Chapter 134 Play
"……professor."
Azuka frowned slightly. From his current angle, he could only see the other person's profile - nothing, pale. He seemed to be at the bottom of a funnel, with those terrible, undignified pain pouring out from the abominable gaping hole at the top.
But the man just glanced at him calmly, then folded the letter without any emotion and put it in his chest pocket.
Finally, the Judges, who had requested reinforcements from the Church of Light, which had completely lost control of the local White Tower, arrived. The sheriffs, who had previously been almost invisible, seemed to have received an order and suddenly appeared from nowhere to open the city gates in the early morning hours. That day, every conscious White Tower resident witnessed the scene in silence.
Under the pale, temperatureless light of the snow, the moon was dim and hazy, and only the armor of these fully armed judges gleamed coldly, pouring into the small town with an ancient white tower in the center like a burst river.
It is the birthplace of White Tower University and is known as the Tower of Truth standing forever in the waves of the Okansele River. It has produced thirty-nine royal honorary scholars, seventeen doctors, and two popes in various fields. Saint Bartholomew taught here for fifteen years and taught countless disciples.
But now, the judges sent by the Glorious Church have silently invaded the ancient streets of Baita Town. The locked door of Baita Town Church was finally pushed open, and the interior, once frozen in death and submerged in blood, once again saw the light of day.
Amidst the lingering smell of blood, the young priest, the sole survivor of that brutal trial, who had his ropes cut and was pushed off the trial platform, came forward tremblingly and tearfully recounted to the judges the details of what happened that day.
Seeing that the leader among the judges, who was wearing a gorgeous white robe and a helmet, remained silent, the sheriffs began to panic and blame each other. When the responsibility was infinitely shared by the group, they gradually became more justified.
The leader said nothing until everyone was quiet again. Then he gently and softly instructed everyone to arrange the division of labor and manpower one by one. He seemed to have no intention of holding anyone accountable. This made the sheriffs feel relieved, and they couldn't help but work harder.
If the professor were here, he would immediately recognize the identity of the leader.
——One of the five cardinals, "Dustless Light" Pavaton Miller.
Early the next morning, despair and panic completely enveloped Bai Ta Town.
The Inquisition suddenly began to arrest all the townspeople who participated in the trial that day. No evidence was needed, just an accusation. For each "heretic" identified, the accuser would receive a silver coin as a reward.
Everyone thought that the Glowing Church was crazy. Even if they had the authority to arrest people, the large-scale arrests that almost paralyzed the order of the entire town were definitely suspected of rebellion.
But these judges were far from the usual ragtag bunch in White Tower Town. Gradually, under the threat of bloodshed and the promise of bribes, the prisons of the Inquisition, previously empty during the riot, began to fill up once again, leaving the prisoners with no place to sit. As those around them disappeared and screamed, the fear of the unknown was enough to drive the deprived townspeople mad.
People began to run to Baita University, asking for help from the teachers and students. All the teachers and students opened the school gates and took in all the fleeing townspeople without exception.
Vice President Gibson Wyatt disappeared inexplicably. After a brief period of confusion, the Dean of the Seminary, Dels Rabelais, stepped forward and asked all students to stay indoors and warned their relatives and friends to pay attention to their safety.
Letters pleading for help flew out like snowflakes. Soon, various forces began to harshly condemn the harshness and transgressions of the Inquisition and submitted letters of protest to Her Majesty the Queen, but at least for the time being, these pressures and resistances were beyond their reach.
Worst of all, no one could contact Owl. Previously, White Tower University had been barely safe, the only reason, at least on the surface, being the presence of a top-tier expert. But now, with that person's disappearance, everyone began to panic as time passed, as if a knife of slaughter hung over their heads.
At this juncture, the professor was assassinated again.
A group of unidentifiable individuals broke into White Tower University, their target clearly in mind. The moment they saw the professor, they brandished machetes. Seeing the situation was dire, Nova turned and ran, sprinting through the winding corridors of the teaching building for nearly ten minutes, until his strength was completely depleted. Then, slowly, like a cat playing with a mouse, the masked killers appeared, aiming for the black-haired young man's head and slashing downwards—only to be instantly killed by Azuka, who suddenly appeared beside the professor.
The screaming students nearby looked in horror at their assistant, renowned for her gentle beauty. Blood streamed down the floor to her feet, yet she remained spotless. Her beautiful face, devoid of the faint smile of the past, cast down her eyes in a cold, condescending gaze at the dark-haired scholar slumped in the corner before her, like a deity observing his humble, prostrate followers.
The man, having just escaped death, knelt on the floor, coughing violently. His weakened arms clung to the ground, his gloves soaked with the attacker's blood. Thick drops of cold sweat oozed from his pale forehead, hidden by his black hair, trickling down his cheeks and chin, dripping onto the ground, leaving tiny marks one after another.
The black-haired young man was shaking all over as if he were ill. Suddenly, he supported himself on the ground and began to vomit painfully, but he only vomited a small amount of clear liquid. His face was extremely ugly, as if he was about to die in the next second.
Some students wanted to help him up, but the blond youth's position blocked everyone's path. The inexplicable and terrifying sense of oppression made no one dare to step past him, until the man suddenly smiled softly, regaining his usual gentle demeanor.
He leaned down slightly and gracefully extended a hand to the disheveled figure on the ground, his smile perfect. "Professor?"
No one saw his other hand clenching tightly in the shadows.
Nova just felt like he was going to die.
Although it was a play, this life-or-death escape was a real one. Even though he had run around many times to collect his "collection," it had never been this intense, almost equal to his monthly exercise intake. He even half-heartedly considered agreeing with someone's "exercise plan," but once he seriously considered his incredibly busy daily schedule, he couldn't help but back off.
...So tired, forget it. He felt that he was only suitable to squat in a chair and command people - this is called doing one's job.
By the time Nova had finally recovered from the oxygen-deprived trance, he'd already been secretly supported back to the dorm. His lungs ached like they were exploding, his throat reeked of blood. As soon as the door closed, he wanted to collapse, but someone held him tightly, forcing him to lean on another person's shoulder, gasping for air and shaking.
Someone gently patted his back over and over again to help him breathe: "Don't lie down right away, it's not good for your heart."
"I want to drink water." The tyrant groaned and leaned on the savior's shoulder, giving intermittent orders.
"Do you want to spit it all out as soon as it enters your mouth?" Azuka asked calmly. Without waiting for the other party to protest, he quickly cut the blood-stained gloves into pieces with the wind blade.
His hand suddenly stopped.
Several unusually clear tooth marks were imprinted on his enemy's pale, slender finger bones, deep enough to bleed. His closely clipped nails were also riddled with uneven burrs, and the threads on his fingertips were blurred and red, as if he had been bitten repeatedly.
“…”
He slowly, gently, but unquestionably pried the trembling hand apart, penetrated it with his fingers, clenched it, and then gently pressed his enemy to the shoulder.
Perhaps because she was too weak to struggle, she rarely said a word and let him hold her, quietly and affectionately pressing her wet cheek against his neck until her heartbeats gradually became synchronized in the hug.
…
Even though the school had been invaded, the owl never showed up.
The situation took a sudden turn for the worse. The teachers and students trapped in Baita University and some townspeople became increasingly frightened. Food and charcoal for heating became scarce, and someone had to risk their lives to go out and purchase them. Even with the protection of the Shadow Chasers, some people would always disappear.
To prevent the townspeople and students from causing trouble in their panic, Nova proposed to Dean Rabelais that the school restore normal teaching order and organize a self-defense force, simply armed with weapons, and assigned personnel for training and patrols. Even though the members of the self-defense force were mostly ordinary people, with a few low-level warriors and sorcerers, anything to do was better than nothing.
Rabelais suddenly remembered what the other party had mentioned in the principal's office - "Learn to have no armed forces of your own."
…As always, he still couldn't figure out what his student was planning to do, but a vague premonition made his heart beat faster.
Thus, a strange sight appeared in Baita Town: there were few people outside Baita University, and passers-by were in a hurry, fearing that they would be spotted by the judges of the Heresy Inquisition. However, the interior of Baita University was becoming more and more orderly, and all townspeople could participate in classes for free, with formation training in the morning and lectures and discussions in the afternoon.
But the standoff didn't last long. Several Judges easily made their way past the patrol checkpoint, interrupting the class and "forcing" Professor Nova out. The students, terrified and desperate, gathered around the professor. Some brave enough tried to intervene, only to be brutally pointed their weapons at their necks by the Judges.
Their theology professor first shook his head slightly at the students, then turned away and said coldly to the judge who was holding his arm, "Sir, is there a possibility that I am not a cripple and can walk independently?"
The other party remained silent and pushed him out of the classroom coldly and roughly. In a moment of carelessness, his glasses slipped off his nose and fell to the ground, where someone stepped on them, cracking the fragile lenses.
Nova: “…”
What's wrong with these people? Why do they have to pick on his glasses?!
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