Nick: "..."

[Wipe your hands on my shirt, Silvanus. I’ve been chasing after you for fifty years!]

[What a mean cat... but I like him so much.]

[That hairpin looks really good on you, sweetheart.]

[I really thought we were about to get a romantic scene...]

[Don’t overthink it. Silvanus was comforting Nick just now. It’s just that his way of comforting people isn’t exactly... normal!]

The comment section instantly became lively again. Nick sniffled, wiped away his tears, then looked up at Silvanus with wide eyes.

"So, what should we do next?" he asked softly. "I’ve been looking for Daisy all day, but I still can’t find her anywhere."

It was as though the story had already been set in stone. They would only be able to see Daisy at tomorrow night’s ball.

According to the diary, it was at that magnificent ball that Daisy was forced into the true beginning of her nightmare. She would be kidnapped, tortured, and turned into nothing more than a plaything for a group of demons in the most literal sense.

Judging by the current situation, tomorrow was most likely the crucial turning point.

"We save Daisy," Silvanus said quietly.

Hearing that, Nick couldn’t help thinking of the hideous boss waiting outside. A trace of hesitation flickered across his face.

As if sensing his thoughts, Silvanus raised his eyes to meet Nick’s and said softly, "No matter what she looks like now, are you really going to stand by and watch her suffer the fate we already read about?"

Truthfully, even Silvanus didn’t know why they had been pulled into this world. Perhaps everything was nothing more than part of this dungeon’s script. Even so, Daisy’s fate had been written with heartbreaking cruelty.

Nick nodded firmly. "Don’t worry. I won’t let those people lay a finger on Daisy."

Silvanus looked at Nick before suddenly raising a hand. His voice carried a faintly gloomy tone.

"You useless fool. Where is His grant?"

Hearing that, Nick couldn’t help recalling the disaster he had gone through. He pouted.

"I almost died! Can’t you worry about me instead of that?"

Silvanus frowned.

Nick immediately shivered a little and stammered, "I didn’t want it to happen either, but it was too dangerous, so it activated on its own. I don’t even know how to trigger it. Back then, I really thought I was dead..."

Nick was still desperately trying to explain himself when he suddenly felt a weight settle on top of his head.

The next moment, a shower of brilliant golden light descended. Countless shimmering motes danced before his eyes, reflecting like a tiny galaxy in his light brown irises.

Then Silvanus’s emotionless voice sounded.

"In any case, I won’t give you another chance to trouble Him."

Nick didn’t even bother listening to what Silvanus had just said. All he knew was that Silvanus had just granted him a blessing!

He immediately grabbed the hand still resting on his head and happily shook it back and forth.

"I could fight ten battles in a row now without any problem! Daisy will be safe tomorrow!"

Silvanus looked at Nick’s delighted expression, unable to understand why he was so happy. He withdrew his hand, then tapped Nick lightly on the chest.

"Get out."

Nick stared at Silvanus with obvious reluctance for a moment longer before finally turning to leave. The way he looked back every two steps left Silvanus completely speechless.

In a place where death lurked around every corner, people really did become easily dependent on those who helped them.

Silvanus could even feel the faith points pouring in like a flood every time he lent Nick even the slightest bit of assistance.

He was using Nick.

In return, even if it cost him his life, he would never let Nick remain trapped in this place.

[Silvanus isn’t even a God. How can he grant blessings?]

[I seriously can’t imagine just how much Erebus favors him.]

[Still, being able to bestow that much power upon his Priest... Erebus really is on another level.]

[Exactly! He even managed to take Silvanus away right under Happy TV Network’s nose. That’s absolutely terrifying.]

[Why can’t the artists read the fans’ comments in this place? This is so frustrating!]

Silvanus glanced at the ruined scene before him for a moment before jumping down from the table and heading back to his room.

However, the moment he stepped outside, he heard the faint sound of weeping.

It was indistinct, yet it lingered mournfully in the air, as though someone were playing a sorrowful melody on a stringed instrument.

Under normal circumstances, people would probably feel sympathy for the owner of that crying voice.

But now, moonlight blanketed the ruins. The dense trees swayed endlessly in the wind. There was not a single person in sight, yet the sobbing seemed to draw closer and closer to his ears.

In a situation like this...

Silvanus felt that it would be better to pity himself first.

He also couldn’t help wondering whether Nick had encountered something similar earlier.

With that thought in mind, Silvanus searched the ruins with his eyes.

Behind the only room that had not collapsed, right beside the edge of the forest, he spotted a young woman dressed in white crouching on the ground with her back facing him.

Her black hair was so long that it nearly trailed across the earth. It looked smooth and glossy, as though coated in wax.

Under the moonlight, her skin was so pale that it was impossible to tell whether her dress or her skin was whiter.

Yet rather than making her beautiful, it only added to the sense of strangeness and unease.

Her shoulders trembled continuously.

The mournful sobbing was indeed coming from her.

Silvanus looked at the girl, then lifted his gaze toward the pitch-black forest ahead. In the end, he simply turned around and left.

[...]

[Hahaha, so decisive, my beloved husband!]

[That’s exactly how it should be. Just looking at her gives me goosebumps. I was seriously afraid she’d suddenly turn around and reveal some horrifying face...]

[Stop describing it!]

Silvanus’s footsteps were light yet resolute as he walked straight out of the demolition area.

Before long, however, he sensed that something was wrong.

The road ahead was completely unobstructed, yet no matter how long he walked, he could not step into the magnificent campus buildings.

Suddenly, the tip of his shoe struck a broken piece of brick.

Silvanus’s gaze darkened as he looked at the ruins before him—the very place he should have left behind long ago.

The mournful crying still lingered heavily in the air.

It even seemed to be growing louder and louder, openly announcing its presence.