Chapter 117: The Curtain Rises
The sunlight sparkled, and a crisp coldness unique to Belobog hung in the air.
Neverwinter Workshop.
Serval groggily climbed out of bed. Usually sharp and flamboyant, she now looked quite a bit softer. Her long hair was messy, her loose pajamas had slipped off her right shoulder to reveal a patch of fair skin, and a floppy sleeping cap was perched on her head.
"A-ha," Serval yawned, rubbing her eyes.
"Huh, it was a good dream, which should be a good omen. Why did Cocolia have to show up... What a buzzkill."
Shuffling out of the bedroom, Serval couldn't help but grumble to herself. Last night, she had dreamed of holding an unprecedentedly grand concert in Belobog with everyone from Crychic, of being in a band together for a lifetime. But then, somehow, her 'good old friend' from their younger band days, Cocolia, had appeared, and the beautiful dream turned sour.
She stuffed a piece of bread into the toaster, which had been repaired and modified so many times it was unrecognizable. Serval carried her breakfast to the sofa, eating while taking out the gift from her good friend—a phone.
Even setting aside its ability to communicate with her precious little sister across time and space, Serval could feel the importance and convenience of the phone. The small device allowed her, a frog in a well, to leap out of the icy well of Jarilo-VI and glimpse the vast, boundless universe.
The prosperity and advancement of the galaxy, all of it, was far beyond Serval's imagination. The daily life of some civilizations was practically paradise in her eyes! When she thought of the people of Belobog struggling to survive in the cold wave, the extreme contrast made even Serval feel a palpable sense of loss.
However, that was how she felt when she first glimpsed the splendor beyond the sky. Now, she had long since adjusted her mindset.
Instead of opening the 'Douyin' app to watch short videos as usual, Serval skillfully opened her contacts and tapped on a certain ID.
[Rolling Boulder: Caelus, how are things on your end?]
When she first heard that everyone from Crychic had wanted posters out for them, Serval had been frantic. She soon remembered the phone and that she could contact them. Learning that everyone was safe and had escaped to the Underworld, beyond Cocolia's reach, Serval was finally able to relax. She contacted Caelus almost every day and learned a lot about the situation in the Underworld from him. Hearing about the dire resource shortages in the Underworld, waves of pity and sorrow washed over Serval. They are all residents of Belobog, yet they suffer so much. It's all Cocolia's fault!
Fortunately, Caelus had arrived! The situation had taken a turn.
The screen stayed on the chat window. Caelus seemed to be busy. It was five minutes before Serval received a reply.
[Ripping Tiles Off The Roof: Wildfire has started to act. We'll be back in the Overworld soon.]
Serval's face lit up, then her brows furrowed.
[Rolling Boulder: But, what are you going to do about Cocolia...]
She sent the message, but the reply she received was a picture of Stelle. The gray-haired girl's smile in the photo was very strange. Serval knew this thing was called a 'sticker.'
Just as she was feeling bewildered, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded from the hallway.
"Sis! Sis! Something big has happened!"
A cute, blonde-haired girl wearing a cat-ear beanie came running up the stairs, her steps clattering one after another. Her expression was a mix of surprise and horror.
Serval was a little taken aback. Her precious little sister was usually the steady, reliable type, rarely losing her composure. "Lynx, what's wrong?"
Serval ate the last bite of her toast. Speaking of which, she had heard a lot of commotion outside after waking up today.
"Sis, look at this!"
Lynx quickly ran to Serval and handed the tightly crumpled newspaper in her hand to her older sister. Serval quickly took the paper, and soon the confusion on her face turned to astonishment, then utter shock. A strange look appeared in her ice-blue eyes.
"What's going on? Since when did those old noble fogeys start acting like decent human beings?"
The Landau family was one of the ancient Architect families. Serval, of course, knew who was behind the newspapers.
"It's not just this one," Lynx leaned in and reminded her.
Serval immediately unfolded the thick stack of newspapers in her hand and found that they were from all the major and minor newspapers in Belobog.
Almost every paper's headline was a denunciation of Supreme Guardian Cocolia. They loudly accused her of plunging all of Belobog into misery since she took power, with the people's livelihood in decline. Various crimes were listed, but the most moving was undoubtedly the article accusing Cocolia of sealing off the Overworld and the Underworld.
In the past, when Cocolia had transferred all the Silvermane Guards from the Underworld to the Overworld, the reason given was to concentrate their forces to deal with the Fragmentum threat in the Overworld. As for why the two districts needed to be completely sealed off, to the point that even exchanging letters was forbidden, a proper reason was never given. Don't ask. If you ask, it's the Supreme Guardian's order! The prestige accumulated by the Supreme Guardians over seven hundred years meant that no one dared to raise objections or questions.
But now, a brave reporter named 'Jinx Raven' had provided detailed information about the Underworld. Without the Silvermane Guards, the Underworld had become a living hell. The people lived in hardship, some even starving, dying of thirst, or sickness. Most of the towns in the Underworld had been eroded by the Fragmentum.
There were pictures to prove it.
The newspaper was accompanied by photos taken by the brave reporter who had pretended to go to the Underworld. Belobog had no such thing as Photoshop; in the eyes of the people, photos were decisive evidence. In fact, these were indeed real photos taken by Raven.
The report also exonerated the Trailblazer team, explaining that they were not infiltrators trying to start a rebellion, but righteous heroes who were indignant on behalf of the people of Belobog and had been framed by the Supreme Guardian. Also, that the people of the Underworld had united to resist the tyranny of the fatuous Supreme Guardian, forming the righteous organization [Wildfire].
"Now this is going to be a good show!"
Serval made no effort to hide the joy on her face. "Caelus, well done!"
Although the name 'Jinx Raven' sounded a bit tasteless, it fit her impression of Stelle and Caelus. These photos were undoubtedly provided by their people. Serval had been looking forward to this day for too long! Even if Cocolia could suppress this, it would be a huge political stain. Serval couldn't think of any political means to break this deadlock.
When she saw the headlines of the remaining few papers, Serval's eyes suddenly widened, the joy on her face turning to shock, her eyes filled with disbelief.
They were reports about the current silver-haired commander of the Silvermane Guards, the heir to the Supreme Guardian, Miss Bronya. The content was mainly about Bronya and the high-yield crops that could be grown in low temperatures. Miss Bronya could feed everyone and completely solve the food problem.
Bronya has arrived! Belobog will be at peace!
Bronya has arrived! The people will no longer go hungry!
All of Belobog was set ablaze by today's newspapers, causing a massive uproar. The eyes of many residents whose families were sealed off in the Underworld turned red. People began to protest, and several small-scale riots even broke out.
Qlipoth Fort, the Supreme Guardian's Palace.
The vast hall was empty, with only Cocolia sitting on the Supreme Guardian's throne, her face extremely grim as she stared at the newspaper in her hand.
At a certain moment.
Boom!
"These swine, how dare they!"
Along with her now-terrifying face, traces of ice erosion appeared on Cocolia's limbs and the side of her face. A cold wave erupted, surging out from Cocolia as the center, coating the bookshelves, desks, and documents with a layer of crystalline, extreme-cold frost. Some vases and glass sculptures shattered directly under this power, frozen into ice shards.
"These guys, are they trying to reenact the 'Fool Hlil' incident?"
Hlil was a puppet Supreme Guardian in Belobog's history, a political sham orchestrated by the then-Minister of the Interior, Stepan. During Hlil's reign, the power of Minister Stepan grew day by day. His faction soon gained absolute control over Qlipoth Fort and enacted numerous oppressive laws.
"Who gave them the courage!?"
If the noble factions overthrew her, the inexperienced Bronya would certainly be no match for those old foxes. By then, they could carve up the Supreme Guardian's power.
"No, that's not right..."
Although she was on the verge of madness, she hadn't lost her reason. Cocolia quickly calmed down after her outburst of rage. "Even if they united, those swine wouldn't have this kind of guts!" Besides, expecting the noble factions to be completely united, to advance and retreat as one without any cracks, was simply impossible.
"Is it those people?"
Seeing the reports vindicating the outsiders, and the mention of crops that could grow in low temperatures in the report about Bronya, Cocolia quite naturally pinned the blame on them.
As for her lovely daughter?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible! After all, Bronya was raised by her. How could she not know her daughter's personality and style? Even if her daughter knew the truth about the Underworld, she would definitely come and question her first, not resort to this kind of method.
"Guards!"
Cocolia's face was as cold as frost as she summoned the Palace Guards. The Guards who could work in Qlipoth Fort were all highly loyal to Cocolia, her personal guards. Even after hearing some of the news, they had not wavered.
Team after team of personal guards left Qlipoth Fort to suppress the protestors and arrest the nobles behind the various newspapers.
[All will exist eternally in the new world...]
The voice that had been whispering in her ear for over a decade was still ringing.
[All that we have promised will surely come to pass...]
[We will give you more help...]
A black shadow connected to Cocolia through the depths of her spirit. The Stellaron used the darkness within to accelerate the twisting and mutation of Cocolia's mind.
A red mask's afterimage appeared on Cocolia's face. Her expression froze for a moment, then she began to laugh like a madwoman.
"Hehe, haha, hahahahaha!"
Her laughter was intermittent at first, then became a continuous stream, and finally, it was wild and unrestrained. The smile on Cocolia's face grew more and more insane.
"That's right! The arrival of the new world is unstoppable!"
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