The Knife of Karma

After ten minutes of walking, the two men in white stopped in front of a small mansion. The two guards of Holy Daughter Clarissa had some sort of link to their master, which was why Claud and the others didn't question them when they took the initiative to lead the way.

Still, Claud found the sight of the two guards rather amusing, since they were holding on to one Cord of Cause each. It reminded him of the nobles who liked to walk their pets, although in this case, the pets were the two guards, and as for the nobles…

Claud decided not to think too hard about who the nobles were in this analogy — he had more than a hundred years of life to go, and he was planning on increasing that number too. It would be sad if the gods decided that he was being too insolent and had to go.

"Your Grace, your servants have arrived," the two of them chanted. "We seek your permission for our profane bodies to enter your presence."

"Permission granted."

Those two words seemed to sap out the last remaining bits of personality from the two guards, and Claud felt somewhat dejected at that realisation. He now knew why these two gave off an eerie vibe back when they were entering the city; the Holy Daughter's guards were not meant to be anything beyond a guard. Their lives were centred around the protection of their mistress; it was their reason for living.

The master thief shuddered at that realisation, and then recalled how they had addressed themselves as profane bodies. Did they see themselves as alive? How about the people around them? Would their perception differ when they were executing their mission, and when they weren't?

There were a lot of things he wanted to know, to ask, but in the end, Claud didn't dare to speak. Whatever amicability that had surrounded them earlier had been frozen over the moment these two men caught sight of the mansion — they were now unsheathed knives with shining, naked blades.

A reverent air drifted around the two as they entered the mansion, with Claud and the others bringing up the rear. Like him, the others had complex looks on their face, although it was very possible that they had different considerations from him. For instance, Schwarz was eyeing the mansion's interior itself, while Dia's gaze lingered on the various pieces of furniture. Lily's expression was completely uniform, to the point that Claud couldn't tell what she had on her mind.

Before Claud could think about anything else, the two men fell onto one knee. "Your Grace, we have returned from our investigation."

"Well done."

"We are unworthy of your praise," the two chanted.

The Holy Daughter swept her gaze at Claud and the others, before a wave of white light swept out from her. His pocket quivered slightly as the ripple of light swept through them, and her features creased up slightly.

"An odd existence." Her eyes, which was unfocused, blinked once. "It's gone. Alf, Dio, you two may have been trailed."

The two guards lowered their heads at those words. "We accept our punishment."

"It is no fault of yours. That existence is…odd. Even I cannot track it down. If I had not caught it by surprise…" Holy Daughter Clarissa smiled gently. "Rise, my two protectors."

The two men rose to their feet. "We thank you for your mercy."

Claud suppressed a quiver. The ease in which they submitted themselves to this so-called grace was unnerving to him, as if they were more than content to demean themselves. People like him could lower their stature if it fitted their purposes, but for these two men, he could tell that they were truly sincere in their belief.

Zealots.

Reining in his breathing — it would not do to forget that these three people were tri- and tetra-folders — Claud emptied his mind of those thoughts. Rumours about tri-folders were really scary; it was said that their senses were very well developed. If his heartbeat was too fast, or if his breathing changed…

His head ached. Did he also need to invest in equipment to hide those changes?

Clarissa chuckled gently, a lilting sound that shook Claud's mind. "There is no need for thanks. The two of you have done a splendid job today. The Cords of Cause are well-formed. Truly, you two are blessings from the Lord."

"Your praise is wasted on us."

Caroline cleared her throat. "Are those the clues that you were talking about earlier?"

"Yes, Caroline." The Holy Daughter took the two white strings and fiddled with them. "It has been a few decades since someone dared to kill a Blessed of the Lord. It would seem that the world has chosen to forget about cause and effect, no? I am very interested in finding out who is this brave, in fact."

Her eyes, filled with boundless pity for all life, brightened. "As is the Elder Council. Zulan was someone we had hopes for, having mastered an artefact of the Lord, but to think that someone could overcome him, in a rural part of the continent…I must confess: I am very interested."

The Holy Daughter's words were gentle, but the only thing Claud could feel was an icy chill in the pits of his stomach.

"How do you intend to proceed on?" Caroline asked.

"The Knife of Karma will do," the Holy Daughter replied. "Alf. The knife, please. To simply kill such a person can be quite a waste. For someone who dares to profane the Lord, death is but succour. There are many ways we can compel the sinner to approach us."

A faint shimmer descended onto the knife's edge, and she ran it slowly across the white thread. The Cord of Cause quivered madly, as if it was alive, but Clarissa held onto it without showing any particular effort, running the edge of the knife along the thread like a child playing some twisted game.

"That's all for this hour," she eventually replied. "Alf, Dio, you two shall do as I demonstrated every hour for the next few days."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Receiving the knife and the Cord of Cause reverently, Alf and Dio took a few steps back and blended into the background.

"So, now that the culprit is under our tracking, our first goal is complete here," said the Holy Daughter. "However, it is possible that the culprit who killed Zulan was just a pawn of the real mastermind. Your reports about the Third Bearer of Destiny is rather alarming, and I do not believe in coincidences."

"What do you intend to do, Holy Daughter Clarissa?"

"We shall investigate the whereabouts of the Third Bearer of Destiny. Whether the Third is guilty of murdering the Lord's Blessed is irrelevant. After all, under the Lord's rule, there is no need for new Bearers of Destiny. If he or she does not submit to the Lord, we will simply dispose of that person," she replied.

Claud felt a chill run down his spine. He wasn't the Third Bearer of Destiny, but Holy Daughter Clarissa had made it very clear — the Coloured Gods and their followers did not want to see any such people in the first place.

Once again, however, Claud found himself curious. He had pondered about it before, but why did the existence behind the status screen not know about the Bearers of Destiny? Why were there skills that had weird question marks on them? And why were the Coloured Gods hostile to the Bearers of Destiny?

Asking these questions, however, weren't probably the best of ideas. The last thing he needed was to draw attention to himself.

"Well, guys, you heard the Holy Daughter." Caroline shrugged. "Maybe you can help me and her in locating the Third Bearer of Destiny. As I understand it, both sides have a grudge against each other, no? I am told that the Third enthralled one of your men and used him to disrupt some event."

"Hold," said the Holy Daughter. "I have a question, the four of you. Why would the Third target your organisation?"

Claud paused. Now that he thought about it…why did someone enthral a low-level member of the Moon Lords, and then subsequently get that purpose to sabotage something like a charity drive?

"That's…" Schwarz looked around at the others, and then took a step forward. "We have no idea either. But if I were to warrant a guess, it would be to weaken us in general. Count Nightfall had assigned us to the general defence of the city in his absence in a public ceremony."

A slightly bitter expression appeared on his face. "Making such a thing public is definitely going to make us a target for the more ambitious, no?"

"I see." The Holy Daughter closed her eyes for a moment. "Yes. That lines up. It seems that this city is the target of a very problematic troublemaker, making use of the period in which the count is gone. Istrel's coronation will only last this long, but…"

"Any chance that this war he has in mind will be postponed?" Schwarz asked.

"To focus on the Third?" Holy Daughter Clarissa leaned back on her chair. "That would be interesting, no? It depends, really. After all, the Third must be en route now. To kill us."

"We need to prepare for the Third's arrival," said Caroline.

Claud didn't like the sound of that.