Chapter 238: What is Coming

Thursday, August 16, 1349. 1 hour to noon.

Empress Borough. Earl Hall Villa.

In her room and looking out the window at the clear sky. Audrey Hall had her brow slightly furrowed and her hands on her chest, worry evident on her face.

'It's been 2 days already...' Audrey thought as she let out her 10th sigh of the morning.

It had been 2 days since Mr. Chariot had been kidnapped.

As soon as she had found out she had thought about praying to Mr. Fool to find out about the man's situation but at the last moment, she stopped herself.

'Mr. Fool is still dealing with the ritual of the True Creator along with his blessed one. I can't bother Him now...' Audrey reminded herself every time she felt like praying to the mysterious entity who was probably an Elder God.

She also thought about invoking the man's messenger but also held back on doing so.

'If he is in an uncomfortable or delicate situation then receiving his messenger would only put him in a more dangerous situation. It could alert an enemy or his location could be discovered...' 

Letting out another sigh, Audrey sat back in her desk chair and leaning her arm against the imported Feysac wood, she sank her head into it.

'I joined a secret organization and even participated in its first mission but when one of our members is in mortal danger I can't do anything...'

Not being able to do anything to help was eating her up inside.

Looking up and staring at nothing, she sighed again.

'I hope Mr. Chariot is all right...' 

The man might be a bully and would always pick on her at every opportunity he could find and she might not like his know-it-all attitude, but that didn't mean she wanted anything to happen to him!

A sudden weight on her left leg snapped her out of her thoughts, looking to her side a sweet smile was born on her lips.

With big worried eyes, Susie was looking at him as he rested against her leg.

"Are you okay, do you want to play ball to calm down?" The dog asked, failing to control her wagging tail as she thought of her second favorite toy.

The first was the huge bone that was hidden under Audrey's bed.

Nodding slightly and letting out a small chuckle at the last request, the human spectator's gloved hand reached down and nuzzled behind her friend's ear.

"I'm fine Susie. Just a little tired."

When her pet had first spoken a few days ago it had no doubt come as a shock, but thanks to Chariot warning her about it didn't affect her as much as it would have otherwise.

The spectator dog looked deeply at his Master and friend for a few long seconds. Audrey noticed how the dog was trying to read whether she was telling the truth or not.

At the deep stare of her furry friend, Audrey felt her eyebrow twitch.

Knock Knock

"Miss Audrey. Your bath has been prepared." The voice of her maid, Annie, sounded behind the door.

'Just in time!' Audrey thought happy to be saved from her dog's scrutiny but kept her joy hidden lest Susie discover her.

With her green eyes, she gave a message to Susie who only nodded and lay down at her feet and closed her eyes.

Returning her attention to the door she answered as she rose from her chair.

"Coming, Annie." 

...

Cherwood Borough. House of Xio and Fors.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright Fors?" The shorter woman asked her friend with an eyebrow raised in surprise. Wearing a white shirt along with a black vest and boots, with her triangular sword resting on her hip, and from the light sweat on her forehead it was obvious the woman had just returned from a job and was having a hard time giving feet and heads to what she was seeing.

"All right!" 

"..."

A smoldering gaze that lent a passionate air to the usual sluggishness the writer conveyed, slightly yellowed fingers didn't stop writing at any point, black ink smudges on her cheeks and slight dark circles under her eyes adorned her sloppy, tired appearance, but she didn't look exhausted in the least.

Green eyes shifted slightly to the lady's side.

A large stack of completed pages rested to the right of the desk making a decent mountain.

Turning back to the writer, Xio took a few seconds to recover from the incredible and miraculous sight, "Are you sure?"

Nodding energetically, Fors finished the page she was writing and placed the sheet on the mountain of papers as she began to write on a new one, at no time looking up from the current page and showing great skill with her hands.

"It's been a long time since I've felt such inspiration! I have to write this before it goes by..." Fors exclaimed without looking up as a big smile grew on her face.

"Ohoho! This book will make me a lot of money! I'm a genius!" With blue eyes shining with determination, her hand sped up.

"This new novel will be one of romance and mystery! A rookie detective trying to catch a supposed vigilante who massacres gangs in a game of cat and mouse! But the detective would be the mouse! The vigilante would actually be her sidekick who enjoys toying with her with both identities!!!" Explaining what her new book would consist of, the enlightened writer looked at her partner with blue eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Hehehehe this will sell just like beer in a Feysac bar!" Fors laughed darkly.

Seeing her friend's state, Xio kept a flat expression. Her gaze strayed for a moment to the bed which as usual was messy but the mess was less than what Fors usually left when she woke up.

An idea popped into her mind and Xio swallowed her annoyance and returned her attention to the writer.

"...Since what time do you not sleep?"

"What time is it?"

"11:15 in the morning."

"Since 9:00!" Fors replied energetically as she finished the page and turned to write another.

Knowing she wasn't going to like knowing whether he meant 9 pm or 9 am, and neither which she would prefer it to be, Xio just sighed and unbuttoned her shirt sleeves.

"I'll go prepare a snack. Anything you want specifically?"

"Coffee! Lots of coffee!" without looking her way, Fors pointed a finger of her free hand as she continued typing.

'Of course.' Rolling her eyes, Xio turned around in the direction of the kitchen not before leaving her sword hanging on the coat rack.

It seems her day off would start earlier.

As she walked down the stairs towards the kitchen, Xio couldn't help but let out a small laugh as she remembered her friend's dirty face.

How long had it been since she had seen her so focused on something?

Halfway up the stairs, Xio's foot stopped as she thought about the premise of Fors' new book and couldn't help but feel a great familiarity with it, as if she had already heard it somewhere.

Her brow furrowed slightly. As if she suddenly realized something in her friend's words.

She stood still for a few seconds, slowly replaying the writer's words in her mind, trying to find the source of that annoyance.

'Female detective whose assistant is actually the culprit she's been looking for and who enjoys bothering her in both identities...' 

'Rookie detective... guilty assistant who keeps pestering her...'

'... and is actually the culprit...'

'...'

'....!' 

'That woman!' A vein began to throb wildly in Xio's forehead and she was about to go back to Fors and burn those pages.

She had based the book on her relationship with Adryan Kenway!

She was the rookie detective while the redhead was her annoying assistant who annoyed her every chance he got!

If she wasn't so annoyed with her she would be impressed that she seemed to have overcome her fear of the man by daring to write a story based on him. But the idea of it being that seemed impossible to her!

'Surely she didn't even realize that! The mere mention of his name makes her tremble worse than grilled fish!'

Turning around, Xio was about to give a piece of her mind to her friend before stopping herself. Letting out a heavy sigh, she brought a hand to her face.

Two days since her 'partner' had been kidnapped. It would be a lie to say she didn't fear for his safety. She had tried not to think about it too much but now her mind kept returning to the subject.

'I can't believe I'm worried about that idiot...' Shaking her head, Xio continued on her way to the kitchen.

Now she could only hope that idiot didn't do something stupid and he could return safely.

...

Harvest Church.

Moving from place to place, a young man had his eyes closed, hands clasped in front of his mouth in prayer. Between his hands, one could see various charms of various shapes and colors, but the most prominent was gold.

'Please Scarlet Monarch. Protect us in our time of trouble..... Please Scarlet Monarch. Protect the boss and bring him back safe and sound... Please Scarlet Monarch. Protect us in our time of trouble...' Repeating the prayer for the fifteenth time in the last 5 minutes, the anxiety and nervousness were clear in Charlotte.

Sitting in the kitchen chair and eating an oatmeal cookie, Jerry looked with a slightly raised eyebrow at the man in front of her.

Her gray eyes moved to the giantess sitting next to her with clear doubt in them.

"Hehe" Bringing a calloused hand to her head, Sasha gave an uncomfortable laugh.

"A friend of yours Miss Sasha?" Opera asked in a gentle voice as she poured tea into four simple cups and after doing so sat down next to them, her eyes straying to the only man in the room. Curiosity shone in them.

Since yesterday the giantess had been bringing that young man to the church. His name was Charlotte, a curious name for a man, and so far he preferred to keep to himself so they had barely had any interaction with him.

For his part, Father Utravsky simply said that as long as he didn't disturb the others and behaved himself, he could hang out in the kitchen.

Grabbing the cup and taking a sip feeling the mild chamomile flavor, Sasha let out a satisfied sigh.

Thanking the black-haired woman for the tea, the giantess looked at her teammate and after thinking for 2 seconds nodded.

"You could say that. It's someone I've been training in my spare time." 

Delicate black eyebrows rose in surprise and Opera nodded, looking back at the young man who kept moving from side to side and noticing that he was somewhat thin she nodded impressed.

"I'm surprised he's still in one piece..." She muttered under her breath.

'Hey, what do you mean by that...I'm very gentle!' Sasha thought with her eyebrow twitching. She knew how to control her strength thank you very much!

The one who wasn't gentle was the boss!

He always left them with their bodies crying from the pain after a spar!

And she didn't even want to remember the mysticism classes he gave... Just thinking about it made her body tremble.

Not even the training she went through when she was still in the church was so brutal!

Jerry simply watched the man with crystalline eyes as her small hands carefully held the cup of tea, her cookies resting on a plate beside her. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke in a voice loud enough for the two women to hear but low enough for the man not to.

"If he trains with you that means he knows about Mr. Kenway right?" 

Sasha's expression froze, mouth slightly hanging open, and orange-blonde eyebrows touching her hair. The giantess looked wordlessly at the little girl.

Giving the older woman a small smile, Jerry closed her eyes and took a small sip from her cup " I guessed as much."

'Spectators... They really are scary...' 

The Boss had given them all the information they needed about the little girl, especially her being a Half-Espectator.

Even in her time in the Church of the God of Combat, she had never had any encounter with the beyonders of that path.

If a little girl who was not even a true spectator was so scary, how terrifying were the High Sequences of that path?

Opening and closing her mouth but no words coming out. Sasha let out an exasperated sigh and ruffled the girl's hair.

"You're too smart for your own good you know?" 

"Mhm" With closed eyes, Jerry nodded with a satisfied smile.

Green eyes moved to the black-haired girl who was also quietly enjoying her tea.

"You don't look surprised Opera. Did you know that too?"

A small blush adorned the cheeks of the red-eyed woman who nodded.

"hehe... Forgive me if I offend you Miss Sasha but it was too obvious. He is nothing like the Mr. Nathan you describe so much and you don't strike me as the type to be unfaithful to your partner either."

Pursing her lips, Sasha felt disappointed with herself for failing to hide Charlotte's relationship with them but in the end just sighed again.

"Why did the boss have to meet people as sharp as you?" She complained earning a satisfied smile from the two women.

Gray eyes returned their attention to the only man in the room for a few seconds before returning to Sasha.

"What's got you two so nervous? You can hide it well Miss Sasha but I can see you are just as scared as Mr. Charlotte, even Father Utravsky looks more tense than usual."

Biting the inside of her cheek, Sasha again cursed that Jerry was so smart.

Her eyes moved to the Melee Scholar who heard the question and was looking at her with purple eyes glowing anxiously.

Charlotte slowly shook his head, unsure if telling the reason was a good idea or not.

But just at that moment...

Criiik

"It's fine. It doesn't matter if you don't tell them now, they'll end up finding out later." The mountain of a man that was Father entered the kitchen with the squeak of the door," Although I highly recommend telling them."

On his back was the huge blanket with the handle protruding from his right shoulder and in his right hand he was carrying another similar object wrapped in blankets but smaller, a golden handle protruded from the blanket.

"Father Utravsky. What's going on?" Opera asked uncertainly as the older man approached the table with long and surprisingly not very heavy steps.

"It's best if young Sasha explains it to you." With that said and leaving the responsibility of delivering the news to the smaller giantess, Father Utravsky extended the object in his hand to Sasha, " You will need this."

Unsure, Sasha grasped the object by the protruding part but as soon as her fingers touched the golden handle a warm sensation enveloped her body and she felt lighter and cleaner.

Realization hit her and she let go of the handle for a second.

'A sealed artifact?!' Her eyebrows rose to touch her hair and her hands trembled slightly.

With a look full of questions, she was going to question Father Utravsky but he just shook his head.

"Consider it a gift for your stay here." Turning and focusing his attention on Opera he continued," When young Sasha fills you in on what is going on I want you with me in the Hall." 

His eyes moved to Charlotte and the young man straightened under the heavy pressure of the man's gaze.

"Same to you Mr. Charlotte." 

Straightening up even more, Charlotte nodded sharply at the words of the man who had more pressure than his boss.

"Yes sir!"

Nodding calmly at the young man's words, Father Utravsky finally left the kitchen.

Listening as Father's footsteps made their way to the Hall, Opera and Jerry turned to Sasha with expressions full of concern and fear.

"Miss Sasha what's going on?" the red-eyed woman was the first to ask and Jerry nodded at her words.

Swallowing saliva, Sasha let out a heavy sigh. Carefully placing Father Utravsky's gift at her side but keeping her hand off the handle, she looked at the frightened woman with a serious, dark expression.

"Shortly after the Boss was...kidnapped." Saying the last cost her more than she intended but after a moment she continued, " Yesterday we received a message from him..."

Immediately Opera and Jerry jumped at the mention that the redhead had contacted Sasha.

"Is Adryan all right?"

"How is Mr. Kenway?"

"Did he tell you when he'll be back?"

"What happened to him?"

"Has he been eating well? Is he sick? Hurt?"

Clicking her tongue inwardly, Sasha raised her free hand to silence the women who after a few more questions finally calmed down.

"Right now we don't know about the Boss's condition. He was in a big hurry so all he could do was send a message..." Sasha calmly explained to the woman and little girl in front of her while making sure to keep her expression, body language, and emotions in place.

"While he was rescuing you..." she said as she looked at Jerry,"...the boss discovered something horrible. The monsters that kidnapped you along with the major gangs of East Borough, all of them had kidnapped over 78,000 people. They are all being handed over to a Secret Organization."

At the mention of the number the women blanched and even Jerry snapped out of her spectator state, but Sasha just continued.

"The Boss reported this to the three churches so they would investigate. According to his theory, he believed that most likely these people would be or were used for a ritual to an Evil God..."

"We don't know how, because the Boss didn't have time to explain it, but he told us that something related to those disappearances would happen today. He asked me to bring Charlotte with me in case a disaster occurred and I could protect him..."

Due to the Scarlet Monarch's order that they could not spread His name, she along with Charlotte and with Hazel's help had created a lie to warn Father Utravsky about what would happen today.

While the Scarlet Monarch had only said that something would happen today. The Boss had told them all about the kidnappings and gangs when he rescued Jerry, one didn't have to be smart to relate what would happen today to the kidnappings.

They agreed among themselves that it would be best for the father to be aware of what might or might not happen. But from the man's lack of reaction to the information, it was clear that he was aware to some extent of what might happen.

At least that made it easier for him to swallow the lie without giving it much thought.

'Without Hazel, this would have been harder. Now that she's a Swindler her ability to lie is on another level...'

'Even a Half-Espectator like Jerry would be unable to see the lie, as long as I control my expression there will be no suspicion...' Sasha thought as she looked at the women in front of her who had downcast looks and dark expressions.

Letting out a sigh, Sasha looked at Charlotte who was checking her charms for the who knows what time, and squeezed the handle in her hand.

'I wonder how Hazel is?'