay a thin, unidentifiable soup and bread that resembled rocks in hardness.

Certainly, these were not appetizing dishes for even a child.

Resolving to eat, I attempted to dip the bread into the soup, but just as I broke it apart—

Crack!

Did I just hear the sound of wood splintering?

Chapter 93, 13:01, noon has arrived, and the end times have begun.

“Thank you, stop here. The path up the mountain is difficult.”

At the foot of Creek Mountain, a plain four-wheeled carriage stopped on a small road.

A gentle male voice came from inside the carriage, and the coachman in front controlled the horses to stop.

The door opened, and one left foot stepped out of the carriage, landing on the stone-paved path.

“Hey! Move aside!”

Accompanied by the coachman’s shout and the horse’s neigh, another carriage sped past, splashing mud onto the man’s high leather boots.

“No need for change.”

After getting off the carriage, the man handed a five-shilling silver coin to the coachman and looked ahead at the stopped carriage.

The window of the noble carriage in front opened, revealing a thin man with a goatee covering his head with a tall hat, peering out at the man who had just gotten off the carriage by the roadside.

Once the tall, slender nobleman saw the man’s well-dressed attire and the expensive gold watch on his wrist, he got out of the carriage, holding a wooden silver-plated hand, and apologized:

“Sorry, sir, my foolish coachman accidentally dirtied your boots… Are you going to Derton Manor?”

“I’m fine, sir. My butler will nag if he sees my shoes without any dirt after returning from a walk.”

Prager pulled up his hat slightly with his right hand, smiling and gesturing to the nobleman in front.

“Yes, I am going to Derton Manor.”

“This gentleman is truly a model of generosity,”

The nobleman turned back and saw his daughter peeking out of the window, seemingly curious about what was happening. He looked at the man again and said, “There is still some distance to go up the mountain. It would be an honor if this gentleman could join us in the carriage for the journey.”

This gentleman was well-dressed, elegant, and articulate. The nobleman was intrigued by the idea of getting to know him.

“No need, sir. I prefer walking up the mountain, breathing in the fresh air.”

Prager shook his head and walked up to the nobleman, curiously asking,

“By the way, sir, may I ask why so many people are heading to Derton Manor in Borough City.”

“I’ve seen quite a few carriages heading up the mountain already.”

The nobleman held his cane in front of him with both hands, smiling and saying, “Just call me Hastings, sir. Are you new to Borough City? Derton Manor is hosting an event, and I was invited by a friend to attend.”

“Oh… No wonder,”

Prager nodded slightly and reached into his pocket, pulling out a delicate handmade business card, handing it to the Baron, “Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier. I’m Prager, a director of Bliss Maritime Company. If you need any maritime or river transport services, feel free to contact me. I can offer you some discounts.”

“Haha, thank you, Mr. Prager. Don’t worry about it, we’ll meet at the estate later. Don’t refuse a drink when we do.”

“Of course.”

Hastings took the business card and returned to the carriage, instructing the coachman to continue up the mountain. Prager continued walking up the mountain.

“Father, who is that? What happened?”

Hastings’ daughter asked curiously from inside the carriage.

“The carriage almost hit this gentleman, but fortunately, he was quite tolerant and didn’t mind.”

Hastings smiled and said, “I plan to introduce you to him, but he seems content with walking.”

“Why do you always want to introduce me to strangers?”

Amy Hastings moved away from the baron, looking annoyed.

“Ever since you graduated from the academy, you’ve mostly stayed at home and haven’t made any friends. I’m just trying to help you make some connections.”

The baron chuckled awkwardly.

“Ha, you’re just tired of me and want to marry me off quickly.”

Amy crossed her arms, huffing.

“Uh… Haha…”

The baron tried to ease the tension with a laugh, saying, “That gentleman was humorous and cultured, a good person… I can tell.”

He was also the director of a shipping company. If he were unmarried, he’d be the perfect son-in-law—though Hastings didn’t say that aloud.

“If someone is humorous, cultured, and a good person, would you agree to let me date them?”

Amy looked at the baron and asked.

“Of course.”

The baron nodded slightly.

“Even if she’s a woman?”

Amy pressed further.

Hastings Baron: “??”

His daughter had never been interested in Derton Manor before and had even advised him not to go. He only attended events when necessary, but this time, she not only didn’t stop him but even asked if the Rossul family’s daughter would be attending.

Borough City’s aristocratic circle wasn’t large, and Hastings knew that the Rossul daughter almost always attended such events, though he hadn’t had the chance to speak to her himself.

This time, his daughter asked if it would be okay if she were a woman…

A cold sweat trickled down Hastings’ forehead.

“My dear daughter, I have a question to ask,”

Hastings looked at his daughter, trembling slightly as he spoke, “Could it be that you fancy the Rossul daughter?”

“Ha.”

Amy turned away, looking out the window, ignoring her father.

She didn’t even know the Rossul daughter. She just wanted to see the girl who had given her the antidote after getting off the Rossul family’s carriage.

What’s wrong with Xia’er…

She didn’t even come to the graduation ceremony…

Since that tea party, Xia’er had disappeared like a ghost. She had sent servants to Clock Tower Lane District to look for her but couldn’t find her. It seemed she had moved away.

The next time they met, Xia’er was riding the Rossul family’s carriage to give her holy water.

Xia’er…

She must have been kidnapped by the Rossul daughter! Forced to stay due to her power!

I need to find Xia’er and get her to explain everything.

If it’s true, she could run away with Xia’er to An Su, keeping it a secret from everyone…

Naive Amy didn’t know that An Su was actually the heart of the Rossul family’s territory.

Creek Mountain, Derton Manor, the parlor.

“Hmm… hmm… hmm…”

Adelle lay on the chip table, humming boredly.

The card game was fun at first, but after a few hours, even Adelle was feeling a bit tired.

Plus, since morning, Adelle hadn’t eaten anything—she was too afraid to eat anything from Derton Manor, fearing she might be poisoned by cultists.

Turning her head towards Xia’er, Adelle’s face was pressed against the table, slightly deformed. She lay there, pitifully watching Xia’er.

She knew that looking at Aviana would make her feel ignored, but looking at Xia’er was different.

Seemingly sensing Adelle’s resentful gaze, Xia’er looked in her direction. The system screen flashed, showing the time as “12:58”.

“Are you hungry?”

Xia’er asked with a smile.

“Yes! Thank you! Sorry…”

Adelle straightened up and nodded vigorously, then slumped back down.

With just “yes”, “thank you”, and “sorry”, Adelle had used up all her skills.

“It’s alright. Wait a few more minutes, and we’ll leave.”

Xia’er comforted Adelle and continued looking at the card table.

They were playing Klondike Solitaire, a very patient single-player card game. Xia’er, already distracted, had fallen behind Aviana considerably.

Aviana could sense that Xia’er was deliberately slowing down.

Xia’er was stalling, delaying the arrival of the Bishop of the Holy Presence she had mentioned earlier.

13:01.

What could she possibly be planning for that time?

Is someone behind Xia’er planning something?

Aviana continued flipping cards, cooperating with Xia’er’s act.

As time ticked closer, Aviana steadily completed her solitaire.

She subtly checked the time by raising her glasses.

13:0…

“What bad luck.”

The figure before her was undoubtedly a Bishop. She could feel the same sensation from Georgeine, which made her unable to muster any offensive desire.

At this moment, Jiti could only consider herself unlucky to have encountered a mad Bishop.

She had to find a way to leave quickly.

“Cough, cough…”

Jiti feigned severe injury, spitting out blood, and fell to the ground, saying, “Your humble servant has completed all tasks as instructed. Is there anything wrong with your lowly servant?”

Prager was both surprised and furious. He looked at Jiti kneeling nearby and could clearly sense that she had lowered her position significantly. Her words contained no lies.

Who?

Who was impersonating his identity?

Or was there another Bishop who had come before him?

No… That’s not right…

Plop —

A drop of blood fell onto Prager’s mask.

He slowly raised his hand to wipe away the blood on his mask. Prager looked up at the dome of the cathedral.

In the darkness above, something terrifying and evil seemed to be stirring in the places where the firelight did not reach.

As he gazed at that darkness, Prager felt his spiritual alert go off with a loud bang in his mind.

“Radiant Bishop” Prager suddenly raised his hand!

A white figure shot straight for the dome, then exploded like a holy light bomb, illuminating the entire stone dome with pure light!

At the same time, the white figure illuminated the blood threads that seemed to be alive, twisting above the dome. The entire dome appeared like a giant heart, pulsating rhythmically with the movement of those blood threads.

Many believers were already disturbed by the light above them, lifting their heads, expecting to see a divine miracle.

But the moment they saw the blood threads above, many of them started hearing eerie screams in their minds.

No… That’s not right…

Prager stared wide-eyed, feeling his scalp tingle.

The Jiti kneeling in front of him had also lifted her head and seen the terrifying blood formation above. She reacted faster than Prager, and her white figure rushed towards the wooden door behind the Bishop, almost breaking free.

“Sssshhh…”

A blood thread pierced through the dome, straight through Jiti’s head and into her heart, dragging her upward as she struggled.

Countless blood threads began to descend from above, lifting one corpse after another. In the process, many bodies were drained of life, turning into dried husks.

No… No!!!

Behind Prager, the white figure suddenly emerged, two white figures rushing towards the back door, four white figures lunging at the dark red vortex forming above.

He had to destroy this terrifying ritual array before it fully formed! If not, he could still escape using “Shadow Shifting”!

Sssshhh —

The white figure rushing towards the back door was torn apart by something unknown when it reached the edge of the blood array above, causing intense pain, seemingly transmitted from the spirit, almost making Prager scream.

He quickly moved away from the direction of the door, fearfully looking up at the gradually forming blood vortex.

Nearly everyone was dragged towards the top, their flesh like sacrifices, transmitted through the complex network of blood threads above to the dark vortex in the center.

A star-like light drifted out from the seemingly bottomless vortex.

Prager’s mind went blank.

All the delusions, fears, and pains seemed to vanish, leaving only a familiar and warm sensation, as if his flesh were merging with something.

Mother Goddess… above…

Prager knelt on the ground, looking up in horror at the vortex above.

The starlight drilled into Jiti’s hanging, mutilated body, causing her flesh to rot and swell, forming a horrifying blood cocoon.

The cocoon hardened bit by bit, pulsating as if it were alive. Through the remaining holy light, one could see a beautiful, ultimate life form being nurtured inside the translucent shell.

Crack —

The blood cocoon cracked open, and a figure slowly descended, its insect wings flapping, emitting a wailing buzz.

“Servant of the God… Great One…”

Prager’s emotions began to tremble. He watched the inhuman figure before him, his emotions nearing madness.

Under his gaze, the “Servant of the God” slowly raised its head, looking toward the dome.

Its gaze seemed to pierce through the corpses and the terrifying blood array hanging above, through the stone dome, to the entity beyond.

“Mother Goddess… Great One.”

The Servant’s face split open, revealing a bloody mouth, as if calling out to some entity above.

Mother Goddess Great One?!

Prager looked up in surprise, staring at the dome above.

Who was up there?

Who had the qualifications to be called Mother Goddess by the Servant of the God?!

The blood array couldn’t have been drawn and triggered without someone nearby performing the ritual!

The words Jiti had said earlier flashed through Prager’s mind.

No… It wasn’t someone impersonating himself or the Bishop…

The person who had instructed them to complete these rituals…

Was the representative of the Mother Goddess! The earthly incarnation of the Mother Goddess!

It’s the Holy Maiden!!!

“I… understand, Mother Goddess…”

The Servant seemed to receive some kind of instruction, its gaze slowly turning to Prager.

A blood thread emerged from its wound, splitting and drilling into Prager’s body.

Prager knelt devoutly, spreading his arms, watching the blood tendrils creeping over him, his head raised in madness, shouting:

“Mother Goddess above!!!”

The blood tendrils entered his body, gradually draining it dry.

The distant Servant, feeling the surge of blood energy, its body swelled with new lumps.

It began the second stage of transformation…

—

In the Derton Manor’s parlor in Creek Mountain.

“I won.”

Xia’er smiled and placed the last card on the pile, then turned to Adelle and said, “Let’s go. We should get something to eat in town.”

Adelle: “!”

Aivana: “?”

After hearing Xia’er’s words, Adelle practically jumped to her feet. Normally, she would go to bed early, eat three meals a day, but today she hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch, and she was already dizzy with hunger.

Aivana, on the other hand, was filled with confusion.

Her distraction had caused her to lose the game, but… why wasn’t there any change she had expected?

Could something have happened that she didn’t notice?

They left the parlor, walked down the corridor, and arrived at the front hall. Just as they were about to step outside the gate, a strange phenomenon occurred.

The horses in the stables seemed to have gone mad, dragging carriages everywhere, causing chaos.

A faint spiritual alert gradually sounded in Nia’s mind, gradually covering the original potion whispers.

Nia abruptly raised her hand, seemingly sending out some intelligence. A warhorse wearing silver armor charged out of the stable, dragging the carriage to a stop in front of the group.

“Get in the carriage, Miss Aivana! There’s danger!”

Nia whispered to Aivana, directly lifting her into the carriage.

Adelle also jumped into the carriage in fright, turning to look at Xiaer, shouting: “Yes yes yes!!!”

“Get in the carriage!”

Aivana stretched out her hand from the carriage, anxiously urging Xiaer.

At this moment, not only Nia, but also Aivana and other Extraordinary People heard the terrifying spiritual alert.

But Xiaer stood still, as if listening to something.

Behind him, panicked Extraordinary People were running toward the gate. Xiaer extended his right hand, holding Aivana’s soft hand. After pulling her onto the carriage, he turned back, using his left hand to snap his fingers.

Tap —

This snap echoed in Aivana’s ears.

Immediately after, a terrifying aura surged from the Derton Manor behind, causing the ground to shake.

“Whinnyyyy!!!”

The warhorse let out a tragic neigh. Under Nia’s control, the carriage jolted violently as they sped down the mountain road.

The three of them peered through the transparent carriage windows, seeing the terrifying scene behind them, like an earthquake.

Aivana was almost certain… this was all Xiaer’s doing.

At this moment, Xiaer saw a familiar figure amidst the chaos, his pupils shrinking slightly.

Protect her —

Xiaer managed to send one last instruction to the spiritual being before leaving… she was the one who couldn’t stay here long.

Under Xiaer’s command, the spiritual being had already restrained its terrifying fluctuations to the extreme, but this sacrifice included a third-rank Bishop—Xiaer didn’t know what would happen when sacrificing a third-rank Bishop. She could only ensure that the spiritual beings wouldn’t attack anyone except cultists.

The carriage gradually moved away, with the distant Creek Mountain seeming to have erupted into a rebellion. Birds and beasts were fleeing in a frenzy.

—

Meanwhile, outside the Clock Tower Lane District in Borough City, in a hotel, Missionary Yulis suddenly looked up, her lifeless eyes staring at the direction of Creek Mountain.

Her vision seemed to penetrate through all walls and obstacles. In her dark field of view, a terrifying, massive shadow with eight pairs of insect wings was stretching out, kneeling in a certain direction.

This apocalyptic scene made Yulis’ heart skip a beat. The frightening, blurry shadow brought back memories of what she had experienced when her eyes were still intact…

“Quick! Does the Clock Tower Church have any materials for Spirit Communication?! I need to contact the Church immediately!!!”

Yulis suddenly turned to face the “Reformed Monk,” completely unaware that blood was streaming down her face.

“Yes… Yes! We still have the last material, hidden and unused!”

The “Reformed Monk” seemed to sense something, quickly getting up and leading Yulis toward the Clock Tower Church.

That… is something from the Arrival Sect… the Arrival Sect! Hidden in Borough City?!

This commotion… is the Church hiding in the outskirts of Borough City?!

Have they really awakened the Mother Goddess?!

No no no! They are just a cult, they don’t have a Holy Maiden! How do they communicate with the deities?!

The Arrival Sect… also has a Holy Maiden?!

The first cult Holy Maiden… has appeared?!

Yulis’ mind was filled with terrifying thoughts, nearly shaking her faith. At this moment, she could only pray that the Salvation Goddess Church would quickly send a Bishop… no, a higher-ranking strong figure!

—

“Dad! Dad!”

People were surging, debris falling. The once peaceful Derton Manor now looked like it had experienced a terrifying earthquake, with people rushing toward the exit.

Amy was the first to reach the entrance, but thinking of her father still inside, she pushed against the crowd and returned to the front hall, anxiously calling out for her father.

“Amy!”

In the chaos, Baron Hastings seemed to hear Amy’s call. He fought through the crowd and spotted Amy hiding beside a huge pillar, avoiding the rush.

And above Amy, the giant crystal chandelier was swaying precariously.

“Amy!!!”

Baron Hastings rushed toward Amy, leaping forward, unable to push her away in time. He stumbled heavily in front of Amy, struggling to rise, then embraced her, pressing her beneath him.

The swaying chandelier emitted a sharp screech of metal fatigue and then plummeted down.

Lying on the ground, Amy’s gaze passed over Baron Hastings’ shoulder, her eyes widening as she saw the giant crystal chandelier approaching closer…

Am I… going to die?

I can’t find Xiaer… she’s probably not here… it’s good that she’s not here…

Dad, I’m sorry…

Buzz —

A faint buzzing sound echoed in Amy’s mind, followed by a crystal chandelier hovering just a meter in front of her.

A flickering, indistinct white shadow dragged the giant chandelier, hovering in mid-air.

The white shadow’s face turned slightly, looking at the terrified Amy lying on the ground, tilting its head in confusion.

A muffled hum whispered, drowning out all surrounding noise, echoing in Amy’s mind.

“Can you… see me?”

The white shadow looked at Amy, who showed no reaction, then turned to the direction Xiaer had gone, its thoughts momentarily confused.