Evening, at a certain location.

The room was tense.

Several individuals sat around a large oval table. The atmosphere around the room was still with the Guard Captain and several other individuals standing.

Breaking the silence was the Captain.

"After careful investigation, we believe we have found the second individual involved."

Pressing down on a small cube settled on the desk, an image of an individual appeared for all to see.

Dressed in priest robes, his face looked average. One that someone would forget after not seeing for a week.

"Priest Opersia. "

The expression of several figures tightened.

They were the delegates of the Church of Clora, from the Cardinal to the more important Priests. Everyone was present.

That included members of the other churches.

"...Given that his head was completely blown off, we couldn't identify the individual right away. However, considering his absence and the height of the corpse, we have strong reason to believe he's the other person involved. Several details match with the individual in question."

"That is to say, you're almost certain that it's Johan, correct?"

A faint voice quietly echoed through the room. It came from a man dressed entirely in white, his face obscured by a soft, white hood that cast shadows over his features.

His presence felt calm, yet something about him felt extremely overwhelming.

But that was to be expected from a Keeper of the Holy Light; the most elite guard designated to the Cardinals of the Seven Churches.

The Captain nodded faintly.

"Correct."

"I see."

The Keeper quietly mumbled, his expression hard to read.

"In that case, please hand over the assailant. We will take over from this point forward." "Assailant?"

Atlas spoke up from the opposite end, his expression just as calm.

Raising his head, the Keeper met Atlas's gaze.

"Yes, Julien. It is quite clear that he's the one responsible for this."

"What makes you think so?"

".... There are several reasons. Firstly, it is unlikely for Julien to defeat Johan. Following the mana traces detected in the scene, it is clear that he has already reached the fifth tier. In that sense, a cadet of the fourth tier can't defeat someone who has already fully developed a Domain, let alone explode their heads. An ambush is the only way for something like this to occur, which is what likely happened."

"Julien is one of the most elite students within the Academy. Given his injuries, it is also possible that he was the one that had been attacked."

"Mhm, that's entirely possible but if Julien had been the one who had been ambushed, then the chances of him being alive are slim to none."

"Ha."

Atlas chuckled faintly.

"You really don't have much faith in the cadets from our Academy."

"Quite frankly, I don't. In fact, I don't have faith in your Academy at all."

As the Keeper's voice fell, the tension lingering in the room intensified. In spite of all of this, Atlas remained calm.

"How so?"

"...It's quite simple, really."

The Keeper spoke, his voice falling further.

It was to a point where it almost sounded raspy.

"How is it possible that your Academy was incapable of responding to the situation on time? I understand that the entire conflict occurred in less than a minute, but that's plenty of time for your people to make it there. And yet, they only managed to respond a lot later. It's almost as if... someone had purposely interfered."

If the tension wasn't thick before, it now felt incredibly dense.

The faces of many figures tightened as the Keeper and Atlas talked to one another.

"It could be negligence on the Academy's part, but I find it hard to believe. This has clearly been planned, and since Johan does not have ties with the Academy at all, he can't have set it up. And if that's the case..."

Pressing his hand against the table, the Keeper leaned his body forward.

"...He's not guilty."

A suffocating silence followed right after his words.

Atlas, who was facing the brunt of his pressure, didn't say a word and just calmly looked at him.

Before he could get any word out, the Keeper spoke once more,

"Hand him over while we're asking nicely. It would be a pity if the relationship between the two of us would sour over something like this, right?"

Faintly lowering his head, Atlas's eyes cocked up to look at the Keeper.

His expression had not once changed since the start of the conversation, but if one knew him

well, they'd understand that the calmer he was, the scarier he was.

It was just as he was about to speak when the door to the room abruptly opened.

Bang-!

"....."

nļu

"Who...!?"

All heads turned in the direction of the door where a figure stood.

With her long and silky black hair, deep black eyes, and features that would enchant anyone at

the sight, Delilah appeared. In her grasp were several figures that she threw down.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

"This..."

The eyes of the many people present widened at the sight that greeted them.

Before they could get any word out, Delilah's cold voice pressed down over the heads of

everyone present.

"I've located the traitors. You can ask them anything."

Her presence was so overwhelming that even the Keeper's presence felt like nothing.

However, he was also the first one to snap out of it.

"Traitors?"

"Yes."

Delilah glanced his way, her deep obsidian eyes pulling him in.

For a brief moment, the Keeper found himself inside a desolate world, one that resembled the Mirror Dimension but was far grimmer, filled with an overwhelming sense of despair. Within the desolate world, black and gray hands emerged from the ground, clawing their way toward him, desperately reaching out as though trying to pull him down to the depths of hell

with him.

"Hmph."

With a grunt, he snapped out of it.

He gave the Chancellor a deep look before shifting his attention towards the people she had

thrown to the ground.

Their eyes were trembling, clearly completely overtaken by fear.

Not only that, but their eyes were somewhat hollow. It was as if they had lost complete

control of their minds.

It was a strange sight that left everyone momentarily stunned.

That was when Delilah spoke,

"Ask them anything. I've made it so that they will speak the truth."

11

"1

Beneath his hood, the Keeper pursed his lips.

'How ruthless.'

He could see that the people in question had already lost the function of the better half of

their brains. Whatever the Haven Chancellor had done, she had fried their brains to a point

where she rendered them useless.

In that state, they were sure to speak whatever they knew.

The Keeper understood this.

"Very well."

As such, he didn't decline the offer.

Moving away from the table, he walked over to the 'traitors' and calmly analyzed them. They

were all wearing Haven guard uniforms, and they all appeared to be somewhat strong. With just one glance, the Keeper could tell that it would take them only a few short breaths to

reach the location where the conflict had occurred.

This made the situation all the more suspicious.

Raising his head, he looked at the Chancellor who had her sight fixed on the traitors.

Her expression was difficult to read, but the Keeper could sense a suffocating power

simmering beneath the surface, ready to spill over at any moment.

For that reason, he didn't delay.

He stopped his gaze over one of the traitors in question.

"Who do you work for?"

"...."

His question was followed by a short silence. Following which, the traitor in question

twitched. He blinked his eyes once and then raised his head to look at the Keeper.

His eyes were empty, devoid of any thoughts.

He was like a puppet, and soon his mouth opened,

"The In-"

Snap!

His head snapped back before he could fully get the words out. It all happened so abruptly

that nobody was able to react on time.

Especially when...

Snap, snap, snap-!

The situation occurred to the other traitors in question.

With a loud 'snap', their heads flicked back, killing them all instantly.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A heavy silence followed after the occasion, several eyes falling on the Keeper who stood

frozen on the spot.

"This..."

All of a sudden, one of the Priests opened their mouth.

However, just as they were about to get their words out, the Keeper raised his hand.

"No, it's okay. I already have a grasp as to who is responsible for all of this."

He lifted his head to look directly at the Chancellor.

This time, he didn't let himself get sucked in her eyes. Instead, his gaze was the one who

appeared pressuring.

"The Inverted Sky. That's what the traitor was about to say."

"...."

Delilah stood quietly, the darkness within her eyes growing darker and darker with each

second that passed.

"I'm sure everyone in this room is aware of the organization in question. I wouldn't fault you

if you didn't know about them considering how they always hide like rats, but for those that are aware, you should know about their trademark symbol."

Suddenly raising his arm, the Keeper displayed his forearm.

It was thick and devoid of any markings.

He pressed his other hand directly on his forearm. As he did, he shifted his attention towards

Delilah.

"A four-leaved clover."

Thud!

Suddenly kicking one of the traitors to flip them over, he pulled their sleeves down before

casting a unique spell on them.

"These rats have a distinct method of concealing their symbols, known only to a select few who can cast the specific spell to reveal them. Of course, I'm one such person." Pulling his hand away, a four-leaved clover tattoo appeared on the arm of the traitor for all to

see.

"Ah!"

"This is!"

"Could it be?"

"Mhm."

Studying the tattoo, the Keeper shook his head.

"Naturally, we're referring to high-ranking members, as low-ranking ones lack the skills

needed to completely hide the markings."

Standing up, the Keeper patted his hands and looked at the Chancellor.

"I'll say this to you now so that you are prepared. I've already done the testing on the corpse

you've found. The results came out negative. He... does not possess a marking."

A faint smile spread across the Keeper's lips all of a sudden.

Drawing closer, he asked in a faint voice, "What are the chances that Julien possesses it?"

The tension in the room thickened to a suffocating degree, making it difficult for everyone to

breathe.

At this very moment, the only ones unaffected were Delilah and the man in white.

To Tok-

Breaking the tension was a subtle knocking sound, gathering the attention of all those

present.

As the Keeper, Delilah, and everyone in the room turned their heads, a woman came out from

behind the door, subtly startled by all the gazes. Collecting herself, she looked around the room before speaking,

"Julien has just woken up. His condition is stable."

"Ah."

The smile on the Keeper's face widened.

Facing the young woman, he asked,

"Is his condition good enough for visits?"

"...Yes, there should be no problem." "That's good to hear."

The Keeper turned to look at Delilah before extending his hand towards the door.

"Shall we?"