Miss Demon King, Please Endure a Little Longer - Volume 2 Chapter 15

Chapter 15: The Original Sanctuary

***

Celeste continued searching for fishermen on the beach. Today she was bolder than yesterday, spending lavishly, handing out entire bags of pearl shells to anyone she met.

Money makes the world go round, and under the powerful monetary offensive, several people actually opened up.

“The priests are people from their temple, they won’t show themselves in front of ordinary people. As for the temple, I’ve never heard of it.”

“I’ve heard of it. The temple is the most mysterious place of the merfolk, hidden beneath the dark deep sea.”

Upon hearing it was under the deep sea, Celeste couldn’t help but feel discouraged, since she definitely couldn’t go there.

But suddenly she had a second thought. Wait, this was an area where coastal merfolk were active, and they don’t go to the deep sea either, so how would they get to the temple?

At this moment, a scruffy-bearded old fisherman walked over and said: “Stop talking nonsense. Under the sea? Why don’t you say it’s in the sky.”

“Hey, old drunkard, don’t curse at people,” the previous person said unhappily. “I don’t know, but do you?”

“I actually do know.” The man called old drunkard looked at the girl. “But…”

Celeste wasn’t stingy either, taking out her last bag of pearl shells and tossing it over.

The old drunkard reached out to catch it, brought it to his ear and shook it. Hearing the jingling sound inside, his face broke into a smile.

“Thanks, boss. The merfolk temple isn’t in the real world.”

This opening statement stunned Celeste completely.

The fisherman beside him laughed in anger: “You were saying I was talking nonsense, now listen to what you’re saying yourself. Is that even human speech? I think you shouldn’t be called old drunkard anymore, change your name to old liar!”

The old drunkard put away the pearl shells, untied his wine pouch and took a sip: “You can choose not to believe it, but I’m telling the truth anyway.”

“Oh, you’re quite shameless about it.”

Celeste ignored the others’ doubts and stepped forward: “Could you be more specific?”

“I’ve been very specific. The temple isn’t in the real world, that’s all I know.” The old drunkard walked away with his wine pouch, getting further and further. “Boss, you’d better not try to find it. It’s very sinister… hiccup.”

“I think you’re just drunk and throwing a tantrum. Boss, don’t believe him. The temple must be under the sea.”

“Exactly, what kind of nonsense is ‘not in the real world’.”

“He’s just a drunk.”

True, compared to this inexplicable answer, even the seabed seemed more acceptable.

But Celeste instinctively felt he might be telling the truth. At least this way, the coastal merfolk could go there, rather than to an unreachable seabed.

The merfolk temple, what kind of place was it exactly?

…

In an unknown dark place, dead seaweed floated all around, tidal waters flowed backwards, etching strange symbols into the stone walls.

It looked like some kind of reef, but every part exuded an unsettling strangeness.

Several slender nagas gathered around a round table, whispering something. After a while, one of them opened its eyes, and several pupils flashed within them.

At the same time, three short blades made of black coral appeared on the stone table.

“He has issued an oracle,” this naga priest said. “In Harbor City, there are three individually powerful dangerous persons, a swordsman, a mage, and an assassin. The assassin requires special attention.”

It picked up the black coral short blade from the stone table and solemnly handed it to the other three priests.

“To prevent the ritual from being disrupted, before He descends, you will use this power He has bestowed to nip the danger in the bud.”

The first priest took the short blade and raised it high without hesitation:

“I am willing to offer my life, my soul, my everything, in dedication to Him!”

Squelch— the blade pierced through the crown of its head. Its body began to convulse wildly and rapidly mutate. Black mist shrouded its lower body, and its hair turned into countless floating sea serpents.

Squelch, squelch— the other two priests performed the same action, their bodies also undergoing varying degrees of mutation.

One had most of its bodily tissue surge toward its head, while tentacles made of stinging cells grew from below.

The other’s limbs and the fin on its back became extraordinarily large, its muscles developed, making it look a full three times bigger.

More importantly, beyond their powerful physical forms, a ring of eerie black mist constantly shrouded them.

Thus, they had only days of life remaining, in exchange for the powerful strength He had granted them.

…

Zero followed the young woman inside with anxiety.

It wasn’t that she was being rude, but the young woman was in her twenties, so great-grandmother should be at least over 100 years old.

The furnishings inside the house were intricate and complex, with mirrors facing windows, using visual tricks to create the illusion of cramped interior space, this was also why it couldn’t be seen from outside.

After passing through several inner rooms, the young woman brought her to a courtyard.

“Great-grandmother, I’ve brought her.”

Zero secretly peeked and discovered the person was actually a woman around 60, and she even looked to be in good health. Her hair was graying, with slight wrinkles on her face, but not very pronounced. She had a very peaceful expression, like the old lady from the neighborhood who often sat in the doorway sunbathing.

Although this age wasn’t young either, she was supposed to be great-grandmother generation.

“Child, don’t be surprised.” The woman showed a kind smile. “Appearance is just an illusion. I should have reached my limit long ago, but I had something I couldn’t let go of, so I forcibly lingered in this world for decades. But your appearance makes me feel I’ve finally waited for the right moment.”

Zero nervously touched the bodysuit she was wearing: “I don’t know how to address you.”

That young woman called her great-grandmother, she couldn’t possibly…

“My name is Kagasha, just call me senior.”

“Senior?”

This term seemed to have some implied meaning.

Kagasha had her great-granddaughter come over to push the wheelchair, wheeling up to Zero, and said slowly:

“100 years ago, the Highborn Alliance headed toward division, with much friction between the various races. One day, I came to Harbor City with several companions to investigate whether the merfolk here were conducting espionage activities.”

Hearing this familiar story, Zero’s breathing became rapid.

“You are…”

“Yes,” Kagasha nodded kindly, “we are the Silent Sanctuary.”

The counter-espionage organization period, the original Silent Sanctuary.

…

“Come and see, come and look! Church of Light from the royal capital, grand opening special! Until sunset today, for each of the day’s three meals, anyone who recites the prescribed prayer in full will receive a pearl shell! One for every meal — first come, first served~!”

In today’s market, a soft and pleasant voice attracted many gazes. Whether it was the girl’s pretty face, great figure, or the large bag of pearl shells on the table, countless passersby stopped and couldn’t move on.

Besides her, there was another equally beautiful big-breasted blonde girl beside her, but she wasn’t shouting along, maintaining a business-like holy smile on her pretty face.

Lia had tried hard, but she really couldn’t say those words. Even clenching her fists and blushing, she couldn’t say them.

She quietly moved a few steps closer and reproachfully bumped Aira’s arm.

“Dummy, couldn’t you make it sound more elegant?”