"What are you doing?"
Ivan's unexpected actions caused all those present to montarily frown. As the group's more quiet one, Atlas's words attracted the attention of all those present.
Pausing, Ivan didn't look back and kept his gaze fixed on Julien.
"What am I doing? I was just asking a simple question."
"....Are you trying to delay the Cleric?"
"Delay?"
Ivan's brow rose. Then, glancing around and seeing the nurous stares directed in his direction, he pursed his lips.
'Hmm, it really does seem like I'm delaying things.'
But he still didn't back down.
"I'm just curious."
Ivan pointed at the Julien that sat before him. His glare was quite fierce, and he looked utterly unfazed in spite of the number of powerful people present in the room.
"You claim that he's been possessed and that Matthias is the one responsible for this, but have you ever thought of questioning him?"
"Questioning the possessed soul?"
With a dry laugh, Atlas shook his head.
"The one that we found Matthias planting inside of Julien's body?"
His calm expression cracked faintly to display a rare hint of sarcasm.
"....And what makes you think we would trust any of the words that would co out from a possessed soul? If it's soone that you planted, then what's stopping them from saying things that would shift things in your favor?"
"That's only on the premise that it is soone that was planted from our side."
"And was it not? I've witnessed Keeper Matthias's actions firsthand. If not for him, who could've planted the soul into Julien's body?"
"That's what I'd also like to know."
Ivan smiled, behind his body faintly to stare at Julien. Atlas's brows furrowed tightly at his actions but before he could do anything, Ivan raised his hand.
"Don't worry, I'm only just watching. I won't do anything."
In spite of Atlas's suspicion, Ivan really did do nothing but observe Julien. His actions were strange and by the ti a few seconds had passed, Atlas moved up next to him and pressed his hand against Ivan's shoulder.
"Have you seen enough?"
"...Mhm, I have."
Ivan nodded faintly and then stepped away.
He didn't insist on watching any longer and from the fact that there were no traces of mana coming out from Ivan's body, it did seem like he did nothing.
However, it was his cooperative behavior that made Atlas frown.
'What is he planning?'
Atlas's eyes flickered faintly before settling back to their usual calm. That was because he noticed the Cleric make his move.
"I will begin the ritual now. If everyone could take a step back."
Listening to his words, Atlas looked at Ivan who raised both his hands and moved back. Standing right in front of Julien, the Cleric positioned himself right before Julien and in the middle of the magic circle that was inscribed on the floor.
A tense silence followed as all eyes fell on him.
Closing his eyes, the Cleric drew a deep breath and pressed his hand against the floor.
A wave of pure mana pulsed in the air and the magic circle glead brightly.
"Please guard ."
Taking a step forward, the Cleric pressed his hand against Julien's forehead. Imdiately, Julien's body shook as he tried to resist, but his resistance rely lasted a few minutes before settling back down.
Shortly after that, the room grew silent.
All eyes fell on the two figures in the middle of the room.
***
Rumble-!
"Sothing is happening."
Pebble's voice rang quietly within the estate as Julien's eyes snapped open. When he shifted his attention toward the estate, he noticed that it was shaking. His brows ca to a slight
furrow.
"Have they already started?"
"....Yes, I can feel that a large spell has been drawn up around you. It feels powerful. We should get out of this place before it's too late."
"Okay."
Emt agreed and stood up.
However, it was right as he stood up that a notification flashed across his vision and his body
stopped.
[♦ His Holiness the Pope died, and Keeper Matthias was able to figure out your identity.]
The notification was followed up by another.
It was written in all red.
[◆ Main Quest Activated: Murderer]
: Character Progression 401%
: Ga Progression 17%
Failure
: Aoife K. grail 7% --> 28%
: Kiera Mylne 19% --> 32%
: Evelyn J. Verlice 9% --> 26%
"Wait, what...?"
Seeing the sudden increase in the percentage of the calamities, his mind fell into a daze. Why
did the percentages increase? No, I've seen this before.
"I failed?"
Mumbling such words, Emt felt himself go into a daze.
How? How could...?
"No, this makes no sense."
It took a mont for him to process everything and when he did, a boiling rage simred
through his chest.
Emt's jaw clenched.
"Why?"
He quietly spat through his clenched teeth.
"Despite everything I have done..."
Why...?
"Why did I fail?"
It didn't really make sense to him. While he had indeed misinterpreted the vision due to how vague it had been, he was still able to turn things around. Not only that, but he also managed to find so sort of way to justify the 'Julien' that was inside of his body.
'... It says that the reason why I failed is because Matthias found out about my identity.' Indeed, in order to paint a picture that would fra the Keeper, Emt had no choice but to
fall under his grasp. It was then that his tattoo was exposed.
In hindsight, Emt realized that this was going to bring him trouble in the future but what
other choice did he have?
It was either this or be frad for the Pope's death.
He'd be as good as dead if that occurred.
This was the only viable option.
"Human." Bringing him out of his thoughts, Emt raised his head to see Pebble standing by the
entrance of the estate within the mirror world.
Rumble-
As the trembling around him grew, Emt understood the gravity of the situation. Taking a
deep breath to calm his thoughts, he ran towards Pebble's direction.
While the situation sucked, he had other priorities.
He could think of the reason for his failure later. Right now, he had to get the body back at all
costs.
And so, he quickly dashed out of the mirror world.
Rumble!
Thankfully, he was able to make it out of the space safely without any problems. Coming out
of the mirror space, a dark void greeted him.
It was a suffocating and unsettling void.
Looking around, Emt looked at Pebble who was staring in a certain direction.
"It's over there."
Pebble pointed.
"Uh? Where?"
Emt was confused at first, however, squinting his eyes further, he could make out the trace of two silhouettes in the distance. He could also feel a weird power coming from there. After a little hesitation, Emt decided to walk in the direction of where the figures were.
His steps were the only ones that echoed within the dark space. Pebble's presence had long
faded.
"Listen to , you're making a mistake! I'm the real body!"
A familiar repulsive voice filled the space the closer Emt inched toward the two figures. By
the ti he was close to them, he could hear the voice loud and clear.
It was strained, almost hoarse as he shouted,
"Incompetent bastard! What the fuck are you doing!?"
Purple chains materialized around Julien, wrapping tightly around his arms and torso,
suspending him mid-air.
He struggled, every twist only tightening his bonds, while his gaze burned with fury as he
locked eyes with the figure before him—a short, round figure cloaked in dark robes.
"I'll fucking kill you!!"
Julien's shrills of desperation echoed loudly within the space as his eyes turned bloodshot. A
clear look of desperation and anger marred his features.
"Get the fuck down before I fucking kill you with my own two hands!"
The entire ti, the man in black remained calm. He looked completely unfazed by Julien's
words.
Pressing his hands together, the chains surrounding Julien grew in size, wrapping over his
mouth and muting him completely.
"Mhm! Hm!"
His desperate attempts at cursing could still be felt heard through the void.
'Is he the Cleric?"
As Emt stopped in the distance, the Cleric suddenly turned his head.
"Looks like you managed to find us. This is good. It'll save quite a bit of ti."
His tone was even, almost calming amidst the chaos that surrounded them. Emt almost
felt a sense of relief wash over him at the sight of the Cleric as he pursed his lips and quietly
spoke,
"Are you here to save ?"
"...Yes, I am."
The Cleric put up a friendly smile.
It was a smile that seed to wash Emt's worries away, prompting him to take a step
forward. "The spell that I've cast will contain him for a while, unfortunately, it won't be able to completely get rid of him from your body. The degree of attachnt to your body is a lot
more than I originally anticipated. I'm afraid that you'll have to be stuck with him for quite
so ti."
"....What?"
Emt pretended to look surprised.
In fact, he wasn't surprised at all. This was originally Julien's body. Emt was the real
'parasite' in the body.
This was why Julien's degree of attachnt to the body was high.
It was his, to begin with.
"Whoever placed the soul into your body, their skills were quite high. Not only is this soul
incredibly compatible with this body, but it's also firmly in place within this mind-space. You
will need the aid of an incredibly powerful artifact to regain full control of your body."
"....Do you not possess such an artifact?" "Unfortunately, I do not."
The Cleric shook his head, looking rather disappointed.
"I'm not ranked high enough to be able to do such a thing. Sealing this soul montarily is
the best that I can do. You will need to co to us periodically in order to reinforce the spell."
"I see."
Emt nodded in understanding. Seeing his troubled expression, the Cleric smiled. "Don't worry. Given your connections, you should be able to find a way to regain full control
of your body."
"You think so?"
Emt raised his head to look at the Cleric.
Seeing the expression on Emt's face, the Cleric smiled before nodding.
"Yes, please don't worry. All you have to do is-"
"How long are you going to pretend for?"
"Eh?"
Pausing, the Cleric raised his head. Blinking his eyes, he looked at Emt whose expression
had turned incredibly cold. It was enough to take him aback.
"What? Why are-" "There's not many things that I'm talented in, but if there's one thing that hardly anyone can
beat in, it's this."
Emt pressed his hand against his temple.
"My ntal power."
Fiercely glaring at the Cleric, Julien looked around the void before settling his gaze over the
Cleric.
A powerful tension gripped the surroundings as Julien's tone lowered further.
"Let ask you again. Who are you?"
11
".....
A heavy, unnatural silence blanketed the room, thickening the air as if it were holding its
breath.
Then, a faint, chilling chuckle resonated through the space. Right before Emt's cold
expression, the Cleric's form began to change.
His body stretched upward, inch by inch, limbs elongating and filling with a certain grace, while his hair flowed down his shoulders, growing longer with each passing second. His face morphed, eyes sharpening, mouth twisting into a faint smile directed his way.
"I'm surprised you were able to see through my disguise." Even his voice had changed, turning a lot softer and well-mannered.
Before long, a figure appeared before Emt. Clearing his throat, he introduced himself. "Let introduce myself. My na is Ivan."
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