novelraw Chapter 835: The Promise
Chapter 835: The Promise
Tension mounted in the gloom of the settlement's church hall.
"Are you going to break your promise?"
Lu Li calmly gazed up at the woman on the divine throne.
"But you handled the first task with ease, did you not?" countered Saintess Helena.
...
Dark clouds tumbled across the sky.
A cold front, having crested the Fallen Leaves Mountains, would soon reach the ruins of Belfast, and this was the last stretch of mild weather.
However, in the early morning, a chill still lingered in the basement.
This chill gradually dissipated the deeper one descended, giving way to warmth. Additionally, a potent, acrid smell suggested something was smoldering nearby.
A kerosene lamp, a writing desk, books piled in a corner. A figure sat at the desk, dressed in loose, light work clothes, with pale gray hair pulled back into a ponytail.Everything seemed normal, except for the charred figure concealed beneath the clothes and wig.
"A new... test subject..."
A hoarse, strange, low sound, like a wooden stick stirring embers in a stove, escaped from the charred vengeful spirit. She spoke without raising her head.
"You... still... are unwilling... to part... with these books...?"
The charred vengeful spirit held a pen, her head lowered as she wrote with intense focus. Her mind was perfectly clear; only a throat scorched by fire restricted her speech.
"Sit... across from me. I'll... be done... writing soon."
The charred vengeful spirit let out a sigh, a strange sound like an echo from a jagged cave.
Lu Li took the seat across from her, recalling the details of the trial.
The Church of Distortion had once sought help from the Church of the Vine, attempting to overwhelm the vengeful spirit with sheer numbers and exhaust her pool of questions. But they had failed.
The followers of the Church of the Vine were no more knowledgeable than those of the Church of Distortion—not unless their prophet went himself. Their attempts had failed because the charred vengeful spirit never repeated a question.
They could have simply killed the charred vengeful spirit and taken the books, but they had chosen not to.
She was a rare vengeful spirit, one who had retained her human mind. Recruiting her for the Church of Distortion, if possible, would have been an excellent move.
Based on the accounts of those who had failed, the charred vengeful spirit asked questions drawn from basic human knowledge—geography, history, or everyday life.
The cultists, who had lost their memories of the past, did not fare well in this regard.
Therefore, as Saintess Helena had said, this task was perfectly suited for Lu Li.
"I hope... that this time, when you return... you can... tell the others... not to come... until they become... true... scholars..."
After finishing the final paragraph, the charred vengeful spirit dipped her pen into the inkwell, raised her head, and froze.
Her empty eye sockets stared blankly at Lu Li, as if she were studying him.
"Will... you... marry... me?"
Waves of heat radiated from the charred vengeful spirit, her aura flaring as her tone grew agitated.
"Is that the question?" Lu Li asked.
"No..."
"No."
"Yes, it is the question..."
"The answer is still no."
"Why..."
The trial had taken a strange turn, but Lu Li continued to answer.
"I have someone I love."
The heat rolling off the charred vengeful spirit was like a flickering flame:
"Is... she... stronger... than... me...?"
"She is an evil spirit."
After a brief silence, the charred vengeful spirit seemed to change the subject, asking hoarsely:
"You... don't hate... ghosts?"
"I don't."
"The books... are yours."
The waves of heat subsided as the charred vengeful spirit stood up and announced that Lu Li had passed the trial.
"I... am too."
Therefore, as Saintess Helena had said, this task was perfectly suited for Lu Li.
...
"That's our agreement."
Lu Li ignored Saintess Helena's ploy:
"According to our arrangement, give me the information on the Shadow Maiden."
"When you complete the second and final task, I will tell you everything."
Saintess Helena descended from her divine throne, her terrifying, glowing eyes gazing down on everyone in the hall.
No one was afraid. Even Prusius craned his neck to stare at the Saintess standing before the divine throne.
"I... do not like... those who don't keep... their promises... be they human... or not."
The hoarse whisper dispersed along with the smell of burning.
Saintess Helena said no more, only watched calmly, and then she suddenly shattered like a soap bubble.
In front of the divine throne where Saintess Helena had vanished, a ghostly, near-transparent figure in a long dress now stood. Its face was distorted, inspiring fear and revulsion in all who saw it.
It was still a figure Lu Li recognized.
The very same Library Spirit he had once encountered in the True Library.
A thin figure shrouded in a black cloak entered the hall and whispered quietly to them.
...
"Unfamiliar evil spirit, please state your purpose."
Vague, terrifying shadows materialized above the sinister candles, fiercely confronting the evil spirit that had burst into the church.
The Shadow Maiden did not answer. She walked out of the church and melted into the shadow of a cultist standing guard outside.
"An experiment."
The Shadow Maiden, now in control of the cultist's body, replied in a whisper.
The scene around the divine throne distorted and folded in on itself like a shattered mirror, and a terrifying aura caused the sinister shadows from the candles to scream and disperse.
A whisper echoed from around the divine throne, where space itself seemed to be collapsing:
"You killed... my people."
Hearing the words of the Distorted Figure, the cultists' pupils filled with blood. The tentacles beneath their cloaks writhed madly, and they staggered back in agony, away from the church.
The god's whisper drove them to madness and twisted their forms.
"They don't believe in you, but since you dislike it..."
The Shadow Maiden departed from the cultist's body, and the man, who had been dead, returned to life.
"How did you do that?"
The anger subtly dissipated, and the fractured space around the divine throne contracted.
"An experiment."
"I should be angry... but I hope you can use that power to help me," the Distorted Figure before the divine throne whispered as the collapsed space restored itself.
"Oh?"
"Resurrect... my sister."
"I can. But I must possess you, take all of your memories, and recreate her from them."
"Alright."
"You trust me?"
The Shadow Maiden tilted her head slightly.
"I don't trust you. I just want to resurrect my sister."
"...Who besides him would ever trust an evil spirit?" the Shadow Maiden murmured softly, gliding gracefully toward the divine throne.
"Don't resist. Considering I don't find this place repulsive... I will help you."
...
"Please forgive my sister's rudeness."
The thin cultist relayed the divine message from the Distorted Figure, who now stood before the throne:
"It has been a long time, investigator."
Perhaps he was the "acquaintance" the Eternal Dreamer had spoken of.
Lu Li remained silent, waiting for the Distorted Figure to explain.
"The true Saintess Helena is trapped in the Place of the Whirlpool... I only learned this recently, and this is my request... I hope you can bring my sister back."
The Distorted Figure believed Lu Li was capable of the task. Whether this was faith in Lu Li himself or in the Eternal Dreamer was unclear.
"Who was the Saintess we saw?" Lu Li asked.
"A substitute that an evil spirit helped resurrect. She has some flaws, but she can soothe my loneliness."
The Distorted Figure replied quietly.
"So."
Lu Li's dark eyes remained fixed, his calm face betraying no emotion.
"Anna did come here, didn't she?"