A/N: Extra Chapter because of a Ko-Fi donation :]
***
"Are you friends with an enchanter?" Cassie questioned in amusent.
Vincent smiled.
"I am. He made these rings for us after I told him about our plan."
She humd and put the ring on.
"It fits perfectly too. You should introduce us soti."
Just like that, the Vermillions put the rings on one by one, not suspecting a thing.
On the other hand, I saw that the ring was covered in a bunch of Kai’s energy.
But there was also sothing more to it that I just couldn’t place my finger on.
Either way... neither of us put the ring on our fingers.
Vincent raised a brow at our behavior.
"Do you want our plans to fail just because you think a ring is going to kill you? Are you that petty?"
"We’ll put it on when we get inside the underground area. Until then, piss off," I answered.
He just stared at for a few seconds and dropped the topic.
On the other hand, the Vermillions seed a little confused by my aggression.
But would they really believe if I told them all about Kai and Vincent?
I let out a sigh and leaned back.
"So now what? If we’re ready, should we just go to the cathedral?"
Maximillian smirked and rose from his seat.
"I don’t see why not. I’m definitely ready."
The rest of the Vermillions stood up, and so did Clentine and I.
We were all ready.
And seeing that, Vincent didn’t raise any complaints and simply nodded at us.
"Very well. Mikael and Evangeline, you two lead us where we have to go. If we encounter any priests, just smile and wave."
That was the gist of it for the entrance.
But I wasn’t worried about the entrance.
I was worried about what would happen after we reached the underground area, and especially what would happen after it.
We finished our last-minute discussions and finally left the inn, making our way to the cathedral.
Since it was pretty dark now, there weren’t many priests on the streets.
But for those we ran into, we got looks of admiration.
...Which were probably directed at the Vermillions.
After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at the cathedral and ran into the sa paladin we had seen in the morning.
He recognized us off the bat.
The sa went for the Vermillions.
But...
"I feel like I’ve seen you before. What’s your na, old man?"
That’s right.
Vincent wasn’t recognized right away.
But once he put on his ex-paladin ring, both of the paladins on guard froze up and saluted.
"S-Sir Vincent! It’s a pleasure to be in your presence, sir!"
"At ease, you buffoons. I am retired."
They followed his words to a T and went back to normal.
But their gazes were filled with admiration, even more than the admiration they showed to the Vermillions.
"Should we tell the arch priests about your arrival?"
Vincent smiled.
"No need. I plan to surprise them, so keep my arrival here a secret, and I promise I’ll invite you two to dinner one day."
"T-That’s a deal, sir!"
The paladins imdiately opened the front gates for us and basically laid down the red carpet.
Vincent’s past really was sothing, wasn’t it?
Our party began to walk ahead.
But I abruptly stopped, sensing a trace of familiar energy to the side.
I didn’t need to use my Mystic Eyes of Perception to see who this belonged to.
After all, just by tracking the energy alone, I spotted six hooded figures resting in the shadows near the top of the cathedral.
They were the sa assassins I had seen earlier.
Coincidentally... each one of them had a white ring on their fingers, the sa ring Vincent had given us.
I had thought the assassins were after soone.
But could they just be reinforcent for Vincent and Kai?
"..."
How troubleso.
"Is everything okay, Mikael? You’re spacing out a little."
At Maximillian’s words, I simply smiled.
"It’s nothing. I have just never seen the cathedral at night before."
He humd and went back to chatting with the other Vermillions.
Cassie, on the other hand, approached Clentine with a smirk.
"Say, after we’re done with this, do you want to pay a visit to the Vermillion territory? We have so of the finest tailors on the continent. Also, I could show you my pet polar bear. He’s a real cutie."
Clentine let out a giggle.
"We can only be here for a month, so I’m not sure if we’ll have ti... But maybe. Yeah. I’ll try to visit you."
The two seed happy.
And I was happy in Clentine’s stead.
I just really hoped this happiness could last.
As the chatter continued, we eventually arrived at the cathedral’s entrance and stepped inside, entering one of the several dozen prayer rooms.
The prayer rooms were filled with people praying before bed, and I was surprised that Vincent even joined the priests in one of the rooms and prayed alongside them.
Despite the minor setbacks, it only took us a few more minutes to arrive in front of Arch Priest Fivien’s room.
I knocked on the door twice, yet no one answered.
I couldn’t feel anyone inside either.
It was empty.
But this was expected.
I backed off a little, and Jake stepped forward, quickly dismantling the doorknob and opening the door.
Obviously, I could’ve done it too, but I’d rather hide my Telekinesis for now.
"Rember the formation. No one move however you want. You Vermillions included," Vincent chid in.
Everyone nodded, including myself.
But it seed like he wasn’t done.
"Mikael, Evangeline. Put on the rings now."
The rings, huh?
The sa rings I had tossed into a trash can on our way here?
"Sorry, no can do. You’ll just have to bear with us talking."
"..."
"You two are insufferable."
Before either Clentine or I could reply, he stepped into the room, approached one of the bookshelves, and pushed it aside, revealing a dark brick staircase leading down.
"Damn... You were right. I never thought they’d keep sothing this sketchy out in the open, but looks like these corrupt people exist everywhere."
I nodded at Maximillian’s remark, agreeing with him.
" and Evangeline are going in first," I said.
As I stepped forward, no one stopped .
Clentine scooted past them too and, alongside , began descending the staircase.
Our pace was a little faster than the others’.
So while they had just stepped into the dark staircase, we were already tens of ters down, constantly increasing our pace, until we couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore.
That was when Clentine suddenly stopped and patted on the back.
"We’re here. This is where the suppression starts."
"We’re also near the bottom. There are a lot of energies down there. Don’t let your guard down," I whispered back.
The two of us picked up our pace, then abruptly stopped once we noticed the bottom part of the staircase was being illuminated by a torch.
Further up ahead was a long, damp hallway with tens of tal doors roughly embedded into the walls.
Despite this being so sort of underground dungeon... everything was surprisingly clean.
Even the cave-like ground was completely smooth.
Yet as we took one more step downward, we were both greeted with a slightly bigger door at the far end of the hallway.
And through that very sa door, I felt hundreds of traces of energy.
I knew whatever we were looking for was through those doors.
So with that in mind, I took a deep breath and began floating us across the smooth ground until finally, we arrived in front of the door.
GRRR!
AAAAAAAAAH!
Strange sounds ca from inside, followed by bouts of laughter that belonged to humans.
But those noises... they were just as distorted as the demons’.
I knew that we had made a plan to go together.
Yet I never had any intention of following that plan in the first place.
After all, the mont I found out that sothing important was hiding down here, I knew that Clentine and I needed to be the first ones to get our hands on it.
So with that in mind, we exchanged a quick look of understanding, and without an ounce of hesitation, both of us unleashed our Gifts without restraint.
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