"Pansy, long time no see. Have you missed your senior brother?"
Damian stepped up and patted the girl's head, all kindly and affable.
"I… I missed you… sob, sob!"
She didn't dare say no, so Pansy cried even harder, several snot bubbles popping out.
Miss you, my foot. I want to stick a fork in you.
Why aren't you dead yet?
"Now it's just you and me in the graveyard. I'm getting nostalgic, Pansy—we haven't 'flown together' in a long time."
Seeing how pitiful she looked, Damian simply scooped her up. "Here's your happy reunion gift from your senior brother—Airborne Spinning Airplane, remember?"
"No, don't—"
Before Pansy could react, Damian had already picked her up, then cranked out a 720‑degree spin and pitched her high.
Whoosh!
Before she could even cry for help, she was a cannonball arcing over the graveyard.
"This… this is a reunion gift?"
"Even on his way out, he has to mess with me."
Pansy couldn't even cry in midair.
That damned lunatic—throwing her the moment they meet. A few more of those and she really would die…
Help!
Just as she plummeted, certain the end had come, a figure appeared below. Two big pecs clamped her and set her down safely.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the graveyard pond, the little fields, and chickens, ducks, and fish—a serene pastoral scene.
A graveyard farm?
Pansy was gently set down. Damian patted her head and said, "You know your senior brother's about to leave the graveyard for a while. When I get back, I want to see this place thriving—flocks of chickens and ducks, and flocks of Pandoras."
"Flocks of… Pandoras?"
While Pansy's heart was still hammering, several piglets poked out from the grass, snorting, mouths open to be fed.
"I managed to get a few more 'Pandoras.' When I return, I want to see them—then we'll butcher and eat them."
"So you're responsible for fattening them up. If you don't, your senior brother will be very angry. And you know what happens when I get angry."
Damian kept rubbing the little Pandora's head, voice oh so gentle.
"Don't worry, I'll do it."
Pansy's face was all bitter melon, but she gritted her teeth and agreed.
She knew the result of saying no. Better to put up with it and send the lunatic on his way.
Now this lunatic senior brother was going to Japan to take back a Gold Cloth. Here's hoping he dies and never comes back.
"One more thing—you have to promise me that too."
Damian pointed at the stone dumbbells beyond the grass and smiled. "Build your pecs!"
"Senior brother… I told you before, I'm a girl."
"Exactly. Because you're a girl, you need to train your pecs even more."
Damian pointed at his own chest. "When I get back, your pecs must be half as big as mine. Heh heh heh… Look at Marin and Shaina's pecs."
"On girls… those aren't called pecs."
Staring at the lunatic, Pansy felt numb.
Why didn't the Pope have him killed?
Why is he still alive in this world?
Why…
"Do your best. I'm off. When I get back, I'll check your homework. If you fail, you're eating by the latrine."
With his orders given, Damian waved and vanished from Pansy's sight.
Pansy breathed out. She knew that after today, with Damian gone from the Sanctuary, her life would be a bit easier.
As long as she was with that lunatic, she never felt like she had clothes on. More than once she suspected Damian had seen through her identity.
Thinking it over, though, it seemed unlikely. Her disguise was darn near perfect—even the Pope couldn't see through it. No way a nutcase would. It had to be coincidence.
The urgent matter was finding a new way to open the Sanctuary Treasury.
And finding the other Specter who hadn't responded.
She badly needed his help to act.
Hmph, hmph, hmph…
A cluster of piglets crowded around, snorting for food. Pansy found herself reaching for the feed bag to feed them.
Yes—if Damian came back to the graveyard, she needed to have something to show, or life would be worse than death.
As for the pecs?
Her body wasn't even ten yet.
She could always speed things up…
.
After noon, deep in the graveyard.
Gordon of the Heavenly Prison Star and Gujado of the Earthly Violence Star climbed from their graves again.
The damage to their Surplices—and their wounds—had almost healed. Gujado's arm was reattached too.
"The graveyard seems to repair Surplices—and Specters. That's bizarre."
Damian eyed them, finding it hard to believe.
He'd thought about toggling the System's modes in the graveyard, but hadn't expected the graveyard could even upgrade Specters—just in another way.
Who knew what other potential this graveyard held.
He had tried burying bodies outside, but only burying in this Sanctuary graveyard would trigger his System.
Which showed the System's scope was this Sanctuary graveyard.
And that meant the origin of his System was this graveyard.
He couldn't help wanting to learn the graveyard's history—and the secrets hidden within.
It seemed to date back to Athena's founding of the Sanctuary. Might there be other secrets hidden here?
Time was tight now. He'd explore its mysteries later.
"You two head back to the Underworld. Pretend you're still taking orders from Pandora. Whatever she does, use the telekinetic headstone at your graves to contact me. I need to know Pandora's moves."
After giving orders, Damian pointed at the large headstone before their graves—a stone he had infused with his telekinesis so the user could link to his mind.
The two Specters answered and vanished into a spatial rift in the graveyard.
Sure enough, there were rifts to the Underworld in the graveyard. That was likely why Pansy had come to the Sanctuary graveyard in the first place.
But Pansy was already under top‑level scrutiny in the Sanctuary. Any storm she tried to stir would go nowhere.
He hoped the little lass would behave. Given Dark Saga's suspicious cruelty, he'd likely have the graveyard watched. If she tried anything, Damian could guarantee Saga would twist her head off.
Damian turned to leave—and then noticed a strange grave. The tomb was mottled and worn, and on the broken headstone, beyond the cracks of age, there was a faint sword‑shaped mark.
A sword?
Wait—that's a Holy Sword mark!
Could this be that Gold Saint's grave!
No time to think.
Before leaving, fix one up—see what it rolls!
(End of Chapter)
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