CHAPTER 213: CHAPTER 213 – A BURDEN ON HER BACK, A PROMISE AHEAD

Sylvia stood in the middle of the rocky plain, still littered with ash and the stench of charred flesh. The Nether Flame around her body had vanished, the chains that had just slaughtered the priests and paladins withdrawn into the Void, though they still trembled faintly as if hungry for more.

Her crimson eyes fixed on the west the direction she knew those holy men had come from.

The Church.

A single word that sent cold fury coursing through her chest.

She could march now, step after Void Step, until she reached their sanctum and drown it in violet fire.

But her feet stopped.

Behind her, Alicia was still struggling to stay upright, staggering, her staff fractured nearly in two. Stacia leaned weakly against stone, face pale, lips bluish, blood dripping steadily from her wounded arm.

Sylvia turned. Her gaze softened.

Anger could wait.

But they her sisters could not.

She walked back to them. The crunch of her boots on blood-stained snow echoed sharply in the silence after battle. Alicia looked up, her weary eyes brightening faintly at Sylvia’s approach. Stacia could barely move, her eyelids fluttering under the weight of exhaustion and blood loss.

"You fools," Sylvia murmured not with anger, but with a gentle rebuke.

Alicia managed a faint smile, though blood streaked her lips. "We... just wanted to prove ourselves. Looks like we’re still far too weak, huh?"

Sylvia crouched, brushing aside Alicia’s disheveled blonde hair with her fingers. "You don’t need to prove anything. I already know how precious you both are."

Her gaze shifted to Stacia. The girl stirred faintly, a broken whisper leaving her lips. "Syl...via... sorry... I... wasn’t strong enough to hold them..."

"Quiet," Sylvia cut in, pressing her fingers lightly to Stacia’s forehead, wiping away the cold sweat there. "You did more than enough. If I had come a moment later, I might never have seen you again. That I would never forgive."

She knew, unlike herself, Alicia and Stacia had no Queen Flesh skill with its monstrous regeneration. Their wounds could heal, but slowly. Days, even weeks.

Sylvia clicked her tongue softly. "Damn it. If only I could share that skill with you..." she muttered under her breath.

She rose, standing tall and steady. "We’re going home."

Alicia blinked. "Home? Now?"

"Yes. You’re both too weak to go on. And I won’t risk Void Steps." Sylvia glanced back, her eyes firm. "Void Steps are safe for me alone. But with two more bodies? One slip, and you could be trapped between spaces. I won’t risk it."

Alicia bit her lip, then nodded.

Sylvia crouched in front of her. "Climb on. Hold tight. You can still walk, but I won’t let you collapse on the road."

Alicia’s eyes widened. "You... want me on your back?"

"Yes. Now." Her tone was sharp, leaving no room for argument.

With a sigh, Alicia looped her arms around Sylvia’s shoulders. Her body was light too light from exhaustion. Sylvia adjusted the grip, then stood.

She bent again, this time scooping Stacia up into her arms. The girl was too weak to resist, her limp form easily gathered into a bridal carry. Sylvia pulled her cloak tighter around Stacia’s frail body to shield her from the cold.

"See?" Sylvia said softly, looking at them both. "Now you don’t need to move. Just leave everything to me."

Without waiting for a reply, she began to run.

Her boots struck the frozen earth with a steady rhythm. Snow scattered with each stride, leaving a long trail across the plain. Her strength far surpassed any mortal’s; carrying two bodies slowed her not at all.

On her back, Alicia clung tightly. The icy wind stung her face, but pressed against Sylvia, she whispered with a faint smile, "Warm..." a strange warmth, from a body that should have been cold, yet always felt safe.

In her arms, Stacia opened her eyes briefly, catching a blurred glimpse of Sylvia’s face. Calm. Focused. Yet seething with restrained fury. "Sylvia..." she murmured.

"Hm?"

"Don’t... do anything reckless. The Church... they’re not an easy foe..."

Sylvia lowered her gaze to meet hers, voice gentle. "I won’t. At least... not until you’re both healed. After that we’ll destroy them together. All three of us."

A weak smile touched Stacia’s lips before she drifted back into sleep against Sylvia’s chest.

The long journey began.

Sylvia ran on through frozen woods, down icy slopes, over abandoned caravan tracks. The sun sank, the sky shifting from pale blue to orange, then violet dusk.

By mid-journey thirty kilometers or so the night had fallen. The wind grew sharper, flecked with icy grains that cut the skin.

At last, Sylvia halted atop a small hill. In the distance, faint lights twinkled. A town. Lanterns glowing like fireflies in the dark.

Relief escaped her lips. "A town. We’ll stop there."

Alicia stirred on her back, her eyes tired but bright. "Thank goodness... I might have passed out otherwise."

Sylvia arched a brow. "You’re not allowed to faint. That’s my job."

Alicia chuckled weakly.

Slowing her pace, Sylvia approached the wooden palisade of the small town. Two guards flanking the gate stiffened as her figure emerged from the darkness a tall woman in black, carrying two pale girls, one on her back, the other in her arms.

"S-stop!" one stammered. "Who goes there?!"

Sylvia advanced, her crimson eyes glowing faintly. But she held her aura back, not wishing to cause panic. "A traveler. My sisters are wounded. We need lodging. Quickly."

The guards exchanged uneasy looks. The torchlight revealed her pale face too beautiful, too unsettling. They swallowed hard, then nodded. "Th-there’s an inn on the main road, Miss. Just straight ahead from the gate."

Sylvia gave a curt nod. "Good."

She entered. Villagers who saw her whispered, their eyes widening, but no one dared approach.

Soon she stood before a large wooden building with a sign shaped like a silver crescent moon. Silver Moon Inn.

Sylvia paused, glancing at Stacia asleep in her arms and Alicia clinging drowsily to her back.

"We’ll rest here tonight. Tomorrow... we go home."

She pushed the door open with her shoulder. A bell chimed softly overhead. Warm air greeted her firewood smoke and the smell of hot stew soothing compared to the frozen night.

Heads turned. Some drinkers froze mid-swig, others quickly looked away. The sight of a dark-dressed woman with crimson eyes carrying two unconscious girls was... unusual.

But Sylvia ignored them. She strode to the counter where a stout, gray-bearded innkeeper stood, smiling despite the unease in his eyes.

"Welcome to the Silver Moon Inn," he said in a deep, friendly voice. "What can I do for you, Miss?"

Sylvia’s gaze was steady, her long hair still dripping melted snow, eyes glowing faintly in the firelight. "A room. The largest. Now."

The innkeeper blinked, then glanced at the pale girls in her care. Worry flickered in his eyes, but also wariness. "The largest room... that would be the king suite on the second floor. Price is steep twenty silver a night. Are you "

Before he finished, Sylvia dropped a pouch on the counter. Coins clinked sharply twenty silvers, exact.

"Paid. I don’t care about the cost."

Her voice was cold, resolute, unchallengeable.

The man quickly nodded, fumbling for a key. "O-of course. Here. End of the hall, second floor. Call if you need anything."

Sylvia snatched the key, gave a curt nod, and turned away. Wooden steps groaned beneath her as she climbed, the eyes that followed quickly averting under her crimson glare.

At the hall’s end, she unlocked a door carved with a crescent moon. The smell of pine soap greeted her. The room was a spacious king-sized bed with heavy curtains, wool carpets over stone, a small round table, and a fireplace glowing faintly.

Sylvia entered, closing the door softly. She crossed to the bed, laying Stacia down first. The girl stirred, sighing faintly, but remained asleep. Sylvia drew a thick blanket over her.

Then she eased Alicia off her back. The girl tried to stand, but her knees buckled. Sylvia caught her swiftly, lowering her beside her twin.

For a long moment Sylvia just stood, watching them. Their breaths were steady, though shallow. Their faces pale but peaceful in the fire’s glow.

"...Rest," she whispered, almost like a prayer.

She tucked the blanket snugly around them both, then turned and slipped quietly from the room.

The inn’s corridor was hushed. Sylvia descended the stairs, returning to the counter where the innkeeper still waited. He shifted nervously but forced a polite smile.

"Miss... are your sisters all right? They looked "

"Badly wounded," Sylvia cut in. "Where’s the nearest apothecary?"

The man blinked, rattled by her sharp eyes. "An... apothecary? Yes, Miss. Next to the hunter’s guild hall. Just west along the main road."

Sylvia gave a short nod. "Good. I’ll go."

She turned, cloak sweeping, and strode out. The bell chimed again as the door closed.

The cold night air bit at her skin, but she didn’t slow. Her gaze caught the hunter’s guild sign ahead two swords crossed over a shield lit bright with lanterns. The building loomed larger than the homes around it, unmistakable even from afar.

A faint breath escaped her. Good. Otherwise, I’d be wandering lost in this foreign town.

Her black cloak billowed in the icy wind as she walked the cobbled street. Townsfolk stared, but none dared bar her path.

That night, she had only one goal: to find potions strong enough to speed her sisters’ recovery and to ensure they lived safely through the dawn.