Morrigan quickly raised a bare hand in front of the kneeling woman’s face, her palm outstretched as a threat.

“My my, aren’t you a bit excited to jump to such a measure,” the woman teased, looking up to meet Morrigan’s eyes but not once flinching.

[It’ s al r igh t. Tr u st h er.]

Morrigan’s eyes remained cold, unwilling to open up to the bothersome woman. “Tell them to get out from behind the trees.

The woman looked surprised for a moment before letting out a little laugh—somewhat expecting such a tense reaction. “Why, of course. So I guess you can sense them through the ground and plants? I’d expect nothing less from a girl as powerful as yourself,” she replied smoothly, standing up and flicking her wrist in the air to signal for everyone to come out.

Apostol One, or whatever she was called, loomed over Morrigan; in fact, she was far taller than Elizabeth. It was hard to miss her perceptive, deep green eyes or the bright hair that sloped over her shoulders. Her wrist was marked by a series of tattoos that trailed up her smooth forearm.

A group of eleven emerged from the flora and fauna, each sporting a similar dark green and spotted black uniform. Their ages and appearances varied from a slightly older man with long dark blue hair tied up into a bun and a young girl with fiery red hair tied into a ponytail.

“We are the Thirteen Apostles,” Apostle One smiled, waving her arms out beside her body. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

Elizabeth glared at Apostle One, holding a small blade that she flicked between her

fingers. “You’re the one who bumped into me from the fundraiser.”

“I see I must have left an impression on you, then,” she grinned, looking at Elizabeth with bright, curious eyes. She lowered her head and grabbed her pinky from behind her back, trying to look down at Elizabeth. “Was it a good one?”

Elizabeth scoffed, spinning her head to the side and bringing her cool blade up to press against Apostle One’s frail neck. “Stop acting like a bitch, One.”

“Ah, you’ve gotten rid of my title now, too.” One pouted her burgundy lips before giving a cheeky grin, swaying her body weight back toward Morrigan. She stumbled around like a jumbled fawn who was just learning to walk, her weight awkwardly tipping her feet, but she carried herself with a strange confidence.

“Morrigan, if you’ll bestow me the gift of calling you that, has been the missing God of our organization for years and years. Years and years we’ve waited for her to appear, and now, you have come down to us in the flesh. We women and men of the cloth only wish to serve you, Morrigan.”

“This is getting way too weird,” Victor grumbled, running his hand through his hair in a confused manner.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Wow, it really is you!” One exclaimed, walking over to Victor and bending down, her hand grabbing his cheek to turn his head around, seeming to examine his twisted face. “I’ve heard so much about you. The Meyer brother—what a complicated title that is. I can’t believe you’re alive.”

He grabbed her wrist tightly, twisting her wrist backward. Victor forced her into a wrist lock and twisted her onto the ground, looking down on her as One wriggled on the ground.

“Ow, ow, ow,” she whined, looking up. “Do you mind? I don’t have enough medical leave left to break my wrist,” she joked, letting out a slightly strained laugh.

“What have you heard about me?”

“Oh, I’ve heard a lot. And I must thank you, too, Mr. Meyer, for bringing Morrigan into this world,” she grinned, getting up onto her feet and dusting off the fitted uniform. “None of this would have been possible without your genius invention.”

“... Genius invention?” Victor froze, his tense shoulders relaxing a bit.

Elizabeth shoved him aside and faced One again with her chin tilted up to try and make up for the lost height. “What have you heard about me?”

“I didn’t hear anything, that’s why I greeted you at that event,” One said in a cheerful tone, noting the way Elizabeth’s jaw seemed to tense at her words.

Morrigan was staring at the Apostles, her eyes cloudy as if she were distracted by something or someone.

“You said you were the Thirteen Apostles?” Morrigan asked, slowly turning her head around. Her white eyelashes caught the sun and made her eyes glitter.

One gave an affirming hum, but she quickly caught on to what Morrigan was implying.

“Where’s the thirteenth? There are only twelve here.”

One’s face seemed to lit up, amazed by how perceptive Morrigan was. Her eyes were wide, almost crazed, as she took Morrigan’s bare hands into her own. One clasped them together and held them over her own heart.

“Ah, I can’t believe I can be in the presence of someone as reverend as you,” she whined, her voice high pitched and quavering. “I’m only leading the group, but I’m not the organizer. The organizer is someone who has been blessed, just like you. Apostle Thirteen has never been seen by any of us.”

Blessed like me?

Morrigan’s face flushed when One took Morrigan’s hands into her chest. Through the direct contact, Morrigan immediately checked One’s heartbeat, her anxiety, her sweat, and her adrenaline.

“You’re here to break into this building and look for General Kristiansen, right? Let us help you. We’re at the mercy of your will, Morrigan.”

One was telling the truth. One truly, genuinely believed in every word that she was declaring.

One leaned down and smiled against Morrigan’s ear. “You’re checking to see if I’m telling the truth, right?” Her breath was hot against Morrigan’s bare neck, tickling the white hair brushing against her nape.

Morrigan pulled back, but One held onto her hands tightly, a grin still plastered onto her face. “I know everything about you, Morrigan. I’ve spent my life dedicated to you. Just you,” she insisted, desperately pleading with Morrigan. “To all of us here, you are our God. Our savior.”

Buffing her muscles, Morrigan tried to pull away, but One’s grip remained firm. Who was this woman?

“All of us are Leiths, Morrigan, but we’re like you. We need to break this system. So let us come with you to bring back the General. Then you can believe in us.”

Truth. It was the truth.