Turning
chapter-135

Beltrail conveyed his intention to the owner of the letter immediately, indicating that he wished to arrange a meeting. The response arrived the next morning, a day after, delivered by the servant who had handed over the letter.

“I am deeply impressed by the wisdom of the Elder Priest, and I look forward to meeting you today to discuss matters in greater detail.”

Today? Who sets a meeting on such short notice? He was initially puzzled and annoyed, but remembering that the other party was a foreign emissary, he quickly regained his composure.

“Such an uncouth individual.”

Though the content of the letter was intriguing, Beltrail was not leisurely enough to accept such a sudden visit.

After all, if the visitor came to the Apeto family residence and Beltrail chose not to meet him, that would be the end of it.

“What will you do, Elder Priest? The servant who brought the letter is waiting outside the mansion. Should we send an immediate reply?”

“Never mind. I don't have time to bother with that right now. Weren’t you once one of the servants in the outbuilding? Go down and help with the work.”

In order to move all the test subjects who had been isolated in the basement of the outbuilding before the arrival of the Duke of Peletta leading the Cavalry to the Apeto residence, they needed to act swiftly. Beltrail promptly withdrew his interest from irrelevant matters.

However, as he walked through the underground passage with the mercenary Awakeners and the servants leading the test subjects, a strange incident occurred suddenly.

“Ahhhh!”

In the passage, where the only light came from the magic stone, a shrill scream reverberated as one of the servants fell.

“Save me. I… I did wrong! I won't touch those guys ever again! Please, no!”

He stared into thin air like a madman, writhing on the floor and screaming. Because of him, the quiet passage instantly descended into chaos.

“What in the world is happening? Can you not quiet down immediately?”

First, Beltrail silenced the terrified screaming servants and went over to where the collapsed servant lay.

“You there. What are you doing? Can't you pull yourself together?”

Beltrail instructed one of the assistant priests to imbue the fallen servant with divine power. Once done, the servant looked around as though he had regained some semblance of sanity. Seeing the terrified people and then Beltrail’s cold face, he broke into a fit of tears and gasps.

“I did wrong. It's all my fault. Elder Priest, please save me, save me!”

“Save you? What did you do wrong?”

“I, I disobeyed your orders, and… and I laid hands on those Awakener bastards... ugh!”

The servant couldn't finish his sentence and fell again. This time, no one was able to use divine power on him.

Like a puppet being controlled by a massive hand, the servant contorted his body weirdly. He drew a dagger from his waist, trembling violently, and in a flash, stabbed himself in the chest. The dying servant’s eyes were wide open, as if he had seen something truly horrifying.

“What a pity. He died too quickly. This is why one should not talk carelessly.”

A voice that was somehow familiar yet strange cut through the shocked crowd. Recognizing the voice as belonging to the servant who had brought him the letter, Beltrail barely managed to respond.

“What are you babbling about? If you're a servant, act like one and...”

"Darn it. Shaking in fear and speaking won't lend any dignity, Elder Priest."

A servant, no, a strange man, smirked at Beltrail, looking like a devil in the dim darkness. Only then did Beltrail realize that this man's face was not familiar, it was completely strange, and he felt shocked.

Dark navy hair, a left face twisted red as if it had been burned, and a right face that was, in contrast, cold and handsome. The moment he saw the man's left eye, unfocused and pale, he felt a sting in his stomach, and his legs went weak.

The man had surely been among Beltrail's group from the beginning. But when did he start to look like this? Even after reflecting on his memories, he couldn't find an answer. Beltrail only then realized that he couldn't be certain even of the servant's demeanor that he thought he remembered. The servant's name, his face, all were blurred as if someone had wiped away his memory.

"You, who... who on earth..."

"What does it matter who I am?"

The man with the horrific scar smiled grimly, raising just one corner of his mouth.

"We're all going to die here, anyway."

"Cocky bastard. What are you doing, kill him now!"

Beltrail did not want to admit that he felt fear under the man's oppressive aura. He hastily ordered the mercenary Awakeners to attack the man, but they disappeared without a trace before they could even approach the man. The shocked servants screamed and pointed their fingers.

"How can he kill so many people without leaving a trace!"

"Perhaps those people never existed here in the first place."

"Is this magic? Or are you an Awakener? Where the hell did you come from!"

Instead of answering, the man pointed towards the exit.

"Have you ever played a game of tag?"

When everyone was too horrified to speak, the man gently continued his words.

"No? Then you'll learn now. You'd better run, or who knows what might happen to you."

“It's going to be very fun.”

Beltrail wanted to smack the man's taunting face, but he couldn't because the assistant priests started running, supporting his arm.

"Elder Priest, that man is not in his right mind. He doesn't seem normal, so please get out as soon as possible and ask for help from the headquarters! That's the priority."

They were right. He couldn't ask for help from headquarters while underground, so he had to get outside first. For the first time in his life, Beltrail had the strange experience of running with all his might. He felt the discomfort of his beautiful priest's robe for the first time. While he was running clumsily, clutching the heavy, clingy hem of his robe, he kept hearing the sound of horrified screams from behind him.

In the end, Beltrail finally emerged from the exit. But he was not given the time to be glad that he had reached the western forest, his original destination. Unbelievably, the man with the scar had arrived first and was waiting for them.

"Haha. You look like you've seen a ghost. So, did you enjoy the game of tag?"

"How the hell did you get here first...?"

"The way you abandoned even your cherished test subjects, fleeing as you did, was indeed impressive, Elder Priest. I doubt I'll see a sight more amusing in my lifetime."

His smiling face was indeed the embodiment of a devil.

"No!"

Beltrail, gripped by extreme fear, floundered. He desperately cried out for others to strike down the demon and protect him. But as if by magic, all the mercenary Awakeners around him vanished, and the priests fell vomiting blood, even though the man hadn't touched them.

Beltrail collapsed, feeling as if he were living a terrible nightmare, vomiting blood from intense emotions.

The perpetrator had to be a Cavalry member, sent by Duke Peletta Kishiar La Orr. Without doubt, they had dispatched the Cavalry to seize the test subjects and kill him, the obstacle. Beltrail's despair-ridden mind didn't question the man's identity.

"Yes, the letter you brought was all a lie from the start, wasn't it? You lulled me into complacency to seize the test subjects...! What did you do to my test subjects? Did you steal them from the underground tunnel? Or did you kill them?"

"Why so curious about what happened to those lives you discarded, Elder Priest?"

The man asked, seemingly genuinely puzzled. Overwhelmed by a sense of profound humiliation and anger, Beltrail coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Regardless of securing those test subjects, you won't be able to kill me. Don't you know who I am? I am one of the Elder Priests of the Grand Temple from the Apeto family. Even if this incident comes to light, I can easily secure other test subjects and continue my research!"

But Duke Peletta would regret turning him and Apeto into enemies so carelessly. The man, upon hearing Beltrail's blood-soaked curse, chuckled softly and cocked his head, opening his mouth.

"Hahaha. That's all well and good, but there are a few things you've got wrong, and I think it's only fair I correct you."

"What nonsense are you spouting?"

"Firstly, I am not a subordinate of Duke Peletta. Nor am I part of the Cavalry."

"...What?"

Beltrail, who had sworn not to believe a word the man said, was momentarily stunned into silence, forgetting even that resolve.

"What are you even talking about?"

"They might have realized by now that they've lost the advantage to me and might be rushing here. But that doesn't really matter."

"Then who the hell are you? To claim that you are not with Duke Peletta but managed to infiltrate Apeto's stronghold alone, that's nonsense!"

"That brings us to the second point I'd like to correct."

Having said that, the man slowly moved closer to Beltrail. Beltrail instinctively retreated, shaking his head.

"Do... Don't come any closer!"

"We can. As long as we have brothers and sisters who need us, we go wherever we must."

"We...?"

As Beltrail stammered out his question, a light sparkled in the man's eyes, a look of pure joy as if he had been waiting for just that question.

"The 'Star of Nagran'."

Beltrail didn't recognize the unfamiliar phrase that slipped from the man's lips.