Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 434 - Chapter 434 Chapter 435 Its Snowing

Chapter 434: Chapter 435: It’s Snowing Chapter 434: Chapter 435: It’s Snowing His towering figure dissipated amidst the clouds.

The wind calmed down. It would take time for the smoke to fade, and as the shadows retreated, they left behind a City-State scarred and battered.

“There are survivors here too! It’s a little girl!”

An excited shout broke the tranquility of the cemetery. A City-State Guard opened the large door of the watch house and discovered a girl curled up inside.

The chilly wind, mixed with the smell of gunpowder, blew into the room from outside. Annie, somewhat confused, looked up to see a black-clad guard at the door. In a daze, she thought she saw another figure appear behind the young soldier, a hunched figure with an always brooding gaze.

She got up in confusion and subconsciously stepped forward, stumbling towards the door, trying to grasp at the stooping figure.

She lunged at nothing, her foot wobbled, and then she felt someone grab her collar from behind–the guard had caught the girl who tried to run past him but nearly fell. He bent down again, “Are you all right, girl–what’s your name? Why are you in the cemetery?”

Yet, as if she hadn’t heard the voice beside her, Annie just looked up and slowly surveyed the surroundings, searching for the old man she had just seen.

Not far away, the stooping old man had turned his back to her and waved his hand, then slowly walked towards a path deep in the cemetery. At the end of that path, a remarkably tall figure loomed.

This figure, clad in a pitch-black robe reminiscent of the night sky, had his body wrapped in bandages, holding a staff carved from dried wood; his appearance seemed… just like the Tomb Guardians depicted in the church books standing in front of Bartok’s gate.

The old man approached the guardian. They appeared to briefly exchange a few words and then vanished together like apparitions at the end of the path.

Annie stared in that direction, standing quietly in the cold wind, neither crying nor moving.

The black-clad guard beside her was a bit worried, “What’s the matter? Little girl? What are you looking for?”

“Perhaps she’s looking for this.” Another voice suddenly came from the nearby path, accompanied by the sound of boots crunching on the snow.

Annie instinctively turned her head.

A Nun walked towards her, holding two items–a severely damaged cane and a familiar-looking shotgun.

“Your protector is no longer here,” the Nun stopped in front of Annie and crouched down slowly, placing the two items on the ground, “Sadly, we can’t arrange for you to see him again–there are only ashes at the scene.”

Annie stared intently at the cane and shotgun on the ground. After a few seconds, she bent down, picked them up, and carefully held them in her arms.

“I know,” she murmured softly, “the Tomb Guardian grandfather went with the gatekeeper…”

“Don’t touch the gun,” the black-clad guard instinctively reached out to stop her, “it’s dangerous…”

“There are no bullets left,” the Nun shook her head and whispered, “let her hold it for a while, they might have known each other.”

The guard hesitated, withdrew his hand, then turned to survey the cemetery.

Filthy, dry black mud covered the area around the path, surrounding the guardian’s hut, mixing with the dirty snow, blanketing the entire cemetery.

How many monsters had tried to attack this place, and how much filth had fallen into the snow here? Now that the shadows had retreated, everything… seemed unknowable.

A slight and cool touch suddenly came, and the guardian looked up to see snowflakes slowly descending from the sky–not ashes, but actual snow.

Accompanying these drifting snowflakes was a trace of brilliance in the sky, the light of the sun–dark clouds obscured it, but that hazy light still asserted its presence.

The sun had returned.

The rumbling sound of steam machinery running grew closer from outside the cemetery. A steam vehicle stopped outside the gate, and a squad of City-State Guards nearby, noticing the activity, approached the vehicle and then saluted in astonishment to the person descending from it.

Footsteps approached the watch house, and the young black-clad guard, seeing who was approaching, immediately turned and saluted, then spoke with a hint of confusion, “Gatekeeper, you are…”

“I am here to check the status of the cemeteries.”

Annie, who had been distracting herself with the cane and shotgun, heard the voice nearby and finally started from her daze. She instinctively looked towards the source of the sound.

A lady in a black clerical robe stood on the path.

Her pale skin was surrounded by a serene yet cold aura–Annie could not yet understand what this aura was, but it reminded her of the cold fog at sea. At the same time, she noticed that the lady’s exposed skin bore numerous wounds, large and small, yet no blood flowed from them, much like… a cracked doll.

The lady’s eyes were covered with black cloth.

Although the lady seemed to be blind, Annie felt as though her “gaze” was on her–a calm and gentle look, penetrating the thick black cloth, watching her.

It took Annie a long time to recognize the lady.

The lady had evidently recognized her from the start.

“I know you, you are Annie,” Agatha bent down, gently rubbed Annie’s head, and then her gaze fell on the shotgun and cane in the girl’s hand. She fell silent for two seconds, stood and said to the clergyman following behind her, “The areas surrounding the mines were the first to be invaded. The cemeteries encircling the upper city’s mining district held back a massive influx of monsters towards the surrounding streets.”

“All the Tomb Guardians and those stationed around the cemeteries were almost entirely killed in battle,” the nun slowly said, “The City-State Guards in this area also suffered heavy losses.”

Agatha listened silently, then muttered a silent prayer.

“Tomb Guardian,” the black-clad guard couldn’t help but speak, “Now, with many dead and injured in the City-State, we must be vigilant against secondary disasters like death, fear, and obsession. We may need several large-scale soul-soothing ceremonies, and the cathedral hasn’t yet…”

“I am currently acting in the Archbishop’s duties, so don’t worry about the soul-soothing ceremonies,” Agatha spoke calmly, “Bishop Ivan has already departed; he has a new journey.”

The black-clad guard paused, a shocked and hard-to-accept expression briefly appearing in his eyes, and it seemed that only at that moment had he noticed the change in Agatha’s attire–

The Tomb Guardian had shed her coat, which represented military strength, and instead donned a robe, more indicative of a cleric’s role.

This symbolized a change in her identity and duties.

“Don’t worry, I still carry the Tomb Guardian’s responsibilities, and I also still command the guardian forces until the church headquarters selects a new Archbishop or a new Tomb Guardian to take my place. By then, I might become the formal Bishop of the City-State,” Agatha, though blind, seemed to still have a keen gaze. She noticed the reaction of her subordinate and patiently explained, “At this stage, maintaining order in the City-State is paramount.”

“Yes… Tomb Guardian.”

The young black-clad guard bowed his head, hesitated briefly, but then chose to address his superior as “Tomb Guardian,” the name he was familiar with.

Agatha did not mind these trivial matters and turned her “gaze” back to Annie.

“Go home,” she said gently, “Your mother is safe, and she is waiting for you.”

Annie hesitated for a moment at first but immediately nodded her head when Agatha mentioned her mother.

However, just as she was preparing to leave with the guardians, she suddenly stopped.

“The Tomb Guardian… just now followed the Tomb Guardian,” she looked up at Agatha, “Ah, I mean the Tomb Guardian from ‘the other side’ mentioned in the books.”

Agatha slightly frowned.

Annie, thinking Agatha did not believe her, quickly raised her hand, pointing toward the path deep in the cemetery: “He left through there…”

Agatha raised her head, thoughtfully looking in the direction Annie was pointing.

In the position of her eyes covered by black cloth, a faint green glow seemed to flicker momentarily.

After a moment, she lowered her head and looked into Annie’s eyes.

“Do you… want to become a guardian?”

Annie was slightly startled, seemingly not quite understanding what that meant.

But after a few seconds, she seemed to vaguely grasp it: “Like you or the Tomb Guardian?”

“That might require many years,” Agatha’s face seemed to show a hint of a smile, then she gently shook her head, “Don’t think too much about it now. These things seem a bit early to discuss–go home first. If you truly wish to become a guardian, you at least need to pass the entry level of the church school.”

Annie seemingly understood, then reluctantly handed her shotgun and cane to the black-clad guard beside her.

“If I become a guardian… can I have the Tomb Guardian’s shotgun and cane?”

She suddenly turned her head, looking seriously at Agatha.

After a moment, Agatha gently nodded: “If you still feel the same way in three years, I agree.”

Annie left.

The cemetery returned to its usual calm.

“Are you serious? That child is still too young, and it’s hard to see any potential that requires more than just graduating from the routine training for guardians…”

“She can see the guides from the world of the dead,” Agatha calmly watched the path at the end of the cemetery, speaking slowly, “just like I could back then.”

The young black-clad guard no longer spoke.

Beside them, the nun hesitated again and again but finally couldn’t help but look at Agatha worriedly: “Your body, after all…”

“It’s okay,” Agatha shook her head and spoke softly, “Some things happened, and this vessel has just been damaged.”