Chapter 48: More and More Bad News
A little while later.
It mightn't have been a bad idea to chat where they were, but Adryan preferred to avoid it. Given the way Uron had moved around the place and no one had said anything to him, that building could be considered property of the Church.
And the topics he planned to discuss with his group were somewhat sensitive, so the possibility of being spied on was a great annoyance. Therefore, Adryan rented a private carriage to take them around the city.
Still, it wasn't enough, even if it was a private carriage. The coachman was a normal human, not a zombie. They could have started talking right away if he had been, but for obvious reasons, they couldn't.
Even if they received special treatment from the Church, they couldn't abuse it too much. Therefore, Maric was forced to return to the grave with his loyal poker companions before coming here, and Adryan had forbidden him from getting more once in Lenburg.
A true tragedy, in Adryan's opinion.
Fortunately, he had the perfect solution: a fine pocket watch.
Turning the crown and silencing the carriage's interior, Adryan put the watch in his jacket and smiled at them.
"Ko'ágã ikatu ñañe'ê." Once the redhead heard the words coming out of his mouth, he tensed up.
He had used Guarani!
Hangover Time had twisted his tongue and had made him use that language directly.
"..."
For a moment, no one said anything; they just looked at the man in confusion.
"... What did you say?" Flora, sitting next to him, asked.
Laughing a little, Adryan smiled apologetically. "Negative effect: it twisted my tongue and complicated my words."
Luckily, it was an easy effect to deal with, so there wouldn't be any more slips.
"Ah, of course." The white-haired woman said, unimpressed, while shaking her head.
"Putting that aside..." Turning to look at the duo, Adryan continued, "Now that I have the opportunity, I would like to consult you about the Indulgence Faction of the Rose School of Thought."
"Could we know why that would be, Mr. Adryan?" Maric asked with a hint of curiosity. Sharron looked at everything with serenity.
Adryan smiled. "Didn't I mention it? Anyone who follows the Divine Whore and the Overgrown Bush is the enemy of my Lord and, therefore, mine.
"Being enemies of my Lord, what other way is there to deal with them besides complete annihilation?"
Sharron gave him a look while Maric froze in place.
Taking a small breath, Maric spoke, "Excuse me, Mr. Adryan. But who would you be referring to with... those names?
The Zombie earnestly hoped he was wrong.
Adryan looked at him, and his smile became simple: "I thought it was obvious. Of course, to the Primordial Moon and the Mother Tree of Desire."
Maric's already pale skin turned even whiter, and he looked at him in astonishment. Sharron frowned almost imperceptibly but did not show her bewilderment apart from a somewhat rough— even for her— nod.
Flora looked at their reaction and could only empathize with them. "I recommend you get used to it quickly. The Princess has the horrible habit of nicknaming Evil Gods... And some Orthodox as well," she added at the end, glancing at the man.
"If they have any problem, they can say it to my face," Adryan responded simply.
This time, they all gave a stern look.
Letting out a soft sigh, the woman in the dark dress gently shook her head.
"Then we have the same goal, " the wraith said, regaining her doll-like appearance, but her eyes glowed a little. Maric looked at him more, and he swallowed his words.
"It's obvious that our goals are the same; if they weren't, I wouldn't have invited you to my team." Adryan said, "What can you tell me about the Indulgence faction?"
Looking at his companion, Maric was surprised to see her gently shake her head before turning her attention to the redhead.
"How much do you know about the Rose School?"
"So much so that if I told you everything I know, without a doubt, all of you would die from the corruption." Adryan didn't soften or try to hide anything; his words were the truth.
There was no change in the blonde's expression, who merely gave a subtle nod. "What do you want to know?"
"As far as I knew, the believers of the Primordial Moon who were at the Rose School and those of the Mother Tree of Desire have conflicted for centuries. However, due to what happened in Backlund, I learned that this is not true and that even the believers of the Primordial Moon can receive special treatment. Why?" Adryan asked, and Sharron didn't take long to respond.
"The good relationship between both Evil Gods and believers was not always like that; instead, it was, as you say, violent and filled with mutual disdain. Only in recent years have the relationship between the two beliefs found a place to stand together.
"We—The Temperance Faction—were unaware of this, so we couldn't prepare for the attack that almost annihilated our entire forces," Sharron recounted in an ethereal voice, her tone almost spectral and pained.
"Three years ago, in August, we were planning to carry out a coordinated attack to take down two of the top leaders of the Indulgence faction. The daughter of the 'Son of God,' Abrahel, and one of the worst members of the Indulgence Faction, the 'Queen of Rot,' Lidiara. Two Demigods who, thanks to my Teacher, we knew were preparing for their ascension to Angels.
Adryan looked dazed at the woman. 'Suah has a daughter?!'
Sequence 1 Abomination Suah, direct son of the Corrupted Chained God and son of the Mother Tree of Desire herself! That guy has a daughter!?
Not only that, but two members were preparing to become Angels!
'Things have gotten much more complicated.' Unable to help it, the redhead grimaced while clicking his tongue. "How annoying."
Ignoring the man's reaction, Sharron continued. "While we were making our final preparations for the attack that would take place at the end of the month, we were ambushed at our base in the City of Rupus in the Highlands Kingdom.
"More than 80 percent of our forces perished that day. The only reason there is still a Temperance Faction is because my Teacher protected us all the way, from the highlands, valleys, and green lands. I watched as 'She' fell before Sua's assault and the high-level forces of the Indulgence Faction.
'At least I know that Playful Grandma is still on our side...' Sighing a little, Adryan looked at the woman momentarily.
After a brief deliberation of 2 and a half seconds, he said, "Reinette Tinekerr is still alive."
The calm that was the doll-like face of Sharron broke, eyebrows raised in disbelief, and enormous emotion shone. "What?!"
Adryan couldn't help it; he stepped back, dazed and stunned by the brutal display of emotion from someone who sometimes didn't even seem to breathe.
Even Maric, who had also been stunned, couldn't help but look at his companion in shock.
Realizing her outburst, Sharron let out a small sigh, and her face, which had shown bright emotions, returned to its doll-like appearance.
"Apologies."
"..." Flora just looked at her while blinking a few times.
"It's fine. I would also react that way if my maternal figure, whom I thought was dead, turned out to be alive." Adryan laughed a little as he settled back into his seat. On a mental note, he wrote down Sharron's name in the section of emotionless people he had managed to break.
If what he said bothered her, the blonde didn't show it.
Seeing that he wouldn't get another reaction, Adryan continued with the questions.
"I doubt you know, but I still have to ask. What was this special place where they managed to find a mutual agreement? It must have been extraordinary to bring them together."
"We never discovered it. Due to the damages suffered in the attack, the Temperance Faction could never investigate how it all happened." Sharron said, closing her eyes for a few seconds before opening them and adding:
"The only thing we know- thanks to some branches that remained on the South Continent- whatever it was, they theorize it couldn't have been more than 22 years ago.
"Around the middle or end of 1327, it was during that time that the attitude of the followers of Primordial Moon and Mother Tree of Desire changed."
"22 years..." Adryan moved his lips, silently repeating the number a few times.
His stomach twisted, and a weight settled on his shoulders. His eyes darkened, and his tongue clicked in annoyance, quickly finding why it bothered him so much.
His body was born in September 1327, very close to the time when the relationship between the believers improved.
'Did they feel it? That with the birth of Adryan Kenway, I would take over his body in the future, and they decided to act accordingly and prepare? Of course, they didn't know which body it would be, but they knew that the time for me to appear was near... It's not too improbable, if they have a way to track me then in some way they must also sense me...' Dozens of questions quickly formed in the Conspirator's mind.
He refused to believe such a big coincidence was just that, but he had to fight against a skeptical part of himself.
Seriously, did the mere birth of his future body cause two Cosmic Beings to set aside their differences to deal with him?
'Of course. It's not to deal with me per se...' Adryan tapped his chin, in his mind a name ominously repeated, the name of the one who was undoubtedly the reason for the alliance of divine whores.
'Fire of Destruction...'
The redhead quickly controlled his thoughts before they wandered back to dangerous places.
Sighing a little, he asked his last question, "By any chance, do you know someone at the Rose School of Thought who went by the nickname the Doctor?"
Sharron barely shook her head. "I don't know anyone at the school who has received a nickname like that. Do you have more information about them?"
"They like to manipulate bodies from a distance like a Marionettist, and although their abilities seem similar to those of the Apothecary and Planter pathways, they are very different," Adryan added. Still, to his disappointment, Sharron shook her head again, and Maric also denied knowing anything about it.
Sharron and Maric knew no one with those characteristics at the Rose School of Thought.
'So my dear Doctor is a John Doe... Shit.' Clicking his tongue again, Adryan just looked out the window, bored.
He would keep the sound bubble active a little longer before releasing it.
Seeing that no more questions were coming, Sharron suddenly asked, "Do you know where my teacher is?"
"Yes, but I won't say it." Adryan replied without looking, "You will meet once destiny sees fit."
At his response, Sharron just nodded without reacting, closing her eyes and seeming to fall asleep.
Flora watched this entire interaction, bewildered. Her pupils trembling at all the information that had been shared.
'Is her teacher a 'She'? An angel?! But how many angels does this guy know?! This is the second one!!'
It seemed that no member the redhead took was just for a momentary whim; they always had something more to them.
'What kind of monstrous team are you forming, Adryan?' Discreetly watching the man, the white-haired woman's mind raced.
Because each member was unique, she felt it had to be some kind of ritual. But she was unaware of a ritual that involved the participation of so many special people.
They didn't stay together much longer; the group split up after a while. Maric and Sharron disappeared into the crowd, promising to meet at the Beyonder Gathering on September 7th.