Chapter 607: Reunion [1]

Advent of the Three Calamities

A figure sat motionless within the darkness.

The darkness didn't just surround him—it bent and curled inward, folding like fabric pulled by invisible threads.

And then, Atlas emerged before the figure.

He immediately knelt on one knee, his expression hard to decipher as Sithrus slowly opened his eyes to see Atlas.

"Oh, my."

All that Sithrus saw when staring at Atlas was red.

His entire body...

It was red.

"It is rare to see you so angry, Dawn. I'm a little curious to know what happened, but before that..."

Immediately, the red that seemed to want to seep out of Atlas's body started to fade, concentrating into a thick ball of red that focused within Atlas's abdomen.

Then, with a casual flick of his wrist, the orb shot forth, funneling directly into Sithrus's open mouth.

He closed his eyes as it entered, a satisfied smile curling across his face.

"Not bad."

Opening his eyes again, he settled his gaze over to Atlas.

"Have you calmed yourself down?"

"....Yes."

Atlas gave a slow nod, the tension in his features melting away.

His expression was calmer now, composed—like a storm had passed through him and left only stillness in its wake.

"Good. Now then..."

Sithrus tilted his head curiously at Atlas.

"Why have you come here, and what managed to set you off so much?"

"....."

Atlas knelt in silence for a few short seconds before letting out a deep breath and speaking.

"Julien has passed away."

"Julien...?"

Sithrus raised his brow.

"Yes. His body was recently found in his room, his soul completely missing."

"I see."

Sithrus's face didn't change much upon hearing the news. At least, not at first. After a few seconds, his hand reached for his mouth as his brows furrowed.

"Dead...? And yet I was almost certain that he was..."

His thoughts paused after a few short seconds as a smile soon marred his features.

"I see. I see. Maybe I was looking at things the wrong way. Maybe from the very start, he was just a diversion..."

Catching Sithrus's quiet muttering, Atlas could only tilt his head in puzzlement. Yet, despite his curiosity, he didn't dare ask for an explanation.

He was in no position to pry 'his' thoughts.

"Do you have a clue as to who the ones responsible for this are?"

"Yes."

Atlas nodded, his back straightening as his eyes grew sharp.

He was almost sure of his guess. In fact, it wasn't very hard to guess.

He thought about Julien's action during the Nurs Ancifa Congress day. He thought about how he had been indirectly responsible for getting them locked up and humiliated in front of everyone.

He thought about how everyone had been invited by them on that very specific day.

He thought about how the Saint had been missing on that day.

Atlas had a very good guess as to who had done this to Julien, and as he looked at Sithrus, his lips parted.

"I have reason to believe it is those of the Church of Oracleu—"

In the middle of his words, Atlas froze, suddenly catching the shift in Sithrus's expression—his smile stretching unnaturally wide, teetering on the edge of something unsettling.

It was enough to send shivers down his spine.

His lips parted, but no words came out. That was until Sithrus spoke.

"This is very interesting."

He almost seemed to be enjoying the situation.

"....To think he would fool me like that. As expected, only he can do something like that."

Beyond the amusement, there seemed to be something else mixed in Sithrus's voice. Was it anger? Surprise?

Atlas couldn't tell, but the current state of Sithrus was enough to give chills to his entire body.

Slowly standing up, Sithrus massaged his neck as he looked at Atlas.

"If it's what I'm thinking, your pupil cannot be saved.

His words were calm, but they were enough to make Atlas's features change.

"He can't be saved? Wait, but—"

"Emmet is about to wake up."

Sithrus's next words brought Atlas's words to a complete halt as his eyes widened significantly.

He of course was aware as to who Emmet was.

How could he not know?

"...I previously thought that Julien was Emmet's agent. From the familiar scent of the extractor to his familiar personality. I waited patiently. Even as he managed to ensnare you with his charm. I waited to see what he planned on doing. And yet..."

Sithrus laughed.

"He had never been his agent from the start. He was just the unfortunate victim of Emmet's plan."

Listening to Sithrus's words, Atlas could only stand dumbfounded. Emmet's agent? Waited to see what he planned...?

What...

"You don't get it, do you?"

Atlas slowly turned his head toward Sithrus, whose gaze seemed to pierce through the darkness, as if seeing far beyond what lay in front of them.

"...It is time that we set everything that we've planned over the years in motion."

Turning around, Sithrus's smile slowly faded as the darkness started to swallow him whole.

"Oracleus is coming."

***

Several days have passed since the incident.

Julien's death brought no waves to the world. And that was merely because the news had yet to spread or be announced. This silence was entirely at the behest of Viscount Evenus, who had chosen to keep it hidden.

Out of respect for him, the Academy, alongside the Megrail family, agreed to his terms. This also worked best for them.

News of such a talented individual passing away was never great.

Everyone had their own self-interest at heart.

Aldric was no different. To him, news of Julien's death meant putting a halt to a lot of the plans he had already set in motion.

He couldn't afford to have that happen to him.

At least, not yet.

"We're truly sorry for your loss. We're currently investigating the masterminds behind the incident, and we will update you immediately on the situation."

"....I understand."

Aldric's face was cold as the delegates from the empire arrived at his home, delivering Julien's breathless body to him.

"....."

He stood in silence while staring at his son's body.

His lack of reaction made the delegates uncomfortable, but they still chose to keep their mouths shut. At the end of the day, they were only here to deliver the body.

"He was a great talent and is truly—"

"It's alright."

Aldric cut the delegates off before they could continue speaking.

"I'm not interested in the unnecessary speech. You may go."

"Yes."

The delegates didn't linger for very long. Shortly after handing over Julien's body to the Viscount, they quickly departed.

By the time they were long gone, Aldric had already brought the body away into what was originally Julien's room.

None of the servants or people working in the estate were aware of his actions or situation.

And even if they were, they'd turn a blind eye to it.

This was how things worked in the Evenus Household.

"....."

After laying Julien's body on the bed, Aldric stood over him, his expression void of emotion. His face was cold, his eyes distant and unfocused. To anyone watching, he would've seemed like a stranger—detached, as if he had no connection to the lifeless figure before him.

And yet...

He was Julien's own father.

Placing his finger over Julien's neck, Aldric soon closed his eyes.

"The body shows no signs of decay—it almost seems to be preserving itself naturally. That is quite good."

Opening his eyes again, he brought his fingers away and sat down on the nearby chair. As he did, his gaze hovered towards Julien's body again.

He sat in silence for a few short seconds before the first cracks appeared on his face.

"...Things are progressing as they should. I don't sense any of his blood anymore. That means that those from the Church have taken it."

By 'his' blood, he meant none other than Oracleus's blood.

For the first time in what felt like ages, Aldric's expression began to shift as the cracks on his face started to expand. His lips trembled, and to conceal it, he brought a clenched fist to his mouth, leaning back into his chair in a quiet attempt to compose himself.

However, in spite of his best attempt, he still let out a brief stifle as his lips pulled into a smile.

"Hah."

His chest trembled as he found himself unable to hold his laugh back.

He thought back to the start of the Congress and the sequence of events that had led to this very moment.

Everything...

It had gone as intended.

"Though it's unfortunate that I had to part ways with such a talented Spirit User, it all works out in the end."

The entire sequence of events that had occurred in the Congress was no coincidence.

From the reporter to the fact that Julien had been sent there.

It had all been planned for this very moment.

"By now, he likely believes Oracleus is on the verge of awakening—and that Julien was merely a fake all along. This will buy us quite a lot of valuable time."

The smile on Aldric's face widened in spite of his best attempts at trying to suppress it.

But how could he not smile?

He had been waiting for this very moment for a long time.

A very very very long time.

...Enough time to make anyone go mad.

But he persisted.

He persisted because he was told to persist.

And all of it finally paid off.

Staring in Julien's direction, Aldric's lips slowly parted as his chest began to tremble, and the cold facade he had been keeping up for so long started to fade.

"I did good, right?"

Aldric mumbled, the smile slipping away from his face as it was replaced by a raw, unfiltered emotion.

Aldric's lips trembled, but he just barely managed to force out a few words, his voice barely audible.

"...R-ight?"

And just as the words left his mouth, Julien's eyes slowly opened.

The once-empty vessel returned to life as Julien's gaze focused on the ceiling of the room.

He blinked a couple of times, sitting up to meet Aldric's gaze. His expression quickly turned complicated shortly after, as his mouth opened and closed several times before he finally managed a single word out.

"Noel..."