Once Hannah's injuries had completely stabilized, her breathing grew steady.
Gero carefully picked her up as he stood, nodding solemnly to Eve.
“Thank you.”
He then led Lin Gui and the other two to a secluded spot.
The shockwaves from the recent battle had been immense, and nearly the entire Blackwater City had heard them.
After gently laying Hannah on the ground, the knight Gero sat upright on a dirt mound.
He looked at Lin Gui, his expression growing somewhat complex.
“If you are truly searching for Avalon to seek refuge...”
He paused, his voice dropping.
“...then you might be... too late.”
Lin Gui's eyelids twitched.
“What do you mean?”
Gero gave a bitter smile, glanced at Hannah in his arms, and then looked back at Lin Gui.
“This...”
“I'm Lin Gui. She is Theia, and this is Eve,” Lin Gui introduced quickly.
Gero nodded. “Very well. If you don't mind, I will call you ‘little mage’.”
Lin Gui lowered his eyelids in resignation.
For some reason, high-ranking powerhouses all seemed to like calling him that.
Caleb did, Freya did, and so did the man before him.
As for the big shots in Shield City, they preferred to call him ‘human kid’.
Gero then asked:
“Do you know where Avalon is?”
“Near the Wailing Corridor,” Lin Gui replied.
Gero cast a somewhat surprised glance at him.
Their enemies had searched for them for so long without finding a thing.
Yet, this mere High Rank mage before him had pointed out their headquarters' location in a single breath.
“The Wailing Corridor is a notoriously deadly place.”
“Then do you know, surrounded as it is by the nests of Epic spectral demons—”
“—how Avalon manages to exist safely among them?”
Lin Gui pondered for a moment and replied:
“Because of Gusion.”
“Because of his... Demon King Pillar.”
He organized his thoughts and continued:
“The ability of his Demon King Pillar is likely geared toward ‘concealment’ or ‘deception’.”
“Not only can it hide from the roaming Epic spectral demons...”
“...it even hid the city from Shadow Blade Lynn and her group when they crossed the Wailing Corridor back then.”
This time, Gero was truly dumbfounded.
He stared blankly at Lin Gui, unable to utter a word for a long time.
Only after a long while did he shake his head helplessly.
“How... how do you know everything?”
Lin Gui shrugged.
“They're just guesses.”
He caught the look on Gero's face.
“But judging by your reaction, I shouldn't be too far from the truth.”
Gero burst out laughing and let out a sigh.
“What a... clever little mage.”
“The reason Avalon can exist in a deadly land that even Epics fear...”
“...is because the city-state was built with Lord Gusion's Demon King Pillar as its core.”
“And as a divine artifact exclusive to a Demon King, a symbol of their status, the pillar's power is naturally extraordinary.”
“Lord Gusion's Demon King Pillar might not match the Brotherhood's lost concealment artifact in terms of pure stealth.”
“But its range is vast enough to cover a small city-state, and it can mask soul detection to a certain degree.”
“Within the Wall of Sighs, this concealment is of paramount importance.”
“And it is precisely because of Lord Gusion's Demon King Pillar that Avalon could be established in this forbidden zone.”
Gero's voice grew distant, a look of nostalgia appearing in his eyes.
“There, there is no high or low race, no noble or lowly bloodline.”
“Elves, dwarves, humans, beastkin, half-demons... and even a few demons.”
“Races that should have been sworn enemies can eat at the same table and fight side by side.”
“Discriminated half-demons can openly show their demon sigils and heterochromatic eyes.”
Gero took a deep breath, his tone filled with undeniable pride.
“There is no distinction between nobles and commoners there.”
“Everyone calls each other ‘compatriot.’ We share food and bear hardships together.”
He looked at Lin Gui, then at Theia and Eve.
“The greatest fortune of my life was becoming a member of Avalon.”
He smiled, a clean and candid expression.
“I don't need to hold a holy book and fantasize about the city of angels described in scriptures.”
“Because Avalon—”
“—is the ‘Eden’ of my dreams, within arm's reach.”
Gero spoke softly, his eyes filled with gentleness.
He knew he had veered off-topic.
Yet, he couldn't help but want to address the three strangers before him.
To share his bone-deep love and attachment to that city-state.
It was the sanctuary he had finally found after being unable to change any of the tragic realities.
It was the light he was willing to protect, even if it meant carrying the infamy of a defector.
As Theia listened to Gero's tale, a look of yearning unconsciously appeared in her eyes.
Eve was also slightly moved.
She naturally knew the weight of ‘Eden’ in the Holy Church of Light—
it was the embodiment of supreme faith, the city in the sky where angels resided.
To use it to describe Avalon showed just how high of a position this city-state held in the heart of this powerful knight.
Yet, amidst this warm atmosphere, Lin Gui ruthlessly dragged the conversation back to reality:
“You said we're too late—”
“—is it because Gusion left Avalon and went to that ‘Voiceless Rift’?”
Gero nodded, a helpless, bitter smile appearing on his face.
“Exactly.”
He looked into the depths of the gray mist in the distance, his voice low:
“Everyone who can enter Avalon must be personally guided and escorted by Lord Gusion.”
“Without his magic, no one can get in.”
He paused, looking at Lin Gui, and said honestly:
“Including me.”
Gero's voice became solemn.
“There are a total of five Epic spectral demons surrounding Avalon.”
“The strongest among them can even rival the one on the outskirts of the Wall of Sighs.”
He paused and uttered the name that struck terror into the hearts of countless hunters.
“Serafina the Deathspeaker.”
Hearing this name, Lin Gui's breath hitched slightly.
He still remembered when that demon was mentioned, who was just outside the City of Bounties and not far from the selection meeting's location.
Blackbeard's eyes had been filled with sheer terror.
Gero looked at Lin Gui with a serious gaze.
“Without Lord Gusion's concealment magic, which is powerful enough to block soul perception...”
“...it is absolutely impossible to bypass their blockade and enter Avalon.”
Gero's meaning was already crystal clear.
Only with Gusion around could they possibly cross the Wailing Corridor.
And truly step into Avalon.
But now, Gusion's whereabouts were unknown.
Even Roger and Hannah, who regularly left Avalon to monitor the movements inside the wall,
were trapped outside and could not return.
After losing contact with Gusion, Roger had attempted to force his way through the Wailing Corridor several times.
But they had all ended in failure.
It was precisely during his frequent activities in trying to return.
That Lin Gui and Eve locked onto his position through Prophecy.
And tracked him all the way here.
As for the news of Gusion heading to the ‘Voiceless Rift’.
Roger and Hannah had actually just learned of it from the Demon Hunter Rosa.
It was no different from what Lin Gui knew.
Thinking of Jesse and her group, Lin Gui tentatively questioned Roger.
He wanted to know if Roger was aware of their goal.
Did they really want to trigger another Dark Tide within the Wall of Sighs?
If so, Lin Gui would absolutely, without a second thought, take Theia and run immediately.
Under the Dark Tide, the saying ‘all living beings are equal’ was no joke.
In the face of that world-ending disaster, the high-and-mighty royalty were no different from the refugees scraping for food in the dirt.
In the end, everyone would be submerged and reduced to demon food.
However, Roger only shook his head, indicating he did not know either.
Lin Gui asked a few more questions about Gusion.
But Roger answered vaguely and briefly.
Clearly, he was still on guard against Lin Gui.
Even his initial counter-questions and explanations fell into this category.
They were themselves tests of Lin Gui's identity and intentions.
It wasn't until Lin Gui accurately spoke of the connection between Gusion and the Demon King Pillar.
Only then did Roger slightly let down his guard and go along with Lin Gui's speculation.
From beginning to end, this conversation had been like this.
It had been entangled in silent scrutiny and calculation.
Rate on N.U.
