Echoes of the Past

Chapter 2 I Want to Go to Jail with You

Suiyue touched her stomach, which felt like an empty sack being squeezed shut, with waves of cramping and burning sensations washing over her.

She knocked on the wall, which was probably made of a one-way mirror crystal, but received no response.

After yesterday's fierce battle, I didn't eat anything for a whole day; the only thing I got was half a glass of water.

Suiyue was locked in a cell of about 30 square meters.

According to the law enforcement knights, this place is located underground in the Governor's Castle of Kren City.

Stepping on the bluestone-paved floor, behind me is a smooth, polished stone wall, and to one side of the cell door is a crystal-clear wall.

Dry and clean, Suiyue knew she was receiving "high-standard" treatment the moment she entered.

This is not good news.

"Squeak."

The heavy metal door of the cell slowly opened, and Suiyue tilted her head, catching a glimpse of several dark figures moving outside.

Only one person walked in.

The heavy metal door closed again, isolating the inside from the outside.

Its towering, mountain-like body blocked the warm yellow lighting crystals on the stone wall, and the pitch-black night poured down, enveloping Suiyue.

A silver robe with rose gold thread outlining a deer antler pattern shimmered slightly in the shadows; it was a garment and pattern that Suiyue had never seen before.

"The Bewitching Crow".

She paused for a second, then looked up.

This old man, whose body and facial features were as solemn and hard as a statue, had calm and gentle eyes.

"Sui, Suiyue".

The crow lifted its hood, revealing strands of gray hair.

"Suiyue... an orphan rescued by the Dawn Church? You didn't choose a name for yourself?"

"Everyone else has chosen a name, so I can have mine all to myself. Besides, a name is just a symbol; as long as it's easy to remember, anything is fine." Suiyue countered, "Is 'Bewildering Raven' your name?"

The cold, hard lines on the crow's face synchronized with the gentleness in its eyes.

"Gurgle~~~"

Inside the quiet, secluded chamber, a hungry dragon roared.

"After you answer some questions, I'll make the arrangements for you."

The fact that Keren City left Suiyue unattended for a whole day was not because it had been forgotten, but because the governor was no longer able to handle the serious situation of the current scale and could only report it.

"The person who was attacked seems to be someone important?" she couldn't help but wonder.

The bewitching raven that is now appearing before us might come from a higher realm of the Solitz Empire.

Bewitching Raven pulled a scroll from his robe and slowly unrolled it.

Suiyue sat down on the ground nonchalantly: "If you want to get rid of me, just tell me in advance. Put poison in my food, and I'll eat it."

"Don't you want to live?"

"It's good to be alive, and it doesn't matter if I die." She rested her chin on her hand, tilted her head, and glanced at the one-way crystal wall, her expression exceptionally calm.

The crow said, "It's better to be alive. Maybe you'll live to see the day the black fog dissipates."

He paused for a moment and then began to follow the procedure.

"name."

"Suiyue".

"age."

"19".

"Race."

"A hybrid deer-person. The Dawn bloodline test says my mother is from the Evergreen Deer clan."

The crow stopped recording and stared intently at the horn on Suiyue's head.

Those dark red horns, almost W-shaped with their tips slightly curled backward, looked exactly like cow horns.

"Is your father a mixed-race minotaur?"

"Pure-blooded human."

Suiyue looked up and noticed the...smile in Huoya's eyes?

Despite the difference in their social status, and despite her being a prisoner awaiting investigation, she still jumped up.

Suiyue pointed to her antlers and said forcefully, "Antlers, these are deer antlers, look carefully!"

The crow's lips trembled.

He said, "It's impressive."

Another scroll appeared in the crow's palm, bearing Suiyue's signature.

"After the law enforcement knights of Kren City arrived at the scene, they collected information and verified it with you. Do you have any objections to the dialogue in this scroll?"

Suiyue read it carefully; it was her description of what happened: "No."

The Raven nodded and put all the scrolls away: "Now, I need to ask some details they didn't mention... You used summoning magic to deal with [Nightmare of the Gods], didn't you?"

Suiyue trembled slightly, but did not hide anything: "Yes."

"What was summoned?"

"I didn't see it."

"Oh?"

"I always kept my back to him, and all I knew was that he had shielded me from an enemy."

"In reality, if you are corrupted by the [Nightmare of Gods], you have no choice when it comes to you. Since the beginning of the Black Mist Era, anomalies in the summoning have been frequent, and backlashes have also occurred from time to time."

Suiyue did not respond.

A day of confinement and observation allowed her to carefully review the details.

A summoned creature would tell her, "That's not how you play summoning magic," which, no matter how you look at it, seems sinister.

Just to be on the safe side, she asked, "Am I not corrupted by the [Dream of the Gods]?"

"The Windgrass potion has passed the test. Of course, this does not mean that there is no suspicion of contamination at all. After all, there have been instances of delayed anomalies observed in the past."

Suiyue became dejected.

The raven comforted him, "When you described the Level 3 Living Eclipse you faced yesterday, you said it seemed 'afraid,' which most likely means it confronted your summoned creature directly... You were already very lucky."

"Knock knock knock".

The metal door emitted a dull knocking sound.

The conversation was interrupted, and the crow gestured somewhat displeasedly towards the one-way crystal wall, indicating that it could be opened.

Upon seeing the person who had arrived, his impatience subsided, replaced by sympathy and reluctance.

He had flowing, shoulder-length brown hair, melancholic blue eyes, and exquisitely handsome features.

If you ask Suiyue for her opinion, this person has a face that appeals to both men and women.

But at this moment, his face was shrouded in gloom.

"Let me introduce you," said the Raven. "Duke Vahedeen Riod, the current head of the Riod family."

Suiyue had not received any systematic etiquette training and could only awkwardly kneel on one knee, but the other party reached out and helped her up.

"It's said that you fought alongside Belland, Karin, and the others until the very last moment," Vahdine's voice was hoarse. "Did they...did they say anything in their final moments?"

Suiyue spoke after careful consideration.

"Miss Karin offered to draw away the Living Eclipse for the others, while Mr. Belland volunteered to stay behind to cover the rear and intercept the enemy with me."

"Miss Karin didn't have time to say anything before..."

"Belland...he said he was sorry to you, Kertu, and Linem."

Suiyue was only present at the scene because she happened to be hunting.

Of the dozens of people in the group, only these two stepped forward after the attack, while the others scrambled to escape.

Without their valiant fight, at least half of these guys who inexplicably approached the dangerous woodland area without any personal guards would have been dead.

Suiyue initially thought the two came from two different families, but after being reminded by Huoya, she realized the truth.

Karin and Belland are the eldest son and daughter of the Leode family.

Perhaps it was due to their family traditions, but they made the same choice and both demonstrated the ability to take on ten opponents at once.

Suiyue's words caught in her throat.

Belland, the nobleman who inherited Vahedeen's handsome appearance, in the latter half of the battle, despite losing his left arm, overexerted himself by using magic he couldn't understand to forcibly retrieve Karin's body from the Living Erosion Pile.

She chose to remain silent.

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy, and the room remained silent for a long time, so quiet that one could hear their own heartbeats.

"Please accept my condolences," the Raven stated calmly. "The bodies have been recovered, the Windwort tested positive, the priests of Kren wiped away the blood and performed basic repairs. They are sleeping peacefully, and you can take them home now."

Leod looked up, gazing at the "statue" before him with a complex expression: "Excuse me."

The cell door closed again, leaving only two people behind once more.

"Let's continue," said the Raven. "In the year 283 of the Black Mist Calendar, both Solitz and Onze passed the [Limited Dissemination and Learning of High-Level Magic Act]. The act covers many provisions, including knowledge sealing, learning and prohibition of high-level magic, among which summoning is listed as high-risk."

Suiyue interrupted Huoya without waiting for him to continue.

"Yes, yes, I know. I'm aware of the risks of summoning spells, and I know that what I'm doing violates the law. But what can I do? I'm going to die! What else can I do besides summoning spells to give me a fighting chance?"

"This is so annoying. I'd rather die than let the Living Eclipse explode with me. That's my thought. That's all."

After saying that, Suiyue sat on the ground with her neck stiff, completely ignoring the reaction of the bewitching crow that could control her fate.

After putting away the scroll and straightening his robes, the bewitching raven turned back to look at the girl who had resigned herself to her fate and was lying on the ground in a very unsightly manner.

"What do you want to eat?"

Suiyue suddenly looked up.

"Do I still have a choice? End-of-life care?"

"I paid for it."

"If it's end-of-life care, then I'll eat whatever the governor of Kren City eats for dinner. I've long wanted to try what the noble lords eat every day."

The crow nodded in agreement: "Okay."

Outside the cell block, in the corridor, a few people silently gazed at the one-way crystal wall under the illumination crystal. They were all dressed in silver robes with rose gold thread, and the antler pattern shimmered under the illumination crystal.

When they saw the crow emerge, they all surrounded it.

"Governor Pirion, prepare one serving based on your dinner..." Raven glanced at Suiyue's wheat-colored skin and strong arm lines through the crystal wall. "Never mind, two servings will do. She looks like she can eat a lot."

"Should we dispose of it?"

"Don't be so clever. We, the [Evil Deer], have already taken over this matter." The Bewitching Raven's eyes turned icy, a stark contrast to his gentle demeanor in the cell.

The lean, middle-aged governor immediately fell silent and withdrew voluntarily. Once they were alone, he couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his brow.

"It's still too creepy..."

……

……

Nan'an squatted listlessly in the center of the communication array, tossing orange peels around.

Realizing that his current situation was no different from that of a summoned creature, he was filled with questions.

If he hasn't misremembered the knowledge the bookworm taught him, he fits the description of a Heroic Spirit being summoned.

The problem is that his six years of life across the continent of Nora were not exciting. There were few memorable stories or anecdotes, and he left behind no magical items that could have given rise to legends, which did not meet the basic requirements for a summoning ritual.

But if he wasn't a summoned creature, how do you explain how he could be pulled out by the summoning ritual?

A summoning ritual must include a summoned object.

How could someone complete a summon, then dispel it without communicating with the summoned creature, without giving it a chance to explain, or even just glancing at it?

"Sigh, I really wish I could drag that bull-horned woman into jail with me."

"Swoosh~~~"

A strange whooshing sound, followed by a pillar of light descending from the sky.

The sudden phenomenon startled Nan'an. He looked up at the sky and then at the spot where the beam of light fell. Enduring the blinding light, he was astonished to find that a blurry humanoid outline was wriggling in the white mist not far away.

"I knew it was hospice care, sigh..."