Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1128 - 241: Decades of Solitude

Chapter 1128: Chapter 241: Decades of Solitude

"You’re talking about... Lady Nellie?" Catherine’s fists clenched tightly, her eyes filled with anticipation yet tinged with disbelief, her lips almost pierced by her own teeth, her voice trembling as she spoke, "Could it be that Lady Nellie controlled the Undead that attacked my grandfather’s team?"

"It definitely wasn’t me controlling those two Undead, so there can only be one answer," Pannis sighed, "The only possibility is that Nellie controlled two Demigod Rank skeletons, fighting the old expedition team in the way we are accustomed to."

"How could this be possible? Lady Nellie had no reason to do such a thing. What was her purpose in attacking the expedition team?" As Catherine posed her own question, something suddenly occurred to her, her eyes brightened, and she said excitedly, "I understand now, she did it to protect this world. She knew the Divine Servants wanted to use my grandfather’s team to find the Temple of Danacus, so she launched the attack. Yes, it must be so; she didn’t harm anyone. From start to finish, her target was locked on the two Undead Mages of the Divine Servants because she knew that by killing those two Undead Mages, my grandfather’s team would lose the means to find the Temple of Danacus. She truly is the greatest hero, still fighting for the safety of the world even at this time."

"You guessed right, if those Undead were indeed controlled by Nellie, her purpose must have been just that," Pannis said with a bitter smile, "To protect this world, she would spare no effort; such is the fate of a Guardian Knight."

"Indeed, this is the fate of a Guardian Knight," Catherine couldn’t help but puff out her chest, speaking seriously and firmly, "I have sworn countless times to emulate Lady Nellie and be a true Guardian Knight, even if it means sacrificing my own life. Maybe my strength isn’t enough to do all this now, but I will still constantly strive towards her example."

"No, you have already done it," Dillie, who had been an observer all this time, suddenly spoke up, "Ever since you—I mean, ever since you agreed without hesitation to accompany Kyle and me here, in our eyes, you have been as brave as Nellie. That hasn’t changed despite the difference in your strengths."

"But compared to Lady Nellie, I am still far behind; at least I can’t manage to protect this world even in death." Mentioning Nellie, Catherine naturally entered a state of frenzy, her reaction speed seemingly dropped until she suddenly realized, and widening her eyes in disbelief, she said, "Wait, why would it be Lady Nellie? She already... already... passed away, didn’t she? How could she still be controlling the Undead, fighting against the Divine Servants’ Undead Mages? Could it be that she is actually still... still alive?"

"No one can answer that question for you." Dillie glanced at Pannis, noticed his reluctance to explain, and reluctantly muttered a few words, "That battle ended when the God Soul Fragment burst into Nellie’s body, and she thrust the lance into her own heart to end it. Afterward, hey, Kyle, are you really okay? Maybe you should tell them about this later, if we keep going, I’m worried you might not hold up."

"I’m alright, keep going," Pannis said with a distracted spirit, his complexion unusually pale. He slowly sat down, hanging his head, his voice like the last moan of a dying animal, "It’s time they knew. Don’t worry about me; I can handle this level of shock. I haven’t spoken about it not only because I can’t face it again but also because I was in chaos during those last moments and unclear about the details; thus, it might be clearer if those of you who experienced it firsthand recount it."

"True, you weren’t very clear about what happened at the time," Dillie nodded his head, secretly observing Pannis who claimed to be alright, sat motionless on the ground like a stone statue. The scorpion-tailed lion shook his head with a rueful smile, resigning to tell the girls, "Almost at the same time, the God Soul Fragment burst into Nellie’s body, she also pierced her own body, putting herself in a near-death state, and dealing a devastating blow to the God Soul Fragment attempting to occupy her body. Danacus’s scheme not only failed but also put him in a desperate situation, leading him to want to take revenge. His method of revenge was to use the Death Curse against Kyle, intending to kill Nellie’s lover in her final moments. But at the last moment, Nellie’s will controlled her body, choosing not to save herself but to reverse the Death Curse, so Kyle has been able to live on without aging until now. Of course, these are deductions we made from their actions afterward, whether this was what they thought at the time can only be confirmed by asking Danacus and Nellie themselves."

"I think, Lady Nellie must have thought this way," Catherine’s gaze fixed on the bowed head of Pannis, as gentle as ripples on a lake, she softly spoke, "If there was only one thing to be done at that moment, Lady Nellie would certainly choose to reverse the Death Curse. There’s no doubt about it, because... we all would make the same choice."

"That’s why he should be burned to death, explode, you bastard." Dillie muttered in a language only he understood, then continued, "After that, everything happened very fast, so fast there was no time to react. At that time, we were fighting with the Soul of Danacus in an Alternate Space within the Realm of the Dead; if the Realm of the Dead is considered his Divine Kingdom, then that Alternate Space was like a palace formed by Grimreaper Power within the Divine Kingdom. After Danacus suffered a devastating blow, the Alternate Space completely shattered, and we were all ejected into the temple of the Realm of the Dead, while the near-fallen soul and the dying Nellie, who had been controlled by the divine soul, stayed in the Alternate Space, never to appear again. After returning to the Realm of the Dead, we were unable to return to that Alternate Space, and Golden Dragon Mina sensed that the Gates of Death that connected the Yarran World and the Realm of the Dead were slowly closing. We had to make a choice, whether to leave quickly. At that time, Kyle’s spirit was nearly broken, and we had all gotten used to following his commands, so nobody really had any Ideas. In the end, it was Mina who made the decision, leading us through the Gates of Death back to the Living World."

"Wait a minute, if that’s the case, how do you know the divine soul was close to falling?" Catherine, true to being a knight, questioned not why they hadn’t continued trying to rescue Nellie. For seasoned adventurers, in a situation where sacrifices were necessary, they wouldn’t foolishly waste the precious time and opportunity bought by the sacrifice. Therefore, she only questioned their objective; these people, who put their lives on the line and dared to enter the Realm of the Dead to challenge an evil deity, would certainly not flee out of fear before achieving their goal. They must have had sufficient reason to believe the task had been completed. Thus, Catherine pressed, "You can’t be sure of that just because the Alternate Space shattered."

"First off, it was the Gates of Death slowly closing; second, it was the undead outside the temple falling in droves," Dillie explained, "Both the Gates of Death and the presence of no-end-in-sight undead were a manifestation of Danacus’ will. With no external force involved, the closing of the Gates of Death and the undead returning to quiescence demonstrated that Danacus’ will had once again fallen into slumber. Even if not truly fallen, it would be very difficult to awaken again. That was Kyle’s purpose in leading us into the Death World, but unfortunately..."

"So, that’s how it was." Catherine glanced again at Pannis, who still maintained his previous posture, his hair almost unmoved. Catherine sighed, exchanging looks with several other girls, wanting to comfort him, yet not knowing how to begin; in the end, all she could say dryly was, "Actually, it was Lady Nellie’s own choice; she would never regret it."

"Don’t comfort me." Pannis suddenly lifted his head, his voice deep, "I am not saddened by Nellie’s sacrifice; having chosen this path, we were naturally prepared to sacrifice at any moment. If it were just that, I would certainly not be despondent now over her sacrificing her life, nor would I have become disheartened by her death back then. Remember what I always said when we first met? I am a sinner; that is the reason I was disheartened back then. As for my sin, ha."

Seeing Pannis shake his head weakly, Catherine knew he didn’t want to continue, and being a considerate girl, she of course wouldn’t pry for more details. However, she noticed another issue, staring at Dillie as she asked, "If that’s the case, Lady Nellie should indeed have died, right? Stabbed through the heart and possessed by a divine soul, there’s no way she could have survived. Then how could she possibly control the undead and attack the previous expedition team?"

"Thus, there’s only one explanation," Dillie looked at the girls and then turned to Pannis, seemingly struggling to find the right words, and finally just lifted his head and howled, plainly answering, "Clearly, the only explanation is that Nellie’s consciousness had not completely vanished, at least during your grandfather’s era, part of her consciousness still remained, allowing her to use the Grimreaper’s power to control a small number of undead. However, whether her will still exists now, and if so, how much remains, are very pessimistic matters, at least judging by the behavior of the Divine Servant."

"I really hope Lady Nellie’s will is still fully intact now," Catherine imagined everything that had happened in the past, momentarily dazed, but suddenly her expression turned extremely grim and her lips paled, she said hoarsely, "If her will was still preserved in my grandfather’s era, then could it be..."

"Yes," Pannis finally moved, covering his face in anguish, "Decades of loneliness."