Rustle, rustle. Along with the grinding noise, the Plankton gnawed on the wreckage of the shattered vehicle.
Their speed was truly astonishing; even though not even a minute had passed, most of the remaining traces had already vanished. The corpses went without saying, and the flames that had shot toward the sky had also hidden their traces long ago.
It went without saying, but not a single one of the corpses had suddenly sprung up and fled. All of them had become food for the Plankton without leaving a single trace behind. Those small predators devoured even inorganic matter—they had no reason to leave a lump of protein called a corpse alone. In fact, the corpses had disappeared before the vehicle wreckage.
‘With this, all direct traces have been erased. What’s left is shell casings and bullet marks… I’ll have to hope the Administration takes care of this.’
Fzzzt.
Using the grimoire as a shield, he held it slightly over his head and tapped away the half-burnt cigarette ash. This time, instead of lemon, a sharp, minty scent rose to the tip of his tongue.
Having only ever smoked sweet flavors, the refreshing aroma seemed decent enough. Thinking he might buy a few different types of tobacco on his next visit to the general store, he looked down at Laura, whom he had laid on the ground.
A body knocked unconscious with blood streaming from the back of its head.
Her lower half, which had been blown away, had already begun regenerating, but even so, it couldn’t match Cecilia’s—let alone Mariang’s—regeneration speed. It was only natural since she hadn’t drunk any blood yet. He figured if he fed her a bit of blood, she might recover faster than Marimang.
Of course, Ian had no intention of giving her his blood. How could he waste a precious resource like a mage’s blood on a mutated fluorescent ladybug that was neither vampire nor human?
And there was no need to help her recover right here and now. He had already decided where to use her.
…Vrooom.
While he was thinking, a black sedan slowly approached from the far end of the road. The car that had driven through the increasingly fierce rain stopped precisely in front of Ian.
Ziiiing.
The passenger window rolled down, and a woman wearing an orca mask greeted him cheerfully.
“Yahoo! The idol of all customers who use the Cartel! It’s Orca-chan! Nice to meet you!”
She flung the door open and stepped outside. Ian stared at the eyes slightly visible beyond the animal mask, then let out a deep sigh.
“…Haah. I’ve got a question. Is it impossible to designate a specific employee when using Indemnis?”
“Nope! It’s completely random! Whoever’s closest is the one who gets dispatched!”
Orca said this, clasping her hands behind her back. Ian shook his head in disappointment.
“I see… Anyway, thanks for coming out today. Any witnesses?”
“None! I’ve already tampered with all the camera data that caught you, mage-nim! Looks can be deceiving, but I’m a professional hacker, so it was a piece of cake!”
“What about incoming vehicles?”
“Our employees are pretending to be police and temporarily controlling the road. They’ll all flee before the real police arrive.”
Orca took out her phone from her pocket and tapped away at the screen.
“The total number of accumulated police reports is four. They’re all things like ‘I heard gunshots’ or ‘I heard an explosion,’ so probably not just the police, but, um… SWAT or whatever? They’ll come too. So it takes some time before they dispatch.”
“….”
“It’s been about ten minutes since the first report, so they’ve probably already departed. But the distance is still quite far, so I’m causing a bit of confusion in the investigation right now.”
“What way?”
“It’s no big deal. I sent reports with similar content to the initial one from all over the country to make them seem like prank calls, and I also hacked the investigation network to cause disruption. I received a bit of supernatural help with both.”
She shrugged her shoulders.
“If the opponent were the Administration, we’d have to deploy more specialized personnel and equipment, but unfortunately, the police aren’t at that level. When it comes to matters related to the supernatural, they can’t help but be powerless.”
Orca said this while staring at Laura, who was collapsed on the ground.
“More importantly, is that the entire luggage you mentioned?”
“Yeah. I’m just sending that. I’m planning to move on my bike.”
“Hmm, nice! Just tell me the destination and I’ll head right over! Is it okay to use the automatic withdrawal from your account upon arrival method for payment?”
“Do as you like. The destination is here.”
Swish.
Ian showed her his phone screen. Orca clasped her hands behind her back and checked the screen.
“Hmm… this place is….”
She tilted her head.
“It’s a church?”
*
Swooooosh—
Rain poured down as if a hole had been punched in the sky. The rainfall that had started in the morning continued without rest even now, well past noon, soaking the earth. The roads were already drenched, and every passing car splashed through puddles, spraying rainwater against the walls.
“Haah….”
Cecilia stared blankly out the window at the sight. Then, the oldest student among the orphans approached her side and smoothly held out a cup of cocoa.
Cocoa with marshmallows floating on top. Cecilia stared blankly at the steaming hot chocolate for a moment, then smiled bitterly and turned to the girl sitting beside her.
“Thank you, Jia.”
“You’re welcome. More importantly, Sister, is something bothering you? You haven’t looked well these past few days.”
“Ah… it’s nothing. There’s just someone I’m worried about.”
“Someone you’re worried about?!”
Jia exclaimed with a surprised expression, moving closer to Cecilia. Only then did Cecilia realize she had misspoken, but it was already too late.
“Sister, don’t tell me you’ve got a crush! Who is he? What does he do? A fellow priest? Or someone unusual? An ordinary office worker? Who?!”
“…It’s not like that. I don’t have romantic feelings yet.”
“Yet?!”
“Agh, seriously.”
Thwack.
Cecilia lightly rapped Jia on the head with her fist. Jia giggled, resting her chin in her hands.
“So, what does the person Sister is worried about do? Is it someone I know?”
“You might or might not. He grew up here at the church. His name is Shin Ian, do you happen to know him?”
“Ah, I’ve heard the name. Sister used to talk about how he had quite an unusual personality.”
Jia swung her legs.
“They say he lived quietly until middle school, then suddenly left the church and became independent starting in high school. They say he even refused all support and left.”
“….”
“They say he didn’t interact much with others while he lived here either. They say he looks like a total delinquent, which is unusual, right?”
“…He does kind of look like a delinquent.”
Cecilia recalled Ian’s expressionless face and let out a small chuckle.
He certainly had quite a sharp impression when he was still, that person.
Daaaang… daaaang….
While she was thinking, the sound of bells flowed from the speaker attached to the corner of the room.
It was an announcement for Mass time. Upon hearing the bells, Jia immediately got up and gathered the playing orphans, moving to the main church building. Cecilia remained seated, stirring her cocoa with a teaspoon.
Surprisingly, Cecilia had never attended Mass once since coming to Korea. Even when she was at the Vatican, she would skip Mass whenever bored and laze around her room, so now that no one was there to watch her, one could only imagine how much worse it had gotten.
Her piety was outstanding even among inquisitors, but she didn’t particularly like displaying her faith openly. So she often prayed quietly alone or attended to separate rites.
It was something deserving of rebuke. However, the Vatican priests who already knew Cecilia’s tendencies didn’t bother her unless it was a special occasion.
Was it not laughable to thrust obsolete regulations at an inquisitor who moved alone, killing supernatural beings? Perhaps in the old days, but the Holy See that had entered modern society was quite flexible.
“Hmm.”
Cecilia looked down at her cup of cocoa with the marshmallows nearly melted and let out a deep sigh.
“…He’ll be doing well and staying healthy, I’m sure.”
Shin Ian’s face rose in her mind.
A mage with whom she had maintained a decent relationship after a rather dramatic first meeting. The only man Cecilia contacted personally, and virtually her first friend aside from fellow Vatican clergy.
And the owner of a Grimoire of the Outer God, who would now be moving as prey in the mage hunt.
‘I wish I could at least contact him, but my position makes that impossible….’
In the Twilight Hour, which most humans involved in the supernatural participated in, the Vatican virtually alone maintained neutrality.
The reasons were simple. First, as a body serving God, they shouldn’t recklessly intervene in a festival devoted to slaughter. Second, they wanted to avoid needless friction with specific groups.
Basically, the Vatican didn’t have deep exchanges with most groups—the Cartel, the Administration, the Clock Tower, Esper organizations, and so on. Minor clashes occasionally occurred.
But this conflict must never deepen, and they must never become hostile to any specific group. The Vatican needed to strive to maintain peace in all situations.
That was why it maintained neutrality even during the Twilight Hour.
The mage hunt included not only Espers but fellow mages, so there was no reason to intervene in their complicated festival and stir up trouble. Cecilia understood and was following these Vatican laws.
And that became her shackles.
As long as she maintained neutrality, she couldn’t send a single message to Ian at this time. Even a simple greeting was forbidden. So she couldn’t help but worry.
‘As long as he has the Grimoire of the Outer God, he won’t die easily, but if they swarm him in a group, even Ian would have a hard time, wouldn’t he? If only he had a single vanguard who could take attacks from the front, he’d be able to fight much more comfortably.’
At the continuing thoughts, Cecilia let out a deep sigh.
She could imagine all she wanted, but the fact that she couldn’t actually put it into practice made her feel so frustrated she could go mad.
“…Well, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
In the end, she reassured herself that Ian would be okay and took a sip of cocoa.
That was when it happened. With a screech, a black car and a bike stopped at the church entrance.
“…?”
Cecilia’s brow furrowed at the sudden appearance of guests.
As far as she knew, there were no visitors scheduled to come today. Thus, they were uninvited guests in every sense.
“…Haah.”
Cecilia let out a deep sigh and donned the veil she had removed, completely covering her hair. Then she got up from her seat and twisted the lower part of her cross once.
With a click, the dagger’s safety was released. After briefly checking the blade, she grabbed an umbrella and went outside. Just then, the passenger door of the sedan opened.
“Phew! We’ve arrived! Good thing it wasn’t too far!”
A woman wearing an orca mask got out through the flung-open door.
An animal mask and a black suit. It was practically the uniform of Cartel employees working external sites. Cecilia tilted her head and walked toward her.
“Why has the Cartel suddenly come here? I don’t recall sending for any jesters.”
Fluent Italian flowed from her lips. Orca, who had been stretching, clasped her hands together upon spotting her.
“Ah, nice to meet you, Sister! If you know the Cartel, you must be someone who has stepped into this world! Are you an exorcist?”
“…You speak Italian. I tried it just in case.”
“Ahaha, multilingual ability is mandatory at the Cartel. I can speak over ten languages!”
Orca blabbered on and opened the rear door. The sight of a woman with her lower half blown away entered Cecilia’s vision.
Shing.
She drew her dagger without hesitation.
Orca panicked.
“Waiiit! Stop!”
“Explain. If you don’t, as an inquisitor, I’ll formally file a complaint against the Cartel for the crime of violating sacred ground. And there are children inside, so close the car door. Now.”
“You were an inquisitor! No wonder I felt such spirit! You’re small in stature, but you have a truly wonderful profession!”
“I’ll give you three seconds.”
“Got it! I’ll explain! That there is prey caught by our customer, and we simply moved it here per the customer’s request! The end!”
It was a perfect summary, but Cecilia’s expression worsened even more.
“Someone ordered that half-corpse brought all the way here? Who on earth?”
“That person over there!”
Orca pointed her finger at the man on the bike.
“Don’t just sit there, take off your helmet, customer! You said you were close with the Sister!”
“Hold on. It’s raining too hard. If I’d known it’d be like this, I would’ve left the bike at home. Tch.”
The man replied nonchalantly to her shout. Cecilia’s eyes widened upon hearing his voice.
“…Ian?”
“Long time no see. Is this the first time since Mariang?”
Swoosh.
Ian answered, removing his helmet. Cecilia confirmed he was completely unharmed and let out a laugh without thinking.
“What the heck. Why’d you suddenly come? And what is this?”
“I had some business. That there is Laura, a half-Esper, half-vampire.”
“…Laura? That woman in Switzerland?”
Cecilia’s eyes narrowed. Ian grinned.
“You know her?”
“…She’s quite infamous. She was originally the Vatican’s prey, but the pursuit was abandoned after she suddenly formed an Esper organization.”
She stared at Laura with ice-cold eyes.
“I never thought I’d meet someone like that here like this.”
“Good that you know. More importantly, is there a basement here that only the sisters know about? I’m thinking of extracting some information.”
“…There isn’t one here, but there’s one at the nearby cathedral. Let’s go there.”
She removed her veil and tied back her wet blonde hair tightly.
“And when it comes to vampire interrogation, I’m the expert.”