163: A Good Child's Reward
An An curled up her body with all her might, trying her hardest not to make even the slightest sound. Yet her body still couldn't stop trembling. The threat named [Death] had already shrouded this brave but young girl's head. The intense fear had pushed even someone as strong as her to the brink. Bean-sized tears continuously slid from the corners of her eyes, and the footsteps coming from nearby also became increasingly clear.
She was going to be discovered... Will I... die?
An An tightly closed her eyes. She didn't dare imagine what would happen to her after being caught by those black-robed figures. Would she become one of Little Qiu and the others beside the blood pool? Or would it be even more tragic than that?
"Save me... Big Sister Lina, save me..."
At this moment, how An An wished that the girl who had once saved her could appear before her once again! But reality told her this was impossible. Lina had long since left. She had no chance, and it was impossible for her to find this place.
But perhaps Yahweh heard An An's desperate cry from her heart. A rat the size of a palm suddenly burrowed out from beneath the giant stone and quickly scurried past in front of the black-robed figures.
"Damn it, scared the hell out of me. Turns out it's just a rat?"
"By the way, are there even rats in this place?"
"Why wouldn't there be? After all, this was expanded from an underground karst cave, and it connects to the cellar up top. Wouldn't it be stranger if there weren't any rats?"
This suddenly appearing rat dispelled the suspicions of the black-robed figures. Only Sauron, standing beside the blood pool, seemed to intentionally or unintentionally glance toward the back of the giant stone a couple more times, but in the end, he said nothing.
"You few... remember, if you don't obtain suitable materials to complete the final portion of the [Divine Canon] within the scheduled time frame, then prepare yourselves to sacrifice to our Lord with your own bodies."
"...Yes!"
Upon hearing this, the black-robed figures trembled with fear. In front of Sauron, no matter how much dissatisfaction they held in their hearts, they could only swallow it as bitter medicine. They knew the identity of the adult before them. Even though his power had long since weakened with age, he was definitely not someone they, mere small fry, could casually provoke.
"I... survived?"
At the same time, An An, who was still trembling, subconsciously opened her eyes. She looked with lingering fear at the branch beneath her feet that had already broken into two pieces. Just a little bit more, really just a little bit more! Just a little bit more and she would have been killed by this branch!
This place was not suitable for staying long. An An, having narrowly escaped death, instantly made a decision in her heart. This place was too bizarre! She had to get out immediately and notify Big Sister Evelia and the others! She had to make this truth hidden beneath the clock tower public!
Just like when she came in, An An quickly ran back to the passage entrance while doing her best to hide her figure from being discovered. Immediately after, she quickly ran back to the cellar, then climbed up the straight ladder in the direction she had come from.
Finally, after experiencing a thrilling but safe adventure, An An successfully escaped from the clock tower.
"Hah... hah..."
Standing in the greenery belt in front of the orphanage's outer wall, An An leaned against the white wall where she had carved the "An" character marks earlier, breathing heavily.
After experiencing that extreme rot and death smell emanating from the blood pool beneath the clock tower, An An felt that the outside air now seemed so sweet and fresh. She even smelled a faint lily fragrance.
Mm? Wait, lily fragrance?
An An suddenly froze.
If she remembered correctly, there were no lilies planted in the greenery belt!
"What a brave child. If she were still here, she would definitely like a clever and courageous little one like you."
Just then, a sinister male voice quietly came from behind An An. An An immediately looked back in terror. She saw a young man wearing a black coat had appeared behind her at some point. The man was holding a blood-stained lily and smilingly offered it in front of An An.
"Here, this is a reward for the brave one~"
"You... you are..."
An An retreated in fear. She remembered clearly that there was absolutely no one like this among the orphanage staff!
How did he get in!?
"Come now~ Don't be afraid~ Big brother isn't a bad person~"
It seemed he detected An An's nervousness. The young man smiled and comforted her. But in the next moment, a strange scarlet light suddenly appeared beneath the man's originally pitch-black eyes.
At the same time, in An An's pupils which were facing him, a faint scarlet glow also flashed past.
In an instant, the focus in An An's eyes disappeared.
"Let's go, brave little sister. I'll take you..."
"...to meet our god, how about that?"
Facing the mysterious man's invitation before her, An An nodded with vacant eyes and slowly took the hand the mysterious man extended toward her.
Like leading a soulless doll, the mysterious man brought An An back to that dark, damp cellar. Then, along the passage in the center of the cellar, he brought An An back once more to the blood pool piled with rotting corpses.
"Eh? Cult Leader? This girl you're holding is..."
The black-robed figures standing before the blood pool worrying about the upcoming events were immediately surprised and delighted to kneel and salute upon seeing the mysterious man. At the same time, they were also curious about the identity of the girl their Cult Leader was holding by the hand.
"Naturally, she's a gift sent here~ Hmph! You all are really something. Being followed by a little girl no older than ten, yet completely unaware the entire time. If I were you, I'd be so ashamed I'd just slit my wrists right now!"
The Descent Faction's Cult Leader sneered disdainfully. Upon hearing this, the black-robed figures' expressions changed drastically. The black-robed figure who had nearly discovered An An even cried out in alarm: "Could the noise earlier have been..."
"See? How foolish? However... Mr. Sauron, even if these incompetent fellows didn't notice, there's no reason you wouldn't have noticed this child, right?"
"Didn't you notice her long ago? Why would I need to do anything extra?"
Sauron shrugged and turned toward the exit.
"Before the [Divine Canon] is completed, you'd better not call me. My time is precious, and that child Jasmine is very sharp! If I'm absent for too long, she'll definitely become suspicious."
"That perfect vessel... tsk, also a troublesome issue. By the way, doesn't our organization have some grudge with the word 'vessel'? Back when we were preparing the God's Vessel, we got intercepted by the Watchers. Now even your daughter, Sauron..."
"Shut up!!!"
Sauron suddenly turned his head. Terrifying, heavy magic suddenly erupted from his body. The Descent Faction's Cult Leader could only helplessly wave his hand upon seeing this, indicating he wouldn't say more.
"Fine, fine, if you don't want me to mention it, I won't mention it! Come, brave good child, be obedient~"
The Cult Leader no longer paid attention to Sauron. He handed a sharp dagger to An An, then smiled and patted An An's head.
In the next moment, An An with vacant eyes walked into the blood pool like a walking corpse. She let the blood bathe her entire body and quietly lay down in the blood pool.
Then, using the dagger the Cult Leader had handed her, she gently slit her own wrist...
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