Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability - Chapter 80
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80 Joint Investigation Team
Leah sensed Michelâs abnormality and turned to Ryan, asking with her eyes if she should knock him out.
At this moment, Lumian spoke up. âIs the padre not here?â
Michelâs eyes lit up, unable to hide his excitement. âThe padre is resting. You can pray to me.â
His face was filled with pleading.
!!
Lumian hesitated, obviously uneasy, before reluctantly saying, âFine.â
Seeing Michelâs elated expression, Lumian turned to Leah and the others, feigning annoyance.
âWhatâs wrong with you lot? Coming to the cathedral to pray is what any true believer would do. What is there to be afraid of?â
What he really meant was that they had already escaped the basement without getting caught. Why worry now? As believers of the Eternal Blazing Sun, it was perfectly normal for them to come to the cathedral to pray. Using a side door was a trivial matter. As for the padre and his lackeys taking an extended lunch, what did that have to do with them?
Lumian knew such excuses would only fool dimwits, but they should placate the padre, at least for now. The padre wouldnât expose them until Ryanâs group tried reporting the irregularities to the higher-ups and put an end to Corduâs depravities.
As long as Leah and the others continued strolling around the village, casually chatting with people as if they hadnât found anything incriminating in the cathedralâs basement, the padre would be content to maintain the status quo.
Add to that, Ryan had demolished their underground altar. It would take time for them to restore it. Lumian estimated the padre wouldnât gain any boons for at least a couple of days, if not until after Lent began.
By then, it wouldnât matter if the padre suspected them or not. Appearing ânormalâ was the most pressing concern.
Upon hearing Lumianâs words, Deputy Padre Michel Garrigue vigorously nodded.
âAbsolutely! No matter your past sins, if you pray sincerely and repent, God will forgive you.â
Is that so? What if the padre repented to the Eternal Blazing Sun and confessed that I had strayed long ago, believing in an evil god? Now, I want to return to the righteous path? Lumian appeared pious as he strode to the altar, but he didnât buy it.
Michel hastened ahead, seeming poised to take flight in his zeal.
Leah couldnât help but glance sideways at Valentine, seeing his complicated expression at the fanatical clergyman. This should have earned Valentineâs praise, but he knew the deputy padre was clearly deranged.
Redirecting her gaze from Valentine, Leah rushed to Lumianâs side and whispered in his ear, âDid you consider that half those present donât believe in the Eternal Blazing Sun?â
âYouâre not?â Lumian seemed genuinely surprised.
Not because he was perceptive and grasped her hint, but of the five there, aside from the unhinged deputy padre, Valentine was certainly one of the remaining four. Lumian himself barely counted as half.
Leah nodded slightly, her bells chiming.
She smiled and whispered, âRyan hails from the Machinery Hivemind. Iâm from Bureau 8, we donât belong to the Eternal Blazing Sun Church.â
Lumian had heard his sister mention that the Machinery Hivemind was on par with the Eternal Blazing Sun Churchâs Inquisition. It was a branch of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery dealing with matters concerning those from beyond. Bureau 8âs full name was Bureau 8 under the Intis Intelligence and Homeland Security Committee. It was the Republicâs most official organization in the domain of the Beyonders.
âWerenât you sent by the Church?â Lumian asked curiously, finding a chair and sitting down.
Leah sat beside him, smiling thinly.
âToo many dangerous run-ins with those from beyond have happened at country borders in recent years, especially in disputed territories. When Cordu called for help, the higher-ups decided to set up a joint task force to get into Cordu, figure out whatâs really going down, and give the best recommendation for how to handle it.
âWho knew that this placeâŠâ
She shook her head, seeming at a loss for words while her bells chimed.
The strangeness and horror of this place was beyond her imagination.
At times she felt Valentine was right to suggest reporting everything and requesting Corduâs destruction.
But she wasnât ready to die yet. She had to choke back her professional instincts and morals.
At that moment, Deputy Padre Michel Garrigue picked up the book on the altar and glanced at the four praying.
Leah then crossed her arms over her chest and bowed her head.
ââŠâ Lumian was a little stunned.
And you claim not to believe in the Eternal Blazing Sun!
Leah sensed his gaze and turned, flashing him a wry grin.
âGod wonât fault me for posing as a sheep of another flock during a crusade. If you doubt it, lookâŠâ She jerked her chin to the other side.
Ryan, hailing from Machinery Hivemind, folded his arms over his chest in a pious fashion.
So your moral compass possesses flexibility when questing⊠Lumian longed to jibe Leah and Ryan, but worship had commenced. He couldnât lag behind.
After adopting a reverent mien and closing his eyes, the deputy padre, Michel Garrigue, riffled through the Holy Bible and intoned gravely, âGod spake, âLet there be light,â and there was lightâŠâ
Lumian suddenly felt a surge of nostalgia as he listened to the familiar sermon in the cathedral.
Though he used to just go with the flow and float through the service, whispering and gazing around, he now longed for the simplicity of the pastâeven if he had to pray with the greatest devotion.
Even the unpleasant events that had once annoyed him were now a source of comfort.
By the time Lumian and the others left the Eternal Blazing Sun cathedral, the padre and servants were still knocked out cold.
Ryan glanced toward the castle and sighed emotionally.
âThat womanâs far more powerful than I realized.â
âHow powerful?â Lumian asked, curious.
Ryan deliberated a moment. âItâs like sheâs touched the threshold of godhood, yet not quite.â
You seem to have said something yet not quite⊠If Lumian didnât need Ryan and the others recently, heâd have spoken his mind.
However, thanks to his extensive knowledge of mysticism, he could roughly guess what Ryan meant by âthe threshold of godhood.â
Sequence 4! The beginnings of a demigod!
He pondered a moment.
âI think Pualis seemed off when she appeared as Madame Night.â
Heâd told them about Madame Night in Paramita.
âI got the same impression,â Leah said with a smile. âLike a botched patchwork monster.â
Ryan nodded.
âWe have an understanding of Madame Night to some extent. In the border region between Intis and Feynapotter, similar incidents have occurred frequently in recent years. Some call her Madame Night, some call her Madam HĂ€rt, some call her The Benevolent, and some call her The Vile. But so far, we havenât caught any of them. We still lack a systematic grasp of them.
âYes, this is the first time Iâve heard of Paramita.â
Leah strode to the edge of the village square with a tinkling gait. âSomething about Paramita occurred to me from the description.â
âWhat?â Lumian never felt embarrassed to inquire.
Leah glanced southward. âIn Feynapotterâs Church of Earth Mother, thereâs a saying: âThe soul returns to the land.’â
The soul returns to the land⊠Images of the wilderness and wandering undead surfaced in Lumianâs mind.
He had to admit Leahâs association made sense.
Arriving at the elm tree at the village entrance, Ryan surveyed the area and remarked,
âLetâs not provoke that madame further. Regarding escaping the loop, even if she doesnât provide aid, she wonât become an enemy. We just need to monitor her movements and see if we can utilize the specific temporal node she mentioned.â
Wasnât it because you clearly couldnât defeat her if you didnât provoke her? Lumian suppressed his mouth, ready to retort.
He then asked Valentine, âHow many minutes?â
He worried that if he mistimed, his sister would trigger the loop and restart everything.
Valentine extracted a gold pocket watch and popped it open.
âTen minutes remaining.â
âThatâs goodâŠâ Lumian sighed in relief and waved at Ryan and the others. âIâm going to search for Aurore. If youâve nothing else to do, help me locate Sybilâs husband, Jean Maury. Investigate whoâs spreading the rumor that the horoscopes are about to change and everyone will usher in good fortune. If you discover anything, come to my house to find me. Goodbye, my cabbages!â
That was what Leah and the others had planned to do, so no one objected.
âŠâŠ
Lumian fell into deep thought as he bade farewell to the Joint Investigation Team and walked to the agreed-upon spot at the edge of the village.
After completing his exploration of the cathedralâs underground, he had a darn good hunch about the anomaly in Cordu.
The ones responsible for the loop were definitely the padreâs group. Theyâd been secretly worshiping an evil god for at least six months and had secretly sacrificed quite a few foreigners under the cathedral in exchange for loads of boons.
Before Lent, the padre, Pons BĂ©net, and their lot had received a boon using the three Beyonders that Shepherd Pierre Berry had brought backâor at least one of them. The former instantly became a pretty powerful Beyonder. Hence, they kicked off a grand ritual at the start of Lent.
On the twelfth night, in the final stage of the ritual, the hidden being with the name of Inevitability would accept the large-scale sacrifice and complete something that the padre and company had prayed for. But at that moment, something unexpected happened. The ritual failed to complete, and the power involving the past, present, and future dissipated, bringing about a time loop.
As for what unexpected event had occurred, Lumian recalled something the mysterious lady had once said: âYou belong to the group of individuals who are on the brink of being corrupted. Luckily, the mark left by that great existence was activated, and the corresponding power descended upon you, sealing the source of corruption and establishing balanceâŠâ