With the town in chaos, the church was not much better.
Upon receiving the news that the tide of souls would arrive ahead of schedule, Eleusis immediately sent someone to find Castorice, preparing to leave with her.
"Saintess, we must leave at once!"
In the guest room where Fu Zhu was staying, a female priest was anxiously urging Castorice to leave with her.
The High Priest Eleusis's order was to protect Castorice and get her out at all costs, even if the residents wanted her to stay and grant them protection.
"But, Big Brother hasn't come back yet. What if he doesn't know about this? What will happen to him?"
Castorice refused to leave. From yesterday until now, she had been waiting for Fu Zhu to return.
The priestess grew anxious. Although she felt it was a great pity to leave the Emissary to die in ignorance, the Saintess, Castorice, was far more important!
However, she couldn't say that. If she did, Castorice would certainly refuse to leave.
"Saintess, perhaps the Emissary has already gone ahead to rendezvous with the main force from Okhema. Let's go to safety first, and then we can look for him, alright?"
Castorice frowned, uncertain. She was just a child of a few years, and hearing the priestess's words, she could only nod in agreement.
"Okay, I'll go with you as soon as I get my flower."
Castorice ran to the windowsill, picked up the flower she had placed in the cup of water, and then nodded to the priestess.
"I'm ready."
"Saintess, come with me!"
Seeing that Castorice was ready, the priestess nodded and turned to lead the way out. In her haste, she completely failed to notice that the flower in Castorice's hand had not withered instantly as it usually would have.
The priestess led Castorice straight to the back of the church, where there was a small path just wide enough for one person to pass through, which would allow them to bypass the residents and the souls coming for Castorice.
But as they stepped onto the path, Castorice suddenly stopped.
The priestess noticed the sudden halt behind her and turned back, asking with some confusion, "Saintess?"
Castorice turned to look back in the direction of the town. She could vaguely sense a great many souls approaching, seeking her for peace.
Although she didn't understand why so many souls were appearing, even at her young age, she knew that an encounter between the living and the restless dead would lead to a very bad outcome.
"Has everyone left?"
Castorice turned back to the priestess and asked the question that worried her most.
The priestess's eyes lowered, but she quickly composed herself and nodded calmly.
"Yes, everyone has already left as the High Priest instructed. Let's hurry, Saintess."
"Really?"
The priestess couldn't bring herself to answer for a long moment. Finally, looking at the young girl before her, she gritted her teeth and nodded.
"Yes. Let's go..."
Hearing her say that, Castorice finally let out a sigh of relief and nodded along.
"Okay, let's go."
Only then did the priestess turn back around to continue leading the way.
I'm sorry, Saintess. To end the suffering of the dead who cannot find peace in this world, this is the only way. You must live!
---o---
Meanwhile, the residents who had swarmed from the town to the front of the church saw Eleusis emerge from within, leading his monks.
Just as the residents were about to ask about the Saintess's whereabouts, Eleusis spoke first.
"Time is short. All of you, be quiet."
Eleusis raised a hand and pointed to the small path behind the church, speaking urgently to the crowd.
"I have already had people forcibly take the Saintess away. There is a path down the mountain behind the church. The elderly and children are to go down that path immediately. I have already spoken with the people from Okhema; they will be waiting to receive you outside. I and my monks will stay behind to buy you time."
With that, Eleusis ignored the residents' reactions, gave a look to the monks beside him, and began to move against the crowd, heading toward the town.
As the High Priest, he was no weak, helpless old man. He and the monks under him had mastered at least some prayers; they could buy some time for the residents.
Seeing Eleusis's words and his silent resolve as he led the monks against the tide of people, an attitude that brooked no argument, the residents had no choice but to rush toward the small path behind the church.
At that moment, countless souls poured in through the town gates. The locked gates were no obstacle to them. Wherever they passed, all life withered.
"Unveil the curtain of memory, stir the ripples of the past—"
As an aged voice recited the prayer, a curtain of energy suddenly opened before the advancing souls. On the other side of the curtain was the Aidonia of a hundred years ago. A number of souls, unable to stop in time, passed directly through the curtain and into the past. The rest of the souls, however, subconsciously skirted the curtain, continuing their advance from both sides.
Eleusis stood on high ground, watching the souls instinctively avoid danger, and could not help but frown.
"Lingering in the mortal world for so long, they still retain some instinct for survival?"
Still, this was not enough to trouble him, and he had his monks to assist him.
Eleusis was about to continue using the prayer, to cover the entire town of Aidonia with the power of [Time] and send this band of souls away.
However, just as Eleusis and the others began to chant the prayer in unison, Lygus quietly appeared on the other side, observing them.
"For Non-Chrysos Heirs to forcefully use a prayer of such scale will ultimately result in a backlash. Sacrificing one's life to save others... no matter how many times I see it, it stirs my heart."
After his moment of admiration, Lygus brought his hands forward from behind his back.
"But this time, I cannot let you have your wish."
Lygus gently clapped his hands together, severing the connection between Eleusis and his monks and the Titan of [Time].
Eleusis's eyes shot wide open. He could feel that the connection between himself and the others to the Titan of [Time] had suddenly vanished. Although he didn't understand what had gone wrong, he knew that without the divine power of [Time], they were powerless against the souls!
"Damn it! This way, the residents won't have enough time to get away!"
Eleusis shouted, then took the lead and charged towards the souls.
Since they could not use prayers to buy time, they would have to use the souls' instinctual craving for life to try and delay them!
The rest of the monks, seeing Eleusis charge toward the souls, immediately understood his intentions. One by one, they followed him.
Since they had followed Eleusis here, they had long been prepared to die.
But what surprised Eleusis and the others was that even though they were right in front of them, the souls remained completely unmoved, and even ignored them directly!
"What exactly is their target?!"