V3: Chapter 28: An Incongruous, Dilapidated Church
“Laura, I remember you said before that your family also suffered the massacre of the tentacles, but your father survived, while your mother was gone forever. I remember you saying you grew a pair of wings, a pair of pure white wings, with things like eyes on them.”
Laura nodded.
“Yes, if I remember correctly, those were probably eyes.”
Octaville nodded thoughtfully.
“Perhaps it’s time to give you some experience. Bellica can stay with Liang Lin and Liang Di. From today onwards, you and Gladys will come with us on various missions.”
“Ah…?”
Laura asked in confusion, then her face fell, her little face scrunched up in pain. She had only intended to come in Gladys’ place for a day or two, but now it was semi-permanent.
If only I hadn’t felt sorry for Gladys, I would have let her come by herself.
Laura wore a bitter expression.
Nothing happened that night.
The next day, Octaville brought Laura and the others to the scene.
Well…
Laura hadn't slept a wink all night, her mind filled with the horrific scene Octaville had described. Intestines and stomachs scattered everywhere, pieces of flesh strewn about… just thinking about it made her feel nauseous. But, to prepare herself, Laura forced herself to imagine it.
However, upon seeing it for herself, Laura's face turned pale, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted. Her body was stiff, like a zombie collapsing, she fell backward.
Octaville, prepared for her fainting, immediately caught her shoulders.
"Sigh, I knew it, this cowardly child."
She sighed helplessly.
Laura was shaken awake for a while.
After she woke up, she subconsciously glanced in that direction again. In an instant, her pale face turned even paler, completely bloodless, like a corpse, and she fainted again.
Octaville: “....”
“Laura, is it really necessary to faint so frequently?”
Laura was already unconscious and couldn't respond.
After that, Laura was shaken awake three or four more times. The last time, she finally didn't faint, but she immediately vomited.
“Ugh!”
“Ugh ugh!”
She vomited violently, bringing out her breakfast. Because she was preoccupied, she hadn't eaten much that morning, only a little bit and some water, and now she had vomited up the water and all the food scraps.
“I… I can't go on, Tower Master.”
Everyone around went to investigate, only Octaville stayed by Laura's side. Laura was extremely weak now. She glanced at the ground, chose a relatively clean spot, and sat down heavily.
"Ugh!"
She felt utterly disgusted.
"Lord Tower Master, I want to go back, I want to go home."
A tear rolled down Laura's cheek as she continued to dry heave. She couldn't vomit anything anymore; she was just constantly feeling nauseous and dry heaving.
"Ugh..."
Octaville covered her face.
"Sigh, well, you're like this... never mind, sit here for a while. We'll take you back after we finish our investigation."
Octaville tried to leave after saying this. However, her trouser leg was tightly gripped by Laura, who was sitting on the ground. Laura, her face pale, staggered to her feet.
"Lord Tower Master, Lord Tower Master, I... I'll go with you to investigate. I don't want to be here alone."
When she heard the first part of the sentence, Octaville was also relieved, thinking that the other woman wanted to train herself, to overcome her inner fear and nausea, and to face the difficulties head-on. But upon hearing the last sentence, she understood: it was because she was afraid of being left alone.
Of course, with so many dismembered corpses around, any normal young girl would be terrified.
Laura trembled, following Octaville closely, clutching the hem of her clothes, constantly glancing left and right, fearing some monster or tentacle might suddenly appear.
Gradually, the group ventured deeper into the village.
How to put it? The village was now a ruin; few buildings remained intact. It was mostly rubble and broken bricks. Combined with the stench of blood and the foul smell, it was like a living hell.
Continuing deeper, finally, the group saw an intact building.
Amidst this devastated ruin, only a church stood alone, seemingly the sole survivor of this land of death.
The church's exterior walls were mottled, cracked and covered in moss from the erosion of time and wind. Tenacious wild grasses grew between the stones, clinging to life in this desolate place. Despite the surrounding ruins, the church's roof miraculously survived, though its towering spire was askew and the cross was broken in half, pointing helplessly to the gray sky.
The church doors were ajar, the wooden carvings on them blurred, only the outlines of saints barely discernible. A gust of wind brought the creaking of the hinges, a sound particularly jarring in the silent ruins, like a whisper from the church, recounting its former glory and present desolation.
Octaville and her companions entered the church. The light immediately dimmed, with only a few rays stubbornly piercing through the cracks in the broken roof and walls, illuminating this forgotten space.
The air was filled with a musty, damp smell, and a faint musty odor. The pews inside the church had long since decayed, leaving only scattered remnants on the floor. The icons and murals that once hung there were mostly eroded by time, reduced to blurred colors and outlines.
Yet, amidst this decay, a trace of holiness remained. The altar in the center of the church, though covered in dust and cobwebs, still hinted at its former solemnity.
Above the altar, a mural depicting the Last Judgment Day was faintly discernible; though the colors had faded, the contrast between Heaven and Hell remained striking.
“Lord Tower Master, something’s strange here. The outside is so dilapidated, but this place seems intact. And it looks like no one has been here for a long time.”
Octaville noticed this as well. She reached out and plucked a strand of cobweb, her expression grave with a hint of doubt.
“Hmm, this place is indeed quite strange. It looks rather large. Let’s split up and search for any useful clues.”
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