Chapter 435

Chapter 435: .

That towering body faded in the clouds.

The wind slowly grew calm again. The smoke of battle still needed time to fade. After the Shadows withdrew, they left behind a city-state full of scars.

“There is a survivor here too! A little young lady!”

The excited shout broke the quiet in the graveyard. A Guardian warrior pushed open the door of the Warden’s hut and found a girl curled up inside.

Cold wind blew in through the open door, carrying the smell of smoke. Annie lifted her head in a daze and looked at the black-clad guard in the doorway. For a moment, she seemed to see another person appear behind the young warrior, a bent figure with always gloomy eyes.

She stood up in confusion and took a step forward without thinking. She stumbled and ran toward the doorway, trying to catch that bent figure.

She grabbed at nothing. Her foot slipped, and then she felt someone catch the collar of her coat from behind. The Guardian warrior had caught the girl who had tried to run past him and almost fallen. He bent down toward her and asked: “Are you alright, young lady? What is your name? Why are you in the graveyard?”

But Annie seemed not to hear his voice at all. She only raised her head and slowly looked around, searching for the old man she had just seen.

The bent old man stood not far away. He had already turned his back to them and waved. Then he slowly walked toward the path deeper in the graveyard. At the far end of that path, an unusual tall figure stood faintly and quietly.

That figure wore a pitch-black robe that made people think of the veil of night. The body under the robe was wrapped in bandages, and the figure held a long staff that looked as if it had been carved from dead wood. The figure looked just like the Warden who stood before the gate of Bartok in the Church’s books.

The old man walked up to the Warden. The two of them seemed to speak a few words, then vanished together like phantoms at the end of the path.

Annie stared blankly in that direction. She stood still in the cold wind, without crying or moving.

The black-clad guard beside her grew worried: “What is wrong? Little young lady? What are you looking for?”

“She may be looking for this,” another voice suddenly said from the nearby path, along with the sound of boots stepping on snow.

Annie turned her head without thinking.

A nun was walking toward them, holding two things in her hands – a Gatekeeper’s cane that already looked badly worn, and a hunting rifle that seemed a little familiar.

“Your protector is gone,” the nun said as she stopped in front of Annie. She slowly squatted and set the two things on the ground. “I am sorry. We cannot let you see him again. There was only ash at the site.”

Annie stared at the Gatekeeper’s cane and the rifle on the ground. After a few seconds, she bent down, picked them up, and held them carefully in her arms.

“I know,” she whispered. “Grandpa Caretaker left with the Gatekeeper…”

“Do not touch the gun,” the black-clad Guardian warrior said, reaching out without thinking to stop her. “It is dan…”

“There are no bullets left,” the nun said softly, shaking her head. “Let her hold it for a while. They may have known each other.”

The Guardian warrior hesitated for a moment, then drew his hand back and turned his head to take in the graveyard.

Filthy, dried black sludge covered the path and ringed the Warden’s hut. Dirty snow and that mud mixed together and blanketed the whole graveyard.

How many monsters had tried to attack this place? How much filth had fallen on the snow here? Now that the Shadows had gone, it seemed that no one could ever know.

A cool, light touch fell on him. The Guardian looked up and saw snowflakes slowly falling from the sky. It was not ash this time, but real snow.

With the swirling snow came a glow in the sky. It was the light of the Sun. The heavy clouds still blocked it, but that hazy glow still showed that it was there.

The Sun had returned.

The mechanical roar of a steam engine drew near from outside the graveyard. A steam car stopped at the gate. A nearby Guardian squad heard the noise and moved toward the car, then, in surprise, saluted the person who stepped down.

Footsteps came toward the Warden’s hut. The young black-clad guard saw who it was, turned at once, and saluted. Then he asked in confusion: “Gatekeeper, you are…”

“I am here to check on the graveyards.”

Annie, who was still staring blankly as she held the Gatekeeper’s cane and the rifle, heard the voice beside her. She finally snapped out of her daze, lifted her head without thinking, and looked toward the sound.

A lady in a black priest’s robe stood on the path.

Her skin was pale, and a calm yet icy aura hung around her. Annie did not yet understand what that feeling was, but it made her think of the cold fog on the sea. At the same time, she saw that the skin the lady showed was covered with wounds of all sizes. There was no blood in the wounds. They looked like cracks in a doll.

A strip of black cloth was wrapped over the lady’s eyes.

The lady seemed to be blind, yet Annie felt that the woman’s “gaze” still rested on her. It was a calm and gentle look, passing through the thick black cloth and casting a gaze on her.

Annie took a long time to recognize the lady.

But the lady had clearly recognized her from the start.

“I know you. You are Annie,” Agatha said as she bent down and gently ruffled Annie’s hair. Then her gaze fell to the rifle and Gatekeeper’s cane in the girl’s hands. After two seconds of silence, Agatha stood up and spoke to the priest who had come with her: “The mines were the first places to be invaded. These graveyards around the upper city’s mining area blocked many monsters that were rushing toward the nearby districts.”

“All the Gravekeepers and most of the Guardians stationed around the graveyards died in battle,” the nun beside them said slowly. “The city-state’s Guard Corps in this area also took heavy losses.”

Agatha listened in silence, then gave a quiet benediction.

“Gatekeeper,” the black-clad guard could not help speaking. “There are many dead and wounded in the city-state now. We need to watch for secondary disasters in the domains of death, fear, and obsession. We may need several large-scale soul-soothing rituals, and the Great Cathedral still has not…”

“I am acting as Archbishop for now. Do not worry about the soul-soothing rituals,” Agatha said calmly. “Bishop Ivan has already left. He has a new journey.”

The black-clad guard froze for a moment. Shock and disbelief crossed his eyes. It seemed that only now did he notice that Agatha’s outfit had changed.

The Gatekeeper had taken off the black coat that stood for force. In its place, she wore a robe that belonged more to the clergy.

That change showed that her role and duties had changed.

“Do not worry. I still bear the duties of Gatekeeper, and I will still command the Guardian forces until the Church’s headquarters chooses a new Archbishop or appoints a new Gatekeeper to take my place. At that time, I may become the formal Bishop of this city-state,” Agatha said. Even though she had lost her eyes, she still seemed to have a sharp gaze and had noticed how her subordinate reacted. She explained with patience: “For now, keeping order in the city-state is more important than anything.”

“Yes… Gatekeeper.”

The young black-clad guard lowered his head. After a brief pause, he still chose to use the familiar title “Gatekeeper” for his superior.

Agatha did not care about such small things. She turned her “gaze” toward Annie again.

“Go home,” she said gently. “Your mother is safe. She is waiting for you.”

Annie hesitated for a second at first, but when Agatha mentioned her mother, Annie nodded at once.

But just as she was about to leave with the Guardians, she suddenly stopped.

“Grandpa Caretaker… just went with the Gatekeeper,” she said, raising her head to look at Agatha. “Ah, I mean the Gatekeeper from ‘the other side’ like the books say.”

Agatha frowned a little.

Annie thought Agatha did not believe her, so she quickly raised her hand and pointed toward the path deep in the graveyard: “They left from there…”

Agatha raised her head and looked in the direction Annie pointed, deep in thought.

In the place where her eyes lay hidden under the black cloth, a faint green fire seemed to flash.

A moment later, she lowered her head and faced Annie’s eyes.

“Do you… want to become a Guardian?”

Annie stared, a little lost. She did not seem to fully understand what that meant yet.

But after a few seconds, she seemed to realize it faintly: “Do you mean, like you or Grandpa Caretaker?”

“That may take many years,” Agatha said, and a small smile seemed to appear on her face. Then she shook her head gently. “Do not think too much about it yet. It is a little early for me to tell you this now. Go home first. If you really want to become a Guardian, you must at least get into the Church’s most basic school.”

Annie half understood and half did not. Then, unwilling to part with them, she handed the rifle and the Gatekeeper’s cane to the black-clad guard beside her.

“…If I become a Guardian, can I have Grandpa Caretaker’s rifle and Gatekeeper’s cane?” she asked.

She suddenly turned her head and looked at Agatha very seriously.

After a moment, Agatha nodded slightly: “…If you still feel this way in three years, I agree.”

Annie left.

The graveyard grew quiet again.

“…Are you serious? That child is still too young. We cannot see any real talent yet. To inherit a veteran’s Gatekeeper’s cane, you need more than just finishing the normal Guardian training…” the guard said.

“She can see the guides from the world of the dead,” Agatha said slowly as she cast her gaze toward the path at the end of the graveyard. “Just like I did back then.”

The young black-clad guard said no more.

The nun on the other side hesitated again and again, but at last she could not help looking at Agatha with worry: “Your body, in the end…”

“It is alright,” Agatha said softly, shaking her head. “Something happened. This shell of a body is just damaged.”