"Ahem."
Fischl changed the subject with a show of composure, her gaze settling on the wounded Hogun.
"O you who suffer the torment of pain and blood, fearlessness and courage are your medals of defiance against dark sorcery."
"Your devout hymns have reached the mistress of the Immernachtreich. I, the Prinzessin, have decided to bestow upon you the pure Holy Kingdom Satin, an immortal soul, and boundless power, delivering you from the nightmare of darkness!"
Fischl raised her hand, traced a strange shape in the air, and began to chant softly.
"My loyal subjects, people of the Immernachtreich, come and receive the glory bestowed upon you by the Prinzessin der Verurteilung."
Before she had finished speaking, the clacking sound of heavy objects scraping across the floor echoed through the spacious hall.
Thor scanned their surroundings warily.
Loki heard it too and abruptly raised his head toward the source.
Yet those clacking sounds were alarmingly close, right beside them, even.
Then everyone witnessed a shocking sight.
The stone statues moved!
Thor and the others discovered, to their astonishment, that the rows of stone statues barely five meters away had begun to move!
They moved in perfect formation, orderly and methodical.
Every movement was firm and steady, accompanied by a clacking sound that made their hearts shudder.
Thor and the others began breathing faster, their eyes wide as they stared fixedly at the statues before them.
This bizarre turn of events put them on edge, and they warily adopted defensive stances.
Every statue resembled a Night Raven, with only slight differences in their clothing and accessories.
On closer inspection, some looked like knights, others like attendants, and still others like royal advisers.
Everyone was stunned, especially Hogun, whose eyes widened even further.
He asked in a trembling voice:
"What... is going on?"
After calmly analyzing the situation, Loki reached a conclusion and said gravely:
"They're... living beings."
"What the hell!"
Loki's words made them all gasp, and as they watched the statues move, a chill shot from the soles of their feet to the tops of their heads.
This royal city was not deserted as they had believed.
These Night Raven statues were the subjects who lived here. From the moment they had entered the castle, they had already been surrounded by them.
Night Raven statues had stood everywhere along the way, silently watching them, yet they had not sensed a thing!
Were they paying homage?
Or were they praying?
The assembled statues stopped moving.
They were waiting, waiting for their sovereign to proclaim her exalted will.
"My subjects, the filth of the mortal realm shall not stain our pure white land. I shall shatter the evils of this world with thunder!"
Fischl's clear voice flowed like spring water.
Her gaze was filled with majesty and dominance as she regarded the statues with pride and arrogance.
"Will you accept the glory bestowed upon you by this Prinzessin?"
Fischl asked in a deeply resonant voice.
Her voice seemed to carry some strange magic, driving the statues into a frenzy.
"We shall obey the will of the Prinzessin."
"Very good."
Fischl nodded, then slowly turned to Thor and the others beside her.
A Night Raven statue stepped out of the formation and approached Thor's group, stopping near Hogun. Its sharp beak did not move at all, yet a gentle female voice emerged:
"Please follow me, honored friends of our sovereign."
Loki, Thor, and the others exchanged looks, shock and fear surfacing in their eyes.
These statues really possessed intelligence?!
Seeing their hesitation, Oz understood their concerns.
"Please do not worry, my friends. This is the Healer of the Immernachtreich. She is simply following mein Fräulein's instructions and taking you to have your injuries treated."
"Treated?"
"Indeed," Oz replied. "Mr. Hogun's injuries appear quite serious."
That was certainly true. Judging by all the blood on the floor, Hogun would likely die of blood loss if he did not receive treatment soon.
Loki and the others nodded dubiously. Not daring to delay, they followed the raven Healer out of the main hall.
As they left, Thor could not resist looking back into the main hall.
It was utterly silent inside, and the rows of Night Raven statues had returned to their original positions.
He could not help shivering.
They followed the raven Healer down the long corridor, turning left and right.
They walked for a long time before finally reaching the end.
There was a door here, and it opened.
Loki looked up.
Beyond the door was a simply decorated side chamber.
Inside stood a large, exquisitely carved bed.
"Please place the patient on the bed."
Volstagg gently laid Hogun down.
The medical raven looked at Hogun, who lay on the bed with his eyes closed. His face was pale, and his lips were drained of color.
"His condition does not look promising."
The medical raven clacked over to a table in the room and addressed Thor and the others:
"The supplies for treatment are here. Please begin treating him."
???
The warrior Sif voiced her doubts:
"Isn't treating the wounded a Healer's job? How can you expect the wounded to treat themselves?"
She had never expected even these statues to shirk their duties. As subjects of this kingdom, having accepted the Prinzessin's decree, they ought to follow and carry it out strictly. How could they look down on them simply because they were strangers from outside?
That was not how a proper subject behaved, much less the attitude or professional standards a court physician should possess.
The medical raven turned around. Sif's questioning had angered her so much that even her voice trembled:
"What vicious slander! How dare you question our loyalty to Her Highness Fischl? I already told you that the medical supplies are here. Do you expect me to do it myself?!"
"Shouldn't a doctor personally treat the wounded?" Sif argued.
The medical raven erupted:
"I do have wings, but do you think they can move?!"
"..."
Her words left Sif speechless.
Come to think of it, these statues moved by scraping along the floor. None of their body parts had actually moved.
"Well, uh..."
"Hmph! Such rudeness! I shall report this to Lord Oz!"
With that, the medical raven left in anger.
"I misjudged her."
Sif said guiltily, "What do we do now?"
Thor shook his head:
"We'd better treat him ourselves. These stone Night Ravens seem rather strange."
"They are a little unsettling. Let's patch him up and find a chance to leave."
Loki nodded.
His eyes flickered, and he spoke in a low voice:
"I'll treat him."
With that, he approached the medical supplies the Medical Raven had indicated.
"This..."
Loki frowned.
The objects on the table were neatly arranged and looked quite professional, but the medical supplies themselves were a bizarre assortment.
Scissors, gauze, clean water, and cotton swabs were normal enough, but what were the hammer, mallet, nail clippers, and chew stick doing there?
And another thing!
Weren't those two ear picks off to the side a bit much?!