The black sun hangs high

Chapter 265 The Fate of the Brave Ones
Another day of fleeing within the city of Seren.

However, the situation that Hugh feared most did not occur.

He had been worried that the Dark Abyss Spawns in the city would abandon him, a tough nut to crack, and instead attack other locations in the city to hunt down other survivors. However, it turned out that they were extremely determined to pursue him.

Based on the information detected by the magical rat swarm and Hugh's own magical perception, he could basically confirm that the massive swarm of Dark Abyss offspring and their terrifying, already incredibly intelligent entity were closely following the running rats. Because Hugh was always able to conceal his magical traces at the right moment, they showed ample hostility towards any possible hiding place along the path.

Before sunset, Hugh had witnessed the surging black slime rush into a dilapidated three-story building and search every corner of it, even the garbage cans and abandoned vehicles next to the building.

Hugh believed that with the current intelligence of the Dark Abyss offspring, they were absolutely capable of knowing that such a place could not hide anyone, yet they still did not overlook any details.

This behavior appears both distorted and morbid.

It even reveals a hint of the madness that humans possess in desperate situations.

In the limited number of direct confrontations and hunts, Hughes extracted an unusually clear emotion from the offspring he killed and captured.

That's fear.

A very clear and very distinct fear.

Just like the emotions displayed by the survivors in Seren City when faced with the overwhelming "tide of death" on the streets, these Dark Abyss offspring, whom the survivors regard as a great threat, are now also terrified by a vague and abstract existence.

This is the fundamental reason why they are determined to hunt down Hughes no matter what.

"It seems that in the eyes of these guys, only by finding me and devouring and merging everything that belongs to me can they truly find a safe way out... It's strange, for these incomplete creations whose power originates from the Dark Abyss Palace, the rise of the black sun should be absolutely advantageous, so why are they so terrified of it?"

This strange problem troubled Hugh for a whole day. He also carefully observed these Dark Abyss offspring all day. However, after nightfall, when he found a new hiding place and was preparing to rest, he discovered that it was not only the Dark Abyss offspring who were experiencing similar problems.

The "residents" living inside their metal discs now seem to have undergone some subtle changes.

The most vehement reaction came from the frantically running rats, which were extremely active during this period.

It spends a lot of time in the outside world and comes into contact with the magic in the environment very frequently. Because it needs to consume a lot of Dark Abyss Essence to replenish its own power, even though Sniggy is a member of the Earth Mother Goddess's kin, it is still extremely uneasy about the changes that are happening in the surrounding environment.

Just as Hugh finished camouflaging and protecting his hideout and was about to relax, the raging rat, which had just returned to the metal disc, immediately sent him a series of rather chaotic messages.

Although it was very intelligent and had a good grasp of languages, it was clear that what it was trying to describe was far beyond its capabilities. Among the jumbled messages Sniggy sent, Hugh even saw a lot of the vulgar slang of the Voltel people. It was obvious that these could only have been learned from some unsavory old folks. However, judging from these words that could express unease, disgust, and panic, Sniggy was both confused and terrified about the situation.

Left with no other option, Hugh had to turn to the family wills, who were closely associated with the Running Rats.

With the help of these professional "translators," Hugh finally gained a general understanding of Sniggy's specific feelings.

These days, it has been feeling a strange panic, and the source of this panic is the break in its connection with the "Mother Earth Goddess". In the words of the big rat itself, it can never feel the blessing given by the "Mother Goddess". At times, it even mistakenly thinks that the "Mother Goddess" has disappeared or left completely, because as the "Mother Goddess's" servant, it is completely unaware of the existence of its own god!

Although Hugh had never quite understood the connection between these ancient creations he now possessed and the gods they worshipped, nor did he understand in what form those ancient lost gods existed in the present, judging from Sniggy's reaction, the magical tremors in the Vaan environment were already enough to have a certain impact on these magical creatures.

With this idea in mind, Hugh immediately verified it with the Mirror Messenger and other creations.

He then noticed that both the Mirror Messenger and the Palace Hound were becoming somewhat agitated. The Mirror Messenger was constantly pacing back and forth in its "study," its form always shifting and unpredictable. The Dark Abyss Hound, which had once eliminated all enemies for the Dark Abyss Palace, was now constantly conveying its desire to hunt prey to Hugh, but it couldn't give a clear answer as to what the prey was or where it was.

In contrast, the Touch of Calron and the Fate Roots are in two completely different and wondrous states.

When Hugh asked the Touch of Calron, who had followed him the longest, they said that they could also sense the abnormality of magic, but they did not feel uncomfortable or nervous because of it, as if the ancient sea god did not exist at all.

Meanwhile, the Fate Roots, possessing high intelligence and capable of forming stable societies in groups, remained remarkably indifferent.

The root leader, speaking on behalf of the group, said, “Master, we do indeed feel the tremors of chaos and despair... It’s wonderful, and it perfectly matches the omen left in our bodies by the God of Fate. Therefore, we will not be alarmed, but will only look forward to it.”

"You mean, your god of fate already told you all this?"

"It's not the kind of 'telling' you understand... The omens and revelations left by the god of destiny will only appear when necessary, and as followers of supreme destiny, we will naturally accept all of this."

Hughes expressed his doubts about this: "But I remember you guys mentioned before that it was just a direction."

"Yes."

Hugh frowned in the darkness: "So if your gods revealed the annihilation of your race to you, would you accept it?"

"The continuation of our race depends on the revelation of the supreme destiny. If destiny requires us to perish, then we will follow it."

When the root leader uttered these words, it even mimicked the fanatical tone of the believers in Vain when they prayed to their gods. Clearly, their attitude towards fate was similar to this on some level, and only even more fanatical.

"Then can you tell me what kind of scenarios and directions your deities have revealed?"

“Master, please give us some time.” Upon hearing this question, the tribal chief immediately said humbly, “The revelation bestowed upon us by the God of Fate is incomplete. Each individual within the tribe has received a different revelation. We need to hold a brief… well, a meeting? According to human understanding, it should be like this.”

After receiving permission from Hugh, the root leader immediately returned to the "pool" where the tribe had settled. Then all the individuals emerged from beneath the calm pool and began to sway rhythmically, their thoughts and spirits connecting with each other, beginning what they called a "meeting."

While the roots of fate were "meeting," Hugh withdrew from his mental world, looked around, and then slowly walked to the window.

After a day of continuous fleeing, Hugh arrived at the northern city wall area around noon. He originally wanted to rely on the northern city wall and stronghold of Seren City to wage a protracted war with the Dark Abyss descendants for a period of time. However, the facts proved that such an idea was not feasible.

If the southern part of Seren is described as "dilapidated," then the northern part, once a thriving commercial district, can only be described as "ruins."

It's impossible for any survivor to survive in such a place, because this area has become the lair of the Dark Abyss' offspring.

After arriving near the northern city wall, Hugh finally understood the true purpose of the Dharma Council monks who had rushed there despite all the difficulties.

The mages also noticed the distribution of the Dark Abyss Spawns within the city of Seren. They successfully deduced the location of these monsters' lair, and thus intended to use the last of their magical resources and alchemical bombs to strike these monsters.

The result is self-evident.

They underestimated the number of Dark Abyss Spawns, and so, upon reaching the northern city wall area, these suicide bombers were completely surrounded and preyed upon by the Dark Abyss Spawns. After their own magic power was exhausted, these brave and fearless individuals issued a silver warning in despair and used the last few pages of magic books and alchemical bombs they carried to perish together with a considerable number of the Spawns.

Now, thanks to his magical vision, Hugh can still see a small square in the center of the street in the distance.

He had forgotten the name of the square. He only remembered that there used to be a statue of a knight in the center of the square, but the statue had now been burned to a charred black. When he passed by the square, Hugh also saw two corpses below the statue that had also been burned by magical flames and were no longer recognizable in shape or appearance.

They seemed to be embracing each other. Because they had lost all their life force, the Dark Abyss offspring did not touch them, leaving the two dead bodies in place.

And this was the final fate of those warriors.

For thousands of years, Merlinle and Du have been the gathering place of all magical power, resources and talents in Vaan. Although in the eyes of many ordinary people, the Law Committee has long become a corrupt elite organization, in fact, no matter what the Law Committee has become, there are still many members with excellent qualities inside.

Wisdom, keenness, courage...

Of course, there is also the decisiveness to make appropriate judgments and choices at critical moments.

"Child, are you feeling...regret?"

As Hugh gazed quietly at the distant night sky, Alexandra's voice suddenly echoed in his mind. This perceptive countess was always able to sense the faintest changes in Hugh's emotions.

Hugh was slightly taken aback: "Regret? What do you mean?"

"Of course, it's that female monk from the Legal Affairs Committee."

Countess Alexandra said softly, "Although you haven't discussed this matter with us, I've noticed that you pay an unusual amount of attention to her."

"Mage Justina is very attractive, it's normal for me to pay more attention to her, right?"

The countess laughed and said, “Child, you should say this to the two ladies you know after you leave Seren, not as an excuse… You can’t fool me in this respect.”

When his lie was exposed, Hugh wasn't embarrassed. He smiled in the darkness and replied, "I wouldn't say I regret it, but I'm still a little uneasy."

Hugh paused for a moment, then continued, "I hate this feeling of making decisions. Even though I have foreseen some so-called 'tragedies' happening, I still need to do it in order to achieve the ultimate goal and ensure the survival of more people."

"I suspect you've already informed others about what that female mage might do?"

"Yes, I've already made arrangements."

Hughes sighed softly: "Her condition is very wrong. If I'm not mistaken, the magic that the Black Sun Society cast on her has already had some very serious effects on her... If I'm not mistaken, then Justina is actually very similar to that 'special individual' born in the experiment, or even more complete, or rather, she herself is the most ideal experimental result."

After saying these words, Hugh leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and completely merged with the darkness.

Being able to say these words made him feel somewhat better.

After catching his breath, Hugh continued, "I told the Hermit Genet about Justina and made some arrangements for what she might do. The magical signal that appeared in the sky this morning proved my judgment. She is indeed preparing to make some attempts."

The countess sighed softly, then said, "In the past, all those in power in the family had to take this step. Child, these things are always unavoidable... But I'm curious, since you consider it a potential risk, why not eliminate it altogether?"

“Some jerk once told me that ‘fate’ and ‘script’ are two different things.”

Hughes opened his eyes: "I wholeheartedly agree."

(End of this chapter)