Chapter 11: Stillness before Storm

The rancid smell of feces filled the air, the armored hero and his cohorts were now in a dark alley. They had entered Aether Citadel earlier, but rather than going to the holy sanctuary where the silver-haired girl Luke claimed to be, they were now in the most impure part of the city.

“You lot look like you aren’t from here,” said an unkempt man, he was big and dressed roughly, and a foul stench of alcohol and weed radiated off of him.

“Well aren’t you a handsome man, with a face like yours, surely you have a deep pocket, would you like to feel my deep pocket?” Another woman called out to Luke, her hospitality was disturbingly inviting.

“I’m looking for the atheneum, I was told it was here,” the black-haired young man demanded.

The man and woman’s faces suddenly turned sour, the big man stepped forward and brandished his spike mace. Suddenly countless men appeared all around them, with their weapons out. They had the three adventurers surrounded.

“You bastard don’t know the rules or the codes around here, you’re on our turf, leave now before I send you to meet the Gods myself,” the big burly man mocked, tapping the mace on his shoulder.

“What an inviting party we have at hand, aren’t you popular,” Luke teased, nudging at Yato waist.

“Their stances reeked of amateurism, not to mention the way they dressed, they would never make decent performers,” Bee shamed the hooligans in the alley.

“I really don’t want trouble, gentlemen,” Yato said earnestly.

Upon hearing their attire getting insulted, the men immediately threw themselves at the three adventurers. The alley roared of battlecry for a solid ten minutes, after a while, the adventurers came out unscathed whereas the mountain of men stacked up like a pile of unwashed clothes.

They came upon a metallic door with no visible handle. However, unlike a certain individual, Yato decided to just use brute force. He grabbed the ruby blade from Luke waist without permission and struck at the metal frame, completely dislodged and dented the door inward.

“You bastard! At least ask before you use it!”

Luke protested as the three made their ways into the library, completely ignoring his outburst. A mountain of books surrounded them, before long they arrived at a dead end with a singular desk.

“You said the Hermit built this place, quite dreary and messy,” Bee critiqued, scanning the round room.

“There’s no one here, you sure we didn’t come to the wrong place, it’s creepy as hell,” Luke complained.

“No, they’re here, and they’re listening.”

Yato took out a bag of steam buns and set it on the desk. It was still warm, it contained an assortment of sweet buns they had been shopping earlier in the city. A few minutes passed by, not a single movement in the room.

“I’m going to stand outside, let me know you’re done–” Luke’s voice got cut off, and suddenly the space around them shifted. No longer were they in a dark space but rather a brightly lit garden filled with grimoires and purple flowers. The bag of buns had disappeared from the desk. Hearing chewing noise, the party looked up where the noises were coming from. It was a little girl, wearing a dark gothic dress that was not of this realm. She looked incredibly young, her hair was rose purple, she had bags under her eyes as if she hadn’t slept in days.

“You haven’t changed a bit, still a shut-in I see,” Yato laughed.

“You broke my door, I thought it was an intruder,” the girl complained with her mouth full.

“Uhh Yato, might want to explain to the class who this could be?” Luke tugged on Yato’s hood.

“This is Belle Elphor, the Atheneum Hermit.”

Yato introduced the little girl, she flew down from the swing she sat on, looking satisfied at the meal she had just finished.

“The fable Hermit only a handful of people know across the realms, you are just full of surprises," Bee complimented.

“Don’t feed him any of that, it’ll go into his ego,” Luke smirked.

“Like you’re one to talk, you’re the last person I want to get lectured about ego,” Yato fired back.

The gothic girl stayed silent at the camaraderie, she looked bored and began flipping through a tome.

“So what do you want, if you want information about her, there have only been sightings, nothing concrete where she is,” the girl said with not a hint of emotion.

“As much as I want to know about that, now not the time, I need intel on the wyrm that escaped from the demon castle in Invidia,” Yato requested.

“You do realize what you’re asking is equivalent to finding a grain of sand in an entire ocean,” the gothic girl replied.

Yato smiled, then turned to Bee, without saying a word, Bee shook his head and reached into his bag, and handed Yato another brown bag of steamed buns.

“You’re paying for lunch the next three days,” Bee grumbled.

The little girl’s eyes immediately glittered, she dropped her book and swiped the bag before Yato could receive it.

“It was here, but not here anymore,” the girl spoke with her mouth full.

“What you mean ‘was here,’ where is it now,” Luke looked puzzled at the cryptic response.

“A flow of demon mana was detected here in Aether Citadel, in two locations, one at the Holy Basilicom and here at this very library, however it is no longer here,” Belle explained.

“When did it happen,” Bee asked, tending the vines and flowers at a nearby wall.

“Just yesterday, isn’t that why you’re here, you found the trail before it went cold,” Belle guessed correctly, the three adventurers managed to stay on its track across the realm. But since coming to the city, they weren’t able to detect it anymore.

“It’s almost as if it latched onto something, or someone, and was able to mask its presence with a person’s mana,” Luke surmised.

Yato thought for a moment, recalling the events at the demon castle, the battle against the Demon Lord. Then he realized the wyrm was in Kain’s arm. Up until before it emerged from the arm, its mana was undetectable. If that was the case then it just needed a host to bide its time.

“You said it was here, you mean at this library? Who was here?” Yato demanded, cold sweat flowing down from his neck.

“The old archbishop, old fart was cackling like a madman after I gave him a tome containing past events of this realm, then stormed out of the district like he was possessed,” Belle shared, finally connecting the dots of his behavior.

“You didn’t do anything to stop him?!” Luke screamed on top of his lung at the little girl.

She got startled and hid behind a mountain of books.

“Relax Luke, she didn’t know,” Bee said amiably, he walked over and patted Belle's head which she promptly latched onto his leg as protection from Luke.

“So where is he now,” Yato asked nicely, trying not to scare the girl.

“The records showed he left the city this morning, heading toward Albus,” Belle revealed, flipping through a tome.

“Alright, then take us there,” Yato ordered.

“What you mean take us there, it will take at least a day on foot,” Luke complained.

“And half a day with our carriage,” Bee followed up.

“No need, Belle can take us there, with her power,” Yato pointed at Belle, the little girl cowered.

Belle took out a tome, on its cover was a purple gemstone, it looked to be an amethyst. Suddenly the ruby sword in Luke's possession glowed brightly. Nearby, the folded chakrams glowed golden on Bee’s hip.

“You’re messing with me, she’s one too?” Luke exclaimed, his eyes wide at the amethyst grimoire.

“Fascinating, I haven’t seen it resonating since I first met Luke months ago,” Bee lifted his chakrams, examining the glow.

“That’s right, the record keeper here is also an Armiger, she manipulates space and travel between realms had she set up her destination beforehand,” Yato paused before extending his hand to the gothic girl.

“So do you have a space in Albus?”

“No.”

Yato looked perplexed, like he had heard the wrong thing that came out of Belle’s mouth.

“No. I never planted one.”

Belle repeated herself, as it turned out, she did not set up an Atheneum in Albus.

We’ve arrived at Albus, the scenery was completely white, the windmill in the distance had stopped spinning for the winter. Every building had snow on their roof, it was like a magic wonderland.

“Woah, it’s so pretty!”

Lilia yelled in delight, she put on a winter coat coming out of the carriage and started playing in the snow. I picked up the flakes on the ground, it was white as my hair, the feeling of ice numbed my finger tips.

“We’re staying at a nearby inn, don’t stay out too long or you’ll catch a cold.”

Uriel was unloading our belongings, Garrock was helping her as Lilia and I frolicked in the snow. It had been so long since I had seen this sight. I remember my father used to take me hunting deer in the winter, the snow was as heavy back then as the sight before me.

“Let’s make a snow angel, milady!”

Lilia laid on the ground to wave her arms and legs in a sweeping motion, she made a cut out of herself in the snow; it was cute. I followed her lead and made one of my own, the snow got into my coat and sent deep chills into my back. After some time, the coldness began to seep into my bones, I could feel myself growing tired. I tell Lilia we need to get some warmth, she agreed as frozen snots were forming at her nose.

We entered an inn, Uriel had reserved rooms for us upstairs, Lilia and I were staying together so we ushered quickly to our resting place. The whole journey from Aether Citadel to Albus was tiring, I could feel myself drifting away after playing in the snow.

“Lady Hainé, you’re making our bed soaking with snow, you ought to take a bath,” Lilia said as she removed her coat. I begrudgingly followed her request, if Uriel found our bed wet, she would have the wrong idea, or rather, she might laugh so hard we would never hear the end of it.

As I undressed, the word bath gave me an idea. There was a bathhouse we could use in town, considering it’s now in the evenings, it might not have too many people. Marty had taken me and Charles there on many occasions after a long day of helping with construction efforts.

On the topic of construction, I hadn’t paid attention to the town as we entered earlier in the carriage. I walked over to the window, I found some buildings were newly constructed, however, in the path where I would find Marty’s house there was a noticeable crater. Garrock had told me there had been a fiend raid recently, the feeling of dread filled my stomach for a moment. But then I recalled Alfred’s letter, he stated she was out of town, so she might not have caught up in the raid when it happened. As I was about to lose myself in my thoughts, a knock on the door jolted me back to reality.

“Are you girls hungry? I'm heading to the bathhouse then getting dinner if you want to tag along.”

It was Uriel, the thought of food made me feel peckish. Lilia’s stomach growled at the suggestion. I guess it was decided we would be going with Uriel.

We arrived at the bathhouse, its appearance looked the same as the last time I was here with Marty. Inside the interior, the steams radiated all the way to the entrance, I could smell the bath and soap.

“Do my eyes deceive me, is that you little Hainé,” a familiar called out to me.

A big man with a huge beard approached us, Lilia immediately hid behind me, I giggled at the little maid's reaction as it was the same for me upon meeting him the first time.

“It has been so long, Mister Alfred,” I greeted the older gentleman.

“An acquaintance of yours,” Uriel asked, curiously looking at the man matching her height.

“You could say that. We had met only for a day after all,” Alfred laughed. I guess he had a point, I had originally delivered Marty's dagger to him before I was taken away.

We entered the changing room at the same time, Lilia and I were admiring Uriel’s figure, her tanned skin was glistering under the light of the bathhouse. We had the idea of asking for Uriel’s age, but the thought of invoking the fury of a lady about how old she was stopped us from doing so.

“So you’re here for the Accession Ceremony, you sure have been busy little Hainé,” Alfred yelled, his voice can be heard from the other side of the ceramic wall.

“How has everything been? I received your letter just days before my voyage today,” I asked.

Lilia was swimming nearby, treating the bath like a swimming pool while Uriel was enjoying herself in the hot sauna.

“Not many happy things, I’m afraid.”

Alfred went over the events in Albus during the last half of year, the town had been attacked again soon after I left. Thankfully the knights stationed in the town were able to fight them off. One of Alfred's acquaintances got killed as he was protecting his family. He went to elaborate on Marty searching for me, she had left a week ago after she had learnt I was staying in Aether Citadel. However, Alfred reassured me that it wasn’t my fault. He told me Marty was meeting up with someone on the outskirts of town. Charles went with her as a mother-son trip together, she promised she’ll be back when the ceremony starts. We talked upon more topics about his work as well as I shared my interaction with his brother, Albert. Before long, we exited the bath and parted ways in the lobby.

“He seemed like a nice man, crazy to think you both only met for only a day, you both talked for nearly half an hour,” Uriel said as she was brushing my hair.

“I-I’m sorry, it had been so long since I've been back, I guess I was a bit homesick,” I laughed nervously.

“Mistress Uriel, can we eat, I’m hungry,” Lilia complained out loud, her stomach making strange noises I never heard.

“In due time, my little maid,” the mentor teased.

Eventually, we left the bathhouse, Uriel told us we’d be having supper in the cathedral. The idea of eating in a place where I had nothing but bad memories left me feeling uneased.

I sat at the dining table in the mass hall, the walls had mostly been repaired, and decorated in edelweiss motifs all around and up high into the ceiling. I never realized how high the hall goes all the way up to the roof. The windows were decorated in stained glass of ancient pictures depicting a maiden receiving a sword. I had always wondered back then who it was, now I know it was Lady Charlotte the previous Armiger.

The nuns in the church bought us food, it was a chowder soup with a side of lamb stew, and a piece of toasted bread. Far from us were sweets consisting of candies, muffins, and pastries. It was a feast, there was no way I could finish all of this. Lilia sat next to me with her eyes shining, she gave Uriel a look of puppy eyes, before Uriel shook her and reluctantly motioned to let her eat her fill. I prayed for a moment before picking up the utensils and began filling my stomach.

Some time passed by as we ate, then the door to the mass hall opened, before us the archbishop that had arrived before us finally presented himself.

“Arthur? Where have you been? You were supposed to greet us when we arrived.”

Uriel set down her fork and addressed the older man.

“I’ve been busy.”

He said in a monotone voice, he looked like he hadn't slept in days. Even though we didn’t get along, I was particularly worried for his health. The archbishop sat at the center of the table, he motioned the sisters to deliver his meal. The atmosphere of the hall changed, it felt tense sharing a table with the archbishop, even Lilia had stopped eating and was now standing behind me. I could tell she was still hungry, but she decided to hold her tongue as she was still my attendant.

“What’s wrong, is the meal not to your liking,” the archbishop asked in a gruff voice.

“N-No, it was delicious! I’m just taking my time with it, that’s all,” I replied nervously.

The archbishop gave me a look, I couldn’t make eye contact, there was something different about him. Uriel noticed my flustered face and decided to speak up.

“Gabriel will be here tomorrow, the Testament has summoned him for some business,” Uriel shared.

“I see, I was wondering why he was not here with you all.”

Arthur went back to eating, not making much of a noise while he cut apart the lamb on his plate. Something about his demeanor was different from the days earlier where he informed me of the ceremony. He was disturbingly calm unlike his usual impatient demeanor.

“Make sure you rest after your meal has been settled, tomorrow will be a very important day, I trust that you are at your best appearance to the masses,” the archbishop ordered.

“Y-yes, I will do my utmost,” I replied, not exactly understanding what he meant by best appearance.

“Very good,” Arthur complimented, he finished his meal and called over the sisters to clean up his table. He promptly left the room. The tense air suddenly felt a lot lighter, almost as if a weight was taken off our shoulders.

“Fuwahhh… that was so scary, mistress, may I take the rest of my food and snacks back to my inn,” Lilia requested to Uriel. The tanned woman looked completely distracted and kept looking at the door where the archbishop had just exited.

“Mistress?”

“Uriel?”

Lilia and I called her in unison, trying to drag her back to the present.

“Oh, yes, you may, sorry, I’ll see you both back at the inn.”

Uriel hurriedly wiped herself off then chased after the archbishop. I decided to finish my supper then leave the cathedral with Lilia. The more I stayed in the church, the more I felt sick to my stomach.

Uriel stood before a door, she knew something was up, she had known Arthur for a very long time. The way he acted just now was a total stranger to her. She knocked on the door, after a few moments passed by, she decided to steeled her resolve and invited herself in.

“I’m coming in.”

In the room was a table, and a bed so grand that was befitting of an archbishop. Arthur was sitting on a couch, in his hand was a cup of wine.

“Drinking again, without me no less, aren’t you cold,” Uriel said playfully.

“I’m in a good mood, the ceremony is hours from now, the Armiger is within our grasp, the Court will give us more authority to do more in this realm,” Arthur drank the wine in one gulp before pouring himself another.

“Have you been drinking instead of sleeping these last few days? This is unlike you,” Uriel glared at him.

“Unlike me, this is how I like to spend my time, I did all the preparation for tomorrow, I deserved this much,” his words slurred, clearly he downed a few cups before Uriel arrived.

He set down his cup and walked unsteadily over to Uriel, and pinned her against the door.

“Soon with the Armiger power at my disposal, I can sway the Solomon mages, and grant us more armies. Then I can kill all the fiends that have brought nothing but misery to this town.”

Uriel made no sound despite him backing her into a corner, she just stared him down with her intense golden eyes.

Suddenly, the expression on the archbishop's face changed, he was now examining Uriel’s figure. He lifted a strand of the woman's golden hair and smelled it, he noticed she had just showered herself before coming here. He was making a face that was unbecoming of a man of holiness, a face full of lust.

“You always had affection for me, didn’t you Uriel, even before I got engaged, what say we laid those feelings bare tonight,” he spoke softly.

The corner of Uriel’s mouth twitched, it seemed like him mentioning someone she knew had caused something to snap within her. She raised her hand and slapped the man with her backhand, sending him into the air before he landed flat on the velvet couch.

“Elise would be morbid if she sees you now, know your place boy,” Uriel reprimanded him, her eyes now glowing with a golden aura.

The archbishop cackled to himself, before increasingly raising his voice in laughter. Uriel immediately left the room, hiding her pained expressions.

After some time, the man felt the spot where he had been slapped. Then uttered softly to the ceiling.

“Tomorrow, tomorrow for sure, soon it will be all mine.”

Slowly creeping in his shadow, a dark figure floated over his head, it made no motion to attack but rather, spoke with the archbishop in an accord.

“With the brand… I’ll be just like her.”