novelraw Chapter 534: Embers
Chapter 534: Embers
As dawn broke, the strange fog that had shrouded Belfast quietly dissipated, revealing a city mostly reduced to ruins.
The church bells that had once boomed throughout the city had fallen silent at midnight, but the all-consuming flames had not died with the coming of dawn. Fires still blazed everywhere, a thick, persistent smoke hung over the city, and the wind carried the acrid stench of burning all the way to the top of the Elm Forest cliff.
“Achoo!” Jimmy, in his true form, sneezed forcefully from his seat in front of the wooden cabin, then slumped back into the lounge chair, even more drained than before.
With Lu Li awake, he no longer needed guarding, so Remi had kicked him out of the cave to keep watch for any anomalies that might appear on the cliff top.
But whether it was because the distant city held a greater allure, or because Anna and the siblings made no effort to conceal their auras, or perhaps because the Elm Forest and the shelter itself protected them—whatever the reason, nothing had happened on the cliff top all night.
Jimmy's gaze returned to the sea. In the deep waters beyond the bay, the three monsters responsible for everything—the ones that had created the strange fog—were sinking beneath the waves.
“You don’t have to carry me like this.”
Lu Li's calm voice came from behind. Jimmy turned to see Anna carrying Lu Li in her arms like a princess, with Remi walking alongside them, a smile in her eyes.
“You're too tall. A piggyback ride would be awkward,” Anna offered, her excuse well-prepared.
“You could just use your ability to lift me,” Lu Li countered.Anna fell silent for a moment, avoiding his gaze. “That wouldn't be safe.”
Lu Li didn't press the matter, not with Anna clearly lost in some “princess rescues the prince” fantasy. He simply looked ahead.
Jimmy's true body was reclined in the lounge chair, his monstrous form lying prone beside it. Out on the distant sea, three strange swells were rising where the creatures had been. It was as if they had never existed, leaving only churning water and rising spray in their wake.
“Good morning,” Jimmy greeted, raising a hand weakly.
“Good morning,” Lu Li returned with a slight nod, his eyes on the lingering swells.
Jimmy told Lu Li about the anomalies that had appeared on the sea, confirming the rumors he'd heard about “monsters that spew a strange fog.”
He stared in silence at the ruins of Belfast in the distance.
Belfast had been the most prosperous city on the Allen Peninsula. The scale of this anomalous invasion was far greater than the recent tragedy in Zenster.
And it was easy to foresee that Belfast's fate would befall every human city—if it hadn't already.
The firearms and cannons that humanity took such pride in were utterly useless against these anomalies.
The age of humanity was in retreat.
“You should go back and rest. You shouldn't be out here right now,” Anna whispered, as if sensing the turmoil in his soul.
“Take me to Enni.”
Lu Li didn't want to go back.
The shelter had been built with only practicality in mind. Living for an extended period in a cramped, dark mountain cave was harmful to both body and soul, and could even lower one's Mind Level.
Anna carried Lu Li over to Enni's trunk. Seeing Lu Li and Anna approach, Enni seemed to express joy and affection as her tentacle-like roots reached out to gently touch them.
“She seems to like you more,” Anna remarked. “Enni's never this lively when I visit alone.”
“It might be related to life force,” Lu Li said, closing his eyes to sense Enni's presence. She was still very weak; the care from the consciousness of the surrounding elms was just enough to keep her from withering away. But in time, Enni's instincts would evolve into a true consciousness, and her sphere of influence would grow and grow until it encompassed the entire Elm Forest.
Then this place would become their true “home.”
“Let's go back,” Lu Li said. “And one more thing. I need a wheelchair.”
It wasn't that he was ashamed of being carried by Anna—it was just inconvenient.
Anna looked a little disappointed. “Wait here. I'll go back to the city to find you some supplies and a wheelchair.”
Lu Li didn't go back into the mountain cave. It was too wasteful to burn an oil lamp during the day. Remi brought a second lounge chair out of the cabin and set it up next to Jimmy's.
Anna carefully settled Lu Li into the lounge chair. He turned his head, taking a closer look at Jimmy's human form and the monstrous body beside it, then averted his gaze.
Lu Li slowly raised a hand, moving with deliberate care so his weak body wouldn't just “collapse.”
“Does something itch?” Anna asked.
“The box of Luring Meat,” he said. “I need to get some information from the Trader.”
Though Lu Li wasn't sure if he could even summon the Trader anymore.
“You need to rest right now.” Anna gently placed his hand back where it was.
“I am resting,” Lu Li tapped the arm of the lounge chair, gesturing to his current state.
Left with no other choice, Anna retrieved the wooden box of Luring Meat from Lu Li's pocket, opened it, and set it down beside his hand. She also told him that she had summoned the Trader the previous night to ask about the price of Deep Sea Stone.
“We can't install the shelter door yet,” Anna said.
“Maybe we can,” Lu Li murmured quietly, lost in thought.
It would take some time for the messenger crow to arrive, if it came at all. Seizing the opportunity, Anna looked over at the siblings. “I'm going back to Belfast. I'm leaving Lu Li in your care.”
“We will protect him with our lives,” Remi replied, her tone so calm it was as if she were answering a trivial question.
“Be careful. Don't go too deep into the city, and if you can't find anything, just come back,” Lu Li said. Perhaps because it was the first time Anna was setting out alone, he found himself saying more than he intended.
“If you find any survivors you can help...”
Anna suddenly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, then leaned down close to Lu Li. Her cool, lifeless lips gently brushed against his forehead.
“I'll try.”
The touch was fleeting. Anna pressed her lips together, then left the cliff top and flew toward the distant city.
Lu Li seemed a bit taken aback. Only after Anna had vanished from sight did his uncharacteristically tense body finally begin to relax.
When he finally looked away, he saw Remi watching him with a smile, looking as if she wanted to say something but was holding back.
“What do you want to say?” Lu Li asked.
“Your relationship is enviable,” Remi said with sincere frankness.
Lu Li didn't reply. Remi didn't seem to mind, turning her gaze toward the sea and murmuring, “Food... I haven't cooked in so long, not since everything happened.”
She didn't expect her casual sigh to get a response from Lu Li.
“You know how to cook?” Lu Li asked.
“I do. It's probably not something they ever wrote about in the stories.”
Lu Li said thoughtfully, “When Anna gets back, I'll put you in charge of the cooking.”
Remi smiled. “Don't mention it.”
The messenger arrived just over ten minutes later. After waiting for the Black Crow to tear apart and devour the Luring Meat in the wooden box, Lu Li instructed it to contact the Trader.
Ten minutes after the Black Crow departed, a tall figure with an oversized pack on its back appeared on the clifftop.
It made Lu Li wonder about the Trader himself, and the entities behind him.
These creatures, clearly not human, moved among the exorcists. What was their purpose?
But before asking any questions, Lu Li first sold the Trader the information he possessed.
“I have some information about Hell. Are you interested?”
After a brief pause, a stiff but slightly interested reply came from beneath the scarf: “That is precisely what we need.”