274. Robbery (3)
#274
“Are you here? Schlieffen.”
Ronan said. He clearly told me not to tell him but it looks like he heard something and came to see me. It wasn’t that surprising as I expected it. Schlieffen’s face as he looked around the room became as frozen as a stone statue.
“what…!”
All traces of blood were gone but it was still a terrible sight. The headless corpses and knife marks everywhere made it difficult to believe that this was the same house where Iril and I had spent time. Schlieffen’s mouth slowly opened.
“…Miss Iril.”
The sight of him looking into space and chanting seemed like a person who had lost everything in the world. Perhaps because his skin was white his red eyes were more visible. The underlying cool-headedness has long since disappeared.
“Ronan.”
Schlieffen belatedly turned his head. He came staggering forward and was about to stand in front of Ronan. bang! The door that had been closed opened again and Adeshan appeared.
“Shu Schlieffen! “If you suddenly leave the battlefield… ah?!”
And her face also froze. Looking at the situation roughly it seemed like the two were in the same place when they communicated.
Ade Shan covered her mouth with her palm and looked back at Ronan. A trembling voice came out through the gap between my fingers.
“Ro Ronan…this is….”
“It’s exactly as I said. “Thank you for coming quickly.”
Ronan laughed awkwardly. Outside the front door a lot of people could be seen. She appears to have followed Ronan’s request for assistance and brought a pursuit party. She thought it came from spatial magic as she heard Kratir’s voice mixed in.
A terrible silence fell. Adeshan silenced the chattering chasers with his electric sound. Schlieffen was the first to speak.
“…explain the situation.”
“I understand how you feel but calm down man. “Your hair keeps standing on end.”
Ronan twisted her mouth. It was difficult to breathe normally. On Schlieffen’s shoulder a murderous spirit comparable to that of Seiffa or Orsay was glimmering. A slow but heavy wind was forming a whirlwind around him.
‘It’s almost the same as back then.’
The wind seemed as if it could turn into a storm at any moment and sweep away the island. Adeshan’s face turned pale.
In terms of momentum alone she was at a similar level to Schlieffen whom she had met in her previous life when she was the best swordsman on the continent. Is this cold anger? Ronan opened her mouth again.
“You know it wasn’t your fault.”
Schlieffen gritted his teeth after hearing those words. Wow. The sound of something breaking could be heard up to here. Before long the feeling of death calmed down and the swirling wind subsided.
It was still creepy but Ronan knew it was for the best. Still perhaps because he was a well-educated family child he was better at controlling his emotions than I was. Ronan said.
“It’s just a situation and there’s nothing to explain. Because it’s just like I said. “The only thing I couldn’t tell you is that the person who dragged my sister away is the leader of Nebula Clazier.”
“The cult leader?!”
Adeshan’s eyes widened. Schlieffen’s face stiffened again. He whose lips were trembling like an anxiety patient asked Ronan.
“…Life or death?”
“I’m not sure. “But he’s probably still alive.”
Ronan said he came first and shared the information he found out. The two people’s expressions softened slightly when they heard that Iril’s blood traces were not at the scene.
Of course that information did not guarantee Iril’s safety so it was still necessary to hurry. After finishing his explanation Ronan looked back at Adeshan and said.
“right. Do you have a blood acupuncture needle now? “The one I used to catch Barka in the North.”
“huh? “Yes it exists but why is it like that?”
“please. “I need it.”
Ronan held out his hand. His calm expression was more serious than usual. Ade Shan who was rummaging through his arms quickly found the blood guide and handed it to him.
“Here…”
“thank you.”
Ronan expressed his gratitude. After Barca’s death the blood needle which had lost its target was spinning in place.
Crash. He opened the lid and wiped away Barka’s blood that had already been on it. The needle stopped rotating.
Ronan held the needle to the sphere made from Abel’s blood. Seaaaa…. The red needle began to move again and point to the west.
“Is this…?”
“I was covered in the blood of the religious leader. Fortunately it looks like it’s still within range.”
“What?”
Adeshan’s eyes widened. Compared to the dry tone of speech the content was shocking. I never thought he would have saved the cult leader’s blood in advance. Ronan handed the blood needle back to Adeshan and spoke sternly.
“If you hurry you might be able to chase it with the naked eye. If you’re lucky you might be able to find their headquarters. Instead no matter what happens don’t fight the leader head-on. “Because it’s a different level from the opponents I’ve fought so far.”
Ronan recalling memories of his past twisted his lips. He remembered Abel single-handedly defeating Elsia and Alibrihe. It was impossible to forget his magical sword skills where he treated the star’s protection as if it were his own hands and feet and cut down the high-ranking wind spirit Hyran with a single sword.
Moreover since about a thousand years had passed since then it must have become much stronger. He must have accumulated countless amounts of knowledge so in some ways he was a much more difficult opponent than the giant.
“Uh okay… but Ronan you’re not going?”
Adeshan suddenly felt something strange and asked a question. Ronan’s tone was like a parent giving precautions to a child going on his or her first errand. Ronan shook his head.
“yes. I have a place to visit for a while. This is a place you must visit to save your sister. “It probably won’t take long.”
Ronan said. It was a decision made as rationally as possible. If Abel had intended to kidnap Iril and keep her with him it would have been difficult to save her through normal means.
In times like these I had to be more cool-headed. If he behaved rudely as Sita had taught him everything would go wrong.
Ronan put his hand in his pocket and fiddled with another blood measure left behind by the Savior. After gathering his thoughts he suddenly grabbed Schlieffen’s shoulders and said
“Schlieffen.”
Schlieffen did not answer. He just shifted his gaze and looked into Ronan’s eyes. He continued.
“You promised me two years ago. “I will definitely protect my sister.”
“…okay.”
“That’s still valid. “I’ll let you protect it even if you don’t like it so I’m waiting for you.”
The moment Schlieffen heard those words Schlieffen’s brow furrowed. It felt like something was rumbling and rising from deep within his chest. Ronan turned his head away from him and looked at Ade Shan.
“I will try my best. “Please remember my words not to fight with the religious leader.”
“Uh huh.”
“Then I’ll come back.”
Adeshan hesitated. Ronan rummaged through his inner pocket and took out a small box. When I opened the lid a dozen rolled up scrolls were revealed.
Ronan took one of them out and unwrapped it. In the past the scroll that Elthea gave as a gift had the ability to take the caster to the distant Sea of Ghosts.
Even if I think about it again this was the right thing to do rather than rushing and making a mistake. Ronan put Abel’s blood in a small empty bottle. Then he went out the window and climbed on Sita’s neck. He recalled the savior’s face and muttered softly.
“I guess mold didn’t grow on my brain because I was fighting the disease for a long time.”
“Pyeol-ah.”
Sita cried in response. At the same time Ronan opened the scroll.
The magic circle engraved on the paper radiated light and distorted the space. Paaaa…! Ronan and Sita could no longer be found where the light appeared and disappeared.
****
The headquarters of Nebula Clazier.
“It’s devastating. In the end did it go over to Felgrand?”
“Now it’s the limit. “I wonder where the leader has gone…”
The conference room was noisy. The seven archbishops were having a heated discussion about the denomination which was increasingly on the defensive. The presence of the remaining six empty seats felt more keenly today.
“I really don’t know. “It’s okay to say this but haven’t you really abandoned the church?”
“Please refrain from speaking profanely Archbishop Anaquiel. “You know he’s not the one to do that.”
“I hope my words are dismissed as just a slip of the tongue. Still I thought that when Phantasion died his face would shine…”
Anaquiel muttered. It’s already been a month since I saw the leader’s face. It felt like I was having a terrible nightmare every day.
At some point those who were ignorant became able to destroy the star’s protection. If those who were skilled in handling power stepped forward they could gain the upper hand but the number of such skilled people was limited.
The allied forces led by Navarre and the Empire quickly pushed the church to the edge of the cliff. The successive defeats and deaths of organization members were eroding the spirit of the overwhelmingly strong archbishops.
They were sighing and were about to resume the meeting. bang! Suddenly the door to the conference room opened and a familiar man walked in.
“Nice to meet you. “How is everyone?”
“Church leader!”
The archbishops’ eyes widened as if they were about to pop out. bang! Archbishop Le Tancier was the first to get up.
“Meet the leader!”
Other archbishops followed. It was a face I hadn’t seen in a very long time. Abel who returned after a month was carrying a human woman on his back. He said calmly.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to show you my face lately. “I’m busy preparing something.”
“It’s okay since you’re back now Master. But that thing on your face…is it really a wound?”
Letancier who was examining the cult leader’s face opened his eyes wide. There was a scratch that appeared to be a knife wound slanted on his left cheek. Abel laughed and shook his head.
“It’s no big deal. “It’s just a lesson learned.”
“lesson?”
“okay. The lesson is that a child of a wild beast is a wild beast no matter how innocent it may seem. “It was harsh.”
Abel chuckled as he recalled what had happened in the islands. The fight with Iril who was holding a kitchen knife ended in less than a minute.
He didn’t suffer any damage other than a wound but the important thing was that he had competed over a hundred times and ended up getting hurt. Abel asked.
“What about Alibrihe? “Still no answer?”
“That’s right. “Contact from Adren was completely cut off… to the point where I wonder if he may have lost his life at that time.”
“That can’t be possible… It looks like he’s decided to betray the church. “You look like a foolish old man.”
Abel smiled bitterly. Although I expected it it was a bit disappointing when it actually happened. I thought his heart was completely broken but wasn’t it? He looked at the archbishops one after another and tilted his head.
“But I can’t see Alicia. “Are you on a mission?”
“…Alicia died four days ago. She’s with Kailash. “I was attacked by a man named Ronan and Navardose’s blood relatives.”
She described the tragedies that unfolded in the Felgrand Mountains and in Fortress Pancia. During Abel’s absence as many as four archbishops lost their lives.
Abel shrugged his eyebrows when he heard that even Pantasion was killed in action. I can’t believe that even that deer got hit. There’s quite a bit of a kid who calls himself the Morning Star of the Empire or something.
His hands were itching but that wasn’t the important thing right now. Abel glanced at Iril and sighed.
“That’s too bad. This is a big deal. “Among the archbishops Alicia was the most delicate so I was going to entrust her to her…”
“yes? “What do you mean by that…”
Letancier tilted his head. I couldn’t guess what she meant. Abel suddenly shifted his gaze to her and let out a faint sigh.
“There’s nothing we can do. “Please take charge of it until preparations are complete.”
“yes?
“Take it. Be careful. “Make sure no one gets hurt.”
Instead of answering her question Abel handed her Iril which he was carrying on his back. Her hand movements were meticulous as if she were handling precious metals. Iril who had lost her mind was fast asleep.
“This person…?”
Letancier’s eyes widened when he saw Iril. Before her eyes was the most beautiful person she had ever seen in her life. Her white hair was very similar to that of the cult leader she worshiped. Abel said.
“Take good care of him. “Because she will become our saint.”
