Chapter 1425: The Great Earthquake

Luvia continued with the summarized report:

"The great witches are now fighting in the eastern part of the city. Probably because the earthquake hasn't come yet, they haven't encountered any strong enemies worth mentioning for the time being. The enemies Miss Sylvia encountered outside Osenfort Manor are probably the trickiest kind. And according to the information from the church..."

"... the problem is that there are too many enemies, but the proportion of individuals with outstanding strength is small. If the situation remains like this all night, the danger and combat intensity of this night will be far worse than in Midhillburg."

"It's just that no one knows what the earthquake will be like." Miss Sylvia's voice came from the doorway. The young great witch, who had finished resting, walked in. She first asked Tifa about Xia De's condition, then stated her arrangements:

"I won't leave the opera house for the time being. According to the plan discussed earlier, I will continue to act with Xia De. Xia De, you rest for a while. However, after receiving the news that the Randel Flower has bloomed, will you ride out of the city again, or go to the Temple of Night through the Church of the Forgotten?"

"I haven't decided yet. Let's rest for a while."

Miss Sylvia nodded, greeted Xia De, and went to report the situation to the Witch Council.

Xia De also thought about getting up to do something, such as checking the situation around the Wang Erde Opera House, or putting the harvest after killing the demon back home.

But Luvia stopped Xia De:

"You rest for a while. Although I don't know how long you can rest, don't do anything else now."

"But..."

"Yes, rest for a while."

Tifa, behind the sofa, gently pressed Xia De's shoulders to keep him from getting up:

"I'll go get a blanket and let Xia De have a good rest." She said this and winked at Luvia, so the purple-eyed girl also held Xia De's hand to keep him from getting up:

"If you get up now, I'll kidnap your cat." She joked, and Xia De muttered something like "That's Miss Gao De's cat":

"Then I'll sleep for a while. It's a pity that I haven't learned 'Moon Dream' yet, otherwise sleep could accelerate recovery."

... could accelerate recovery.

"Maybe the earthquake will happen after 1:00 AM, and you will be fully recovered when you wake up."

Luvia said, patting her lap:

"Sleep here. Speaking of which, we haven't tried this before."

She said with a smile, so Xia De lay down holding Mia. Tifa also returned with a blanket and helped cover Xia De.

Although Xia De felt exhausted, he didn't feel he could fall asleep at all at this moment. He smelled the perfume on Luvia, closed his eyes under her "order," and Mia was held in his arms. Although the cat faced the temptation of food on the coffee table, it immediately settled down when held by Xia De for the first time.

This made Xia De quite gratified; compared to food, Xia De's own attraction to this cat seemed greater.

"Sleep, sleep, Xia De."

The maids soon left, and the gas lamp light in the office was dimmed. Xia De lay on his side on Luvia's lap, Luvia gently patted his back, and then sang a lullaby of a Deraerion folk song.

Xia De, who was not sleepy at first, fell asleep directly after the gentle singing started, without even hearing the third line of lyrics. Noticing that Xia De's breathing had become steady, the orange-and-white cat also closed its eyes to rest peacefully. Luvia smiled and continued singing the lullaby, hoping that this moment could last a little longer. 【He has changed fate.】

The whispering in his ear murmured beside the purple-eyed girl. Luvia continued to sing and asked in her heart:

"Do you mean that Schluch Lake Osenfort is dead, and Siris Lathers doesn't need to be forced to die early?"

【Yes.】

"She" had an emotion in her voice at this time that Luvia herself could not understand. It was a mixture of relief, gladness, and...

... joy. Short-haired Luvia, who didn't understand the stories of those "Past Lives · Sixth Era," didn't know the reason for this emotion.

"The demon is dead, so tonight, will there be other dangers?"

Luvia asked softly again, and "She" was silent for a moment: 【Yes.】

Luvia didn't ask what the danger was, but asked another question:

"How much longer can Xia De sleep?" 【About twenty minutes.】

Luvia didn't ask any more questions, and "She" didn't bring it up again. "She" and she hummed a lullaby together for the sleeping outsider. Even though Xia De couldn't hear "She"'s voice at this moment, Luvia still believed that she would remember this moment tonight for a lifetime.

The gentle lullaby accompanied Xia De to sleep. Although there were many messy...

... things before closing his eyes, he didn't dream of the demon...

... didn't dream of Lady Hela, didn't dream of Doctor Schneider who was still outside the city, and didn't even see the silver moon while standing on the ridge. He could realize that Luvia was humming,

... could also perceive the warmth of the cat he was holding, like the sun, and could even realize that the small blanket covering him had the scent of a witch.

This sleep made him feel so at ease that when the shaking woke him up, Xia De rarely felt reluctant to leave the taste of sleep.

"Earthquake!"

Noticing the change in Xia De's breathing frequency, Luvia reminded him softly.

Xia De, pillowing on the soft "pillow," could clearly feel the entire sofa shaking violently, and the gas lamp on the wall cut off the gas supply in the second second after the earthquake started due to the protection device of the gas valve.

Although in past major events, Xia De had experienced earthquakes more than once, in his two lives so far, he had never experienced such an earthquake.

For a moment, he even felt that if Luvia hadn't been holding him, he would have fallen under the sofa with Mia. And facing such a natural disaster, the cat, which was usually quite timid, was not only not afraid but even a little excited.

The earth seemed to be wailing, and the ancient city scattered on the river valley plain faced the natural disaster directly.

And as a ring sorcerer, even if only a first-ring sorcerer, all transcendents within the Randel Valley area could hear the sound of a giant beast wailing deep underground. They could also hear the sound of that huge heart beating, spreading to the entire land of the Old Continent along with the earthquake waves.

The land under their feet became so strange and hostile after this moment. The distorted earth had reached the fourth stage of distortion. If the problem could not be solved tonight, then this earthquake was the first bell of the end of the material world.

"It started."

Xia De sat up, supporting himself on Luvia's legs. After waking up a little, after the first wave of the earthquake ended, he went downstairs with Luvia to check the situation.

The Wang Erde Opera House had just finished renovation more than a month ago. Siris, who was responsible for the renovation plan, had considered the impact of hurricanes, earthquakes, and other disasters when carrying out the overall reinforcement of the house. Therefore, the Wang Erde Opera House was not damaged in the earthquake, and the girls who stayed in the opera house, who had been prepared, were not injured in this earthquake that occurred in the early morning.

The gas supply for the gas lamps was slow to recover. Miss Hayley Aurora organized manpower to distribute candles and kerosene lamps. Looking out from the window, the wind and snow brought the wails and cries of pain from afar. In the deep night, the ashes from the collapsed houses, the red light of the fire, and the faint light in the hands of the search teams walking on the streets together depicted the state of the city after the earthquake.

Even though the church and the city hall had made preparations for this disaster in advance, the tiny mortals still had to endure suffering in the face of such a natural disaster. After the most violent shaking ended, a series of aftershocks were about to appear. Tonight, probably no one could sleep.

And this earthquake was just a prelude to the real disaster tonight.

"Do you feel it?"

In the basement of the Wang Erde Opera House, Xia De placed his palm on the ritual left by Miss Bernice, the "Earth Witch," and directly perceived the dynamics of the earth through the amplification of the ritual.

Luvia and the three witch apprentices were all by Xia De's side at this time. The light orbs summoned by the girls made the basement as bright as day. "I feel it. Now the largest distortion zone in Randel Valley is in the northeast of the city."

Xia De said:

"It's not far from where the great witches are now. You can pass the message so that Miss Galina and the others don't have to move for the time being." "From the map, among the seven possible locations, the ones in the northeast are only the Temple of Night and a piece of open space by the river adjacent to the Schluch River."

Miss Hayley Aurora said, and Miss Rita Swift asked worriedly:

"Does Xia De want to leave immediately? Aren't his wounds not healed yet?"

"He still needs half an hour to recover. It's best not to use any miracles during this period."

"Although there is at least an hour and a half before the insane guardian appears, I can't wait another half hour. Fortunately, I actually have forty minutes."

Xia De looked at Luvia, and Luvia understood what Xia De meant: "Keeping the key is for the current situation. Then, you should go."

"May the World Tree protect me in infinite time."

Mia was turned into a toy and put into his pocket. The three-second parting didn't need a farewell. Xia De and Luvia returned to the third floor and pushed open the door with the broken time key inserted in Miss Bernice's opera troupe leader's office.

【Outsider, you have stepped into the "Corridor of Time".】 【Message from the Ancient God "Father of the Infinite Tree":】 【Autumn, 3028, Fifth Era, Northern Continent, City of Eternal Night.】 【Event: Whispers of the Veil of Eternal Night.】

【Duration 40 minutes (4/4).】 【You have obtained additional information.】

【The figure of the Father of the Infinite Tree is watching you.】

【The trial given to you by the Ancient God of Time will continue.】

【Help mortals break through the labyrinth of eternal night and explore the truth behind the curtain.】

【The Father of the Infinite Tree will give you a reward: Miracle Spiritual Rune—Night.】 ===== CHAPTER 1426 =====