Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 261 - 244 Light and Shadow
The stronghold of the sufferers was gloomy and dark, which made their brilliant character all the more precious. Such a shadowy and secluded alley was enough to bring tranquility to any normal human. As Lyle stepped into its darkness, the walls on either side were topped with a glow that lit the city, providing just enough faint light in the alley to make out one’s surroundings. It was there that Lyle spotted what seemed to be the person waiting for him.
Within the dark, a shapely shadow loomed, a slender woman dressed as raggedly as a sufferer, but the pair of eyes behind the mask, sparkling like cat eyes in the dark, had a sly gleam. She leaned against the wall, displaying her attractive curves, and when Lyle appeared, she gracefully yet eerily walked towards him.
There was something unspeakable in those eyes that made Lyle feel off, "Hello, ma’am, do we know each other?"
In response to Lyle, the woman let out a perplexing laugh. She moved closer to Lyle, standing half a head taller than him, leaning in so her cheek almost touched Lyle’s mask. Her gaze, as if trying to penetrate Lyle’s mask, "You’re the Purifier of the Holy Light, aren’t you? I overheard your conversation just now."
Her bright yellow pupils radiated an animal-like aggression, and Lyle only thought of getting away quickly.
"No, you’re mistaken, I’m not a Purifier."
"Is that so?" The woman let out a faint sigh, like she had lost a beloved toy, "But it doesn’t matter, whether you are or not, you seem to be quite friendly with those damned Paladins. So, boy, hand over everything you’ve got."
"Nia!" Lyle, sensing malice from the newcomer, called for Nia as black tendrils morphed into spikes, bursting from the eye holes of his mask. With a chilling gleam that promised death, they neared the woman’s eyes, now narrowed to slits.
The seductive laughter seemed to mock Lyle’s naivety. Shadows surged on the woman’s body, dark tendrils erupted from behind her mask, blooming like a giant flower, engulfing Lyle whole.
In the final second before Lyle’s perception faded, he could only let out one phrase.
"Damn, tier four."
More than one shadowy bloom opened in Lokarot, and as the surge of darkness continued, the Holy Light flared up once more.
"Enemy!" "Guardians! Protect the people!" With the arrival of the divine brilliance, the Guardians, like a machine at full throttle, charged into every alley and clashed with the rising shadows.
They faced their enemy under the sacred light, figures shrouded in shadow with cat ears and tails, wielding sharp claws. At the sight of the Holy Light, they screamed and lunged forward.
The once-peaceful Holy City was thrown into instant turmoil.
Raphael emerged from his quarters, with four Holy Swords floating behind him like angelic wings. He watched the troop of Guardians moving in masses down the streets, looking on as Frey issued commands.
"Do you need me, Frey?"
"The people of Lokarot need you more, leader." Ferre stepped forward, blending into the Holy Light, "I’ll take care of everything. Please reassure the restless populace. Duke Tracy has intervened; there are instigators among the turmoil. Please quell their panic, leader, before fear turns into real harm."
"I understand." Raphael’s robes billowed without wind, and he, along with the four Holy Swords, soared above the church square, now crowded with anxious citizens. Raphael radiated his gentle light, and particles bearing a calming aura fell like feathers from angels.
"It’s His Excellency Raphael! We’ll be alright! Angels are watching over us!"
"What’s happening? Why is everyone fleeing?"
"Monsters! Among those masked people, there are monsters! I saw it with my own eyes! She turned into a monster and devoured someone!"
"The masked ones are monsters! We should never have allowed them to stay! They’re guilty! They should be exiled!"
"No! They should be tried! Burned!"
The crowd, already settling under the Holy Light, fell into disorder once again. Raphael, from high above, watched those ’rats’ make their small moves.
I didn’t want to talk too much.
A sphere of light began to condense in Raphael’s hand. With the rapid whir of the sphere as it burst, the conserved buzzing sound became a gust that covered the entirety of Lokarot, silencing all other sounds. Once the hum dissipated, everyone heard a voice as soothing as flowing water.
"All citizens of Lokarot, please don’t panic, the Guardian Legion is with you. In the name of the leader of the Guardians, I, Raphael Pembai, guarantee the safety of each and every one of you."
That voice struck like a hammer, calming all hearts with a sense of security and fullness.
Until a discordant voice emerged.
"Respected Lord Raphael, I mean no disrespect, but all of us are in a state of panic; we don’t even know what those man-eating monsters are. Haven’t you and your army captured the beast yet? So much time has passed, Almighty Saint Light should have given us an answer by now. Could it be that even the Saint Light cannot bring resolution?"
Raphael looked at the figure standing up among the kneeling crowd, it was Duke Tracy. His tight-fitting robes made him stand out in the crowd; when he knelt, he was like a peacock, and now, the peacock was starting to bite.
It was a fairly simple question that could be dealt with by stalling tactics, but before Raphael’s lips could part, that familiar pitaya-shaped helmet appeared.
"Thank you for your kind words, Duke Tracy, the Almighty Saint Light has done it, we have captured them." Behind Frey, Paladins brought forth nine witches bound to phantom crucifixes to the center of the square. "They are witches, enemies of the Saint Light; they did not eat people, what they intended to do was kidnap. All citizens consumed by the shadow, we have rescued them unharmed; this chaos, zero casualties."
"Praise be to the Saint Light!!!" As Duke Tracy’s corner of the eye twitched, a series of cheers erupted from the crowd.
In the midst of the Guardians, Karen was surrounded by two Paladins, muttering softly to herself.
"Zero casualties, my foot! Sir Lyle is missing! He’s the only one gone. What you should be doing is rushing to his aide, not attending some godforsaken assembly here."
The Paladins on both sides were quick to soothe her. "Our brothers have already locked down Lokarot, the witch can’t escape, Lyle is safe. Lord Frey spoke of zero casualties to alleviate the public’s panic; it doesn’t mean we have given up on him. Karen, we’re all working hard."
"But your efforts are not enough, Sir Lyle is a Purifier!"
"Karen, we’re doing what we can, considering; we can’t forsake everyone else for one person, and besides, Lyle isn’t a Purifier. You saw it yourself, his light, it’s not that of a Purifier."
"No, I believe in Sir Lyle! He must be a Purifier!"
The dispute among the people, with interference from those with ulterior motives, continued; the nine witches hung listlessly on the crucifixes, their breaths faint, their bodies bearing more or less burn marks, looking like innocent girls who had been abused with private punishment.
"Citizens of Lokarot! Open your eyes and look! Are those girls really witches?" Duke Tracy tried to steer everyone’s sympathy, boldly approaching the witches like a benevolent man. "Look at these poor girls; they might just be scapegoats, the real monsters are still at large. My girls, don’t be afraid, in the presence of the Saint Light, please speak out the burden in your hearts. You are innocent humans, right? As long as you bravely face up to your identity, I promise you will survive, with the dignity of a pure Lokarot citizen." Duke Tracy shamelessly proposed a dirty deal; as long as the witches admit according to his words, the lie could exchange for the lives of the witches.
But Duke Tracy didn’t understand witches.
A spit was thrown onto Tracy’s face, accompanied by the witch’s scornful gaze, were dark tendrils that surged out of her body like steel lances, aiming to pierce Tracy through. If Frey hadn’t burned all those shadow tendrils, Tracy would truly be dead. The witch let out an inhuman shrill scream, "You stupid pig, a filthy man! You’ll never make me submit to you murderers! After you’ve violated my sisters, after we’ve been tormented to madness, we’d rather die than surrender! We are the Vengeance Witches, the saviors of the witch world!"
"You! You and your Saint Light! Will eventually be consumed by our shadows, your pitiful hypocritical Holy City will collapse! The future belongs to us! Our claws and fangs will tear you to pieces!"
The desperate, hoarse screams intimidated everyone in Lokarot; they saw the startling madness in the witch’s eyes, and they were frightened.
But the Saint Light would not be.
"Frey, how does the Saint Light deal with other races that attempt to harm humanity?"
"By fire, my Lord."
"Proceed."
With Frey’s slight gesture, nine witches were ignited by flames, screaming curses most malevolent.
"Our lady will avenge us! All the hardship we have suffered, will come back on yourselves!"
In the face of such curses, Raphael remained expressionless. Frey watched the bodies turning to char before him and casually remarked.
"Guardians await your revenge, justice will prevail."
The body, like a burning-out candle, managed to let out a sinister laugh.
"Wait? Hahahahahaha!!! The wait is over, Paladin."
"Now is the time... for vengeance."
As if in response to her words, atop the mountains to the north of Lokarot, a loud noise sounded; a pillar of shadow soaring into the sky tore through the heavens, like an eye opening from the firmament, gazing at the insignificant Lokarot beneath the shadows. The shadows covered the sky, igniting it. Just as the glory of Lokarot’s night is unquenchable, that mountain range, too, entered an eternal night within the shadows.
