Chapter 538 The Black Holy City
For everyone, walking in such a ruin is not a big deal. Even Mary, who was a little uneasy at first, gradually became calmer after long walks, and because of this, Mary discovered some anomalies that she had not noticed before.
"Mr. Duanmu, there seems to be nothing here??"
"Huh?"
"No, I mean......"
As Mary spoke, she held a flashlight and shined a light on the surrounding ground. There was nothing on the smooth floor except some dust. This was normal, but in a ruins, this was somewhat abnormal.
"There are no remains, and there are no decorations or anything like that...Is this normal?"
Yes, Mary has followed her teacher to inspect the ruins before. Generally speaking, in the ruins of large building complexes like this, there will probably be remains and even the remains of some civilized items left by the predecessors. But it was as clean as if someone had vacuumed it, leaving nothing behind.
"Oh, it's not normal to put it anywhere else, but it's perfectly normal to put it here."
Duanmu Huai quickly gave the answer.
"Hey? Why?"
"Didn't I just say that? The ancient ones were unable to leave the planet due to physical degradation. Then, they encountered a little trouble and then became extinct."
"Is it a disease? Or a plague?"
"Haha, neither."
Duanmuhuai shook his head.
"It's a rebellion."
"…………Rebellion??"
"Yes, you have also seen such a large building complex. The ancients came here for vacation, and they could not be stupid enough to build their own houses. So they used their own knowledge to create a kind of shoggoth called Shoggoth. Creatures as servants... Well, it's very disgusting. You can think of it as a moldy jelly with countless eyes on it, and its body can deform anywhere."
“Woo………………”
Just imagining it, Mary said... it was indeed disgusting.
"In short, the Shoggoths rebelled later, and the ancient ones with degenerated bodies couldn't fight or run away, so they were finished. As for their corpses and other things, they were naturally swallowed by the Shoggoths—— —And then there was no more. ”
"What about the Shoggoths?"
"Oh, right down here."
As he spoke, Duanmuhuai clenched his cane and knocked on the ground. The heavy impact echoed in the silent hall. His attitude was so natural that Mary couldn't even react for a moment.
"…………Huh???"
"It's right down here."
"………………Are you kidding?"
Mary stopped and looked at the solid, smooth stone slab under her feet. She didn't know if it was affected by the story told by Duanmu Huai, but now she seemed to be able to feel that there seemed to be something rustling under the thick stone slab. The thing is squirming, and the thing itself comes from tens of millions of years before humans were born...
"Okay, this is not important at the moment. We should take your friend back as soon as possible."
Having said this, Duanmu Huai also stopped, and Mary raised her head, only to realize that they had walked through the corridor at some point and arrived in front of a heavy, sealed door. Duanmuhuai stretched out his hand, pressed it on the cold and heavy door panel, and then growled.
"Open!!"
"Rumble, rumble, rumble——"
The stone door opened in response, and at the same time, this seemed to attract the attention of some kind of existence. In just the blink of an eye, suddenly, a series of harsh and strange screams came from all directions.
"This, this is?"
"Well, it seems that the other party is obviously impatient..."
Duanmuhuai clenched his cane and snorted coldly.
"Lorena, get ready to do it."
"Of course, Lord Knight!"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's words, Lorena nodded, and then Mary saw the girl suddenly open the holy book in her hand, and the next moment a dazzling light emerged from it, turning the heavy protective clothing Lorena was wearing into A white gold-trimmed set that looks like something worn by a clergyman. At the same time, Lorena clenched her little fists and stood at the door with her back to them.
"Please leave it to me!"
"Wait, wait, Miss Lorena, this is..."
"Okay, don't worry. This little trouble won't be a big problem for Lorena. On the contrary, it will be a problem for her to stay here. Go in. Remember, you have only one goal. Don't forget it. ! ”
As soon as the words fell, Duanmu Huai stretched out his hand and pushed Mary into the door. The next moment, her eyes suddenly went dark. With a loud "boom", everything seemed to have returned to its original silence.
"Mr. Duanmu? Miss Lorena???"
Mary held the flashlight in her hand and looked around blankly, but when she looked around, there was only darkness in front of her eyes.
No, not total darkness.
The golden pupil of Mary's right eye saw through the dark nature.
Those are... steps, steps that spiral upwards and seem to lead all the way to the sky.
At the same time, Duanmuhuai's voice sounded in Mary's ears again.
Remember, you have only one goal, don’t forget it.
………………
Yes, I have only one goal, whether it is in the dark streets of the foggy city, or in the ice and snow of Antarctica, or even now...
"Charlie, wait for me, I will come to you now."
"Da da da da da da..."
The sound of crisp footsteps echoed on the dead stairs, and Mary ran upwards in large strides. Although she didn't know where to go, she knew and was very clear about her goal, the goal she was looking for.
Right at the end. He was clearly running and had already climbed hundreds of meters of stairs, but surprisingly he didn't feel tired at all, let alone panting. It's like this is not reality, but a dream. Or maybe Miss Lorena's training had an effect?
However, compared to the pace and exhaustion, the oncoming darkness brought another change to the girl's mood.
Those are echoes and memories of the past.
The scene of his own mother, a master's degree mother, saying goodbye to him at the airport.
"That's it. Just be a good child with good words and deeds, Mary."
"I know, I am no longer a child, and there is no problem in being alone, so mom just work hard over there. Take care, mother."
"Ah, you too, Mary..."
In this way, her mother left her, she lost her father, and the mother and daughter who had been dependent on each other since childhood were separated, but Mary knew very well that her mother just abandoned her. She chose her job over her daughter...
Don't leave me, mother.
Looking at the airship going away, the only thing the girl could say was the whisper in her heart.
Don’t leave me alone…………!
“……………………”
The steps stopped.
Mary's eyes widened in surprise. At this moment, her whole body trembled involuntarily. The memory that she no longer wanted to recall two years ago turned into a nightmare at this moment, controlling her from the inside out. Body. That was the cry of my young self from two years ago.
Please, mother, don’t leave me, don’t leave me alone, it’s scary and lonely to be alone...
However, at this moment......
"What are you doing."
A man's voice came to my ears again.
A low, familiar man's voice.
"Don't forget, you have only one purpose."
"That's right."
Hearing this, Mary was shocked, and her body, which had been as tired as a bad omen before, seemed to become much more relaxed.
It's not over yet, I didn't come here just to end it!
The girl raised her head again, moved forward, and walked up the steps.
Move forward, keep moving forward.
Then she saw it.
A friend with blond hair, green eyes, and a gentle face, she stood in the altar like this, wearing a dark dress that seemed to be woven from the surrounding darkness.
"Charlie......"
Even though she had foreseen this scene countless times, Mary still didn't know what to say when she saw her friend's posture in front of her. And she also noticed that her friend's left eye, like her right eye, had turned into golden... golden pupils.
"...Long time no see, Mary. To be honest, I didn't expect you to come here."
The tone was as calm and gentle as ever, as if they were currently preparing to enjoy afternoon tea in Mrs. Leeds's restaurant.
"Charlie, why are you doing this? What are you doing for?"
Looking at her friend, Mary finally asked her inner question.
And she finally got Charlie's answer.
"…………Because I don’t want to lose you."
"………………"
"I'm scared, maybe tomorrow it will be like that."
"………………"
"So, I don't need the future."
"………………"
"As long as today is enough, as long as now. I don't need the future. Instead of losing you, why not...stay here, Mary?"
As she spoke, Charlie raised her hand and pointed at Mary.
"My wish has come true. I meet you in Sharnos, where I should be alone. So, please, stay."
As Xia Li spoke, darkness squirmed, twisted, and condensed on her white fingertips, turning into a sharp blade.
"Staying today forever...Only in this way can we protect us, right?"
"But...but..."
Looking at her friend in front of her, Mary gritted her teeth.
"No one is here, not even Xie, not everyone. It's just you and me here, Charlie."
"That's right."
After hearing Mary's answer, Charlie lowered her eyes.
"You are much gentler than me. I have given up everything except you, but don't worry, Mary, I already knew you would say this..."
Saying this, Charlie raised her sword and pointed it at Mary.
"I will tear off your thorns and drive you through with my thorns, and you will stay here with me for eternity. So... stay here with me! Please! Mary!!!"
Accompanied by the girl's hoarse scream, the next moment, the black sword blade stabbed Mary's chest.
(End of chapter)