60. Elf
At the moment when the crimson blood droplets shattered, countless faintly visible transparent phantoms rushed out, most of them flying deep into the night sky, with only a small number falling straight towards the ground.
“If a person’s good deeds in life surpass their bad deeds, they will soar to heaven; if their bad deeds surpass their good deeds, they will fall into hell… I suppose these are the souls of those who were killed by that black-robed man?”
Watching the many souls streaking across the night sky like shooting stars, Emilia murmured absentmindedly. Evelyn stood beside her, a faint purple light flickering in her eyes. After finding the figure she had hoped to see among the countless “shooting stars” in the sky, a smile gradually appeared at the corners of her mouth.
“Uncle Wei, I avenged your family~ I hope you all are well in heaven… If we are fated, see you in the next life~”
“May the deceased rest in peace…”
Evelyn closed her eyes and posed as if in prayer. Although it sounded somewhat ironic for a demon to pray for humans, considering that she, Evelyn, had already developed feelings for an angel, this little matter didn’t seem to matter much~
No, wait, feelings? It could only be considered a tiny bit of… affection for Emilia! That’s it!
“By the way, Evelyn-chan, it’s still early, right?”
“Um? Let me check… Around eight o’clock, it’s still early. What’s up?”
“Hehe, since it’s still so early, how about… you help me with something?”
Saying this, Emilia leaned in again, her beautiful golden eyes filled with a mischievous gleam. Seeing her like this, Evelyn suddenly had a bad premonition.
“What do you want to do?”
“Do I really need to ask? It’s a dark night with the moon hidden and the wind high, and there are only the two of us here. What do you think… I want to do?”
Oh no! She can’t really be that bold, can she?
As Emilia moved closer, Evelyn’s mind was instantly filled with indescribable thoughts. Her cheeks flushed red, and she instinctively backed away like a frightened lamb.
“You, you, you! You have no shame!!!”
“Oh? I have no shame? Then tell me, Evelyn-chan, how am I—shameless~”
“Hah! I thought you, a glorious angel, would be more restrained since you’re out here. I didn’t expect you to want to… want to do that kind of thing!!!”
“Um? What kind of thing are you talking about, Evelyn-chan? I was just hoping you could help me find someone~”
“Wha… what!? Find, find someone!?”
Evelyn realized she had once again been played by Emilia.
And… it seems this is not the first time she’s fallen into this type of trap…
“That’s right~ Think carefully about it, Evelyn-chan. Tonight, didn’t that bunch of big guys seem to have an extra layer of blood markings compared to before? Just a layer of blood-drawn magical patterns allows those corpse puppets to use some basic magic. This means the blood used for those markings must be rich in magical essence! And think again, didn’t the Descendants Sect just happen to abduct a high-level elf? So I just want you to help me look for clues related to that high-level elf within the coverage of the previous barrier! Where did your mind go~”
“B-but… what does that have to do with what you said about the dark night with only the two of us? You intentionally misled me to think wrongly!!!”
“What comes after the dark night with the moon hidden? It’s killing and arson, of course~ I’m just worried that after that black-robed man was killed, those hidden companions of his would take the opportunity to move that high-level elf away! Moreover, it’s just the two of us here; we must act quickly to be on the safe side, right? Pff~”
“……”
To be honest, Evelyn felt that Emilia was just rambling.
Look! She’s laughing! She even shocked herself!
“So, our dear Evelyn-chan’s thoughts are still a bit impure~ As a girl, it’s better to know less about things you shouldn’t know~”
“After all, that kind of thing, it’s enough for her Emilia to understand.”
“……”
For the first time, Evelyn felt that she should have just let Emilia fend for herself from the start.
So she turned to leave; after all, the person she had come to save was already saved. If she didn’t leave now, this girl would definitely become more excessive.
“Hey? Don’t go, Evelyn-chan! I’m serious! When I was hiding, I found traces of human habitation in the factory! This place has long been abandoned! It’s impossible for someone to live here! Furthermore, those Corpse Takers are so large, and Worry-Free City is a place with heavy foot traffic. It’s impossible to move that many Corpse Takers at once! Therefore, the most likely scenario tonight is that the black-robed man created those Corpse Takers in this area and then used a pre-arranged teleportation magic circle to subtly send me here! The key point is that the blood used to draw the markings must be fresh! So that high-level elf might be hidden right here! Wait up, Evelyn-chan!”
Emilia desperately tried to stop Evelyn, but how could Evelyn fall for her trick again? With a resolute expression, she marched forward, completely ignoring Emilia’s pleas.
Then… the ground beneath her unexpectedly collapsed, causing Evelyn to fall directly into the hollow cave below.
“Evelyn!?”
Emilia didn’t expect the ground beneath Evelyn would suddenly give way. She hurried to the edge of the pit and used light magic to illuminate the interior—
“Evelyn! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine… Who is so wicked as to dig such a big hole underground!?”
Evelyn rubbed her slightly sore bottom and looked around her surroundings. The cave, which should have been pitch black, was still visible thanks to Emilia acting as a light source above.
Chains, bloodstains… and a prison door? Is this a dungeon?
How strange; what would they need a dungeon for under the factory?
Suddenly, Evelyn recalled what Emilia had said behind her just moments ago.
Wait, could it be… that she was indeed right?
“…Who…”
At that moment, a weak, faint voice echoed behind Evelyn. She quickly turned around and saw in the corner of the dungeon a battered, weak-blonde girl lying there. She was covered in blood, looking pitifully mistreated and tortured.
But what stood out the most were the girl’s long, pointy ears.
Pointy ears.
It’s an elf!
