The girl was continuously stuffing magic stones into her mouth without pause, as if savoring some delicious delicacy.
The black-robed man nearby wanted to seize the opportunity to use the black smoke to devour them, but the moment the black smoke touched the crystals, the girl turned her head and glanced at him.
A flash of bloody light suddenly flickered in the depths of the girl's eyes.
Whoosh!
Black flames suddenly erupted all over the man's body. Before long, he was burned beyond recognition and collapsed completely.
Seeing the man's death, the girl turned her head back and continued eating as if nothing had happened.
Theresa's breathing quickened as she witnessed this eerie scene.
What is wrong with her? Why did she suddenly start eating those magic stones? Isn't that something only members of the Abyssal Order would do...?
Just then, she caught sight of a large mass of black flames enveloping the crystals.
Theresa seemed to realize something...
She is the Witch of Flame?! She disguised herself as an ordinary girl to get close to me?
If so, maybe she was also behind that mass death incident. She wanted to lure me here on purpose, letting us kill each other first so she could reap the benefits and claim these magic stones in the end...
But couldn't she have just attacked directly? She clearly has the strength to do so!
Theresa felt that the sheer bizarreness of this situation had far exceeded her comprehension.
Step... Step... Step...
At that moment, she heard the sound of footsteps.
The instant the footsteps rang out, she suddenly felt a ringing in her ears. Desire welled up in her heart, and her vision gradually began to sway.
Looking up, she saw a figure enter her field of vision, shrouded in black mist, making her form indistinguishable.
But Theresa knew it was the girl.
...Is she here to kill me...? Theresa thought.
She recalled the fire in her house three years ago, and her three years of hunting the Abyssal Order...
Soon, these memories dissolved together. She watched as plumes of smoke continuously spread, clouding her vision.
Am I going to die...? Theresa silently closed her eyes.
However, the black smoke quickly dispersed.
Whether it was Theresa's illusion or not, she saw the mist on the girl's face fade away as well, revealing the delicate face beneath.
At this moment, the corners of the girl's eyes were slightly red, as if she had just wept, yet the corners of her mouth were arched upward in an unnatural, eerie smile.
Before long, she spoke, her ethereal voice echoing throughout the secret chamber:
“...I'm... I'm sorry...”
“...Please don't come near me anymore...”
Fading away along with her voice was the sound of her footsteps.
Step... Step... Step...
The girl was gone...
The mist cleared away with her, leaving behind only the scorched smell of burnt plants.
Seeing the girl leave, Theresa let out a slight sigh of relief.
Immediately after, deeper doubts entered her mind.
Why did she spare me...?
...
Step... Step... Step...
The girl walked out, passing through the long corridors and dark alleys, eventually returning to Candlelight Alley.
The girl felt a bit hungry. Her body felt ice-cold, and her mind was a chaotic mess...
Yet for some reason, the desire in her heart could not be suppressed. She needed to feed on more despair and contaminate more people.
At the thought of the broken expressions that would appear on their faces, she couldn't help but laugh out loud.
However, she still covered her mouth.
From beneath her hand, only a few soft giggles escaped.
But she quickly reminisced about the pleasure of devouring the magic stones and the delight of burning the black-robed man... These sensations gradually brought her joy, causing her to sink deeper into them.
Finally, she could no longer suppress the restlessness in her heart. Her body moved before her reason could. Step by step, she marched forward, the black flames burning brighter and fiercer around her!
The black mist spread gradually around her with every step she took.
Then, she saw it. The people around her began to fight like madmen, tearing at each other's flesh as blood splattered everywhere.
Dark scales sprouted on some of their bodies. Their faces began to writhe incessantly, gradually growing massive tumors.
But she didn't care at all, simply continuing to walk in silence.
Solana's pace was very slow, as if she were strolling through this black ocean, savoring every bit of despair.
Wherever she passed, houses began to rapidly burn and decay.
The sky was also shrouded in black mist, which gradually opened up like a giant mouth, or perhaps a massive eye, gazing down at the alley.
Soon, Solana arrived near a crude house with mottled dirt walls and a patched roof.
Seeing this house, the girl seemed to remember something again. Unconsciously, she felt a fraction of her sanity return...
Silently approaching the half-open wooden door, she saw two figures inside.
A young man was lying on the bed. Blood was continuously seeping from his chest; he seemed to be dead. Yet his face was peaceful and serene, and Solana could not sense any despair from him.
Beside him was a masked woman in a black robe, quietly leaning over the young man as if listening to his heartbeat.
For some reason, a trace of sorrow welled up in the girl's heart, and she gently closed the wooden door.
Rumble!
Suddenly, a clap of thunder cracked!
A light drizzle began to fall from the sky, draping a gray veil over the entire city.
Her vision was blocked by this curtain of rain. The scenes seemed to gradually recede from before her eyes until they became completely blurred...
Her eyes grew misty too.
“It must be the rain. Forget it, it has nothing to do with me anyway...” she murmured softly.
As her whisper faded, there was no longer any trace of the girl in front of the door.
She departed along the alley.
The rain kept falling, seemingly without end.
But the fire only burned hotter.
They appeared even more dazzling amidst the curtain of rain!
At the same time, the surrounding pedestrians grew increasingly frantic. One after another, people plunged from the rooftops.
Then, seeing that they hadn't died from the fall, they frantically stabbed themselves in the chest like madmen.
Squelch! Squelch! The sound of blades piercing flesh echoed continuously.
Before long, bodies lay strewn in every direction.
The skin of the corpses began to rapidly rot and decay, eventually leaving behind only a ground covered in bone fragments.
In less than fifteen minutes, the entire alley was left with nothing but blood covering the ground.
Step... Step... Step...
Splash... Splash...
And so, the girl walked off into the distance, stepping through the pool of blood.
...
In a corridor of a monastery, Camilla was out of breath, frantically pounding on the door and crying out in panic,
“Oh no, oh no, Lady Ignis! Please let me in quickly!”
The door opened shortly.
“Whoops!”
Camilla stumbled, but she quickly steadied herself, preventing herself from falling over.
She looked up slightly, only to see Ignis staring at her with a cold expression, her arms crossed.
On the wooden bed nearby lay a petite figure. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing heavily, her brows knitted tightly as if she were experiencing something terrifying.
Camilla glanced at Celia on the bed, then at Ignis standing nearby, showing an "as expected" expression.
Hmph, I thought you were my good sister. I didn't expect you to secretly do this kind of thing behind my back! she thought.
She opened her mouth, wanting to tease her, but was suddenly glared back into silence by Ignis.
“I need to go out. Take good care of her for me,” Ignis said.
“Ah? Go out... where to? When will you be back?” Camilla asked reflexively.
Ignis glanced at her as if looking at a fool.
“Oh, I get it! You're going to the slums, right? The Witch of Flame seems to be there!” Camilla said, suddenly realizing.
Ignis didn't say anything, but her gaze grew even colder.
Camilla felt a bit awkward under the stare, so she quickly waved her hands.
“Aiya, don't worry, I won't get in the way of you chasing your wife!”
With that, she took a step aside, respectfully holding the door open for Ignis, and said,
“Go on, go on, come back soon!”
“Take good care of her for me,” Ignis said to Camilla, casting another glance at the girl lying on the bed.
“Mhm!” Camilla quickly nodded in agreement.
Bang!
The sound of the door being heavily shut rang out.
Camilla let out a sigh of relief. She silently walked to the bedside, staring at the girl's sleeping face, wondering what secret thoughts were crossing her mind.
Rate on N.U.
