Chapter 589 Farewell and New Journey
Lynch subconsciously stretched out his hand, trying to stop Nightingale from leaving, but when he opened his mouth, the voice seemed to be stuck in his throat. He couldn't say anything until the light faded, and he just watched the figure becoming more and more blurred.
In a flash, the light faded away, and everything that had just happened seemed like an unreal dream. The figure of Saint Nightingale had disappeared from the original place, and only a pile of thin ashes remained. The dim ashes no longer emitted any light, but they still emitted residual heat, using the last bit of heat to warm all the people around them.
No, there is light.
A glimmer of light suddenly flashed from the dim ashes, and then a small statue that could be held in the palm of a hand floated out from the ashes.
The statue, whose material could not be identified, was plain and simple, yet it emitted a soft, jade-like glow. Clearly without any external force, the statue seemed to be supported by an invisible giant hand, circling in the air and then floating directly in front of Lynch.
The statue is very lifelike and can be seen clearly. It is the image of Ms. Nightingale. The young saint lady is leaning on the two-headed snake staff of the Church of Suffering in one hand and holding a lantern in the other hand to shine forward. She exudes the breath of compassion and love, just like she looked when she was alive.
Realizing that he had witnessed the birth of a new wonder, and that this wonder naturally chose him to be its first owner, Lynch sighed softly, reached out and held Ms. Nightingale's last gift. It was warm to the touch, giving him a sense of security.
[Blessing from the Lady with the Lantern: I am willing to sacrifice everything I have to bless this imperfect world.]
'You did it, and by the way, thank you.'
Lynch took off his hat and pressed it against his chest, then bowed deeply to the ashes. Behind him, Officer Natalie Angell held her sword upright against her chest, bidding her final farewell with the etiquette of a warrior. On the other side, Miss Diana de Valente, like the other twenty believers, lowered her head, drew the holy emblem on her chest with her fingers, and silently chanted prayers of suffering and pain with her lips opening and closing.
A few muffled sobs were heard from the team of volunteers. These ladies who believed in dedication and sacrifice could not suppress the sadness in their hearts and cried out loud.
The faint sobbing sound further highlighted the deathly silence in the safe house. Many senior officials were as silent as water, not knowing whether they had already become indifferent to the separation of life and death, or were mentally prepared for such an ending. After a moment's silence, more than a dozen people, led by the Dark Night Archbishop Trilles, all bowed silently to the ashes on the ground, like Lynch, with solemn and serious expressions, bidding their final farewell to this old friend who had gone away.
Perhaps it was the air currents driven by people's movements. In the safe house deep underground, a breeze arose for no reason and blew silently across the ashes on the ground. The ashes, whose residual heat had dissipated, swirled up, like an invisible object, ignoring the barriers of the building and flying straight into the sky through all obstacles.
The creatures in Rhine City who were still immersed in peace and joy looked up at the sky. Hazy ashes filled the entire sky, scattering colorful light under the crimson moonlight. In the light, people seemed to see a pure white lady, holding the hand of the familiar yet unfamiliar figure of the Saint Lady, and walking towards a white palace hand in hand.
When, when, when.
At this moment, a distant bell sound suddenly rang in the ears of all living beings in the world. The bell sound that touched people's hearts came from the illusory palace. Along with the sound of the bell, the white palace opened its doors, and white butterflies composed of countless lights flew out of the door, fluttering up and down around the two figures outside the door, surrounding them and walking into the open white door.
An ethereal child's voice came from inside the gate. Accompanied by the sacred melody sung by the child, the two walked into the sacred white hall hand in hand.
As the white door slowly closed, everything became more and more unreal, and a faint melancholy welled up in people's hearts, as if they had lost something forever at this moment.
When, when, when.
As the white palace completely disappeared, another bell rang.
The real bell rang in their ears, awakening the Rhine citizens who were in chaos due to a series of accidents. Then a shrill scream finally brought the citizens back to their senses from their trance and intense emotions. People were surprised to find that the city was in chaos.
The parade that had just lasted for several hours had turned the city into a mess, with many people injured in the trampling and shoving. However, due to the enthusiasm and excitement, it did not receive much attention. Only when the emotions faded did people notice the occasional injured people around them.
The one who screamed was a little blonde girl who was hugging her blonde mother who was covered in blood and crying loudly. The despair and pain in her cry made the hearts of all the citizens who heard it clenched.
Fortunately, with the ringing of the bell, the Church of Suffering also opened its doors, and dozens of emergency carriages poured out, driving to every corner of the city, quickly rushing to the unfortunate injured. And further away, from the temporary pharmaceutical factory of the Church of Suffering, more carriages loaded with goods rushed into the streets, driving to the city center, to the train station, to the docks, and to every place where the drugs could be spread.
"Don't just stand there and watch, we can help too." The once gentle and soft female voice now sounded capable and powerful. It was Her Highness Sophia who had walked out of the guards' circle and was rolling up her sleeves. Together with the emergency nun who had arrived, she was carrying the blonde lady who had fallen on the side of the road and was covered in blood, onto the carriage. Her white dress was stained with blood, and the contrast between white and red stung the eyes of the onlookers. The people, as if awakened from a dream, began to move and began to help the emergency nuns and police who had arrived after hearing the news to restore order.
At the destination of the ambulance, Crown Plaza in the city center, police had already begun evacuating the crowd still stranded in the square.
As most people left the square, a group of men in long hooded robes, with eerie and strange looks written all over their bodies, walked out of the Dark Night Cathedral accompanied by Sir Lynch Leviev. These mysterious people, whose breath alone could scare children to tears, bowed to Lynch one by one, then floated away, and soon disappeared into the crowd.
Lynch let out a long sigh. The final ceremony went so smoothly that it felt unreal to him. Until this moment, when the finishing work was carried out in an orderly manner and he watched the carriage full of medicines driving into the church and distributed to the patients waiting for treatment, he finally dared to believe that he really led everyone to the first hard-earned victory and really saved thousands of innocent people.
He felt a different touch on his hands. When he turned his head, he saw two ladies holding his hands, one on the left and one on the right. When the three of them made eye contact, the hardships and dangers of the past few days came to their minds at the same time.
Victory is hard-won. Lin Qi sighed inwardly and held the hands of the two ladies tightly. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by the sound of rolling wheels. When he turned around, he saw an emergency carriage coming at high speed and stopped abruptly in front of the three people.
Before the car stopped, a blonde girl jumped down, threw herself into Lynch's arms, grabbed Lynch's collar tightly and cried loudly. Behind her, Princess Sofia walked down with a solemn expression.
The blood on the two people made Lynch's heart sink. Holding little Martha who was crying almost to death, he realized what had happened. He wanted to go into the carriage to see the situation, but he couldn't bear to take a step. It seemed that if he didn't go in, there was still a glimmer of hope. Once in, everything would be a foregone conclusion.
"It is said that she kept repeating your name until she lost consciousness, and wanted to give this picture frame to you." Sophia's voice interrupted Lynch's hesitation. Her Royal Highness sighed softly and handed the empty picture frame to Lynch. "The nuns told me in the car that she was stabbed in the back. After walking for a kilometer, she still fell down due to excessive blood loss and never stood up again."
Lin Qi pursed his lips as he took the picture frame and gently stroked the dried blood on it. Thinking of the days of getting along with him, his pupils shrank slightly, and for the first time he felt a deep hatred for the Shadow Alliance. I can actually tolerate you targeting me, but since you have also involved the people around me, don't blame me for fighting you to the death.
Carefully putting the empty picture frame into his pocket, Lynch hugged the little Martha who had cried until she lost consciousness, and raised his chin towards the carriage: "Can she... still be saved?"
"Mrs. Maggie Hudson is not dead yet." The emergency sister who had come to the house with Ms. Nightingale walked out of the carriage and explained, "She has been injured for too long. If she hadn't received treatment, she would have died without a doubt, but..."
"Hmm?" A glimmer of hope rekindled in Lynch's heart.
"Some tiny vines inexplicably grew out from around her wound and sewed it up. We can't determine the specific reason, but we guess someone must have secretly helped."
Lynch forced a smile, understanding that this was a show of goodwill from the other churches: "So, how is she doing now?"
"She has lost too much blood and has some brain damage. She may not wake up." The emergency sister thought for a moment and added, "But if we can send her to the capital, Norin, and ask the Pope to treat her personally, there may be a glimmer of hope. But given her current condition, sending her to Norin safely is a huge project..."
"She is a brave citizen of Land who sacrificed her life for the kingdom." Her Highness Sophia interrupted the nun. "The kingdom has the obligation to take responsibility for her treatment, so the royal family will be responsible for sending her safely to the main hall of the Church of Suffering. Sir Leviev and the two ladies will also accompany her throughout the journey. They will escort Ms. Hudson with me, right?"
As she spoke, Her Royal Highness the Princess turned her gaze towards Lin Qi and the other two, and said with some expectation: "Besides, I think the future Baron will not miss the coronation ceremony of the future Crown Prince."
Lynch looked at the two ladies, took off his hat and bowed, saying, "Of course, this is my responsibility and my honor."
A smile finally broke out on Princess Sofia's beautiful face and she nodded gently. No one said anything more, but they subconsciously raised their heads and looked towards the north.
That was the direction of the capital, Norin. Looking there, Lynch seemed to see a new picture unfolding before his eyes.
'Neighbor, we are going to explore the new world, and you will stay with me until the end of this journey.'
【Um】
(End of this chapter)
Lynch subconsciously stretched out his hand, trying to stop Nightingale from leaving, but when he opened his mouth, the voice seemed to be stuck in his throat. He couldn't say anything until the light faded, and he just watched the figure becoming more and more blurred.
In a flash, the light faded away, and everything that had just happened seemed like an unreal dream. The figure of Saint Nightingale had disappeared from the original place, and only a pile of thin ashes remained. The dim ashes no longer emitted any light, but they still emitted residual heat, using the last bit of heat to warm all the people around them.
No, there is light.
A glimmer of light suddenly flashed from the dim ashes, and then a small statue that could be held in the palm of a hand floated out from the ashes.
The statue, whose material could not be identified, was plain and simple, yet it emitted a soft, jade-like glow. Clearly without any external force, the statue seemed to be supported by an invisible giant hand, circling in the air and then floating directly in front of Lynch.
The statue is very lifelike and can be seen clearly. It is the image of Ms. Nightingale. The young saint lady is leaning on the two-headed snake staff of the Church of Suffering in one hand and holding a lantern in the other hand to shine forward. She exudes the breath of compassion and love, just like she looked when she was alive.
Realizing that he had witnessed the birth of a new wonder, and that this wonder naturally chose him to be its first owner, Lynch sighed softly, reached out and held Ms. Nightingale's last gift. It was warm to the touch, giving him a sense of security.
[Blessing from the Lady with the Lantern: I am willing to sacrifice everything I have to bless this imperfect world.]
'You did it, and by the way, thank you.'
Lynch took off his hat and pressed it against his chest, then bowed deeply to the ashes. Behind him, Officer Natalie Angell held her sword upright against her chest, bidding her final farewell with the etiquette of a warrior. On the other side, Miss Diana de Valente, like the other twenty believers, lowered her head, drew the holy emblem on her chest with her fingers, and silently chanted prayers of suffering and pain with her lips opening and closing.
A few muffled sobs were heard from the team of volunteers. These ladies who believed in dedication and sacrifice could not suppress the sadness in their hearts and cried out loud.
The faint sobbing sound further highlighted the deathly silence in the safe house. Many senior officials were as silent as water, not knowing whether they had already become indifferent to the separation of life and death, or were mentally prepared for such an ending. After a moment's silence, more than a dozen people, led by the Dark Night Archbishop Trilles, all bowed silently to the ashes on the ground, like Lynch, with solemn and serious expressions, bidding their final farewell to this old friend who had gone away.
Perhaps it was the air currents driven by people's movements. In the safe house deep underground, a breeze arose for no reason and blew silently across the ashes on the ground. The ashes, whose residual heat had dissipated, swirled up, like an invisible object, ignoring the barriers of the building and flying straight into the sky through all obstacles.
The creatures in Rhine City who were still immersed in peace and joy looked up at the sky. Hazy ashes filled the entire sky, scattering colorful light under the crimson moonlight. In the light, people seemed to see a pure white lady, holding the hand of the familiar yet unfamiliar figure of the Saint Lady, and walking towards a white palace hand in hand.
When, when, when.
At this moment, a distant bell sound suddenly rang in the ears of all living beings in the world. The bell sound that touched people's hearts came from the illusory palace. Along with the sound of the bell, the white palace opened its doors, and white butterflies composed of countless lights flew out of the door, fluttering up and down around the two figures outside the door, surrounding them and walking into the open white door.
An ethereal child's voice came from inside the gate. Accompanied by the sacred melody sung by the child, the two walked into the sacred white hall hand in hand.
As the white door slowly closed, everything became more and more unreal, and a faint melancholy welled up in people's hearts, as if they had lost something forever at this moment.
When, when, when.
As the white palace completely disappeared, another bell rang.
The real bell rang in their ears, awakening the Rhine citizens who were in chaos due to a series of accidents. Then a shrill scream finally brought the citizens back to their senses from their trance and intense emotions. People were surprised to find that the city was in chaos.
The parade that had just lasted for several hours had turned the city into a mess, with many people injured in the trampling and shoving. However, due to the enthusiasm and excitement, it did not receive much attention. Only when the emotions faded did people notice the occasional injured people around them.
The one who screamed was a little blonde girl who was hugging her blonde mother who was covered in blood and crying loudly. The despair and pain in her cry made the hearts of all the citizens who heard it clenched.
Fortunately, with the ringing of the bell, the Church of Suffering also opened its doors, and dozens of emergency carriages poured out, driving to every corner of the city, quickly rushing to the unfortunate injured. And further away, from the temporary pharmaceutical factory of the Church of Suffering, more carriages loaded with goods rushed into the streets, driving to the city center, to the train station, to the docks, and to every place where the drugs could be spread.
"Don't just stand there and watch, we can help too." The once gentle and soft female voice now sounded capable and powerful. It was Her Highness Sophia who had walked out of the guards' circle and was rolling up her sleeves. Together with the emergency nun who had arrived, she was carrying the blonde lady who had fallen on the side of the road and was covered in blood, onto the carriage. Her white dress was stained with blood, and the contrast between white and red stung the eyes of the onlookers. The people, as if awakened from a dream, began to move and began to help the emergency nuns and police who had arrived after hearing the news to restore order.
At the destination of the ambulance, Crown Plaza in the city center, police had already begun evacuating the crowd still stranded in the square.
As most people left the square, a group of men in long hooded robes, with eerie and strange looks written all over their bodies, walked out of the Dark Night Cathedral accompanied by Sir Lynch Leviev. These mysterious people, whose breath alone could scare children to tears, bowed to Lynch one by one, then floated away, and soon disappeared into the crowd.
Lynch let out a long sigh. The final ceremony went so smoothly that it felt unreal to him. Until this moment, when the finishing work was carried out in an orderly manner and he watched the carriage full of medicines driving into the church and distributed to the patients waiting for treatment, he finally dared to believe that he really led everyone to the first hard-earned victory and really saved thousands of innocent people.
He felt a different touch on his hands. When he turned his head, he saw two ladies holding his hands, one on the left and one on the right. When the three of them made eye contact, the hardships and dangers of the past few days came to their minds at the same time.
Victory is hard-won. Lin Qi sighed inwardly and held the hands of the two ladies tightly. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by the sound of rolling wheels. When he turned around, he saw an emergency carriage coming at high speed and stopped abruptly in front of the three people.
Before the car stopped, a blonde girl jumped down, threw herself into Lynch's arms, grabbed Lynch's collar tightly and cried loudly. Behind her, Princess Sofia walked down with a solemn expression.
The blood on the two people made Lynch's heart sink. Holding little Martha who was crying almost to death, he realized what had happened. He wanted to go into the carriage to see the situation, but he couldn't bear to take a step. It seemed that if he didn't go in, there was still a glimmer of hope. Once in, everything would be a foregone conclusion.
"It is said that she kept repeating your name until she lost consciousness, and wanted to give this picture frame to you." Sophia's voice interrupted Lynch's hesitation. Her Royal Highness sighed softly and handed the empty picture frame to Lynch. "The nuns told me in the car that she was stabbed in the back. After walking for a kilometer, she still fell down due to excessive blood loss and never stood up again."
Lin Qi pursed his lips as he took the picture frame and gently stroked the dried blood on it. Thinking of the days of getting along with him, his pupils shrank slightly, and for the first time he felt a deep hatred for the Shadow Alliance. I can actually tolerate you targeting me, but since you have also involved the people around me, don't blame me for fighting you to the death.
Carefully putting the empty picture frame into his pocket, Lynch hugged the little Martha who had cried until she lost consciousness, and raised his chin towards the carriage: "Can she... still be saved?"
"Mrs. Maggie Hudson is not dead yet." The emergency sister who had come to the house with Ms. Nightingale walked out of the carriage and explained, "She has been injured for too long. If she hadn't received treatment, she would have died without a doubt, but..."
"Hmm?" A glimmer of hope rekindled in Lynch's heart.
"Some tiny vines inexplicably grew out from around her wound and sewed it up. We can't determine the specific reason, but we guess someone must have secretly helped."
Lynch forced a smile, understanding that this was a show of goodwill from the other churches: "So, how is she doing now?"
"She has lost too much blood and has some brain damage. She may not wake up." The emergency sister thought for a moment and added, "But if we can send her to the capital, Norin, and ask the Pope to treat her personally, there may be a glimmer of hope. But given her current condition, sending her to Norin safely is a huge project..."
"She is a brave citizen of Land who sacrificed her life for the kingdom." Her Highness Sophia interrupted the nun. "The kingdom has the obligation to take responsibility for her treatment, so the royal family will be responsible for sending her safely to the main hall of the Church of Suffering. Sir Leviev and the two ladies will also accompany her throughout the journey. They will escort Ms. Hudson with me, right?"
As she spoke, Her Royal Highness the Princess turned her gaze towards Lin Qi and the other two, and said with some expectation: "Besides, I think the future Baron will not miss the coronation ceremony of the future Crown Prince."
Lynch looked at the two ladies, took off his hat and bowed, saying, "Of course, this is my responsibility and my honor."
A smile finally broke out on Princess Sofia's beautiful face and she nodded gently. No one said anything more, but they subconsciously raised their heads and looked towards the north.
That was the direction of the capital, Norin. Looking there, Lynch seemed to see a new picture unfolding before his eyes.
'Neighbor, we are going to explore the new world, and you will stay with me until the end of this journey.'
【Um】
(End of this chapter)
