Chapter 255: The Prophet [3]

Chapter 254

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Episode 64 - The Prophet [3]

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Clank!

The sound of a door closing echoed through the spacious and elegant room.

A refined, elegant-looking woman dressed as a butler entered through the room’s main door.

The room seemed to have been designed solely to receive particularly important guests.

In her hands, she held a file containing barely three sheets of paper filled with information about an individual.

The female attendant walked toward a spacious sitting area, where a golden-haired girl was elegantly sipping wine from a glass.

Both her posture and appearance spoke far more than mere words ever could, and many things could be seen in the eyes of the female attendant who had just entered without even having to ask.

At a glance, it was obvious that the golden-haired girl wearing a mask over her face was anything but ordinary.

The female attendant took a seat across from the golden-haired girl and then handed her the file with both hands.

The girl placed her wine glass on the table and took the file.

She then pulled out the three sheets of paper and suddenly frowned.

"This is it? You’ve got to be kidding me."

The girl—no, Clana—shifted her gaze away from the documents in her hands.

There were barely three documents, and although they were filled with information and the file even came with several photographs...

That was all. Nothing more, nothing less.

Clana couldn’t help but frown and raise her voice in annoyance as she looked at the female attendant.

At Clana’s complaint, the female attendant lowered her head and apologized.

"We sincerely apologize, my Lady, but please understand that obtaining information about this person is nearly impossible, as there are no records related to him whatsoever."

Clana let out an exasperated sigh at the female attendant’s words.

"Aah, I came to the Secret Society hoping to obtain detailed information or even his true identity, but..."

She read the opening paragraphs of one of the three documents and, after a few seconds, placed it on the table.

"... There’s practically nothing here. I already know all of this."

Hearing the unmistakably annoyed tone in Clana’s voice, the female attendant sighed inwardly.

’However, she isn’t the only one who’s frustrated about not obtaining any information on this person.’

The higher-ups of the Secret Society, an organization that prided itself on its ability to gather any information about anyone in the world, were equally frustrated.

The Secret Society didn’t operate in just one place, area, or region; in reality, it operated throughout the entire world.

They had people scattered throughout and infiltrated into every organization and major public institution across each of the five continents.

Well, with the exception of the lands beyond the seas. Even so, they were capable of learning almost anything.

But recently, many important individuals from across the Holy Continent had come to the Secret Society seeking information about a single person.

So, the Secret Society sent out its best agents to gather as much information as possible about this individual.

But no matter how hard they searched, even if they looked under every stone, they found nothing.

Nothing beyond the publicly known facts and a few secret movements this individual had made.

From there, the important people who had sought information about this individual not only complained about the Secret Society, but the Secret Society itself also suffered a severe blow to its reputation.

It was the first time in a hundred years that they had been unable to obtain information on a single person.

’The Prophet...’

It had been two months since this individual had appeared out of nowhere, and within a single month, he had already become known throughout the Holy Continent.

For some unknown reason, he called himself the Prophet.

"I have to go. I didn’t get what I wanted, so I’m leaving."

At that moment, Clana stood up from her seat.

The female attendant pressed her lips together before speaking.

"Actually, there is something we have, but we have yet to confirm it."

Clana stopped halfway and looked at the female attendant.

"What did you say?"

The female attendant flinched at the sudden change in Clana’s tone.

"We sincerely apologize, but we have a rule against providing information before it has been confirmed. Otherwise, we could end up causing trouble with the wrong person."

"..."

Clana listened in silence. In truth, she also knew about the Secret Society’s rule.

Even so, whether the information was confirmed or not, to Clana, who had discovered absolutely nothing, even unconfirmed information would be useful.

"Tell me what it is."

The female attendant nodded slightly and said:

"It concerns followers."

"Followers?"

"Yes. People who once placed their faith in the Holy Church but now follow this person known as the Prophet and believe that he is the emissary of a true God."

"...."

Disbelief appeared on her face for a second, but her expression suddenly changed to one of contemplation.

’Actually, it could be a misunderstanding.’

Clana knew that the man known as the Prophet possessed the ability to see the future, at least according to his own words—the very same words he had told her back then in Black City.

’He most likely was forced to create a False God to establish the foundation for a public image in the near future.’

Clana had no idea what the man who had saved her in Black City several months ago was doing.

She also knew nothing about that man.

And she also knew, because he had told her himself, that he was some kind of protector who would protect her whenever she was in danger.

’Ugh, no matter how hard I try to find out something about him, I at least feel like I’m making progress. And the further I get, the greater the mystery becomes.’

She wanted to know why the Prophet had said that he would protect her when her life was in danger.

Honestly, it made no sense.

"Okay, but what’s so important about that?"

At Clana’s question, the female attendant added:

"We heard from those same followers that they have now formed a Church."

At her critical words, Clana raised an eyebrow.

’A Church...’

There were only four Churches in the entire world, and they each followed and placed their faith in their respective Gods.

If these Churches discovered the emergence of a fifth Church, they would only label that Church as heretical.

A Church that worshipped an Evil God who did not belong to this world.

In other words, it would become an enemy of all four Churches.

"What is this Church called, and where is it possibly located?"

"The Church... Well, according to the rumors among the Prophet’s followers, the Church is located in the sky, somewhere up in the heavens."

"Then, on a Magical Island."

"Yes, but we don’t know its location, much less whether it actually exists. However..."

"However...?"

The female attendant took a deep breath before continuing.

"It’s possible that finding the Church could reveal the Prophet’s whereabouts, identity, and perhaps even his objectives."

"..."

At her words, Clana silently stared at the female attendant.

’I have to find that Church.’

In her mind, she began searching for countless ways to find the Church.

"And what is the name of the Church?"

At her question, the female attendant replied:

"Church of the Preserver."

***

Slums.

It was where criminals and villains gathered.

Monsters that lurked in the sewers running throughout the Imperial Capital also hid there.

Above all, it was a place where death was an everyday occurrence: diseases, plagues, garbage, corpses, and the smell of blood in every hidden alleyway.

Everything was quite normal in the Slums.

Fights between gangsters and gangs over territory.

I walked through its streets while drinking a cup of coffee.

Because of the countless smells in this place, I had suppressed my sense of smell to the bare minimum.

’The first time I came to this place was to kill a villain.’

During the first few days after awakening in this body, my first major move had been to come here and kill a villain.

My goal had been to demonstrate my abilities at the time to my Master so that I could train Inverted Heaven.

Since then, I had come to this place for various reasons.

Obtaining information about the whereabouts of a particular villain or simply stealing money from criminals and villains when I needed it for something important.

In any case, this time, I had a third reason.

’To kill my pursuers.’

The Abraham Clan had always been my enemy, even before I awakened in this body.

In my memories, Adel had been kidnapped by the Abraham Clan because of the characteristics of his blood.

They extracted his blood for ten years, during which he endured hundreds of horrors that no child his age should ever have to endure.

And after finally escaping from the Abraham Clan, I awakened in Adel’s body one year later.

Then, a week afterward, during the Hunting Festival in the Golden Forest of the Holy Academy, a woman who was, in a nutshell, a trauma from Adel’s past appeared.

Now, that same woman, along with several others, had finally mobilized to capture me once again.

’I don’t have any memories from before the period when I awakened in this body, but...’

My memories came from my previous life as a game developer and from the story of the villainous character named Adel.

That’s how I know everything that happened to Adel before I awakened in his body.

Although, at this point, I’m no longer entirely certain whether my life as a game developer was real or whether those were false memories created to prevent confusion when I awakened in Adel’s body.

In any case, those people were following me at that very moment.

’I suppose I should test my strength after reaching Six Stars, shouldn’t I?’

I finished my coffee and finally stopped. Then, I turned on my heel, raised my head, and flashed a smile.

"Why do you keep wasting time instead of attacking me already?"