Chapter 55
Lori looked at the monster beside her, hesitating, unsure of what to say.
That's Spider-Man. Chrison rescued Lori when Kitty was held back by Deedrey. Otherwise, she would be dead by now.
It looked even more disgusting in the heavy rain; its entire body of fine black hair clung to its skin after being soaked. Its smooth body was repulsive. After all, it was a spider. This kind of creature seemed to exist in the world as a malevolent force, meant to disrupt peace; its disgusting appearance alone made one want to flee.
But interestingly, for Lori now, this monster might be one of the few things that help her. She shouldn't have needed human help in the first place. Lori knows that she is a monster in a sense. Monsters can help each other, but between monsters and humans, the best outcome is for them to have no contact with each other.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine as long as I’m here.” Chrisson expressed his friendliness to Lori in the simplest way possible. Although he didn’t really need to do this, because he had given her that feeling from the moment he appeared, some things seemed to need to be said to be effective. He told Lori earnestly, as if making a vow to her. This seemingly powerless vow, at that moment, was as solid as a rock, providing her with a moment of reassurance in the rain.
"It's so cold," Lori whispered. It really was cold. Of course it would be cold in the rain.
The little spider didn't say much, just patted her head with pity in his eyes. It was ridiculous and laughable for a monster to pity a girl who looked like a human, but he couldn't laugh at the moment.
The little spider couldn't warm Lori; he didn't carry anything that could soothe her heart in the rain. He could only offer this most powerless comfort, hoping she could persevere and endure. She must learn to be strong, because her identity dictates that she must learn to bear pain.
Lori understood what it meant and didn't say anything more. It gestured for her to follow it, and in the heavy rain, the two of them hunched over and moved forward through the ruins.
Like two rats in a sewer, they had no choice but to hide in the heavy rain to survive.
“Um, Carl is injured,” Lori whispered behind Chrisson. “Can we go and get him?”
"I'll do my best if I can," was all Krissen could say; he couldn't offer any further protection.
Because he wasn't even sure if he could get her away now, the ground was still shaking, and not far away Deedri was fighting a deadly battle with Ketchum.
But the outcome was already predetermined; Deedris would soon be defeated. Her opponent was a being of divine power, someone who wouldn't need to go all out against Deedris, who was merely an ordinary monster.
In this one-sided confrontation, Deedri was not at a disadvantage in terms of skill, but was completely outmatched in terms of strength, defense, and speed.
Krisen could sense just how chaotic the elements were amidst the confusion.
That's because Deedris is blessed by fire, wind, and earth. These three blessings give her an absolute advantage against most. But her enemy is Ketchum, who only has the blessing of the gods, yet even so, she has no chance of victory.
Fortunately, Christensen wanted to check on her safety from a distance, and also fortunately, Deedri came out to look for her. Otherwise, they certainly wouldn't have appeared here in time.
Where are you taking me?
“A safe place, a place with sugar,” Chris replied. “At least you can have a cozy place for a short time.”
"short time?"
“Acker hopes everyone on the train can find a place far more meaningful than his,” Chrisson paused, then continued, “He claims he only takes in people who are searching for their purpose in life, and if they find their value, they should leave. Because there are so many things for you to do. Do you have anything you want to do?”
"I want to live."
“Poor kid.” Krisen wanted to say something more, but stopped, watching the guy in front of him slowly lower his body.
“Looks like you’re one step ahead of us.” The man standing there reached behind him and gripped the oversized weapon in his hand. “But sorry, we don’t mind taking people.”
That's Huck, behind him. Nina is standing there.
"We are partners."
“That’s not the case now. If you can hand over the demon, we don’t want to resort to force.” Nina looked at Chrisson and said softly, “It’s better for both of us this way.”
As she spoke, black lightning surged around her body. The static electricity was even more amplified in the heavy rain; for Nina in her current state, there was nothing she couldn't destroy.
Lori tried to turn and run away, but Chris grabbed her hand. The monster's hand felt icy cold in her own, yet strangely, it gave her a sense of security.
Krisen understood why these were the guys blocking his way; he could also see the guy lurking on the roof.
The alliance was originally based on jointly pressuring the church before finding the demon, but now the demon is standing right behind him. Although it's unclear why she's not as powerful as rumored, her appearance is enough to bring everything to an end.
At this point, there's no need to maintain an alliance. Everyone has discussed battle plans, eaten, and chatted together. When standing together, they should laugh loudly; when facing each other with swords drawn, there's no need for further words.
Chrison and Lori vanished right before their eyes. Before Hack could react, a tremendous force pulled him to the ground from his ankles. Nina's lightning also disappeared before it could even form. Spiderwebs, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, dragged her into a nearby street corner, binding her before she could even groan.
As for the one on the roof, it didn't escape the fate of being tangled into a ball of yarn either. In less than ten seconds, the three of them were tied together by the spider web.
Meanwhile, Chrisson was already running through the streets with Lori, completely ignoring whether those guys were actually dead or not.
Come to think of it, Ark seemed to have mentioned being a calamity-level monster. Krisen thought to himself, though he didn't quite understand what a calamity actually was.
......
"Hey, hey, hey, stop sitting there drinking tea, someone's going to die if we wait any longer." Denos shook Ark's shoulder. He had just poured the tea when he received the message from Deedri. At the same time, they could hear the fighting sounds mixed with thunder outside the window.
But Yak didn't seem to be in a hurry; he was just leisurely sipping his tea.
Outside, the wind and rain were raging, but inside the room, the fireplace made it warm and cozy. Staying here drinking tea was hardly a respectable thing to do, because there were still many things to be done outside, and it was the right thing to do to go out and help.
Yak sipped his tea, looking outside, reluctant to put down his cup.
“I just finished assembling the carriage not long ago. Wouldn’t it be better for me to rest a little longer?” Ark didn’t seem to have any intention of moving. He looked at Denos, who was already preparing to leave, and said, “What are you planning to do? Do you think you can handle that demon or the priest? Neither of them needs our kind of fighting force. Even if you go, it won’t change anything.”
"But Chrisson said that the demon doesn't even have the ability to protect himself."
"Are you sure?" Ark suddenly asked, without turning his head, "At least that guy can unleash the ability to turn the core of a calamity-level monster to ash in an instant. If she can't even protect herself with that, then she's living in an extremely dangerous situation. You want to help her? Don't be ridiculous. We can't handle either Ketchum or Karl."
"At a time like this, stop pretending nothing's wrong, okay?" Denos frowned at Ark, feeling a bit annoyed. He needed to find a way to persuade this guy to come with him.
As long as Ark is present, there hasn't been a problem he can't solve. He seems quite adept at handling these kinds of troubles, but right now he's too lazy to even move, looking like a mangy dog basking in the sun. Although there's no sun outside, only heavy rain.
The flooding is getting increasingly severe today; in this somewhat low-lying area, the water is already knee-deep. It'll probably be similar in Christensen soon; even moving around is extremely difficult in this heavy rain.
But that shouldn't be a reason to stay in the room. Denos looked around; only the two cats and Ark remained. Even Lady had gone out; the sacrificial lamb was her armor, and this steel monster was probably heading towards Chrison this time.
"Wait a little longer," Yak suddenly said softly.
"What are you waiting for?" Denos felt his anger rising, wishing he could burn this guy to ashes right now.
“Dark clouds.” Ark gave this reply. Denos was taken aback and looked up at the sky.
It's truly bizarre. Even with the heavy rain reaching this level, the sun can still be seen. Even when it's extinguished, it still glows red, a red hue against the clouds, making it look as if the sky has been wounded.
“If you really can’t wait to become a hero, I have a suggestion,” Ark said. “The commotion there has been noticed. That guy doesn’t want the other clergy in the city to know about it. But they’ve already made a huge commotion, and the other clergy will probably be heading there too, namely the knights. You could try to stop them.”
Denos followed his gaze, but he couldn't see anything in the heavy rain.
But he knew that Yak had a basis for his claim, and he had no intention of staying there any longer.
The door closed and opened, leaving only the two cats in the room.
"I never expected you to be such a cowardly and timid fellow," the black one muttered. His spider legs allowed him to cling to the wall, expressing his disdain for Ark.
"Perhaps, he has his own reasons," Gray said softly, as if speaking up for Ark, but still revealing a hint of dissatisfaction.
Chrisson had just returned to give a long speech, hoping to find more people to help him save the child. He promised that the child was very, very good. It must be said that Chrisson was quite eloquent, persuading everyone here to be just as anxious.
Including these two cats, they're only here because they can't reveal what they really are. The coffin is right next to them, and if it were lost too, they would truly lose their reason for living.
“I am indeed quite afraid of trouble,” Ark suddenly said, surprised that this guy would actually agree so shamelessly.
It saw him fumble around his neck for a moment and pull out a necklace. It looked like a coin, but one side was engraved with dense scriptures, and the other side was carved with a sword and shield, crossed to form a cross.
It was an exquisitely crafted necklace, one that Ark would never casually display in front of others. But now he took it out and placed it by the firelight to examine its patterns and carvings.
What is that?
“My friend gave it to me,” Acton said after a pause. “It can be of help at times like this.”
It looked at the sky and sighed helplessly.
“We’ll have to wait a little longer, but it won’t be long.” Yak said something a bit nonsensical, then paused and added, “The rain is getting heavier.”
The weather here seems to be deliberately designed to torment people; if this rain were any heavier, it could really flood the entire city.
It's hard to be in a good mood on a gloomy day like this, but some people can still manage a smile. Ark was one of them. He chuckled, while his two strange cats tilted their heads in unison, looking at him with a hint of curiosity.
This guy is expressionless; he shouldn't have any expression at all. But now he's laughing again, and every time he starts laughing, it's so eerie and unsettling.
What are you laughing at?
“No, don’t misunderstand. This rain just reminded me of something from the past. Have I mentioned it before? I’ve experienced rain this heavy before, even heavier. Back then, a friend of mine, who was nothing but bones, lost his most prized hat in the downpour. Our carriage floated on the water, and we drove almost thirty kilometers back to look for it. But we finally found it under a box. We were all furious, so we used its skull as a wine glass at dinner. Cough, cough.” Yak laughed and then began to cough loudly.
The two cats stared at Ark, who was laughing so hard he was almost breathless, with utter bewilderment. A person who usually had no expression was now laughing so hard over something so strange.
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