The majestic body dissipated in the clouds.

The wind is calming again, the smoke is still taking time to fade, and the shadows have receded, leaving behind a scarred city-state.

"There are survivors here too! It's a little girl! ”

The silence in the cemetery was broken by a slightly excited shout, and a guard warrior opened the door to the guard's hut and found the girl huddled in the hut.

The cold wind blew into the house from outside the door, mixed with the smell of gunsmoke, Anne looked up a little dazedly, looked at the black-clothed guard who appeared at the door, and in a trance, she seemed to see another person appear behind the young soldier, a figure with a rickety and always gloomy eyes.

She got up dazedly, and subconsciously stepped forward, stumbling towards the door, trying to catch the rickety figure.

She threw herself into the air, her feet crooked, and then she felt someone grab her collar from behind—the Guardian Warrior grabbed the girl who tried to run past her but nearly fell, and bent down on her, "Are you alright, girl—what's your name?" Why in the cemetery? ”

Anne didn't seem to hear the sound in her ears, she just raised her head and looked around slowly, looking for the old man she had just seen.

The rickety old man was not far away, he had already turned around, waved his hand with his back to this side, and then slowly walked to the path deep in the cemetery, and at the end of the path, there was an unusually tall figure standing faintly.

The figure was clad in a dark robe reminiscent of night, its body was bandaged, and it held a staff that seemed to be carved from dead wood...... As described in the church books, the guards at the gates of Bartók.

When the old man came to the guard, the two seemed to talk briefly before disappearing together like a phantom at the end of the path.

Anne looked in that direction in a daze, and stood quietly in the cold wind, not crying or moving.

The black-clothed guard on the side was a little worried: "What's wrong with you?" Little girl? What are you looking for? ”

"She's probably looking for this." The voice of another man suddenly came from a nearby trail, accompanied by the footsteps of boots on the snow.

Anne subconsciously turned her head.

A nun was walking this way, holding two things in her hands—a cane that looked badly scarred, and a shotgun that looked familiar.

"Your protector is gone," the nun paused in front of Anne and slowly crouched down to place the two things on the ground, "Unfortunately, we can't let you see him again - there are only ashes on site." ”

Anne looked at the cane and shotgun on the ground steadily, and after a few seconds she bent down, took them in her hands, and held them carefully in her arms.

"I know," she muttered quietly, "the caretaker is gone with the gatekeeper......

"Don't touch the gun," the black-clothed guard soldier next to him subconsciously stretched out his hand to stop it, "...... in danger"

"There are no more bullets," the nun shook her head and whispered, "let her hold her for a while, they may be someone they know." ”

The Guardian warrior hesitated, withdrew his hand, and turned his head again, surveying the graveyard.

Dirty, dry black mud covered the perimeter of the trail and surrounded the caretaker's hut, and dirty snow mixed with the mud that covered the entire cemetery.

How many monsters have tried to attack this place, and how much filth has fallen in the snow here? Now that the shadows have receded, everything is ...... It seems that there is no way to know.

A slight cool touch suddenly came, and the Guardian looked up to see a wave of snowflakes slowly falling from the sky—not ashes, but real snowfall.

Along with the snowflakes was a glimmer of light in the sky, the light of the sun—the gloomy clouds obscured it, but the hazy light still showed its presence.

The sun is back.

As the roar of the steam mechanism approached from outside the cemetery, a steam cart stopped outside the gate, and a team of guardians operating near the cemetery noticed the movement and approached the car, then saluted the man who got out of the car in a stunned state.

Footsteps came towards the guard's hut, and when the young black-clothed guard saw the visitor, he immediately turned around and saluted, and then said with some confusion: "Gatekeeper, you are ......"

"I'll check on the cemeteries."

Anne, who was holding a cane and a shotgun in a daze, heard the voice beside her, and finally woke up from her stunned, she subconsciously raised her head and looked in the direction where the sound came from.

A lady in a black priest's robe skirt stood on the path.

Her skin was pale, and there was a calm, cold breath around her—Anne couldn't understand what it was, but she thought of the cold fog of the sea, and at the same time she noticed that the lady's exposed skin was almost everywhere with wounds, large and small, but there was no blood in them, like ...... Cracked dolls.

The woman's eyes were wrapped in a black cloth.

The lady seemed to be blind, but Anne felt that the other's "gaze" was falling on her, a calm and gentle gaze, through the thick black cloth, looking at her.

It took Anne a long time to recognize the lady.

The woman, however, apparently recognized her from the start.

"I know your name is Anne," Agatha bent down and gently rubbed Anne's hair, then her eyes fell on the shotgun and cane in the girl's hand, she was silent for two seconds, and then got up and said to the priest who was accompanying her, "The area around the mine was the first place to be invaded, and these cemeteries that surrounded the mines of Uptown held back the large number of monsters that flocked to the surrounding neighborhoods. ”

"Almost all the grave guards and the guards stationed around the cemetery were killed," said the nun slowly, "and the city-state guards in this area have also suffered heavy losses. ”

Agatha listened in silence, then prayed silently.

"Gatekeeper," the black-clothed guard next to him couldn't help but speak, "Now that there are many dead and wounded in the city-state, we need to be vigilant against secondary disasters in the fields of death, fear, and obsession, and we may need several large-scale requiem rituals, and there is no ...... on the cathedral side yet."

"I am now taking the duties of the archbishop, and I don't have to worry about the requiem ceremony," Agatha said calmly, "Bishop Ivan has left, and he has a new journey. ”

The black-clothed guard was stunned for a moment, and a shocked and unacceptable expression briefly appeared in his eyes, and it seemed that it was only at this moment that he noticed the change in Agatha's outfit—

The gatekeeper stripped off the black coat that represented force and replaced it with a robe more symbolic of the clergy.

This symbolizes the change of her identity and responsibilities at this moment.

"Don't worry, I'm still the gatekeeper, and the guards are still under my command, until a new archbishop is selected at church headquarters, or a new gatekeeper takes my place, and at that point, I may become the official bishop of the city-state," Agatha seemed to have a keen eye despite the loss of her eyes, and she sensed the reaction of her subordinates, patiently explaining, "At this stage, maintaining order in the city-state is paramount. ”

"Yes...... Gatekeepers. ”

The young black-clad guard lowered his head, and after a brief hesitation, chose to address his boss by the familiar name "Gatekeeper".

Agatha didn't care about these trifles, she turned her gaze, and her "gaze" fell on Anne again.

"Go home," she said gently, "your mother is safe, and she is waiting for you." ”

Anne hesitated for a moment at first, but nodded as soon as Agatha mentioned her mother.

But just as she was about to leave with the guards, she suddenly stopped.

"Grandpa Guard...... "I just followed the gatekeeper," she looked up at Agatha, "ah, I mean the gatekeeper on the 'other side' in the book. ”

Agatha frowned slightly.

Anne thought that the other party did not believe it, so she quickly raised her hand and pointed to the path in the depths of the cemetery: "That's where you left......"

Agatha looked up and looked thoughtfully in the direction of Anne's finger.

In the place of her eyes, which were covered in black cloth, there seemed to be a faint flash of green fire.

After a moment, she lowered her head and looked Anne in the eye.

"You...... Want to be a guardian? ”

Anne was a little stunned, as if she didn't quite understand what this meant.

But after a few seconds, she seemed to vaguely react: "Is it like you or the caretaker grandfather?" ”

"That could take years," Agatha seemed to smile as she shook her head slightly, "Don't think about it yet, it seems a little early for me to tell you this - go home first, and if you really want to be a guardian, you must at least be able to get into the most basic church school." ”

Anne seemed to understand whether she understood or not, and then reluctantly handed the shotgun and cane in her hand to the black-clad guard next to her.

“…… If you become a guardian, can you give me my grandfather's shotgun and cane? ”

She suddenly turned her head and looked at Agatha very seriously.

After a moment, Agatha nodded slightly, "...... If you still think so after three years, I agree. ”

Anne left.

Calm returned to the cemetery.

“…… Are you serious? The boy was too young to see any potential, and it would take more than just a regular training from the Guardians to inherit the veteran's cane......"

"She can see the guide of the world of the dead," Agatha said slowly, calmly gazing at the path at the end of the cemetery, "just like I was back then." ”

The young black-clad guard stopped talking.

The nun on the other side hesitated, but couldn't help but look at Agatha with some worry: "Your body, what is ......?"

"It's okay," Agatha said softly, shaking her head, "something has happened, this shell is just damaged. ”

(End of chapter)