Destiny of Sin

_Chapter Begins_

After that short detour into William's point of view, things are back where they left off.

William and Elsa were both sprinting toward the park, with a group of twenty cultists chasing after them.

"William, what the hell happened in there?!"

William turned his head to Elsa as they continued running.

"I... I'll explain later."

Elsa frowned slightly.

She turned her head back to see how close the cultists were.

And then her previous frown deepened.

With a heavy sigh,

she looked back at William and spoke in a low voice.

"They're not behind us anymore."

William didn't respond—he was fully focused on running as fast as he could.

Finally, after a couple of minutes of sprinting, they reached the park.

Despite it still being very early in the morning, people were already out and about.

Elderly men were playing chess, young adults were sipping coffee on benches as they waited for work to start, and—most importantly—

There were a couple of police officers walking around.

William didn't go to the police for help. He had a reputation as a very successful criminal—one who hadn't been caught even once.

So if he walked up to the police, they'd just arrest him without a second thought.

But just because William couldn't ask for help directly didn't mean he couldn't get some protection.

He and Elsa chose to hide behind a cluster of bushes next to a large tree.

Only a few meters away from the bush, two police officers stood chatting and enjoying some morning donuts.

Now that they had a hiding spot, plus some passive protection from the cultists...

Only now could they finally talk about what had happened.

Well—first, William needed to catch his breath.

As he hunched over, breathing heavily,

Elsa stood beside him with a cold, indifferent expression.

She didn't look tired at all.

It was almost like she hadn't even been running for her life just moments ago.

William finally caught his breath.

With a raspy voice, he spoke.

"We don't have much time. We'll rest here only for a little bit."

he sighed.

"It's not safe for either of us to stay in this city. We'll head to the train station and get out of this hellhole."

Elsa simply nodded and turned her head, scanning for any signs of danger.

Then William spoke again—this time, with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Elsa, when I was inside the church... I found an underground dungeon beneath it."

His expression darkened.

"And on the dirt walls of that dungeon, there were a bunch of strange symbols and drawings scattered around."

Elsa turned her head back to him.

Her expression remained mostly indifferent, but now there was at least a faint hint of interest.

"What did the symbols say?"

William raised an eyebrow and gave her a baffled look.

"Elsa... how the hell am I supposed to know what they meant?"

He scratched his head and continued.

"I couldn't read the symbols, but the drawings were a lot easier to understand."

Elsa raised an eyebrow slightly.

"There were three in total. I had time to look closely at the first one, but then one of the cultists saw me. So I only caught a glimpse of the second and third."

William picked up a thin stick and started drawing in the dirt beside the bush.

"In the first drawing, there was a giant faceless red demon with black horns, sitting on a black throne."

He sketched out a rough image as he spoke.

"And in the demon's open palm were seven brightly colored orbs—each one a different color."

Elsa didn't seem too intrigued.

"I personally think the seven orbs represent the Seven Deadly Sins. Wouldn't you agree, El—"

Before he could finish, Elsa cut him off.

"Yeah, William, I agree. But maybe skip the lecture and start describing the second and third drawings... and do it quickly."

William really wanted to comment on how weird she was being, but even he knew now wasn't the time.

So he continued as best he could.

"I only got a glimpse of the other two drawings."

Elsa turned her head away from him, now staring intently at something outside the bush.

"The second one seemed to depict a woman… skin black as ink, wearing a long red dress covered in small black flowers."

Even though Elsa seemed completely focused on something outside the bush, she still appeared to be listening.

William could tell—because at the mention of the woman with black skin and a red dress, Elsa frowned slightly.

Just as William opened his mouth to speak again—

Elsa suddenly covered it with her hand and gestured for him to look outside the bush.

_Chapter Ends_