Chapter 16: Before The Storm [3]
Harkus seemed startled by this. "What?" he said dumbly.
"A young man?" Astonishment painted Lira's features. "Someone entered the Church during the festivities?"
"Yes!" Oscar said hastily. "He asked me if he could access a prayer room, so I allowed it, but only for a short while. I thought he had already left in the middle of our ritual, but as I think about it now, I do not remember seeing him leave. I stood near the doors the entire time, and—"
"No, no! He already left," Harkus suddenly insisted.
They turned to him, surprised.
"You saw him, Harkus?" Lira asked in surprise. "Did he really leave?"
"I don't — I'm not sure," Harkus stammered.
Lira frowned. "But you just said that—"
"What I meant was that he must've already evacuated as well," Harkus quickly clarified. "After all, the soldiers made sure that no one is left in the city, right? You all know that they'll never leave a person behind. Especially if it's a foreigner."
A foreigner?
Ardyn suddenly had a strange feeling in his heart.
He turned his head to see what was behind him.
The winding path back to Angelbay City was now partially obscured by ancient trees and overgrown vegetation. The walls were still visible from afar though, which relieved him somewhat.
But for some reason, he couldn't help but think that he needed to go back.
The hell? Don't be stupid, he scolded himself.
"You're right about that, but…" Lira gazed at him curiously. "How do you know that he's a foreigner? Did you get a good look at him?"
Ardyn could now see the carriages from a distance. The area was a wide expanse of grass, and he also noticed that there was a large forest nearby.
He immediately remembered Evan's warning about forests and unconsciously tensed up.
"I — well…" Harkus was stammering. "He was wearing a fancy white cloak with silver and blue wings as a front clasp. Isn't that specific cloak from the Sapphire Kingdom?"
"I see…" Lira said.
A white cloak… and silver-blue wings?
Wait a minute…
Ardyn felt a familiar rush of emotion at that moment, an overwhelming sensation that threatened to wash over him like a flood.
A sense of dread pooled in his gut.
A young man wearing a white cloak…
In that instant, Ardyn was reminded of last night's festivities, when Evan had taken him out to explore the town. When Evan had excused himself for a moment to buy a snack.
When Ardyn felt that strange, heart-pounding sensation of the world suddenly moving in slow motion.
When he met the eyes of a young man in a white cloak with silver-blue wings pinned to the front. When he felt an overwhelming emotion of...
What?
What kind of emotion was it again?
Ardyn's features turned blank.
Something's not right here.
I'm an Otherworlder. I'm a complete newcomer to this world.
Yet why do I feel like I know that person?
Why does it feel like I instantly forgot about him the moment Evan came and interrupted?
It feels…
Just like my dreams.
Ardyn's eyes widened.
No.
No way…
No…
Could it be... that man?!
At that moment, a loud roar erupted from the sky, so jarring that everyone, including Ardyn, froze in their tracks.
Shivers ran down his spine as he finally realized what was happening.
The demon monster.
It was coming.
"What was that?!" Lira exclaimed, her eyes wide in shock. The semi-transparent veil that she wore was blown back by the strong gust of wind, causing her to pull it away from her face. "Don't tell me…?!"
"No!" Harkus' face turned white as a sheet. "That man… It's all that man's fault!"
Ardyn froze.
What?
"Harkus, get a hold of yourself!" Oscar said frantically as Harkus suddenly felt faint. He held the man's arm and tried to keep him from falling to the ground. "What's the matter with you?!"
"That man… That damned Summoner from hell!" Harkus spat out.
"Excuse me?" Lira exclaimed. "What the hell are you talking about?"
The rest of the priests and priestesses were in shock, confusion painting their faces. They did not know what was going on.
At that moment, a cry rang out in the air. To their astonishment, it came from the soldiers.
"Take cover! Now!" they yelled. "It's a beastspawn ambush!"
Shouts rang through the air, and Ardyn was momentarily deafened. A few soldiers yelled for the civilians to come with them, and some quickly followed.
But Harkus still stood there, frozen, with Ardyn standing only a few feet behind him.
"No…" he muttered. "This is all that Summoner's fault… That damned Otherworlder Summoner…!"
"Pardon?!" Ardyn exclaimed, eyes wide.
But Harkus just went on as if he had never heard him, "He'll die... He deserves to die..." he mumbled frantically. "I locked him up there. The fall will hurt him badly. He'll die and then everything will be okay... Everything will—"
At that moment, an explosion sounded, and Ardyn had to cover his ears.
"Protect the civilians!" the soldiers yelled.
"Call for reinforcements! Now!"
"By the gods! There are so many of them!"
"What the hell is happening?!"
However, despite the chaos, Ardyn paid no attention to the battle at all. Instead, he felt as if the whole world had stopped.
For the briefest of moments, his mind went completely blank.
And then a familiar call whispered, "Come and find me…"
"Save me, Adrien."
It was then that Ardyn finally made a decision.
Without thinking twice, he turned on his heel and ran.
Back to the winding path. Back to where they came from.
Back to Angelbay City.