Chapter 144: Feather Capital, Gray Mist All Over the Sky

【I never expected it to be a genuine God! I guess I can’t just speak casually anymore~】

Regarding the teasing from the Priestess, Xi Fu Lin was neither angry nor concerned; her personality was always gentle and full of tolerance.

【Don’t make fun of me. I’m just a sinner who made a big mistake and has been sealed away. Now, I’ve even lost my divine body. Moreover, being able to safely escape from the fabricated divine kingdom, your power, Miss Vilyric, has undoubtedly reached the divine rank or higher.】

【Well… maybe? Since you’re arch-enemies with that guy, can you guess what his next moves might be?】

【Hmm, based on what you described earlier, He should have just restored to the divine rank, and he’s still far from the peak state of the Earth Mother Goddess. I’m not very clear about what Minerva did afterward or how the Abyss invasion and floating islands came about, but the Sky City you mentioned must have a very powerful Divine Spark fragment; otherwise, Minerva wouldn’t have left the Priest to guard it.】

【Unless something unexpected happens, the main target for the decayed one would probably be here.】

This indeed aligned with Vilyric’s thoughts.

After all, Xi Fu mentioned in the illusion that drawing such a powerful being here would be its victory.

Disturbing the tiger’s lair… this battlefield is merely bait, isn’t it?

Glancing once more at the intense battle occurring in the distance, the Priestess had already formed a plan in her mind.

……

Sky Island, Sky City.

Tilysha sat in a chair, gazing out of the window at the pitch-black night, her face clouded with worry.

The massive disaster that occurred on the northern Island of Spris had even reached the ears of the little village girl who was being held captive here. During this period, the people in the city were disturbed, and even the Miss White Feather, who watched over her, had decreased significantly—perhaps now less than half of the original number.

A few days ago, Miss Vilyric had come to see her and explained the situation, talking about how she was about to leave Sky City for the northern battlefield to deal with the aftermath of the disaster.

She straightforwardly mentioned that if anything happened, they could ask the Winged People here to relay a message to Philena Trelop at the United Kingdom Embassy or seek help from Holy Knight Edwina. Vilyric had already given them a heads-up.

After that, Miss Vilyric left, and she hadn’t seen her since. She must be close to reaching her destination by now.

The little village girl was very worried.

She worried about Miss Vilyric’s safety and was also concerned for her parents back in the Nobos Ironblood Empire. She had heard that the Abyss monsters were advancing like a tidal wave, causing great disasters. Her hometown, White City Village, was not far from the southern border of the Kingdom of Azure.

“Everyone… I hope they’re all safe.”

Though filled with anxiety, Tilysha was just an ordinary person. She couldn’t do anything, so all she could do was silently pray to the God.

Just then, in the distant sky she was watching, a gray thunderbolt suddenly descended and struck the towering exquisite spire!

“Boom!!!!!!”

“Eek!”

The sound of the explosion was ear-splitting like the war drums echoing through the clouds, causing the little village girl’s head to spin, and her figure swayed dangerously close to rolling off her chair.

Once she finally regained her senses, she suddenly realized something was off.

The night sky was clear with no clouds, and the bright moon was high; how could it suddenly thunder? Besides, that thunder was an unusual gray color; since when did gray thunderstorms exist?

As the gray lightning struck the side of the tower, a layer of white shield abruptly lit up, completely blocking and absorbing it. Yet, this seemed just to be the beginning.

Countless gray mist began to spread out from the sky. Although another green light shot up from the spire, colliding into some part of the sky, interrupting this process, there was still a significant amount of gray mist that scattered downwards, gradually drifting into various parts of the city.

Some of it, as luck would have it, fell right into her vicinity.

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

It felt as if she had stepped into a pitch-black battlefield; the originally peaceful night was suddenly filled with wails and roars!

Footsteps, crashing sounds, the thud of something falling, and even the cries of creatures on the brink of death all turned into notes of fear and unease that pierced into Tilysha’s ears, leaving her in a state of panic.

Even that faint gray mist had penetrated through the doors and windows, seeping into her room.

Paralyzed with fear, the little village girl reached out her hand instinctively to touch it, only for her fingertips to be met with a scorching and slicing pain!

“Ahhhhh!!”

The almost imperceptible gray mist attached itself to Tilysha’s hand like a living thing, quickly eroding across her skin toward her entire body!

Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!!!!!!

Even without understanding what was happening, the pain served as an urgent reminder that made her franticly shake her hand, trying to rid herself of that bizarre and terrifying substance, but it was utterly useless.

Am I… going to die?

As the wails outside grew increasingly intense, and the agony made her arm feel as if it were being seared, a wave of strong fear swept over Tilysha, pulling her back to moments alone facing monsters in the village, nearly slipping her into a state of unconsciousness.

Clang! The girl collapsed heavily to the ground.

Her body twitched like a stranded fish, and within Tilysha’s dazed mind, the image of a certain black-haired girl’s noble yet sacred visage surfaced—exuding a sweet fragrance like orchid and musk that enchanted her, along with that friendly smile.

“Vilyric… Miss…”

It turned out that the most important presence in her heart had unknowingly transformed into this noble girl at some point.

So unacceptable.

She hadn’t been able to wait for Miss Vilyric to return, to lean beside her, to listen to her tales of adventure and battle, and she hadn’t helped her resolve the issue with that seed…

I want… to see her smile just one more time, to get my head patted and hear her angelic voice.

I… don’t want to die yet…

“Swish!”

As if answering this longing, a surge of golden light flared forth from the girl’s chest like stars igniting!

That light transformed into waves, sweeping across Tilysha’s entire being, easily dispelling the gray mist that had clung to her body and almost reached her heart, invigorating her spirit and restoring her strength.

“Ah!”

Instinctively, Tilysha rolled over and sat on the ground, looking at her hands in uncertainty, her gaze wandering through the suddenly illuminated room by the golden light before focusing on a palm-sized golden orb floating before her.

“I… I survived?”

It was a spherical body purely composed of light, with a small, transparent polygonal crystal at the center continually spinning. The orb pulsed with light as if breathing, resembling a little spirit described in mythological stories.

“Did you save me? Who are you…?”

The little spirit appeared to lack any organs or ability to speak. The glowing aura it emitted quickly shifted, forming several strings of characters before Tilysha.

【Master Vilyric】

【Stay】

【Protect】

【Don’t be afraid】

   

---