Chapter 1261: Chapter 1261: The Weeping Girl
“However, the power he sent me out with doesn’t seem like spatial power.”
[This is also a kind of “Power of the Earth.” It wasn’t you moving, but him allowing the earth to permit you to take a single step to cover a longer distance.]
The wind carried “her” voice, and the moonlight shone on Shard as if draping him in a veil of mist, or as if someone were gently embracing him.
Shard squinted slightly, meaning that upon their first meeting, the undead Mr. Lathes had simultaneously displayed three different powers of the earth: “Healing Aura,” “Arrival of Spring,” and something akin to spatial shifting.
“Could it be that Mr. Thomas Granger isn’t the Chosen One, but Miss Lathes’ father is? They definitely know each other, how interesting, what secret lies within here…”
While Shard was pondering, chaotic hoofbeats sounded in the distance, clearly more than one horse was galloping rapidly along the path towards here.
Shard quickly dodged to the side, but soon realized that leading the charge was the blonde witch, Vanessa Benanis, who should have been waiting for him and Miss Lathes at the “Church of the Forgotten.” At this moment, the witch appeared anxious, and Shard believed that even an elephant standing in her way would be directly knocked aside by her.
“Here! Here! Stop!”
He waved both arms towards the witch leading her followers, gesturing, though the countryside at night was unlit, the witch immediately spotted Shard:
“Oh, Shard!”
She leapt off the running horse, hugging Shard at the same time, and the impact almost sent Shard flying. After retreating several steps, they barely managed to stand steadily, and the witch looked at him worriedly, fearing he would spit out blood and collapse immediately.
“I’m fine, oh, Miss Lathes is fine too. Miss Benanis, you won’t believe it, guess who I just met!”
He said immediately, then wondered:
“Why are you here?”
“You made such a huge commotion, how could I not come?”
The witch hugged Shard tightly, then realized what she was doing and abruptly pushed him away.
Ciris Lathes is Vanessa Benanis’ close friend and the second-in-command of the Golden Dawn, while Shard is a special entity favored by a quarter of the council’s witches. No matter what, none of them can have an issue,
“What exactly happened…”
Just as the question left her mouth, the blonde witch noticed something was off with Shard’s body:
“Why is your temperature so high?”
She reached out to touch Shard’s forehead, then suspiciously sniffed and immediately blushed. She remembered this scent vividly:
“How much did you drink?”
Her striking golden eyes looked at Shard with a hint of fear, recalling a past experience she would never forget.
“I drank it all.”
With the witch’s reminder, combined with the perfume “Witch’s Scent,” Shard finally felt the abnormality in his body. In the urgent situation earlier, all his attention was focused on the Holy Grail he was holding at that time. Now that the battle was over and calm returned, those distractions rushed in.
With the realization of “desire,” almost instinctual bodily responses appeared. But at least Shard behaved better than Miss Benanis did last time; he restrained himself from forcibly embracing the beautiful lady in front, though retreating made him feel dizzy.
The witch immediately supported him, and the Golden Dawn’s girls dismounted to gather around. The dizziness deepened, so he reached out his right hand to cover his forehead, only to find he was somehow holding Miss Benanis’ right wrist.
The night wind blew past the witch’s ears, and her golden hair swept over them alongside the breeze. In her striking golden eyes lay a caring gaze, and her face, much too beautiful to seem human, appeared incredibly enticing at this moment.
Shard’s vision grew hazy, and while still grasping Miss Benanis’ wrist, his body slightly leaned forward. The witch hesitated, wanting to push him away, but reconsidered his current state and recalled events from the “Saint Perry Cemetery,” biting her lip lightly and watching him draw closer.
The surrounding girls, though surprised, smiled as they encircled them, blocking the inside view. Maroon horses impatiently pawed the snowy ground with their hooves. Tonight’s moon was so bright and clear, and the wind carried the bitter chill of winter across the earth, ahead of next year’s…
“Stop!”
Shard’s left hand suddenly pressed on his right hand, his consciousness winning over desire. He gasped for breath while looking at his hand:
“Good, good thing I’ve seen true desire before, or this would have really ended badly. Ha, human consciousness can overcome those wicked thoughts; this is humanity’s greatness! This is the so-called Golden Spirit, even when facing choices wrought with temptation, one must make the right choice and never give up hope!”
Miss Benanis could almost feel the scorching breath of Shard on her skin. She didn’t pay attention to what Shard was saying at the moment, nor could she explain her feelings just now. All she knew was, for some reason, she wanted to punch Shard.
“The effects of the essential oil haven’t worn off yet, this won’t do, what are you going to do?”
She was surprised to find her tone was so calm.
“Don’t worry, this level of desire can’t affect me. I’ve experienced more…”
He took several deep breaths of cold air to calm himself. Unlike Miss Benanis, he had tasted the flesh of “Desire”, seen its true form, and could endure desires far beyond others’ imagination.
While taking deep breaths, he again smelled the scent of the witch’s perfume. He forced himself not to overthink, as there were still many things to deal with tonight:
“When I arrived at the manor, I found Miss Lathes with people, together with the True God Church, facing off against the Blood Spirit School and cultists who worship the Evil God, Stone Heart Demon. Wasn’t she supposed to pick up supplies? How did it turn into this?”
“I don’t know either, but Lathes always acts with discretion.”
Miss Benanis said, although she was unhappy with Shard’s earlier behavior, she still worried about him:
“Are you sure you’re okay? I’ve tasted that essence and know exactly how it feels.”
“It’s okay for now.”
Shard insisted, he wouldn’t lie on such matters:
“Miss Lathes should be withdrawing soon, but she didn’t see who aided me. The light was too bright at that time.”
“Who helped you? Was it Thomas Granger? Did you ask him anything?”
“It wasn’t him, but another spirit who has already departed, equally strong in spirit. It was Miss Lathes’s father, and it looked identical to the statue in the Church of the Forgotten.”
Miss Benanis slightly opened her mouth:
“What?”
She didn’t fail to understand; she couldn’t believe what she heard.
An hour later, on Sunday night at ten, the silent moonlight shone into the Church of the Forgotten through the broken hole in the roof. As the tightly closed metal door was painstakingly pushed open, the three of them entered the church together—Miss Benanis didn’t allow anyone else from the Golden Dawn to enter the church.
Miss Lathes had already learned from Shard’s intermittent descriptions what she was about to see. She tugged at Shard’s sleeve, somewhat uneasily following him inside. Upon seeing the church, she wasn’t as shocked as Miss Benanis was a few hours ago.
Lips pursed, looking at the stone statue slowly getting closer, her teeth almost biting through her lips. Trying hard to stay calm, but when she really saw the statue sitting on the front row of benches, her emotions broke down instantly.
Wylan Lathes had been missing for so many years, she thought she had accepted reality. But now she realized she always retained the hope of her family returning, softly sobbing as she whispered “Father,” then buried herself in the lap of the statue, entirely unable to control her tears.
“Father, why did you leave? Do you know how hard it has been for me to support the Golden Dawn alone all these years? Father, father!”
Shard and Miss Benanis stood behind her, watching the young girl cry, expressing the hardships and grievances of these years.
Shard used his eyes to ask the witch if they should say something now—he believed the witch understood his meaning, as she shook her head.
Shard also thought they should give Miss Lathes time to cry, so he beckoned to Miss Benanis, and the two of them sat down on the third row, left side near the wall. This position wasn’t far; they could see the statue and Miss Lathes’s figure. The witch then cast a Silence Charm to prevent disturbing Miss Lathes’s mourning:
“So every time you come to Randall Valley, you pass through here… Sounds romantic, passing through the ancient Old God Church, at the gate of a desolate temple, viewing an unfamiliar city. Shard, tonight’s events might be a turning point. Although I’ve not seen the situation you described, I think just by the Blood Spirit School and followers of the Evil God, it’s insufficient to trigger such severe issues… The Mad Land is spreading, there’s no doubt about it, the situation is worse than imagined.”
“Do you know anything else about that Evil God, Miss Benanis?”
Because from the Silvermoon Library, Shard learned about the Chosen One Ceremony, Feast of the Earth Mother Goddess, and Luviya’s special divination showed the feast ceremony being divided into Contact with the Old God, Thousand-Eye Illusion Butterfly, Contact with the Old God, Earth-Shaking Worm, and Contact with the Old God, Stone Heart Demon, Shard had some understanding of this Evil God but wanted to hear the witch’s perspective.
“I know a bit but not comprehensively…”
The witch frowned, thinking for a moment, then instead asked another question:
“Shard, are you aware of the ancient Evil Spirit Demon from the Third Era, known as the Stone Mirror Demon?”