Irene Decided to Die - Chapter 179
At the approaching footsteps, Burt moved swiftly. Before the two cultists could make a sound, they collapsed. His movements were impressive, a testament to his status as the King of the North, but the problem came afterward.
“Burt!”
Burt fell to his knees, collapsing in place. That seemed to be all he could manage.
‘What can I do?!’
How could they escape this situation? Irene hurriedly approached, placing her hand on Burt’s back. She poured her holy power into him, but his complexion did not improve. His body began to grow cold again. Burt shouldn’t be fighting—he was a patient who needed to rest in a warm room. But first, they had to get out of here.
But what if they encountered enemies while trying to escape?
Irene was no help in a fight. As she thought through the situation, a memory surfaced. There had been a time when animals responded when she used her holy power.
They were deep in the mountains now. Surely, there were animals living in such a vast area. There would be no harm in trying to summon help.
Leaving Burt behind, Irene quietly made her way to the cave’s entrance.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m calling for help.”
“It’s dangerous to go alone.”
Struggling to his feet, Burt followed beside her.
“It’s alright. I won’t go far.”
Irene settled in a nearby spot, clasped her hands together, and began to pray. After a while, a bird descended from the sky as if falling. It was white and fluffy, like snow.
“Help us.”
Her plea was desperate, and the bird responded. Though they didn’t share a language, Irene understood.
“Bring someone with the same energy as me here.”
The bird nodded and then took off into the sky. Beneath the dim sky, Irene saw a flock of birds, similar to the one she had just spoken to, flying together. After a brief gathering, they scattered in all directions.
The bird flew around, searching the area.
‘Someone similar.’
It spotted a few people, but none had the same energy as the saintess. They seemed to have a dark aura, so the bird flew past them.
After flying for a while, the bird finally found someone. A person in shining silver armor. The bird immediately descended and landed on top of the person’s head.
“Tweet!”
Then, without hesitation, it began tugging at the brown hair with its beak.
‘Follow me!’
“Uh, Commander?”
The bird could sense the confusion of the people around, but it didn’t care.
“Is it asking me to follow?”
The bird nodded.
“Allen, are you planning to follow it?”
Someone asked, and the young man with brown hair, Allen, responded.
“I’ve heard white birds are messengers of the goddess. From now on, we’ll change our search direction.”
It seemed the mission to find the saintess could finally be completed. The bird puffed out its chest with pride, guiding the group while perched on Allen’s head. Normally, the bird wasn’t this sharp, but in this moment, everything felt clear and vivid, thanks to the holy power.
The bird hurried Allen, ensuring they would reach the saintess before its holy power ran out.
Meanwhile, Ramiel was staring up at the sky.
“Why did you stop?”
Luciel asked, noticing Ramiel suddenly come to a halt.
“There’s a bird in the sky.”
A white bird was flying across the dim sky, but it wasn’t alone. There were quite a few of them, though it wasn’t too strange. Birds often traveled in flocks. Other than the fact that they were the white birds beloved by the goddess, there was nothing unusual.
“What’s so strange about the birds?”
“Al told me that this mountain is home to a lot of white birds.”
“Yes?”
“But they never flock together.”
At Ramiel’s words, Luciel glanced back up at the sky. The white birds, which had been flying together, were now scattering.
“You’re right, Saintess.”
At Luciel’s sudden remark, Ramiel tilted her head in confusion.
“That child, Al, was truly kind. If I had known, I would have brought them along.”
Luciel turned to those following behind and instructed them.
“Search the area beneath where the birds were gathered. And kill any white birds you see.”
The real issue now was who could reach the saintess first. If they missed this opportunity, there might not be another. No one would be foolish enough to let a saintess in danger escape again.
“I’ll join the search as well.”
“And what about me?”
“Saintess, you must flee. You are our last light and hope.”
Luciel smiled as he kissed the back of Ramiel’s hand. Then, he immediately vanished from the spot, using his specialty: teleportation.
