Chapter 87: Career Liar

"Why aren't they attacking unless provoked?" Ramses turned towards Ainsworth.

"They're creatures that act on instinct at first, until they acclimate to acting as a human. These are probably newborns." Ainsworth placed a cigarette between his lips, alighting it with a lighter. "The greatest instinct for a just-born creature is to fear. Fear is survival, the instinct to cower, to kowtow, it is sewn into the fabric of a creature's soul."

"But what would they fear to act in this way?"

"Who knows?" Ainsworth shrugged. "Perhaps there is someone quite powerful nearby. Perhaps these creatures aren't worth our attention at all, and we should worry about whatever lies in wait."

He had lost his will to fight with serious conviction. It was a matter of moving forward until he had died, at least ensuring the safety of his team. Still, he thought it was pointless to be scared, even if there did happen to be someone powerful and malicious lurking nearby. That was because as soon as the commotion had started, he had released a pigeon into the air, seeking to alert nearby Heaven's Roses to alarm them of the danger.

"If you dilly-dally, you run the risk that someone gets hurt."

Cornifer let out a sigh, closing the latch on his pocketwatch before placing it in his pocket. Then, he raised his other hand, procuring a firearm from a hidden holster in his jacket, pointing it towards the Nameless Spider.

He fired, lead tearing through the flesh of the monster. Fat and sinew fell to the ground, writhing and gradually attempting to crawl towards the main body once more.

"To kill a Nameless, it is a matter of causing irreversible damage to it." He mimicked his notes, hundreds and hundreds of pieces of information he had gradually identified and jotted down into his notes. Such was the habit of a scribe.

"If that's such a key piece of information, why wasn't it told to us?" Midas scoffed, placing his hand against the fleshy leg of the Nameless, the runes on his palms flashing a bright emerald colour. The skin of the Nameless gradually began to shimmer, turning solid and luminescent - an elemental exchange. He had performed one of the key abilities of a second-Arisen Alchemist, an initiate.

He punched forward with his gloved hand, the knuckles reinforced by steel. The soft gold cracked under the weight of his blow, the form of the Nameless falling to the ground before him.

"You were never supposed to fight against Nameless in the first place. To be a White Rose is to be a student, one who practices theory, not reality. You were supposed to gradually learn all there is to know about being a Heaven's Rose before being trained to do the real thing as a Blue Rose, like Meraline Avelis, who was sent to train you and herself at the same time." Ainsworth replied, taking a puff of his cigarette.

"So, what changed?"

"The world changed, and I was blind to it. The higher-ups were blind to it. No one expected such an increase in activity from the Blasphemer Goddess. You were thrust into reality before you even had a chance to learn the theory. That is my fault. That is Heaven's Roses fault."

"No, no one's at fault. Not for Ms. Avelis's death, not for our injuries, not anything. Don't let that weigh heavily on you. It's their fault, not ours." Ramses spoke from behind them, wiping the blood from his blade. Behind him, the corpses of several Nameless Spiders had fallen, their writhing ceased, lifeless.

The other White Roses eyes had widened after seeing such a sight. It suddenly became obvious to them that even though they had spent almost a year as life-and-death compatriots, they had barely scratched the surface of each other's character. Most mysterious was the man from the Sandsteppes, a barren sandy wasteland far-east of the neighboring continent of Baruunlan. 

He was a kind soul, but remained silent a majority of the time. It was as if he purposefully withheld his words.

'Has Ramses always been this strong? Even if these are weak newborns, how is it possible he could have killed so many in such a short time...?' Midas's eyes furrowed. Nicole had been a prisoner of the Phantom Syndicate, Ainsworth religiously-affiliated, and Cornifer a Nobleman. He knew none of them had served in the war. However, Ramses had none of those excuses, and it was likely that at one point, he had fought in the war. Since Midas had been a soldier, he might have even been Ramses's enemy on the battlefield. 'Brothers now, but perhaps enemies in the past… how laughable the future can be.'

On the other side of the street, atop the opposing building, the Mythos Garden stood in awe at the coordination of the religious-affiliated group. All but Nicole, however.

Nicole's eyes suddenly raised, coming to a realisation. "I- I have to go!" He suddenly declared, removing the silver mask from his face. He had abandoned his White Rose cloak on the rafters of the show hall, and it was paramount that he retrieve it in time before rejoining his team. The other members of the Garden watched with surprise as Nicole took his leave so soon.

He raced across the roof until he reached the staircase, descending down into the rafter space where the intricacies of the show hall was managed. Atop the railing, his coat had been folded neatly. Nicole quickly threw it over his shoulders, making his way through the show hall until he emerged in the street below. It was important to reach them before the fight was over. He had already been gone too long, and feared suspicion. Not a single soul could take a bathroom break that would last the entirety of a battle.

He ran through the front entrance of the building, the attendant already haven taken their leave in the heat of the conflict, racing up the steps until he reached the rooftop. Hearing the commotion of the door opening, the White Roses turned to greet their comrade.

"The fight's already over, little mage." Ramses laughed. "I hope your break was pleasant!"

Nicole's eyebrow twitched, his face reddening in embarrassment. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be." Ainsworth replied, throwing the remnants of his cigarette to the ground. "Be happy the less you have to fight."

Down on the ground below the fight, the crowd had been corralled before the famous magician.

Lumière stood in front of the crowd on the staircase that led up to the show hall, a grin plastered on his expression. It was finally time to enact the final part of his plan.

He could still sense their gazes, piercing, violent, bloodthirsty. He looked up towards a belltower in the distance, spotting two silhouettes standing high above all others. They looked regal, elegant, composed.

'So these are… Phantoms.' Lumière's mind raced. He didn't quite feel anger, nor did he feel afraid. It was a mixture of excitement and anticipation that churned in his heart. It was time to start his revenge against the people that had torn any semblance of light from his life.

"My dearest guests, I shall apologise on behalf of the Madame, of this lovely establishment, that your experience was so greatly tarnished by such a violent interruption." Lumière bowed sincerely to the audience. Each member was shaken, fearful of another occurrence, but also in awe of the magician that had seemingly saved them, and the two opposing groups atop the buildings that had vanquished the spider-like monsters.

It was a unique mood. Off the tailcoats of a performance, there was tranquility, but facing the reality that there were monsters in their midst, they looked towards an uncertain future. And the only man they had ever seen kill such a beast, was also facing his final performance, leaving them alone to navigate their future.

"These creatures… these beasts, they hide among us. They shape their faces to resemble that of a person, taking over that person's life and acting as them. Haven't you ever encountered someone strange, in such a way that it makes you question whether they're truly human or not!?"

That revelation was truly terrifying. Beasts among them- perhaps their friends, comrades, their loved ones… the mistrust that would be sown was irredeemable. Leiden, at least the middle borough, would see a despair it had never known before. As Lumière spoke, seeing the gazes of the audience members, he felt the Despair within him accumulate fully.

'If it comes to it now, I can use the 'Despair' persona without too much repercussion. This was truly to my benefit.'

But his final performance wasn't yet over. There was still another goal he had to achieve.

Lumière directed the gazes of the audience, pointing to the figures in the distance.

"Those people, I believe they're responsible for these creatures attacks! Members of a powerful secret sect, they seek to kill us all!"

The audience's gazes followed the magician's, spotting the figures standing on the belltower high above, looking down at them with piercing gazes. Such words would seem silly, almost outlandish in normal circumstances. But the people, they had seen things that night that seemed outlandish. Such words become more real with each passing moment, believable in their entirety.

The crowd began to exclaim, fearful, but angered. They shouted curses at the figures, declaring their outrage.

"You shouldn't fear! These Phantoms- this Phantom Syndicate that threatens us, the Church of the Crown of Thorns and the Church of the Eternal Blueprint has taken it upon themselves to fight against these threats, to uncover the mystery that threatens the great people of Leiden!" As Lumière declared such a thing, he raised his hands into the air, his expression almost inhuman. His exuberance resembled a Demon.

There was a reason he had revealed the Phantoms to the people. It wasn't simply to make the public fear them as he had done by revealing the existence of the Nameless to them. By tying the Church's fight against the Nameless to the Phantom Syndicate, in the eyes of the people, he had created precedence that the Church was actively seeking to eliminate the Phantom Syndicate. Under the gaze of the commonpeople, the Church would be expected to cooperate with such an endeavour, or fear their repercussion.

Because word spread quickly in Leiden, more and more would people become aware of this fact. If the Church were to declare Lumière a false prophet of their intentions, the public would begin to wonder why the Church wasn't doing anything about such a threat. If they were to go along with Lumière's words, but fail to take action against the Phantom Syndicate, then the people would attribute continued tragedy to the secret organisation, and blame the Church anyway. It was of paramount importance from that moment forward that the Church would seek to deal with the secret organisation. 

It wasn't as if they could truly punish Lumière for doing such a thing either. Even if they wouldn't believe his claims of not knowing that the public shouldn't know of the Nameless, or the Phantoms for that matter, his fame was a shield. The public loved him, adored him. Now, due to his stepping in the way of their tragedy by defeating the Nameless Spiders, their was precedence for him to become a hero in their eyes. If he were to be punished, Nicole would learn of it. Then, he was sure that the Mythos Garden would learn of it. And using their connections, he was sure that Juno and Zelia would spread the word, and outrage would fester. 

Even if he were to die, he was sure that the pieces he had put into place would act on the demise of the Phantom Syndicate.

It was the true master plan behind his performance, one he had crafted from the very beginning. He knew that the Phantom Syndicate would appear when chaos was rife. That was their modus operandi. Having revealed himself and the Mythos Garden to the powerful figure backing the secret organisation, he was absolutely sure that they would appear. So, it was just a matter of slipping the pieces into place.

His final performance was never just about moving the people. It was about moving the entire orthodoxy to action.

That was the masterpiece of a career liar.