"This is—"
The somewhat dazed witch opened her mouth to warn him, only to be rudely interrupted by Shade:
"I know this place better than you do."
The Gate of Death was not so easily opened. Miss Winslet had not fallen completely into death just now, so retreating quickly now meant that they had returned to the world of the living.
Death did not seem inclined to make things difficult for Shade. The witch even felt that the man beside her was more accustomed to this pure, frigid power than she was. But he could not possibly be Death's spokesman. The warmth emanating from his soul, enough to drive her mad at this moment, was even hotter and more intense than the First Fire she had once seen in Sister Devlin.
Standing at the edge between life and death, she could sense the soul of the man beside her more easily. It was incomparably pure, incomparably powerful, incomparably scorching, yet incomparably gentle. For one brief moment, dazed as she was, she even wanted to—
But at that moment, the soul of the Seventh Ring Arcanist swallowed by darkness appeared in the waters again. The evil spirit silently reached out toward them, only for Shade to shove it away impatiently:
"Those who should leave, don't linger!"
The soul dissolved beneath the glow of the Underworld Moon. They took another five quick steps backward, and the sunlight became clearer.
Five more steps back, and the transparent phantoms on the water were reduced to mere outlines as woodland surrounded them.
After the final five steps, the darkness dispersed completely. The two of them were still standing in the graveyard outside that Desolate Village.
"Huff... huff..."
With each breath of the gray-black-haired woman, cold White Fog poured from her mouth, only to quickly dissipate