Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 176 - 117: Divergent Explorers
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The heavy stones were set into the mountain like the segments of a pomegranate, polished by the sun and moon over the years, covered in dust. With each impact, accompanied by the loosening of the stones, dust would fall.
The brightness within the gaps became more and more blinding, as if some rare and exotic treasure had emerged from thin air.
With a bang, the stones shattered.
Karen emerged from the flashing light. She planted the Holy Light Warhammer into the ground and rested against its upright handle. She took deep breaths of air, looking at the setting sun that continuously dropped in the distance.
"Lianna sister! We finally made it out!" The tomb we were exploring turned out to be an ancient crypt shrouded in darkness, which had few enemies of the Holy Light and even some coffins were empty. From the layout of the tomb chambers and the burial objects within them, it was clear that they belonged to a major family.
"Which family’s foolish descendants would seal their ancestors’ tombs? Moving those heavy stones took quite an effort from me."
Eliane walked out from the chamber’s cavity, her fingers tracing along the ancient walls, pondering over the marks made by the compression of the stones.
"The stones on the inside of the crypt were the smallest, with the size gradually increasing toward the exterior."
Karen gazed at her companion fiddling with those pebbles with wide eyes.
"What’s so strange about stones? Isn’t it normal for them to come in different sizes?"
Eliane brushed the dust off her palms, "Of course, it’s strange. When people want to seal a path, they first pile up large stones as a foundation and then fill the gaps with smaller stones—human-made rock seals show a strong pattern of regularity. Usually, the pebbles get smaller the further out you go."
As Karen listened to the explanation from the Senior of the Holy Light, she also began to think. Rubbing her head, she stared at the large stones, muttering to herself.
"But the stones we’ve encountered, the further out we got, the bigger they became. That means..."
"It’s not the outside that’s sealing the crypt, but the crypt that’s sealing the outside."
Karen’s eyes widened in surprise, "The work of the people inside the crypt?"
"Maybe it was done by someone who escaped the crypt. That section of the tomb had two exits, or it was done by those you purified—the deceased. They were afraid, of something outside..."
Following Eliane’s gaze, there lay a town soaked in the afterglow of sunset. The sunlight struck the side of the statue in the town center, making the shadowed side look like an abyss.
"There’s a small town over there, Lianna sister! We’ve been training all day; let’s hurry and find an inn for a meal," exclaimed Karen.
"Karen, you really are a little fool," replied Lianna.
"???"
There was a brick and stone path between the crypt and the town, winding through the overgrown weeds.
Karen walked in front, the grass reaching up to her knees rustling against her nun’s garb.
She nervously eyed the gloomy woods nearby; a gentle breeze casting monstrous shadows among the plants, as if creatures were roaring within and might leap out at any second.
The road towards the town sloped downward. The location of the crypt was on the side of a massive mountain, and Eliane looked up at the slope to see a noble’s castle perched upon it, merging almost into the oncoming night.
The two of them came upon a crossroads: one path leading toward the distant town and the other stretching into the unseen valley below.
If one were to walk at night, the worse case scenario would be at a crossroads, because you never know what you might encounter around the corner.
What you fear often comes to pass—such is one manifestation of fate.
In Karen’s eyes, two slender figures emerged from the darkness of the other road, standing in front of them, one clad in black and one in white, exuding a different kind of dreaminess with their backs to Karen.
Karen’s Paladin instincts awoke. Before Eliane could even begin to object,
"Detect evil!" she exclaimed.
Golden light settled on the two eerie figures, and a grey and a red mark appeared above them.
Indeed, they were the embodiment of evil!
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"Holy Light shall punish..." before she could finish her words.
A black apparition had already appeared in front of Karen, its crimson eyes looking at her with a playful gaze. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
A white figure, unhurriedly drifting over, yes, drifting. The hazy form shrouded in light gauze, carried an ethereal soft beauty.
Karen’s expression began to dissipate, she wanted to embrace the figure before her, but was also afraid of them. This odd sensation was crushing her will, turning her into a marionette.
Eliane stood in front of Karen, soft light dusted over Karen’s head like powder, and she instantly woke up, but the previous enchantment still made her heart skip a beat.
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Alianna nodded to Eliane, looking at the timid girl hiding behind the nun, she didn’t pursue her offense any further.
She bent down, and her veil gradually neared Karen’s panicked face.
"You mustn’t pick up bad habits."
The gentle voice once again made Karen’s expression dazed, she subconsciously nodded, her face flushed with embarrassed red. Then her body trembled, she suddenly shook her head fiercely, her eyes regaining clarity as she made a grimacing face, like a fierce but inwardly scared little dog.
"I will definitely purify..." before the threat to regain face could be issued, Eliane grabbed Karen’s little ear. "Lianna sister! It hurts!"
Karen’s comical appearance elicited laughter from the ladies present, Beatrice immediately let out a melodious laugh.
Karen, rubbing her ear, gave her a sharp glare.
In response, Beatrice smiled, her sharp canine teeth sparkling brightly.
Alianna took her sister’s hand, she turned around and bid farewell to Eliane.
"We’ll head to Hamlet Town first."
The two sisters left ahead.
Eliane stayed with Karen at the original spot.
"Do you know where you went wrong?" Eliane’s voice was deeper than ever, which reminded Karen of the precursor to her father’s anger, her little heart thumping wildly.
"It’s because I’m too weak."
"No, it’s because you provoked without assessing the other’s strength. You should know what detecting evil means to other races, right?"
Karen muttered quietly, "But it’s what the Paladins always do."
"Who said Paladins always act that way!"
"In the legends of the Crusaders’ campaign, they all start with detecting evil."
"Did they defeat their enemies?"
"Yes, all the Crusader Warriors who started by detecting evil in the stories were victorious."
"That’s because all those who couldn’t win were killed by the furious enemies, and the dead don’t get written into the stories."
"Karen, don’t provoke others by detecting evil!"
"But they truly are evil!"
"Hmm?" Eliane let out a soft hum, frightening Karen into hastily covering her ears and agreeing to the demand.
Eliane sighed. The habit of smearing one’s face with detecting evil at first meet seemed to be set by someone.
"Damned Archbishop."
