Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  The Istan City fell into chaos as they experienced severe winter at the same time. More and more people were suffering from strange diseases. The destruction of alchemical boilers and heating systems had thrown the city into an extreme cold circumstance. Overnight, dozens of people were frozen to death. However, there were several families who died of coal poisoning.

  The next day, the firewood on the market was looted, and a large number of citizens rushed out of Istan City to cut down the nearby forest of Snow Maple, but it only lasted a week before all was exhausted. People began to demolish houses and every public building for making a fire and preparing a meal.

  Panic pervaded the whole city. And because of the disappearance of priests from the Divine Hall and Holy Knights, some in the city had become unscrupulous. At first, they just robbed. On the eighth day, a family of three in the East of the city was killed in the house, and the mistress was even humiliated before her death. That scene signaled for the start of chaos in Istan City.

  Each and every family confined to their houses, gunshots was heard from time to time on the streets, the barn was burning in fire after a rampageous situation, food was burnt to the ground, several shops in the city were looted flat-out, and food shortages began to appear.

  They started killing ice bears, killing camelids, they went out to look for fruits and food, but they had lesser food day after day. More and more of them didn’t even dare to cook with fire, because the aroma of food would surely attract groups of mobs.

  Helen carefully locked the door and rushed into the room. She looked at Bart and her sister Agatha lying on the beds. Her sister Agatha also suffered from that strange disease. In the past three days, she was unlike the past; she had lost her vitality akin to a female leopard.

  In three days, Agatha transformed from a young girl to a fifty-year-old elder. Near the completion of the devil’s sacrificial ceremony, the power of curse was stronger and the speed of erosion increased. Initially, it took more than ten days to age, but now five days were enough for people to die.

  The hospital had been closed for a long time. As for the patients in the hospital, they knew their outcome even without thinking. Most of the patients who fell ill later could only choose to wait for death at home.

  The streets and every house were filled with corpses, they died of illness, frozen to death or killed in a chaos. Darkness and death enveloped Istan City. The stench of rotting corpse permeated the streets, and even the Decay Vulture from afar began to hover over to Istan City. Some people began to flee Istan City. But most people know that there were likely to die during their journey.

  Within a short period of time, the Istan City seemed to have fallen from heaven to a living hell.

  “Bart! Agatha! Look, I found food!”


  Helen took out two maple fruits, the unripe one, but in that period of time, in the Istan City, the terror-stricken situation had been ongoing for ten days and food was enough to drive people crazy.

  “Agatha! Agatha, eat this! Have a bite, it’s very……”


  Helen put one fruit on Bart’s hand, and then she sat beside Agatha, she hugged her younger sister. It was clear that Helen was her elder sister, but now Agatha had grew so old that she looked like Helen’s mother. Helen wanted to feed her, but Agatha was too weak; it was as if she had only a breath left. Agatha shook her head.

  “No, sister, my illness is incurable, I…… I’m going to die soon!”


  Agatha looked at her elder sister and there was only despair in her eyes, “Don’t waste food! And don’t bother about me!”


  Helen continued to support Agatha. She even chewed and crushed the maple fruit and fed Agatha a little by a little before she felt at ease.

  Bart was now being attacked by the Seal of the Holy One and the power of his soul was gradually dissipated. There was no difference between the weakened him and those who were cursed, but he was still pretty clear-headed. He was trying every means to stop the power of the Seal of the Holy One, but he had no way of stopping it; he would inevitably die. It would take only a few days for his soul to completely dissipate.

  But Bart also knew that in a few days, the doors of the abyss would open, and he would be able to recover completely. Moreover, he could advance further, acquired more power, and become a powerful Demon Baron in the abyss.

  Bart chewed the maple fruit with all his might, and then he suddenly looked at Helen and said, “Helen, why aren’t you eating?”


  Helen looked at Bart and replied, “I’ll eat later. You can eat first!”


  Bart had a sudden realization, “Don’t tell me there’re only two? There’s no more food?”


  Helen was at a loss for words but she replied, “I’m good!”


  Bart became silent in an instant. For some reason, it seemed as if Helen was radiating with a white brilliance which lit up the entire room, it illuminated his ugliness and abhorrence, and his skin could feel the pain from being pricked by the brilliance.

  On the fourteenth day, Helen fell ill.

  There were three patients at home. Bart was lying on a bed in a corner, while Helen was lying in another big bed with Agatha in her arms. All three of them were quiet, as if they were waiting for death in silence.

  Agatha was aging and her hair was white, she looked just like an 80 year old grandmother. Her skin was covered with brown patches and plastered on the bones; it looked daunting. Helen didn’t mind holding her in her arms, but Agatha at the moment was unable to speak, she was only lingering on with her last breath. She could die at any moment.

  “Agatha! Don’t be afraid! Sister will accompany you, sister…… sister……”


  “Your elder sister will continue to protect you!”


  At the mention of that, Helen who had a smile on her face, she didn’t know why but she couldn’t continue on any more. Tears trickled down from her eyes, dripped onto and wet her collar; she hugged Agatha tightly in her arms.

  Towards evening, it was as if Agatha was experiencing a terminal lucidity, she suddenly opened her eyes and looked at Helen. Helen was weak but she struggled to get up and forced out a lively expression while she looked at Agatha.

  “Elder sister, I’ve seen the light, I seemed to have seen the other world, I……”


  “Mom…… Mom is here to pick me up, and Dad, and…… and……” Agatha’s hoarse voice was as harsh as a finger scratching on a mold, but what she said made others cry involuntarily.

  Agatha loosened her grasp of Helen’s hand and fell askew into Helen’s arms. Helen, who was watching the scene unfolding in front of her, was trembling violently, as if there hadn’t been a moment that had such a big blow on her. Her father unexpected death and her mother who died from illness hadn’t impacted her as much as Agatha’s death. But only Agatha, she was Helen’s everything, as long as Agatha was there, she would feel blissful.

  Helen broke into bitter tears, she cried like a child, she held onto Agatha’s corpse in despair, and tears were streaming down.

  Bart looked at Helen, she was hugging Agatha in her arms, he was lying in the dark corner of the room, his chin was trembling and he turned his head away from the scene. He was afraid to see Helen’s eyes, hear her voice, and see her cry with a look of despair.

  Suddenly, Helen’s pearl on her chest was radiating a blue brilliance, it was akin to the oceans and currents; it filled up the room.

  Bart looked back at Helen at once and he looked at the radiating pearl. He suddenly recalled a legend.

  “The Pearl of Dana, the legendary wishing gemstone!”


  Bart immediately saw Agatha, who was in Helen’s arms, had the demons and curses which were shrouded in her body dispersing bit by bit, her body was gradually returned to vitality, her original exhausted body was a little more enriched, her skin began to become youthful, and her hair had returned to the original red colored.

  “So the legend is true!”


  Bart stood up a little by a little from the bed and watched Agatha recovered a little by a little. She got rid of the curse of the Devil Lord from the abyss, Agatha, who was clearly dead, came back to life again.

  “The power of resurrection from death, this is really the power of resurrection from death, it is more magical than the magic of revival!”


  Helen was in a daze as she watched Agatha floating in the blue radiance. At the moment of her fall, she caught Agatha in her arms. She hugged her in the arms as if she was holding onto the whole world. She was afraid that she might lose Agatha again if she was careless.

  Bart said to Helen, “Let’s send Agatha out together. Only if she leaves here can she survive. If she stays in the city, she’ll be cursed again. Moreover, when the doors of the abyss open, everyone in the city will die!”


  Helen stared blankly at Bart; she wondered what the man she had saved was talking about. Bart looked at Helen’s eyes and his fierce and hideous face, had now become soft and gentle, “Believe me, only in this way can we save Agatha’s life!”