Chapter 168
Tala felt a pang of disappointment as she lowered her tiptoed feet back to the ground.
Truly, she was the earthly embodiment of the Mother Goddess; not only did she radiate warmth, but even her scent was intoxicatingly pleasant.
Not far behind, Lucy watched the two whispering figures with a burning curiosity, eager to quicken her pace and eavesdrop on their torturous plans, yet she hesitated to approach the red-haired girl too closely.
But soon, Lucy spotted a tall, thin figure standing a short distance away, holding a lantern.
The figure seemed to have noticed the three approaching and fixed his gaze upon them.
Dressed in tattered clothes, he stood in the pouring rain, his light golden hair plastered to his face, and his disheveled appearance bore a striking resemblance to Lucy's own current state.
What’s he doing here?
Isn’t that Opode? Why does he look like a beggar?
Lucy frowned slightly; she had never seen him in such a dismal state.
At that moment, Opode scanned the faces of the three, clenched his fists, and demanded, “Where’s Aivina? Where is she? Why are you three here?”
His gaze finally locked onto the girl with dark red pupils, as black armor began to creep over his hands. “It’s you…”
Clang—
A massive black tower shield, nearly the size of a door, was gripped in Opode's right arm. He slammed it down onto the ground, producing a dull thud.
“You’d better give me an explanation…”
Fury ignited within Opode as he glared at the three before him, gritting his teeth. “She said there was a way to get me back to Ansu safely…”
Seeing the fallen prince before her, Lucy began to understand.
So, the other one entangled by the rules of misfortune is this prince…
But judging by his temper, it didn’t seem like he was in a good mood.
Lucy took several steps to the right, distancing herself from the two judges, and raised her hands slightly, saying, “Good evening, Count Sadias. I was forcibly brought here by these two judges. I have no idea what’s going on.”
Lucy quickly distanced herself from the two judges to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
At this moment, the four stood in three opposing directions, the atmosphere growing increasingly tense.
Opode looked toward Charles and slowly spoke, “The people from the Savior Goddess Church came to confirm; you’re not from the Tribunal at all.”
“What’s your purpose?!”
Boom—
A bolt of lightning tore through the night sky, striking the center of the four, scorching the earth and grass beneath them, sending a shiver down everyone’s spine.
Not from the Tribunal?
Lucy frowned, glancing toward the red-haired girl, then slowly shifting her gaze to the white-haired girl’s face.
Not from the Tribunal…
In an instant, everything that had happened before connected in Lucy’s mind, and she took a deep breath.
She slowly pulled a silver shilling from her pocket, flicked it into the air, caught it, and then carefully unfolded it.
A queen’s profile adorned with a laurel crown faced downward, while the images of a crown and shield pointed toward the night sky.
The reverse side.
In a flash, she hurled the silver coin toward “Gus,” shouting, “Gus!!!”
As the coin landed at Gus’s feet, a white flash descended from the sky, striking the coin directly. A white figure almost instantly emerged from behind Gus, shielding her.
Boom—
The delayed rumble of thunder echoed, and Lucy’s expression grew colder, her eyes filled with murderous intent.
“Damn it! A freak from the Holy Ascendancy!”
They… are from the Holy Ascendancy!!!
Simon hadn’t betrayed her at all! He had been brainwashed! That “Gus” is a damn “missionary”!!!
In an instant, the atmosphere became charged with tension, the two third-tier figures eyeing the two second-tier girls like hawks.
…
Two kilometers away, Nia stood with a large umbrella, while in front of her, Aivina peered through a professional marine telescope, observing the commotion in the distance.
The telescope allowed Aivina to see what was happening over there.
“Huh? Why are they arguing? Nia, what are they saying?”
Aivina adjusted the magnification of the telescope as she asked.
“They’ve figured out that Miss Charles is disguised as a member of the Tribunal.”
Nia paused briefly before continuing, “Lucy is calling the lady next to Miss Charles a ‘freak from the Holy Ascendancy’… and she’s even scolding Miss Charles.”
“Ah?”
Aivina turned back to look at Nia, puzzled, then resumed her observation through the telescope.
She couldn’t understand how they connected Charles to the Holy Ascendancy… after all, Charles and her organization had directly slaughtered an entire Holy Ascendancy stronghold.
“Miss, I think we need to retreat a few more kilometers.”
Nia gazed into the distance and spoke slowly.
“Why? In this heavy rain, if we go any further back, we won’t see anything.”
Aivina seemed reluctant to rely solely on Nia’s account of the events, wanting to witness it herself.
It would give her a sense of involvement.
“Look at the sky, Miss.”
Nia pointed toward the sky above the three.
Aivina followed Nia’s finger and slowly looked up, her mouth agape.
…
Faced with the two third-tier figures, Tala felt a surge of panic. If she were alone, she would have chosen to flee without hesitation.
The “Destined One” and the “Crown Guardian” were not skilled in pursuit; as long as she scattered the silver and ran, she could definitely escape.
But she wasn’t alone… the earthly embodiment of the Mother Goddess was here too.
She couldn’t let the Mother Goddess’s earthly form come to any harm…
In contrast to Tala’s anxiety, Charles remained remarkably calm.
If the two third-tier figures truly attacked, the worst outcome would be death, but in simulations, death was not terrifying.
What was terrifying was dying without obtaining any useful information.
Now, three individuals entangled by the rules of misfortune stood together, and she had already accumulated a terrifying amount of misfortune, while the others had broken the rules to meet here…
What would happen next?
Charles slowly raised her gaze to the sky.
The thunderclouds churned ominously, and amidst them, a terrifying shadow with a wingspan of nearly a hundred meters disturbed the clouds.
This apocalyptic scene even caused a flicker of shock in Charles’s heart.
It’s here.
In Charles’s line of sight, the terrifying shadow dove down, charging toward the three below.
With such speed and size… there was no escaping.
Having made this judgment, Charles made no attempt to flee. She pulled out a stopwatch from her pocket, unaware that the “Lucky Coin” had also slipped from her grasp, rolling against the uneven ground toward Lucy.
The shadow that obscured the sky crashed down, enveloping the four in darkness.
At that moment, Lucy and Opode seemed to suddenly realize the presence of the shadow, but it was too late.
Strange characters formed from the shadows appeared before the four, as if being inscribed directly into their eyes.
These characters did not affect Charles’s mind, but she couldn’t comprehend their meaning either.
“This is… Ancient Ansu language?”
Tala murmured beside Charles.
“...Calamity Three… Artifacts?”
“Transformation…”
“Rules may… be unclear…”
“Severe consequences… irreversible…”
“First… Calamity…”
Fragmented phrases of Ancient Ansu echoed in Charles’s mind, causing her brow to furrow. She couldn’t fully grasp the text before her; she could only quickly visualize the words in her mind like a picture.
Suddenly, purple-black ethereal threads began to emanate from the bodies of Charles, Lucy, and Opode.
These threads surged uncontrollably toward the shadow above, with Charles’s threads being the most abundant, resembling a chaotic bundle of ethereal cables being drawn into the sky.
What is this?
Charles sensed that these things, which flowed from her body without any side effects or loss of power, were like… the manifestation of misfortune?
Lucy was the first to notice something was off.
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