Chapter 408: Reflection [1]
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Thump! Thump! Thump!
The drums echoed loudly throughout.
They surged through the Academy grounds, echoing loudly and rattling the surroundings. Behind the drums came long lines of people in varied robes, heads bowed as they carried incense sticks and banners.
The smell of incense spread throughout, causing my nose to momentarily scrunch up.
"...."
I wasn''t the only one bothered by the smell as several cadets showed simr reactions.
And yet, nobody said a word.
....We weren''t allowed to say a word.
No disrespect was allowed for the walk of the Seven Churches.
All we could do was stand in silence, watching as the disciples walked past while the tendrils of smoke from the incense curled through the air.
''It looks no different from the religious walks I''ve seen back on earth.''
Be it here or in the past, gods were worshipped.
It was just that...
I was one of the presumed gods.
It was a thought that ran through my mind on several asions, making the entire thing feel a little weird to me.
''Well, at least I''m the only one who knows that.''
Things wouldn''t be as nice if people knew. "Hm?"
In the distance, several carriages appeared, drawing everyone''s gaze. Adorned with golden patterns and various emblems, they were unmistakable. With just a nce, I knew these
carriages carried the delegates of the seven churches.
The Cardinals.
Ranked just second to the Pope, they were some of the most powerful figures throughout the Empire and as my gaze fell on the Carriage of the Church of ''Oracleus'', I felt a pair of eyes stare in my direction.
''Hm?''
I suddenly felt my body grow weak.
It felt as though someone had ripped my consciousness out of my body for a split moment, making me lose sight of myself.
The sensation was only brief, disappearing right after the carriages moved past. "Haa..."
But it still left me shaken as I looked in the direction of the carriage.
''What the hell was that?''
I looked down at my hand.
...It was trembling.
"What?"
***
-Should we let him in or get rid of him?
A muffled voice echoed within the quiet space of As''s office. He sat on his desk with a cold and detached expression.
"How strong is he?"
-He''s fourth tier, at the materializing stage.
"...So almost tier 5."
As quietly mumbled while leaning back on his chair.
Ta, ta-
His fingers quietly tapped onto the wooden table as he fell deep in thought. There was a situation. A member belonging to the Nocturne Order, the sister organization of the Inverted Sky which operated in the Aetheria Empire, had infiltrated the ce.
It was just one member for now but As was sure there were more.
...The two organizations belonged to the same person and yet weren''t exactly the same.
They had a different hierarchal system than the Inverted Sky, and they weren''t exactly on the best of terms.
"They''re probably here to collect Caius, or kill him.''
As could tell at a nce what their objective was.
But there was an issue with the entire situation.
And that was that...
"They didn''t talk to me at all beforeing here."
It was aplete disregard for his authority.
Genesis...
As''s expression turned colder.
"Fine."
He quietly stood up from his seat.
"....Since you have no regard for me, I''ll have no regard for you. Good thing I know the perfect
person to handle this."
His mind was made up.
Checking his pocket watch, he headed out of his office. There were a few guests that he needed
to tend to.
***
The walksted for a total of thirty minutes.
We were only permitted to leave once thest disciple had passed the spot where we stood.
''What should I do?''
I looked around me.
Unlike before, it was quite loud outside with all the students talking to one another while heading away from the ce.
I nced to my right and spotted Leon talking to another cadet.
As if sensing my gaze, he turned to face my direction and excused himself before heading in
my general direction.
"You''ve keep acting weird since earlier. What are you doing?"
I shrugged.
"....I don''t know. What are we supposed to do now?"
"We''re supposed to go to mass. It should start in an hour. Do you know where the one you will
be attending is?"
"I know."
I had been told the ce beforehand.
It was in the Rottingham Hall which was about ten minutes away from where we were.
The schedule indicated that the mass was tost about an hour before the confessional hearing began which was the main event of the entire gathering.
I wasn''t looking forward to it but it waspulsory.
''But before any of that, I need to find As. I need to find a way to pry some information out of him.''
I had only one thought in my mind and that was to find more information on the situation. I couldn''t afford to be seen as a murderer.
Therefore, after a little bit of thought, I decided to bid Leon goodbye and head in a different direction from where I was supposed to go.
''...I don''t think they will notice if I''m a little bitte.''
There were more pressing and important matters that I needed to attend.
"First things first..."
I rummaged through my pocket and took out themunication device that As had given
me. I thought for a moment before finally contacting him.
"I have something that I want to ask."
I took a quiet breath and waited for a reply.
It came within a minute.
-Come find me.
A location was sent shortly after that.
''He''s not far from here.''
...And unlike Delh, he was also reachable. That made things a lot easier for me as I decided
to go to the location that he had sent over through text.
As I made my way between the buildings, heading toward the destination, I caught a glimpse
of my reflection in one of the ssroom''s ss windows.
"Umm?"
My steps came to a sudden stop.
Blinking a couple of times, I frowned and moved my head closer.
''What is the...''
There was something off about my eyes.
The color...
They felt a little bit lighter than the usual hazel color they had. They almost seemed... red?
''Is it the ss?''
I ced my hand over the ss and tilted my head to see if there was a difference. However,
regardless of how hard I tried, the color of my eyes remained the same.
"This...!"
Shocked, I took out my pocket watch and looked at the ss ne within it.
"Eh?"
Hazel eyes.
There was no problem with my eyes.
"So it was the ss."
I felt relieved by the thought and raised my head to look at the mirror.
''As expected, it was just the mir—''
I stopped mid-sentence as my entire body turned rigid.
"........"
There, my reflection stared at me.
Its eyes were red and its expression was twisted.
I kept my cool while staring at the reflection.
And then...n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
Bang!
I flinched as the reflection smacked the ss.
''Give me back my body!"
His screams echoed loudly in my mind as I took a slight step back.
''Give it back!''
He shouted again, this time louder than before.
''...I''ll take it back!''
I felt my breath get stripped from my lungs as his face twisted further, sending chills down
my body.
But he was gone as fast as he arrived.
By the time I blinked, he was gone.
What stared back at me was the sight of my very own reflection.
Along with it were a few words of my own;
''...Didn''t do it. He did...''
***
"....It''s nice to see you again, Lord."
A tall man with short graying hair and a thin mustache greeted As. He was dressed in a red
cassock, a long golden ne hanging from his chest. The pendant bore the symbol of
Sithrus an open palm.
"It''s been a while, Cardinal Stein."
As warmly greeted the Cardinal back, extending his hand in an offer of assistance which the
Cardinal promptly refused.
"Ah... I w-woudn''t dare."
He had someone else help him down the carriage.
As retrieved his hand and didn''t say much. It was hard to tell how he felt about being
rejected. Behind the smile of his, nobody truly knew how he felt.
"I assume all preparations for the mass are ready, cardinal?"
"Yes, yes. All is ready."
"Mhm, that''s good."
Spreading the influence of Sithrus was always important.
The Mass was a great way to inspire the cadets to be devoted believers of Sithrus. Only in
such a way would they be able to fulfill their goals...
"....Lord?"
"Yes?"
Hearing the Cardinal''s hesitant voice, As turned his head.
"How may I help you?"
"That..."
The Cardinal frowned subtly, evidently troubled by the question he was about to ask.
Eventually, however, he managed to muster up the courage to speak,
"Are the rumors true?"
"Rumors...?"
"Yes, t-the one about your sessor."
"Ah."
As had a look of realization, chuckling lightly.
"It''s possible, why?"
"That..."
With a deepening of his frown, the Cardinal suddenly asked,
"...I was just looking through the list of attendees for the second year and I found that he''s not
present in the list. Is he not a followe-"
"Tut."
As ced his finger over his lips and the Cardina found himself stripped of his voice.
"....!"
It was a shocking turn of events.
Especially since the Cardinal himself was also strong.
And yet, under the suppression of As, he feltpletely powerless.
The smile on As''s face remained warm.
"What ''he'' does is none of your concern. As my ''possible'' sessor, what he does is my
responsibility. What he does is not something you should worry about. Is that clear?"
"A-ah, yes."
The Cardinal hurriedly nodded his head, his body trembling as he felt cold sweat run down his
back.
"Good."
As appeared satisfied by his behavior and nodded faintly.
"Off you go. There''s a mass you need to attend. I will be joining you in a bit. I hope everything
flows well."
"Y-yes, yes. Everything will go well."
Hurriedly lowering his head, the Cardinal nodded several times before leaving. As stared at
his departing back with a warm smile on his face.
||
His smile continued to stay warm until a few seconds passed. And that was when his face
turned cold.
''Looks like the rumors are spreading quite a lot. It''s not like I didn''t expect it, but the
situation is a lot worse than I previously thought.''
As was already aware of several members of the Inverted Sky present within the Academy.
Their motives were quite clear.
They were the ones he had warned Julien about.
"The situation is also a lot more troublesome than I thought...''
The fact that Julien hadn''t selected Sithrus as his god made things quite troublesome for
As. It gave a valid excuse for the members to openly target Julien.
But more than that, As f und
''Why did he select the Church of Oracleus?''
f frowning.
As knew all about his family situation.
They were believers of Mortum.
...His allegiance with Oracleus didn''t quite make sense. Something was off. Especially since he
had selected ''Oracleus'' of all gods.
''The Seer.''
The most enigmatic and mysterious of the seven gods.
....The one god who had never shown himself, and the one god Sithrus was wary of.
''Why him?''
As''s frown deepened as he became lost in thought. Just then, he sensed a familiar presence
behind him. Turning his head, he saw Julien approaching in his direction. Hisplexion
appeared a little pale but As didn''t put much thought into it.
"Good, you came at a good time."
He had indeed told Julien toe to him.
There was a task that he needed to give to him.
Julien''s steps came to a stop and As opened his mouth.
"There''s something that I need you to do."
Julien''s face didn''t change, almost as though he had seen this situationing from miles
away. Oblivious to the changes, As continued,
"....There''s someone that I need you to kill."
***
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