“Via!”
Stella, clutching Little Ha, dashed up to Via, her face alight with surprise. In all this chaos, she never expected to run into Via like this.
“Are you hurt?”
Via asked right away.
Stella was just an ordinary person—she couldn’t withstand abyssal aura. If she got infected, there was a high chance she’d lose her mind and turn into a monster, just like that civilian from before.
“I’m fine.”
“Good.”
Via let out a breath of relief.
But then she caught herself acting oddly.
She had no real reason to worry about Stella.
This Ninth Princess of the Saint Luo Empire knew her secrets, after all. If she died in some freak accident here, wouldn’t that be the best outcome for Via?
“Via?”
Stella tilted her head, puzzled by Via’s sudden silence.
“Oh, nothing. Just thinking. Everything that’s happened in Kado City—it’s all too bizarre,” Via replied.
Right on cue, the Holy Knight escorting her to the City Lord’s Mansion returned, clearly having dealt with the abyss-corrupted civilian.
“Miss Via, you said this is the Princess of the Saint Luo Empire?”
The Holy Knight eyed Stella.
“Thank you for your aid, Holy Knight. I am Stella Julius, Ninth Princess of the Saint Luo Empire.”
Stella produced a token emblematic of the imperial family.
The Holy Knight might not know every royal face, but he recognized the insignia well enough.
“Miss Via, you know Her Highness the Ninth Princess?”
“Yeah, Stella and I study at the same academy. We’re alumni.”
“I remember now—Avalon Academy.”
“Take Stella with us too. It’s too dangerous for her in Kado City.”
“No problem.”
The Holy Knight agreed without hesitation.
After all, the Saint Luo Empire provided plenty of support to the Holy Land. Rescuing a princess in need was only right.
And so, Stella joined Via and the Holy Knight on their way.
“Via, where are you headed?” Stella asked.
“The City Lord’s Mansion,” Via explained. “There’s an underground tunnel there that leads outside Kado City. It hasn’t been sealed off yet.”
“Kado City’s lord had that kind of backup plan? Smart—preparing for the worst.”
“You didn’t know?”
“Nope.”
“Didn’t you tell the city lord when you arrived?”
Via figured that if Stella had just dropped her family name, the lord would’ve rolled out the red carpet, treating her like royalty. In a crisis, she’d have been whisked to safety first.
“No, I didn’t tell anyone. I came alone. Announcing my status would’ve caused a fuss, and I hate that sort of thing.”
“Fair enough.”
Via could sort of see it.
Stella didn’t strike her as the flashy, attention-seeking type anyway.
“This is insane. A disaster like this, out of nowhere—if you hadn’t spotted me, Via, I’d probably have wandered a bit longer and lost my life,” Stella said with a sigh. “With the city locked down, I had no choice but to hole up with Little Ha, dodging beasts left and right. I was trying to find help when I bumped into you.”
“The city’s sealed now?”
“Completely.”
“Who did it?”
“Some group calling themselves Abyssal Eye.”
“Abyssal Eye?”
Via’s eyes widened slightly.
Wasn’t that the shadowy organization she’d crossed paths with before?
“Demonized calling themselves Abyssal Eye—they’ve barricaded Kado City, trapping everyone inside. They’ve unleashed corrupted beasts for indiscriminate attacks on the populace. They even call it a ‘survival game.’ Looks like they’re trying to infect the whole city with abyssal aura,” Stella said, brow furrowed. “Demonized are all the same—mindless lunatics, every last one.”
Via hadn’t faced Abyssal Eye members head-on, but she’d stumbled onto one of their communication devices by accident. From the intel there, she could piece it together.
The group was deliberately creating more demonized, probably to swell their ranks.
What surprised her, though, was that they had an abyssal beast?
Abyssal Eye’s backers must run deeper than she’d thought.
“Via, wasn’t your sister with you?” Stella asked curiously.
“Sophie, she…”
“Miss Sophie is on the front lines, fighting! She’s healing the wounded and purging abyssal aura from the infected!”
The Holy Knight raised his voice to answer for her.
There was clear resentment in his tone, like he was driving home the point: the sister was stepping up as a true saintess should, while the sibling chose to run. Case closed.
“I see.” Stella caught Via’s expression and dropped the topic.
Via didn’t care much what others thought of her right now. What gnawed at her was… Sophie.
“That’s the City Lord’s Mansion up ahead. Cross these streets, and we’re there. Looks like Saint Luo Empire soldiers have set up a temporary barricade.”
The Holy Knight pointed forward.
Stella looked up and spotted it—a building that stood out amid the ruin. That had to be it.
“Via, we’re almost there. We’ll be out of Kado City in no time.”
“Via, why aren’t you moving?”
Via had frozen in place.
Ever since Stella’s question, she hadn’t said a word the whole way, lost in thought about the day’s events.
Sophie was in deep trouble—high odds she’d sacrifice herself in this catastrophe.
Thanks to their mother’s gifts, Sophie had unparalleled talent for purifying abyssal aura. Abyssal Eye’s demonized wouldn’t let her live.
If Via left now, she might never see Sophie again.
“Meow?”
Little Ha hopped down from Stella’s arms and padded over to Via’s feet, pawing at the now-filthy saintess robes.
Via let out a helpless chuckle.
She realized that even with escape just steps away through the mansion’s tunnel, her body refused to budge from this city.
The pink-haired girl crouched down, stroked the little yellow cat’s head, and scooped her back into Stella’s arms.
“Little Ha, head back to Avalon Academy first. Wait for me there.”
“Via, you’re not coming?” Stella asked, stunned.
The Holy Knight beside her looked equally shocked, like he’d misheard.
“Yeah. I need to stay in Kado City—got something to handle,” Via said, meeting Stella’s eyes.
“…All right.”
Stella knew better. Via wasn’t some dead weight. If she was sticking around, it meant big things were afoot.
“Miss Via, what are you planning?” The Holy Knight asked, baffled.
“Nothing—just my call. Get Stella to safety here, and you’re good.”
The Holy Knight had his own duties. He turned to leave first.
“I should go too.”
Via started off but paused after a few steps, like something had just clicked.
“Stella, there’s something I need to give you.”
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