'Isn't her attitude a bit ridiculous! , We just got here..' Damon thought, left speechless as the woman strode out of the room to confront them.
Vincent, however, didn't flinch. His grin held, though a faint irritation flicked beneath it.
"We'll be careful," he said lightly, striding past her with the ease of someone entering a familiar stage.
The woman's expression seemed to sour at his composure. She stepped closer and pointed her finger at them, her voice sharp with mockery. "Don't you brats know how to respect your seniors? What can you even do here? Just let professions like us handle this."
Damon shot the woman an expressionless glance but said nothing before easily stepping past her. Henry followed, quieter, trying not to meet her eyes.
But as he passed, the woman lunged forward to grab his arm.
"I said, Wait!!" she shouted.
Reacting quickly, Henry jerked back, twisting his arm out of her reach; however, this didn't deter her advance. Instead, her eyes lit up with anticipation.
She could feel the tingle of spiritual energy in the air, faint but sharp, proof these "boys" weren't ordinary. A thrill ran through her. She'd mastered enough combat prayers to crush low-grade heretics, yet something about them made her pulse quicken.
'Maybe this encounter wouldn't be a waste of time after all, ' she thought. Seizing the moment, she tried casting one of her favorite spells she had been studying for several months.
Her voice triggered a rise in her spiritual energy as the three brothers felt a sudden sense of danger.
"Innerer Geist impriso---"
Yet, before she could utter the final word, a sudden surge of killing intent decided upon her, locking her motion in place.
"Lady Lorelei, I ask that you please cease harassing Mr Junnan's guests; he hired them for a different view on this case because they aren't restricted by rigid rules like us."
"You shall not deny the dead their justice simply because you cannot look past your prejudice."
Hearing these words, Lorelei was confused; she didn't believe her colleague would actually side with heretics before her.
But as she looked back and peered through the glass, she was met with the Ebony man's silver eyes, filled with anger. She immediately realized something was wrong.
Her expression hardened as she caught sight of two blades halted at her neck, poised to separate her head from her body.
Wielding their swords, Damon and Vincent's eyes narrowed menacingly as their killing intent overflowed.
'If that man has chosen to interfere, he may report this to the priest…'
As she panicked inwardly, Lorelei realized the weight of her misstep, quickly dispelling her energy before the situation escalated further. After a few seconds of silence had lingered, she lifted the hem of her robe slightly and bent her knees curtsying towards the closed door.
"My apologies, Sir Kruger," She said, "I allowed anger to cloud my judgment, and wasted precious time."
Upon hearing her words, Vincent's expression darkened.
"Apologize to him as well," he said, teeth clenched as he pointed towards Henry. "You shamelessly attack an unarmed kid and don't even have the basic decency to apologize. From where I'm standing, you're the bigger heretic here!" His voice grew louder and hoarser as he spoke.
"What!.. did your damn brain turn to mush before you read your own doctrine ?" It was well known that the Church of Olympia had a simple yet profound creed: all life is sacred, deserving of respect. In their teachings, a person was to live like water, adaptable, gentle in flow, but capable of carving stone through persistence. To strike first, to act out of anger, was to go against that very essence.
'This is bad.' As he stood next to Vincent, Damon shifted his stance and lowered his katana. He could sense the tension rising more with Vincent's spiritual energy. While he agreed with Vincent, his instincts warned him that the man known as Kruger wouldn't stay still if tempers flared a second time.
Catching Henry's eye, Damon gave a small nod, urging him silently to step in. 'Calm him down. We don't need this now.'
Lorelei fell silent for a few seconds, confused as Vincent's words sank in. As the realization hit, her shoulders softened. She lowered her gaze into a bow, feeling somewhat sorry. "To think I'd be lectured on doctrine by a heathen like you…and yet, as much as it pains me to admit, you're right. My actions were rash and unjust. For that, I offer my apologies."Her tone carried reluctant sincerity, her face barely visible under her bangs as her ears flushed red.
"There's no need to apologize further. I think I understand why you were angry," Henry waved his hand dismissively, his gaze slowly softened. "You've probably heard the worst of what heretics can do."
"It's… strange, isn't it? To not love the gods when all they wish is for humanity to live well under their guidance."
"I see," Lorelei murmured, her lips curved into a faint smile. "Ehem..Perhaps I judged you all too harshly." Her hand brushed against her robe as she straightened up. "If you're ever willing, I'd be honored to tell you about the glory of my Goddess, Olympia. But for now…"
She turned slightly, gesturing toward the open doorway. "Let's not delay any longer. The bodies are inside."
Her eyes showed kindness, but Damon didn't believe it; rather, he was left speechless at her sudden mood switch. He could tell Vincent likely wanted to scold her more, but her attitude shift made it difficult for him.
Surprisingly, Vincnet only laughed before following after her. He stored his sword, muttering under his breath as he reached out and ruffled Henry's black hair", A lady killer already, huh? Guess I should start taking lessons."
"Could you not?"Henry replied.
Damon's mouth twitched as he stepped past them. "I can't wait for Cassie to hear about this," he said dryly.
Before the teasing could go further, Kruger spoke once more. "Enough. Finish quickly. The victims' souls linger; I'll not have them wait longer than necessary."
The cold room smelled faintly of incense and dried blood. Looking around, Damon saw the man known as Kruger watching Vincent with a keen eye while leaning on a cabinet.
'he's pretty skinny, from the tone of his voice, I was expecting a bigger guy.' The man stood about 1.9 meters tall, with straight eyebrows and feline-like silver eyes. His face was deeply contoured, and his white hair was slightly messy, covering half of his forehead, where a red gemstone lay embedded.
Damon and Henry trailed behind Vincent as he crouched near the corpses, his hands moving with careful precision, tracing invisible lines in the air as if reading the last echoes of spiritual energy.
Damon could see the shimmer beneath his fingertips, almost imperceptible, yet undeniably there. He shifted uncomfortably, feeling the still weight of death in the room. The metallic scent of blood lingered amid the arcane examination.
When his gaze finally fell on the bodies, the breath caught in his throat. The heads and the spines that should've connected them were gone, leaving only a hollow line of torn flesh. His stomach tightened. He'd seen death before, the beasts, Liz, and Gerald, but this was different. This was a real Human. Close enough to see the bruises and the unevenly torn flesh.
Henry made a small sound beside him, sharp and stifled. Damon didn't look. He couldn't. His eyes stayed fixed on the floor, on the thin trail of dried blood that led nowhere. They both forced themselves to breathe slowly until the nausea settled somewhere deep within.
Vincent didn't glance back, but he could sense their unease. "If you can't handle it," he said quietly, "step outside."
Damon said nothing. Neither did Henry. They just stayed there.
'If you fear it, look at it until it loses shape,' Damon thought, willing himself to remain focused.
It didn't take long for Vincent to conclude his inspection, but before he could speak, Kruger stepped forward. Standing over the bodies once more, he began to chant softly in Selyrian.
["O Shepherd of Silence, who walks the resting fields."]
Instantly, red runes twisted and swirled into dense chains, pentagram-like patterns around the bodies, coiling like serpents of like. Damon's eyes widened as he realized the man was extracting something.
Slowly, small glowing spheres of pure spiritual energy floated upward, like miniature suns.
The man's eyes narrowed as he examined the spheres. "The damage is significant. The souls are fractured beyond minor repair."
"Are you capable of healing them, Lady Lorelei?"
Behind them, Lorelei observed quietly, her robes fluttering as she made a rapid assessment. "I can't..not without a high-level spell sanctioned by a bishop," she admitted, her voice tight with disappointment.
A sigh escaped Kruger's lips, sharp and irritated. He raised his hands and muttered a second chant.
["O Heir of the Final Mile, whose touch ends all burdens."]
["Grant passage to these innocent souls, Receive thine travelers at their journey's end"]
The extracted lights swirled violently into perfect halos, orbiting each other before forming a collective mass of luminous energy.
Damon felt a shudder through his body as a rift flickered into existence before the man, a window into somewhere unknown. With a swift flick of his wrist, the halos surged forward, drawn through the opening, and the rift snapped closed as suddenly as it had appeared.
The room fell silent once more, leaving only the soft hum of residual spiritual energy in the air.