Turning
chapter-134

The ability of Dandenion, as told by Revlin, was to stiffen the body of anyone whose gaze he met. Since he could not stiffen everyone all at once, it would be challenging to win against Ever.

Regardless of Dandenion's poor condition, having been imprisoned and drugged for a long time, he could be reasoned with, or perhaps even overwhelmed, if Ever were involved. This was the very reason why Kishiar had designated her for this role.

"What will we do, Yuder, if there are more pieces of evidence left underground than we expect? Upon reflection, I find myself unable to discern what matters most," Gakane asked, as if he had been waiting for the chance to do so.

Yuder, without hesitation, responded promptly, "Prioritize papers, books, or any belongings that Kanna would find useful to read. If you can't take everything, use your shadow clone to hide the rest appropriately."

"Papers, right. Okay, got it."

Gakane reached into his uniform coat and pulled out a leather pouch that he had hidden, folded several times. On the surface, it looked like a regular pouch, but in reality, it was enchanted to lighten the weight of anything it contained.

Soon, they saw a detached house with a white roof. The three exchanged silent glances before heading towards the back entrance, typically used by the servants. This entrance, which led straight to the detached house’s kitchen, was the easiest point of entry, a fact taught to them by none other than Revlin.

'A servant I had bribed should have left this door open today,' Yuder thought.

Without any hesitation, Yuder approached the small door and pulled the ring handle. The door opened smoothly, without resistance.

'Even though the kitchen still has all the food intact, there is no sign of anyone... Kishiar's predictions must have been right,' Yuder surmised.

He looked around the kitchen, noticing the piles of dishes that had likely been washed just hours before, and neatly arranged fruits and grains. The only explanation for the absence of any servants, despite these clear signs of recent activity, was that everyone had been deliberately sent away, excluding those needed to move the experimental Awakeners trapped underground.

'Even though they did this fearing Kishiar might show up, they probably didn't expect it would make our job easier as well,' he mused.

Kishiar had predicted that even if Apeto’s household sent all the servants from the detached house away, Dandenion, confined on the third floor, would still be held captive. Dandenion was not an experimental subject but an official escort of Revlin, who was technically imprisoned to serve a punishment. There would be no reason to hide him, since they had nothing to fear even if his presence was discovered.

Could the humans of Apeto’s household have imagined they were so tightly within Kishiar's grip? Yuder gestured for Ever and Gakane to proceed inside as he glanced at them.

"..."

Words of greeting were unnecessary among the trio. Once he confirmed that Ever and Gakane had entered through the open door and moved in opposite directions, Yuder closed the kitchen door. His destination wasn’t further into the building, but the shed next to a well outside.

According to Revlin's map, that place was the entrance to the basement passage of the detached house. With no hesitation, Yuder stepped in, inspecting the ground. He soon found a door, not entirely closed, hidden amongst the food sacks stacked around him.

A faint scent of blood seemed to waft amidst the faint footprints scattered haphazardly around him. Yuder took a deep breath, then opened the door and descended downwards. The words of Kishiar, who had talked about this place last night, sprung up vividly in his mind.

'The ultimate destination is likely to be the forest at the far west of the mansion grounds. It's dense with trees, out of sight from anyone, and with a shrine and prayer house set up, it's deemed ideal for hiding people.'

The underground passage was big enough for a cart to pass through, and magic stones were embedded in the walls, preventing it from being too dark. As a place originally used to deliver groceries from outside to Apeto Mansion at dawn, it was indeed well maintained for its purpose.

Yuder walked, finalizing the tasks he had to do.

'First, as soon as the Awakeners, priests, and servants, including the Elder Priest of Beltrail, are found, they are to be immediately suppressed and rendered unconscious. Then, after taking the Awakeners who are held captive, return via this passage to complete the mission, and meet up with Ever and Gakane. After that, go outside and make contact with the waiting Peletta Knights. That's it.'

In order to lead the Awakeners, said to number around 20, quite a lot of people must have been mobilized from Apeto Mansion. To suppress all these people with a single message before they properly grasp the situation, a considerable power would need to back it up. Yuder looked down at his own hand, wrapped in black gloves, and clenched and unclenched his fist lightly.

'The condition is... good. I can do this.'

However, not long after gathering his resolve, Yuder suddenly smelled a pungent odor. At first, he thought it was just his imagination, but it wasn't. The source of that familiar and intense smell became clearer as he moved forward.

'This is...'

Yuder stopped in his tracks in front of a corpse lying dead in the middle of the corridor. The nameless man lay dead with his mouth open, displaying an expression full of terror, tightly grasping the handle of a dagger buried in his chest.

A foreboding chill brushed his spine. Yuder instantly sprinted forward. More corpses appeared in his path. He ran past all the other bodies, but he couldn't ignore the body of a man dressed in white priestly robes.

The man in the priestly robes was lying in a slightly different position than the other corpses. Yuder noted that the priest must have died due to his head being smashed against the corridor wall.

He cautiously reached out and pulled the corpse by the shoulder. The stiff body fell to the side. The blood-soaked face was no different from the other corpses he had seen. His eyes were wide open and his mouth was agape, an expression clearly reflecting intense fear.

All the bodies lay dead with expressions of sheer terror. The priest had died by smashing his own head, but all the others had their chests pierced by a weapon, clutching the handle as they fell.

Could all this really be a coincidence?

Yuder left the body of the priest and turned to run again. His heart began to pound even harder than before, perhaps because of the growing sense of dread. Soon, the exit leading to the western forest appeared. A noisy sound came from the wide-open exit. Slowing his pace and killing his presence, Yuder hid against the wall and peered out at the landscape beyond.

"Who on earth are you? An underling of Duke Peletta?"

The first sight that met his eyes was the back of a man, donned in a large hat and cloak, and countless bodies laid out before him. Yuder's eyes widened when he noticed among the fallen, the one struggling to stay upright and howling in pain was none other than Elder Priest Beltrail Shand Apeto.

"How dare you do such a thing... If I knew, if I knew you were an Awakener, I would have... I...cough...!"

Beltrail, his forehead split and half of his face soaked in blood, raised his bloodshot eyes to howl in despair. Then he suddenly coughed, spewing blood. He kept coughing up blood until his face turned deep red and then finally fell forward, gasping for air. The cloaked man who had been quietly watching him finally chuckled and flipped his hat backward to remove it.

"For someone who claimed to know more about the Awakeners than anyone else, you seem quite surprised. That's not entertaining at all, Priest."

"…"

A chill ran down his spine the moment he heard that cold voice. Yuder instinctively clenched his fist, then slowly relaxed it. He had a hunch, seeing the corpses on his way here, but confronting the reality was a different matter.

It was Nahan, the Awakener with illusion ability who had left a strong impression on Yuder in the East and had since disappeared. He stood in the Apeto estate, nonchalantly stepping over bodies, laughing.

—---

Beltrail Shand Apeto, who had lived his entire life as a revered Elder Priest, was trembling in shock as he looked up at the horrifying face of the man standing over him, half distorted and half unscathed, laughing. He had researched the Awakeners since their first appearance in this world and had always thought he knew them better than anyone else. This current situation was beyond his belief.

'He was just an ordinary servant a moment ago. He showed no signs of using his power, and the mercenary Awakeners didn't say anything either. How did this... when did this man infiltrate my side and bewitch everyone...?'

Beltrail remembered the first time he had acknowledged the man, no, the servant he had been disguised as, a very long time ago. He had known there was such a servant moving between the guest house and the main hall. But back then, that servant had been no different from other ordinary ones. He had feared Beltrail and had never approached him without cause.

That servant had handed Beltrail a letter two days ago. It was not unusual for those wishing to send messages to the main hall through Beltrail to send letters to the Apeto estate, so he did not find this strange. But the contents of the letter were a little peculiar.

The author of the letter introduced himself as an emissary who had come for the festival from abroad. He had expressed his personal interest in the research on the Awakeners that Beltrail had been publishing and politely requested to meet and have a conversation, if possible. To Beltrail, who was seeking a path to continue his research beyond Lenore and the Apeto family, this letter had arrived at a very opportune time.