CHAPTER 14
Sera blinked her eyes as she just came to her senses. She looked around and instantly knew what she had done but she looked nonchalant as though it was a normal occurrence.
Well, she had seen far more destruction before than this.
Her dark red eyes stared straight at Cruella's striking red eyes but she felt instantly intimidated and stepped back in horror.
The person in front of her is like an invincible wall-so gigantic and powerful. The pressure of Cruella's aura sent shivers down her spine.
She felt ominous danger. For the second time, she felt so small. She didn't even flinch in the presence of the god before but for some reason, she felt threatened by the presence of Cruella. When the latter didn't even do anything but just stood there expressionlessly.
However, the first time she felt threatened like this was when she met the Great Saintess, Meira Latona, who possessed holy light opposite of her dark power.
The Great Saintess along with other gods suppressed her with difficulties and in the end, the Great Saintess' holy light killed her but not her soul.
A god stepped in and imprisoned her soul in her locket instead. The locket is a precious object given by her deceased mother.
And for a second time, Sera felt threatened again in front of an unknown stranger who questioned her why she was doing all these the moment they met.
Sera was at a loss for a while and blinked her eyes the moment her gaze fell on Cruella's long and silky silver-red hair. She felt déjà vu.
She was momentarily stunned as the light of the sun illuminated the place and onto Cruella's figure that looked ethereal in her view.
Her body seemed to react and her heart suddenly beat faster. She clenched her chest in a daze.
"What was that?" she murmured.
"I'm asking you... Why are you doing this? Are you getting your revenge?" Cruella asked impatiently when she saw the girl in a daze.
Sera gulped and hesitantly nodded.
Cruella sighed and said, "Are you... satisfied?"
Sera was stunned. 'Shouldn't she be angry for destroying the place? Why is she asking me if I'm satisfied or not?', she thought.
"I guess... not," Cruella added nonchalantly. In her opinion, it's not her business whether the girl wanted revenge. Everyone has a story to tell and it's not her place to judge.
And what's more, what's done is done. She is not the type to dwell on the past.
She's no saint and what happens is not of her concern. Although she was vexed earlier, not that she remembered she was, anyway.
"Are you not angry?" Sera asked in surprise.
Cruella snorted. "Why should I? It's not like you cross my path. Moreover, I didn't see you doing this misdeed."
"But seeing that thousands of lives were lost, these means do not justify the ends. You became a murderer and a sinner the moment you kill someone no matter if it's an insect, a human, or a monster."
Sera was rendered speechless. She couldn't refute it, but she didn't feel remorseful at all. For her, she was beyond redemption. She accepted that truth about her.
"However, fret not because I... myself am also a murderer and a sinner. So you are not alone." Well, of course, Cruella devoured quite a lot of monsters and a few people since coming to this world. So she is also guilty.
For some reason, Sera felt comfort and before she knew it, she burst into tears as Cruella's words kept resounding in her head.
No one has ever said something like that to her and she couldn't help but burst out crying. She couldn't even remember when was the last time she cried like this.
Cruella just watched the girl crying her heart out. Sometimes, the best comfort is to just stand beside the broken person and let that person cry out all her pent-up emotions. For Cruella could see that the girl in front of her was sad and still grieving. She was broken...
The girl must have lost someone she loved dearly.
The child in her arms stirred up and jolted awake at the sound of someone crying. The child looked at Cruella questioningly but the latter just shrugged her shoulders.
She put the child down and watched the sunrise instead. The child also watched the sunrise in silence.
A little while later, Sera stops crying and stares at Cruella's back. For some reason, she felt a sense of familiarity with her. But she's certain that this is their first meeting.
Then Sera concluded that the owner of this body must have known this stranger.
"Are you done?" Cruella asks as she tilts her head to look at Sera.
Sera didn't respond and just stared at Cruella's flawless face. A little while later, she cleared her throat and said, "I'm Sera Von Khaos. What's your name?"
Cruella smiled. "I'm Cruella."
Suddenly, Cruella remembers something and quickly looks at the child. She bent down and asked softly, "What's your name, little one?"
The child smiled for the first time and replied in a cute baby voice, "My name is Lucy and I'm four years old."
Cruella pat the child's head and said with a smile, "Nice to meet you, Lucy."
Lucy nodded with a smile. She was not as distraught as she was earlier.
Cruella just notices that Lucy is dirty and her clothes are like a rag. She frowned.
Is her family so poor that they couldn't buy her proper clothes?
Cruella scooped up Lucy and turned to Sera. "Let's find a place to talk."
Sera nodded and walked beside Cruella. For some reason, she couldn't refuse and that baffled her.
'Why do I feel like I'm at her mercy?'
And... for the first time, Sera felt uneasy and on her tiptoes around Cruella. Just one mistake might be the end of her.
Well, it's because when she tried looking at Cruella's status, she found that she couldn't see her status like it was shrouded in a mist. At that moment she knew she couldn't afford to offend her despite how powerful she was at the moment.
To her, Cruella seems shrouded in mystery and an impenetrable mountain.
In short, Cruella is an extremely dangerous enemy.
When morning came, news of the destruction of many towns that involved the loss of thousands of lives spread throughout the entire Albania Kingdom and soon reached the other kingdoms as well.
This sudden phenomenon reminds the people who knew the history of what happened ten thousand years ago.
The withering of trees and plants caused by powerful dark power and many huge craters caused by only one blow, also remind them of one person.
None other than The Great Destroyer, Sera Von Khaos. The people also called her, the bringer of disaster.
In the blink of an eye, words traveled so fast and wide upon the news of the sudden emergence of the Great Destroyer.
A wave of panic swept the people all over the world. The people trembled with extreme fear. Then they remembered the oracle that the Holy Temple shared with the public a few months ago.
The oracle clearly stated that 'The shackles crumbled and destroyed. Lives will be lost and terror will strike the world. Find the savior or destruction will follow.'
At this moment, inside the Holy Temple, a meeting was held.
"His Holiness, the only one who could stop the Great Destroyer is the Great Saintess. But she's nowhere to be found. What should we tell the people?" a priest asked.
The Pope or the leader of the temple remained silent as he also mulled over this current predicament. Tens of thousands of lives were lost and they should take action or the people will condemn the church.
"We need to find the Great Saintess!" Cardinal Aquim suggested solemnly.
"Ten thousand years have passed, is the Great Saintess still alive?" another priest uttered with doubt.
"Yeah, according to the book, the Great Saintess also disappeared after defeating the Great Destroyer."
"What if she's dead?"
"I hope not!"
"Who is the savior stated in the oracle?"
The priests voiced their opinions one by one. The discussions were intense as they also feared what would happen in the future. Any time, the Great Destroyer would attack again.
Who knows? The Great Destroyer might attack the capital this time.
Everyone was on edge at this immense pressure.
"What if we summon a saint?"
"We tried but failed, remember?"
"No. That only means that the Great Saintess is still alive."
"But where are we going to find her?"
The priests went silent. This matter is so serious and it gives them intense headaches.
"How about the five heroes?" a priest uttered.
"We all know that the five heroes' powers are not enough to defeat the Great Destroyer."
"For some reason, the five heroes disappeared all of a sudden."
The priests all sighed deeply. Worries etched on their faces.
"This is impossible. History will repeat if we don't find the Great Saintess."
"Will the gods step in again this time?"