Midnight Prince: Empire of Sin - Chapter 528: KINDNESS IS ALWAYS USEFUL
The moment Elysia reached such an ominous conclusion, she started grilling the supernatural taxi driver for more information, no matter what kind. Even the most seemingly insignificant bit of information was a way to get more clues about the matter for her, and the more she listened to the man the more worried she became about their current predicament.
From what she had gleaned from the driver, it seemed that the population of Paris was diminishing at a relatively small but steady pace over the years. Whoever was in charge of this movement, they were not stupid in the least. Either they had discovered the possible plot behind the events or they understood that such a high concentration of powerful hunters in one place could only lead to some big explosion. That was why they were initiating this movement that instigated the mass dispersion of information among the hunters.
“Despite knowing all this, you are still in this place? Is there a reason for your stay?”
She asked in a subdued tone as they slowly reached their destination. The elderly taxi driver merely shrugged his shoulders before responding in a light tone,
“When I was down my luck twenty or so years ago, this country became a bastion of hope for me and a place for me to start over from scratch. They helped me get back on my feet when I had nothing left for me. I have met many people here over the years of my stay. Some good, many bad, and even more who were far worse than everyone before them. There were also quite a few individuals who pursued neutrality, treading in between. This country definitely isn’t perfect by any means but it has become my country over the years, and I won’t be fleeing from what I call home.”
His grip on the driving wheel tightened, mirroring his turbulent emotions, “Powerless and insignificant people like us can’t do much. But we should do what we can at the very least. This is my way of repaying this place for everything it has done for me over the years.”
Elysia was inwardly surprised by the man’s passionate speech. More so due to the nature of her that powers allowed her to understand clearly that this elderly man of African-American descent before her was actually telling the truth from the bottom of his heart.
It was a heartwarming and rare sight in this cruel world that promoted violence and betrayal at every turn.
Nowadays, they were living in a society where the notion of selflessness was considered an outlier among people. To the point that, it was a notion that many people were not even able to afford fancying.
A world where evil was considered the norm and good was considered the exception.
Because of such a world, Elysia sometimes wondered if fighting for such a world was even worth it at the end of the day. She had seen her fellow sisters fight and die many times for people who in reality should not have been worth sacrificing their precious lives for.
People who would never know of their sacrifice and who would go on with their lives with no care or worse, evil people who would only commit more evil rather than repenting for their sins.
Even the church was not exempt from this reality and in order to make things work, Elysia had to dirty her hands many times and make many compromises along the way, compromises that often tugged and questioned her belief. Each of them was a stain, slowly but continuously gnawing at her Faith, like maggots that refused to leave.
It was sad, it was painful, and it was utterly disgusting. She could even feel her connection with her Angel become fainter in recent times. Clearly, the proof that she might not even be able to keep her power as a saint any longer if things were to continue.
But now, hearing this man utter those words… She was reminded once again that for every ten or hundreds of evil people in this world, there was at least one good person who was worth fighting for and that person was worthy of sacrificing their lives for, just so they could live and do more good.
“Your words have opened my eyes. Thank you.”
“Hahaha~! I am just an old man with stupid ideals. That’s what everyone tells me at least…”
“Your ideals might be stupid, yes, but that is why they are all the more precious and wonderful.”
She smiled and placed her hands together, a small golden light formed between her fingers before she presented it to him.
“Do you mind?”
The man hesitated slightly at the gesture before bringing his hand forward. The light touched him and sank into his body before vanishing without a trace.
“There is not much we can do now but we can prepare. What I have given you is a talisman that should be able to protect you from evil and possessions. I do not know what might happen but this could be helpful to you in the future.”
“I… Thank you.”
His eyes turned a bit misty, at least it seemed that way to Elysia as she gazed at the ‘good’ elderly man. Soon, he suppressed his emotions and took a deep breath when they finally reached their destination.
“I believe we are here. Well then…”
Elysia was about to stand up but she was stopped as the man grabbed her hand,
“Sister…”
By now it was easy for him to understand that Elysia was a nun. Not many could use holy magic after all.
“Yes?”
“Take this.”
He pushed something into her hand, “This will be very useful to you. If anyone asks who referred you, tell them it’s the old snake. They will understand.”
A few minutes later, Elysia watched as the Uber Taxi went its way forward, leaving her alone with Luvia.
“This was…”
Luvia looked in the direction of the taxi with a complicated expression before gazing at Elysia, “I could feel the power of dark magic from him.”
“I know. But you should understand the notion more than anyone else, right? Dark Magic isn’t inherently evil. It’s all in the practitioner.”
“I would have never thought I would hear this from a Saintess out of all people.”
Elysia chuckled wordlessly and looked down at what was handed to her by the elderly practitioner of the unorthodox.
It was an invitation card.
[Welcome to the Dark Louvre. You are hereby invited to the greatest auction of this world. Each invitation holder can bring a +1 to the auction as their partner. Follow the indication on the back and come at the exact time mentioned to be able to join the one-of-a-kind auction.
Warning: There will not be a second chance and whatever happens in the Black Market stays in the Black Market…]
“Fufufu~ It seems like we got something very interesting in our hands here. Is it proof that kindness always goes a long way?”
She wanted to laugh and chuckle at the unexpected fortune that came her way. Who could have imagined that she would get her hands on something so precious?
“There is dimensional power on this card. Also, a tracking system, and there are a few other enchantments that prevent copying the card. Whoever created the invitation is a very powerful mage. One at the very top, I’d say.”
“All the more interesting then.”
She put back the card in the pockets of her robe and looked behind her, the place they had been trying to reach.
“So. This is the Legendary Notre Dame, huh?”
Luvia was much more relaxed now as they got out of the taxi. In a way, she was far more worried about the mission than the identity of the person they had been talking with in the taxi.
“Yes and No. The true Notre Dame was burned down around 11 years ago from now.”
“Ah. I remember now. It was an angel summoning gone wrong, right? Well, that was what I was informed when we studied the case during our history classes back at the Academy. Don’t know how much of it is true though…”
“Well…”
Elysia could only show her a bitter smile at those words.
“It was a summoning alright. Just not one for an angel.”
The implication behind her words was more than just evident.