Winter arrived, and snow fell upon the Holy Sanctuary.
It was not a heavy snowfall, but it draped the solemn, somber city in a veil of pure white.
Standing on high ground and looking out over the city, the view felt unexpectedly refreshing.
Cecilia, of course, wanted to come out and see the snow.
She had arrived early at Lu Mo’s residence and pulled her out the door.
Yuxia had intended to stake out Lu Mo’s home again today, but upon seeing Cecilia holding Lu Mo’s hand as they walked down the street, she watched them from a distance.
She gave a helpless smile and turned away.
She did want a good fight with Lu Mo, it was true.
But she had no intention of ruining the time shared between Lu Mo and Cecilia.
“Have fun,” she whispered.
***
“It is truly rare. I never expected it to snow in the Holy Sanctuary.”
“I know, right?”
“After gaining the color of the snow, this city actually looks quite a bit cuter,” Cecilia added.
It was indeed true.
With the addition of the bright white, the overall tone of the Holy Sanctuary did not feel quite so dark anymore.
The snow, neither shallow nor thick, covered many parts of the city. The edges of the buildings were blurred by the snow, lending them a sense of softness. The surface of the lake had frozen into a thick sheet of ice, reflecting the blue sky and clouds like a mirror. The barren branches were wrapped in a pale silver, transforming into the jeweled trees of legends. Whenever the wind blew, snowflakes fell with a soft rustling sound.
It was an indescribable sense of peace and tranquility.
It allowed people to temporarily forget that they were on the front lines of a war against the Demon race.
Boys and girls darted through the streets, building snowmen or having snowball fights. Their cheeks were flushed red, and they laughed as they ran.
Perhaps this was one of the few moments of pure, happy light they could find in this city.
They spotted two young girls running past them.
The girl in the lead was slightly older and more outgoing; she looked back over her shoulder and made a face at the figure behind her. “Catch me if you can, slowpoke!”
The girl behind her was quite a bit younger. Her short legs scrambled hard, yet she could not catch up to her companion.
She clutched a snowball tightly in her hand, her eyes welling with tears. “Waa… Big sister is being mean again! Stop running!”
They dashed through the next street and disappeared from sight.
Watching the two little girls run past, Lu Mo and Cecilia seemed to recall their own pasts and smiled faintly.
Over 10 years had passed in the blink of an eye.
Yet the time they spent climbing over walls to play in the corners of The Manor felt as if it were only yesterday.
“Cecilia.”
Lu Mo suddenly felt a spark of mischief and secretly scooped up a handful of snow.
When Cecilia turned her head, Lu Mo suddenly tossed it lightly at her.
“???”
Before Cecilia could recover from the surprise, Lu Mo had already started running ahead.
“N-no! You aren’t allowed to run!”
Moments later, Cecilia gave chase, scooping up snow from beside her to form a snowball, which she threw at the figure in front of her.
They seemed to have become childish in that moment.
But both of them laughed from the bottom of their hearts.
***
Before long, as if they had played themselves to exhaustion, they stopped running.
Not far away was a snack stall. Lu Mo went over and bought two portions, returning to Cecilia’s side shortly after.
The fragrance of the fried food made Cecilia’s eyes light up instantly.
Just as she was about to take the food from Lu Mo, she felt as if someone was watching her.
Looking in the direction of the gaze, both of them saw a young boy holding a little girl’s hand. They were staring blankly at the food in their hands, swallowing hard.
Both the boy and girl were thin, wearing rags for clothes.
“…”
Cecilia was doing her best to overcome her craving for the fried food.
At that moment, Lu Mo stepped ahead of her and walked toward the children.
The boy pulled the girl’s hand and stepped back in alarm.
The next moment, he was astonished to see Lu Mo smile at him and reach out with the food.
“Would you like to try some?”
It seemed like the first time the boy had encountered such kindness, and he looked overwhelmed by the gesture.
“Th-thank you…”
He spoke, trembling as he accepted the food from Lu Mo.
“Here is mine as well, take it.”
Cecilia had reached Lu Mo’s side by then and offered her own portion.
The boy accepted it with gratitude.
He divided the food for his younger sister, and the two began to eat in small bites, a happy smile gradually spreading across their faces.
“Thank you, kind ladies…” the boy said, offering his thanks.
“Th-thank you, big sisters…” the little girl mimicked her brother, speaking to the two.
“You’re welcome,” Cecilia replied with a smile. “Aren’t you cold dressed like that?”
When asked, the boy looked visibly awkward. “N-no, we are not cold…”
Though he said this, their frost-bitten red cheeks and slightly trembling bodies gave them away.
“Where are your mom and dad?”
“They… died in battle,” the boy said in a small voice, bowing his head.
“D-died…” the little girl echoed her brother, but she did not show much sorrow.
Now, it was Cecilia’s turn to feel guilty.
It seemed she had accidentally brought up a very heavy subject.
“Um, I am sorry…” she said apologetically.
“It, it is okay!” The boy immediately waved his hands upon hearing Cecilia’s apology.
“Did the Holy Sanctuary not send you back to your parents’ hometown or family?” Lu Mo asked.
“No,” the boy shook his head. “They do not care about us, and I do not know where my parents’ hometown is…”
“Have you ever thought about what you want to do in the future?”
“…Kill the Demon race.”
“And after you kill the Demon race?”
“…”
The boy suddenly did not know how to answer.
It seemed he had never thought of anything other than killing the Demon race.
Or rather, he knew nothing else besides that.
After that, Lu Mo did not discuss such topics with the boy.
Cecilia bought them another portion of food and secretly tucked a few gold coins into the wrapping.
The boy was unaware of this; he simply took the food, took his sister’s hand, and thanked them before saying goodbye.
The two turned and walked away, their figures soon disappearing into the slightly dirty, chaotic alley.
Lu Mo and Cecilia watched the alley for a long time in silence.
“Children like that are everywhere, aren’t they?” Lu Mo said.
“Yes…” Cecilia replied. “But whenever I think about how they live in a city like the Holy Sanctuary, I feel that fate is even more cruel to them.”
“No one pays attention to them, no one cares whether they live or die, and no one tells them that there is much more to life than just killing the Demon race.”
“For example… things that bring joy, things worth cherishing, beautiful things.”
Actually, it was not just those two children.
Inside the Holy Sanctuary, there were many such figures.
No one paid them any mind.
They felt a deep sense of powerlessness over their own fates.
Just like long ago, when Cecilia looked at the fate that destined her to become a Saintess.
“Sometimes, this world is just that cruel,” Lu Mo said.
Cecilia nodded.
“But I want… to make it a little less cruel,” she whispered.
Just as it was in the Saintess Academy when she saw the towns destroyed by the Demon race.
Although she could not change her own fate.
She wanted to change the fate of others.
Like the boy and girl from just now.
Like those ignored figures living in pain within the Holy Sanctuary.
“Then work hard, and live until the end of this war.”
Lu Mo said this and suddenly ruffled Cecilia’s hair. “If the Demon King is killed, the Holy Sanctuary will no longer have to bear such a heavy burden.”
“The situation for those children will also be much better than it is now.”
“At least… they will not live lives that only know how to kill the Demon race or be killed by them.”
“And after that, you can become a high-ranking member of The Holy Sanctuary, possessing the power and authority to change the fate of others.”
“Of course, if you become successful, do not forget about me,” Lu Mo added.
“That goes without saying!” Cecilia replied immediately. “I will never forget you, Ms. Lu Mo. Not even if I die.”
“Then, do your best,” Lu Mo said.
“Yes!” Cecilia nodded earnestly, her eyes curving into lovely crescents under Lu Mo’s touch.
And right at that moment—
“Woooo—”
“Woooo—”
“Woooo—”
A series of alarms rang out repeatedly.
The two looked toward the outer wall in front of them, only to see the formation on the outer wall of the Holy Sanctuary explode with an unprecedented blood-red light!
“Red…”
Lu Mo’s eyes narrowed.
She knew what the red color of the formation represented.
It was the highest level of crisis alert!
The formation… had detected a threat of extreme power!
“Red alert?”
“What is going on? Is the Demon race trying to siege the city?”
“But, there is clearly nothing outside the wall—”
“ROAR—”
Before anyone could react, the next instant, a terrifying whistling sound came from outside the wall!
They looked up, only to see the sky outside the wall split in two by a terrifying energy!
The entire space was shattering and twisting!
That energy slammed against the outer wall of the Holy Sanctuary!
“BOOM—”
A deafening roar erupted. Everyone felt as if their eardrums were being torn and their brains were buzzing.
The outer wall of the Holy Sanctuary shook violently, and countless cracks spread across the formation.
But the wall, in the end, did not break.
“It… it held?” someone looked up, trembling as they spoke.
Just as they were about to breathe a sigh of relief, a second strike erupted from the extreme distance!
Although it was not as terrifying as the first, it still tore the space apart and slammed into the outer wall with full force!
This time, the outer wall could finally no longer hold, and the formation completely collapsed!
The wall was blown wide open, leaving a huge hole!
A terrifying demonic aura rampaged through, and countless huge chunks of the wall began to rain down upon the crowd below!
One of those chunks was falling directly toward the spot where Lu Mo and Cecilia stood!
“Watch out—”
Lu Mo called out, immediately shielding Cecilia as her transcendent power erupted.
“BOOM—”
The massive chunk crashed down, instantly flattening everything around them.
The terrifying weight collided with Lu Mo’s power.
…
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