Advent of the Three Calamities - Chapter 822: Evelyn’s Plight [1]

Chapter 822: Evelyn’s Plight [1]

“Reginald!”

“…What’s going on!? Hey! Hey!”

The screams reverberated loudly across the room. They were loud and panicked.

They were hard to ignore, and as I walked into the room, I saw everyone looking towards the statue in the middle of the room. It was Reginald, the burly man from before.

Evelyn stood not far from him, her face pale and eyes lost.

The children wailed next to him.

“But… I…”

I frowned.

’What exactly happened during the time that I was gone?’

Everything had been going well since then.

How did things suddenly shift?

“Calm down, everyone. Let me see for a moment.”

The only one who stayed calm was Velar. He stepped forward, placing his hand against the statue’s surface. Silence fell over the room as everyone watched him, waiting in tense silence while he tried to gauge the situation.

But—

Velar’s expression turned complicated as he pulled his hand back.

That was all everyone needed to see in order to understand.

“No!”

“Damn it!”

“R-Reginald…? I-is he…?”

Tears welled up in the blind girl’s eyes as she held onto Velar’s sleeve.

“Bring him out of this room. There’s nothing we can do.”

“…..!”

“…..!”

Velar’s words sealed the situation, and the two children could no longer hold it together as they started crying. Chloe’s face turned complicated, but she soon went to comfort the children.

“Don’t worry. He’s only turned into a statue. Once we figure out the situation, we will be able to help him.”

Her words offered little help, but everyone knew the truth.

He was…

Dead.

’I don’t sense any mana inside of his body.’

My heart grew heavy.

I may not have known Reginald for very long, but I’d grown somewhat used to him. He was quite dumb, but he was also very friendly. He was the type of person who said whatever was on his mind.

“Who is going to bring him out? We have to do it before he turns.”

“…I will.”

Chloe offered.

“I’ll place him where the other statues ar—”

“N-no, don’t go.”

A small hand gripped onto her shirt before she could leave. It was from the little girl, her expression pale as she ’looked’ in Chloe’s direction. Or more like, she was staring in the direction of where Chloe’s voice sounded.

“What if… something happens to you, too? Don’t leave…”

“Don’t worry.”

Chloe comforted, patting her small head.

“Nothing is going to happen to me. You know that I’m a lot stronger than Reginald. I’m also one of the only ones who can bring him there. Just wait a bit, okay? I promise you that I will come back.”

The little girl tried to protest again, Ilyen standing next to her, furiously writing things with his hand against Chloe’s thigh, but Chloe just smiled in return.

“Like I said, trust me. I will be back.”

In the end, the children’s cries didn’t stop Chloe from leaving.

Clank—!

A heavy silence settled over the room as Chloe left, the statue in her grasp. It looked heavy, yet she carried it with ease, her steps steady and unbothered.

As the silence settled across the room, I turned my attention towards Evelyn again.

Her face was still pale, and her hands shook.

I could hear her mumble from where I was, ’B-but… I thought that I was…’

Without a word, I walked to the corner of the room and sat down. As I did, my eyes swept slowly across the space, taking everything in. The children hugged each other, crying quietly, while Velar sat in his seat in silence, his eyes closed as if he were lost in his own thoughts.

The old man looked relatively calm, his eyes closed as he sat on the sofa.

Taking in everything, I took a deep breath.

’Just what in the world happened?’

How could the situation suddenly turn out like this?

It made no sense at all. From what I understood, Evelyn was doing a good job at calming the frost down. For it to suddenly flare up like this…

There was only one explanation.

“…The frost is starting to worsen. Or more like, the curse.’

The realization made my breath pause.

Looking up, I suddenly realized why Velar was lost in his own thoughts. He had probably realized this as well.

’Shit.’

I cursed to myself.

The curse worsening only meant one thing.

’Leon and the others… They have even less time.’

I looked at Evelyn and clenched my teeth.

Would she even be able to improve her skills before it was too late?

*

“I’m back.”

Thankfully, Chloe came back ten minutes later.

The children jumped up in joy, rushing towards her as she smiled and hugged them.

“What did I say? I told you that I would come back. There’s nothing to worry about when it comes to me.”

For just a moment, the mood within the room seemed to improve.

But the smile soon faded from her face as she looked at Velar.

“The frost outside has gotten worse. It’s getting even colder. I fear that the statues have also become stronger as a result. I’m not sure if we can keep things like this any longer.”

“…..”

Velar remained quiet, his expression unreadable.

But eventually, his lips parted.

“What about the fog?”

“…It’s gotten even worse. Even if we try to escape this place, there’s no use.”

Escape?

Hearing their conversation, I lifted my brow.

Were they thinking of escaping?

’No, I don’t think that’s the case.’

I thought back to the conversation that I’d heard from Velar before. I was certain that escaping was the last thing he wanted to do. But rather, he was probably thinking this for the children.

’…Still, I don’t think it’s even feasible.’

There was a certain time window when the fog wasn’t thick and the statues didn’t move, but even then, given the massive size of the city, it’d be impossible to escape. I had thought about doing that before, carrying Leon and the others and leaving the city, but I realized rather quickly it would just be too dangerous.

Not just from the mana consumption, but also given how it would be of no use in helping me figure out a way to bring Leon and the others back.

“I see.”

Velar’s voice remained relatively calm despite the situation.

Scanning the surroundings, his gaze eventually settled on Evelyn. She had calmed down somewhat, and feeling Velar’s gaze, she flinched for a moment.

But soon, her expression calmed down once more.

No, it turned resolute.

“I… think I can do it.”

She couldn’t.

I could tell from her face that even she didn’t believe it.

“Train me more. I can take it.”

“Are you sure…?”

“Yes.”

“…Okay.”

Velar stood up from his seat, walking towards Evelyn.

In that moment, every gaze was fixed on Evelyn as she steadied her breath and met Velar’s eyes. The two stood like that until Velar nodded and headed towards the door.

“Let’s go. We don’t have time to waste.”

The two proceeded to leave a moment later.

I didn’t say anything and just stared at the door. Thinking back about the words Evelyn had told me, I didn’t discourage her or say anything to stop her.

Instead, I started thinking about something else.

About how to…

Help her.

***

Swooosh—!

The wind gusted strongly.

Standing opposite Velar, Evelyn took deep and heavy breaths as faint muffled rumbles echoed from deep within her body. This was her way to keep her body heated and prevent the frost from invading every inch of her body.

“As you’re aware, the situation has changed a little. It looks like the ’curse’ has become even stronger than before, and unfortunately, Reginald was the first victim.”

“…Yes.”

Evelyn’s heart grew heavy when she thought of Reginald.

She wasn’t very close to him, but having ’healed’ everyone within that room, she had developed certain ties with each of them.

The fact that he had turned into a statue…

’It’s my fault. If only I had improved better.’

“It’s not your fault.”

Velar spoke, seemingly reading her thoughts. But it wasn’t really hard as the current Evelyn was wearing her thoughts on her face.

“This is a situation that has unfortunately occurred. You were doing just fine. Your rate of progress has been amazing, and everyone saw how you were able to slow down the frost within everyone’s body.”

A smile broke onto the man’s face.

“Don’t blame yourself for what you can’t control. Don’t let those thoughts drag you down. Just keep your focus on what lies ahead. You’re doing great, and everyone here is thankful for you.”

“…..”

Evelyn’s lips quivered.

This…

This was the first time she had heard something like this, and her chest couldn’t help but tremble. For the first time, she felt the weight of responsibility. She felt… a deep trust.

In all her life, this was the first time she had experienced something like this.

’Yes, I’m not wrong.’

Evelyn clenched her teeth, thinking back to the things that she had said to Julien.

She had said the words in the heat of the moment, but at the same time, these were her true thoughts.

She wasn’t just there to leech off of him.

Evelyn was her own person.

She wanted to be useful. To be someone others could rely on. She didn’t want to be just the one who argued with Kiera and Aoife while doing nothing else.

“Are you ready? This training is going to be even more intense than before.”

Breaking out of her thoughts, Evelyn looked at Velar.

Cra Crack! Cra Crack!

The lightning within her body crackled further, and her muscles tensed.

A sharp pain surged through her chest, nearly making her retch as the frost she’d been suppressing thickened within her body. But Evelyn forced herself to ignore it, the pain, the growing weight in her arm, and simply nodded.

“I’m ready.”

“…Alright.”

Velar nodded, and a magic circle formed in his grasp.

Staring at it, Evelyn tried to imitate it as the pain in her chest grew.

’I’m not going to just stand there and do nothing. Even if it breaks my body, and I might turn into a statue myself, I’ll try it until the very end.’

This was her plight.

Evelyn’s plight.