Chapter 1448 A New City <TOC> Chapter 1450 The Sheriff's Duties
Translator: SumTLMan
Mandara looked around in confusion.
Tall, magnificent buildings, bustling streets, and the melodious sound of a piano coming from an unknown source… These unfamiliar sights left Mandara feeling somewhat bewildered.
Just a short while ago, she was trapped in a tower she couldn’t escape from. How did she end up here so suddenly?
Suddenly, laughter echoed from ahead, and Mandara caught a glimpse of two children, not even ten years old, playfully chasing each other.
A little girl in a red dress was chasing a slightly chubby boy, pretending to scold him, “Alda, we’re already at Ocean Theatre and you can even hear Mentor’s piano. How dare you run away? If Mentor finds out, he’ll surely punish you by making you copy music scores!”
Alda turned around, his eyes curving into crescents as he smiled, sticking out his tongue and responded in a childish voice, “I won’t go! Neh neh!”
With that, Alda turned and ran directly towards Mandara.
Like a slippery kitten, Alda, not paying attention, bumped into Mandara.
Mandara frowned, instinctively wanting to push Alda away, but just then, Alda let out a cry of “Ouch!”
The child’s voice made Mandara’s tense arm relax a little. She stiffened and instead of pushing him away, let Alda bump into her. The force sent Alda tumbling to the ground.
As he yelped in pain, Sunny had already appeared beside him, scolding while pinching Alda’s ear, “You’re really bold now, thinking that just because Mentor dotes on you, you can act all high and mighty? Wait till we get back; I want to see if you’ll still dare to scare those… gifted challengers, huh?”
As Sunny was speaking, she seemed to recall something and turned her gaze towards the person bumped by Alda.
She was about to apologize and take Alda to Ocean Theatre when she took a clear look at the person Alda had bumped into. Her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
“Who… who are you? How come I’ve never seen you before?” Sunny asked, looking puzzled at the woman.
Nowadays, there were more and more people in Initial Heart City. Sunny couldn’t remember everyone’s name, but she had an uncanny ability to remember faces. Even if she couldn’t recall someone’s name, she would remember if she had met them in the city.
But looking at this woman, Sunny drew a complete blank.
With her long hair cascading over her shoulders and a graceful face, the woman looked like she came from a noble family. However, a sense of gloom seemed to envelop her, and this aura felt strangely familiar to Sunny.
With such a distinctive appearance, Sunny was sure she would have remembered if they had met.
“Could she be new here?” Alda asked, rubbing his bumped forehead and looking up inquisitively with a childlike innocence.
Mandara felt a bit uneasy being stared at by the two kids. What did they mean by ‘new here’? Where exactly was she? She wanted to ask, but in the end, she remained silent and quickly turned to run towards the other end of the street.
Sunny and Alda exchanged a puzzled glance, both thinking the same thing: What was her deal?
“Should… should we go after her?” Alda hesitated.
Sunny shot Alda an annoyed look. “Why chase her? If she’s here at this time, she must have been brought in by one of those people for some special purpose. We don’t need to get involved; someone will handle it.”
If Angel were here, he would undoubtedly nod in approval at Sunny’s insight. Sunny’s intuition is indeed commendable.
“What should we do now?” Alda mumbled unconsciously.
Sunny sneered, grabbing Alda’s ear, pulling him up, “The most important thing now is to take you to meet Mentor Jon!”
“No——please——no——”
A horrific scream pierced the heavens, echoing endlessly, and finally transformed into heavy chains, landing heavily on the pitiable Alda.
At the same time, in a dark alleyway, Mandara also heard the wretched scream.
Such a tragedy, he must have met with an accident… Numerous dreadful outcomes flashed through her mind. Mandara’s eyes darkened for a moment as she walked to the mouth of the alley and looked out.
But she saw the little girl from before, pinching a young boy named Alda’s ear, threatening, “Shout again, and you better hurry up and learn the piano!”
Saying so, she dragged Alda into the nearby Ocean Theatre.
Mandara also noticed that the beautiful piano sound she had heard before was coming from Ocean Theatre.
Mandara breathed a sigh of relief: “So he’s just going to learn the piano, I thought something bad had happened.”
But after the relief, Mandara was taken aback: Why am I worrying about a brat?
Not only this question surfaced in her heart, but another question lingered in her mind: Why did I run?
For the first question, Mandara couldn’t sort out her somewhat chaotic thoughts; but for the second one, she had a vague answer in her heart.
When the little girl questioned her, Mandara found herself instinctively wanting to respond with sarcasm, a trait she had acquired over the years due to the influence of her ghost half. But just as she was about to speak, Alda’s innocent child’s voice echoed in her ear. She paused and realized that she was not facing a group of negative ghosts but two innocent children.
Unable to control her tone, she fled.
It was a ridiculous reason, and was just an excuse. The true reason was that it was Mandara’s subconscious reaction from not having interacted with outsiders for years.
Even her decision to hide in a dark alley after running away was a subconscious choice. The bustling buildings outside and the lively crowds seemed like walking sources of light, so free and enviable… They illuminated the darkness within her, making it surge out uncontrollably.
So, Mandara hid in the shadows of the alley, curling up in a corner, hoping to find her own comfort zone.
She leaned against the weathered wall, collapsed on the dry ground, a dazed look in her eyes.
What was happening to her? Why was her mood suddenly so unstable? Just because of those two innocent children?
Mandara rubbed her temples, feeling a bit better with the soothing pressure. But in an instant, her pupils constricted and her body began to tremble——
Why could she feel her body, why is it so solid?
In a swift motion, Mandara turned and began to pound against the wall. The solid “thud, thud, thud” sound, accompanied by falling plaster, made her look rather disheveled.
“Why can’t I pass through walls anymore?”
It took a while before Mandara gazed at the hazy sky, utterly confused: Where in the world am I?
Could it be that she was like the little girl beneath the graveyard well? Was she under the spell of those detestable wizards? Is she caught up in an illusion?
But the illusion beneath the graveyard well is so fragile and so easy to see through. Yet now, she can’t see through it at all, and she can’t even determine where she is.
Everything feels so real, even her body.
What’s most concerning is that she can’t even sense her own soul energy. It’s as if she’s truly become an ordinary person. No, she is indeed an ordinary person now, without any powers.
Mandara sat in the corner, lost in thought for a long time, until her restless mind gradually calmed down.
She began to carefully recall the events leading up to her arrival in this bustling city.
She remembered being confined in a tower from which she couldn’t escape. She was held there for several days, with the tower completely empty. The only connection to the outside world was a glass window that couldn’t be opened.
Through the glass window, Mandara could see a lush green forest in the distance, a stark contrast to the dark mood of the black castle.
She sat by the window, occasionally hearing the calls of animals from the forest.
Near the tower was an open-air library. Bookshelves were randomly placed on the lawn, creating a picturesque scene.
No one had entered the library until recently when two despicable humans came in.
One of them was Angel.
Mandara couldn’t recall the subsequent events clearly. All she remembered was sitting silently in a corner of the tower, reminiscing about the moments leading up to her death, hoping that the memory of her tragic end would cause her to fall again.
Even though her soul’s state made her feel extremely comfortable, with no terrifying whispers in her ear and no anxiety, she was relaxed and at ease… Yet, she didn’t want to be lost in this comfort. Her desire for revenge was as strong as ever and hadn’t waned.
No matter how hard she tried to recall the feelings before her death, she couldn’t let go.
When she was in utter despair, she felt a subtle change around her. Not long after, she heard Angel’s familiar voice: “Hatred and obsession are the two towering structures in your heart. You don’t need to tear them down, but why not try to live a little more effortlessly?”
Mandara wanted to retort, “Live more effortlessly? I’m already dead. I can’t possibly ‘live’ effortlessly anymore.”
But before she could speak, Angel’s voice came again, “Why not… live in a dream?”
The gentle whisper sent shivers down Mandara’s spine. She couldn’t even remember what Angel was referring to. Dream… where?
Could this be a dream? If it was, she should be able to wake up, right?
Mandara struggled for a while but couldn’t feel that she was in a dream. It seemed she was either trapped by some powerful illusion or Angel had thrown her into this unfamiliar city.
With her eyes closed, Mandara pondered what to do next.
When she was trapped in that tower, all she wanted was to get out. But now that she’s out, she felt lost.
Without realizing, Angel’s words echoed in Mandara’s mind——
“Why not try to live a little more effortlessly?”
Mandara shook her head vigorously. Angel wasn’t a good person. He was on the side of Black Castle. Why should she listen to him!
Brushing away these overwhelming thoughts, Mandara had to face reality again.
What should she do now? Where should she go?
Chapter 1448 A New City <TOC> Chapter 1450 The Sheriff's Duties