novelraw Chapter 707: A Story Must Also Come to an End
Chapter 707: A Story Must Also Come to an End
Havenjonal.
This small town, once emptied by Silence, had recently come back to life, but not because of the river that flowed a kilometer away.
People had gathered here to study and observe the river. Havenjonal was neither too close nor too far from Silence—an ideal observation point.
But this was only temporary. After another failed attempt to confront the Third Calamity, the Exorcist organization had found no better solution than to retreat to the coast. Now, the people had to return.
Aside from visiting relatives and trade caravans bringing supplies, new faces were a rare sight in the town.
So when Lu Li appeared in Havenjonal toward evening, his clothes covered in dust and creases, he drew everyone's attention.
The exorcists guarding the residents were the first to approach him. After confirming with an enchanted bell that Lu Li posed no threat, they relaxed. When they learned who he was, they greeted him with enthusiasm, and when they discovered the purpose of his visit, their enthusiasm turned to respect.
They welcomed Lu Li warmly, offering him food and medicine.
Lu Li declined their hospitality, as the Merchant was due to arrive in a few minutes with clean clothes, food, medicine, ammunition, and four new Spirit Guns.
Lu Li opened the cylinder of one of the pistols and began to load it."Any news of the Shadow Maiden?"
"She hasn't appeared again."
Lu Li closed the cylinder and looked up at the Merchant.
"When was the last time she appeared?"
"Seven hours ago. The victim was a judge."
Lu Li loaded another pistol.
"Have there been any sightings elsewhere?"
"No."
After loading all four Spirit Guns and waiting for the Merchant to depart, Lu Li asked the locals for a basin of clean water. He removed his clothes and washed away the crust of salt left behind by the evaporated seawater.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, followed by the shuffling of many feet.
Lu Li dropped the towel into the basin, picked up a shirt from the back of the bed, and put it on, buttoning it as he walked to the door. He opened it.
A crowd of people had gathered outside. At the front stood a girl of about eight or nine with two pigtails, her mother's hands resting on her shoulders. The girl held up a small straw kitten.
"This is for you, Exorcist."
"What is this?" Lu Li asked.
"Your purpose wasn't hard to guess," said the exorcist standing nearby with a faint smile. "They know you want to help people deal with the Third Calamity, and everyone wanted to see you... and give you their blessing."
"It will protect you from monsters," the little girl added, her voice bright and clear.
Lu Li's gaze swept over the faces in the crowd. He saw sincere blessings and respect in their eyes... and a hint of sorrow.
"It's a local custom. Straw dolls made by children bring blessings and protection," the exorcist explained.
Lu Li accepted the gift and placed it next to his own straw doll.
"Thank you."
The joyful girl and the pleased townspeople moved away from the door. Lu Li closed it, put on his coat and the holster with the Spirit Guns, and then threw on his cloak.
His preparations complete, Lu Li left the room and went downstairs.
"Exorcist, where are you going?" asked a surprised woman who was cooking dinner. The aromas wafting from the kitchen suggested she was making something delicious.
"I'm leaving."
"But it'll be dark soon..." The woman was still holding a ladle.
"I'm being followed by a danger that could cause problems for you," Lu Li replied.
The woman didn't know what to do and called for the exorcist who was staying in another room.
"The Exorcist wants to leave now... He says if he stays, it will bring trouble," she explained anxiously.
"How serious is this trouble?" the exorcist asked Lu Li, frowning.
"A new evil spirit."
"And there's no way to deal with it?"
"The way to stop the ritual isn't clear yet," Lu Li answered, telling the exorcist about Anna's ritual and a possible way to interrupt it. "Temporarily, the shadow can be made to disappear by, for instance, hiding in darkness."
The exorcist thought for a moment.
"Are there no other ways?"
There were other ways, of course. For example, Lu Li could move far away from the townspeople. But the town was too small.
The exorcist sighed and escorted Lu Li to the exit.
Lu Li opened the door and was about to step outside when a dull clang of a dropped pot and the sound of running feet came from the kitchen.
He spun around and saw the woman standing in the kitchen doorway. She was screaming at him fanatically, "I've found a way!"
As she screamed, she began to melt like a candle held to a flame, merging with the pitch-black shadow of a girl on the floor.
Anna had come...
A chill ran through Lu Li. He instinctively reached for his Oil Lamp, but no light appeared. He remembered that the Beacon was still in the river.
"Hide in the dark!" he shouted to the stunned exorcist and ran out of the house into the street.
At that same moment, the exorcist's fanatical scream came from behind the door: "A way to break the ritual of the Rope of Descent!"
Lu Li ran silently toward the edge of town.
The unsuspecting townspeople watched him with curiosity. No one noticed the graceful shadow of a girl appear in an alley and slip into their own shadows.
A man carrying an armful of firewood shouted at Lu Li, "The Rope of Descent is truly dead..."
Shards of glass rained down from a second-floor window, and a man with a face studded with glass fragments screamed down, "...but his power was stolen..."
A woman holding a child let go of the frightened, crying boy, "It was done by the followers of the Cult of the Whirlpool..."
The boy stopped crying, jumped up, and shrieked, "The evil god of the Whirlpool..."
Two passersby approached Lu Li, "...used that power to curse you..."
A running man stopped abruptly and turned, "...they want to make you their servant..."
The exorcist with the enchanted bell in his hand dropped it, "...when you kill the Third Calamity..."
The man from the second floor leaped down, landing on the ground with a scream, "...you will return with glory to the bosom of the faith..."
A figure ran out of an alley, "...the only way to lift the curse is..."
An old woman, leaning out of a window, shrieked piercingly, "...death!"
The edge of town was just ahead. Lu Li saw the vast wasteland before him... and the little girl, standing in the middle of the road with the straw kitten in her hands. Her eyes were filling with tears.
"My love, I'll be waiting for you ahead."
The girl's clear eyes began to run like spreading paint. Her lips melted away, revealing hideous gums that then closed over her oozing eyeballs. In the end, it all fell apart and flowed into the shadow.
Anna's shadow approached gracefully and stopped before the frozen Lu Li.
Chaos spread through the town behind him. The shadow gently reached out its arms and embraced Lu Li, as if an invisible figure was pulling him into its arms.
A light breeze blew, playing with the hems of his clothes and his hair, and scattered the shadow on the ground.
...
As night fell, the anomalous fog appeared, just as it always did.
Ten kilometers north of Havenjonal, behind a large boulder that blocked the wind, the anomalous fog flowed around a small patch of ground.
Or rather, it surrounded him.
A man sat with his back against the warm rock. The flames of a campfire illuminated his face.
He was whispering a name.
"Anna..."