It was a room of pure white, a room so clean and sterile that not a single dust can be seen, nor were they allowed to exist here. The only thing notable here was a door of steel in one of the padded white walls and a one way mirror on the other. A child, a small girl stands in the middle of the room.
She can't quite remember why she was here, something about being infected with something foreign. Vaguely she could recall the last memory she had of her home, with her mother in the kitchen and her father in the living room at the time, watching the news. Her brother was helping her mother with the dishes but she had snuck away before she could be called. Suddenly, the door bell rang. Her father went to the door. Curious of who had come to visit, the girl went to take a gander. Men in suits entered. There were a great deal of yelling and shouting. Then, she was here. That was all she could recall.
"I... we don't expect forgiveness, but you must understand that you are our only hope."
This day, things were a little different than usual. The walls had scratch marks on them, the bed she slept on was crushed, and the steel door was torn off. Someone had entered. Probably, this was the first time someone was in the same room as her. Before, they always watched her from a distance, with the only things that interacted with her being machines.
This "someone" is a man wearing a white coat, he was on his knees and his hands were on the girl's shoulders.
"We need you, or it's all over for everyone. Do you understand? Even your parents, you little brother, they're all going to die."
Those words made the girl reconsider, that maybe she shouldn't leave like she had wanted to, wrecking the room and tearing down the door in the process. She could not longer remember the faces of the members of her family, but the mention of them tugged at her heart. She doesn't understand what was going on, but she came under the impression that if she leaves, her father, her mother, her brother, bad things would happen to them. And so, she remained, letting the machines controlled by the people in white coats do whatever they want with her.
Since the day she tried to leave, there were some changes in her environment. Letters begin to come, letter from her family, telling her of how they were doing and words of encouragement to keep her going. The people in white coats as well, interacted with her more often, though rather than out of friendliness, the girl sensed that they're done to appease her, because they knew that they could do nothing to stop her if she wishes to go. The letter as well, she suspected were not real, merely fabricated, but she could never know for sure, she could never go and find out, since she had to stay. If she leaves, something bad might happen, to her family, to everyone, so she stayed.
"Hey. What do you think? Should I have left?"
Suddenly, the girl speaks up while looking at my direction with her impassionate blood red eyes. I look around, finding my surrounding to be the usual room the girl resides, and as usual, there is no one here.
"Are you talking to me?"
I ask, pointing at myself.
The girl nods in response.
"So you can see me."
"I see them sometimes, shadows, but I've never seen on as clear as you."
"Zero, who are you talking to, is someone there?"
The speakers come blaring to life, it's how the people from outside the room talk to the girl. They called the girl "Zero", as in, "Patient Zero".
The girl ignores the question, and the people on the other side promptly yield to her. They can't make her do what she doesn't want to do, that's something the girl had figured out a while ago.
"Tell me, do you think I should have left?"
"I don't know, I really don't. I am afraid that I don't know much more than you, or rather, somehow, I only know what you know."
Her life, her time here, when I came to, I saw flashes of it, as if I'm recalling memories of my own.
"I see..."
The girl looks rather dejected upon hearing my answer. It must be troubling for her, to want to leave but not knowing whether she should. If she does leave, then something bad might happen. But, what if it's all a lie, a lie told to keep her here? She wouldn't know unless she actually leaves, since no one here would explain anything to her properly, only brushing her questions off with vague answers.
"Hey, maybe I can go check on your family for you?"
So I suggest, out of pity for the girl. Maybe she can settle down a little if she at least knows how her family is actually doing and if they actually wrote those letters to her.
"How are you going to do that? Aren't you in a cave?"
A cave? Looking around me, all I see is a white room.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't you know where you are? I'm looking at you right now, and you're in a cave with a big white cat."
A big white cat...? She must be talking about the Holy Beast. Is she looking at me and my surroundings in the same way I'm seeing her and what's around her? In that case, does she know about my life as well, did she see into my memories like I did hers?
"I see, I guess I can't check for you after all. I'm sorry."
"It's fine. I didn't expect much anyways."
"Can you at least tell me where you live though? I might be able to check for you afterwards."
"I don't remember where I lived."
I guess not. I myself didn't remember my own address till I was at least twelve. She seems to be younger than that. But wait... how long ago was it since she had been taken? Now that I think about it, she doesn't at all look that different from the day they took her away from her home. It should have been quite awhile since they took her, since the people in white coats around her have aged quite a bit since she first met them. Heck, thinking back, some of them are no longer here and a few had gone from strapping young men and women to wrinkly senior citizens with a head full of gray hair, with some not even having any hair any more. How long has this girl been here? And why hasn't she changed even a bit?
Suddenly, my vision starts to spaz out.
"Ugh, not again..."
"Are you leaving?"
"I think so."
"I see..."
Knowing that I'll soon be gone, the girl gazes at me with a lonely look, thought only briefly, returning to her default impassionate stare.
With that, like an old television, my vision snaps to black.
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***
Opening my eyes, the first thing I see is the princess kneeling over me with a worried look on her face.
"Aurelius, you're awake! You are, right?"
"I am, but..."
From behind the princess, I hear voices arguing back and forth, voices mixed with anger and suspicion.
"Stand back! No one will touch him while I'm here!"
"You expect us to stand back? After what he had done to the Holy Beast? There's a limit to what we are capable of tolerating, Champion."
As I am being helped up by the princess, I see before me Cecilia, her sword and shield raised against the Holy Beast's priestesses, both of whom are looking towards me with clear hostility. Meanwhile, Merida stands by the princess, her hand on the hilt of her blade, ready to draw at any time. Looking at this scene, it doesn't take much to understand that things had taken a nosedive while I was unconscious.
"Can someone explain to me what is going on?"
Immediately, the princess answers me question.
"When you approached the Holy Beast, both of you appear to experience some sort of spasm and fell unconscious after. The Stella and Celestia, the priestesses, they became very upset after that and think that it is your fault."
I scan the surrounding for the Holy Beast, and it is as the princess says, the Holy Beast is indeed unconscious, her large form lying still on the ground.
"Why did that happened?"
"I don't understand much of it myself. I was hoping you or the Holy Beast might know something."
I don't know about the Holy Beast, but I definitely have zero idea of what's going on. I remember a strange dream involving a little girl in a white room but that's about it.
"Princess, perhaps we should excuse ourselves for today."
The suggestion comes from Merida, vigilantly watching over the situation between Cecilia and the hostile priestesses.
"But wait, what about the Holy Beast?"
I mean, we can't just leave her like this, right?
"While I feel the same, Aurelius, Merida is quite right, we should prioritize our own safety for now. I do not know what happened to the Holy Beast, but I'm sure she's strong enough to recover from it. We on the other hand, may not be so fortunate if the priestesses get their hands on us."
The princess' words carry a dangerous vibe, as if suggesting that those two priestesses are capable of something terrible, those two seemingly demure ladies. I find myself in disbelief, but since it's from the princess, who had apparently served as the Holy Beast priestess herself, she should know a whole lot more than I do about them.
"Cecilia, we're pulling back!"
Having made up my mind, I call Cecilia back, but in that single moment of her turning her attention towards me, one of the priestesses, the one with the cat ears, closes in within a beat of the heart.
"I said stay back!"
But before Cecilia gets to do anything about it, the cat-eared priestess is already in front of her, catching Cecilia in the range of one of the most dangerous spell I know.
Magical lights surround Cecilia, and though Cecilia is quick to react, trying to push the priestess back with one of her skills [Shield Bash], instead of the priestess flying backwards, Cecilia ends up being the one pushed back, even though the priestess did nothing but stand still.
"Wha-"
Like an air filled balloon, Cecilia gently floats away, allowing the cat-eared priestess to proceed, and from where she's looking, her next target appears to be the princess. Of course, Merida would not have any of it, as she was already behind the priestess the moment Cecilia floated off. It's Merida's skill, [Assassination], in which she teleports behind her target before striking.
"Pardon me, priestess."
Merida prepares to strike with the pommel of her sword, planning to knock the priestess out. However, as the strike is about to connect, Merida freezes. Looking at her feet, I see her standing atop the edge of a magic circle, one that I am familiar with. It is the spell, [Bind Circle], and the caster is the priestess with antlers. From her composure, I'd say that she had already predicted that's what Merida would do. Due to having those antlers on her head, she's not as fast as the cat-eared priestess, but it appears that what she lacked in speed, she makes up with her mind.
With Cecilia incapable of fighting and Merida's movement sealed, the cat-eared priestess is free to approach the princess. But why would they go for her when it is me they want? The answer is obvious, it's because the princess knows the spell: [Dispel]. With it, she's able to easily nullify the effects of [Feather Weight] and [Bind], and then there would be no end to this fight. To secure a quick victory, the princess must go down.
"[Air Ward]!"
With the casting of this spell by yours truly, a whirlwind appears around the princess and pushes back the cat-eared priestess.
"[Area Dispel]!"
And while protected, the princess quickly casts the very spell that the priestesses had been trying to prevent from being casted, removing the magical effects from everyone within a five meters radius from her. With this, the battle is reset to its initial phase.
"Looks like we won't be leaving anytime soon with these two in the way."
So says Cecilia as she charges forward, rather intent on ending the fight while the priestesses' skills are still in cooldown. Following behind her is Merida, likely sharing the same line of thinking.
On the other end, the priestesses ready themselves to receive the two attackers. With their most powerful skills on cooldown, in theory the priestesses should be going on the defensive, but-
"[Greater Power Boost], [Greater Protection Boost], [Greater Magic Boost]!"
"[Air Weapon], [Heat Weapon], [Air Ward], [Heat Ward]!"
These spells are cast onto the faster of the priestesses, the one with the cat ears. Upon receiving these buffs, the cat-eared priestess cracks a wide grin before bumping her fists into one another, as if saying that she's ready to take on anything. Then, with her at the center, a flaming whirlwind forms, a result of the [Ward] and [Weapon] buffs interacting with one another I presume.
The flaming whirlwind forces Cecilia and Merida to halt their charge, while the cat-eared priestess presses forward, trying to engulf both of them in her miniature fire storm.
In response, I cast [Earth Ward] and [Frost Ward] on the two, hoping that it'll be enough to let them hold out against the scorching fire and razor sharp winds.
"[Area Dispel]!"
Again, [Area Dispel], but this one comes not from the princess, but the priestess with antlers. Instantly, the magical effects on Cecilia, Merida, and even the cat-eared priestess are erased. The action bewilders me, since it should put the cat-eared priestess, who is like the princess, a Cleric with the subclass of an Enchanter, at a disadvantage against the two combat classes before her.
Why would she do such a thing? Isn't this just a waste of mana? While asking myself such questions, the cat-eared priestess vanishes from Cecilia and Merida's sight only to reappear right behind them on the next instance.
My eyes widen at the sight. Isn't this the Assassin skill, [Assassination]? Why would a Cleric with an Enchanter subclass be able to use it? Ah, but of course! How could I forget! Didn't the Warrior Champion we fought atop the mountain used a skill outside of his class as well. Just because [Insight] say that they're of a certain class, it doesn't mean that they can't learn skills from other classes. To begin with, there are no such things as classes in this world, just different sets of skills, skills that one can freely learn without arbitrary restrictions.
With her bare hands, the cat-eared priestess prepares to strike at Cecilia and Merida, both of whom had not yet realized that the priestess is behind them. While I'm not sure how much damage she can deal with just her bare hands, I have no intention of finding out. Somehow, I have to stop her. Hopefully, she's in my [Bind Circle]'s range.
"Halt!"
I hear a voice resounding from within my mind, accompanying it is a might roar. Turning my sight over to the source of the overpowering sound, I see the Holy Beast back on her feet.
"Oh Great Keeper!? Are you unharmed?"
Halting their actions as commanded, the priestesses quickly turn their attention to the Holy Beast.
"I am fine, there's no need for worries."
"What shall we do with the Champion, the one call Aurelius?"
"For now, nothing."
Then, the Holy Beast turns her gaze towards me, her piercing eyes seems to be trying to see through me, trying to find answers.
"Don't look at me like that. I don't know what happened either."
"Is that so?"
"I was hoping you would have answers."
"I am afraid that I do not have an understanding of this either, Aurelius. This is the first time in my entire existence that this had happened. It was as if my very being had been invaded. I don't understand how that is possible."
"Is it not possible?"
"A mortal is incapable of violating a being of divinity. Unless you are of divine nature, or perhaps even a god, you should not be able to do so. Champion you may be, divine you are not... Or are you?"
"I severely doubt I am."
"I don't sense divinity in you either. So why? I am puzzled."
So in the end, what the hell was that? If even the Holy Beast doesn't know, how am I supposed to figure it out? ...... Wait! Before I blacked out, there were error messages filling my screen. The system attached to me reacted to it. In that case, perhaps the answer lies within the ritual in which we were summoned here? Or, alternatively...
"I am sorry, but I am tired now. Would you let me rest? It has been quite a day."
It seems like this whole ordeal had taken quite a toll on the Holy Beast. Frankly, I'm quite tired myself.
"We understand, Holy Beast. We shall excuse ourselves for today. But, before that..."
"Worry not, Aurelia, I still remember. You may take one of my priestesses with you. I would suggest taking Stella. It's hard for Celestia to move around due to her antlers."
"Very well, we'll take Stella then, as you suggested."
And so, we bid the Holy Beast farewell. On our return trip, I sat at the driver's seat with Merida. It was getting rather unbearable you see, the glares from the cat-eared priestess, the one called Stella, even more so when she's sitting right across me in the carriage.
***
End of Chapter 30