Chapter 2408: [Calamity Card: Prayer of Light]

However, now was not the time to worry about the Speaker of the Present Age. The two sat together on the sofa, and Xia De, while his body and spirit could still hold out, briefly explained the current situation and the problems they were facing.

As they spoke, their hands remained clasped. He wanted Adele to understand these details so that if she ever appeared in the Sixth Era, she would at least have some grasp of the status quo and know who was a friend and who was an enemy; after all, the identities of the people Xia De had brought to help this time were somewhat complicated.

And when Xia De finished explaining these matters, the young woman with the tear mole at the corner of her eye knew it was time to say goodbye again.

Only this time, there would be no more regrets in her heart. The long-lost sense of anticipation and excitement was causing her soul, which had been worn down by the radiance of the apocalypse, to regain its vitality:

"I await your call."

As she spoke, she took the initiative to stand up, retrieve the card, and hand it to Xia De. When Xia De tried to pull the card from her hand, she did not let go; it was only after Xia De exerted force again that the card came into his possession.

There was a smile in her golden eyes. Compared to the "Speaker" of the Witch Council, whom Xia De imagined to be "highly respected" and "very dignified," she truly looked like a young girl experiencing first love at this moment.

The pattern on the back of the "Calamity Card" was identical to that of "Tarot Cards" and "Cards of Universal Change." Borrowing the light from the fireplace, Xia De flipped the card to the front and saw, written in gilded Drareon language at the top:

【Prayer of Light】

The image below the text showed a "glowing angel" with the appearance of "Miss Brown" spreading six wings before the sun in a sky filled with yellow sand. Because the wings were too large, the card's illustration could not even display them in their entirety.

But at least the card clearly showed the sorrow on Miss Brown's closed-eyed face.

At the bottom of the front, three lines of text were written:

【A soul that, out of piety and stupidity, voluntarily offered its faith to the radiance.】

【The disaster of the light that melts all things originates from Moon Bay City.】

【Those who hide in the darkness yearn for the light, yet they have no way to distinguish the source of that single ray. Until the final moment when they finally awaken, the sorrowful soul continues to bring the light of the apocalypse to even more people.】

After finishing the card and its description, two unfamiliar memories appeared in Xia De's mind.

The first memory took place in a wheat field in the countryside at noon; judging by the golden appearance of the surrounding wheat, it must have been autumn, and the sun was exceptionally scorching.

A group of people in black robes were gathered in a circle, standing in a cleared circular area in the middle of the wheat field. Most of them had fanatical expressions on their faces, and Miss Brown was one of them.

At this time, Miss Brown looked much more mature than when Xia De had seen her yesterday, and her belly was slightly protruding—she was clearly pregnant.

Amidst the people's prayers, two individuals with the mark of the 【Light-Worshippers' Seminar】 on their robes signaled for Miss Brown to walk to the center of the clearing, then handed her an "empty fruit" filled with white light.

The pious woman was so excited she looked as if she were about to cry; she thanked the two repeatedly, then joyfully pulled out the stopper and poured the light from the bottle into her mouth.

Before she could even let out a scream, in an instant, the light burst forth from Miss Brown's eyes, mouth, nose, and ears, turning her into a human torch the very next moment.

The people around cheered and continued to loudly praise the light, while Miss Brown and the child in her womb had already melted into the light.

The first memory ended here. As always, the first memory brought by a "Calamity Card" was usually the cause of death or a scene related to death.

For example, the neighbor Mr. and Mrs. Smith dying when the apocalypse arrived, the former client Mrs. Lemaire walking into the deep sea during the "Sea Return" ceremony in Coldwater Port, Mr. Bernhardt melting into light, and Professor Drake dying a normal death only to be resurrected by the earth's pollution after death.

This time, Miss Brown's cause of death was also simple; the lunatics of the 【Light-Worshippers' Seminar】 had done this more than once to achieve their goal of "becoming light." Even as a senior agent, it was not hard to understand why Miss Brown was eventually brainwashed or persuaded to believe in their so-called "light."

Before he could lament the lady's fate, the second memory followed. Xia De was very familiar with this scene: it was Moon Bay City, and specifically Moon Bay City after the Moon Bay Bridge had been completed, at the time of Mr. Bernhardt's death in the past.

The familiar scene appeared again, and the suddenly erupting light engulfed the city. And within that light, Miss Brown's semi-dissolved soul appeared out of thin air above the city; the sorrowful soul absorbed more and more light until it formed the appearance of the "glowing angel" Xia De had just seen.

That angel was even larger than what Xia De had just seen, and it remained suspended in the air even after the light covering Moon Bay disappeared.

Hundreds of points of light appeared behind it, followed by hundreds of thick beams of light that swept across the entire city from east to west like a plow; this scene was far more astonishing than the "cleansing" of St. Deran Square just now.

*Ooom—*

Amidst the sorrowful cry, explosions, smoke, screams, and wails engulfed the city.

Dust obscured Xia De's vision, and the second memory ended here. Xia De did not see what happened afterward, but it was not hard to imagine.

"The question now is, could it be that the 【Light-Worshippers' Seminar】's method of controlling the peculiar light utilizes the souls of voluntary sacrifices?"

The appearance of the "angel" did not seem like a coincidence; it looked more like the second stage of the plan launched by that group of lunatics. And the method used by the Ringed Shushi of the 【Light-Worshippers' Seminar】 that Xia De first encountered to use the peculiar light was also through sacrifice, only they sacrificed limbs.

But regardless, the second memory at least vividly told Xia De what Moon Bay City would face if that group of light-chasing lunatics succeeded.

The God-Descending plan of the 【Dragon-Feast Sect】 first plunged the city into a sea of fire, then the light melted all souls, and finally, the "Prayer of Light" cleansed the ground with beams of light. Even if nothing else happened, these three steps alone were enough to make Moon Bay history.

"Fortunately, at least for now, Miss Brown is living happily and won't go believing in any light to find solace... Without my Sixth Era, what exactly did she experience?"

【At the very least, your existence has changed the life trajectory of another ordinary person.】

"She" said with a smile, and the corners of Xia De's mouth also curled into a smile. When he opened his eyes again, he found Adele looking at him with wide eyes. Seeing Xia De suddenly open his eyes, she tilted her head slightly in embarrassment:

"You are leaving again."

White mist was already swirling around Xia De. Xia De piled the supplies he had brought this time on the sofa so she could take them away after ending the projection state; this was a special property of this near-real projection:

"Don't worry, we will meet again soon, in my era, that beautiful era where the apocalypse has not yet arrived."

Xia De opened his arms to hug her, and Adele hugged him back:

"Don't make me wait too long, I hate this era... Even dying in battle in your era would be better than staying here."

"What are you saying? I won't let you..."

His voice stopped abruptly. The witch pursed her lips and looked at her empty arms, but this time she had no mood for melancholy.

She stood up, waved her hand to store the supplies using a unique spatial compression technique, and then looked firmly at the fire in the fireplace.

The fire that had not been lit for a long time was now ignited in her heart. Whether for Xia De or for herself, she had to go to Moon Bay during the God War of the Sixth Era.

She had a second chance to make up for what she couldn't do last time. Even if this was a conspiracy by Luweiya Anate, she would definitely try.

(Little Mia is running...)

【Outsider, you have returned to the current time.】

【Next opening time for the Key of Yggdrasil: Present Age, Sixth Era, Harvest Moon, 1854 Common Era.】

Walking out of the cabin's washroom door, Xia De looked at the 【Calamity Card: Prayer of Light】 in his hand. He flicked it in front of him, letting it spin along its vertical axis, then lightly tapped the card with his flaming finger.

The card emitted a faint light, and the accumulated radiance on the card's surface was almost about to be fired, but fortunately, Xia De stopped it in time.

"The ability corresponding to this card is the most basic 'Powerful Ray,' which is firing a ray with damaging properties; my 'Sunlight Ray' is an extension of this basic ability. But the peculiar ability corresponding to this card seems to have power..."

Unable to experiment in the cabin, Xia De temporarily put away the card and the artifacts he had thrown on the floor.

Afterward, he really went to the washroom to relieve himself, confirmed that there was nothing wrong with his appearance, and then returned to the banquet hall of the "Radiant Messenger."

But when Xia De returned, he found that the young ladies were all looking at him with surprise. When Xia De sat back down, petted Little Mia, and prepared to eat breakfast, Luweiya asked in surprise:

"You were only gone for less than five minutes, how did you change your clothes? Although this outfit is the same style as the one you were wearing when you left, it is clearly not the same one."

As she spoke, she leaned over to Xia De and sniffed. She did indeed smell perfume, but because it didn't belong to any of the young ladies around her, Luweiya didn't continue to ask.

"Were you secretly having a tryst with some maid?"

Yin Luna made a small joke, and everyone laughed. Now that the decisive battle was imminent, and Xia De had only been gone for five minutes, they believed he would definitely not go looking for a secret lover at such a time, so this was just a small joke.

And behind Luweiya, the figure of the long-haired young lady flashed by and nodded at Xia De. Of course, the long-haired Luweiya had guessed that Xia De had gone to see Adele Isabella. Looking at Xia De's expression, she knew Xia De had succeeded. She was very satisfied with this; as expected, even that last Speaker of the Council could not escape Xia De's grasp. **CHAPTER 2409**