Chapter Thirty-One
Last night's battle alarmed the entire city, especially the guys in that hotel.
The church's outbuildings, which were originally intended as a base of operations, completely collapsed. In the ruins, people could be seen salvaging supplies early in the morning.
Lori squatted on the ground, carrying a basket, and picked up some small handicrafts or scattered materials from the ground with her gloved right hand.
Tasks that don't require much physical exertion are usually assigned to children like these. Right now, the knights with more stamina are lifting walls and retrieving buried items from below, including food and other supplies.
These items are very important, so to prevent looting, the collection began a long time ago.
After Lori filled a basket, she went to the side to sort and put the items into bags.
So far, it has been working on this task for about four or five hours.
But she was still very happy because when she woke up she found herself sleeping in Karl's arms.
The guy returned safely after I fell asleep, and he seemed to be fine, except for being a little tired.
The outside world is in such chaos right now, it's something to be happy about that the people closest to you are still alive and well.
As long as the person is still alive, everything else is manageable.
Speaking of which, the snow on the ground from the blizzard caused by the chaos hasn't completely melted yet, and the temperature isn't high, but this child is still wandering around outside wearing only a robe.
This good-looking child is very likable; he doesn't cause trouble or make a fuss. His smile is like sunshine. He starts helping out first thing in the morning.
This really makes people feel good; just seeing a child like this makes me feel good.
While such children are easily abducted by unscrupulous individuals and sold into brothels, experiencing the darker side of life, this place is filled with knights. These believers in God have undergone His trials and have been given the power to use holy magic in matters related to their battles. If these guys were to do anything truly evil, it certainly wouldn't involve a child.
After all, God is not a pedophile, so he probably wouldn't allow his followers to have such a personality.
At this time, Lori should have been at church reading and studying, which is what children should be doing. Despite the city's small size, education hasn't been completely neglected. At least Carl himself is a teacher, and there are others who teach these children to read and other subjects, giving them a general understanding of the world.
However, because the church is currently closed, only Karl and Alpha are inside. The ascetic is receiving treatment.
All the bones in its body were damaged to varying degrees, and its muscles were even more severely injured. It suffered a huge price, but it didn't seem to be in any pain.
Perhaps they've gotten used to it; these guys usually develop a strange masochistic tendency while inflicting physical torture on themselves. Or maybe it's for other reasons, but when Lori saw it this morning, she was shocked. She had never seen a creature so badly injured before; even if she had, it was usually carried in.
This guy walked in, walking very straight, like a pine tree in motion.
So Lori ran away, and Carl left her outside to help; it needed a quieter place to treat the guy.
Lori hesitated for a moment, looking to the side.
"Are you alright?" asked the boy sitting next to Lori. "It looks like you're hurt too."
"Me? I'm fine." Nameless was sitting on the ruins, suddenly appearing there without anyone noticing.
Even as he spoke, blood was still visible on his head. Yesterday, the ascetic had nearly crushed all of its organs and almost died at its hands.
But now it seems to have recovered quite a bit. Although we don’t know how the demon was able to recover without the help of the priest, at least it looks good now, and at least it’s still alive.
“Okay, then why are you here?” Lori hesitated for a moment before asking, “It seems you don’t get along with them.”
“Strictly speaking, I don’t get along with any of the clergy; in their eyes, I should die. Now, to answer the first question, I only know you and that spider here. I suddenly realize that I finally have someone to talk to. But right now, that spider is with a very troublesome guy, so I had no choice but to come to you.” Nameless said with a smile, “It’s nice to be able to say a few more words before I die.”
Are you afraid of dying?
“I’m scared. I want to survive. But it looks like I’ll be wiped out by them soon.” Nameless looked at Lori, paused, and said, “You might hear I’m dead in a few days.”
"Why?"
"That madman can seal off space. The place I was originally in has been greatly compressed. Once he recovers, all he needs to do is seal off the surrounding space, and I will have to fight him outside. Ha, I can't beat that guy. If we fight again, I'll die very quickly." Wuming laughed self-deprecatingly. "What a coward. I'm supposed to be a demon, yet I was beaten so badly by a priest that I couldn't even fight back."
"Um, can I ask you some questions?"
"I'll try my best to answer since you're a cute girl."
"Um, when did you first find out you were a demon?" Lori asked hesitantly. "I want to know."
“From birth.” Nameless shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know why, but when I woke up I was in a strange space. For some inexplicable reason, I knew a lot of things. For example, what I could do, how to speak, and where this place was. But I don’t remember anything that happened before. However, in my research over the past few years, I learned that when a person becomes a demon, their past memories disappear. So I don’t know if that time counts as birth, but it’s at least a rebirth.”
Lori hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered her head.
"What's wrong? You seem downcast." Nameless said with a smile, "Are you sad because I'm going to die? I hope so, although you might just be imagining things."
"Is the demon going to be killed?" Lori said softly. "But I don't remember you doing anything bad."
“Perhaps, anyway, they have no intention of letting me go.” Nameless raised an eyebrow. “But I should leave now. It looks like someone is coming.”
By the time Lori realized what had happened, the guy sitting there was already gone. He vanished from sight in an instant, as if it had all just been a hallucination.
Lori rubbed her eyes, instinctively trying to confirm if they had really disappeared. But before she could even open her eyes, she felt someone patting her shoulder from behind.
"Did you get dust in your eyes?" Carl said softly. "Be careful, this stuff isn't good for your eyes."
"Thank you," Lori replied softly, with a hint of apology, "I'm sorry to have worried you."
“I don’t care whether you’re worried or not, I just feel bad for you. You’ve said too much. I need to find a place to have lunch now, do you want to come with me?” Karl smiled at Lori and grabbed her wrist before she could even answer.
Lori nodded slightly, which was her way of agreeing.
Passing knights saluted Karl, their salutes echoing the scenes depicted in frescoes—scenes painted specifically to cultivate better character. The scene blended seamlessly with the surrounding ruins, a living, breathing example of reality, the kind of painting that could be displayed on a wall anytime soon.
"Um, how badly is it hurt?" Lori asked softly as they walked along the road. "It looks like it's badly injured."
“Actually, I only did the simplest treatment. I was shocked by that guy’s body. I’ve never seen a human with such a speed of recovery and such resilience. This shouldn’t be a human ability. I think it’s more believable to say that it’s a monster.” Karl hesitated, thinking about his words. “This guy gives me the feeling that it’s already dead, because it seems to feel no pain.”
Lori swallowed hard; she sensed something was off. This guy just seemed really strange.
They walked for a long time until they reached the tavern, which was closed because the owner had either taken refuge in the safe zone during the chaos, or died in the chaos of the Blood Sun. Both are possible, and both are highly probable.
But that didn't stop Carl. He put his hand on it and shattered the padlock, forcibly opening the door.
It was pitch black inside, because there was no owner, and naturally, there wasn't even a fire lit in the tavern. To keep it warm, even the windows were covered with thick wooden blinds—the kind that, once closed, completely obscure the view outside.
Carl told Lori to find a place to sit while he went to the back of the tavern to find some food.
They were supposed to eat at the church, but the church food was for ordinary clergy. Karl wasn't originally included, so if he ate, he would have eaten a person's portion, leaving one of the children clearing the Vaso hungry. Therefore, he didn't choose to eat at the church, but instead went out to look for food.
Not wanting to cause trouble for others has always been Carl's guiding principle, especially when it comes to serious matters like food.
Lori lay on the table waiting, feeling a little cold.
The melting snow caused the temperature to drop drastically, and since no sunlight gets in here, the temperature has remained low.
"Karl?" Lori called tentatively to the priest, but there was no response.
That guy is probably rummaging through the cabinet in the back right now and doesn't hear her calling him.
Lori waited for half a minute, and after receiving no answer, she looked around and hesitated for a moment.
The temperature is indeed a bit low now, so she needs to think of a way to avoid freezing to death before eating.
Lori looked at the extinguished fire in the distance, hesitated for a moment, and then raised her hand towards it.
The fire was relit, and the tavern was filled with light and warmth once again.
That's much better. Lori thought happily, at least now she could feel a comfortable temperature.
Just then, Karl came out from inside.
"Did you find the flint?" Karl put the plate on the table and glanced at the still-burning fire.
Suddenly, he paused, his brows furrowing.
Before Lori could react, Karl slammed the table next to him down, smashing it into pieces against the stone hearth.
The wood chips were quickly ignited, and the heat from what was originally just a stove spread into a huge lump.
Lori realized she had done something wrong, lowered her eyes, and dared not look Karl in the eye.
“You should have noticed that there’s only wood ash inside,” Carl said coldly. “It can’t burn.”
The fire went out because the combustibles inside ran out; theoretically, it couldn't have reignited.
But it did catch fire just now, which is not normal; it goes against the laws of nature.
"Sorry," Lori said, looking at the fire. "I'm a little cold."
“I’ll find you a warmer outfit… but why didn’t you say so sooner?” Karl looked at Lori, hesitated for a moment, and asked, “If you had told me sooner, I would have found you a warmer outfit much faster. But you didn’t even feel cold in the blizzard, so why are you feeling cold now?”
“I…I don’t know,” Lori said softly. “I just suddenly felt very cold and wanted to find something warm.”
After a long, long time, Karl sighed softly.
"Probably, but you'll have to be patient. If this happens again, just call me. I can cover up a lot of things for you if I'm there... Like now, how long do you think these flames will burn if I don't do this? Burning ashes, that sounds really unusual."
"Feel sorry."
"Don't worry about it now, come and eat something." Karl pushed the plate over: "There are still a few pounds of human flesh left. I cooked it a little, so it should still be edible."
“Mmm.” Lori nodded, eating the grilled meat.
They usually sell livestock meat, but if you're keeping it for yourself, it's mostly human flesh. Because it's cheaper, and the taste isn't much worse.
Cannibalism is not considered repulsive here; it's an established rule. If a dead person is still relatively intact, their body will be offered up for others to eat. Morality and law are irrelevant; in this world where everything is scarce, as long as one can fill their stomach, that's enough. No one cares what they're eating.
Even so, it's best to pray for the deceased before eating human flesh. While it's uncertain whether they can hear you, they did indeed sacrifice themselves to save another's life.
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