Chapter 411: Meeting Again [1]
Standing before the gathered members, clad in robes of deep indigo, Cardinal Hamsia raised a Chalice in the air.
"In his name, we seek not only the gift of immortality but the wisdom to embrace our
everlasting journey."
His voice echoed throughout the dimly lit room.
In unison, the cadets and priests chanted softly, their voices harmonizing.
"Mortum, grant us life beyond the grave,
In shadows and light, our souls you save.
Through time's endless weave, we rise and we bend,
With your boundless power, our spirits transcend."
Leon and Evelyn stood next to each other while reciting the chants they had been taught since childhood. Having learned the entire chant from a young age, they knew every line by heart.
This wasn't the first mass they had attended.
.... It was also the same for majority of the cadets involved as none of them struggled to recite the words of the Cardinal who lifted the Chalice even higher in the air.
"With each offering, we affirm our bond with the eternal. Embrace the gift of immortality, not as a burden, but as a sacred journey."
"Mortum, keeper of the unseen door,
Guide our steps on this timeless shore.
With every breath, we seek your embrace,
In the dance of the cosmos, we find our place."
Evelyn and Leon once again chanted.
That was when the Cardinal brought the Chalice down and took a sip of the liquid.
"I offer this first sip to the god himself, Mortum. May you bestow upon us the gift of health and eternal life."
Following his words, the room stirred as the cadets started to move, forming one long and single line that led to the Cardinal.
It was now their turn to take a sip of the liquid.
"I don't know about this..."
Evelyn murmured quietly as she stood in front of Leon while the line before her shortened. Leon blinked his eyes a couple of times and cocked his head.
"What's wrong?"
"...I don't feel like this is very hygienic."
"We've done this many times before."
"Yes, but when we were kids. Now that we've grown, I don't know, it kind of feels weird to drink from the same cup as everyone does."
"If you put it that way..."
Leon also frowned.
However, that was all he could do. It wasn't like he could just move to the side and reject taking a sip from the Chalice. It was something that happened each mass and represented one of the many murals found about Mortum.
"May the next person step forward."
Before they knew it, their turn had arrived.
Although Evelyn appeared on the fence about the entire situation, she still took a sip of the liquid and left.
Leon stepped forward right after she left.
He stood face to face with the Cardinal who smiled gently at him and brought the Chalice forward.
"May you be blessed with the blessing of Mortum."
Leon nodded faintly and shifted his attention towards the Chalice. He hadn't paid much attention to the Chalice since the start but now that he was closer to it, his expression couldn't help but change subtly.
'Isn't this...?'
Although it wasn't an exact replica of it, the Chalice... It was a clear imitation of the Chalice he had.
This...
Leon's eyes shook as he raised his head to look back at the Cardinal.
"What's wrong?"
The Cardinal blinked his eyes, tilting his head as he brought the Chalice forward. Leon was quick to snap out of it as he lowered his head and took a sip of the liquid.
It was just regular wine.
And yet...
Something within his chest stirred the moment he took a sip of the liquid.
He couldn't explain what it was, but it felt warm. Leon held the feeling back and moved back towards the back of the room where Evelyn was.
The warm sensation that coursed through his body intensified with each second that passed and sweat started to pour down from the side of his face. Though he didn't show it on the outside, Leon was inwardly panicking.
'I need to find a way to get out of here. Something is of—'
Cr Crack-
A loud cracking sound reverberated throughout the entire room.
All heads turned, shifting towards the source of the sound...
The Chalice.
"Ah!"
"Look!"
One of the cadets pointed at the Chalice. It was then that everyone noticed the massive cracks that had appeared all over the Chalice.
"How could this be?!"
The Cardinal's face underwent huge changes upon noticing the cracks on the Chalice. Long gone was his calm exterior. What replaced it was a flustered look as he brought the Chalice
away and placed it on a nearby table.
Cra Crack-
Even more cracks formed as the seconds passed.
Everyone watched in horror as the Cardinal tried to do something about the Chalice. However,
in spite of his best attempts, the cracks only grew with each one of his attempts at mending
the situation.
Hurriedly flicking his head to look at one of the priests, the Cardinal shouted,
"Someone get the-"
But it was too late.
Bang!"
The Chalice shattered into hundreds of pieces, spilling the wine all over the place.
"No, no...!"
Pale in the face, the Cardinal looked at the remains of the Chalice with a horrified look as he hurriedly scraped and collected the broken pieces.
"How could this be!? This is an artifact that has been passed down for generations... How
could it suddenly break down like this? How is this possible!?"
His despair-stricken voice echoed throughout the area.
The priests by this side were also showing the same shocked expression as the Cardinal.
Only they knew just how important the Chalice was.
Leon looked at the entire situation with a lost look. The warm sensation that coiled around his chest had grown stronger than ever, but even then, he still couldn't understand what had
happened.
However, if there was one thing that he understood, it was that...
'I'm the cause of it.'
He...
Was the source of the chaos that had currently taken over the area.
"Ukh."
A sudden throb to his chest broke Leon out of his thoughts as he hurriedly placed his hand
over his mouth and hunched over slightly. His face grew paler and his body grew a little
weaker.
"Leon?"
Evelyn, who was the closest to him, naturally detected the abnormalities with Leon as she
started to look worried.
Leon held his hand to stop her from approaching.
"Kh... I'm fine."
He wasn't, but he had to be fine.
He couldn't show any suspicious movement.
Who knew what would happen if they found out he was the one who had caused the entire
mess?
"Should we go?"
Evelyn's suggestions were what helped him cool his mind.
He looked around and saw that several cadets were already leaving. With the priests too preoccupied with the Chalice, and the Professors present also leaving, Leon nodded faintly.
He had to get away from his place.
"Let's go."
And so they did.
"Urkh."
"Are you sure you're fine?"
Even as they distanced themselves from the site of the mass, the pain in Leon's chest
persisted, intensifying until his face grew even paler.
Evelyn forced Leon to stop as she took a closer look at his face.
"You're sweating a lot."
She placed her hand over his forehead.
"Oh, god! It's hot!"
Evelyn moved away, her expression tightening.
"You've got a fever! Why did you-"
"....I found you."
A cool voice broke Evelyn out of her thoughts. When she turned her head she saw Julien
coming in their direction from the distance.
Leon also raised his head and looked at Julien who frowned at the sight of him.
"What is wrong with you?"
"He has a fever."
Evelyn answered in Leon's stead.
"...It looks like he does."
Julien didn't doubt Evelyn's words. Leon's complexion said it all.
Evelyn once again looked at Leon with a worried look before addressing Julien.
"Can you bring him to the nurse? I'll go-"
"Actually, I have something I want to talk to you first about."
"Eh?"
Evelyn blinked her eyes, clearly surprised by Julien's words.
"You want to talk to me about something?"
"Yes."
Julien replied in a very serious tone. His tone was enough to make Evelyn understand that he
wasn't joking around.
However, turning her attention towards Leon and seeing Leon's complexion, she shook her
head.
"Whatever it is, we can talk about it later. It's best if we bring Leon to the-"
"No, go."
Leon stopped Evelyn mid-sentence.
"But-"
"Go talk with Julien. I'll stay here."
"That-"
"I'm going to be fine. If it's just a fever then it's nothing since I can just take some pills to heal
up."
In reality, Julien appeared at the right time. Leon couldn't go to the infirmary. He understood
best that this wasn't something the Doctor knew how to handle.
He wasn't sick nor was he dying.
.... His body was just acting weird after having drunk from the Chalice.
The chance of the Doctor knowing what was wrong with him was almost zero. Furthermore, it
could even make things more complicated for him.
Leon couldn't afford to let that happen.
This was why Julien's appearance was godsent for him.
'Take her and go.'
Leon implied with his words.
Julien didn't reply but pulled Evelyn by the sleeve.
"Hey, wait!"
"Let's go. Leon doesn't want to go to the nurse." "But he's sick!"
"So? The best that can happen is that he'll die..."
Leon's mouth twitched upon hearing Julien's words. This... Was it really that hard to be nice to
him?
No, never mind that...
"Ukh." ƒreewebɳovel.com
Leon held his head with both hands.
He needed to address this issue first.
***
"Hey! Where are we going? Don't go too far from Leon! If we go too far and something
happens to him then it'll be on you. He's clearly sick and-"
"I know, I know."
My ears were on the verge of bleeding as I pulled Evelyn alongside me.
'Machine gun... She's really a machine gun...'
I really, really, really, really missed the old evasive Evelyn. This Evelyn just wouldn't stop
talking.
"Did you not see how pale his face was? And the sweat! God, the sweat. The back of his shirt
was drenched in sweat, and if you paid close enough attention you'll notice how his body was
also trembling on certain oc- " "This place is good enough."
I looked around before finally letting go of Evelyn. She finally stopped speaking as she looked
around.
We were in a more isolated part of the Academy, at the back of one of the Academy buildings.
It was only when I was sure that there was no presence near us that I spoke,
"I need your help."
"...?"
Evelyn looked confused. Her expression seemed to say, 'My help? What for...?'
I pursed my lips and took a deep breath. Before she could say any words, I spoke,
"....I need you to enter my mind." Evelyn's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. "There's someone I need to deal with..."
