To the Depth of Abyss

Saint Arcane Church / 

[One Hour before the attack]

__________

"Come on, Elizabeth!"

Liliana pulled Elizabeth to keep moving. 

Everything was so bizarre. 

The night should be a holy night for Abyssal Terra. But why did such a sudden attack occur on the holy land? What did they do to deserve that severity?

Without knowing the cause, they keep running. 

Getting inside the forecourt, two sisters went straight to Liliana.

"Mistress, all the professor have been waiting for you."

Liliana is the second person who has the highest power. In such a situation, her arrival is urgently needed.

"Understood. You, please accompany this maiden to her dorm so she can change her clothes."

The pointed sister responsive to escort Elizabeth. 

There they split up. With Liliana went to Teacher's Meeting Room and Elizabeth to the girl's dorm.

Before going to Teacher's Meeting Room, Liliana first go to the Church Hall, see the condition of all the students.

"Are all the students here?" asked Liliana to the sister that accompanies her.

"Yes, except the four Sword Disciples who requested permission to become a committee in the West District."

Liliana remembered them all: Aiden, Kane, Harry and Herry. 

The four of them are strong and smart, Liliana acknowledged that. So she didn't have to worry about them too much.

Relieved with the condition, Liliana walked back to the Teacher's Meeting Room.

Inside the meeting room, she being greeted with the Three Head Professor, the Headmaster, and few Professors of the church. 

"Deputy, we have been waiting for you."

Liliana directly enters the room. 

The room filled with a tense atmosphere. Everyone feels tensed because of the situation that is happening now.

In the middle of the room, there is a long square table made of stone. There is a holographic map diagram on the table depicting a map around the Land of Honor.

Liliana feels nostalgic and ironic somehow on looking at that had not been used for a long time. 

'I never thought there would come a day when we used this table again.'

In the past, the room and the table used by the three White Saints and their Comrade to discuss tactics. Liliana had been in that situation once, even though only as a person watching from afar.

But now she presides over the meeting as the supreme authority.

"Please tell me about the current situation."

"Horrible."

One of the three Head Professor pointed at four certain point in the map where there are outpost symbols.

"All the outpost has been taken over."

"It is even worse because the criminals did not leave any victims."

That is natural, because the attack that is happening now is a massive attack that wants to take over or completely destroy the Shield Town, probably.

Responding to that, Liliana somehow smiles in scaries way she could show. 

Everyone who saw Liliana's strange attitude trembled slightly, especially the headmaster.

"Very well. Then this battle is a battle that won't leave weak people to live."

Sadistic side of the Deputy Administrator. There are rumors that when she was still active as a Hunter, Liliana was a fierce sadistic fighter.

She has a Combat Point equivalent to the Diamond Hunter. But she chose to stay in Platinum and live peacefully while being a teacher at the church.

Suddenly, the holographic map shows yellow alert light in the church position. 

"What happened?" asked Liliana. 

At the right of the room, there is a small altar in the center of which is a magical ball. Inside the magical ball, there is a miniature of the church. 

[Holy Barrier of the Saint: barrier created by the Staff Saint to protect the sacred place in Abyssal Terra.]

There are two female professors near the [Holy Barrier of the Saint]. They are the officers on duty to check the situation outside.

"The church being attacked by some kind of AOE debuff!"

"That is most likely from the Deadly Vulture!"

All of them could imagine how the Region Boss did the attack while flying near the church area sky.

"But that thing will not attack unless being triggered."

There Liliana think of one big possibility that could happen.

"Those bastards triggered it."

Her smiles became more violent as her anger grows bigger. 

"Well, it is not like we are in danger or whatever. Let's just look at the situation for now and hope Sylvia will able to protect us."

All of them know those cursed hunters group will try to lay their hand to the church. But that will only happen when the worst comes. Until then, they will only wait inside the impenetrable protection.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Eliz!" "Right here!"

La and Li immediately called her right when Elizabeth enters the room. 

"Thank god!" "You are safe!"

La and Li immediately hugged Elizabeth when she came to them. 

"H-hey, no need to be that worried."

Although they being exaggerated about her safety.

"But that must be scary, right?" "Yes, we heard three region bosses came out of nowhere and surround the town!"

Elizabeth couldn't lie, she wasn't afraid when it happened. 

Even though she had experienced the Catastrophe Event on the 1st Floor firsthand, it couldn't be compared to what is happening now.

"We have never even seen an area monster boss." "But now appear three region boss monster simultaneously."

Two region boss monster and one dungeon boss monster. 

"Plus the threat from that weird mad man." "Yes, that's pretty scary."

"Weird mad man."

Elizabeth was not inside to watch the broadcast at the time.

"Yes, he is some kind of Black Hunter, we think." "He said: 'The festival is not over!' something like that."

"Black Hunter..." Elizabeth muttered that one sentence with weird feeling. 

With that incident, Elizabeth had three times faced problems related to the Black Hunter. She didn't want that, but couldn't refuse to face it. Because when she faces it, it all ended in death. 

Elizabeth as much as possible did not want to face anything related to death. Because when she thought of that one terrible thing, she must have thought of the state of her long lost Big Sister and the Longing Knight.

"You okay, Elizabeth?" "Don't worry, we are here for you."

Gladly the twin big sister is there to cheer Elizabeth up. 

"Don't worry, I am okay. I am just still surprised of what happened now."

"Of course." "We are the same." "The Land of Honor always been safe when the White Saints conquered it." "But events like this suddenly happened during that peaceful time." "Of course it, is so shocking."

No one is not surprised to see something like that happen. 

"But we don't have to worry too much." "Right, because the hunters will fight for us." 

"Yes, especially Sylvia big sis."

The Major of the Town. She definitely will not let the Black Hunters do whatever they want in the town she guards.

There, Elizabeth thought of someone she hadn't seen during the trip.

"Where is Mother Maria?"

"Mother Maria?" "She returned straight to the Cathedral after sending you off."

Her Mother, Maria Christina, is very weak. For that reason, she never leaves the cathedral. Because she has a very weak physical condition.

But there is one night a year she goes out and spends time in the church, in the Holy Night, tonight.

For her mother to go straight back, although despite spending only a short time outside the cathedral, it was a little strange. But Elizabeth didn't want to think too much about it.

La and Li reads the worries in Elizabeth's faces and feels guilty.

"She must be have something important." "Yes, because she always spends the Holy Night in the church every year."

Elizabeth feels guilty for worrying her two twin big sisters.

"Yes, I understand that."

She tried to be strong in that situation and hope everything with no greater thing happening.

Just as she hoped so, not long after the incident had started, a shock fell on the church.

It was like an earthquake, but it also came with a huge explosion.

"O Great Lord!" "What happened?!"

The three of them holding each other. Everyone lowered their heads in a reflex of fear. 

~~~~~~~~~~

In the teacher's meeting room, Liliana got furious because of what happened just now.

"Did they just attacked us!?"

She shouted as loudly and calmly as she could, asking for the monitors.

"Yes, mam!" 

"They also destroyed one point in the Stairs of Serenity!"

Liliana clicked. "Tch, so they want to cut off the only access to outside and attack us directly."

There, Liliana made up her own mind.

"Principal, the control is yours at the time when Maria still doesn't want to leave her house and take over the command."

"Where do you want to go, Deputy?"

"I am the only fighter this church has at this time. The Sword Boys counted, but all of them now are out and still not back. So, if they really want to attack this place, only I can defend it."

Liliana spoke like that, like she prepared for the worst. Even so, she didn't back down.

Before leaving, she went to the weapon room first. To retrieve a weapon she hasn't held in a long time.

A great sword like axe. Emitting black-purple light in some point of the weapon. 

Liliana carried the large weapon on her shoulders and headed for the front gate.

A little unexpectedly, she being waited on by several young men, one of whom is the pride of the church.

"William, who gave you a permission to join this fight." 

"Can I join this fight and help you, Deputy Mistress?"

William's jokes got Liliana shows her chuckle.

"I like you, young man."

After that, Liliana walked outside the gate and found that half of the pride stairs of the church had been destroyed by an explosion of some kind.

Looking far down on the two sides of the plains, there is a sort of group of bloodthirsty lizardmen.

Liliana turned to the youth standing behind her.

They are looking afraid because that will be their first battle. Except for one of them, the leader. 

There, Liliana open her mouth to give the youth some words. 

"Listen, young men. I accept all the help that you give. But I won't let you go too deep and harm yourself. This is not a place for you to die. Therefore, as much as possible, we will finish them off first."