Chapter 112: Chapter 116 Everything is Normal
Sherry, with Adog in tow, hurried away. Duncan’s gaze shifted from the distant intersection and resettled on the ruins of the factory.
After the fire of the spiritual body had died down, the invisible curtain closed once more, and the factory returned to its “normal” appearance—the traces of the fire had been completely erased, and ash omnipresent, hidden within nothingness.
Duncan’s gaze slowly moved upward, to the sky above the factory.
He imagined there being a veil-like curtain that quietly enveloped the surroundings, hiding the truth beneath reality. Although the Sixth District had only a few residents, there were still thousands, and right under their noses, this invisible curtain had veiled the truth for eleven years.
The residents had even completely forgotten about the fire in their memories—they simply thought it was “chemical pollution” from the factory that had led to the district’s dilapidation.
At this point, Duncan suddenly furrowed his brow.
The truth inside the factory was a fire, and Adog also confirmed that there was no chemical pollution residue around the factory. Since there was no “pollution”… then why had there been no newborns in the Sixth District for eleven years?!
If it wasn’t chemical pollution causing the generation gap… could it be some force within the Transcendent Realm, preventing the emergence of a new population in the Sixth District?
Duncan thoughtfully stared at the sky.
It seemed… that this invisible curtain was even larger than he had imagined.
…
“Did we really… make it out?”
In a dingy alley some distance from the Sixth District, Sherry poked her head out from the shadows, carefully checking to see if any law enforcement officers were patrolling nearby while whispering to a corner of the wall.
Crouched in the corner was a dark, viscous shadow, as if the tangible darkness had a sticky quality, from which Adog’s voice emerged, low and indistinct: “It’s not us who escaped, someone powerful let us go.”
“It’s the same damn thing,” Sherry waved her hand dismissively, uncaringly sitting on the ground, “Shit, I was scared to death… I didn’t even dare to breathe hard, couldn’t swear, had to act all obedient… Adog, you have no idea…”
“I know, I see more than you do, remember?” came the ghostly voice from the shadows, “How does it feel, walking with a smiling Subspace Shadow compared to dealing with a bunch of menacing law enforcers and guardians?”
“…Stop it, I’m cold,” Sherry rolled her eyes, “It’s all because of that terrifying story you told me last time. If I knew nothing, I’d be fearless today… Why does such a significant person pretend to be a ‘normal person’? They even ride the bus like everyone else, even buying a ticket! Who would have thought to encounter him this way!”
Adog fell silent for two seconds: “…Maybe it’s just a whim, or perhaps they are watching you. What I fear most is this… We’ve already dealt with such beings; I guess our fate is already tangled…”
Sherry shivered slightly, cautiously asking, “You mean… we’ll really meet him again? Spare me…”
“Did you forget his parting words?” Adog sighed, “He will find us.”
Sherry stayed silent, head lowered, and after a moment, Adog suddenly added, “What? Scared? Regretful? It might be a bit late now… I warned you before. Stepping into the Transcendent Realm, you should be ready to deal with all sorts of powerful forces—most of which are beyond human comprehension—If you had listened to me a few months ago and stopped investigating old matters, you could still be living your peaceful life…”
“Regretful my ass!” Sherry lowered her head, interrupting Adog’s speech fiercely, “I have never regretted it from the start, and I won’t in the future! Stop talking such disheartening crap to me!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop—Have you rested enough? We should be moving soon, didn’t your ‘new friend’ arrange to meet?”
“I… I’ll wait another two minutes,” Sherry scratched her head, her voice a bit muffled, “My legs are a bit weak, just a bit longer…”
A’gou had stopped speaking, only emitting a hoarse purring sound before the writhing shadow in which it hid began to shrink, gradually merging into Sherry’s shadow.
…
At lunchtime, Fenna stuffed bread smeared with jam into her mouth, swallowing huge bites while glancing at the briefings on the table beside her. Feeling somewhat choked, she casually grabbed a glass nearby and gulped down several large mouthfuls.
Uncle Dante’s voice came from the opposite side of the table, laced with resignation, “Fenna, eat a bit more gracefully—and don’t drink the wine like it’s water.”
“Heretics won’t wait. The faster we eat, the sooner we can dispatch these heretics to meet their maker,” Fenna looked up at her uncle while struggling to swallow the food in her mouth, “Besides, this isn’t some outdoor banquet…”
“A family meal should still be conducted with proper manners—you’ll never get married at this rate,” Dante watched his niece, who was of marriageable age yet had never brought a boyfriend home, with a headache, “Well, it’s more like you’re already unmarriageable…”
Fenna’s eating finally slowed, the young Judge somewhat embarrassed, “I… the duties of a Judge are quite…”
“The Deep Sea Church doesn’t forbid priests from marrying. Judges also have normal families, and I’ve read the ‘Storm Scripture’ as well,” Dante shook his head, “Seriously, are there really no suitable candidates?”
Fenna bowed her head, poking at the bread on her plate with a dinner knife, “Mainly, there’s no one strong enough…”
“…We should probably ask if an oath can be taken back,” Dante sighed, looking worried, “You shouldn’t have made that vow so carelessly during your initiation, especially the first one, demanding someone strong to be by your side. Bishop Valentin should have stopped you…”
Fenna’s head lowered further, and despite her tall stature, her face was flushed with embarrassment, and her voice slightly muffled as when she was chastised in her younger years, “An oath is a sacred vow made before the goddess and cannot be rescinded lightly, and… it wasn’t carelessly made. Almost every female guardian makes that vow; it’s a symbol of courage bestowed by the Storm, also to prove to the goddess…”
Dante silently watched his niece who stood a head and a half taller than him, “Have you ever considered that one day you might train yourself to be unbeatable?”
Fenna, “… That’s for the second and third parts of the oath, right…”
Dante, “… Sigh.”
This was a subject the uncle and niece brought up every now and then in the past two years, and every time it ended awkwardly, this instance was no exception.
However, Fenna quickly adjusted her mood, finishing the battle on her plate with astonishing speed, then gathered the documents beside her and stood up to leave, “I’m done eating, Uncle… Hmm?”
Fenna suddenly stopped, staring at Dante Wayne’s face in surprise, she pointed at his ruby prosthetic eye, “Uncle, the wound around your eye is bleeding… Are you alright?”
“Huh?” Dante was momentarily stunned, quickly touching his face and upon seeing the blood on his hand, hastily got up to fetch a mirror to inspect his ruby eye— he was shocked to see the edge of the ruby eye slowly seeping blood, trickling down around the scarred folds, not much but quite alarming.
“Don’t move,” Fenna quickly came over, pressing her hand near Dante’s eye while softly reciting words from the ‘Storm Scripture’, “May the sea breeze moisturize the limbs and restore this flesh and blood to its original state.”
Under the divine prayers, Dante felt a slight itch near his wound, and the slight bleeding soon stopped, he said with a bit of resignation, “No need to make a fuss over it, this isn’t the first time in these years—after all, it’s cold minerals and metals, and occasional ‘minor conflicts’ with the flesh are normal.”
But the expression on Fenna’s face was none the more relaxed, she still stared intently at Dante’s ruby eye, asking after some time, “Are you feeling anything else? Any burning pain? Or seeing some illusions through that ruby eye?”
Dante blinked, looking at Fenna; his blessed ruby eye clearly reflected everything in sight—
Flames blazed behind Fenna, ash and burn marks scattered around the dining room, disfigured charcoal, and molten remains dripped from the ceiling like grotesque omens.
The ruby eye was slightly warm, then gradually returned to being ice cold.
Dante smiled, “Of course not, everything is normal.”