Holy Sound

One month later.

You Li stood before the Sword of Order, which stood as majestic as the Tower of Babel once was, and lit a cigarette for himself.

"Do you smoke during work hours now?"

A woman's voice came from behind him. You Li turned around and saw Ina standing behind him with her arms crossed, looking very relaxed.

"I'm a civilian employee now," You Li said, waving his cigarette. "Besides, the Devil Squad has been disbanded, hasn't it?"

"...yes."

Ina walked over to him and stood beside him.

From their vantage point, they could overlook most of Lyra City.

A month ago, a divine disaster nearly destroyed everything in the city, but things are much better now, and reconstruction is proceeding in an orderly manner.

Ina raised her head and looked at the Sword of Order.

The massive sword cut through the scorching sunlight, allowing them to stand in a cool shade where they could feel the warmth of the sun without being too hot.

"Lyra no longer needs demons," she said softly.

After the God of Eternal Life disappeared (from their perspective), the pollution in the Contamination Zone began to decrease significantly, and the Abyss Land that once seemed to have no end also shrank considerably.

If this rate of decline continues, the Land of Corruption will disappear completely in just a few years.

Then there's no need for Pioneer Force like Night Star and Demon, since everyone knows what's inside, and no one wants to experience that disaster again.

However, Lyra doesn't need now is the Pioneer Force, not an armed force.

On the contrary, now is the time when Lyra needs armed forces the most since its establishment.

During the divine catastrophe, the Lyra God was also severely injured, and his power was greatly weakened. The five Tower of Babel that once stood in this city, as well as their branch towers, all collapsed, leaving only the final Sword of Order as the greatest symbol.

They can still use mechanical creations, but the proportion is very small. The Gear Train has been completely destroyed, heavy machinery has basically stopped working, and even the prosthetics on every Lyra People have lost their ability to "overload," retaining only the most basic functions, and they dare not use them too much.

Because the source oil has also been exhausted.

Therefore, right now is the time when Lyra is at its weakest.

You Li raised his head and looked into the distance, towards the direction outside the city.

There, many people were leaving with their families, limping away like a migrating swarm of ants.

"Are there still so many people leaving?" You Li asked.

"Compared to the beginning, there are far fewer people," Ina said, "But hundreds or even thousands of people are leaving every day."

You Li sighed softly.

After the divine calamity, people were leaving the city every day.

There are many reasons for leaving, but the main one is that this city no longer restricts people.

So after experiencing one thing after another, the people of Lyra finally wanted to go out and see the outside world.

"Do you think they'll come back?" Ina asked.

"I don't know." You Li shook his head. "I've been to other cities. If it were before, I could say with certainty that Lyra was the best, but now..."

Ina didn't speak, but she understood what You Li meant.

Lyra now weakened by divine power and technological decline. A large number of its people have even become disabled after their prosthetics were destroyed because they could not be repaired.

No one knows what the future holds.

"So why don't you leave?" You Li turned to look at Ina. "You should be among the best to leave, right? Neither you nor the child you adopted have undergone much mechanical modification... and the child hasn't done any at all. You can go somewhere and start a new life."

Ina said calmly, "Are you looking down on me?"

"You know that's not what I meant." You Li shook his head. "I just feel that your family has already given so much to this city... I heard that your father left you a letter."

Ina hummed in agreement. "He told me about my brother."

She paused.

"That's when I found out who the person who spoke to me in the archives that night really was."

Despite Ina's efforts to conceal it, You Li could still detect the unnaturalness in her tone.

So he wisely turned his head away, and after a while he looked back at her. By then, Ina had already returned to normal.

"Your brother is also a great man," You Li said. "If it weren't for his efforts to resist, the divine calamity might have occurred earlier, and then something even worse might have happened."

"Is that really what you think?"

"Certainly."

You Li why Ina had asked that question.

Some people felt that, regardless of whether Ian did it voluntarily, he brought Yong Xin back from the Land of Corruption, making the situation even more uncontrollable.

But to You Li, such a statement was utterly absurd.

"Only someone who's never been to the Contaminated Land could say something like that," You Li said in a deep voice. "Those people don't know what we're facing in the Land of Corruption ... My advice to deal with idiots like that is to just punch them."

Ina laughed, "This isn't like you at all. Hitting someone is really against the rules."

"The past is the past, and the present is the present," You Li said calmly. "The chains that bound us are gone, and some outspoken idiots think that nothing can restrain them. I have to tell them that this idea is foolish."

You Li's words also pointed out a very serious problem that existed in Lyra City at this time.

That means that the two "locks" of the body and mind of the Lyra People have disappeared. This means that many things that the Lyra People would never have thought about or done before will now be thought about and done.

During this most difficult period of reconstruction, bandits, thieves, and robbers—terms that were previously completely unrelated to the Lyra— finally appeared in the city.

Clearly, the divine disaster a month ago not only deprived them of their machinery but also disrupted their order.

Now, they have to resort to force to protect more things, just like in other cities.

Therefore, although the demon and Skeleton Corps were disbanded, the new security forces needed more manpower.

After all, whether internally or externally, the Lyra People now need to protect themselves.

"Yeah, it's good to beat up idiots." Ina shrugged and agreed with You Li. "To be honest, it's pretty good. If it were like this before, I would have beaten up those guys who criticized my father long ago. Ah... it's about time."

She glanced at the pocket watch in her hand; it was one of the few creations that could function without Lyra's divine power.

"I have to go pick up the kids." Ina waved her hand, turned and left, still complaining, "The school's dismissal time is getting later and later, it's really crazy."

Seeing Ina's carefree demeanor, You Li couldn't help but smile.

But he still called out to Ina: "You haven't answered my question yet."

"Huh?" Ina stopped and turned to look at You Li. "What?"

"I just asked you, are you really not leaving?" You Li asked.

"Tsk, my father and my brother are here, how can I leave?" Ina gave You Li an answer that didn't surprise her. Then she raised her head and looked again at the Sword of Order that was shielding her from the sun. She squinted and said softly, "Besides, I always feel like he's watching me."

After saying that, Ina smiled at You Li again, then turned around completely, stepped out of the shade provided by the Sword of Order, and into the now less scorching sunset.

You Li watched her figure until it disappeared from sight before turning his gaze away and saying with a smile, "That was nice."

Before he could finish speaking, a Knight strode over and whispered something in his ear.

You Li's smile gradually faded.

"So you've come after all."

He sighed softly and looked out of the city.

"Holy Sound".

"Wow, you didn't get into any fights today?" Ina asked, holding Ju's hand with a surprised expression. "Could it be that you've actually become more sensible?"

Tachibana was annoyed by Ina's words and tried to pull her hand away from Ina, but to no avail.

At school, she fought her way through the ranks, and those petty thugs who had lost their mechanical protection were no match for her.

But facing Ina, the former vice-captain of the Pioneer Force, she was still too inexperienced. Her rough little hands, which had grown up tinkering with machinery, were no match for Ina's large hands, which had been wielding a sword for ten years and had calluses all over them.

So the more she struggled, the happier Ina became, always smiling, which was annoying.

"You're so annoying," Tachibana said to Ina.

"Tsk, it hasn't been long and you already think I'm annoying." Ina pretended to be very sad. "Sure enough, the more responsible the parent, the less the child likes them."

Ju subconsciously wanted to say, "You're not my parent at all," but she swallowed the words back and just pursed her lips, looking sullen.

Ina noticed this even more, her eyes narrowing even more, making her look somewhat malicious.

... It's been a month already.

After the divine calamity ended, Ina adopted Tachibana.

Actually, "adoption" isn't quite accurate. After all, order had collapsed, thousands had perished in the divine disaster, and countless children had lost their families. At that time, no one cared about a child who had never had a father.

So Ina didn't go through any formalities and just brought Tachibana to her side.

Unlike Jie La Er, Ina is also a woman and has experienced the loss of her parents, so she naturally has an advantage over Jie La Er when it comes to getting close to Tachibana.

"You always have such a long face, cheer up!" Ina pinched Ju's cheek again, causing Ju to dodge away.

Although the situation in the city wasn't great this past month, there was no shortage of food, so Ju was in much better shape than during her previous period of malnutrition; even her face was fuller than before.

"Stop touching me like that!" Ju yelled.

She genuinely didn't know how to deal with Ina.

No one else would treat her like that. As long as she had a dark expression, the others would either frown and walk away, or come up and fight her with a dark expression. Only Ina could completely ignore her expression and attack her directly. All of her pretenses were useless in front of Ina.

This left Ju feeling deeply puzzled.

Just a month ago, Ina wasn't like this.

A month ago, on that night when everything had ended, Tachibana found Ina wandering aimlessly in the ruins. Ina was covered in blood and looked disheveled, just like Jie La Er.

Tachibana gave Ina the letter that Jie La Er had left behind, as it was something she had promised Jie La Er.

After reading the letter, Ina cried uncontrollably, as if she had lost everything.

Just as Tachibana was about to leave, Ina suddenly hugged her.

Ju instinctively wanted to push her away, but then she heard her whisper in her ear, "From today onwards, I am also a child without a father... From now on, let's live together."

At that moment, Ju lost the strength to push her away and silently agreed to everything.

And then, Ina became like this.

Listening to that strange little tune being hummed, Ju really wanted to ask, is this the same person as a month ago?

But...

She raised her head, looked at Ina's slightly upturned lips and her profile bathed in the sunset, but ultimately said nothing and slowly turned her head away.

But just then, she heard a strange melody coming from afar.

At that moment, she suddenly felt a little dazed, and then all sorts of strange feelings came over her.

I want to cry.

I want to laugh.

I want to embrace something.

He wanted to... kneel down again.

Kissing the earth.

But a sharp clang pulled her from her daze. She looked up and saw that Ina was already standing in front of her, the Blazing Fire Sword behind her already drawn. The smiling face that had been there just a moment ago now looked icy cold in the light of the Blazing Fire Sword.

"Stay behind me," Ina said to Tachibana. "Don't move."

This was an unquestionable command, and Ju immediately stopped moving.

But she still looked ahead, to the end of the street, where countless Lyra People suddenly knelt down, worshipping something.

The strange, melodious tune grew louder and louder.

Before long, Ju's eyes widened.

What did she see?

A pure white unicorn.

And, a convoy pulled by unicorns, with dark mages whose faces were obscured on either side of the convoy.

But whether it was a coincidence or not, at that moment the sun was setting and darkness was slowly approaching, and their location was precisely the dividing line between dusk and darkness.

They walked in the glow of the sunset, accompanied by a melody, but behind them, only darkness remained.

Ina narrowed her eyes slightly, her words filled with coldness and apprehension.

"Holy Sound".

Inside the carriage, a young girl wearing a wizard's hat carefully pulled back the curtain and looked at the people kneeling outside the carriage, a hint of curiosity flashing in her eyes.

"He Wei Ni Ya," an aged voice rang out, "Mind your place."

The girl shrank back immediately, like a startled rabbit.

There will be one more chapter tomorrow, Lyra arc will be finished. I'll take a day off then, and also summarize the issues with this volume.