Chapter 298: The Once Beloved Children

Caria held Lugis’ shoulders, which had become considerably heavy, and held them on her back to support his weight. Lugis weighed a lot in comparison to her petite stature, but she didn’t feel uncomfortable. Or rather, she even felt good for being able to support his weight now.

The dried blood stuck to the floor of the Great Temple. Her nose, sensitive to the iron smell, seemed to become numb at some point.

The open bloodied wound on her shoulder felt as if even the nerves were torn. The breath that escaped from her lips was hot enough to burn her skin.

「Stand up. I can’t afford to lend you a hand right now. He is heavy, you know. 」

After receiving those words, Eldith let out a deeper breath than Caria. Her blue eyes rang slightly louder.

「Who do you think I am? I am the descendant of the great elves that run through the mountains and forests. My legs won’t collapse with this much.」

Eldith stood up immediately. However, her complexion was not that excellent. Her steps were exactly like those of an exhausted soldier. She didn’t look like an elf queen at all.

Caria didn’t know much about spirited arts, but at least Eldith poured into this man the roots of what she could wield. Even walking wouldn’t be so easy for her anymore. Caria felt that the reason why Eldith still showed stubbornness might be because she had a similar nature.

However, no matter how stubborn she was, the situation was not very good. Rather, it was the worst. Lugis was on the verge of death, and even Eldith was unable to hide her fatigue.

They should withdraw. Caria half closed her eyelids and bit her lips with her teeth. Her heart almost burst with regret.

Caria had no idea what had happened here or what had been done. However, there was no doubt that Lugis stepped boldly in some kind of danger.

“We’ve got immersed in a dire situation again because of those missteps.”

“This is the worst. This situation is horrible. The fact that I wasn’t by Lugis’ side at that time is infuriating me.” Caria only remembered those regrets, but she thought that, at least, what she was here to save him again.

Caria was initially convinced that she had done her best. She thought that killing Garras Gargantia, who could be said to be Lugis’ natural enemy, would be most beneficial to Lugis than anything else.

That’s why she wielded her silver longsword to close the beast’s jaws at once.

But what were the results? Unbeknownst to her, Lugis licked the god of death’s fingers and embedded iron in his body.

“That’s stupid. It’s rubbish. What am I doing?” Unknowingly, Caria gritted her molars as if to blame herself. Her white teeth were making a dull sound that seemed to crush them.

“This time, I understand.” Deep down in her heart, she understood.

No matter how much she thought she had done her best, even if she had paved a wonderful path, Lugis still strayed from that path.

In other words, showing the path as a guide was completely meaningless. After all, if she didn’t see this outcome with her own eyes, such danger would disappear immediately.

“Then, what should I do? Easy. I have no choice but to pull my hand out directly. Hold it tight so he never let go.”

“I don’t care. Isn’t that what a shield is supposed to be? If he doesn’t grab my hand, then I will bind him to me.”

Caria grasped her hands while supporting Lugis’ body. It seemed to her that those rugged hands had grown since the time she had pulled herself out of that mansion. She slowly narrowed her silver eyes.

“No matter what, I have no choice but to leave this place now. I have some concerns about taking Lugis into the snowy mountains like this, but it’s still much better than staying here.”

She couldn’t even pull out the white blade that was deeply stuck in his body.

“There are many problems without solutions. One is whether Lugis has physical strength remaining. Where is the enemy that caused this tragedy? If that person appears now and shows hostility towards us, will I be able to defeat such opponent?”

There was another concern rather than a problem.

Where was Filaret La Volgograd? She was with Lugis.

Caria looked at the dim darkness while her silver eyes ran quickly.

Caria understood and believed that she wouldn’t leave Lugis so easily. She even thought that Filaret would have been standing next to the bloody Lugis. It was much more natural than him being alone.

No matter where she looked, there was no sign of the Sorceress. Something was wrong. And something that made that elf woman bend her knees. Caria lightly bent her fingers.

Was it right around this time? Yes, it was around this time Caria heard a sound.

…Where are you going? Beloved children.

An ear-piercing sound echoed at first. The next thing Caria heard was the sound of something big collapsing. It sounded like something unimaginable fell to the ground.

The silver and blue eyes opened wide at the same time. Then, they turned their sights to the altar, which was the sound source.

After letting her eyes see the sight that was there, Caria stopped her foot and twisted her lips.

「Ah, I see. Is that the culprit? 」

Caria muttered those words naturally. It was just an intuition and had no basis or reason.

And yet, for some reason, her words seemed right. At least, the inside of Caria’s chest didn’t doubt them. While narrowing her silver eyes, she glared fixedly at what stood in front of her.

There was a spectacle that seemed unreal. Cracks ran through the hollow itself. The space was torn, as if glass broke in an amusing way. The cracks spread more and more, and another space could be seen from there.

Beyond that space stood someone golden. With her hair fluttering, she was dressed in the clothes of a saint from the Great Holy Church. Her familiarity was too obvious.

With a smile that seemed to be cheerful, the golden-looking person spoke aloud.

「How scary. Please don’t stare at me with such a stern look. In the past, you even used to show me respect.」

The weightless sound of that bizarre voice scraped away Caria’s earlobes. Her unintelligible list of trivial words was pounding Caria’s heart with a strange sense of oppression.

In the dim darkness, only that gold was emerging as if it had been the only thing surviving. Its true identity was unthinkable.

The Saint Ariene of the Great Holy Church. Her atmosphere had changed considerably since the time where she met her at the mercenary city of Belfein, but at least her face continued to be the same.

Caria sighed heavily. Her silver eyes oozed an intense fighting spirit. She gently tilted her shoulders. Carefully yet not burdening, Caria laid Lugis’ body again on the stone floor. All the while, her eyes just pierced the enemy in front of her.

「I don’t remember that at all. I only respect one person in this land.」

While leaking those words full of hostility, Caria felt her sweat licking her spine. She felt strange. Her opponent was just one person, and she probably had no combat training.

She couldn’t be a threat. For her, cutting off the Saint’s neck was like twisting a baby’s hand.

“Then, why? Why am I putting my hand on the silver longsword as if I am being pushed by it?”

It wasn’t just Caria, but Eldith as well. Her blue eyes were wide open, and her breath was rough. She felt as if her whole body was taking on the oppressive feeling of an approaching tsunami.

Ahead of their gaze, the Saint said with a bewitching smile.

「There is nothing to be afraid of. Happiness and salvation are here. Well then…come here, my beloved children.」

The Saint gently stretched her hand while her lips swayed happily.

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Oh no! Please be safe!

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