Chapter 106: Escalating!
’One more. I need to do one more thing before I start tomorrow.’
Cillian pondered inwardly, clenching his fist tightly. Over the past few days, he had done everything he could to ensure that his plan to eliminate Arthur would at least succeed.
Now that Khalish was being made aware of the situation in his land and the chaos brewing behind the shadows, Cillian knew he had done his part.
All that was left was for tomorrow to happen.
Arthur will die in Viola.
[Ding!]
That was until Cillian noticed a notification pop up from the corner of his eye, making him blankly stare at it for a moment.
’What...’
His eyes wavered as he read the series of words that appeared beneath the notification.
[Target Flag: Arthur Potter]
[Current Flag: Death Flag]
[Status: Escalating!]
[Status: Escalating!]
[Status: Escalating!]
A bunch of screens appeared in front of him, as if to tell him the urgent situation, forcing him to turn around and look at the flag he could see in the distance.
This made Cillian scoff in disbelief.
’How come it’s escalating now?! I’ve been very careful with my actions in case Arthur might get a sniff of what I was trying to do to him! And just as I was about to carry out the assassination tomorrow, he suddenly made a move?!’
It was a stupid fucking coincidence for it to happen when he was being discreet throughout the time he was preparing. Yet what made Arthur suddenly move when he had been inactive most of the time?
Cillian didn’t get it.
’Fuck! Just why are my plans not working at all?!’
"Cillian?"
Leo suddenly noticed a change in Cillian’s attitude when he turned around and began staring at the empty air inside the abandoned house.
This made both Lloyd and Scott stop looking through Arthur’s diary for a moment and direct their gazes toward Cillian.
"Ah shit, screw the plan..."
Cillian looked towards Scott and calmly explained.
"Hey Strategist, I’m not going to tell you what method I’m using to see this, but Arthur is doing something right now."
At the end of his words, a soft click from his tongue escaped his lips.
...
"It’s finally happening."
One White Shepherd approached another member of his group while using the rooftop of a tall building to observe the situation from a distance.
"Don’t you dare mess this up, Sylvia."
This White Shepherd continued talking to Sylvia, a woman with purple eyes beneath her hood. However, he quickly became uninterested in the conversation when she remained silent despite his constant pestering.
Even so, he had the nerve to keep talking despite the fact that they were the same rank and should have maintained the same level of professionalism.
Yet this White Shepherd continued targeting Sylvia.
"Hey, I know you’re not the type to talk with people, but don’t ignore the fact that you messed up that academy attack. You exposed us. When the Brown Shepherd returns, what do you think will happen to you?"
Sylvia silently listened to this White Shepherd named Carlos. This kind of conversation where fellow Shepherds provoked each other had been going around for months, ever since dozens of White Shepherds were assigned to the current four families under their watch.
Viola, Xesie, Hanetry, and Gafantry Families.
Sylvia handled the matters concerning Viola, and the biggest task she had received from the Brown Shepherd was the only one she had ever failed.
It was such a blissful time for Carlos, who thought this was the perfect opportunity to stomp this mysterious woman who had suddenly risen in power among the Shepherds through her sheer strength alone.
Yet throughout the days they had been watching Arthur’s actions, there was never one time Carlos had successfully agitated Sylvia.
It almost felt like talking to a wall.
Carlos clicked his tongue.
"We might be following your orders now, but that’s only because the Brown Shepherd favors you that much. Don’t expect anything from the other White Shepherds as well, especially after they had to follow a failure because of that stupid attack that got us exposed."
Sylvia glanced at Carlos, her emotionless gaze piercing through his defenses before she turned her attention back to the view ahead.
She answered without hinting at any kind of emotion.
"Whatever you want."
Sylvia slowly moved forward, leaving Carlos behind. Then, she removed the sword from the sheath at her waist before stopping and looking down at the Black Shepherds who remained stationed in Viola.
These people, who disguised themselves as normal citizens living in Viola’s territory, whether as gang members or any kind of worker, had finally shown themselves and were ready to focus all their attention on the mission, no longer pretending that they were not part of the Shepherds of Creation.
They are proud to be part of this group.
Yet Sylvia looked at these Black Shepherds who are nothing but tools.
Just like what happened with the Captain back then, which became her greatest loss and, at the same time, her greatest gain.
’Thank you, Captain. Thank you for creating this situation I wanted you to do for a long time. I put you exactly where I wanted you to be. Now, I will begin my own revenge in full motion by destroying Viola first.’
Sylvia raised her voice slightly while raising her sword upward.
"Tonight, a ’God’ will descend in this world."
She paused.
"And this same night, that ’God’ dies."
...
Inside the Ancient Ruin, within the open view of an old shrine with a strange magic circle carved into the ground, a ghastly passage began to appear. Arthur stood in the middle, clasping his hands together alongside other people who had turned hollow, their eyes completely white.
Melissa, Kash, Ivy, Willow, even Fred, and everyone Arthur had consulted during his sessions had all been manipulated and brought down to the Ancient Ruins after he manipulated a single person into doing his bidding. He had even managed to snatch everyone from Hensel to make his offer more valuable.
He used his Half-Possessive Piece to manipulate one person, and everything had gone at least smoothly.
But Arthur knew he had been impatient.
Arthur didn’t deny the fact that he had been preparing for this for a long time. During the time he discovered the cultist ruins from the past era that could summon a god and grant his wish, he had been careful about his reputation and presence.
Yet recently, everything had started falling apart despite how careful he had been.
It’s because of that one kid.
"Cillian Sparrow..."
Arthur had been looking out for people and teaching them the words of ’God’ using the passage he had discovered while exploring the shrine. He carefully handpicked people who would be suitable offerings for this ’God’ to grant his wish.
’It’s okay if I don’t bring everyone back... They will understand... Just my wife. My wife should at least return...’
Arthur’s hair kept falling to the ground as half of his body deteriorated from the excessive use of the Manipulator. On the verge of losing control, he gritted his teeth and shouted.
"Shut up!"
Arthur then clasped his hands together and began preparing the prayer.
The hollow eyes of every victim under Arthur’s influence opened their mouths in a strange way, as if they were trying to stop him from controlling them. However, they failed in the end after Arthur used more of his Manipulator ability.
Then, all of them prayed.
Arthur started the opening prayer passage.
"Hidden One, whose presence is felt only in stillness."
Everyone followed up while Kash came next, his eyes struggling to utter the words.
"What... troubles me is not always the burden, but my refusal to set it down. Peace is achieved when all contradictions are removed."
Then, the others followed and repeated the words again.
Willow came next, her eyes having turned white while she continued to struggle like Kash, Melissa, and Ivy.
"A t-troubled mind is a d-divided mind. Make me w-whole."
Even so, everyone followed the prayer and uttered the same words without fail, unlike the four of them.
Finally, it was Melissa’s turn.
"S-s-strip away all that is false, and leave only the truth that leads me to ’You’."
Each word was uttered from their mouths, and with every chant, the shrine reacted further. The passage grew more ominous as the magic circle beneath the group slowly turned ash-red.
Then, all of them prayed together.
"May my fears become silent. May my thoughts become clear. May my heart become still."
All of them watched Arthur, who closed his eyes and prayed, while everyone who had formed a circle around him followed his lead.
And just as it was happening, a faint halo started forming above Arthur.