Chapter 407: Gathering of the Seven Churches [4]
Everything grew still.
As if my soul had been ripped away from my body, I lost all control over it. The surroundings started to change, and I found myself standing in the middle of an alley.
"Нааа... Наа..."
My breath was heavy.
My lungs were on fire.
And my vision was blurry.
I felt everything.
'What's going on...?'
"Uekh....!"
A groan escaped my lips as I hunched over and leaned my hand over the wall. The dizziness was starting to affect me as my head repeatedly turned back.
"Huu... Huu."
I felt a vivid paranoia claw at my mind as my head repeatedly moved on its own, flicking towards the right where an empty road appeared.
Where was this...?
The surroundings felt a little familiar.
From the looks of things, I wasn't at the Academy. Where?
'Am I running away from something? Is something chasing me?'
I didn't experience any emotions during the vision. Even as I relived the incident, the only sensations I felt were the physical effects of the exhaustion.
However, I could more or less make out what was happening. "S-shit."
A curse escaped my lips as they parted on their own.
"...Damn it."
My jaw clenched tightly.
"How did things turn out this way? It shouldn't have..."
Frustration and despair were clear in the tone of my voice as breathing started to become
more difficult. The pain in my chest intensified as I looked back once more.
Still nothing...
"Haa... Haa.."
I took heavy breaths, slowly trying to recover my stamina.
I observed everything in silence and strained my ears to better understand what was happening. I tried to look for any clues or anything of the sort.
Right now, I understood nothing.
The only thing I could make out was that I was running away from someone.
But who...?
Who was I running away from?
...And why did I sound so defeated?
"Kh."
My jaw clenched once more as my body pulled away from the wall.
Flick.
My head once again flicked to face behind.
There was still nothing.
...Or at least, it didn't seem like there was anyone. However, I felt the hair on my body rise as I hastily turned my back.
My entire body grew rigid as a person cloaked in white appeared.
"T-that...!"
I stepped back, staring at the person in white with widened eyes.
Their features were hidden beneath the cloak, making it hard for me to see. Their cloak was
also entirely white, leaving behind no clues of their affiliation.
"Where do you think you're running?"
The voice was deep, belonging to a man.
I felt my stomach flip at the sound of his voice.
"...You must pay for your sins."
Sins?
What sins?
I strained once more, trying to pick up any hints or clues.
This wasn't enough.
Far from enough!
"I..."
My mouth opened, my voice coming out hoarse.
"...Didn't do it. He did..."
"He did?"
The voice grew deeper, evident anger displayed in the tone.
"Do you think we're stupid? You were the only one present in the room. And..."
"Ukh!"
The man in white's movements were rapid.
He didn't even give me the time to react before snatching my hand and pulling it up.
"What are you-"
I was never able to get the words out.
Staring at my hand, the man in white pulled my sleeve down to reveal several bandages that
covered the arm.
He didn't even give me the chance to say anything before pulling down the bandages,
revealing my forearm, devoid of any tattoo or mole.
"....It looks like you're fully healed."
He appeared calm by the fact that he found nothing.
Sweat trickled down the side of my face as the man silently stared at my forearm. His gaze was
so intense that it paralyzed my entire body, leaving me in a passive state.
Eventually, he reached out and calmly wiped the skin of my forearm, revealing a tattoo that
had been hidden beneath a thin layer of makeup.
"Ah."
My breath left my body.
Though I couldn't see his features due to the cloak, I could feel a trace of a smile forming on
the man's lips.
"....I knew it."
His voice grew lighter.
"You were working for those guys."
"Ukh!"
An intense pain washed over my body as the man's grip on my wrist tightened. I tried to
struggle but it was to no avail.
The man was simply stronger than me.
Eventually, his gaze turned to face me, his eyes directly meeting mine as he looked through
my soul.
I felt my lungs deflate at the sight of his gaze.
It felt so...
Horrifying.
'No, I need to focus.'
In spite of it all, I knew that I had to remain focused. I couldn't let the intensity of my gaze
distract me from the situation. I needed to find out more information.
This wasn't enough.
What was happening? Who was the man in white? Why was he chasing me? How did he figure
out about my tattoo, and-
!....!!
My mind shook as the surroundings started to fade.
'No, no...!'
I realized that the vision was coming to an end.
However, this was far from enough!
....I still knew nothing.
'Not yet! Not yet! Just a little more!'
As the world around me started to fade, I used every little bit of my concentration to remain
focused on the conversation. Even as the world around me grew black, I strained my mind to focus on the faint words that were leaving the man's lips.
'Come on...!'
The anxiety gnawed at me, but I persisted.
I knew there was more for me to hear.
I had to hear more.
This was far from enough.
'Kh!'
An intense pain washed over my head as I strained to listen.
It hurt like crazy, but I had no choice.
And eventually...
"...I had a hard time understanding how you managed to kill him, but now it all makes
sense."
I managed to hear it.
"You used their hel-"
"Julien!"
Light entered my eyes as a pair of gray eyes stared directly at me.
I blinked my eyes a couple of times.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Leon wore a frown on his face as he looked at me.
How did I currently look in his eyes?
I took a deep breath to calm myself down.
"....I'm fine."
I wasn't.
But I had to act like I was.
"You don't look fine?"
"I was just practicing my domain. I overexerted myself."
"...Ah?"
"Look."
I brought my hand forward.
"My mana is exhausted. You can check for yourself."
"What...? Ah? Seriously?"
Leon appeared speechless. I couldn't blame him. Who in their right mind would practice their
domain while waiting for the delegates of the seven churches to arrive?
Well, not me.
I was just looking for an excuse.
"...It's been taking quite a while and I was getting bored."
"But that's..."
"Diligent?"
"Hmm."
Leon's frown deepened. He was actually thinking of a way to refute my comment.
I left him on his own as I took another deep breath to cool my mind. There were more pressing things that I needed to think about.
'I killed someone...? And from the looks of things, someone really important. Why else would they send
someone so strong to chase after me?'
But who?
Who did I kill exactly? And why would I do that?
'Is it possible that I got framed?'
Yes, that was a possibility.
However, when I thought about the man in white who knew about my tattoo, there was a
chance that I had been forced into killing someone due to the organization.
There was also another thing that I had taken notice of.
And it was the fact that the man in white appeared familiar with the 'Inverted Sky'.
'....I knew it.'
'You were working for those guys.'
The familiarity of how he spoke about those guys made it clear that he was rather high up.
Central...? Or...one of the churches?
If it was Central then I needed to figure out who was high enough to know about them and had
a grudge against them
...And if it was the churches then I needed to figure out which church was against the Inverted
Sky.
Or more specifically, the Church of Sithrus.
'Yeah, that's a direction.'
My train of thought wasn't exactly sound, but it was a start.
Right after the inauguration of the ceremony ended, I planned on directly finding out the
information that I needed.
'For starters, I'll directly ask Atlas if there is a mission that I need to complete.'
If there was, and it involved killing someone, it would make things a lot easier for me. At least
that way I'd be able to find more information on the situation.
More information was better than no information.
Even if the information wasn't the most pleasant of things.
Thump!
A loud 'thump' woke me from my thoughts. As I raised my head, several figures appeared in
the distance, all wearing different color robes while holding onto large sticks that held
different symbols.
"They're here."
I quietly mumbled, quietly holding my breath.
The delegates of the Seven Churches had arrived.
***
Trrr-
Several large carriages rolled onto the Academy grounds, each one embellished with
distinctive decorations and emblems.
Following the carriages was a long line of disciplines.
They all wore different colored robes, each marked with their representative emblem.
Within one of the carriages.
"....We're almost here."
An aged voice sounded from within. It belonged to a man dressed in all white, his turbid eyes looking absentmindedly outside of the window.
Sat opposite him was Cardinal Ambrose, his tone low and respectful.
"Yes, we are. We should be stopping in a few minutes. I've already informed those of the
Academy. The cadets should be greeting us soon." "Mhm, that's fine."
The man in white responded.
"....I will not be attending the initial ceremonies. I'll be attending the confessional hearing.
Perhaps I might do some myself."
"Eh?"
A look of surprise flashed across the Cardinal's face.
The confessional hearing was a one-on-one meeting between a high member of the church
and its devotees.
It was something that was held at each gathering, often delegated to the priests.
Rarely would anyone ranked above that get involved.
And yet...
"You wish to take part of it yourself? Did I...?"
"You did not."
A hazy smile formed on the aged man's face.
Shifting his gaze from the window, he turned to face the Cardinal, his cloudy eyes flickering
slightly.
"...It's been a long time since I last held such a gathering. It'll be a nice change for once."
As his smile widened, he closed his eyes.
"I'll be seeing you soon..."
His chest heaved up and down unevenly, unable to hide the excitement he felt.
'...My god.'
