Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 413: Duality [1]

….There was no fixing the artifact.

It was broken beyond repair.

“…..”

The Cardinal watched the chaos in silence. His expression was hard to read, but if one looked closely, they’d notice a certain flicker in his eyes.

“Cardinal, what do we do?”

All of a sudden, one of the priests approached him.

The Cardinal looked their way and shook his head.

“I do not know. I will contact His Holiness to determine what to do. For now, collect all the remains of the Chalice before I give you further instructions.”

“Understood.”

The Priest left shortly after that, repeating the Cardinal’s orders.

As the Cardinal watched the Priest disappear from view, he turned and walked in the opposite direction. Upon reaching his personal quarters, he entered and locked the door behind him.

Click!

The room wasn’t anything grand. It had the basic necessities such as a bed, a table, a small window, and a wardrobe.

It was a room assigned to him for the short stay.

“….It’s been done.”

His voice gently traveled through the empty room. It was unknown to whom he was speaking as there was no one present.

It wasn’t until the very fabric of space began to warp, and a hand emerged from the Cardinal’s shoulder that it became clear.

“You’ve found the holder?”

A faceless head materialized beside the Cardinal’s left shoulder, gently resting over it.

The Cardinal maintained his expression.

“We’ve narrowed it down.”

“….So you still haven’t the holder?”

“Alm—”

“Alright.”

The hand withdrew from the Cardinal’s shoulder as the faceless figure moved toward the bed. It sat down, crossing its legs and resting a hand thoughtfully on its chin.

“I’m a little tied up on some matters, but I take it that you have a list of people whom you suspect is the ‘holder’ of the Chalice.”

“….Yes.”

The Cardinal nodded.

“I should be able to find the target by the end of the day.”

“You can?”

Despite the faceless figure’s lack of features, the Cardinal could almost sense a wide, sinister smile forming. A shiver ran down his spine, and his body suddenly tensed, frozen in place.

However, he was able to quickly recover as he mouthed,

“Yes, we already have done the test with the Chalice that you have given me. There was a reaction. I’ve compiled a list of everyone who touched their lips to it, and I’ve taken note of the last person to do so. Now, all that’s left is to confirm whether the reaction came from the last person or someone prior. It shouldn’t take long to get the results.”

“That’s good to hear.”

The faceless figure happily interlocked its hands together.

“….You’re doing well. All you need to do is now find the Holder of the Chalice. As promised, I’ll reward you handsomely for your achievements. Feel free to do as you wish. If anything troublesome comes, you can contact Dawn.”

“Understood.”

The Cardinal nodded his head slowly, trying his best to hide his excitement.

It was just as he lowered his head that he noticed the room had grown silent. Lifting his head again, he saw that the room was now empty.

The faceless figure had disappeared out of thin air.

“Huuu.”

Letting out a long breath, the Cardinal relaxed his shoulders.

His back was soaked with sweat, and his arm trembled uncontrollably. Despite his strength, he struggled to breathe properly in ‘his’ presence.

He felt…

Suffocating.

“I should—!!”

As the Cardinal turned around, a figure came into view, causing his entire body to stiffen.

“Before I forget…”

The faceless man quietly rested his head on the Cardinal’s shoulder while hanging his other hand by his neck, his tone lowering slightly.

“….Keep an eye out on the Church of Oracleus. I feel the presence of someone that shouldn’t be here. I’m afraid things will be complicated if he interferes. Be on the watch out, okay?”

By the time the words reached the Cardinal, he felt his shoulder lighten as the faceless figure disappeared once more.

This time for good.

“Haa.

Plopping onto the bed, the Cardinal wiped his sweat-covered forehead.

“….Y-yes.”

***

“Where are they…? Where…?”

Leon scanned his surroundings, his face pale. Though his strength had increased, his body was still drenched in sweat, and he felt sluggish from the ordeal he had just endured.

Still, he pushed the sensation down and frantically looked around the Academy grounds.

‘Where are they? Where did they go…?’

His intuition wasn’t helping him at all.

….All it did was send alarm bells into his mind, sending shivers down his body. He felt the hair at the back of his neck raise as his mouth grew dry.

This wasn’t the first time his intuition had spiraled out of control like this.

It had happened several times in the past, and each time, he’d face serious trouble. He understood that this was such a case.

The only problem was that the one in danger wasn’t him but someone else.

“Where did they go?”

To make matters worse, he had no idea where to look for them. He had already contacted them using his communication device but neither one of the two answered.

“Damn it.”

Leon looked around frantically.

The cadets were just now leaving the mass, flooding the Academy grounds and making things harder for him. Just as Leon was about to despair at the situation, he spotted a certain figure in the distance.

Although she was currently disguised, Leon was already familiar with her disguised looks.

He headed right for her.

“Aoife…”

Aoife froze for a second before shifting her attention towards him.

“Leon?”

She seemed relieved once she managed to recognize him. Thinking back, she was probably worried about Kiera’s revenge for what she did to her a while back.

Not that it mattered since there were more pressing issues at hand.

“Have you seen Julien and Evelyn?”

“Julien, and…?”

Aoife blinked her eyes a couple of times, confused for a moment. Her expression seemed to say, ‘Did you just say Julien and Evelyn?’

“Yes, they had something to talk about but I lost sight of them since I had to do something. It’s a bit of an emergency.”

“Hmm.”

Aoife frowned, taking out her communication device.

However, she soon shook her head.

“No, I’m just as clueless as you. But it looks like they aren’t the only ones that disappeared. I am looking for Kiera as well. I can’t seem to find her.”

“Kiera?”

“Yes.”

Aoife nodded.

“…She was supposed to meet me here, but it’s been over ten minutes. Do you think something happened to her?”

“For Kiera…?”

Leon frowned.

Soon, however, his brows shot up as his ‘intuition’ kicked in again, prompting his entire body to freeze once more.

This…

Leon looked at Aoife.

“…I think, she might be in trouble.”

***

Bang!

“Are you listening to me?! Let me the fuck out!”

Julien’s screams echoed through the void, loud and dripping with malice. Evelyn bit her lip as she stared at the figure trapped behind the mirror, a mix of complicated emotions washing over her face.

Bang…!

“Hey, bitch! Are you even listening to me?!”

Julien’s face was twisted, filled with anger and rage as his eyes turned red at the sight of us.

“I’ll kill you!”

I could only shake my head at the sight of him.

He looked so miserable.

‘…He’s also not very bright.’

With the way he was behaving, it’d be weird if Evelyn felt tempted to help him. Just by looking at her, I could see rage mixed in her emotions.

The more he spoke, the colder her eyes became.

He… was trying his best to keep himself sealed within the mirror.

“Oy!”

Bang!

The mirror wobbled, and my eyebrows shot up in surprise. More cracks began to form, spreading across the surface like delicate webs, threatening to shatter it completely.

It looked like it was on the verge of shattering.

Evelyn’s face also showed signs of change as she looked in the mirror.

“This is more complicated than I thought.”

Evelyn mumbled, studying the mirror up close. ‘Bang, bang’. In the background, Julien continued to shout, but we both made an effort to ignore his words as Evelyn walked around the mirror.

Gently, she pressed her hand against the back of the mirror.

“I see.”

Evelyn pursed her lips, her expression turning grim.

Pulling her finger back she looked at me.

“…This is not good.”

My heart sank.

“Is there a problem?”

“Yes.”

Evelyn pulled back from the mirror.

“First things first, I can’t really do anything about the situation. I thought that he was sealed using some sort of spell, but that’s not the case.”

“Eh?”

“….It looks like you’re not aware of it.”

Evelyn pointed at the mirror.

“The mirror is what’s containing Julien’s soul. The absence of a basic mana rune means it’s not a spell—it’s something else entirely.”

“As in?”

“…The effect of an artifact.”

I felt my eyes widened at her words. The effect of an artifact?

“Whatever artifact was used must have sealed Julien inside. Its effect is wearing off, and if you want to fix this, you’ll need to use the artifact again to reinforce the seal.”

Pinching her chin, Evelyn moved to the side and cast a quick look at the mirror again before mumbling, “Judging from how it’s a mirror, the artifact might also be a mirror. Do you have anything like that? If you use it again then you will be able to fix the mess.”

“….Oh.”

I nodded absentmindedly while moving in front of the mirror.

‘The artifact might also be a mirror?’

Her words lingered in my mind, echoing loudly as I thought back to one previous experience.

A mirror artifact…

I had never come across one in my life, but I knew of one. I happened to come across the conversation right after the second play. During the time Kiera’s aunt appeared.

‘Right, Kiera…’

Although I couldn’t feel the beat of my heart, I could imagine it beating loudly within my mind as several pieces started to fall together.

As if noticing my change in expression, Evelyn tilted her head.

“Do you have any idea?”

“….Sort of.”

“Oh, that’s good.”

Evelyn stepped back from the mirror.

“If you can take the mi—”

“Kiera has it.”

I mumbled, cutting her off. Evelyn’s brows jumped up, ‘Eh? Kiera…?’ she mumbled in surprise while looking at me weirdly. She was probably curious as to how I knew and what part Kiera had in any of this.

….I honestly didn’t know.

However, one thing was certain—I needed to find the mirror she had if she even still possessed it. Without it, there would be no way to reinforce the seal.

But that was easier said than done.

Even the Inverted Sky had trouble finding it. How would I be able to convince Kiera to give it to me?

“Uhg.”

I ruffled my air in annoyance.

…The situation was turning messier and messier by the second.

‘Do I have to look for Kiera now? Will I even be able to make it in time before something hap—’

Crash!

“Hip!”

A sudden sharp sound of glass shattering echoed through the void, making me jump in alarm. Lifting my hand, I hand emerged from the mirror, reaching directly for my throat.

“….!”

Before I even had the time to react, it grasped it directly.

“I…”

A pair of bloodshot eyes stared back at me.

“…Go you.”