Chapter 580.2: The Missing Girl (2)
Thinking about the most frightening possibility induced a shudder from Roel, and he clutched his hair in an attempt to force himself to calm down. Nora rushed forward and grabbed his arm.
“Calm down, Roel. Don’t think too much about it. Alicia is probably safe.”
“What makes you say so?”
“I have no basis behind my words, but… her powers suddenly underwent tremendous growth last year. If I’m not mistaken, she reached Origin Level 2 prior to her disappearance.”
“Origin Level 2?”
Roel blinked as he struggled to take in what he had just heard. Alicia had only just reached Origin Level 3 when he entered the Witness State a year ago, after all. However, he didn’t think that it was unbelievable when he thought about the deduction he had arrived at in the Witness State.
Right. Alicia’s rapid growth would make sense if she’s really related to the Black Moon. But if she’s in a safe position, what could have possibly caused her to…
“Hold on. Nora, you mentioned that Alicia was wandering around the area where I entered the Witness State… Could it be Shrouding Fog’s doing, then?”
“We did think of that possibility too, but we are lacking in our knowledge of the Six Calamities. We are also facing a manpower crunch due to the war effort on the eastern border. We couldn’t assign too many people to investigate Shrouding Fog, so we haven’t been keeping track of its recent movements…” Nora replied with an apologetic expression.
“…I see.”
Roel fell silent.
Contrary to what Nora was thinking, he would have felt much more assured if it was Shrouding Fog who had taken Alicia away. Shrouding Fog was unlikely to hurt her, given her ties with the Mother Goddess. Rather, it would be much more dangerous for her if the culprit was one of the other powers.
Roel was particularly wary of the Fallens, especially the Collector. While they hadn’t shown an interest in Alicia thus far, there was a real possibility that they might seek to eliminate her if they learned about her background, considering the Savior and the Mother Goddess’ hostile ties.
His face turned grim, but his head started to spin before he could think of a solution. Luckily, Nora, who had been keeping a close eye on him, rushed forward to support him.
“Roel!”
“…I’m fine. I’m just feeling a little light-headed. I’ll go over there and rest for a moment.”
“…”
Nora was pained to see Roel in this state.
His father was severely injured and his little sister had suddenly gone missing; ordinary humans wouldn’t have been able to take such a blow. Still, she had chosen to tell him the truth because she believed in his mental strength.
Roel had never wallowed in despair no matter how difficult the situation was. While the current situation had literally hit home for him, she thought that he would still be able to overcome it and stand stronger than ever.
Time slowly passed by.
Roel leaned against the wall while staring intently at the ground. A long time later, he let out a sigh as his eyes hardened in determination.
Nora’s eyes lit up.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Mm. I have calmed down. Sorry about earlier.”
“Don’t worry about it… What are your current thoughts?”
“There’s too much to summarize. For the time being, let’s escape from here first,” Roel said as he grimly looked at the cavern’s entrance.
He was worried about Alicia’s disappearance and Carter’s injuries, but the truth was that he was in the most precarious position of all. While he had escaped from the deviants’ encirclement, it had only resulted in his straying further from the human world.
The Deviant Sovereign was still after him. That was an enemy he wasn’t confident of defeating even after recovering his strength. Most importantly of all, Nora’s protection was running out.
“Nora, how long can you maintain Ascendwing’s projection?”
“It’ll likely run out by tomorrow…”
“…”
“You’re too deep in the deviants’ territory right now. The united army won’t be able to dispatch soldiers to rescue you. Sending in an elite force will also be tough since the Deviant Sovereign is combing the area. You’re in no state to navigate this area by yourself, either. At this rate…” Nora clenched her fists worriedly.
Roel pursed his lips in silence.
This was probably the worst situation he had ever been in, but he would continue to persist as long as there was a sliver of hope, especially after learning about Carter’s and Alicia’s situations.
I need to return as soon as possible to investigate this matter, Roel thought as he glanced at the faint light coming from the cavern’s entrance.
…
In the distant Tark Stronghold, Nora’s situation had already caught the church’s attention.
In the stronghold’s command center, Nora’s body was shrouded in holy light. Buzzing around her was a bunch of busy clergymen, who were busy invoking their emergency communication magic tools.
Nora was currently Tark Stronghold’s highest commander. Her actions could easily determine the fate of the Theocracy’s soldiers. However, she was unable to move her body right now, as her consciousness had been projected elsewhere.
The first thing the clergymen did was to ensure her safety, followed by reaching out to the main headquarters of the Genesis Goddess Church to entrust the decision-making power to them.
A white-haired old man projected in the command center quietly assessed Nora, while the others in the room waited for his verdict in absolute silence.
Holy Eminence John’s prestige had risen to greater heights after he successfully defeated an Origin Level 1 giant deviant, but the injuries he sustained in the process made him look older than usual. Even so, his eyes continued to flicker with wisdom.
Assessing the unconscious Nora, he keenly noticed that the mana pulsation coming from her was the same one he had seen years ago in the royal palace. Its reappearance here had great significance.
That child is back, Holy Eminence John thought as he breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Far too many things had changed after Roel’s disappearance, especially his precious granddaughter. She continued to maintain a strong front before others, but it was not just once or twice that he had seen her weeping in the silence of the night.
Her father had disappeared to Shrouding Fog, and her grandfather was severely injured. Such circumstances forced her to take the helm whether she was ready for it or not. No doubt she was a competent and inspiring leader, but John could almost hear her taut nerves creaking under the pressure, especially since she was not in the best emotional state. It was only a matter of time before she snapped.
It was a good thing that Roel had returned at this moment, which provided her with the mental support she direly needed… but the situation didn’t look optimistic on his side, either.
“Have you determined the activation location of the holy artifact yet?”
“Holy Eminence John, there seems to be some powerful force disturbing the holy artifacts’ mana pulsation. We are only able to ascertain the rough direction.”
“A disturbance? Which direction are they in?”
“…They are in the southeast.”
“…”
The room fell deathly silent. Holy Eminence John’s already-pale face turned even more severe. Everyone present in this room knew what was further east of the human world’s eastern border. Some of them could also guess what it meant for Ascendwing’s mana pulsation to be disrupted, and that shed light on what they were up against.
Since last year, a powerful aura reminiscent of an ancient god had enveloped the entire Tark Prairie, inducing fear in the hearts of the humans. Since then, more priests had been appearing in the deviants’ military lineup, and the tides had begun to turn against the humans.
Even the united army, which had dealt with four invasions thus far, had never encountered such a situation before. The church and the scholars investigated the matter and arrived at a similar conclusion: the highest ruler of the deviants had awoken from his slumber.
The clergymen in the room fell silent. They knew that an important question had been presented to Holy Eminence John: Should we save him or not?
It was only a matter of time before the holy artifact’s ability ran out and Nora returned, but the person who invoked the spell would still be trapped in the vast prairie. Even if they knew his location, the chances of saving him were extremely slim, and it would come at a massive price.
Most importantly of all, this was likely to be a trap.
Holy Eminence John had departed from the frontline not just because the main headquarters could provide better recovery conditions. This was also a strategic decision made by the united army to conceal the whereabouts of their Race Sovereigns lest that terrifying existence target them.
For Holy Eminence John to enter Tark Prairie now was no different from a lamb walking into a tiger’s mouth. He would be presenting an opportunity of a lifetime to his enemies. It would be no different from gambling with his life.
Is it worth risking the lives of an Origin Level 1 transcendent and many soldiers to rescue the number one person of the golden generation?
None in the room could answer this question. Holy Eminence John quietly stared at his unconscious granddaughter for a long time before sighing softly.
“It still comes in the end, but that’s fine. Maybe this is the right time.”
Leaving those cryptic words behind, he switched off the communication magic tool. He picked up a paper and a quill beside his royal throne and began writing a letter.
He had made sure to completely seal off news about this matter due to its implications, but little did he know that someone else had learned about Roel’s return earlier than he had.
In a fortress heavily patrolled by knights, an old man stood in front of his throne with a sword in hand. Standing before him was a flustered Teresa, who had abruptly returned from the frontlines without any warning.
Friedrich Cambonyte quickly dismissed everyone in the room before quizzically looking at the pink-haired woman. The latter immediately took out her notebook and furiously scribbled on it.
Wilhelmina told me last night that she sensed something. Then, she suddenly left the fortress and entered the prairie all alone!
“!”
Friedrich was momentarily stunned before the air suddenly turned heavy.
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