CHAPTER 87: CHAPTER 19: BELL-RINGER

I don’t know how long it had been before she woke up from her coma.

The scars on the woman’s body had completely disappeared, and the pain that had tormented her for so long was gone without a trace. She felt an unprecedented vitality. The moment she turned over and got up, she was surprised by her own agile movements.

The Ghoul was gone.

She lay in the Tomb, next to her was a young man sitting on a tombstone quietly enjoying his lunch.

"Hungry?"

"Want something to eat?" The man smiled as he stood up and handed over a flatbread.

Hunger made the woman reach out to grab it and devour it ravenously. Then, she stood in the Tomb, respectfully kneeling before the man in front of her, her voice trembling, "Who are you? Why did you save me?"

The man leisurely finished the last bit of food in his hand and said calmly, "Me?"

"I’ve forgotten."

"I have too many names."

"Some call me Blood Demon, some refer to me as the Deceiver, but I prefer the name Fire Thief, because I and my former companions were all Fire Thieves."

"Now my name is Aemon, the president of the Gray Whisper Hermitage."

"If you’d like, you can also call me President."

The woman did not understand the man’s words, but she still respectfully said, "President, sir."

"Don’t call me sir, just President will do." The man smiled and shook his head.

He thought for a moment and explained, "The Hermitage is a mysterious organization, and we gather together to work for a common purpose."

The woman looked up in confusion.

But the young man in front of her seemed disinclined to say more. He said in a gentle voice, "You are now a Transcendent. You possess power far beyond that of ordinary people."

"So, what do you plan to do now?"

This question seemed to awaken the painful memories of the woman’s past. Her eyes instantly turned blood red, filled with deep-seated hatred, a sinister purple light flickered in her pupils. She lowered her head, her voice trembling, "I want revenge!"

Hearing this, the refined man clapped his hands in joy, "Yes. You should seek revenge; you must seek revenge."

"Dagon’s filth needs to be washed away with blood."

"I didn’t expect that after waking up, it would have turned into this."

A sinister Snake-shaped Dagger appeared.

The man handed the dagger to the woman in front of him and said calmly, "I’ll give you a day. This time tomorrow, I’ll be waiting for you here."

Night fell.

The woman’s figure moved slowly in the darkness. She did not know what was happening to her, but she now had some strange abilities. Her movements had become extremely agile, she could move in Stealth in the dark Shadows, and her body instinctively seemed to remember some Combat Skills. Just now, she easily slit a foe’s throat and then stabbed him through the heart with the dagger.

The thrill of this killing spree made her feel a tinge of excitement. The blood of revenge was so sweet.

"Where is everyone?"

A bald, scar-faced man appeared. He was adjusting his pants, entering an alley to unbuckle his belt, but just as he looked up, his entire body went rigid, as if he had seen a ghost, standing there in shock.

The woman’s figure lunged.

She was now incredibly strong, easily choking the man’s throat and dragging his body into the alley. A cold glint flashed, accompanied by a violent outburst, and the man’s corpse was riddled with wounds, his chest covered with dense knife marks, with blood gushing out like foam, trickling out with a gurgling sound.

The thrill of revenge turned the woman’s eyes blood red, even the whites slowly tinged with red, her pupils transforming in the darkness, allowing her to see everything in the dark.

Blood flowed down her body.

The woman climbed along the wall. She heard some lascivious moans and reckless male laughter. This place was a brothel, the beginning of her nightmare, and she was going to end everything here. Like an agile leopard, she climbed to the second floor, then leaped in through the window like a venomous snake, the cold glint piercing into the forehead of the man inside in an instant.

The skull shattered, brain matter flowed.

"It’s you?! You’re not dead..." a woman’s terrified scream rang out.

Blood spurted.

The woman swung her dagger without hesitation, the Snake-shaped Dagger slicing through the madam’s throat like cutting tofu, the spurting blood showering her, soaking her to the skin, as she stretched out her tongue to lick the blood off the corners of her mouth.

The taste was so sweet.

The commotion seemed to have startled those nearby. The woman knocked over the candle, and the quickly spreading flames spread with the gauze canopy. Her figure vaulted over the wall and disappeared into the Shadows again, like a patient Hunter waiting for the next prey to appear.

A sinister-faced man rushed upstairs, retrieving a handgun from a secret compartment while loading bullets.

Bam!

Amidst the muffled sound of shattered windows, the sinister man quickly drew his gun and fired, but a piercing pain struck. Looking down, he saw his severed hand, covering the stump with horror. His expression was one of utter fear, just like those women they had once abused.

Squelching.

The woman closed in, the dagger flashing with cold light, stabbing into the man’s neck, then slashing downwards, almost disemboweling him, filthy guts and innards spilling out, the sinister man’s body almost entirely split open.

By now, she was a blood-soaked figure.

But the intense smell of blood did not frighten her in the slightest. It was as if she had been reborn, feeling for the first time that blood could be so sweet and rich.

The killing continued.

As the towering flames devoured the sin-filled building, the woman emerged naked from the inferno.

She stripped off her bloody clothes and dug out a bullet from her abdomen with her hand.

She licked the blood flowing from the wound on her arm and laughed wildly into the night, laughing hysterically, laughter turned into heart-wrenching cries, until it morphed into silent sobbing.

The raging flames spread towards the town, distant screams of terror could be heard.

The woman did not look back, she gradually faded into the darkness, merging into the deep night.

Morning light fell.

The woman came to the cemetery again, lowering her head humbly, looking at the young man who seemed to have spent the night sitting on a tombstone, and respectfully said, "President."

The man sitting on the tombstone turned his head to glance at her, and said calmly, "Is the task completed?"

The woman nodded.

The young man stood up, looked at her, and smiled faintly, "Good."

"Let’s go."

He walked towards the south of the cemetery, and the woman silently followed behind.

"By the way."

The young man stopped and said softly, "Every member of the Hermitage has a code name, you should change your name too."

He thought for a moment, clapped his hands, and said with a smile, "From today, you shall be called the ’Lady of the House’."

Lady of the House?

The woman remained silent, from today onwards, she was the Lady of the House.

The two walked farther into the wilderness.

"President."

"Where are we going?" the woman asked cautiously, hesitant.

The young man replied with a smile, "To the south. To a place called Dorne."

Dorne?

The Lady had heard of it, it was said to be a place rich with peaceful harmony, unlike Dagon’s chaos and unrest, filled with endless flowing evils.

"What are we going there to do?" The Lady was curious.

The President’s face was full of smiles, he said softly, "We are going to awaken the people there."

"They have slept for too long."

The Lady did not understand the President’s words, but it did not affect her following his footsteps, carrying out his commands.

The President faced the morning sunlight, smiled, and said, "Humans have slumbered for too long."

"They lie sleep in a dream realm called ’Reality’."

"We must wake others."

"It was a decision I made with my companions back then, they appointed me as the Bell-ringer, though they are all gone now."

"But the bell should still toll!"

"Even the most beautiful dream will one day awaken; we mustn’t wait until everyone is turned to dust in the dream realm."

The Lady could not fully understand, but she believed everything the President said.

The man reached out, as if to grasp a ray of sunlight.

He smiled and said, "It’s been an era."

"Humans have nurtured themselves for nearly a thousand years. They should awaken and face reality."

"Today’s youth are too soft."

"They haven’t endured the baptism of the Dark Era, indeed they remain somewhat indecisive."

"They even dare not rouse people from the dream realm to uncover the truth of the world. If those elder figures who have passed knew, they would surely be heartbroken."

The Lady still did not understand.

But the President no longer felt like explaining, he said softly, "We are going to ring the bell for humanity."

"Whether it’s a warning bell."

"Or a death knell."

"They can no longer remain asleep. A relic of the old days is about to awaken!..."

"The sunshine here is so warm."

"But this is not reality."

.........