Chapter 109 : A Gaze in the Darkness

“Clang!”

The sharp sound of impact echoed in the dungeon. Milly clutched her foot and fell back onto the blanket. She had kicked too hard. It hurt.

The sound was loud. A normal sleeping person would have been woken up by it.

Milly held her breath, staring at the unconscious guard outside the cage. If he woke up, she would be in for another round of insults, maybe even a spear jab. Her current actions were risky, but she had to test it. The sound of the explosion would be much louder.

She waited for half a minute. Maurice was still slumped in the corner. Through the slit of his helmet, she could see his face. No sign of waking up.

She would try a louder noise. Though she couldn’t replicate the sound of an explosion, she tried to get close.

“Hey!” she shouted. “Fire!”

A few seconds of silence. She saw Maurice’s fingers twitch. His expression changed slightly, an instinctive reaction in his sleep.

There was a risk of waking him. If she blew up the floor and he caught her, it would be over. And she couldn’t guarantee that one explosion would be enough. It would have to be a backup plan, and only during a shift change.

She closed her eyes. She wasn’t sleepy. She would continue to search for a needle in a haystack. She had found the explosive magic circle. Maybe she could find a digging spell that didn’t require magic.

She searched until morning, exhausted. She made the sigil on her hand fade. She hadn’t found anything useful. She had found a few basic earth element spells, but they all required magic. Useless.

She would have to look again, after she rested.

The blanket under her suddenly disappeared. She looked at the guard. Maurice was awake and standing up. Before he could notice her, she closed her eyes. A few flashes of stimulating memories. A mentally tortured Milly also needed a rest.

Maurice’s cursing came from outside the cage.

“Damn it, how did I fall asleep? Where’s the whelp?”

He looked inside. Seeing her still curled up in the corner, he was relieved. He didn’t know why he had fallen asleep, but at least the demon whelp hadn’t escaped. He just had to wait for someone to come and take her for purification, and then he could go for a drink.

Milly waited until noon, but no one came to take her to the sanctuary.

“Damn it, whelp. You stay here. Don’t even think about escaping.”

He would go and find the guards at the entrance and change shifts. He had to ask the Saintess what was going on.

Maurice left, cursing. Seeing him go, Milly closed her eyes. After a morning of rest, she could use her God’s perspective again.

She expanded the range to the entire dungeon. She saw Maurice leave. When he was gone, another, unfamiliar figure entered.

A new guard. Not a good time to act. She would continue to search for a digging spell.

Night came. Still no one came to take her for purification. It had been two days. Once could be an accident, but twice had to be deliberate.

The Saintess was deliberately not holding the purification ritual. In the Church, she must be under a lot of pressure. To do this for her… their relationship didn’t support such an action.

There was only one possibility.

Could that woman really do this for her?

What was she after? It couldn’t be that she had suddenly had a change of heart, or that some phantom thieves had stolen her treasure and forced her to change her attitude.

Otherwise, she couldn’t explain the current situation. What did she want?

It was late at night. Milly was in a light sleep. When she heard light footsteps, she activated her God’s perspective. She saw Lillian. She expanded the range until Lillian opened the door, then locked her perspective on the cell.

She had tested it today. She could maintain the God’s perspective for about half an hour within the cell. After that, the pain in her eyes would remind her to turn it off.

Lillian came today as well. After feeding her, she tried to break the old fool’s seal again. After several failed attempts, she left.

Perhaps in the days she didn’t know, she had come every night, doing these things for her.

A complex emotion welled up in Milly. The information from the appraisal skill was still the same. Until she revealed herself, Milly had no proof. After all, they were on the same side. It wasn’t impossible that the woman, before she died, had asked Lillian to do these things.

Would such a thought even cross her mind? Was it that she didn’t believe that woman could have such a gentle side?

If one day, she confirmed that it was really her doing these things, and she appeared before her in her true form, what would she do?

Milly didn’t know. But she did hope that woman was still alive. After all, the key to leaving this damn world was related to her. And the other key, the Church… she had been in the Church for so long, but she still hadn’t found any clues.

Of course, it was related to her being locked up.

A self-deprecating smile. Before searching for a needle in a haystack, she activated her God’s perspective to see what was under the floor. The range was still limited, but the structure was clear.

It was a complex network of tunnels. With the appraisal skill, she could see all the information.

Besides a possible exit, she also found a place marked as “hidden.”

Was it a hint?

But she had to learn to dig first. When her eyes began to hurt, she had to turn off the God’s perspective and switch to the book sigil, continuing her search for a digging spell.

On the third day, still no one came to take her for purification. The pressure on the Saintess must be immense.

She could hear the guards outside whispering. They were starting to have opinions about the Saintess, but they couldn’t voice them.

It was late at night. After three days of torture, Milly had finally found a special method. She could dig a hole without magic, and it would be quiet. It was perfect for tonight, after Lillian left.

The price was exhaustion. She fell into a deep sleep, but it was worth it.

That night, Lillian came again. This time, with her God’s perspective, she watched her knock out the guard.

It was hard to see with the naked eye, but with the God’s perspective, she saw a few thin threads, passing through the helmet’s slit. The new guard, like the previous ones, passed out.

This wasn’t the Saintess’s style. It was more like her.

After Lillian had done everything and left, Milly began to dig.

But, with her God’s perspective off, immersed in her work, she didn’t notice a new gaze on her in the dark dungeon.