Girl Doesn’t Die in Fairytale Town: Chapter 58 – Shifting Sands
A few days after the “Ghost Town” incident, news of Yan City’s encounter with a “Peril” level disaster spread throughout the Free Federation, even reaching other factions, large and small.
For a time, rumors, both true and false, flew like wildfire.
However, a “Peril” level disaster alone wasn’t enough to draw the attention of almost every mega-city to Yan City.
“Primordial Demon,” “Devil’s Apostle,” “Dawn Cadre”… Even the most oblivious person could sense something unusual from this combination of terms.
The nightmare from centuries ago seemed to be resurfacing. Was the appearance of a Devil’s Apostle a coincidence, or did it signify the awakening of the Primordial Demons…? No one knew.
In the disaster archives, the Yan City record for the “Ghost Town” incident was simple, yet shocking.
“Awakened consciousness of the ‘Witch of Envy’ detected, along with its avatar, destroyed by ‘F-03’.”
Besides this, there were some inconsequential casualty reports and vague descriptions of the disaster’s characteristics.
Yan City didn’t record any further details in the public archives, including “Hua Qiling’s” experiences within the town, all glossed over.
Luo Yan’s existence was completely erased. Except for a few individuals involved, no one knew the role she played in this disaster.
This wasn’t just because of Hua Qiling’s brief report, but a deliberate decision by the Yan City higher-ups to conceal certain information.
But even so, some people sensed something amiss.
In the Endless Wasteland, within an inconspicuous refugee settlement, a ragged old man closed the file, his beard trembling with anger. He paced anxiously.
“What a clever use of vague language! This girl in charge of the mission is quite cunning. The entire report is filled with coincidences and lucky breaks… Anyone who believes this is a damn fool!”
“Even more infuriating, they actually recorded it in the archives! How can such an important matter be treated so lightly?!”
“Yan City… I remember that’s the Lin family’s territory. After Old Man Lin died, is this how his descendants are handling things?”
“No, this can’t go on.”
The old man scratched his bald head, his mind made up.
He picked up an old communicator and dialed.
After a few beeps, a cold voice came from the other end.
“Master, what is it?”
“Ah… ah… Wen’er, your old man misses you—oh no, important business!”
The old man almost slipped up, quickly correcting himself, afraid that the other party would hang up like before.
“Speak.”
The cold voice seemed accustomed to this, replying indifferently.
But along with her voice, faint roars and howls could be heard.
“Go to Yan City and investigate the ‘Ghost Town’ incident,” the old man said seriously, then his voice turned oddly hesitant. “Also, your old man actually also wants…”
“Beep… beep… beep…”
After hearing the important business, the other party hung up immediately, not giving the old man a chance to continue.
The old man could only shake his head and sigh.
“Raised a daughter who doesn’t care about her family… what a pain…”
…
Like the wilderness described in ancient texts, grotesque, mutated plants spread across the dry, cracked earth.
The air was filled with foul, poisonous miasma, mixed with a disgusting stench.
Amidst this horrifying environment, a figure in white stood, her hands clasped behind her back, her neat attire outlining her youthful figure.
She stood with her eyes closed, six swords of varying designs strapped to her back, among a group of decapitated, writhing monsters.
“Yan City…”
The woman in white murmured, slowly opening her eyes.
There was nothing wrong with her eyes. Although her clear, bright eyes held a hint of indifference, there was nothing unusual about them.
“Just in time, I was planning to go to Yan City anyway.”
The woman’s gaze fell upon a piece of torn red cloth among the monsters, stained with a certain aura.
—The aura of the “Witch of Envy.”
Although “Devil’s Apostles” hadn’t appeared for a long time, their minions occasionally caused trouble.
However, these “minions,” possessing only a fraction of demonic power, were far less dangerous than “Devil’s Apostles,” who wielded Demonic Offerings and could even summon demonic avatars.
But they were still troublesome.
The woman in white had been pursuing a particular demon minion, a cunning foe who used refugee settlements as cover.
The minion’s ability seemed to be related to disguise, making it difficult for the combat-specialized woman to capture him. She could only track him by the faint traces of demonic aura he left behind.
But for some reason, a few days ago, this minion had suddenly fled towards Yan City, even using some “stockpiled” twisted monsters to delay her pursuit.
“Perhaps the task Master gave me is related to this… but why go to a mega-city? Isn’t that walking into a trap?”
The woman couldn’t figure it out, so she set aside her doubts, closed her eyes again, sensed the faint demonic aura in the air, and continued her pursuit.
…
Yan City, District Two, Ghost Town ruins.
Although the disaster was over, the aftermath would take time to clean up.
Even clearing the rubble in the district was a daunting task.
Yan City didn’t have enough manpower to handle this, so they hired a group of mercenaries with heavy machinery to clear the debris.
The mercenaries were happy to take on this low-risk, high-reward job, and within a few days, they had cleared a wide enough path.
However, something strange happened today…
A blood-red figure suddenly appeared deep within the ruins, wandering among the remnants of a church-like building.
A mercenary quickly spotted the figure and shouted,
“Hey, you there! Yes, you! This is a restricted area, no entry! Get out of here!”
The blood-red figure paused and turned slightly, a shrill voice echoing.
“Restricted… area…?”
The mercenary noticed that the figure seemed to be holding some rubble in the folds of its wide, red robe.
A sudden, inexplicable fear gripped the mercenary, but he quickly suppressed it.
This was Yan City’s territory. The figure was just some weirdo playing dress-up. He couldn’t be scared so easily.
So, he mustered his courage and shouted,
“Yes! Leave now!”
“I… leave?” The blood-red figure slowly turned around, its face covered in thick white powder and exaggerated makeup. “The one who should leave… is you…”
The figure raised the rubble in its hand and muttered,
“I heard His call… This was His miracle… but you…”
Its shrill voice rose in pitch.
“Ruined it!”
“Ruined it!”
The figure’s expression turned frantic. Before the horrified mercenary’s eyes, it began stabbing itself in the face with the rubble.
“My Lord’s miracle… ruined by you! You… deserve to die! A thousand deaths wouldn’t be enough!”
The shrill voice shrieked hysterically, ignoring its self-inflicted wounds. Purplish-black blood dripped from its heavily made-up face, a foul stench filling the air.
One piece after another, the blood-red figure picked up the rubble and frantically stabbed itself all over its body.
Finally, all the stones were embedded in its body, a scene too gruesome to describe.
“Crazy…”
This time, the mercenary was truly terrified. He stumbled backward.
But before he could flee, he saw a pair of eyes.
…Terrifying crimson eyes, hidden beneath the comical makeup, staring directly at him.
As the eyes fixated on him, the remaining fear in the mercenary’s expression faded, replaced by a vacant emptiness. Tentacles erupted from his body, greedily absorbing his unresponsive form.
The blood-red figure shrieked with delight, dancing and waving its arms.
“It worked! It worked, it worked, it worked!”
“This is… the power I’ve dreamed of… His power!”
“So enchanting, so intoxicating…”
The crude makeup mixed with the dripping purplish-black blood as it slid down the figure’s face, the ground beneath its feet corroding.
But the figure didn’t care, ecstatically caressing the stone fragments that vaguely resembled eyes.
“With His power… that damned Sword Saint Qin Wen, she’s going to die… ugh—”
Suddenly, the blood-red figure coughed up a mouthful of blood, seemingly experiencing a severe rejection reaction.
“Da-Damn it… even this… isn’t enough to earn His favor…?”
The figure gritted its teeth, its consciousness fading.
Just as it was about to lose consciousness, a seductive, enchanting voice echoed in its ear, so gentle that it could lure one into an endless abyss.
“Even a lowly, pitiful insect… can be of use to me…”
In that instant, the figure’s wounds healed, absorbing all the embedded stones, its aura growing stronger.
“I grant you power, to hate, to destroy…”
“To unleash… the greatest malice in this world…”
As the voice faded, the image of a silver-haired figure slowly appeared in the blood-red figure’s mind, its face obscured.
“Kill her.”
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