The wind is calming down again, but it will take time for the gunpowder smoke to fade away. After the shadow fades, a scarred city-state is left behind.
"There is a survivor here too! It's a little girl!"
Slightly excited shouts broke the calm in the cemetery. A guard soldier opened the door of the guard hut and found the girl huddled in the hut.
The cold wind blew into the house from outside the door, mixed with the smell of gunpowder smoke. Anne raised her head in confusion and looked at the black-clothed guard who appeared at the door. In a daze, she seemed to see another person appearing behind the young soldier.
, a hunched figure with always gloomy eyes.
She stood up in a daze, subconsciously stepped forward, and stumbled towards the door, trying to catch the hunched figure.
She jumped in the air, her feet staggered, and then she felt someone grabbing her collar from behind - the guardian soldier grabbed the girl who tried to run past her but almost fell, and bent down to her again:
"Are you okay, girl—what's your name? Why are you in the cemetery?"
But Annie didn't seem to hear the voice coming from her ears. She just raised her head and slowly looked around, looking for the old man she had just seen.
The hunched old man was not far away. He had turned around, waved his hands with his back to this side, and then slowly walked towards the path deep in the cemetery. At the end of the path, there was an unusually tall man standing quietly.
figure.
The figure was wearing a dark robe that was reminiscent of night. The body under the robe was covered with bandages. In his hand was a long staff that seemed to be carved from dead wood. Its appearance looked... just like what was described in church books.
The guard in front of Bartok's gate.
The old man came to the guard, and the two seemed to have a brief conversation, and then they disappeared together like phantoms at the end of the path.
Anne stared blankly in that direction, standing quietly in the cold wind, neither crying nor moving.
The guard in black on the side was a little worried: "What's wrong with you, little girl? What are you looking for?"
"She might be looking for this." Another person's voice suddenly came from the nearby path, accompanied by the sound of boots on the snow.
Annie turned her head subconsciously.
A nun was walking towards this side, holding two things in her hands - a cane that looked scarred, and a shotgun that looked somewhat familiar.
"Your protector is no longer here," the nun stopped in front of Anne, slowly squatted down and put the two things on the ground. "Unfortunately, we can't let you see him again - there are only ashes at the scene.
"
Anne looked intently at the cane and shotgun on the ground. After a few seconds, she bent down, took them in her hands, and held them carefully in her arms.
"I know," she murmured in a low voice, "Grandpa the caretaker and the gatekeeper have left..."
"Don't touch the gun," the guard in black next to him subconsciously reached out to stop him, "It's dangerous..."
"There are no bullets left," the nun shook her head and whispered, "Let her hold her for a while, they may be acquaintances."
The guard warrior hesitated for a moment, took his hand back, turned his head again, and looked at the situation in the cemetery.
Dirty, dry black mud covered the path and surrounded the caretaker's hut, and dirty snow mixed with the mud and covered the entire cemetery.
How many monsters have tried to attack this place, and how much filth has been dumped in the snow here? Now that the shadows have faded, everything... seems to be unknown.
A slight cool touch suddenly came, and the guardian raised his head and saw the falling snowflakes slowly falling from the sky - not ashes, but real snowfall.
Accompanying the swirling snowflakes was a gleam of light in the sky, which was the light of the sun - the gloomy clouds blocked it, but the hazy light still showed its existence.
The sun is back.
The mechanical roar of the steam engine gradually approached from outside the cemetery. A steam vehicle stopped outside the gate. A team of guards operating near the cemetery noticed the movement and approached the vehicle. Then, in surprise, they approached the vehicle.
People who got off the car saluted.
Footsteps came towards the guard's hut. When the young guard in black saw the person, he immediately turned around and saluted, and then said with some confusion: "Gatekeeper, what are you..."
"I'm here to confirm the conditions of various cemeteries."
Annie, who was holding her cane and shotgun in a daze, heard a voice beside her, and finally woke up from her daze. She subconsciously raised her head and looked in the direction of the sound.
A woman wearing a black priest's robe stood on the path.
Her skin was pale, and there was a calm but cold aura lingering around her. Anne could not yet understand what this aura was, but she thought of the cold fog on the sea. At the same time, she also noticed that the woman was exposed.
There are large and small wounds almost everywhere on the skin, but there is no blood in the wounds, just like... a cracked doll.
This lady's eyes were wrapped with black cloth.
The lady seemed to be blind, but Anne felt that the other party's "eyesight" was falling on her. It was a calm and gentle gaze, looking at her through the thick black cloth.
It took Anne a long time to recognize the lady.
But the lady obviously recognized her from the beginning.
"I know your name is Annie," Agatha bent down and gently rubbed Annie's hair. Then her eyes fell on the shotgun and cane in the girl's hands. She was silent for two seconds, then stood up and said to the priest accompanying her.
, "The areas around the mines were the first places to be invaded. These cemeteries surrounding the mining area in the upper city blocked a large number of monsters from flooding into the surrounding neighborhoods."
"Almost all the tombkeepers and guards stationed around the cemetery were killed in the battle," the nun on the side said slowly. "The city-state guards in this area also suffered heavy losses."
Agatha listened silently, and then prayed silently.
"Gatekeeper," the black-clothed guard next to him couldn't help but say, "There are so many casualties in the city-state now that we need to be alert to secondary disasters in the fields of death, fear, obsession, etc. We may need several large-scale requiem ceremonies.
There isn’t one at the cathedral yet…”
"I am temporarily taking over the duties of the archbishop. Don't worry about the requiem ceremony," Agatha said calmly, "Bishop Ivan has left and he has a new journey."
The guard in black was stunned for a moment, a shocked and unacceptable expression briefly appeared in his eyes, and it seemed that it was not until this moment that he noticed the change in Agatha's clothing——
The gatekeeper took off his black coat, which represented force, and replaced it with a robe that was more symbolic of a clergyman.
This symbolizes the change in her identity and responsibilities at this moment.
"Don't worry, I still shoulder the responsibility of the gatekeeper, and the guard troops are still under my command until the church headquarters selects a new archbishop or a new gatekeeper takes my place. At that time, I may become the leader of this city.
The official bishop of the city-state." Although Agatha lost her eyes, she still seemed to have a sharp vision. She noticed the reactions of her subordinates and patiently explained, "At this stage, maintaining order in the city-state is above all else."
"It's... the gatekeeper."
The young guard in black lowered his head. After a brief hesitation, he chose to call his superior by the familiar name "Gatekeeper".
Agatha didn't pay attention to these trivial matters. She turned her eyes and her "eyes" fell on Anne again.
"Go home," she said gently. "Your mother is safe. She is waiting for you."
Anne hesitated for a moment at first, but after Agatha mentioned her mother, she nodded immediately.
But just as she was about to leave with the guards, she suddenly stopped.
"Grandpa Caretaker... just left with the gatekeeper." She raised her head and looked at Agatha, "Ah, I mean the gatekeeper on the 'other side' mentioned in the book."
Agatha frowned slightly.
Anne thought the other party didn't believe it, so she quickly raised her hand and pointed to the path deep in the cemetery: "That's where you left..."
Agatha raised her head and looked thoughtfully in the direction of Anne's finger.
There seemed to be a faint flash of green firelight between her eyes covered by black cloth.
After a moment, she lowered her head and looked into Annie's eyes.
"Do you... want to become a guardian?"
Anne was in a daze, as if she didn't quite understand what this meant.
But after a few seconds, she seemed to vaguely react: "Is it like you or the caretaker grandpa?"
"That may take many years," Agatha seemed to have a smile on her face, and then shook her head slightly, "Don't think so much now, it seems a little early for me to tell you this now - go home first, if
If you really want to become a defender, you must at least be able to get into the most junior church school."
Anne seemed to understand, and then reluctantly handed over the shotgun and cane to the black-clad guard next to her.
"...If you become a guardian, can you give me the shotgun and cane of the guardian grandpa?"
She suddenly turned her head and looked at Agatha seriously.
After a moment, Agatha nodded slightly: "...If you still think so after three years, I agree."
Anne left.
Peace returned to the cemetery again.
"...Are you serious? That child is still too young to see any potential. To inherit the veteran's cane, you need more than just graduating from the regular training of the guards..."
"She can see the guide to the world of the dead," Agatha said slowly, looking calmly at the path at the end of the cemetery, "just like me back then."
The young guard in black stopped talking.
The nun on the other side hesitated again and again, but couldn't help but look at Agatha with some worry: "What about your body..."
"It doesn't matter," Agatha shook her head and spoke softly, "Something happened and this body is just damaged."