[Vol. 8] Chapter 244: A Changing Chessboard
Vera Merrick had been quite anxious lately.
That sudden, unexpected event a few days ago completely disrupted all the plans made so far. The ruin, which was supposed to remain open for at least another month, suddenly shut down under the influence of some strange power, cutting down their time by nearly 80%.
This was undoubtedly terrible news.
And yet, all the preparations had already been made in advance. At this point, even if she wanted to change or adjust anything, it was already too late.
"Creak~"
The door was gently pushed open from outside, and Miss Blue Butterfly, with a light blue sword hanging from her waist, stepped into the room. Vera, who had been frowning as she scribbled in her notebook, immediately looked up with a hopeful expression.
"Well? Any news?"
The swordswoman put a bowl of hot soup down on the table and shook her head.
“Even though Saint Laos City isn’t far from the border, it still takes several days of nonstop travel to reach it. And with the need to avoid being chased by those people, there’s no way they could’ve arrived so quickly, even if everything went perfectly. You’re just too anxious.”
Vera froze for a moment, then sighed and shook her head.
“It’s not that I’m just being impatient. It’s that time is really running out. The ruin suddenly closed, and we don’t know when it’ll open again. We’ve already lost contact with that side, and right now, our only hope is Ricardo. If he…”
Seeing how worried the young lady looked, Blue Butterfly simply patted her on the shoulder and pushed the hot soup closer.
“Don’t pressure yourself too much. You’ve already done everything that was within your power. We’re only human, do what we can, and leave the rest to fate. This great disaster isn’t something one person can carry alone. Eat something first, you haven’t had a bite all day.”
“Sigh…”
Vera still looked restless, staring blankly at the soup in front of her. Blue Butterfly could only shake her head helplessly.
"Alright, don't make that worried face. While I'm not sure what this [Revelator] you mentioned foresaw, or what information Ricardo got from the ruins, I've got good news this time."
“?”
Before the young lady could ask, the swordswoman continued on her own:
“Do you remember that Hero Trial held by the Goddess Church? They say six heroes were chosen back then. Each was blessed by the Goddess with powerful divine artifacts and strength to save the world. And one of them seems to have recently arrived in Saint Laos City.”
“Heroes are chosen by the Goddess, personally picked saviors. While her original prophecy about the disaster didn’t give much detail, it did sound similar to what [Revelator] described. So, if this hero really came to Saint Laos City, she might share your goal. Maybe we could work with her.”
“A hero came to Saint Laos City…?”
“Yes… that’s definitely good news.”
Vera quietly repeated the words, thinking deeply for a while. Gradually, a hopeful light began to shine in her eyes.
“In a way, heroes chosen by the Goddess represent her will. They carry divine artifacts and even have the Goddess’s attention. Not even that person could predict anything about them. If a hero really came to Saint Laos City… Blue Butterfly, do you know which one it is?”
“We don’t have exact info yet. But just a short while ago, some mysterious powerful people broke into the Red Mastiff Society, the ones always causing us trouble, and made it out safely. That alone shows they’re very strong. And from what a few witnesses said, one of them was a strange-looking girl from the Lightborn race. She was blind and held a glowing holy staff. That sounds a lot like the rumored Heaven Hero.”
Vera suddenly perked up, her face lighting up with joy.
“The Heaven Hero… That’s the leader of the six chosen heroes! I get it now, I understand! So that’s what the key to breaking the stalemate was that he talked about!”
“Blue Butterfly, use all of our people right away. We must find out where the Hero is staying as quickly as possible. Do whatever it takes to arrange a meeting betwee—”
BOOM!!!!!!
Before she could finish her sentence, a deafening explosion echoed from far away in the city, like a bolt of thunder shaking the heavens and the earth!
The entire house shook violently as if the earth itself had turned over. The shockwave knocked over furniture and even sent the bowl of hot soup in front of Vera flying. The bowl smashed to the floor, shattering into pieces and splashing soup everywhere.
“Watch out!”
Blue Butterfly quickly reached out to steady the unbalanced Vera. The two women exchanged glances, both of them confused and unsure of what was happening.
“What’s going on?!”
“On alert! Protect the young lady!”
In an instant, the entire estate was filled with the sound of rushing footsteps. Armored guards with weapons drawn were running in all directions. Blue Butterfly, after making sure Vera was steady, immediately turned and opened the door to look outside.
When she saw what was happening out there, even someone as calm and steady as her couldn’t help but have her pupils shrink in shock.
“This is…”
In the distance, a giant tree made of what looked like flesh and blood was rising rapidly from the ground in the middle of the city. It was forming so fast it could be seen growing with the naked eye!
No one knew what it was feeding on, but its growth was almost unbelievably fast. Thick, terrifying branches twisted and stretched outward on their own, and within moments, the tree had already grown taller than the tallest buildings in Saint Laos City. Yet it didn’t slow down at all. It continued to grow and spread in every direction like a mad, unstoppable force!
The blood-and-flesh tree split into countless sharp, twisted branches. As it spread, it grabbed one living being after another, creatures who hadn’t even figured out what was going on. Before they could cry out or fight back, the tree’s branches pierced their bodies full of holes and tightly wrapped around them. The victims were absorbed, their bodies melting into blobs of flesh and quickly being devoured by the tree.
Blue Butterfly felt chills run down her spine as she watched.
“What?! Oh My Primordial Light... Don't tell me this is…”
Vera had followed her outside and saw the same terrifying scene. Instantly, her expression changed.
That massive flesh tree was growing from one very specific place.
The Grand Church of Saint Laos City.
“This is bad! The Hero and their team must’ve found that thing!”
Vera had always known something wasn’t right. The church in Saint Laos City hadn’t truly belonged to the Goddess Church for a long time.
Ever since the High Priest Heimdall in white robes went missing half a month ago, or maybe even before that, a dark cult known as the World Sustainers had slowly been invading and taking over the city from the shadows.
They had eaten away at the holy temple, secretly supported and expanded the Red Mastiff Society, and step by step gained control of the entire city. All of this was in preparation for a specific moment they had long been waiting for.
But this event had already been predicted by the [Revelator].
In fact, over two years ago when Vera first arrived in the city and met the High Priest for the very first time, she had already known… this day would come.