Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 596

Chapter 596: Chapter 595 Unexpected Convergence Chapter 596: Chapter 595 Unexpected Convergence Sherry stared dumbfounded at the scene unfolding before her, as if facing a grotesque nightmare and not knowing how to react.

Xilin was slowly reaching out her right hand to Sherry, who instinctively walked over, seemingly wanting to grasp the girl's fingers. However, before she could touch Xilin, the elf girl's arm was already completely covered by a bark-like substance–at the last second, Sherry only touched a rough, hard branch, which then began to grow rapidly, extending higher into the air…

Xilin's face gradually disappeared among the swiftly growing branches. In the last moment before the complete transformation, her eyes widened, as if she suddenly understood something, recognized something. She looked at Sherry, seemingly wanting to tell her something–but then, her expression froze in that instant, completely merging into the tree.

Now, she had become a small tree with slender branches.

Sherry stared blankly at this incredible scene, subconsciously recalling the entire process of the other's transformation into a tree and the last look Xilin had given her. For a long time, she stood motionless.

What happened? Why did this happen? Elves… turning into trees?

A faint rustling of the wind suddenly came from nearby, carrying with it an increasingly approaching malice. Sherry finally snapped out of her shock, suddenly looking up toward the direction of the malice. In the dim thicket, she saw dark red glimmers and shadowy mists appearing like smoke, quickly fading away.

Rabi immediately sensed the detestable presence–the scent of Profound Demons.

“Heretics! They were hidden in the shadow of those sun remnants!”

Hearing Rabi's low growl, Sherry finally realized what had happened–
It was the Heretics who had lured those “sun remnants” here, perhaps collaborating or merely using them. They intended to use the remnants to eliminate her and Xilin, but things went beyond their expectations. When one of the sun remnants attempted to erode her consciousness, the captain's Spiritual Fire was disturbed and fought back, killing all the assailants–the intense presence of the sun remnants had masked the scent of the Heretics. Now that they were exposed, they chose to flee decisively.

Sherry glanced at the dark woods, hesitated before stepping forward. Her gaze swept over the clearing, seeing the sun remnants killed by the Spiritual Fire curled up into twisted ashes, gradually dissipating into the air while faint residual green flames slowly burned among the ash heaps, gradually fading and extinguishing.

The captain's flames had died down–it was not a power she could control.

Sherry knew very well that the recent “victory” had little to do with her own strength, and she was even less confident that the flames would appear when danger struck next. Perhaps… the “mark” the captain left her would only work this once.

Rashly chasing after them, if she really ended up in a fight and found herself outmatched, that would be a big problem.

However, her hesitation lasted only a second or two–before those smoke and fog completely escaped Rabi's perception, she gritted her teeth, spat to the side, and ran into the gloomy depths.

She ran past the small tree that Xilin had become, with the tree's thin branches drooping down, brushing against Sherry's shoulders, the twigs and leaves rustling softly.

After running through the woods for what felt like an eternity, Sherry and Rabi gradually slowed their pace.

“Their scent has dissipated ahead, and it's fading fast,” Rabi lifted his head, his ugly head shifting in the air, his eye sockets' blood-colored lights flickering, “There must be some demon kind skilled in concealing their scent among them, possibly a death herald… tsk, they're quite troublesome.”

“Did we lose them?” Sherry muttered unwillingly, “Thought we might finally catch one or two this time…”

Rabi shook his head and didn't say anything, just tried again to discern the true direction in which those scents were fading.

However, just then, footsteps suddenly coming from a direction in the forest interrupted Rabi and Sherry's actions.

Sherry tensed up instantly, raising her crossbow, her body poised towards the direction of the sounds, but the next second, the figure emerging from behind the trees and bushes wasn't the heretics she had anticipated–
An elf girl, clad in light hunting attire, holding a peculiar long-handled battle-axe, walked out of the woods.

Sherry's poised stance stiffened slightly as she looked incredulously at the elf girl emerging from the woods, recognizing the familiar face, and though she knew she was in a strange “Dreamscape”, she still felt the surreality quietly emerging from the bottom of her heart. Then, she heard the elf girl, sounding a bit surprised, speak to her–
“Didn't you receive the evacuation order? Why are you still active outside the Silent Wall?”

Sherry opened her mouth, feeling as if she had countless things to say, but when it came to the point, she couldn't organize a single word. She looked strangely at the “Xilin” who appeared before her again, instinctively wanting to greet her, but quickly realizing that this person did not recognize her–this was no longer the same “Xilin” who had accompanied her to the Silent Wall.

But in that moment of hesitation, Sherry heard a second set of footsteps appearing behind the elf girl. She turned unexpectedly toward the direction of the sound, and a familiar figure, dressed in a black dress and holding a giant rabbit plush, appeared in her sight.

“Lucrecia… Miss?”

“Sherry?” Lucrecia emerged from the woods, and upon seeing the familiar figure at the crossroads ahead, the “Sea Witch” couldn't help but show a surprised expression, “I really didn't expect…”

The unexpected meeting momentarily surprised both of them. Sherry, holding onto her dog, sized up the suddenly appearing “Miss Witch” and then glanced at the elf girl standing beside her. After a moment, she cautiously took a half step back, “Just to be safe–”
Lucrecia also immediately spoke, “Confirm identity.”

Sherry quickly asked, “Where was Alice's head at noon yesterday?”

“In the pot,” Lucrecia answered without hesitation, then quickly asked, “What's my father's biggest hobby now?”

“Fishing, walking the dog, feeding pigeons–confirmed.”

“Um, confirmed,” Lucrecia also seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, slightly lowering the “baton” she was tightly holding in her hand, and casually placing the rabbit plushie she had been holding in her arms on the ground, “This Dreamscape is very strange, it's always good to be more cautious.”

Sherry nodded in agreement. Just then, the elf girl “Xilin” finally spoke, “You know each other?”

“Yes, friends,” Lucrecia casually answered.

Sherry couldn't help but glance at the familiar face of the elf girl nearby with a somewhat complex expression, then quickly turned to Lucrecia and asked, “Did you notice any traces of the Heretics on your way here?”

“Heretics?” Lucrecia frowned upon hearing this, “I didn't notice–did you encounter them?”

“Not just the Heretics, I also ran into a bunch of Sun Scum,” Sherry said regretfully, “Unfortunately, those Heretics managed to escape…”

Then, she quickly shared her recent experiences with Lucrecia, including how she narrowly avoided being contaminated by a Sun Remnant and how the captain's Spiritual Fire appeared and resolved the crisis.

However, she didn't mention the “Xilin” who was with her, nor the unbelievable scene when that “Xilin” turned into a small tree.

Because another elf girl named “Xilin” was standing right next to her, curiously listening to her exchange with Lucrecia.

Before figuring out exactly what was going on with these “Xilins,” it's best to avoid any unpredictable changes.

“As I followed them here with my dog, I was about to catch them, but they still managed to escape,” Sherry said, shaking her head regretfully after sharing her experiences, “They had a 'Profound Demon' with them, a demon adept at hiding its presence and confounding senses; my dog isn't good at dealing with that sort of thing.”

Lucrecia looked up thoughtfully at the forest scenery, which looked similar in every direction, and after pondering for a moment, she suddenly spoke, “They can't have gone too far… You just mentioned that they ran away after seeing the Spiritual Fire kill those Sun Remnants?”

“Yes,” Sherry nodded, “They ran really fast, completely ignoring their 'allies.'”
“So, they were frightened by my father's flames, and they must have been filled with fear while running away, right?”

“…Probably,” Sherry said uncertainly, a bit puzzled, “Is there a problem with that?”

Lucrecia didn't answer her but looked down at the rabbit plushie sitting on the ground, lost in thought: “Rabi, I know you're listening.”

The rabbit plushie languidly shook its body, emitting a small murmuring complaint: “Rabi doesn't like Heretics; their minds stink, and they have disgusting things…”

Lucrecia didn't speak, just silently raised her baton in her hand.

The rabbit plushie immediately stood up, patting the dirt off its body while continuously muttering, “Okay, okay, Rabi understands, Rabi will find them… You must remember to bring Rabi back!”

“Go… while their hearts are still unsettled.”

The rabbit plushie “oh”ed, and then right in front of Sherry, it suddenly exploded with a bang, a rough, hand-drawn-style white smoke burst from within and rose, spreading instantly to envelop its comical yet terrifying figure–as the smoke dispersed, the shape of the rabbit plushie also vanished from Sherry's sight.

Chapter end

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