༺ Apostle (1) ༻
It was a sound so sudden, yet so familiar at the same time.
Tick—
Vera and Renee stopped dead in their tracks.
The twins and Jenny also stopped and turned towards the direction of the noise.
Tick—
A lone, shabby pilgrim stood there, a striking contrast of black against the pure white scenery of the Grand Temple. The figure’s most distinctive feature was an oversized pocket watch hanging prominently around their neck.
[Orgus…]
Annalise spoke.
As the rest of the group belatedly snapped back to their senses, Orgus turned away and began to walk slowly.
“Vera…?”
Vera swallowed hard.
“Let’s follow him,” he said, holding Renee’s hand.
This was the third time.
Vera had a hunch that Orgus, who had shown him and Renee different time periods, was trying to show them something again.
Tick—
Vera walked behind Orgus, who slowed down his pace so they could follow. The place where he led them was a secluded hallway in the Grand Temple.
It was Trevor’s laboratory.
‘Why here…?’
Orgus offered no response.
He simply opened the door, gesturing towards the scrolls lining the walls.
With a gesture that resembled painting a picture, the scrolls floated into the air, revealing a hidden passage.
Vera’s eyes widened.
Even he, who had been in this room several times before, was unaware that such a space existed.
How could he have not known?
As that question quietly arose, Orgus looked back at the group.
He held out his hand, spreading all five fingers before folding all of them except the index and middle finger, then said.
[Two.]
In the next moment…
Hwaaaak-!
The world turned upside down.
***
A brief ringing followed by a headache gave the feeling of another world overlapping above their vision.
What was revealed next were four translucent human figures.
Suppressing a nauseating sensation, Vera stared at them.
“…It’s Trevor. I see Rohan, Lady Marie, and Lady Theresa as well.”
As Vera informed Renee, likewise, her expression hardened.
In the meantime.
“So, you hid it here…”
Rohan uttered as frustration marred his face, his expression mixed with sorrow and anger.
Similarly, Theresa turned her head away with mixed emotions.
Marie just stared at Trevor with her mouth tightly shut.
Trevor simply laughed.
“Let’s go. Any later and even the Evil-Sealing Circle will be meaningless.”
After saying that, he entered the passage.
Though the conversation was brief, they were able to understand one thing from it.
“…It seems to explain why the Grand Temple was empty.”
Trevor intended to activate the Evil-Sealing Circle.
However, a question was swirling in Vera’s mind.
‘Why are their expressions so gloomy?’
In truth, this question was also due to the lack of information.
What Vera knew about the Evil-Sealing Circle was that it was the only transcendent barrier in this land that was formulated as a magic circle.
It existed somewhere in the Grand Temple, and the role of managing it had been handed down from generation to generation by the Apostles of Wisdom.
Its effect was to protect the Holy Kingdom from all external evils.
Thus, Vera had not paid much attention to it, leaving him oblivious as to why Trevor alone laughed so serenely in this situation.
“…Let’s follow them.”
But Renee was different.
Because of always perceiving people through the warmth in their voices rather than their expressions, Renee sensed that Trevor’s laughter carried an endless sorrow.
Tap—
She tapped the ground with her cane.
Then, Vera, the twins, and Jenny moved forward.
The passage stretched far, too long to fully glimpse. Only the dim candles lining the walls lit the way.
Upon entering, Trevor spoke.
“Forgive me for hiding it.”
“It’s not your fault,” Theresa replied.
“Lady Marie and Sir Rohan must have been shocked as well. And the twins outside.”
“It’s not like it came to this because you wanted it to.”
“It’s shameful.”
An incomprehensible exchange followed between them.
Yet, Marie and Rohan’s faces remained crumpled in devastation as they watched Trevor’s back.
It was impossible to discern the cause just by looking at the situation.
Should this be called misfortune, or fortune instead?
Through Rohan’s words, the group was able to learn more about the situation.
“…So that was an artificial body.”
Vera and Renee’s steps stopped for a moment.
It was such an unexpected revelation, and yet it made perfect sense upon reflection.
Trevor had an artificially crafted body.
“Yes. It’s rather meticulously crafted, isn’t it?”
“What’s so funny? You damn fool…”
Rohan exhaled deeply and then continued.
“…Now I understand. Why the Saint couldn’t sense your presence and was startled..”
“Haha, it troubled me greatly as well.”
Through that conversation, Vera realized another fact.
‘So that’s why…’
I could never sense Trevor’s presence.
The part that had always puzzled Vera was now resolved.
Indeed, as long as they were alive, Vera could even sense movements beyond the mountain passes. However, he had always struggled to detect Trevor’s presence in particular.
Moreover, the sensation when punching Trevor for his antics felt far too foreign for a human body.
Up until now, Vera thought it was due to the power Trevor possessed as an Apostle, but…
“…Just what kind of bullshit is this?”
It was an artificial body.
It was because the person by his side all these years wasn’t truly human, explaining those abnormalities.
As these thoughts connected, something naturally came to his mind.
It was what lay at the end of the destination they were heading towards.
Vera’s gaze turned toward the far end of the visible passage.
He looked towards where the Evil-Sealing Circle was likely to be—
…And Trevor’s true body.
[This damned bastard…!]
Annalise’s harsh voice rang out.
All gazes turned to her as Vera and Renee belatedly understood the reason for her anger.
[If you were going to run away, you should have lived comfortably!]
In the past before receiving his stigma, Trevor was her disciple.
He was the most promising prospect amongst the candidates for the next Magic Tower Master of Aurillac, and according to Annalise, he was the wizard closest to reaching Providence.
Although she hadn’t shown it much, there was a reaction she showed when she occasionally talked about the Holy Kingdom to Jenny.
Whenever Trevor was mentioned, she would direct questions into thin air.
[Hey! Why aren’t you walking faster?!]
Annalise scolded Jenny, who anxiously quickened her pace under the barrage.
By the time Vera and Renee recovered from their surprise, the illusions were already far ahead.
The group started walking again, faster and more impatiently than before.
Only when they reached the end of the passage did they see a very thick iron door.
Vera opened it and entered.
***
There was nothing grand in the room.
It was just a shabby stone room that was neither large nor small.
And yet, Vera gulped at the three-dimensional magic circle that was engraved on a stone in the center, glowing with a blue light.
“Ah…”
An emaciated figure drew breath.
The skeletal figure was barely thin enough to recognize it as a living human, making it impossible to gauge if they were young, middle-aged, or elderly.
“So… You’ve come.”
The corners of his mouth lifted as his eyes slowly opened, revealing eyes that were a clear, shining red.
Vera recognized those eyes.
“…Trevor.”
It was Trevor.
He was sitting on a chair, in front of the stone engraved with the magic circle that was connected to his body, facing them.
But that wasn’t all.
Three figures, kneeling in front of the stone with their eyes closed, were people Vera knew.
“Rohan, Lady Marie, Lady Theresa…”
Although they seemed to be praying, their state differed from a simple prayer.
There was no movement whatsoever despite the conversation going on.
He could feel their breathing, but nothing else.
It was a state like that of a person who had lost consciousness.
“What in the world is this…?”
At Vera’s bewildered murmur, Trevor responded.
“…I’m in a shameful state.”
Vera felt suffocated by Trevor’s hollow laugh.
“Explain.”
“Ah, right. You must be quite disoriented, having just arrived here.”
Trevor gave a small smile to the frozen group before continuing.
“That child must be the Apostle of Death, correct? My apologies for not greeting you properly, given the circumstances.”
Trevor bowed slightly toward Jenny, then looked at Vera and spoke.
“There was an invasion. The very same beings you saw in the Empire. Fortunately, we were able to suppress them early on, so no harm was done. However, waiting any longer was deemed too dangerous, and we evacuated the clergy and nearby villagers to the Holy Land.”
His shoulders trembled with each uttered word, conveying the immense strain it took to speak.
“Ah… but we still have to protect the Holy Kingdom. That’s why we’re here. We’ve activated the Evil-Sealing Circle to seal Elia. Then, Elia will be safe until His Holiness returns.”
Trevor’s eyes started to close halfway.
“I’m relieved you’ve returned unharmed. The others… are unable to greet you because they are in a deep trance to maintain the magic circle. Please don’t feel too upset…”
His voice was getting weaker.
“His Holiness… Can you please go help His Holiness? It feels like more than three days have passed, but His Holiness has yet to return… He must be in a fierce battle. It will be a significant difference with you there, Sir Vera… His Holiness knows how to deactivate this magic circle, so we will endure until then…”
Vera’s fists clenched tightly as Trevor’s voice faltered.
His eyes grew bloodshot.
At last, the pieces fell into place.
The Holy Kingdom in the previous lapse had indeed become no longer functional.
At that time, all the Apostles left in the Holy Kingdom must have gathered here for the Evil-Sealing Circle and become unconscious.
The twins must have been guarding the castle gate just in case.
The timeframe Trevor described lasted until Vargo returned.
However, Vargo’s death would leave them with no one to wake them up. Only the Heroes would have been able to help Renee in the end.
Trevor smiled at Vera’s darkening expression.
“Forgive me for showing you such a sight.”
Trevor thought Vera was angry at him for failing to protect Elia and offered those words.
However, the reason for Vera’s anger was different.
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
Vera’s gaze pierced Trevor, who appeared emaciated and on the verge of death.
Not a trace of body hair remained.
His skin was shriveled up, and his face ruined.
With a priest’s robe hanging loosely on his skeletal frame, even breathing seemed to be a laborious task.
“…Explain why you’re in such a state.”
Vera didn’t know the exact reason either. Anger simply welled up, demanding to hear the reason for this appearance.
Trevor responded to that sentiment with a faint smile.
“This body should have perished long ago. A disease left it unable to continue living. So I’ve prolonged my life through the spell engraved in the magic circle to repel evil. In a sense, I’m a parasite clinging to life by leeching off the magic circle.”
He didn’t know.
Even after living together for years and conversing so frequently, Vera remained oblivious.
Thinking that Vera must be angry about it, he spoke again.
“Why didn’t you just live like that then? What good does slowly dying like this do…”
Was he squeezing out the last of his divinity?
At that thought, Vera’s expression crumpled terribly.
“…Foolish bastards.”
His words weren’t solely directed at Trevor.
The three Apostles who continued their prayers with their consciousness faded, the twins who guarded the gates to the very end despite everyone falling asleep, Vargo who left to face the Ancient Species alone, and simply everything about this country called Elia — all of it fueled Vera’s anger.
Trevor’s half-closed eyes stared straight at Vera.
As he slowly examined those eyes, Trevor responded with a faint smile.
“Do you not know the meaning behind such foolishness, Sir?”
Vera’s movement stopped.
Likewise, Renee froze in place.
Trevor, observing their identical reactions, took a deep breath before continuing.
“Should we not protect the place our family will return to? And fulfill our duties as the wielders of this power? At the very least, should we not protect this sole land where the voice of God reaches?”
Struggling to lift the corners of his mouth, he added one last line.
“Isn’t that why we’re Apostles?”
