Chapter 311

Chapter 97 Preparing to Return to the City

In the sight, on the plain not far from twenty or thirty meters away, that holy figure riding a silver-maned steed under the moonlight, emitting a fierce glow, suddenly softened and fell off the beast.

!

She was injured…

“Margaret—”

I looked at the distant golden light that had already vanished from my sight, gritted my teeth, and maneuvered the flames to make a sharp turn in the air, flying rapidly toward Margaret’s position.

Damn it…

The unicorn continued to run forward for a short distance. Perhaps sensing that the woman on its back was gone, it let out a roar and stopped not far away.

I landed on an open space next to the unicorn, extinguished the burning black flames, and ran over to Margaret.

“How are you! You…”

When I saw her clearly, the words behind were swallowed.

Margaret lay on the revived green grass.

Her white nun’s robe was completely torn, covered with charred marks from what seemed like burns. Her exposed arms, neck, and lower abdomen were also scorched. Her hair was disheveled and curled, the beautiful aquamarine color now close to gray from the heat. Her originally fair skin was now covered with blisters and dark scabs, with the flowing golden light nourishing the wounds, revealing red flesh beneath the gold where the cracks were severe.

She was in great pain. Her delicate body trembled uncontrollably, her limbs curled up tightly, her fists clenched, and she let out low moans like sobs.

How could this be…

I felt panicked.

I took a step closer to check if I could help.

“Don’t, don’t come closer…”

Margaret immediately shouted at me.

She used one hand to cover her face, struggled to lift herself up, turned her head away, and her voice shook violently.

“I’m fine… uh… I’ll be fine soon, please wait a moment…”

While struggling to speak, the golden light around Margaret became even brighter, with faint green light points flickering within, like fireflies, dispersing and disappearing into the wounds. The glaring light made me squint involuntarily.

That’s a healing miracle…

If I remember correctly, Margaret’s healing miracles are very powerful.

But she is also heavily injured… It seems she was hurt on her face. Will she be able to heal completely…

“Are you really okay?”

I asked worriedly while rubbing my forehead hard.

“I’m fine…” Margaret replied softly.

She struggled to support her body, lowered her head, and buried her face in the blind spot of the view, slowly sitting up from the gentle golden light.

“Ni… Nero… left?”

“…Yeah.”

I responded lightly and turned my head again toward the direction Bishop Nero fled. There was no one there; only the dark, blazing fire, as intense as blood, still burned quietly not far away from my sight.

“Huh—”

Margaret exhaled shakily.

“That’s good…”

From her appearance, it seemed she felt relieved.

Good what…

Nero will definitely come back to kill me. I remember his murderous eyes, wishing he could devour me alive.

I am so unwilling.

Actually, I could have chased after him…

He was almost dead…

But saying this in front of the injured Margaret, how could I say it? I had to suppress my complex emotions and turned to look in the direction the Holy Maiden came from.

Far away in that direction, the outline of the town still burning could be vaguely seen.

“You were hiding in… the town?”

“Yeah…”

Margaret took a deep breath, exhaling weakly through her nose.

She still kept her head down, her right hand shaking uncontrollably in front of her head. The process of healing her wounds didn’t seem easy. Her body trembled more intensely, as if enduring something, making her speech intermittent and feeble.

“I planned to go to the capital city and deliver secret orders… but the unicorn carriage uh… broke down halfway, and I was hit by Nero…”

So there was no other choice, right…

The vast plain left no place for Margaret to hide, so she had to take refuge in the town.

I clenched my fist.

“Now, are there still people… alive in the town?”

Margaret didn’t need my help, and I seemed to be unable to help her much. If the town still existed, I would go there first to save people…

Thinking this, I then heard her whisper, “The town has been empty for a long time. Before I arrived, they had all been transferred to the capital city by the garrison, even livestock… Nothing was left. Rest assured… I understand your concerns, no civilians were affected…”

Her answer stunned me.

Then I quickly understood.

Of course…

Because of the Iron Guard, Victoria mentioned clearing surrounding villages, leaving nothing for the enemy. Not long ago, I saw the relocated civilians in the capital city. This town must be one of them…

I genuinely felt relieved.

“That’s great…”

So Bishop Nero knew this, which is why he unleashed such a reckless terrifying miracle? He isn’t as I thought…

…Even if it’s true, it doesn’t change the detestable image of that fat man in my heart.

If not for him, things wouldn’t have happened…

“If you’re fine, that’s the best thing… cough—, cough!”

Margaret’s emotions suddenly surged, and she started to cough violently.

“Cough! I thought you… you had died… Miss Silvija… Actually… before I came here, His Holiness had entrusted me… My duty is to protect you, guiding you on the right path… You might not understand, but this is the most important thing. I thought I failed when you were struck by the goddess’s punishment, falling into the mud and no longer moving…”

The golden light flowing around the Holy Maiden’s body sped up continuously. As the glowing points merged into the wounds one by one, the charred injuries on Margaret’s body were visibly fading, with the black scabs peeling off to reveal fresh, tender skin.

She took another deep breath, and her speech gradually became smoother.

“At that moment, I suddenly felt a connection with the church…

To my great disappointment… It could have gone smoothly… You clearly wish to befriend humans… They’re not blind… Yet they still did it, and even disregarded the new Abyss for this purpose… They’ve known all along… Nero has known that the Abyss isn’t in the Abyss Mud anymore. They stayed there waiting for you to come over… Their plan was to defeat you one by one, making sure you never meet the new Abyss… Isn’t that laughable?

“I’m sorry… I didn’t notice their subtle moves. I just, well, I was only thinking about the Abyss Mud… I’m sorry…”

“It’s not your fault.”

I tucked my hair behind my ear and gently said to Margaret, who felt deeply guilty.

“I’m fine. I am the Abyss. They want to kill me… It’s not that easy.”

“No, you don’t understand.”

Margaret shook her head.

“You don’t know what kind of person Nero is… How many Abyssi have fallen under his divine miracles… You were directly hit by the Goddess’s judgment. Nothing can survive that…”

I furrowed my brows.

“Is he very strong?”

Although I had some sense of this in my heart, yet…

If Nero hadn’t used the divine relic at the end, and if Margaret wasn’t severely injured, I feel… there would have been a good chance to kill him.

“It’s not about that…”

Margaret sighed as if in resignation.

“If we were to judge solely by strength, it wouldn’t measure up to the height a cardinal can reach… Cardinal Nero is actually a remarkable person… If we consider the destructive power of his punitive miracles, indeed, there are two cardinals within the Holy Church who surpass the current Pope… He is one of them.”

Above the Pope…

“In his youth, Cardinal Nero was once one of the most prominent knights of the Pope. He received almost unparalleled blessings in punitive miracles and, with his resolute attitude, was later promoted to cardinal by the previous Pope, bestowed with the title of Archbishop of Esenbell… Miss Silvija, how did you feel when you fought Teresa in the capital?”

I pondered for a moment.

“He is very strong… but she didn’t use any miracles.”

Hearing this, Margaret seemed somewhat distracted.

“What’s wrong?”

I was puzzled.

“No, nothing,” Margaret shook her head again. “What I wanted to tell you is that Nero is practically half a teacher to Teresa… Back then, he saw her potential and brought her to West Continent to assist him with his affairs.”

Ah…

Suddenly, I remembered seeing this in Teresa’s resume before.

“Teresa’s punitive miracles are extremely powerful, not just because of divine blessings, but also because of Nero’s meticulous guidance… So you see, it would be hard for you to win against him in direct combat. He is too dangerous. Even if we two joined forces, the chances of winning would still be slim… That’s why I didn’t want you to chase after him. You can’t afford any more accidents. I won’t allow such things to happen again…”

But…

Teresa is the Gate of Truth.

Suddenly, my eyes widened.

“Nero is a heretic…”

Thinking back to the crimson flames Nero released earlier, I felt more and more that this might not be impossible. My gaze towards Margaret became uncertain and suspicious.

“No.”

Unexpectedly, she denied it outright.

“How can you be so sure?”

“I can’t be sure. Nothing can be confirmed until it happens, but it’s not as simple as you think. There are complex relationships within the Church. The struggles between various factions have been ongoing for hundreds of years, and they haven’t stopped, especially since the election of the new Pope. Internal conflicts have escalated… It’s not something that can be explained in a few words.”

Factional struggles…

That’s why things have turned out like this.

No. In the end, the root cause is still… because I’m not human.

I am the Abyss.

In the eyes of many, I am a terrifying monster. Likely, Bishop Nero and his group see me this way. In his heart, I should be an existence that must be eliminated… Just like countless other things that came out of the Abyss Mud, or the instigator of the Valen Disaster two years ago. We are the same kind.

“Margaret.”

We are devouring existences, the most terrible enemies of humanity.

“How many people in the Church… see me like Nero does?”

“Just like Nero.”

My heart feels heavy.

Isn’t it true that no matter how much I try, how many people I save… such thoughts can’t be completely erased from people’s minds… I can only live in false harmony. Once my identity is exposed, will those who are now kind to me still view me the same way?

I think…

It won’t be the case.

I looked at Margaret, who sat on the ground, her back straight despite her injuries. Her wounds healed quickly; the trembling had long ceased, and in a short time, the previously blackened, grotesque marks had almost disappeared.

Margaret was silent, as if weighing her words. After a while, she slowly took a deep breath.

“Miss Silvija, you are truly unique… I can hardly associate you with those monsters anymore… I understand that you are feeling very bad… I am sorry, and I feel guilty for what happened. Perhaps this time… your impression of us has plummeted… But even so, I want you to understand one thing.”

“The reason why some people in the Church target you is not because of their views on you… Some things may not be related to you. What happens is simply because the Pope wants it to happen, and there will always be someone trying to obstruct it. This fact is embarrassing, but I hope you understand… There are still many supporters of yours within the Church, and your actions do indeed affect many people’s perceptions, including mine.”

Margaret stood up.

“If you don’t mind, I hope you’ll come back to the capital with me.”