A member of Paradise Star rushed to the place and disrupted the ritual. He screamed at the top of his lung. "Everyone, please evacuate! The Royal Dogs are on their way here!"
The warning took everyone's attention. The evacuation notice came out of nowhere without preparation. People ran in different directions to save themselves. Helena managed to release Mr. Gray's grip and escaped from him. She predicted the possibility of the knights barging into the black market.
Helena had sent a letter to Duchess Vermillion. Someone might read or intercept the letter, so Helena asked the church to write it for her. A nun would give it directly to the Duchess. Helena was convinced the church was safe from Paradise Star influence since she watched the place herself.
The letter consisted of some alphabets and numbers. It was the date and coordination of the location based on the Verilius Map. Duchess Vermillion was an intelligent woman. She must understand the meaning of the letter and send her knights.
On her way to escape, her path diverged into two. That girl smacked her head. She could not remember her way back to the entrance.
"DAMN IT MYSELF!"
Helena chose the right turn. After walking for a few minutes, she realized it was the wrong way. It was too late to turn around. Helena moved forward until she found a heavy oak wood door. It was locked since it would not budge on a push or pull.
A bright idea came to her mind. Helena took her hairpin and put it inside the keyhole. After two minutes of tinkering, she heard the sound of a click from inside. Her past skill was helpful in critical situations. Helena learnt to lock-pick on her second life for illegal purposes.
She opened the door and scanned her surroundings. The place was filled with bookshelves and cupboards with many papers. Helena's face lit up. This must be another office belonging to Paradise Star. She read the files on the desk one by one. Everything was the profiles and receipts of slaves. It was not a clue behind her regression, but Duchess Vermillion would be happy to have this evidence.
Helena heard a footstep from upstairs. She hid herself under the desk in panic. Someone had stepped into the office. Helena hoped no one would notice her voice or breathe. Nothing happened several minutes after that. After some minutes passed, the footsteps had gone. Helena was relieved. Now all she had to do was to find a way out.
A blade pierced through the wooden desk and almost impaled her head. Helena shrieked when she saw it. She was lucky that the attack missed the target by some centimetres.
"I know there is a rat in this place."
She did not expect someone to wait for her. If she came out, she would be in danger. If she stayed, she would die.
Better facing danger than dying the fourth time.
Helena came out from her hiding place. She was surprised to see the Masked Man and the Sad Clown Mask Man. They surrounded her inside the room. Helena raised her hand as a sign of surrender.
"That's weird. This man is not a knight or officer either. There is no report about the investigation team doing another infiltration. Do you recognize him?"
The Sad Clown Mask Man shook his head. "No. He is not a mercenary either."
"Eh, doesn't matter. Just take the mask after he dies."
Before he reached out his weapon, Helena slid on the floor. She passed and ignored her enemies, running straight forward to the door. Those men were dumbfounded. They did not expect her to escape that fast. Since the beginning, Helena knew her chance to win was zero. Her eyes always looked at the exit. Violet's advice was right on track.
"If you cannot beat up your opponent, try to outrun them!"
Helena ran as fast as she could. The two men followed her from behind. Helena's training might improve her power and stamina, but it was not good enough. The men behind her were faster. They would catch up with her at that point. Helena had no choice but to fight back. She pulled her whip and hit one of the men in his face. His mask fell to the ground after her assault. That Sad Clown Mask Man groaned and touched his face. His grey eyes stared directly into her eyes. She felt her whole body frozen. Helena was stunned at his betrayal. Her voice was shaky.
"Siegfried... You're part of the cult?"
He had a bitter smile on his face. "I did not expect we meet in such a difficult circumstance..."
The Masked Man sighed. "Looks like he is someone that knows you. That's not good. We should get rid of him."
In one move, Siegfried grabbed and threw her into the ground. The strike caused her to paralyze in pain. Helena could barely move from the blow. The Masked Man cackled and took out his gun.
"Goodbye, stranger."
Helena closed her eyes in fear. She was going to die. A gunshot rang in that place. Helena did not feel any pain at all. She slowly opened her eyelids and was surprised to see the scene. Siegfried intercepted by grabbing the Masked Man's hand, preventing him from shooting.
"I am sorry, but I cannot allow that."
The Masked Man sounded annoyed. "Siegfried, you're going to betray me? After all this time? What makes you change your mind?"
"..."
"No answer, huh? Tch. Should have gotten rid of you earlier with other bodies."
Siegfried was stronger. He took the weapon and threw it to the floor. Helena finally could move and snatched it from the ground. The Masked Man stepped back when Helena pointed the gun in his direction.
"Whoaa. You're not going to shoot me, are you? It is obvious that you never kill someone before."
"Try me!"
The Masked Man laughed at her trembling hand. The sound of another gunshot once again rang in the air. Helena's eyes went wide when she watched it. The Masked Man shot Siegfried in the right shoulder. That man groaned and held his injury.
"I bring a spare gun, you know. Learning from experience."
Helena rushed to the older man. "Siegfried! Are you okay?"
He was in pain but pretended to be all right. "I'm-I'm fine. This is just a scratch."
"This gun only has one bullet." The Masked Man threw the weapon. "Too bad I missed. I want to kill you both here, but our time is over."
They heard footsteps coming closer. The knights soon would swarm their place.
The Masked Man turned his back on them and left. "It will be bad if they catch me in this place. Goodbye, stranger. I hope they catch you along with Siegfried."
The Masked Man ran away. Siegfried sat on the floor while holding his injury. Blood was pouring into his arm. Helena was alarmed when she saw it.
"We need to stop the bleeding first!"
"Lady Blackmoore, forget my injury. We need to get out of here."
Helena was shocked by his reveal. He knew about her true identity. She opened her mask and stared at him. "You-you recognize me this whole time?"
"Hah! Your invitation was special. I put perfume on it as a mark so I know you will come to Sabbath. Good disguise. I almost did not know you."
Helena helped him stand and allowed the man to lean on her. Siegfried led her to a path and opened a secret passage. Helena felt the cold wind brushed against her skin. They were outside the castle already. In front of her was a dark forest surrounded by trees.
"If you go east, you will find a road. Follow it until you find a carriage. Take this lantern with you."
Helena looked at him. "You're not coming with me?"
"Lady Blackmoore. I have to pay the price of my sins." He smiled weakly at her. "Please tell my apologies to Adham."
"Wait!"
Siegfried closed the door on her. Helena yelled and tried to open the door, but it was futile. Siegfried would not return. That man remained on the other side, surrendering his life to fate. The knight found and surrounded him with no way to escape. Siegfried raised his left hand and allowed himself to be apprehended.
Helena had no choice but to go back to her home. She looked at the castle from afar with sadness and walked away. Helena did not remember much about her journey back home. She slumped on the bed from exhaustion and fell asleep.
Black liquid resembled human figures chasing her when she opened her eyes. She stumbled and fell down because something grabbed her leg. The dead kid from the cult was raised from the ground. More and more people she abandoned from second lives crawled into her body. Helena struggled as they swallowed her body into darkness.
"Why, why are you alive?"
She screamed and woke up with cold sweat.
How pathetic of her to think she could bury everything.