Free Web NovelDarkness.
Heavy, oppressive darkness.
As if buried under thousands of tons of rubble.
As if pushed into a bottomless well.
As if—
As if dead.
Igor's consciousness struggled in the chaos.
Intermittent.
Flickering.
Something was dragging him.
Rough ground.
Gaps between stone slabs.
Every jolt sent a burst of pain exploding in his head.
He wanted to open his eyes.
His eyelids felt as if they were weighed down by lead.
No.
He had to open them.
Danger.
Danger was everywhere.
He didn't know where he was.
He didn't know who was dragging him.
He didn't know—
Light pierced his vision.
Just a sliver.
Blurry.
Shaky.
But it was enough for him to see some things.
The sky.
An orange-red sky.
As if something had set it on fire.
As if the entire world was burning.
Thick black smoke billowed, obscuring the stars.
The firelight reflected off the clouds, dyeing the night sky a strange orange-red.
That color reminded him of something from many years ago.
Lyubertsy Town.
That same burning night.
The night he lost everything.
No.
Now was not the time for memories.
The sky?
How could he be on the ground?
Wasn't he in the Underground Storage Area?
Wasn't he by that silver-haired—
Surrounding buildings flashed before his eyes.
Dilapidated brick walls, covered in cracks like wrinkles on an old man's face.
Rusted iron railings, the reddish-brown rust looking like clotted blood in the firelight.
Piles of garbage, emitting the stench of decay.
A streetlamp stood tilted at the alley entrance, its glass cover long since shattered, with a crow perched on the base.
It stood there motionless.
Black eyes glinting in the firelight.
As if watching something.
As if waiting for something.
This is...
The Old City?
How could he be in the Old City?
Igor's brain struggled to function.
Every thought felt like wading through mud.
Information was like shards of a broken mirror scattered on the ground; he had to pick them up one by one to piece together the full picture.
He had been taken out. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Someone had taken him out of the Underground Storage Area.
And then dragged him all the way here.
Who?
Why?
He struggled to move his eyes.
Looking down.
He saw a pair of hands.
A woman's hands.
The knuckles were distinct and bony, but they were currently gripping his ankles, veins bulging.
He followed those hands upward.
A panting back.
Chestnut hair in a loose ponytail, strands stuck to her neck with sweat.
Her coat was covered in dust and bloodstains.
He didn't know whose blood it was.
Maybe his.
Maybe someone else's.
Maybe both.
Sophie.
It was Sophie Lanz.
Igor was stunned for a moment.
Then, he understood.
This woman had saved him.
The operation had failed.
He had been knocked unconscious by that Silver-haired Maiden.
The others were probably wiped out as well.
And Sophie—
This woman had used some unknown method to fish him out of that hell.
And then dragged him all the way here.
How far had she dragged him?
From beneath the Royal Knights Academy all the way to the Old City.
That was several kilometers.
Across half the city.
Through burning streets.
Through chaotic crowds.
She was alone.
Dragging him.
A man much heavier than herself.
Igor felt something welling up in his throat.
He didn't know if it was blood or something else.
He swallowed it down.
His mouth was filled with the taste of rust.
The dragging stopped.
Sophie set him down.
The back of his head hit the stone slabs with a dull thud.
She didn't seem to notice.
She just leaned against the wall nearby.
Gasping for air.
Her chest heaved violently.
Her face was pale.
The dark circles under her eyes had deepened.
She looked as if she might collapse at any moment.
As if she had used up her very last ounce of strength.
Igor looked around.
This was an alleyway.
Very narrow.
Actually, it shouldn't have been this narrow, but many collapsed small buildings had encroached on the space, making it especially tight now.
Broken bricks and trash were scattered on the ground.
Unknown weeds poked through the gaps in the stone slabs, swaying gently in the night wind.
The air was filled with a strange smell.
Charred wood.
Damp earth.
And some kind of...
Some kind of faint, metallic scent.
It was very light.
But Igor had been on battlefields.
He recognized this smell.
Blood.
In this alley, many people had once bled.
But there were no flames in the alley.
No black smoke.
This was one of the few areas in the Old City that hadn't been affected by the bombs.
It was a safe zone specifically preserved by the Children of Dawn.
Their safe house was nearby.
Less than three hundred meters away.
Sophie knew about this place?
Oh, of course she should know.
She was the Children of Dawn's Information Broker; she knew everything she ought to know.
A dull thud came from the distance.
The sound of a building collapsing.
Another building couldn't hold on any longer.
The fire had burned through its frame, making it collapse like a giant with its spine removed.
Dust billowed into the air.
Under the orange-red sky, it formed a gray mushroom cloud.
Brief.
Small.
It quickly dissipated in the night wind.
Igor used every ounce of his strength to move his lips.
His voice was so raspy it was almost inaudible.
Like sandpaper rubbing against rusted iron.
"...Thank you."
Sophie's body stiffened.
She turned her head and looked at him.
Her gaze was complex.
There was exhaustion.
Emptiness.
And something Igor couldn't decipher.
Deep.
Oppressive.
Like the sea before a storm.
Igor didn't notice.
Or rather, he was too weak to have the energy to interpret that look.
He was still struggling to speak.
"Not just... for saving my life..."
Every word felt like sandpaper in his throat.
It hurt.
But he had to say it.
"You saved... the Fire of Freedom's... plans..."
He paused, taking a breath.
His lungs felt as if they were being scorched by something.
"If I had also... been captured... the entire plan... would be over..."
The crow at the alley entrance suddenly gave a cry.
Caw—
Sharp.
Piercing.
Like some kind of warning.
Then it flapped its wings and flew away.
Its black silhouette disappeared into the orange-red sky.
Sophie didn't speak.
She just watched him.
Her eyes shimmered with a heart-palpitating light reflected from the fire.
But Igor didn't look.
He lowered his head, fumbling in his pocket.
"Once this... trouble passes..."
Igor continued.
"I will personally... express my gratitude... to the Leader..."
His hand reached into his robe with difficulty.
Every movement felt like moving a thousand-pound stone.
Finally, he felt the object.
A coin pouch.
Heavy.
He pulled it out.
"This is... all the money I have..."
He held the coin pouch out toward Sophie.
"Please... accept it..."
Sophie's gaze fell upon the coin pouch.
It lingered there for a long time.
A very long time.
Long enough that Igor's arm began to shake.
Then she reached out. frёeωebɳovel.com
She took it.
She weighed it in her hand.
She didn't say a word.
The corner of her mouth seemed to twitch slightly.
As if she wanted to say something.
Or as if she were holding something back.
In the end, she said nothing.
