Bang! Bang! Bang!
The manor gate was being hammered violently. Upon closer inspection, the iron bars even bowed inward slightly.
The servant responsible for the gate heard the noise and muttered a few curses under his breath. But when he saw it was a squad of Valkyries knocking, he instantly clamped his mouth shut obediently and swiftly removed the lock.
He had barely removed the lock when Eleanor kicked the gate open. The servant quickly dodged backward, biting his lip, clearly angry but daring not to speak. However, none of the Valkyries paid him any attention. They equally ignored everything around them, their gazes focused entirely on Eleanor's raised hand.
As her hand swept down, over twenty Valkyries filed in. Combined with more Valkyries surrounding the perimeter, they completely controlled the entire manor and all entrances and exits to the buildings within just one minute.
And Eleanor herself? She held Abyss Flower reversed, its sharp tip dragging a trail of golden sparks across the stone tiles. Her steps were slow, as if reluctant, but ultimately, she walked step by step into the living room of the manor villa.
"Kallen?"
The entire living room seemed to have been cleared beforehand. Only two Kaslanas sat silently on the sofa directly facing the door—
Luka leaned back, sipping brandy mouthful after mouthful. Kallen sat upright, her hands simply bound with hemp rope, her face devoid of any expression, even when Eleanor called her name.
"Kallen?"
Eleanor called again, unwilling to believe it. This time, Kallen seemed to hear. She lifted her head slightly, her vacant gaze sweeping past Eleanor's face.
"Hmph..."
The breath she meant to exhale suddenly piled up in her chest. Eleanor grunted forcefully twice, unable to release the trapped air smoothly.
She abruptly pounded her chest, numbing the muscles there, but it was still no use.
She could only look towards Kallen pleadingly—yes, she was clearly the one tasked with arresting Kallen, the hunter, yet now she looked pleadingly at her prey.
Kallen felt her burning gaze and raised her head to meet it.
Eleanor quickly lost the staring contest. Those eyes, the color of the sea and sky, which she had grown tired of seeing, now lacked their usual vitality. The lively, determined, or resolute expressions of the past were gone, replaced by a depth akin to the sea and sky itself, something that wasn't there before...
Eleanor couldn't bear to look at her anymore, didn't dare to look at her anymore, for reasons she couldn't quite explain herself.
She could only turn her head, directing all her anger towards Luka Kaslana, who was still drinking:
"Heh, I never thought there'd be an uncle in this world who would sell out his own niece!"
Luka's eyelids twitched, and he retorted without showing weakness:
"Captain Eleanor, is your mission to arrest Kallen, or to arrest me?"
"None of your damn business!"
Eleanor gripped Abyss Flower tightly, her rather flat chest heaving noticeably with her rapid breathing.
"Of course, I'm here to take her away, but that doesn't stop me from despising you, Luka Kaslana!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"
Luka's lips curled upwards as he shook his head dismissively, adopting the condescending tone of an elder that Eleanor hated most:
"You young people are always like this, impulsive, never considering the consequences. It wouldn't matter if you had no ties, but... Eleanor, don't forget, you represent the Schariac family, and Kallen represents the Kaslana family. Your honor comes from your families, and naturally, you must be responsible for the entire family. If your personal actions conflict with the family, then you can't blame the family for... upholding justice even against relatives."
"Heheh."
Eleanor forced a humorless smile, replying with only two words:
"Scumbag!"
Luka shook his head, seemingly disdainful but actually bitter. He continued:
"Alright, Captain Eleanor, please complete your mission. But I have one more thing to clarify—I will accompany you to Kolosten. After all, such a significant problem occurred within the Kaslana family under my leadership, it is necessary for me to personally apologize to Lord Bishop."
Eleanor's cheeks, along with her small nose, trembled and twisted. She stood rooted to the spot, taking deep breaths for a full half-minute, then, without warning, spat directly onto Luka's face.
Luka's expression remained unchanged. He rolled up his sleeves and wiped the saliva from his face bit by bit, then suddenly spoke:
"Captain Eleanor, is something wrong with your hand?"
Eleanor's left hand, which had been hanging by her side constantly making gestures, quickly clenched into a fist. She turned and glared at Kallen.
She had been using Valkyrie hand signals to relay the squad's deployment situation to Kallen, signaling her to escape—although Kallen's hands were tied, surely no one truly believed such ordinary hemp rope could restrain the so-called strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal?
Kallen had, of course, seen Eleanor's gestures. They were so obvious; naturally, given Eleanor's personality, even attempting to conceal them would only be a clumsy cover-up.
Seeing Eleanor glare at her, Kallen merely lifted her head again, returning a sorrowful smile.
Click—
A soft sound came from between Eleanor's back teeth. She said nothing more. She knew Kallen had made up her mind; she couldn't persuade her anymore.
No, perhaps it wasn't that her mind was made up, but rather she had fallen into inescapable despair, completely losing her way.
True enough, setting aside this woman's annoyingly excessive sense of justice, being betrayed by the family she trusted most—it would be hard not to despair.
But there was still a chance. Eleanor's fist loosened and tightened again.
More accurately, there was still time—after bringing Kallen back to Schicksal, there would be a relatively long period for judging her crimes.
Schicksal was like that, always fond of putting on sanctimonious public displays, but this was also Kallen's chance. As long as she could persuade her to escape during this time... Anyway, the area Schicksal could control was limited. Worst case, she could just flee to Shenzhou. No matter what, she could survive.
As long as she survived, there was hope for everything, wasn't there? That old fool... Bishop Nikolas's health was deteriorating; he probably didn't have many years left.
Eleanor, naturally, wouldn't take Nikolas's words about Otto succeeding him seriously, like ordinary people would. But even if the old fool ultimately chose Marseille or Fabian, what did it matter?
The Valkyrie Squad was under her command. As long as she rallied Otto to her side... Alright, perhaps not all the Valkyries would listen to her...
But it didn't matter. The future held promise, better days were ahead, there would always be a way... What mattered was that Kallen survived. That was enough.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
She said, feigning nonchalance, and reached out to help Kallen up, but the latter stood up on her own before she could.
"Let's go."
Kallen said likewise, her voice utterly devoid of emotion.
She slowly lifted her right foot, took a step forward, then lifted her left foot, another step forward. The joints in her entire body seemed frozen, her movements stiff and slow. After walking like this for about ten steps, she finally returned to normal.
If she hadn't clearly seen Kallen's ankles were bare, Eleanor would have truly suspected she was wearing shackles.
"Let's go, Captain Eleanor. What are you still waiting for? Surely you don't intend to let a criminal who publicly slandered Schicksal escape midway? Let me state beforehand, if such a thing happens, it has nothing to do with my Kaslana family. All responsibility will be borne by you Schariacs."
"Tch!"
Eleanor's expression grew even more disdainful. She wasted no more words, simply shouldered Abyss Flower and walked out, following closely behind Kallen.
Seeing their target, their former captain, appear, the Valkyries reassembled according to the pre-arranged plan. Hundreds of Valkyries formed a huge hollow square, three layers deep inside and out, surrounding Kallen in the center.
"Tsk!"
Eleanor pursed her lips, habitually taunting:
"Look at this, Kallen. You were their former captain, Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie, and yet when something like this happens... they show no reaction."
Kallen walked forward with her head bowed, not answering. There was no need to answer.
Eleanor twisted her lips, biting down hard on the corner with her canine tooth. She regretted the words the moment they left her mouth. It stemmed from her long-standing habit when interacting with Kallen; it seemed she felt sluggish if her words weren't barbed.
But she truly didn't mean to mock. She was just... somewhat lamenting.
Honestly, Kallen was a good person. She was powerful, possessed a strong sense of justice, and was very gentle towards her comrades and subordinates. Even Eleanor, who consciously disliked her, could only find fault with her inability to cook.
Yet, as she said, such a powerful, just, and privately gentle warrior—her comrades and subordinates, those Valkyries, including Eleanor herself, didn't really like her... didn't really support Kallen.
Perhaps 'dislike' wasn't the right word; liking or disliking was each individual's inner feeling. But at least at a time like this, when everyone knew Kallen hadn't committed some unforgivable crime, no one was willing to take risks for her—including Eleanor herself.
It was true she wanted Kallen to survive, but the most she could do was secretly help her escape. After all, though she despised Luka, she had to admit some of his words were right. She had two younger sisters behind her, and the Schariac family. She couldn't be willful.
And the other Valkyries? Eleanor had even been clever when assembling the team, picking many Valkyries without strong ties. They had received considerable care from Kallen in the past, many even having their lives saved by her, yet no one stood up to do anything now...
Of course, Eleanor had no right to criticize these Valkyries, so she merely felt wistful.
Perhaps it was because the reason Kallen publicly denounced Schicksal felt too distant for the Valkyries. The Valkyries themselves, needless to say, didn't need to buy indulgences, and neither did their families.
The indulgences were originally an incentive measure by the Church before the Eastern Expedition—any soldier willing to participate, along with their family, would receive indulgences from the Church, so naturally, they didn't need to buy them now.
Therefore, these Valkyries might privately applaud Kallen's bold actions, but taking it a step further lacked motivation.
And... perhaps there was another reason.
People feared the dark, true, so compared to night, humans always longed for the day, for the holy sunlight to dispel all filth.
But if the sunlight was too dazzling, too scorching, people would complain instead.
Kallen was like that.
Her sense of justice was too strong. Clearly, her own family was noble, clearly, the indulgence matter had nothing to do with her, yet she still had to meddle. Doing so could only make those around her feel inadequate, leading to... distance, even a hint of dislike.
And this wasn't just her problem; strictly speaking, the entire Kaslana family was like this. Those like Luka were the exception.
Precisely because of this, Eleanor felt even more wistful. She knew clearly, understood perfectly, that if Kallen was truly at fault for anything, it was for being too naive, too kind. But was naivety wrong? What ordinary people touted as maturity was often just a process of becoming selfish. Once mature, kindness often departed.
Eleanor didn't understand. If Kallen wasn't wrong, then what was wrong? Was it the world?
But if the world was wrong, why did it exist?
If Kallen was wrong, then simply correcting her would suffice. But if the world was wrong, if almost everyone except her was wrong, then what should be done?
Thinking about it, her own heart grew chaotic again.
She quickly stopped walking, grabbing a handful of her hair fiercely. When she looked up again, she saw the surrounding Valkyries had also stopped. Many were glancing at her sideways or directly turning their heads. Only Kallen stood ramrod straight half a step ahead of her, head slightly bowed, yet standing perfectly tall.
And behind her, an ambiguous gaze pricked Eleanor's skin, making her uncomfortable. It was Luka, who had followed them. But Eleanor didn't even deign to look back at him, even though he was technically her elder.
"Ahem!"
She clenched her left fist, holding it below her lips, and cleared her throat. So many thoughts bottled up inside needed release, but there was no one to talk to now. She could only put on a cold face again, pretend nothing happened, wave her hand, and the entire procession began moving forward once more.
Because it was an escort, the procession moved quite slowly. The journey that had taken only half an hour when rushing here now stretched on, and by the time they returned to Kolosten, it was dusk again, irritatingly so.
Kolosten was a city expanded from an old castle, its streets exceptionally narrow.
A procession of hundreds of Valkyries naturally couldn't parade through the city. Of course, the Valkyries had contingency plans for this. As soon as they crossed the drawbridge at the foot of the southernmost mountain, the Valkyries vanished without a trace at Eleanor's command of "Disperse!" Only four Valkyries remained, positioned front, back, left, and right, while many more hid in the wider network of streets and rooftops, secretly monitoring the prisoner's every move.
If the prisoner saw the Valkyries disappear and thought they could seize the chance to escape, they would be gravely mistaken.
But for Kallen, who had once been the captain of the Valkyrie Squad and had personally carried out countless search and escort missions, she naturally understood all this. It was just that, from beginning to end, she no longer wanted to escape. No longer thought of escaping.
Bang!
Hearing the sound of a door being kicked open, Kallen seemed to recall something and involuntarily looked up. Although the Valkyries formed a human wall, because most doorways in Kolosten had several steps leading up to them, she could still clearly see what was happening in front of her—
Knights clad in full armor, their massive pauldrons like angel wings. Under the sunset glow, the silver plates reflected the rosy light, adding a touch of holiness.
But angels weren't necessarily righteous; they could also be cruel angels.
They used this exceedingly polite method to knock open a door, and this wasn't the end. Two knights charged straight into the house, dragged out a man and a woman, and kicked the backs of their knees, forcing them to kneel at the doorway.
The man of the house tried to shout something, but a knight wearing metal gauntlets punched him in the face. The man fell sideways, opened his mouth, and three or four bloody teeth tumbled out. The woman let out a desperate scream, frantically trying to lunge towards her husband, but the knight deliberately grabbed her collar. She struggled forward desperately, but the poor-quality fabric couldn't withstand the force and tore bit by bit, revealing the gaunt ribs beneath her collarbone.
There was certainly no allure in that sight, but the knight holding her still unconsciously squeezed her, then belatedly realized—he was wearing metal gauntlets, he couldn't feel anything. So he simply grabbed the woman's hair, enjoying her increasingly agonized cries.
Only then did the trembling salesman step forward, holding a stack of crumpled indulgences. He was clearly terrified by the knights' rough actions, so much so that he forgot the lines he had prepared, standing there stammering and stuttering, unable to form a complete sentence.
"Useless!"
The knights seemed to operate in teams of three. The team leader grew impatient, snatched the indulgences from the salesman's hand, and yanked him backward by his thin shoulder.
"Oof!"
The salesman fell backward, landing hard on the ground. But he didn't immediately get up. Instead, he shut his eyes tightly, trembling all over, making the sign of the cross on his chest while praying softly.
Compared to the salesman's spiel, the knight was naturally direct. He walked over to the man, squatted down, and gently tapped the man's face with the thick stack of indulgences:
"Indulgences. Buying or not?"
"Ptui!"
A mouthful of bloody spittle landed on the knight's face. However, the knight wore a bucket helm; the saliva merely clung to the outside, unable to harm him at all.
"I'll give you one more chance. Your family is the only one left on this entire street that hasn't bought an indulgence. Today, you either hand over the money willingly, or we can do this another way."
"I... have no money!"
"Ah, I knew it. But to save your soul, I still advise you to purchase an indulgence."
"I have no money!"
"Ah, I know. But money is inanimate; people are alive."
"What are you trying to do!"
"PAPA! MAMA!"
A five- or six-year-old girl suddenly rushed out from inside the house. The knight leader seemed to have expected this. As the girl swung her fists towards him, he caught her smoothly. The girl flailed her arms and legs, but hitting the sunset-reflecting plate armor only made her own limbs ache from the impact.
"Waaaah—"
The man, woman, and child burst into tears almost simultaneously. The knight leader held the little girl with one arm, rubbed his thumb and forefinger together with the other, and an indulgence fluttered down in front of the man.
"There, your sins are now cleansed."
"You beast!"
No matter how the couple before him screamed, it seemed utterly futile.
"Damn it!"
Kallen suddenly strained, the hemp rope binding her hands stretching outwards. The fibers snapped in batches after reaching their limit, leaving only a few stubborn strands resisting.
But her movement suddenly stopped—that curse just now didn't seem to come from her.
Clang!
The next moment, Abyss Flower crashed heavily onto the knight leader's head. The bucket helm caved inwards, and the person inside staggered two steps before collapsing heavily to the ground. As for the girl he was holding, she had somehow appeared in Eleanor's arms.
Only now did the other two knights realize Valkyries were present, and judging by the weapon, it was...
"Is this how your superiors taught you to conduct business?"
"I... We..."
"Leave six Gold Groschen for medical expenses. This big oaf is fine; take him back to the barracks for treatment yourselves. Also, I'll buy this family's indulgences for them..."
Eleanor suddenly remembered something and quickly added:
"Three, I'll buy indulgences for all three of them!"
But she was here on a mission; how could she possibly be carrying money? She turned her head, looking at the other four Valkyries, but they were in the same situation. The five of them searched themselves thoroughly and only managed to scrape together two Gold Groschen.
"Allow me."
A slightly hoarse voice spoke up, and a jingling coin purse was tossed at the knight's feet.
"This knight's medical expenses are in there too."
Eleanor and Kallen turned their heads simultaneously. Otto stood at the entrance of a nearby alley, half his body bathed in the crimson sunset glow, holy as an angel, while the other half was hidden in shadow, blurred and chaotic.