Pillar of Yita

”Miss Misu,” Luen shook his head, ”I’m not afraid to die, I just worry that what we’re doing is meaningless and we’ll end up sacrificing ourselves for nothing.”

Miss Misu fell silent for a moment, clutching the brooch in her hand tighter. ”We have to try because there’s still a glimmer of hope. I promise you, Luen, if it truly comes to nothing, I will decisively lead everyone to leave,” she said.

”But is there really still hope, Miss Misu? I always feel like we’ve been going around in circles these past few weeks. Those guys must have spotted us by now, and I feel like things will only get worse if we continue like this.”

”There’s still hope.”

Miss Misu looked at him and nodded firmly.

Luen paused, letting out a long sigh, and nodded reluctantly, ”Alright, I believe you, Miss Misu. I put myself in your hands—”

He muttered something under his breath, shaking his head.

Fang Hong was standing nearby and heard it clearly.

The young man muttered, ”...those students died right in front of me, I really can’t convince myself that this is right, that it’s justifiable. If I turn a blind eye, Miss Misu, I won’t be able to face my sister and tell her what’s happened here—I might not be capable of much, but at least she hopes I’m a person of discernment, someone she can be proud of.”

”Thank you, Luen.”

Miss Misu gave the young man a gentle look.

At this moment, the older Knight had already walked a lap around the office. His keen gaze lingered in various places before moving again, as if looking for something.

And when he reached the other side of the desk, he suddenly lifted his head and said to the two, ”Come and look at this.”

He picked up the roster.

Miss Misu flipped through it, then closed it with a grave expression. ”Without a doubt, this is the order and dates for the ritual ceremonies, the most recent one being tomorrow. These people have lost their minds—”

”From the list, it seems Manlo’s people have started to act regardless of the consequences. It won’t be long before they can’t hide their actions any longer,” the older Knight shook his head, ”But this is not a good sign.”

”They must be completely confident to do this,” Miss Misu looked at the list again with a sorrowful expression. ”We’re too late, I didn’t expect the Dragon’s Golden Eyes to remain intact, but my ancestors...”

She shook her head forcefully, struggling to speak. ”There’s no reason for Mr. Haggston to deceive his own, he couldn’t have missed it, but I don’t understand why this could happen. If Nikopolas is resurrected, all our efforts will have been in vain—”

”Let’s focus on the present,” said the older Knight with composure. ”Perhaps Sir Yoshude had his reasons, or maybe he trusted his comrades too much. Who would have thought Sir Haggston would be blinded by greed?”

He glanced at the list.

”However, this list at least reveals another issue, that there’s yet one more ritual that hasn’t taken place. I don’t know much about the Dark Giant Dragon. Miss Misu, can you see if there’s any other chance we might be able to use to our advantage?”

”Thank you, Mr. Diket, you’re right. I’ve been too impatient,” Miss Misu let out a breath and nodded. ”It’s good that I have you and Luen. I really don’t know what I would’ve done alone.”

”No need for thanks, all who walk the path of justice are our allies,” the Knight replied with a stern face. ”May the light of Marlan, the sword of the brave, always be with you.”

Miss Misu nodded and then looked at the roster more carefully, her brows slightly furrowed as she was watched by the two.

She turned to a page, her expression subtly changing. She quickly flipped forward, and as she found the content she was looking for, she pulled out the list and placed it on the desk.

Fang Hong silently watched.

In total, there were precisely twelve.

And on the very top of that pile, the name that stood out on the list was that of a somewhat fragile girl—he seemed to recall her slightly uneasy and nervous demeanor, telling him that her name was Hes.

She was the daughter of the Potter workshop’s owner.

Thirty years ago—

”So it is,” Miss Misu’s tightly furrowed brows relaxed. ”I understand now, I think I’ve figured out what’s really been happening here!”

The two looked at her, anxiously asking, ”What’s going on?”

”It’s not good news,” said Miss Misu with a face as grim as water as she shook her head.

”First, we can be certain that the Dragon’s Golden Eyes were indeed severely damaged in the battle between Nikopolas and my ancestors. The folk tale that my ancestor blinded one of Nikopolas’s Golden Star Pupils isn’t baseless after all.”

”These decades, it has used Sir Haggston to hide, slowly regaining its strength in the shadows, emitting an evil stench in the darkness, naturally bringing its followers like moths to a flame. It rooted its power into this city, subtly infiltrating into the bodies of newly born baby girls and then using live sacrifices to slowly restore its strength—”

Miss Misu paused for a moment, her face showing disgust. ”Among these live sacrifices, there is a group that’s most important. They come from a special bloodline, meticulously selected by the Dragon Worshippers, carrying the Dragon’s Golden Eyes’ most primal power within them.”

”These twelve?”

”Eleven have already been sacrificed,” Miss Misu replied gravely. ”Every five years one is taken, and yet no Chief Praetor of Dolifen has ever noticed; I can’t comprehend why!”

”It’s because these people have been extraordinarily secretive. A city with frequent disappearances would attract attention, but spread over several decades, no one will notice the peculiarities,” the older Knight shook his head. ”Moreover, the Hustings Family must have played a shameful part in this. With their shelter, what could the Chief Praetor possibly discover?”