The pink shield in the sky crumbled and Beligenus appeared near the group, looking disheveled and exhausted. “I shall abstain from asking unnecessary questions, this was beautifully done. Let us return-”
“Is he going to be alright?!” Astelia interrupted him, which he took in strides.
“Yes. His soul is extensively damaged but will recover in a matter of hours; his link to Scripture was completely severed, there is not a trace of essence left,” he explained.
Wait, did we just miss an opportunity to steal another one of Scripture’s essences?
It was worth it to save Astelia’s Uncle instead, though.
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“And this is really all I know about what’s going on out there, so not much of anything new. Hopefully this is enough of a setback that Scripture stops bothering me for a while…” Sofia explained to Astelia.
“Hmm. It was good that I left when I did, then… I haven’t returned to the embassy often after we met in the moonlit castle, the ambiance in Skyreach had already turned a bit awkward…” Astelia commented from the other side of the bed.
The four girls were waiting, sitting around the sleeping Cardinal in Astelia’s room, with Pareth silently looking over them from a corner. Sofia had made sure that everyone was parasite-free, and now they were just waiting for Cardinal to wake up.
“To think he, of all people, would get caught…” Astelia sighed.
“The soul parasites are sneaky even if you know about them, but it’s true that I didn’t expect him to get caught like that, especially after the warning letter I sent him… Why was he even out there investigating the ‘plague’?” Sofia asked.
“Uncle Nyse is… He’s always got to put his nose into every suspicious thing he sees. He spends all his time helping random people, playing doctor, investigating crimes, so much so that he often neglects everything else. He has been at the same level for a very long time, not because of a failed trial, but because he never took the time to actually do it…” Astelia answered while she observed her sleeping Uncle.
“He was surprisingly trustful when Sofia met him, I remember he gave her the money for the blood in advance along with a storage item to put the blood in just like that, telling her to bring it back filled later,” Alith chimed in.
Sofia nodded. “That did happen, yeah. The money really saved our asses too. I’m pretty sure we would have died against the Siren Queen if not for your mithril weapons.”
“He’s like that. Now that I think about it, it’s likely that he got your letter, Sofia, and decided to investigate the Church himself as a result, not wanting to endanger anyone else… Anyway, thank you for helping me save him, I’m indebted to you four, really,“ Astelia told them with a deep bow.
Saria waved her off, “It’s nothing. Just helping a friend. Besides, we had our own reason to deal with this issue, and Sofia’s part of the reason this even happened to him in the first place, so really, we did nothing but set things straight.”
Hoy! Well…
“Saying I’m the reason feels like a bit of a disingenuous shortcut, it’s not like I ever wanted to have to deal with this asshole of a God at all, but it’s also not completely wrong. Not that I could have done anything differently, though, besides not sending that letter, but I doubt things would have gone better for him if he had to find out about the parasites the hard way.”
“Hey I said you were part of the reason not that it was your fault.”
“It’s only his own fault,” Astelia jumped in, “he’s more than old enough to handle himself.”
“That, I am,” the bedridden Vampire confirmed, his eyes shooting open and his mana expanding through the room.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Uncle Nyse!” Astelia threw herself at the pale vampire on the bed the second he sat up, and he reciprocated the hug despite still looking a bit lost.
“I’m happy to see you too, Stelly.”
Already up? That was faster than the headmaster predicted.
After a few seconds of a tight embrace, Astelia let him go, her eyes shifting around like she was embarrassed of what she just did. Cardinal looked around, fixing his hair by replacing it behind his long ears and patting Astelia’s head with his other hand. His eyes stopped on Sofia, “Another familiar face; you seem to be doing well. I believe your presence here answers a number of my questions…”
It does? That means…
“So you do not remember a thing?” Sofia asked.
“Well. Truth is, I remember everything very well up to a point. Then nothing. But clearly, something has happened. I am relieved, though, to see my niece still so young. I must not have been gone very long.”
“You were under Scripture’s control for ten to fifteen months, by our estimates,” Saria chimed in.
“So I really was… I should have known I was in over my head. And I suppose you five present here are the ones responsible for bringing me back?” Surprisingly, the fastest answer came in the form of a nod from Pareth, whom he had acknowledged in the headcount. “I thank you, sincerely. I will repay you all in due time.”
“How did they get you?” Astelia asked, distancing herself from the patting hand, her face absurdly red, “Was it the Oracle?”
Cardinal frowned. “Perhaps, I… Do not know. I was investigating the plague. Spurred by Miss Sofia’s incredibly helpful letter, I managed to avoid the Soul Parasites and to start distributing a preventive brew to the civilians, for lack of an immediate cure. Afterwards, I traced the source of the spreading back to Einsen’s quarantined Holy See. I managed to slip inside of the barrier with relative ease, but to my surprise, the Headquarters of the Church were devoid of life. As if every last Paladin, Priest and Servant of Scripture had vanished off of the surface of this planet. I thoroughly combed the place, until I found myself in their strange underground prison.”
Sofia cut him off, “Prison? Not dungeon?”
“Not in the least, no,” Cardinal answered, “Was it a dungeon before? That is an interesting discovery… There were no monsters, as far as I’ve observed. Simply a large abandoned underground complex and abyss. The bottom of which I quickly reached, stepping on piles of shredded bones. I was curious at the time, intrigued by a set of Doors which I could not feel or teleport through for unclear reasons. I remember clearly grabbing the round handles. And that is it. End of story. Next thing I know, I woke up here, surrounded by a cortege of elegant young ladies.”
“You seem very unfazed for someone who just went through that and lost more than a year of memories,” Alith commented.
“Oh I have been through much worse,” he answered with a laugh.
“He has been through much worse,” Astelia confirmed, nodding very fast with a terrified expression.
Hmm… Piles of bones and a door, that much I remember as well from my rebirth as an Apostle… Supposedly there was something or another sealed down there, I think? Didn’t the magisterium say something like that? I’m not quite sure, he did spout a lot of nonsense…
“Was there a body down there? With a pile of dead Zombies? And a sword?” Sofia asked.
“A body? Oh. So that is how you escaped? Most interesting. But there was no such thing, no, only broken bones, heaps of them, not the slightest hint of flesh, shattered armor, or anything else, really.”
“Hmm… Well it makes sense that they recovered the corpse, but to get rid of the Zombies too…”
“Now, however…” Cardinal disappeared from the bed. His voice reached the girls from behind the room’s door, which he opened, now fully dressed in his usual rhombus-patterned yellow and black outfit. “I would appreciate hearing about your side of the story. This place… We are in Brighthall, are we not?” Seeing affirmative nods, he continued, “I shall extend my thanks to the old Sage as well, then… I believe my system log shall reveal plenty of things about my lost year or so, but a direct account of the happenings is always the best place to start, so let us discuss this in a more joyous environment, shall we? I am also quite thirsty.”
How…
“Do you still have a storage item on you?” Saria asked as she wondered about the same thing Sofia did.
“Dear, my class is [Summoner], I am the storage item.”
“I’m just surprised that Scripture did not rob you blind,” Saria added, “He seemed to have access to your skills.”
“Well, He might have been able to use the simpler ones, yes, but Divinity or not, there is little to no chance that He could have decoded a System specialization with five hundred years of upgrades in so little time. Besides, my Scribe would sooner die than allow anybody else inside my realm.”
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