233 Chaos [2]

"...."

Candles flickered, and light seeped in through the mosaic windows.

Archbishop Lucas stood in silence, staring at the altar before him. The silence was eerie, almost oppressive.

That silence was broken shortly after.

"....Your Holiness."

One of the nuns appeared behind him.

Turning around, the Archbishop's white eyes locked with the nun.

There was no need for the two to exchange any words. With just a glance, he knew exactly what she wanted to relay to him.

<nulli>'So they've escaped.'

Instead of being angry, he smiled.

His eyes turned a murkier white color.

"As things should be."

The candles flickered with more intensity and the ring on the Archbishop's hand glowed with even more intensity.

It continued like this for the next few seconds before the Archbishop waved his hand forward.

"Go."

Around the church, the nuns and priests present all stepped forward in unison before turning to face the entrance to the cave.

As if they were robots, they all moved in the same manner as their robes and clothes fluttered slightly.

"....Don't hesitate to kill them."

The Archbishop's firm and cold voice echoed throughout the entire church as his smile grew more gentle.

"We can revive them later."

***

Aoife and Kiera moved quietly alongside the cave system.

Neither one talked, and just moved forward.

Things were rather awkward between the two of them ever since the incident up above, but they were able to tell that this wasn't the right moment to act on their resentments.

Therefore, the two, alongside the others who were present, cooperated with one another and started to free everyone that they could.

Clank! Clank!

Explosions rang everywhere as they fought against the priests and nuns.

"Ukh!"

They were quite strong, and Aoife had a hard time dealing with them just by herself.

Bringing her hands forward, she halted several people as a tremendous flame burst from behind her, engulfing everything in front of her.

Swoosh!

The intense heat rushed toward Aoife, forcing her to shield her face.

Once the heat cooled off, only charred remains were left in front of her. Aoife didn't need to look to know who was responsible for all of this and instead looked towards the others who were busy freeing the imprisoned cadets.

"....Done on this side."

"Same here."

"I've just opened the door."

Josephine shouted as she helped someone up.

"They're from the Aurora Empire. We're in the process of removing the centipede."

"Okay."

Aoife overlooked the operation with a stoic expression.

She was tired, but everything was proceeding smoothly so far.

If things were to keep up this way, then she believed that they'd be able to get out soon enough.

<nulli>'There's still the Archbishop, but dealing with him shouldn't be a problem.'

Aoife was confident in being able to deal with him.

Furthermore, although she hated to admit it, Kiera had gotten considerably stronger over the past few months.

With her present, Aoife wasn't that worried.

The only problem was the number of 'minions' at the Archbishop's disposal but with their numbers, Aoife felt a little confident in handling them.

"Good."

....The situation was looking up for them.

All was great.

All was...

"Uh."

Aoife suddenly blinked her eyes.

In one moment, she felt like she was looking forward, and in the next moment, she was looking back.

The surrounding noise had ceased to enter her mind and her eyes locked towards Kiera who was looking at her with widened eyes.

She appeared to be saying something, but Aoife struggled to hear her.

<nulli>'What's she saying? What is she...'

Aoife's thought stopped as she felt something trickle down the side of her face.

When she looked down, she realized it was a black tear.

But that wasn't what took her aback.

What took her aback was something else. It was...

<nulli>'Why are my legs facing the other way?'

Aoife blinked her eyes. It was just a blink, however, the next moment she opened her eyes, she found Kiera standing right before her with her hand pressed against her face.

Through the narrow gap of Kiera's fingers, Aoife was able to read her lips as Kiera nudged the vial on her arm.

<nulli>'You'll be fine....'

She said.

<nulli>'....I think.'

In the next moment, Aoife felt heat engulf her entire body.

Her mind went blank from the searing pain, but amidst the agony, one thought pierced through her consciousness.

'This bitch. I'll kill her when I have the chance.'

Right, it was revenge.

Because she knew she was doing this on purpose.

<nulli>'....This bitch.'

Aoife started to lose consciousness.

And yet, as she gradually lost it, for some reason, she felt the situation to be funny.

Even amidst the pain, she found Kiera's last words to be funny.

It was just... so like her.

***

The corridors were quiet.

Tak, Tak

The only sound I could hear was the rhythmic echo of my own footsteps.

They rang quietly within my mind as I walked ahead.

There was only one path, and thus, I needed to be extremely careful. I was worried about any of the 'guards' that I would meet along the way and tried my best to keep my steps quiet.

Fortunately, as I continued forward, I didn't meet anyone.

It was strange.

"....Why is no one here?"

For them to hold me captive and yet have no guards stationed... It was a pleasant surprise, but at the same time, I felt my heart start to grow heavy.

I knew things couldn't be this easy.

Still, I knew that I couldn't start overthinking things. Looking ahead, I could only hold my breath and continue forward.

Whatever the case was, I had no other choice but to keep moving forward.

'I did hear the loud explosion earlier. Perhaps it has something to do with that.'

No, it was most likely that.

Thinking about the explosion, I decided to hurry my steps.

'Since Owl-Mighty said that it probably comes from the people from before, then it's likely that they're also trying to escape.'

I started to piece all of the information together.

'....The guards are probably all focused on trying to capture them.'

The good thing was that they were quite far from where I was. This meant that I had a lot of freedom to work.

But still...

There was still one major problem.

"Where do I go?"

I looked at the road which forked into three different directions. I silently groaned at the sight before me.

Pursing my lips, I tried to recall the way.

However, seeing how they were all identical, I started to struggle.

Despite the fact that Owl-Mighty had gotten rid of the thing that was in my head, my mind was still a little clouded.

Added to the exhaustion from my training, I really didn't know where to go.

Bang!

"....Ah."

Another explosion echoed in the distance.

My heart started to speed up as anxiety started to kick in and in the end, I decided to go with the middle road.

<nulli>'Worst case, I'll go back.'

....If I could.

"Haa... Haa..."

Running through the cave, my heart was beating like crazy and my breath grew heavier with each step that I took.

Sweat began to form on my forehead, and my hair started to stick to my face.

Brushing it to the side, I picked up my pace.

"Stop."

".....!"

Only for me to stop a few steps in as Owl-Mighty appeared right before me.

Its expression was serious as it looked into the distance.

"I sense something strange."

Owl-Mighty spoke in a solemn tone. I was taken aback by its tone.

"What's going on...? Is there something up ahead? Should we turn back?"

"Quiet."

Owl-Mighty looked into the distance and narrowed its eyes.

Then, to my surprise, it walked forward.

"Follow me."

"But-"

"Don't make any sounds and just follow."

"....."

I swallowed whatever word that I wanted to say and followed obediently.

'Right, it's on my side for now. It shouldn't try to hurt me.'

Tak, tak

Just like before, it was quiet.

....And yet, unlike before, each step that I took raised the hair on my body.

A certain coolness washed over my body, making my heart beat faster.

There were many things that I wanted to ask Owl-Mighty, but chose to keep my mouth quiet. I was afraid of attracting any unwanted attention.

"Stop."

Owl-Mighty stopped, and so did I.

Looking up, I saw a large door up ahead.

There were no guards stationed before the door, and it looked just like the door that was used to keep me in my chamber.

The only difference was its size.

....It was much larger.

"What is this...?"

"I don't know."

I looked at Owl-Mighty.

"....There's a strange energy coming from this room."

Strange energy?

I looked at the door.

....I didn't feel anything.

"Place your hand on the door and channel your mana."

"Uh?"

My eyes widened slightly as I looked at Owl-Mighty.

However, the owl didn't bother looking back as it kept its gaze on the door. Every part of me screamed not to do it, but thinking back to Owl-Mighty and the way it had looked at me before, I clenched my teeth and stepped forward.

Then, pressing my hand against the door, I started to channel my mana.

"Ah."

A purple glow manifested over the door.

Rumble! Rumble...!

The surroundings started to shake as the doors started to lift and I took a step back.

....I waited with bated breath as the doors opened.

I wanted to see exactly what was behind those doors, and what compelled Owl-Mighty to make me open them.

Cracka!

Or at least, that was until I heard a sudden cracking sound coming from behind me and I felt my blood freeze in my veins.

"....!"

My head flicked back as I started to channel my mana.

"Uh?"

But I was shocked to see that there was nothing behind me.

I blinked my eyes a couple of times.

'Was it just my imagination?'

Looking around, I didn't see anything.

"....."

Only darkness stood in the distance, and I secretly swallowed.

"Huu."

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

Drip...! Drip.

As I turned to focus my attention back on the door, I felt a trickle of liquid slide down the side of my face.

Surprised, I touched my face, only to freeze on the spot.

'Black.'

A black liquid stained my fingers and I took a deep breath. Then, slowly, I raised my head to look up.

"....."

I felt my breath be completely taken away from me the moment I looked up.

Cracka! Cracka!

The cracking sounds returned, and I felt myself lose control of my body.

There, right above me, hung one of the guards. Their arms were grotesquely attached to the ceiling, their body twisted unnaturally. Their head was bent backward, and their deep black eyes bore into mine.

Drip! Drip!

Black tears continued to stain the ground as it looked at me and I took a step back.

"Ah, this..."

I swallowed nervously.

"....I knew it couldn't be that easy."