Chapter 37

Chapter Eleven: Marching Towards the Vallan Empire

“Alright, no problem. But… I have a few curious things I want to ask.”

Carlos gently massaged my back, as if casually asking offhandedly, but his eyelids would occasionally lift to cautiously observe my expression.

“…What is it? Ask me.”

Seeing through his demeanor, I said with no patience.

“Your body… aside from being able to use the chaos power of the Abyss, there’s nothing different from a human in every aspect… You understand what I mean, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

I closed my eyes and leaned comfortably against the chair.

“So, which one is your true self between this human body and the Abyss body I killed before? To put it differently, can you still turn back into your original form?” Carlos chose his words carefully before continuing, “This might be hard to understand, so let me rephrase it. Can you still change back to your original appearance?”

“I… don’t know.”

I wasn’t lying. I was truly confused about the connection between the human body and the monster body. But… I had a feeling, just a feeling.

That maybe I could still transform back into the Abyss form, but I hadn’t figured out how yet.

And I didn’t dare to try. If I couldn’t come back… then I’d rather keep living in this girl’s body.

I didn’t plan on telling Carlos about this.

“When you fought the endless Abyss in the village, I saw those blue arms. Didn’t you feel anything strange at that time?”

“No. It felt like controlling my own arm.”

“How strange…” Carlos stroked his beard, muttering to himself, “I don’t get it… There’s no reason for it.”

“It is strange.”

“…Forget it, forget it. Don’t think about it. I was just curious. But if something happens, you must tell me right away.”

As he spoke, Carlos seemed relaxed and casual, but his eyes conveyed a sincere emotion.

I nodded at him.

Next, Carlos gave me some advice about my health.

He didn’t have much experience in this area, so all he could say were trivialities like “don’t catch a chill,” but they were words filled with care.

These words were comforting.

Carlos knew my situation better than anyone else. He had seen my terrifying true form, seen me take countless lives with a wave of my hand, and then devour their souls… Although Carlos told me that wasn’t the soul, but something else he couldn’t understand either.

When we first met, Carlos attacked me with a blade, leaving no room for explanation.

I remember his gaze at that time.

Cold, repulsive, even a hint of… hatred.

But at least at this moment, Carlos subconsciously regarded me as a human, not a monster from the Abyss.

Perhaps he didn’t even realize it himself.

According to Carlos, he was sure that the two strikes he delivered were enough to kill me. Just like the other monsters he had slain before, their bodies turned to ashes and vanished forever. Never had a case where someone died and turned into a human. I must be a very special existence.

But what makes me a special existence? Carlos knows too little, and I believe his understanding is wrong.

To humans, everything about the Abyss is unknown. Even though the church has named each Abyss, such as the Gluttony Abyss from the Vallan disaster two years ago, or the Endless Abyss that suddenly appeared in the small village, and I am called the White Night Abyss, people still refer to them as monsters. Because in their understanding, the Abyss lacks reason and follows only its instincts to consume all life.

But I know, that’s not the case.

During that battle in the village, I briefly communicated with the Endless Abyss. I knew it was very intelligent and clearly had its own clear thoughts and logic, unlike what humans thought.

But… it seemed to be controlled by something. Or perhaps, its mind was clouded by something.

Yet, I came from the same abyss as it did, so why wasn’t I controlled, and why did I become this girl?

What was it talking about when it mentioned the will of God…

Ultimately, what is the Abyss? Why does such a purely destructive life form exist in this world?

Even as a monster, these questions are beyond me.

But I believe, one day, the truth will come to light.

…………

Not long after Carlos left, two monks came in to lay new sheets on the bed, then I handed them the old ones in a ball.

“Inside, there’s something from the Abyss, very dangerous. Don’t open it, dispose of it quickly.”

I warned them seriously, and the two monks looked shocked.

“This… Miss Silvija. Is it really okay to just throw it away if it’s so dangerous?”

“Yes. I’ve already handled it, just dispose of it.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to have His Eminence examine it again…”

“No need, go now.”

“Then, if you insist…”

The two monks carried the sheets out, looking back three times, as if holding a bomb that could explode at any moment, and left the room hesitantly.

The door slammed shut, and I immediately felt exhausted, collapsing onto the bed and wrapping myself in the blanket.

Wrapped up tightly, I had a wonderful nap.

I slept until the afternoon.

Carlos came to tell me that the church’s monks had found those children. Besides the two boys and three girls I mentioned, there were also more than ten other children living by theft in that area. After some education, the monks sent all those children to an orphanage in Emerald City, so there was no longer any worry about their livelihood, which relieved me greatly.

It’s for the best. I can finally put this matter to rest.

Without having to worry about those children anymore, I, who was now fully rested, started to feel hungry again and began discussing with Carlos what to eat for dinner.

There were still nearly two days before Angel arranged for our departure. I planned to try as much of the famous food in Emerald City as possible within this limited time before we left.

But after asking Carlos, I realized he wasn’t very familiar with this place either.

“My hometown is on the eastern continent across the sea. I grew up there until I came to the western continent when I became an adult. In recent years, I have been mostly active in the Valen Empire, so I don’t know much about Silgaya.”

Carlos said.

“Eastern Continent? Western Continent?”

“Yes, the continent we are currently on is the West Continent. Across the distant sea lies the East Continent, where one of the four human capitals, Norgavi, is located… No one has ever told you about these things?”

I shook my head in response.

The people I had previously interacted with were only those villagers. Most of them had never traveled farther than the neighboring town in their entire lives, so their understanding of the world was quite limited.

“Let me give you a brief explanation.” Carlos pressed his temples, looking pained, “Our world is divided into two continents by the Ipsos Sea, the East Continent and the West Continent. Humans have built countless homes here, and among the largest four countries, one is the Republic of Silgaya we are in, another is the destination we will be heading to, the Valen Empire, and the third is the Ethenbel Kingdom. The last is my hometown, the Ad Federation across the sea, which is the country with the largest territory and population. Apart from these, there are also the four major capitals: the capital of Silgaya, known for its agriculture, Emerald City; the Winter City in the heart of the Valen Empire, renowned for its industry; Order City, the capital of Ethenbel, formerly known as Canri, where the source of order power lies; and the final one, Norgavi, the world trade capital far away in the East Continent. That’s roughly it. Human civilization has developed over thousands of years, and the achievements made go far beyond this. There are countless large and small cities and countries, many interesting events to experience, and plenty of opportunities to learn more through your eyes and ears. Of course, once you get to the Royal Academy, the teachers will also tell you a lot of knowledge. I hope you can see the good side of everything… Damn, I’m the worst at explaining these things, it hurts my brain…”

But his explanation was actually quite clear, making me understand the world anew immediately.

There seemed to be only two continents… It didn’t seem too big.

I looked at Carlos’s face, which had a carefree expression.

He was young, appearing to be in his early thirties at first glance, but if you ignored his beard, he seemed to be in his twenties.

I suddenly felt curious about his age.

“Carlos, how old are you?”

“Why do you ask? And what’s a ‘Carola’? Is it a flying horned carriage?”

“Just curious.”

“But I don’t want to tell you. Age is a man’s biggest secret.”

“… This person is still so boring, a conversation killer.”

“By the way, there’s a very famous library in Emerald City. It houses famous books from around the world. Do you want to take a look?”

“No.”

“Ah—why not?”

“Let’s eat first.”

“… Just know how to eat.”

“Hmmph~”

…

The lazy life of eating and sightseeing passed by in a blink, and my health improved significantly.

On the afternoon of the third day, the weather was clear and sunny.

Carlos and I packed our luggage and got back on the sacred church’s horned carriage. Unlike last time, this trip would involve traveling with knights from the church.

Looking at them roughly, there were about a hundred people.

These knights belonged to the Sacred Church’s Third Legion, Infantry Squad 56. I remember their captain… He had stabbed me with a sword once, what was his name? Anyway, he was unconscious at the time, and I don’t know what happened to him now.

Carlos told me that the Third Legion mainly serves as the bodyguards for Saint George Bank. The purpose of this trip is to escort twenty wagons of supplies to the branch of the bank in the Valen Empire, most of which are emerald gold coins.

They say this journey is confidential.

I guess Angel must have thought since Carlos and I were already going to the Valen Empire, we might as well go together. With us two, we wouldn’t be afraid of any situation arising.

I originally thought there was some irresistible force that required waiting for three days, but it turned out to be just acting as free bodyguards… Yet he left Emerald City the day after the ceremony.

Tsk, this guy.

Forget it, if it weren’t like this, I wouldn’t have had time to eat so much delicious food.

“Mr. Carlos, Miss Silviga, if you have no other matters, shall we set off now?”

The knight commander in golden armor respectfully asked us.

“Okay, let’s go. We appreciate your hard work.”

The knight commander shook his head, said nothing more, and gestured to the team.

“Set off!”

The horned carriage slowly started moving, heading towards the Valen Empire.