Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1209 - 321: Wine

Chapter 1209: Chapter 321: Wine

Theoretically, the Death Temple should have been empty. The moribunds and Undead Mages within had already been confirmed dead, and the ghouls, which relied on the moribunds’ Energy of Death to maintain their vitality, had also perished automatically following the death of the moribunds. Therefore, only silence remained in the temple. Of course, one could not completely discount the possibility of Undead Mages hiding inside the temple, but the likelihood was minimal. After all, the final battle had the moribunds summoning all available forces, even involving Silver Rank Undead Mages in combat, leaving little probability of others left behind as a reserve force. Given the Undead Mages’ obedience to the moribunds, it was equally improbable they would defy orders to secretly hide, and in the temple, even if they wanted to conceal themselves, they couldn’t escape the moribunds’ perception. Thus, theoretically, there shouldn’t have been anything within the temple able to move freely.

However, under the cover of night, the main doors of the temple opened from the inside—an eerie change that sent chills down the spines of the young women. Strong as they were, they were still women, and unexplained, unknown phenomena always produced an inexplicable unease. However, in the next instant, the girls regained their composure. Had the opened door been empty, their unease might have persisted for a few more seconds, but this was not the case. As the doors opened, a figure slowly emerged, and the discomfort brought by the unknown swiftly dissipated, returning everything to normal.

Pannis, too, shifted from his alert state back to calm, again adopting a leisurely demeanor. Seeing his reaction, although still unsure why someone would emerge from the temple, Kyle’s trust allowed Dillie to relax from his defensive stance and lie back down by the campfire, letting the heat of the flames continue to soothe his injured body.

"Well, well, still alive, huh, little one?" Pannis waved lazily, "I must say, you truly surprised me this time. Care to sit down?"

"Indeed, it’s surprising. We all thought you had left as well," Catherine stood up and moved a few steps forward, seemingly welcoming yet deftly positioning the weakened Vivian and the unconscious Ava behind her. She nodded respectfully, "Actually, seeing you just now stirred mixed feelings in me. I’m genuinely glad you’re alive, yet it also makes me uneasy and distressed. Can you understand that, Ms. Matilda?"

Despite Catherine’s slightly hostile demeanor, Matilda, who was a ghoul, merely responded with a gentle smile, walking to a spot not far from the fire without any guard up, consciously keeping a safe distance, knelt by the fire, and spoke softly, "Not just you, we were surprised too. After the two Archbishops died, all four of us simultaneously felt the Power of Death that sustained us rapidly vanishing. We thought we were going to die too and were prepared to accept our fate, but, unexpectedly, all four of us survived."

"Does this mean that not all three moribunds actually died?" Pannis asked, "Or is there one still surviving? No, that’s unlikely."

"Indeed, the Archbishops are all dead," Matilda shook her head, "But just before our bodies disintegrated, they received a new supply of the Energy of Death, allowing us to survive. And this Energy of Death came from our lord’s Divine Sign. You might know what that means."

"A gift from the Grimreaper?" Pannis speculated thoughtfully, "Since you’ve been fortunate enough to survive, you should cherish life more and have stayed hidden within the temple until we left. Why come out and let us know? You must be aware of our attitude towards Divine Servants."

"But, the Divine Servants are extinct now, and we never participated in any malevolent ceremonies, nor will we in the future. We are just a few believers in death now," Matilda continued calmly, "So, even though the war between you and our lord isn’t over, we believe that you won’t punish us ordinary believers for that."

"True, the war hasn’t ended," Pannis said again noncommittally, "So, what do you four plan on doing?"

"We will stay in the temple, waiting for the war to end," Matilda answered candidly, "This is the Oracle decreed by our lord and also our desire. We will remain here until after the war ends. If our lord indeed falls again, we will naturally lose our lives again. But as long as our lord’s Divinity remains, someone needs to rightly guide the faith in our lord. It is better for us to guide than for those unknown believers still hidden in the world to misinterpret the will of our lord, wouldn’t you agree?"

"Maybe so, I’m not sure about that part, but I can assure you that you indeed haven’t meant any harm to us from the first meeting. If we were to act according to your advice, it could indeed save us more trouble," Pannis nodded, "If you truly act as you’ve promised, allowing you four to stay here wouldn’t be out of the question."

"We can swear by our lord’s Divine Throne, and we can also swear by the name of Lord Yarra," Matilda offered the two most solemn oaths of the Yarran World, "We will definitely abide by our promise, with absolutely no deceit."

Including Dillie, everyone exchanged glances for a moment before ultimately placing their trusting looks on Pannis, indicating that he would make the decision. Pannis nodded, caressing his chin, "You all know as well, we don’t have an intention to completely exterminate all of you. Our goal was to eradicate the Divine Servants and additionally to stop your ceremonies."

"Yes, we had already figured as much," Matilda smiled tenderly and respectfully, "That’s why I dared to come out and meet everyone on behalf of the four of us. With this knight lady and Mr. Kyle here, we aren’t actually worried about our safety, even though the war is not yet over. We believe you won’t engage in senseless slaughter."

"I think there was no need for you to come out to verify that," Pannis shook his head, "I think you had something else in mind."

"I wanted to give this to you," Matilda untied a pouch from her belt and handed it to Pannis, "It’s something I treasure, and I thought it fit to present to you."

"What is this?" Pannis asked as he took the pouch from Matilda. It sounded like a bottle.

"Ah, this is a bottle of Mackinway wine I’ve kept," Matilda said respectfully, "I thought you would appreciate it."