Chapter 323

Chapter 109: Light and Darkness Part Six

The journey was short, but I still raised my alertness to its peak, constantly guarding against being attacked again from the shadows.

But after the three people from the Gate of Truth died, everything seemed to calm down instantly. Apart from some scattered civilians fleeing in panic, I didn’t see a single soldier along the way.

It was only those three…

That would be best.

Huff huff huff—

Amid the howling wind, I landed not far from the church door and started to jog towards it.

“Who’s there!”

“That is…”

A small group of guards were still lingering at the church entrance. They were stunned when they saw me, then drew their swords with a clanging sound. The commander gestured, as if intending to surround me.

“Get out of the way!”

I continued running without stopping, shouting at them angrily. But these soldiers weren’t intimidated; instead, they showed even more vicious expressions after seeing the person in my arms.

“Stop her! Stop her!”

“Don’t let anyone in! Otherwise, everyone will die!”

Damn it…

Now it’s time to die!

With several sickening explosions, sharp ice spears formed instantly before my eyes, ready to shoot out. Suddenly, golden light burst forth above us again.

Golden Bell…

My hands trembled, and I shivered involuntarily, instinctively wanting to retreat. Then I remembered: this is Margaret.

She’s going to interfere with me again…

As anger surged, an attack came from the sky.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh—

Boom boom boom!

Five intricately carved holy lances crashed down in front of me, landing in front of the soldiers and deeply embedding themselves into the ground, blocking their advance. Amidst the flying debris, the street beside me echoed with the sounds of hooves and Margaret’s angry cries: “Who gave you the nerve! This is a sacred church!”

But those people did not give up. After their initial shock, they quickly reacted once they recognized the intruders.

“Stay steady, don’t be afraid! The Holy Maiden cannot kill!”

“Deal with Elizabeth first! We’ll get rich—”

“It’s death either way…”

“Hahaha!”

The soldiers’ hands holding their swords trembled violently due to fear, yet they could not suppress the twisted excitement deep within them. The great temptation made their faces contorted, and they shouted madly, ignoring the bleeding heads caused by the stone impacts, and charged past the holy lances, raising their swords to strike at me again.

Unaware of the danger…

Swoosh—

In the next moment, several ice spears shot out almost simultaneously, piercing through the chest armor and throats of the soldiers in front, entering their bodies and emerging from their backs. Their faces froze in that instant, blood splattering, and they ran a few more steps before falling silently to the ground.

At the same time, I bent my knees, jumped up, and stood on the handle of a standing holy lance.

Holding the person in my arms tightly with my right hand, I released my left hand, palm facing down.

“Silvyja, enough!”

Enough?

I don’t think so…

Plop plop plop!

Ice mist erupted, surging beneath me, engulfing all the soldiers in a frosty aura.

This attack left no room for struggle; the soldiers couldn’t even scream as they were instantly frozen into ice statues.

Glistening blue ice crystals floated before my eyes.

I turned and jumped off the lance handle, striding toward the church.

“Silvyja!”

After taking a few steps, Margaret’s voice echoed behind me. She seemed to have hurriedly dismounted, and her footsteps followed closely and urgently.

“They know nothing!”

Know nothing?

I didn’t even turn my head: “But they want to kill Victoria. And me.”

Margaret caught up and walked beside me: “They’re just a bunch of pitiful, ignorant, and foolish soldiers!”

“But it’s precisely such people… in the royal city, indiscriminately killing civilians, raping women.”

Ignorant? Foolish?

Isn’t that exactly why most people do evil?

The Holy Maiden suddenly fell silent.

“Margaret, I’ve seen it all.”

Seeing her stop, I turned around to face her unfocused eyes.

“I’ve seen what they did in the city. I think… what you’re doing is wrong. It’s not kindness, it’s indulgence in evil… but now, I don’t want to discuss this with you.”

I tried to keep my voice calm, devoid of any negative emotions.

“You also understand that I want to save a kind, caring king. So I only ask you… please, don’t waste any more time. Okay?”

The Holy Maiden’s eyes flickered, and she took a deep breath.

“Who are you! How dare you speak to the Holy Maiden like this!”

Suddenly, an old voice came from behind.

Another fool…

Suppressing my impatience, I turned around and saw an old man in a robe leading several monks rushing over, pointing at me from afar and scolding: “Where did you escape from? Are you still a child from Cataroma? Why are you still standing here! You…”

The old man kept talking as he approached, then suddenly noticed the person I was holding, and his mouth shut tight.

He looked at me again, then glanced at Margaret, who remained silent. His expression was one of confusion, but mostly shock. Clearly, he realized the complexity of the situation, and awkwardly rubbed his hands, stuttering: “Are you…”

“Shut up.”

The Holy Maiden suddenly spoke.

Her stern and unforgiving tone made the old man’s face stiffen, feeling somewhat embarrassed, but he quickly smiled again.

“Your Excellency the Holy Maiden, you have finally returned…”

Facing his flattering and fawning manner, Margaret ignored him and turned to the nuns behind her, instructing: “Prepare towels and a basin of water. Have someone guard the church doors, set up barriers, and warn anyone loitering outside once. If ineffective… come find me.”

The nuns responded and left.

Then Margaret turned to the slightly embarrassed old man: “Is there a quiet empty room?”

“On the second floor—”

“Take us up.”

“…Okay.”

We then entered the church hall.

After passing through the first arched door, the clamor of voices poured in like a flood. Countless civilians affected by the chaos cried and shouted in the hall, almost filling the large foyer. Some were injured, and the nuns knelt beside them, hands

A faint golden glow filled the room.

I glanced over casually, but there were too many people, and I couldn’t find Sophia.

“These are all the nearby residents who have fled here. I’ve already…”

The old man walked beside Margaret, deliberately lagging half a step behind. He waved the monks away, hesitating as he tried to communicate with the Holy Maiden whose expression wasn’t very pleasant.

I followed behind the two of them, looking at the old man’s face for a long time before remembering: This was the person who had presided over the funeral ceremony, and seemed to have been promoted to bishop after Teresa’s death.

Margaret did not respond to him. The way she suppressed her emotions was obvious even to me. The old bishop beside her was more cautious, and he asked tentatively again, “Holy Maiden, what is this…”

“What are you doing?”

Before he could finish his question, Margaret turned her head to look directly at him, her eyes flashing with anger.

The old bishop was confused, seemingly not understanding the meaning of the Holy Maiden, and didn’t know how to respond.

In the next moment, the Holy Maiden raised her voice.

“What are you doing?! What happened just now outside the door? Why are there guards in front of the church? What are they doing?!”

“They are…”

“Do you know what the situation is like inside the city!?”

“I do…”

“You know? How could you let this happen if you know! How many civilians have died!?”

“Holy Maiden, I have organized personnel to help…”

“Help? Is that all the Sacred Church’s responsibility is—to help?!”

As Margaret spoke, she became angrier, and the old bishop started wiping sweat.

“What do you mean…”

“You don’t need to worry about this. I will take care of everything from now on.”

“This…”

For a newly appointed bishop, this was like a death sentence.

It wasn’t until we went up to the second floor and entered the room that Margaret still gave the old bishop a cold look.

“Go out and close the door. And… If this gets out, I’ll only hold you responsible.”

“Yes…”

The sound of the door closing echoed.

I gently placed Victoria on the bed, supporting her to lie down properly.

She looked very uncomfortable, her brows furrowed, and her complexion was even paler than before. This made me increasingly anxious, but I didn’t know what to do to save her, so I looked at Margaret.

“Leave it to me,” she said.

The Holy Maiden composed herself and began to examine her seriously. She flipped open Queen Victoria’s eyes, then checked her breathing, and pressed lightly on her chest with one hand.

“The injury is on her lower back,” I couldn’t help reminding her.

“Help me turn the Queen over.”

“Okay.”

Margaret and I each held one shoulder and the other grabbed her ankles, gently turning Victoria over so she lay face down on the bed. We then lifted her back dress to reveal a new bruised purple wound.

Indeed, as Reckt said, the wound was far from severe; it was just a superficial cut, barely bleeding, and had already been treated with medicine. However, the poison had spread, causing dark blue swollen veins around the wound, making my scalp tingle.

“What should we do now…”

“Don’t speak.”

Margaret stared at the wound for a while, then closed her eyes, clasping her hands together in prayer.

Buzzing…

Radiant golden light filled the room, and emerald-like green light points danced out of the golden glow, quickly entering the wound. The cut healed instantly, and the golden light lingered for a moment before gradually fading.

But although the wound had healed, the dark blue veins showed no change. Margaret lowered her hands, her brows furrowing.

“There’s some trouble.”

“What’s wrong…”

My heart sank.

“The spread of the poison has temporarily stopped, but to fully heal, we need another method…”

“What method?” I grabbed Margaret’s arm, urgently asking, “What do I need to do!”

Margaret shook her head.

“You can’t help… but don’t panic. I’ve seen this poison before, during my time in Eastland.”

“Eastland?”

“Yeah. Eastland, Epalista… a land turned upside down by heretical fanatics.”

Heresy…

Of course, it’s the Door of Truth again…

“Rest assured, I know how to cure the poison, but it will take some time.”

Time…

That’s fine, it’s fine… As long as she gets better…

“You… You must save her…”

“Involving the Door of Truth, the Church cannot ignore it, and whatever I do won’t go against the teachings. But… Silvajia…”

Margaret pushed my hand away, her beautiful eyes staring directly at me.

“After entering the city, in such a short time, you… killed quite a few people, right?”

“…”

I shifted my gaze slightly.

Then I heard the Holy Maiden sigh softly.

“I saw everything… those black flames… and the souls of the people…”

The room fell silent for a moment.

After a brief pause, Margaret continued, “I can heal the Queen, but you must promise me something.”

Promise…

I crossed my hands behind my back, gently tapping my toes, lowering my head to look at the ground.

“If…”

I knew what she wanted to say.

“Margaret.”

Taking a deep breath, I raised my head, looking directly into her deep eyes.

“I promise you. I won’t kill indiscriminately. Because I’m not a monster. So I promise you this… I won’t break this promise, even until death.”

“But…”

I paused.

After a moment’s hesitation, I decided I must say these things, tell her.

Make her understand.

“But I’m telling you sincerely. Because I’m not a monster, I have feelings. Just like the people walking on the streets, I feel happiness, anger, sadness, and pain… So please understand.”

“I’ve made my decision.”

“Margaret… I’ve never acted recklessly or without considering the consequences in my life. But from now on… if anyone dares to hurt me or someone I care about, I… won’t hesitate, and I certainly won’t… let them off.”