Chapter 166: Shadows Beneath the Night

Since Edwina had already left, there was no point in saying more.

Just as the light show was nearing its end, Miss Vilyric decided to step away from the thinning crowd, finding a secluded spot in the park to sit, observing the performance from a distance while keeping an eye on a certain Holy Knight girl who was busy picking and choosing at a stall, silently waiting.

The so-called City of Eternal Light was merely a description; even in a holy place like this, it was impossible for every corner of the night to be filled with light. That would be illogical and unrealistic.

Just like the public wooden benches chosen by Miss White Fox, backlit, or perhaps…

A blurred shadow flickered by from somewhere in the park’s shade.

Coincidentally, Miss White Fox, half-hidden in the darkness, caught sight of it, a flash of unusual color appearing in her silver-blue eyes.

What was that just now…?

Perhaps the figure moved quickly and was well-concealed, even utilizing an optical effect akin to camouflage, but just that level of stealth was not enough to escape Miss Vilyric’s sight.

She saw clearly, it was a girl.

If it were an ordinary girl passing by, it wouldn’t attract Miss White Fox’s attention like this, but this person…

A thought crossed her mind, and Miss White Fox glanced again at the Holy Knight girl still selecting beverages in the distance. Without hesitation, she stood up and stepped into the shadows, following closely behind.

…

Light and shadow are one and the same; even the brightest sanctum cannot escape the spawn of shadows. This principle holds true in the Holy City known as the City of Light.

Crime rates are nearly zero, yet they are not actually zero.

Clad in a long-unused Chameleon Cloak, Miss Vilyric moved through the dark fringes of the city, the marketplace and lamps fading into mere afterimages behind her, only the whisper of the wind in her ears.

It wasn’t that she intended to flaunt her speed; rather, if she didn’t move this way, she couldn’t keep up with the figure ahead, which flitted like a specter between the building shadows, racing toward an unknown destination.

This wasn’t part of Miss Vilyric’s plan, but once she saw it, the Priestess’ curiosity was simply too much for her to ignore.

The girl ahead moved in a peculiar way, at least relative to the vast majority of powerful figures in this world, to the point where it triggered a sense of familiarity and nostalgia in Miss Vilyric.

She didn’t use faith-based magic, or even obvious magical means; rather, she achieved her high-speed movements between houses using a more unrefined technique.

Grappling hook.

Of course, it wasn’t the ordinary metallic kind; if one had to describe it, it would be something akin to a retractable cable.

Miss Vilyric watched intently. Whenever the girl wanted to accelerate or change direction sharply, from her wrist, which seemed to merge with the night, a mechanism would suddenly fire a silicon-like rope, the end attaching to a special disk that quickly adhered to the wall, enabling a variety of complex maneuvers through the cable’s retraction.

Honestly, it resembled a character from a movie Miss Vilyric had once seen back on the Blue Star.

The agility level, as well as the visible physical strain from her abrupt turns at times, made even Miss Vilyric, who followed behind, sweat a little, worried that the girl might dislocate a joint… or something like that.

But clearly, those concerns were entirely unnecessary.

With the two of them in pursuit of each other, the girl wrapped from head to toe in a specially tailored black suit, or rather combat attire, seemed completely oblivious to the fact that she had a tail following her, continuing instead to evade the city’s lights, searching for something.

Minutes passed.

At one moment, the girl leaping between buildings suddenly and abruptly stopped, spreading her limbs like a spider ready to pounce in the night, completely concealing her breath and presence against the tall building’s shadow.

Miss Vilyric, maintaining a safe distance while following, instinctively stopped, realizing the girl’s goal without needing to rely on SP, just using her senses and the atmosphere’s diffusion.

In the shadows beneath that building, in an inconspicuous corner, there were two figures.

Noticing their presence, Miss White Fox, concealed beneath the Chameleon Cloak, couldn’t help but narrow her eyes slightly, a hint of anomalous color passing through her silver-blue gaze.

They were also two girls, but their appearances and postures seemed significantly more unusual.

One had long, dark red hair cascading down, wearing a regal, classical dress that was meticulously detailed, a beautiful lady holding an exquisite fan, her skin whiter than snow.

Though her back was turned, Miss Vilyric couldn’t see her face, but judging by her stature and profile, she looked to be around sixteen or seventeen, very much like a young lady from some ancient noble family.

The other girl appeared more ordinary. From her attire, she resembled a service worker from one of the hotels in the Holy City, probably working in the tall building where the grappling-hook girl was hiding.

In simpler terms, a commoner in the Holy City.

However, this peculiar pairing, seemingly mismatched in both temperament and attire and unlikely to form any relational connection, was currently embracing each other in a manner that seemed unusually intimate.

The server girl leaned against the wall behind her, while the noble girl half-pressed against her, their heads nearly touching. From Miss Vilyric’s angle, she could only see the latter’s lips almost grazing the former’s neck, swaying slightly as if they were whispering sweet nothings.

By the look and sound of it, it resembled a secret meeting between two young ladies who adored each other, but whose social standings were far too disparate, so they had to steal moments together in silence.

Yet Miss Vilyric, watching this scene intently, felt little in the way of bashfulness or whimsical thoughts.

Not just because of the divine race’s generally indifferent nature…

She focused on the noble girl seemingly kissing her companion’s delicate neck, and the latter’s dazed yet fulfilled expression as if drowning in pleasure, her brow slightly furrowing.

Meanwhile, the grappling-hook girl stealthily lurking against the tavern’s exterior wall didn’t make any unnecessary movements either, not even the keen Miss White Fox’s sharp hearing could detect a breath or heartbeat from her.

In the shadows, the enticing and imagined intertwining beauty continued unabated.

It seemed that without external interference, the two girls became increasingly engrossed and lost in their moment, even the noble girl’s extravagant dress completely enveloped the curled-up form of the server girl, shrouding her entirely, with only her pale legs, dangling like those of a seated duck, betraying her presence.

Until one moment.

“Guguh…”

The server girl, who was rather forcefully pinned against the wall, suddenly spasmed, her body slumping down as if drained of strength, her head drooping against the corner of the wall, as if she had lost consciousness.

The noble girl seemed satisfied as she disengaged, retrieving a white handkerchief from her sleeve, turning her back to Miss Vilyric as if wiping something.

And in that instant.

“Pff!”

A suppressed yet subtle sound, like an object being expelled, suddenly resonated from the shadows.

Killing intent struck the noble girl’s brow, piercing through her skull, splattering dark red blood everywhere.

The girl’s body then…… slumped lifelessly to the ground.

   

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