Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1411 - 197: Meet Again

The skeletons shook their heads at the same time, conveying a strong sense of refusal. The lead skeleton hesitated for a few seconds but still rattled, and Annie translated, "He says, ’We are different from other Undead because we have had direct contact with our master; our souls are open to our master, and that is a choice we made willingly. We don’t intend to change it, so, for now, we can’t, no, won’t tell you anything. And at the same time, you shouldn’t tell us anything either. You must judge for yourselves.’"

"I think I understand your situation now," Pannis nodded thoughtfully. By saying this, the skeletons had actually revealed some information. Since they were once directly controlled by the Grimreaper, their souls were completely open to him, and he could directly understand everything they did. Therefore, they could not show that they knew about the battle between Nellie and Danacus; otherwise, Danacus would never let them continue to exist. The only question now was how they had initially deceived Danacus’s gaze, pretending to be completely unaware and remaining utterly loyal to the Grimreaper, who had changed identities. Of course, everyone has secrets they can’t speak of, so Pannis wasn’t foolish enough to press the question and swiftly changed the subject, "Since you are unwilling to tell us anything, may we enter then?"

"Of course, there is someone waiting for you inside," Annie translated. "We are here to open the door for you."

"Just to open the door?" Pannis smiled ambiguously, not probing to find out whether the skeletons were there just to convey the message or truly just to open the door, and said casually, "Does your king know we are at the gate, waiting for us?"

"Their king, not ours," the skeletons solemnly corrected. "We are accountable only to our master and have nothing to do with them. Our staying here is solely for guarding the gate for our master."

"Eh, suit yourselves," Pannis scratched his head in frustration, having no way to deal with these stern and stubborn skeletons. He sighed and said, "Then just continue guarding the gate; we’re going in."

"These people are really... beyond words," the girls followed Pannis through the gate, walking along the deep and long corridor, frequently looking back at the Undead who had closed the door and stood rigidly behind it, saying with a wry smile, "But, from their behavior, it seems they indeed stand with Lady Nellie, and are incredibly loyal."

"The Undead are all very loyal," Pannis shrugged. "Even Saen and his group are the same. Of course, it might not be fitting to use the word ’loyal’; it should be said their faith is firm enough."

"This must be due to Lady Nellie’s charm, right?" Catherine’s eyes glinted with reverence, "Her selfless actions have earned her the Undead’s worship."

"Maybe, but if she hadn’t burned her own Divine Power to warm the Undead, to create a better environment for them, she might have been able to hold out against Danacus for a longer time, huh, but if she hadn’t done that, she wouldn’t be herself." Clearly, Pannis didn’t want to discuss this issue in depth. In fact, since the moment Pannis had learned that the Undead were constantly bathed in the divine light, finding warmth and solace, she had thought that Catherine was using her own power to help the Undead. However, because of this act, she had gained the faith of the Undead, which in turn strengthened her power. Thus, even Pannis couldn’t be sure if Nellie’s selfless behavior was worth it, but for Nellie, it surely was.

Seeing that Pannis had no desire to continue the topic, Catherine considerately refrained from pressing further, naturally turning her attention towards the surroundings, scrutinizing the environment they were in. The girls had walked this corridor more than once: they had crossed it in the temple on the plains, in the temple in the Forest of Death, and now they were walking it again, even feeling a faint sense of familiarity. There wasn’t a single Undead to be seen in the corridor, only the oil lamps unique to the Realm of the Dead lining both walls, illuminating the path ahead. Compared to the tense hearts they had crossing the corridor on previous occasions, this time, although they were in the Core Area of the Undead, the girls were surprisingly calm. This exceeded their expectations, as they had come here determined to either survive with Pannis or die alongside her. It could only be said that the situation changed so quickly that they hadn’t had time to adjust their mentality.

The familiar door at the end of the corridor undoubtedly led to the temple’s original prayer hall, which is the largest room of the temple on the surface. Not long ago, in this very hall, the girls had fought to the death against hundreds of powerful enemies. Now, just closing their eyes seemed to bring the spacious structure of the prayer hall to mind.

"This must be where the King of the Undead awaits us," Pannis said in a low voice, with her hand on the door, "It was right inside here that we saw the first group of Danacus’s fanatics. Of course, we won’t see them now. According to Saen and Shiela, the King of the Undead lives here, hardly ever leaving the prayer hall."

"Living here?" Lina asked in surprise, "This is a prayer hall spacious enough to accommodate thousands of people in prayer and still seem very large. Who would live in such a place under normal circumstances?"

"Why not?" Pannis retorted, "It’s just a bit larger, that’s all."

"The problem is that it’s too large; it negates the very purpose of a room," Lina replied, clearly understanding the flaws of such vast spaces from her time living in similarly expansive libraries, commenting emotionally, "Living here, what’s the difference between that and living in the open air?"

"Of course, there’s a difference. The difference is, it’s not in the open air." Teasing the priestess, Pannis ignored Lina’s glaring eye rolls and her threatening display of pearly white teeth, pushed the doors open with both hands, and spoke over her shoulder, "Besides, who told you a normal person lives inside? A normal person wouldn’t possibly live in such a hall."

"Ah, Mr. Kyle, is it really good to talk behind someone’s back like this?" The crisp feminine voice coming from inside the door plunged the girls into extreme surprise. They had not expected the Undead inside could directly call Pannis by his real name, leaving only one explanation, "I didn’t expect to meet you again so soon, Mr. Kyle. Of course, for you, this might be the first meeting, after all, even though I know you, you don’t know me."