Chapter 352

Chapter 138 Light and Darkness Thirty-Five

The dead smoke rose slowly from beneath my feet, flowing like gauze, obscuring the white light, enveloping my body and Elyush’s within it, spreading towards the sky, touching those scattered greenish-white light smokes.

One by one, they were swallowed.

“Ah…”

Elyush’s body twisted more violently.

The skin on her face was peeling off in large patches. Her tender cheeks resembled a mirror that had suddenly shattered, with countless cracks silently expanding and quickly spreading across her entire body. Blinding white light burst forth from the cracks, and the little girl’s eyes turned grayish-white. The pupils, already damaged and split into two pieces, no longer held any of the colors of life.

Her body began to turn white and stiffen, becoming unlike flesh, resembling a broken earthen doll. Large chunks of “dirt” kept falling off from around the cracks, landing on the ground and turning into dust.

“Uh… Ah…”

The little girl’s mouth could no longer close properly.

Weak, agonized, and struggling moans emerged from deep within her throat, gradually weakening.

“Don’t be afraid…”

I said to her.

At the same time, I slowly raised my right hand and gently swept it to the side.

In the next moment, those swirling, tangible dead smokes instantly transformed into a swarm of greedy serpents, surging towards the little girl, attaching themselves to her frail, ruined body, and swallowing up the bursting white light.

Then they returned to my body.

Ah…

The power of chaos…

An overwhelming sense of excitement took over my body, invading my bones, and mist filled my eyes.

With trembling hands, I gently cupped the girl’s shattered face, bringing my head closer and slowly closing my eyes.

“It will soon be over…”

My lips touched her cold forehead lightly before separating.

“Relax… Don’t struggle anymore…”

Like this, go to that world far away from pain.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, a gentle breeze brushed past my cheek.

I opened my eyes and saw, amidst the fallen flowers and leaves, a silver-haired, crimson-eyed little girl standing in front of me, holding my hand with a radiant smile.

“Peyelo sister.”

“Hmm.”

“Do you think… if we two really survive, just as they say, and then we both become so powerful, so powerful, like heroes. At that time, what would you most want to do, sister?”

“I don’t know…”

“Why?”

“I’ve never thought about these things…”

“But I often think about it!”

“Sister, they all say we are favored by the gods. Could we really be so powerful… like the Holy Maiden? With a wave of her hand comes wind, another wave brings rain, bestowing blessings upon the world… Maybe we’re even stronger! Then everyone who sees us would have to kneel and pray, forming long lines—”

“Nonsense.”

“I’m not making it up! Sister, didn’t you say we would survive… I still want to go back and see my mother, to show her that a girl who grew up on a ranch can also be remarkable… I have a cousin who always bullies me… Sister, do you think we can still go home? I want to go home…”

“It will soon be over. Elyush, don’t be afraid… Just bear with it a little longer, okay… After this, we won’t have to stay here anymore. We will gain our freedom, which they have promised us.”

“But what if those self-righteous, scripture-chanting people are deceiving us…”

“No, they won’t.”

“What if they deceive us, what should we do then…”

“…I don’t know.”

“Sister, you seem sad…”

“Not at all.”

“Sister, do you hate those people?”

“Hate?”

“Don’t you hate them?”

“I only hope you can live.”

“Then I… I hope sister will…

The legs can be healed; we can walk together in the fields, chasing butterflies and playing happily!

“Hehe.”

“Sister…”

“Mmm.”

“Are you saying that one day… we might become heroes like the Pope’s knights, the kind who save people from dire situations, where everyone offers flowers wherever they go, and they’re written into stories—”

“Pfft…”

“Sister, you’re laughing at me!”

“No, I’m not.”

“You are!”

“I’m not!”

“Sister…”

“Mmm.”

“I want to be a hero… I want both of us to live well. No more pain, no more suffering, becoming heroes together…”

“…Alright.”

The gentle breeze paused.

I blinked my slightly sore eyes.

The beautiful scene before me gradually blurred, turning into flickering lights, then reassembling. I returned from memory to reality, back to the streets filled with blazing red flames and drifting dead smoke.

The little girl’s gray and cracked face slowly lost its shape as countless strands of black smoke rapidly swirled around her.

“Mom… mom…”

She seemed to say something, but her voice was faint and indistinct.

In the next moment, the last white glow on the girl faded away amidst the drifting dead smoke.

Boom—

A torrent of pitch-black smoke surged forth like a sea wave, forming thick swirling columns that rose up, whipping up strong winds and colliding with the apocalyptic crimson fireball in the sky.

The world seemed to be silent for a second.

There were no earth-shattering tremors or thunderous roars. Moments later, only a shrill “sizzle sizzle sizzle” sound echoed from above. The vast flood of dead smoke, upon touching the fireball, spread rapidly like a terrifying net, enveloping most of the fireball in an instant.

Chaos power eroded the raging flames across the sky, even pushing the explosion back towards the heavens. Crimson flames writhed within the black mist, as two immense forces collided. In an instant, golden light rained down again, mixing with the swirling black smoke and red flames, creating an eerie glow.

Rumble rumble rumble…

The fireball began to violently shake.

Faintly, Margaret behind me seemed to shout something.

I raised my head.

In my sight, the raging fire, driven higher by the dispersing dead smoke, was pushed into the golden light that blotted out the sun, then exploded.

The firelight illuminated the entire sky above the castle.

Boom—!!!

In the next moment, the earth-shattering roar, accompanied by scorching winds, swept through the city, shaking the heavens.

Dust clouds surged toward me in an instant, and I stood there unmoving.

And in front of me, the little girl named Elysia, her body gradually dissipated in the dust, turning to ashes that blew onto me and then vanished with the wind.

Ah…

I’m sorry, I can’t remember much.

But Elysia…

“We blocked that thing…”

Can you go home now?

A beautiful gold-trimmed cloak fell to the ground with a soft thud. A strand of red smoke quickly seeped into my chest.

I reached out to the empty space ahead.

Thump thump, thump thump.

My heart pounded fiercely like a drum.

Then, the swirling dead smoke, carrying the afterglow of the explosion, transformed into hundreds of thick smoke serpents, all returning to my body.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—

So hot…

My body started to heat up, as if I had been thrown into a scorching lava.

“Haa—”

I exhaled deeply.

Thick black smoke dispersed with my breath.

My limbs trembled.

“Haha…”

My long hair fluttered in the wind, some strands blowing in front of my face, obscuring it.

At the tips of my hair, a bright silver-white hue rapidly spread.