Have We Met? (Continued)

To be honest, the defensive capabilities of these things were, at best, like cardboard to Maria.

But what came with it filled Maria with mixed emotions.

But she still took off her armor and her inner clothing.

Her slender, delicate body lay there calmly exposed to the air.

The Doll, without any hesitation, stepped forward and quietly helped Maria change into her most familiar hunting clothes...

After she had finished everything, she slowly took out a box from the side.

"You've spent about a month in this world, and we'll be arriving in Yan soon... During your rest, many people sent you things, mostly food and gifts, but only this one, I think you should take a look at."

"Um?"

Maria turned her head, her expression somewhat puzzled.

The Doll didn't say much, but quietly placed the gift box into Maria's hands.

The gift box looked like it was from Rhodes Island, with Rhodes Island's highly recognizable logo on it.

Open it, and inside is a quiet photograph.

In the photo, the beautiful woman is smiling at the camera...

"Lamaline..."

Maria blinked.

She could see in the photo the gentle beauty sitting quietly in a chair... It was a nice afternoon, in a pretty little courtyard, the woman was sitting on the side, and there were two empty chairs on the round table.

Unlike the image Maria remembered, if the former Lamaline still had a touch of naivety, then at this moment, the Lamaline in this photo has become very elegant.

Gentle, mature... just like a juicy peach.

Of course, given the black Banshees costume the other person was wearing, Maria thought she looked more like some kind of mysterious witch.

Behind the photograph lies a phrase in the language of Cainhurst, a language perhaps only Maria still uses...

I will watch over you, my wife, my children, and when you call my name, I will return to you.

I love you...

Cainhurst...]

Maria looked at the blank letter, her eyes slightly lowered.

She looked at the words on it, then at the ring on her hand.

Who delivered this?

"... Rhodes Island did not provide a signature. According to the messenger, she didn't know how the letter ended up in her backpack; she just delivered it as it came."

The Doll's words remained calm as always; in fact, both of the people present had already sensed something.

"This is really..."

Maria sighed, feeling unusually helpless.

Without a doubt, there is only one person left in this world who still calls himself Cainhurst and still uses the Cainhurst language.

It was Maria herself!

To write down something so important and leave it to the other party...

So...

That Logos really is...

Why did he send this photo over? Was he planning to reunite with his family?

But...

"It seems that the child named Logos is not simply your descendant."

The Doll looked at Maria, a subtle expression appearing in its eyes.

What a... promiscuous Hunter...

She thought she would be the only one...

"I'm not that kind of person, you know that, Doll."

Maria sighed deeply in response to the Doll's mockery.

She wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

After a long silence, she could only offer a rebuttal with words that even she herself lacked confidence.

"I understand, Hunter ...I understand."

The Doll's expression remained unchanged, still somewhat indifferent, but Maria sensed that its aggression had increased.

"I vaguely remember you once telling me that you felt you had a happy childhood but not a very happy upbringing... Now it seems that your child's experience might be the opposite of yours?"

"You still have a long way to go before you become a qualified father."

"..."

Maria was speechless again.

What is she trying to say?

The facts are clear; what excuse can she possibly have?

Only...

"When I went to Kazdel before, nothing should have happened with him."

Maria looked up, somewhat puzzled.

"If that's the case, then what about this child?"

"You may have forgotten that, on a whim, you gave a piece of your rib to the new mistress of New Yharnam."

The Doll had even changed how it addressed Lamaline.

"Even though you have destroyed it, your power and aura still remain on it..."

"Is that why?"

Maria found it hard to believe.

But the Doll shook its head.

"This is currently the only possible explanation."

"... really."

After thinking for a moment, Maria had to admit that the Doll was right.

This is indeed the only possible solution at present.

"The Banshees themselves also possessed technology in this area; perhaps they developed it using this knowledge."

"But..."

Maria stood up, her brow furrowing again.

"I think I wrote this sentence myself."

She looked at the back of the envelope, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Perhaps in the future, I will return there again... Perhaps it will be at that time that she and I will accomplish something."

After thinking for a moment, Maria shook her head slightly, deciding not to dwell on things so much.

"So, what about now?"

The Doll stood considerately beside Maria and continued to ask questions.

Since you don't plan to see your child, where are you going next?

"Let's prepare for time travel again."

Maria rubbed her temples.

Her relationship with Lamaline is something she'll have to face in the future; for now, her attention is entirely focused on the Skyborne Great Beast.

She originally came to Yan to investigate how the Yan defeated the Great Beast.

But to be honest, she was indeed somewhat disappointed.

Contrary to her expectations, in a sense, the people of Yan also used the power of the Great Beast to defeat Great Beast.

This method might still have some significance for Great Beast whose size is still understandable.

But when faced with that terrifying Great Beast, the size of the sky, Gordan seemed utterly powerless.

They are far from enough...

"Since you can't get the information you need over there, why do you still want to go back?"

The Doll looks strange.

If the Yan has already determined that there is no way to deal with the Great Beast, then why continue traveling back in time?

It's pointless, isn't it?

"No the same."

Maria shook her head.

"When I finally left, I made a deal with that Emperor of Great Yan."

"I will choose to leave, and he will do his utmost to find information about the Skyborne Great Beast."

"And you should understand that the transmission of information through Doll has a time limit."

"They will always become distorted and broken over the long course of history."

"Since no news of me has circulated in Yan during this era, it means that people in this era have forgotten our promise."

"In that case, let's go back a while and check the messages."

As Maria spoke, she sat back down in her chair and slowly closed her eyes.

Meanwhile, the Doll hesitated.

"What's wrong, Doll?"

Maria was somewhat puzzled.

But the Doll sighed.

"This shouldn't be something I should be reminding you of, kind Hunter..."

"Um?"

"You used to be so resistant to contacting the power of those in Great Ones..."

The Doll spoke softly, gazing at Maria.

"You are now actively engaging with this power..."

Don't you think this is bad?

"This power is inherently yours; it's only natural for you to use it. I'm just worried..."

The Doll spoke calmly.

But she hadn't finished speaking.

Maria stepped forward, reached out, and lifted the other person's chin.

The two of them just stared at each other like that...

"Don't worry about me, Doll."

Maria began to speak calmly.

"I was prepared..."

The black mist appeared and then disappeared.

It was like a dream that passed by very quickly.