Ivan...? I frowned. The name felt unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time. However, I didn't have much time to dwell on it considering the situation that I was in.

"You aren't showing much of a reaction. Do you perhaps not know who I am?"

"...Should I?"

While I wasn't entirely familiar with the person in front of me, I more or less had a hunch. Few people could enter my mind space without alerting Delilah and Atlas who stood outside.

"Mhh, I guess not."

The man called Ivan said, shaking his head faintly.

"In fact, it doesn't even matter if you don't know. That's not important, is it?"

As he said those words, his eyes paused on the trapped Julien. With the chains biding his body, he was still showing a struggle.

Staring in his direction, I shook my head.

"No, it isn't."

I already knew all that I needed to know. Since it was highly unlikely that he was from the Inverted Sky or the Academy, the only possibility that crossed my mind was that he was some sort of higher-up sent in order to free the Keeper.

Given that the Keeper was already strong enough, this person's ability was probably even higher.

'Perhaps he's Tier 8 or even higher...'

If it was higher than I was possibly dealing with one of the Seven Monarchs.

Surprisingly, the thought didn't panic me.

I was feeling a lot calmer than I anticipated. Was it because I had been spending so much time with Delilah?

Who knew?

"I'm curious about something."

While I relished the calmness of my mind, Ivan started to speak once again. As he alternated his gaze between Julien and me, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Between the two of you, which one is the real one?"

"Pardon?"

My brows came to a furrow.

Was he able to tell something? Was it Julien who had told him? Or was it something else that led him to believe this?

"At first I was confused at how you could be possessed given that Matthias isn't capable of executing such rituals, but now that I'm here, I think I have an idea."

I suddenly held my breath.

What did he find out?

His next words made my heart pause.

"You were possessed to begin with, weren't you?"

My silence seemed to give him an answer as a faint smile tugged at his lips.

"Yes, that would make sense."

He snapped his fingers and the chains binding Julien shattered.

"Huak!"

Immediately, he dropped to the ground, falling on all fours. As his chest rose and fell, he raised his head to glare at us.

"Wow, calm down."

Ivan seemed to relish Julien's expression.

"I'm not here to harm you, don't worry. In fact, I can even help you."

"....huh?"

Julien's expression paused and his head turned to face Ivan. My fist silently clenched at the

scene.

"This is not good.'

I started thinking of all the ways to escape this situation.

Yet again, things had turned out in a way that I hadn't expected. While I knew that someone from high up was going to come, I didn't expect them to be bold enough to do something to me in the process of the Cleric's ritual. Especially now that I am aware that Atlas and Delilah are both present.

'With all attention focused on me, it's highly likely that he did something to the Cleric to get to me.'

It was a bold plan considering who he was dealing with, but it looked like he succeeded.

Thankfully, I knew he couldn't do anything to me.

Still, that was the least of my worries.

"You...? Help me?"

Overhearing Julien's haggard voice, I noticed that he had finally calmed down and processed the situation. It didn't take a genius to understand that this Ivan man wasn't on my side.

Hope kindled in Julien's eyes as his eyes flicked in my direction.

"Will you really help me?"

"....Of course, I can."

Ivan's smile grew and he turned to look at me.

Addressing me, he alternated his attention between the two of us. Holding his chin, he started to talk,

"If my guess is correct, this person right here is the real Julien. You're merely a proxy that was used to infiltrate this Academy for the Inverted Sky. You were also probably ordered by the Inverted Sky to kill the Pope and framed Matthias to shift the blame on him. After all, given your strength, it seems unlikely that you can kill him, no?"

From how confident he seemed with his words, I almost found myself believing his nonsense. It was just that it was so far from the truth that it almost seemed laughable.

"Then again, it's not like I can tell the Pope killed himself and that the one that likely planted my soul into Julien's body was most likely myself.'

His made-up conclusion seemed less made up than mine.

'How troublesome.'

"Judging from your silence, I'm not far off from the truth, right?"

"....I don't know what you're talking about."

In this case, the most appropriate thing was to deny my involvement in the situation and

continue to feign ignorance.

"What is the Inverted Sky?"

"Ha."

A chuckle escaped Ivan's lips while he looked at me.

"Yes, of course, you're not going to admit it. It only makes sense you wouldn't but—"

"Hey, do you know what's the Inverted Sky?"

Cutting Ivan off, I addressed Julien directly. If looks could kill, he'd probably have killed me

many times over.

"What are you talking about?"

"What he said. Something about the Inverted Sky. Do you know anything about it?"

"...No."

I raised my brow.

'Looks like he isn't as stupid as I thought.'

In his anger, he was still able to remain rational enough to understand what was happening.

I'd originally thought he'd spill the beans, but he didn't. That made things somewhat more

annoying to deal with.

It was just a pity that...

Snap!

With a snap of my fingers, Julien's eyes suddenly turned listless. The changes were caught by

Ivan but I spoke before he could say anything.

"Let me ask again, do you know anything about the Inverted Sky?"

Julien remained silent at first, his mouth trembling slightly. However, it was a few seconds

after that his voice rang.

"Yes."

His voice was quiet, but it rang loud enough for the two of us to hear.

Only then did I look at Ivan whose smile faded from his face.

"What did you do to him?"

"....Nothing of real importance. I'm sure someone of your stature can tell that he isn't lying."

One of the main features of the Ring of Nothingness was that it could turn anyone who was subjected to the 'Trials of Forgotten Minds' into becoming a loyal servant who would do anything that the wearer asked of them.

While Julien's mind hadn't eroded to the point where he would listen to all I had to say, the past few days in which he had been in the ring were enough for it to affect him.

'... It's a pity that I can't maintain this for long.'

My original plan was for him to stay in the ring long enough for him to become my puppet,

but the circumstances made that impossible.

Furthermore, I also didn't think I could fully convert Julien using the Ring.

There was something that was preventing me from doing so. Nonetheless, this was good

enough.

A strange silence engulfed the space as Ivan's eyes narrowed.

I proceeded to ask Julien another question.

"Were you the one who joined the Inverted Sky?"

"....Yes."

"Hmm, so am I part of the Inverted Sky?"

"Not to my knowledge."

I shifted my attention towards Ivan. While his answer wasn't exactly what I wanted, I didn't

tamper with his words since I was sure he'd be able to tell if I forced him into telling lies.

11

"....."

Ivan's eyes were incredibly narrow and his expression was hard to read.

I stopped asking Julien any more questions, knowing that my link with him was growing

weaker. In the end, Julien's eyes returned to normal and his head snapped back up.

"What happened?"

His eyes flicked in my direction.

"What did you do to me?!"

And his voice bellowed in the space around us as he glared at me.

"You did something to me, didn't you? How dare you!?"

"Shh."

I pressed my finger onto my lip as Ivan stared in Julien's direction. Snapping my fingers again,

Julien's head flicked down. Keeping him conscious was a risk. I couldn't let him speak

anymore.

"...."

Perhaps seeing just how unstable Julien was, Ivan started to doubt his previous conclusion. However, in the end, his eyes regained their clarity as he shook his head.

"Never mind, the truth doesn't matter."

"Hm?"

It was my turn to frown.

The atmosphere grew suddenly oppressive, closing in like an invisible weight. When Ivan

turned to look at me, a trace of vitality seemed to drain from his eyes, leaving them dim and

lifeless.

"Whether I'm right or wrong, it doesn't matter. What matters is what you've done to Matthias

and the Pope. Regardless of your origins, you're the one who was responsible for this entire mess. I know you are."

Pressing his hand against his chest, he calmly spoke,

"My job is to clean up this mess and make the one responsible for all of this pay the

consequences of touching us. The moment you touched Matthias was the moment you messed up."

As his voice stopped there, the pressure that surrounded me felt even more suffocating. And that was despite my high mental strength.

I felt my expression change at the sudden turn of events but still forced myself to remain

calm.

"Atlas and Delilah are both present outside. Are you sure it's safe for you to act given those circumstances?"

"...It doesn't matter."

Ivan dismissed my words with a wave of his hand.

"Regardless of how much the two can care for you, they won't be able to stop me if I want to

do something. But don't worry, I'm not here to kill you. I'm merely here to grab your soul. I'll be able to get the answers that I want once I do."

My eyes constricted at the sudden piece of information, but before I even had the chance to do

something, Ivan raised his open palm and I felt a powerful suction force.

It was incredibly powerful and sucked me directly into it.

In mere moments, I had already found myself next to him. I hardly had any time to react

before finding my face near the palm.

.... And just as I thought things were about to turn for the worse, the suction force stopped.

"Tsk."

What followed after was a faint click of the tongue as Ivan raised his head to look up. His gaze

eventually fell on me as he shook his head.

"Count yourself lucky."

His figure faded shortly after that.

I stared at the spot where he was previously present with an open mouth.

Just...

Just what in the world happened?