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 turned his head belatedly. He came staggering forward and was just about to stand in front of Ronan. bang! The door that had been closed opened again and Adeshan appeared.
“Shoo, 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.
Adeshan covered his mouth with his palm and looked back at Ronan. A trembling voice came out through the gap between my fingers.
“Ro, Ronan… this…”
“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 seemed to have brought a pursuit party in response to Ronan’s request for assistance. Seeing Kratir’s voice mixed together, it seemed like it came from space magic.
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 his mouth. It was difficult to breathe normally. A murderous spirit comparable to that of Seiffa or Orsay was rising above Schlieffen’s shoulders. 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, he was at a similar level to Schlieffen, whom I had met in my previous life at the time of the Continental First Sword. Is this cold anger? Ronan opened his 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, he was better than me at controlling his emotions, perhaps because he was a well-educated family child. 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.”
“Cyo, the leader of the cult?!”
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 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.”
Ronan held out his hand. His calm expression was more serious than usual. Ade Shan, who was rummaging through her arms, quickly found the blood guide and handed it to her.
“W-here…”
“thank you.”
Ronan expressed his gratitude. After Barka died, the blood needle, which had lost its target, was spinning in place.
Crash. He opened the lid and erased Barca’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 west.
“This···?”
“I was covered in the blood of the religious leader. Fortunately, it looks like it’s still within range.”
“W-what?”
Adeshan’s eyes widened. Compared to the dry tone, 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 chase after it quickly, 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, who was recalling past memories, 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 her, 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, he would end up doing everything wrong.
Ronan put his hand in his pocket and fiddled with another blood needle 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, his brow furrowed. It felt like something was rising from deep within her chest. Ronan turned her head away from him to look 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 her 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…! Where the light appeared and disappeared, Ronan and Sita could no longer be found.
****
The headquarters of Nebula Clazier.
“It’s devastating. Did it eventually reach Felgrand?”
“Now it’s the limit. “Where has the religious leader 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?”
“Avoid profanity, Archbishop Anaquiel. “You know he’s not the type of person 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 protection of the stars. If those skilled in manipulating 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?”
“Cyo, cult leader!”
The archbishops’ eyes widened as if they were about to pop out. bang! Archbishop Le Tancier was the first to get up from his chair.
“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 is that on your face… 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 he ended up getting hurt. Abel asked.
“What about Alibrihe? “Still no answer?”
“Yes, 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 she was completely heartbroken, but wasn’t she? He looked at the archbishops one after another and tilted his head.
“But I can’t see Alicia. Is she on a mission?”
“…Alicia died four days ago. 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 after hearing that even Pantasion had been killed. I can’t believe that even that deer got hit. There’s quite a bit of a kid who thinks he’s the morning star of the empire or something.
My hands were itching, but that wasn’t the important thing right now. Abel glanced at her and saw her drooling.
“That’s too bad. This is a big deal. “Among the archbishops, Alicia was the most delicate, so I tried to entrust her to her…”
“yes? “What do you mean by that?”
Letancier tilted his head. I couldn’t guess the intent of the words. 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 the question, Abel handed Iril, who was carrying him, to her. Her hand movements were meticulous, as if she were handling precious metals. Iril, who had lost her mind, was fast asleep.
“this person is···?”
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 the child will become our saint.”
