Chapter 183 Invasion After Nightfall

"The teacher just left like that?" Nina came to the first floor and widened her eyes in surprise after hearing that Morris had already left. Then she complained a little, "Uncle, why didn't you ask him to stay? Letting the teacher leave in such terrible weather..."

"It'll be dark later," Duncan turned around to lock the front door, then casually said as he walked towards the stairs, "He drove here. A little rain won't affect him much."

"But the teacher didn't look too good," Nina followed, muttering as she went upstairs, "He should have rested more..."

Duncan thought about it. He figured that if the old gentleman really rested here longer, it wouldn't just be a matter of feeling unwell. He might fail a string of Will checks and wouldn't see the World's Creation tonight, let alone tomorrow's sun...

But he couldn't explain this to Nina, so he just made a few casual remarks and went to the dining table on the second floor.

Nina had already prepared a hot meal – borscht, toasted bread, vegetable rolls, and sliced ham.

Clearly enough for one more person.

"We can leave the leftovers for tomorrow morning," Nina muttered, then looked up at Duncan curiously, "What did you talk to the teacher about? I couldn't hear clearly from upstairs, but it seemed like you were having a lively conversation..."

Duncan quietly looked at Nina, as he had been doing since earlier, watching the girl busy herself.

She was as usual, always smiling, never really angry even when she complained, always busy with this and that, as if she had endless things to do and inexhaustible energy, always looking forward to tomorrow.

Duncan could only see this side of Nina. He didn't have Morris's "eyes to see the truth," and he couldn't see the surging flames within Nina's body.

If he hadn't heard it with his own ears, he really wouldn't have imagined that the sun fragment that was affecting so many people's nerves was quietly "sleeping" here, right under his nose.

Sun fragment... what exactly is it?

Duncan had once thought it was a tangible, material extraordinary item, and then, through various clues, he confirmed that it was a detached solar prominence. But now, he discovered that this thing might be sleeping inside Nina's body...

If that thing really came from the "star" he was familiar with, then what kind of changes would a star have to undergo to detach such a bizarre "fragment"?

"Uncle Duncan?" Nina noticed the gaze coming from across the table, and she turned her body a little awkwardly, "Is there something on my face?"

"...No, there's nothing there," Duncan gently shook his head. He broke open a piece of bread as he casually asked, "By the way, have you been feeling unwell lately? Has that strange dream... happened again?"

"No," Nina waved her hand. "The hypnosis Miss Heidi did for me worked pretty well. I haven't had any strange dreams since then, and I feel energetic every day."

She paused, then looked at Duncan worriedly, "What's wrong, Uncle? I think... you're acting a little strange, especially after you talked with Mr. Morris... Ah, could it be my last exam scores..."

"No, don't let your imagination run wild. Your teacher didn't come here to complain," Duncan raised an eyebrow. "Eat first, eat first."

Nina responded and lowered her head to eat. At that moment, Duncan seemed to sense something and looked towards a certain direction outside the window with a puzzled expression.

...

In the Lower District, deep in the dilapidated and dimly lit alleys, the hastily lit gas lamps finally dispelled the darkness before night completely enveloped the streets. Under the dim light of the gas lamps, Shirley leaned against the windowsill, looking out at the dark streets in a daze.

The rattling sound of chains came from behind, and Ah-gou's voice followed, "Peering outside again? What's so interesting?"

"Can't sleep, it's so early, and there's nothing to do," Shirley muttered, "So boring..."

"...How about we go out tomorrow and continue causing trouble for the cultists?"

"...I feel like it'll still be fruitless," Shirley thought for a moment, shaking her head. "I don't know if those guys in the church have suddenly become capable. The cultists in the city seem to have been completely wiped out recently. Even you can't smell their stench..."

"There really haven't been any Sun Cultists active in the city lately. Maybe they really were wiped out," Ah-gou came over and lay lazily at Shirley's feet. "But I don't think you're bored because of that..."

Shirley rolled her eyes. "Then what else could it be?"

"...Are you thinking about 'over there'?" Ah-gou raised its head, its empty, blood-red eye sockets gleaming. "Thinking about that warm house, that bright room, the hot meals, the days when someone called you to get up and urged you to eat, or... thinking about that subspacial kin named Nina? Or even that Dun..."

"Enough!"

"...Don't think that just because you've been fused with me, a Depths demon, for eleven years, you've really become a demon. There's nothing wrong with坦然 admitting your human side," Ah-gou shook its ugly head. "Besides, don't forget, it's not just this chain that connects me to you – can't I understand your emotional changes?"

"...Shut up," Shirley turned her face away, looking out the window with some annoyance. "If you keep nagging, I'll really take you to play with Nina tomorrow. Then I'll be with Nina, and you can be with Mr. Duncan. We'll both have a bright future – won't that scare you to death!"

Ah-gou finally stopped talking.

After a moment of silence, Shirley couldn't help but kick the Depths hound beside her with her toes, taking the initiative to break the silence: "It's not like I don't have you with me."

"You're more nauseating than I am when you get sentimental," Ah-gou stirred, its chains rattling. "Stop talking, or I'm going to throw up – then there'll be another new pit on the floor."

The Depths hound babbled, but through their interconnected minds, Shirley could feel that "Ah-gou," who had almost devoured her alive and then raised her, was suddenly in a better mood.

In the dim twilight and the faint glow of the streetlights, the thin girl pouted and hid a faint smile.

This was good enough. Everything was back on track, familiar days had returned, and she just needed to keep going – don't think about the peace and warmth that didn't belong to her, especially since that peaceful and warm place was also occupied by a shadow from the sub-space.

That warmth was too dangerous.

Shirley breathed a sigh of relief.

But the next second, she frowned slightly, as if sensing something malicious approaching, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand up slightly.

Ah-gou also suddenly stood up from its prone position. Black smoke and flames suddenly billowed from the massive Depths hound, and the red light in its empty, blood-red eye sockets intensified, scanning the room with vigilance and hostility.

The room was dark. In order to save money, Shirley had turned off the oil lamp on the table as soon as the streetlights came on. Now, only the light from the streetlights shining in from the window illuminated the room, and in the dim light, the simple furnishings cast mottled and strange shadows on the floor and walls.

Everything in the simple home was clear at a glance, familiar and straightforward.

But for some reason, Shirley suddenly felt that these furnishings in her home were somewhat unfamiliar – in the alternating light and shadow, in the corners of the tables and chairs and the gaps at the end of the bed, a strange and discordant aura was constantly seeping out!

Shirley tightened the chain in her hand subconsciously. "Ah-gou!"

"I know," Ah-gou roared at the same time. "I'm watching! Something is entering here... surrounding us... Crap! What the hell is this? My eyes are playing tricks on me!"

Before the Depths hound could finish speaking, Shirley suddenly noticed the light from the streetlights shining into the room.

It began to twist and dim!

As if a heavy black curtain had suddenly enveloped the entire house, the street scene that had been clearly visible in the previous second suddenly became a blur. The light of the streetlights was fragmented, turning into pale rays that fell into the room. Then, those pale rays and the ubiquitous shadows squirmed in unison, accompanied by a series of nauseating, low-pitched murmurs. Several figures suddenly emerged from the light and shadows –

They were clad in ragged black robes, and the arms exposed beneath the robes were as thin as firewood. They had black books hanging from their waists, and the books seemed to be soaked with ink-like filth. Constant streams of black, suspicious liquid dripped from the books. Each of them had an iron badge hanging on their chest, resembling a ring of thorns, and in the center of that badge, a pale, turbid flame flickered.

The leading black-robed figure raised his hand and pointed at Shirley. Muffled, hoarse syllables that no human could utter came from under the hood of the robe: "You shall perish..."

Ah-gou's exclamation finally reached Shirley's ears at this moment: "Those Cnm are the Doomsayers!!!"