Chapter 190 - Chapter 190: Chapter 182: The Fake (1/2)
Chapter 190: Chapter 182: The Fake
East Coast Province, central region, beside Sunrise Lake.
The sky was dim, and Irene gazed calmly at the distant village without speaking for a long time, as Lilian, who had grown into an adult, followed by her side.
Although Irene had reached middle age, her appearance had hardly changed at all. Byrne’s daughter, Lilian, was completely different.
She had grown tall quickly and had shed all her youthful immaturity; in fact, she was now half a head taller than Irene.
Lilian’s black hair was very flowing, exuding a more ethereal and shattered aura compared to Irene.
“Let’s go, Lilian, it’s just ahead.”
Irene’s voice came through, composed and restrained, as if she had seen through the ways of the world.
As evening fell, they approached the lakeside village wearing layered, solemn black robes with veils, in the slightly chilly weather.
Most of the houses in the village were made of mud and stone, many with cracked walls, their roofs covered in patchy, dilapidated straw, stained with mud and filth.
Within Irene and Lilian’s field of vision, not a single villager could be seen—as if they had vanished into thin air.
“Where have all the villagers gone?” asked Lilian.
Irene shook her head gently, looking towards the impoverished and dilapidated houses around them, then slowly said, raising her finger:
“Daybreakers have already come here to investigate in advance. The situation in this village is actually more complex than what you see. As His proxies, we must deal with what is happening here; we cannot neglect it.”
“I understand, Great Priest,” Lilian said, nodding softly.
The darkness deepened as they continued to walk through the deserted village, overgrown with weeds and slippery with moss, looking dangerous.
“Ding.”
With the sound of a bell, an elderly man dressed in grey clothes slowly emerged from a corner of the village.
His gaunt face was covered in wrinkles, suggesting he was over seventy years old, and his body trembled with each step he took, his murky eyes glaring like some wild beast.
The old man was dressed in very tattered grey clothes and held a strange black scepter in his hand, with a bell shaped like an eye hanging from it, looking exceptionally eerie.
“Please stop, are you here to participate in the ritual?” he asked.
Irene nodded lightly and said in a calm tone:
“Yes, we too are His followers, and we hope you can guide us on the right path; joining this ritual is our important wish.”
The old man from the shadows fell silent for a moment, then continued questioning:
“Where do you come from? You don’t seem to be from the nearby villages.”
Irene smiled slightly, answering calmly and genuinely:
“We hail from Fein City, not far from here. We came here heeding the call of the divine. I prayed to the great Lord in my dreams, and then I learned of the matters here.”
The old man smiled, nodded lightly, and accepted Irene’s request.
“Come with me.”
Lilian, who followed beside without a word, silently followed Aunt Irene; the two women followed the eerie old man to a cliff outside the village.
There, a huge bonfire was lit, crackling with flames. Behind the fire was a platform several meters high, and around the fire, hundreds of people had gathered.
Most of them were villagers from there, and some had come from nearby villages, their eyes flashing with bewilderment or fervor.
As soon as Irene and Lilian appeared, they immediately drew many gazes.
Although they were clad in black robes and their faces veiled, their distinct aura drew the eyes of many, unable to shift their gaze.
The old man holding the bell scepter gazed at Irene and Lilian and said, “Wait, for the ritual must begin at the right time.”
What followed was a long wait, as people anticipated the nightfall when the ritual would truly begin.
“Are you here to join, to join the ritual?”
A wolf-tailed girl dressed in villagers’ clothing, with silver hair, approached them, her brows furrowed in uncertainty as she asked.
Irene nodded lightly and said, “Indeed, that is so.”
The wolf-tailed girl appeared frail, but her demeanor was clearly different from that of the villagers.
After a moment of silence, she gave a serious warning: “I advise you it would be better to leave as soon as possible. You look… too valuable.”
“Dingling!”
The old man shook his scepter once more, the sound of the bell drawing everyone’s attention as the wolf-tailed girl quickly turned and left.
Everyone promptly knelt down, those by the bonfire showing great devotion, as if a very important personage was about to make an appearance.
Irene pulled Lilian down to kneel quietly on the ground, calmly waiting for what was to happen next.
About a dozen people in black robes and masks came from not far away, silently standing on top of the cliff, gazing down at the people kneeling below.
Among the many in black, the leader standing in the center passed by the blazing bonfire and walked calmly towards the platform, standing at the highest point and looking down on everyone.