Chapter 42: Madame Night |
Lumian was stunned by the carriage pulled by the 'demon' and the undead's reactions. He forgot to struggle and got pushed by the invisible palm for over ten seconds before coming to a stop.
Although the carriage was getting farther away, he could still see the woman's face clearly with his eagle-like vision.
Her long brown hair was tied up high, and her brown eyes were beautiful and bright. She had light eyebrows and wore a fresh green dress and a laurel crown made of flowers. She had an elegant and dignified aura.
Madame Pualis! Lumian's first thought was that the woman on the carriage was Madame Pualis—the administrator's wife and the padre's mistress.
However, on closer inspection, he noticed an obvious difference between the two. Not only was there a vast disparity in their aura, but there was also a distinct difference in their looks.
The lady in the car had softer and more mature facial features.
If Lumian had to make a comparison, he would describe the lady in the car as Madame Pualis's older sister by seven or eight years.
At the moment, the lady sat in an open carriage pulled by the 'demon.' Surrounded by countless undead and the Death Knight, she traveled towards the distant forest as if she was on some kind of magical patrol.
Aurore retracted her gaze and ran towards Lumian. As she ran, she shouted, "Take this opportunity to escape from here!"
Before long, they felt as though they had passed through an illusory curtain or a thick layer of water.
The scene before them changed.
The wilderness dissipated like bubbles. The clear river, new grass on both sides, and green trees all entered their view at once.
To Lumian and Aurore, this scene was so familiar that they didn't need to identify it to make a judgment.
They were still near Cordu Village!
This was where Ava Lizier used to tend to her geese!
"We're back…" Lumian wasn't surprised or disappointed. Instead, he looked around, having confirmed his suspicion.
Aurore panted and said, "Whether Madame Pualis made a mistake on purpose or not, we can't go back to the village now."
"Let's head to Dariège!" Lumian suggested immediately.
"Then let's go to the nearest pasture. There's a dangerous path down the hill. With our abilities, we'll be fine," Lumian added.
"Okay." Aurore turned around and started running.
Having borrowed the pony from Madame Pualis from time to time, she was familiar with the highland pastures around Cordu.
Lumian followed his sister closely, both glad and terrified at what had just happened.
He didn't expect Madame Pualis to be so powerful that she could have so many undead, the 'demon,' and the Death Knight chase after her.
Of course, it might not be Madame Pualis.
As she ran, Aurore slowed down. Her breathing became heavier, and her gasping became more and more pronounced.
"What's wrong?" Lumian still had plenty of energy.
This was one of the benefits of being a Hunter.
Aurore stopped and panted heavily.
"I'm exhausted. The spellcasting took up a lot of my energy."
Lumian said without hesitation, "Then I'll carry you. I'm not tired yet."
They were in a dire situation, and time was of the essence. Aurore nodded, went behind the squatting Lumian, and leaned on him.
Lumian first took off the brooch in front of him and returned it to his sister. Then, he straightened his body and ran again.
"Is this a mystical item?" Lumian still had the energy to ask.
Aurore was taken aback for a moment before she chuckled.
"Looks like you know quite a bit. This is indeed a mystical item. I call it the Integrity Brooch. It can create Holy sunlight or help me ignite materials to help me use a mystic technique to deal with ghost-type creatures. However, wearing it for too long will cause people to become fanatical. And as long as you wear it, you will lose some thoughts. As you know, immoral methods in battle might be more useful, but you get limited by it."
Aurore paused and asked in a deep voice, "Where did you get the Beyonder characteristic?"
As Lumian ran, he replied intermittently, "Didn't that Wand card allow me to stay awake in the dream?"
"What Wand card?" Aurore was confused.
Oh, this is something from the previous cycle… Lumian reorganized his words.
"I was at Ol' Tavern and met a mysterious lady. She gave me a Wand card. With that card, I stayed lucid in my dream and entered a strange space. There, I encountered some monsters and obtained a Hunter Beyonder characteristic."
"Hunter…" Aurore was familiar with this Sequence commonly seen in Intis.
As she muttered to herself, she suddenly chuckled, seeming to have thought of something.
What are you laughing at… Lumian was baffled.
Aurore asked again, "Then who gave you the formula? That mysterious lady?"
"Yeah." Lumian nodded as he ran.
Aurore sighed and said, "My stupid brother has his own secrets now… I can't confirm if what you said is true or not. I'll just take it at face value."
Lumian couldn't bear to see his sister disappointed, so he quickly changed the topic.
"Was that Madame Pualis on the carriage?"
"They look alike, but they're not the same," Aurore said, contradicting herself.
After a few seconds of deliberation, she said, "Since you're already a Beyonder, I'll tell you directly. My companions, uh, my pen pals, once mentioned something.
"They said that in the past few years, there have been many strange phenomena similar to what happened just now in the southern parts of Loen, the southern parts of Intis, and the Feynapotter Kingdom. Women ride carriages pulled by demons, patrol the wilderness and have hordes of undead following them. Some Beyonders who have grasped the corresponding mystic arts will let their spirits leave their bodies and follow the carriage for a period of time to experience something wonderful and obtain mystic knowledge.
"One of my companions obtained one of the Beyonders' notebooks. It mentioned that the lady's name is Madame Night. The owner of the notebook obtained a secret medicine production method from his experience following a carriage, which can create an invisibility potion from a baby's corpse.
"According to the investigation, the women in different places exhibit similar phenomena, but things happen at night."
Lumian said in surprise, "But it's daytime now."
Could the anomaly in Cordu Village have brought about a change?
"That's why I'm not sure," Aurore said after thinking for a moment. "Perhaps sending Naroka to Paramita made a difference. Perhaps that wilderness is Paramita, where Madame Nights patrol in the day and appear in the human world at night. Yes, combined with the fact that the lady resembles Pualis, I'm inclined to the previous guess."
Lumian didn't know much about mysticism, but he instinctively felt that his sister's suspicion was right.
He ran in silence for a distance before finally asking, "Why did you sacrifice yourself to save me? I wish you were more selfish."
"I'm very selfish," Aurore said with a smile. "I considered abandoning you and escaping on my own. Then, I would avenge you when I became stronger. However, after careful consideration, I realized that even if I gave you the Integrity Brooch and taught you how to use it, you wouldn't be able to help me attract most of the undead to give me a chance to escape. Only a Warlock like me could do it.
"It was a choice between us dying together or at least you being able to live. I don't have to tell you the choice I made, right?"
Making such a choice isn't as easy as how you make it sound. Lumian could accept it rationally, but not emotionally.
He said gloomily, "We might as well die together."
"You can't die! Who'll bring me back if you're gone? Anything's possible in the world of mysticism," lectured Aurore to her brother. "That's why I said all those sappy lines. So you'll remember to work hard and bring me back."
That's true… Lumian gradually agreed with his sister's choice.
After running for a while, they saw the nearest highland pasture. Lumian, who had been carrying Aurore, clearly felt tired, but he didn't stop to rest. He mustered his remaining strength and rushed to the hill covered in green grass.
There were many livestock pens and shacks here. The former was surrounded by rocks and tree branches. The ground was compacted soil and flattened feces. There was a long and narrow exit at one end that could only allow one sheep to pass through. The latter was similar to a primitive tent: stones were first used to build a circle of low walls, leaving a door and a smoke vent. Then, a row of grates were built against the low walls. The bottom half of the grates was buried in the soil, and the upper end supported a wooden structure. On the wooden structure was a roof made of grass and mud.
This was where the shepherds lived. The environment was very harsh.
Lumian no longer carried Aurore and led her all the way to the other side of the hill.
The dangerous path was hidden below.
Looking at the path that required her to jump seven to eight meters off a cliff, Aurore said to Lumian, "Although you can climb this now, don't waste time. I'll fly you down."
"Alright." Lumian wanted to see what kind of changes would happen if he left Cordu.
Aurore grabbed Lumian's arm with one hand and sprinkled silver dust with the other.
The two of them floated up at the same time and slowly flew down the cliff.
In midair, Lumian suddenly felt a pain in his head, as if someone had hit him heavily.
Aurore had a similar reaction.
Lumian's vision quickly turned black as he felt everything shatter.
......
Lumian jolted awake and saw the familiar sights of the table, chair, bookshelf, and wardrobe.
Back to square one… He got off the bed thoughtfully and went downstairs. As expected, he found Aurore in a light-blue dress, preparing dinner.
"Aurore, what's the date today?" Lumian asked.
Aurore glared at him. "Call me Grande Soeur! Are you still not fully awake? It's the 29th today."
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