Girl Doesn’t Die in Fairytale Town: Chapter 25 – Atonement Day
As the faint chanting echoed around him, the one-armed man watched in horror as the dazed, wandering monsters seemed to “awaken.”
They roared and wailed in pain, trampling over each other as they stumbled towards the church.
“Sins… happiness…”
These words were vaguely discernible amidst their meaningless growls, but most of their cries were unintelligible.
Even worse… Ling Qi was among them.
Although she and a few other outsiders who seemed to have been recently caught hadn’t yet transformed into monsters, aside from their appearance, they were practically the same as these bizarre creatures.
The one-armed man wanted to stop Ling Qi, but just then, a powerful gaze locked onto him.
“…”
“Sigh…”
A distant sigh echoed, seemingly filled with helplessness, as if lamenting one’s fate.
A blonde, middle-aged man in a neat suit and gold-rimmed glasses, his demeanor elegant and refined, abruptly stepped out from the surging tide of monsters.
However, to the one-armed man’s spiritual senses, this blonde man was no different from the other monsters, only much more powerful, exuding an aura that made him wary.
“Is this really just a ‘Ruin’ level contaminated area…?”
Although he couldn’t access the deeper Yan City archives, Dawn also possessed past records of “Ghost Town.”
Whether it was the mysterious silver-haired girl who served as the “entrance” or the now overwhelmingly powerful blonde man, there were far too many things here that shouldn’t appear in a “Ruin” level contaminated area.
“Greetings, outsider. Allow me to introduce myself.” The blonde man placed a hand on his chest and bowed impeccably to the one-armed man. “My name is Ronner Natalie, and I have been the butler of the Natalie Manor for generations.”
Natalie Manor…
The one-armed man immediately recalled the grand manor he had seen during his encounter with the silver-haired girl. Now it seemed that his decision not to pursue them further had been the right one.
If the butler was already this powerful, then the master inside…
Perhaps the unseen manor owner was the true Devil’s Apostle.
“However, I regret to inform you, guest, that you cannot take anyone from here,” Ronner said sadly. “It’s not my decision, but the town will not allow any of its members to leave.”
The one-armed man didn’t speak, silently gathering his mental power, preparing for battle.
He wasn’t in the spiritual domain now; he could use his abilities without restraint.
But to his surprise, Ronner didn’t attack him. Instead, he continued,
“Please leave immediately, while you still can…”
“Huh? Why?”
The one-armed man looked at Ronner’s sorrowful face in surprise, not only because he wasn’t attacking, but also because of his words.
“There have been many stronger than you, but no one has ever escaped, including myself.”
Ronner looked deeply at the one-armed man, then turned and continued walking towards the church, following the tide of monsters.
A heavy sigh was his final parting word.
The one-armed man stood there, uncertain, lost in thought for a long time, before gritting his teeth and following after Ronner.
…Even so, what could he do?
…
“Dong…”
“Dong…”
“Dong…”
The bell tolled continuously, interspersed with the chanting of prayers.
Hua Qiling carried Luo Yan on her back, walking towards the church.
With Luo Yan’s frail constitution, she would be breathless after just a few steps, so Hua Qiling had no choice but to carry her.
Luo Yan felt apologetic, but Hua Qiling didn’t mind.
Or rather, she seemed… to be enjoying it.
Feeling the light, delicate body on her back, Hua Qiling felt a strange fluttering in her heart, but the hellish scene around her quickly brought her back to reality.
The desolate town was almost identical to what Hua Qiling had seen on the monitors, the only difference being the grotesque monsters that filled the streets.
Some were missing limbs, some were impaled with sharp wooden stakes, and Hua Qiling even saw a vaguely female monster whose tongue had been pulled out and nailed with rusty iron nails.
“That’s… Dr. Messier.”
Luo Yan recognized her from the remnants of a white coat and a broken stethoscope, but this only deepened her sorrow.
Dr. Messier had been a strict but kind doctor, one of the few residents who cared deeply about Luo Yan.
But now…
As far as the eye could see, there were countless monsters in the same condition as Dr. Messier.
All the townspeople had become twisted and terrifying monsters, or perhaps they had always been monsters, only unaware of it because they were immersed in a happy dream.
Before they knew it, Hua Qiling had carried Luo Yan to the square in front of the church. All the monsters gathered there were roaring, but none dared to enter the church.
Among the monsters, Ling Qi and the other outsiders stood out.
“They… can still be saved!”
A glimmer of hope appeared in Luo Yan’s dim eyes, and Hua Qiling’s heart also lifted because she saw several civilians from Yan City among them.
They must have been swallowed by Ghost Town the moment it appeared. She hadn’t expected them to still be alive…
At that moment, the deep bell tolls finally stopped, and the faint chanting gradually subsided.
The agitated monsters also quieted down.
However, they didn’t wander around in confusion like before. Instead, they all stared blankly at the church.
The Old Era style spire-topped church stood silently in the center of the town. The stone eye at the top slowly moved, its gaze falling upon the monsters gathered before the church.
“Go!”
Luo Yan tugged on Hua Qiling’s sleeve. Hua Qiling immediately understood, scooped Luo Yan up in her arms, and, just before the gaze of the stone eye fell upon them, teleported away from the square.
At the same moment, bathed in the gaze of the stone eye, the dazed monsters slowly knelt down, clasped their hands together, and looked up.
“Great Lord, I offer you all souls, flesh, and life…”
“…To atone for all sins.”
They chanted in unison, their voices loud and clear, just like when they were still alive.
Luo Yan watched all this and whispered,
“Atonement Day.”
“What?”
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