Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer
Chapter 162: Wherever I Go, Death Follows... (1)

Chapter 162: Wherever I Go, Death Follows... (1)

Seraphina was there, but it was only her appearance that seemed familiar about her. Sophia, Amelia and Adrian were all confused by the sight of her.

The usual saintly and pure aura that always surrounded Seraphina was conspicuously absent as if a doppelganger had taken her place. But Adrian confirmed it was her, using [Analysis] on Seraphina upon her request.

"It feels weird, doesn’t it?" Seraphina smiled. "Watching me like this, without my Church habit?"

"You indeed caught me by surprise. I didn’t know you could fight like that. Otherwise, we would have busted ourselves trying to protect you," Adrian replied, keeping his poker face. "But no, your appearance doesn’t surprise me, Saintess. Not a lot surprises me anymore."

"You wanna know where I learned all that?" Seraphina mumbled.

"What’s the point? It’s not like you’re planning to tell us about it."

Seraphina chuckled at Adrian’s remark. Yes, it was true; she had always been the helpless Saintess, or at least acted the part well. How could she have shown her true self to them when they were working against the Zodiacs?

Still, seeing her deal with the heroes easily must have shocked them, and while Adrian and Amelia were good at masking his emotions, the same couldn’t be said for Sophia, who was still coming to grips with Seraphina’s true self.

"What are you doing here, in the slums?" Amelia asked her.

"I’m Looking for all of you. What else?" Seraphina replied, massaging her temple before putting a cigarette in her mouth and lit it up. "I’m not the only one who is, but that’s not the point right now."

Adrian sensed there was more she wanted to say, so he remained quiet, wanting to gather all intel he could before opening his mouth.

"You’re not going to ask how I know you were here?" Seraphina asked after letting out a puff of cigarette smoke.

"I know already. I recognise the clothes you’re wearing," Adrian replied. "You were the one whom the Innkeeper sent for service on my first night here."

"Nothing gets past you, does it?" Seraphina smiled, nodding her head. "Then you also know why I am here?"

"To stop us from doing anything irresponsible?" Adrian retorted. "Let me tell you something. I don’t know about the rest, but nothing you say or do will stop me from rescuing Vesper."

"Ah, finally, something that you don’t know!" Seraphina clapped, looking around the table, but no one else shared her enthusiasm, much to her dismay. "You guys are no fun."

"...get to the topic, please; we need to prepare for tomorrow-" Adrian sighed, trying to deal with the situation before his head exploded.

"They know you’re coming for them," Seraphina interrupted, suddenly getting all serious.

"That’s no surprise," Sophia finally spoke. "Shu and Vincent told you about us, so it was only a matter of time-"

"Not all of you, just Adrian. They know he will attack them," Seraphina said, raising a finger and stopping Sophia. "Neither Shu nor Vincent mentioned anything about anyone else, especially not this tribal woman."

A’Mila was busy tending to the weapons, but her ears perked up upon hearing her name.

"What’s your point?" Adrian asked her, point blank.

"Honestly," Seraphina mumbled, getting off her seat as she approached Adrian. "I just wanted to do this."

Before anyone could react, Seraphina hugged him. Something she had always wanted to do but couldn’t do as it would have caused a scandal. They held each other for a couple of minutes before Seraphina let go, and when she did, Adrian smiled.

"I guess I’ll be seeing you all tomorrow!" Seraphina said, bidding them farewell before jumping out of the window.

"What did she tell you?" Sophia asked as soon as the Saintess disappeared.

"A vote of confidence," Adrian replied, returning to planning. "I guess things will be easier than expected."

***

As the first light of dawn began to streak across the sky, two guards stationed atop the walls surrounding the Church suppressed yawns.

Their eyelids were heavy with exhaustion, having been up all night, and the gentle morning breeze only added to their struggle.

With few minutes left for their shift, the two leaned on the stone walls, casually chatting to keep the sleepiness at bay.

"Did you see that new girl in the Church yesterday?" one guard remarked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "The one with the long, golden hair?"

"Yeah, what about her?"

"I think I’m in-"

"How many times have you fallen for someone this week? Sixty-seven?"

"Sixty-nine, but it’s different this time!"

"Yeah, yeah, I believe you."

Their banter was interrupted by a sudden movement ahead. Someone riding a beast was headed in their direction.

"Hey, look," the first guard said, nudging his companion with his elbow. "Who’s that heading towards the Church?"

"An uninvited guest," the second guard replied, squinting to get a better look. Per the Pope’s instruction, no one is allowed to visit the Church."

However, he couldn’t see much and reached for the binoculars slung over his shoulder. But before he could use them, his companion snatched them away, eager for a better view.

"Let me see," the first guard insisted, adjusting the focus.

As curious as he was to uncover the man’s identity, his curiosity turned into shock when he noticed the smile on Adrian’s face.

"It’s him! He’s here!" the first guard turned to his companion. "We need to alert everyone. Now!"

"On it!" the other guard replied before rushing toward the stairs while the first guard looked at Adrian again.

"Where did he get a wolf that big..." he wondered, but his thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud.

The guard turned around, his eyes wide in horror. His partner was sprawled on the ground. In place on his head was an arrow with the guard’s face splattered around the walls.

Before he could react, another arrow whistled through the air, finding its mark with deadly accuracy. In an instant, both guards lay lifeless on the ground, their bodies sprawled atop the castle walls, their blood staining the ancient stones beneath them.

Meanwhile, guards in the courtyard below remained oblivious to the tragedy unfolding atop the walls. Unaware that a similar fate awaited them.