Chapter 212: The Day the Rain Returned
Hearing Sir Kael’s scolding, Shaan immediately ran as fast as he could until he finally caught up with Sir Kael. From behind, he saw Sir Kael standing with both hands resting behind his back, muttering under his breath.
"Sir Kael, what’s going on...."
Shaan froze. The words caught in his throat when he saw firsthand that the box was not intact. Cracks covered almost every side of its surface. Several of them had widened into large holes. A sense of dread immediately filled his chest. Shaan stepped closer and looked inside. His heart sank.
Only half of the alchemical salt remained. Damn. Even though he and Sebastian had successfully transported the crate to the top of the tower, part of the salt had escaped through the holes and scattered into the wind during the journey.
"Perfect timing. I was just about to call for you."
Sir Kael turned toward Shaan and folded his arms across his chest. "Hey, you." He took a step forward. "Tell me exactly what happened." His eyes locked onto Shaan. "How did this crate end up in this condition?" Sir Kael slammed his foot against the wooden platform. "Do you have any idea how serious this is?" he demanded. "How are you going to take responsibility for this?"
"..."
"Hey, say something!" Sir Kael’s voice suddenly rose. "Why did this damned crate end up like this?"
"The Resistance. They just suddenly showed up with the creatures of darkness and messed everything up." Shaan hung his head in defeat. "I-I and Sebastian did our best to keep them from attacking the box, but... we had no idea it would turn out like this. I’m sorry."
"That damn group... really messed everything up." Sir Kael fell silent for a moment, shaking his head. "So... did you manage to take out the members of that damn group? All of them?"
"Yes. It’s just that Sebastian is pretty badly injured and he’s currently receiving treatment."
"All right, then." Sir Kael sighed. "Stay here and help the others. Make sure no chaos breaks out. I’ll report this to the marshal and Daisy.
"I understand."
Shaan immediately joined the other Daemonists and helped them move the final crate toward a corner of the tower. Together, they tilted the damaged crate and carefully poured out the remaining alchemical salt. The last grains scattered into the wind.
"Finally." Shaan let out a long breath. "Now we just have to wait for the salt to do its job."
Shaan sat at the edge of the tower, waiting for the rain. A sense of joy washed over him, knowing that soon this pink mist would disappear and everything would be perfectly visible.
However, several minutes passed, and nothing happened.
Not a single drop of rain fell from the sky. His confidence began to waver. Doubt crept into his mind, followed by a growing sense of guilt. For some reason, he could not shake the feeling that the plan would fail because they had lost too much alchemical salt.
"I should have been able to keep that box safe," Shaan sighed deeply, lowering his head. "Argh, damn it! Why does everything have to be like this? Why can’t I protect it well?"
As despair slowly tightened its grip on him, he suddenly felt something land on his palm. A tiny drop. At first, he ignored it. Maybe sweat had dripped from his face after hours of wearing the protective mask. But the droplets kept coming.
One after another.Soft.Steady. Almost like the rhythm of a song. Shaan fell silent. Then he slowly lifted his head and realized the drops were falling from the sky.
"Rain... It’s raining." Without a moment of hesitation, Shaan tore off his protective mask.
"My God... it worked! The salt actually—"
A sudden clap of thunder interrupted him.
’RUMBLE!’
Rain poured from the sky in an instant. Heavy drops crashed down across Twilight Sanctum, drenching rooftops, streets, and towers alike. The pink fog that had blanketed the city for so long began to fade. Little by little, the thick haze dissolved beneath the rain until it vanished completely.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Shaan could see the entire city from the top of the watchtower.
"Haha... It’s raining! Finally!"
The rain grew heavier and heavier, soaking Shaan’s clothes. Raindrops kept hitting Shaan’s face, but he didn’t care at all. He just smiled. Laughing with great joy because it turned out their efforts all this time had not been in vain. One more step... one more step, and they would be able to reclaim the Twilight Sanctum.
"I have to meet up with the others," Shaan said enthusiastically. "We have to go to the cathedral before—"
’BOOM!’
A loud explosion rang out from behind Shaan. He quickly turned around, and his eyes widened instantly when he saw the sound was coming from two locations at once: the cathedral and Dr. Marshal’s residence. That made Shaan realize immediately that it seemed the Resistance had succeeded in destroying his protective machine.
"Oh, no, no. I have to tell Sir Kael about this right away," Shaan said, running toward the door leading to the staircase. "I have to hurry before it’s too late."
However, just as Shaan reached for the door, someone suddenly burst through it from the other side. The figure slammed into him with enough force to knock him to the ground.
"What—?!"
’Tap. Tap. Tap.’
"I have to admit, your idea was actually pretty good," said a red-haired woman as she slowly revealed herself. "However, the Resistance isn’t as stupid as you think. We’ve already surrounded this place."
"H-how is that possible?" His face instantly turned deathly pale. "How did you find out?"
The woman laughed. A cold, mocking laugh. "Don’t you find it strange that no one attacked you while you were out gathering those supplies?"
"...."
"Fool! Of course, it’s because we were watching you."She chuckled softly. "We observed every single one of your movements. Now, the leader will move in to take over the cathedral. The Twilight Sanctum will fall, and the Resistance will take control of everything." The woman folded her arms haughtily. "Surrender. Your time is over. She took another step forward. Her gaze locked onto Shaan. "You’ve already lost."
"No." Shaan rose to his feet and tightened his grip on his dual short swords.
Rainwater dripped from his clothes as he faced the red-haired woman without backing down."I won’t let Twilight Sanctum fall into the Resistance’s hands. "His voice carried a conviction that even surprised him."Not now. Not ever."
"Oh... so you’re quite an interesting person after all, aren’t you?" the woman said, drawing two long daggers into her hands. "Looks like this is going to be an interesting fight, and I’m going to enjoy it very much."
