Chapter 165 : I Can’t Get In

Looking down at the back of her hand, a stinging, burning sensation had started the moment Stacy had begun her slaughter. By the time the air was thick with the smell of blood, the book-shaped sigil was glowing, the light forming an arrow, pointing deeper into the Church.

What was happening?

In the past few days in the Church, Milly had discovered that she could bypass the permission restrictions and see strange memory fragments in her mind just by summoning the book symbol. Now she knew those were the records of other players. But she had never triggered this anomaly before.

The glowing arrow seemed to be guiding her, wanting her to find something.

Why now?

Milly couldn’t think. She could only assume it was due to her expanded perception.

“Stacy…”

Milly was about to speak, but the cathedral had fallen into a deathly silence. And the one responsible was standing quietly beside her.

The air was thick with blood. Milly looked at the scene, her heart calm. Had she gotten used to this? She had seen worse in the other dimension.

And more importantly, it was all just cold data. The blood-soaked cathedral, the people who had vanished into a rain of blood, all just data.

She looked at Stacy. What did she mean to her?

Besides being a string of cold data, did she have any other meaning in her heart?

Milly didn’t know, and she didn’t want to think about it. But all she could think of was the moment the old fool had appeared, and Stacy had stood in front of her. That person could have fought the old fool, but because of her, she had to retreat.

No, no… it shouldn’t be like this. She shouldn’t have such feelings. A terrible thought appeared in her mind.

What Stacy had done to her, was it her own idea, or was she just following the settings she had been given when she was born?

“Little Milly?”

Stacy’s voice woke her from her thoughts, pulling her away from that terrible idea.

She couldn’t believe she had such a thought. Was it because of everything that had happened? Was she subconsciously starting to rely on Stacy, believing that she would always be there to protect her?

The same person, but the extreme split in her personality made Milly doubt. Was the Stacy she first met the real one, or was this the real her? Or was this all an act to get her to leave the world?

She couldn’t be sure. And she didn’t have time to find out.

“Were you scared? You’ve been in a daze since just now.”

“No…” Milly shook her head, pushing the thoughts away. There were more important things to do.

“It seems to be guiding me.”

Stacy noticed the glowing arrow on her hand, pointing deeper into the Church.

“Oh? It seems it wants to go back to that place.”

“Hmm?”

The way she looked at Milly was strange. Ever since she had stolen the log, she had hidden it in the fortress. Since then, the Empire, at the Church’s behest, had launched a crusade against her. On one hand, to destroy her. On the other, to get back the log.

There were things hidden in it that some people didn’t want her to know. Not just the log itself, but what was hidden behind it.

“Let’s go. Since it’s guiding you, we should go and see.”

Although she didn’t know what Stacy was talking about, she had a feeling that the log was pointing to something important.

Following the arrow, they went deeper into the Church.

Patrols and nuns they encountered were instantly turned into a rain of blood. This was Stacy’s style.

As they went deeper, the torches on the walls grew farther apart. The light grew dimmer, casting twisted shadows. The walls became more ancient.

Milly ran her finger along the wall. Dust. No one had been here for a long time. A stone wall appeared at the end of the corridor. A dead end.

She looked at the arrow on her hand. It was pointing at the wall. There must be a hidden mechanism.

Stacy didn’t stop. She stepped forward, and two tentacles shot out from under her skirt, touching the wall. The wall became ethereal, like it was evaporating. A downward spiral staircase appeared.

“It’s been a long time. It’s still the same.”

Milly was about to enter when a stinging pain came from the back of her hand. The glowing arrow had turned back into a book. The pages flipped on their own, and it flew down the stairs.

“Wait…”

Milly reached for it, but it was too late. She could only hurry down after it.

Down the spiral staircase, the air grew cold and damp. She finally reached the bottom. A pale golden light screen blocked her path.

But the log had stopped in front of it. She reached for it. Before she could touch it, it passed through the screen and disappeared.

“Come back…”

Milly tried to follow, but she was repelled by the screen, falling back into a soft embrace.

“Are you okay?”

Stacy’s gentle voice came from behind. Milly sat up and rubbed the back of her head.

“Where is this?”

[Corridor of Memory]

A line of translucent text appeared before her. The appraisal skill had the answer.

“I got the book from here.”

Stacy stepped forward. The tentacles that had emerged from under her skirt shot toward the screen. It became ethereal, but didn’t disappear.

Milly tried to touch it again. This time, she wasn’t repelled. Her hand passed through.

It seemed the problem was solved. Having Stacy around was convenient. Like a universal key.

Suddenly, Milly remembered something. The two keywords that had appeared in her mind, “The Church” and “Stacy.” Could it be that “The Church” referred to this place, and “Stacy” was the key to open it?

“No way. Is that what it means?”

As she passed through the screen, she looked back at Stacy.

She had a bitter smile on her face. “I can’t get in.”