Chapter 198 - A Harrowing Enlightenment

"Sorry about that...Father Karl is a...taut man. But he's kept us safe all this time with his miracles."

Anna sounded guilty for something she had no part in, but Lucas wasn't the least bit perturbed by the belittling attitude of the priest, instead finding himself interested by the origins of the barrier outside more than ever. 

"Miracles", he called it. The seals used were reminiscent of magecraft, but with this in mind--it was distinctly different in the glyphs used. Could it be some sort of variation of magic used by priests? Or... Lucas thought. 

"Lucas!"

The sudden jolt of his shoulder snapped him from his lingering thoughts, looking up to see Anna's worried gaze looking down at him. 

"...Right. Lina."

Walking through the dreary halls of the mayor's house, the survivors looked less than prosperous; dark bags of fear and exhaustion hung below their hollow, trembling eyes. By the numbers he saw in the marble lobby that likely held the bulk of the surviving townsfolk, it seemed that there were maybe two dozen left in total. 

"Is this...everyone?"

Asking quietly, Lucas' question plastered the expected painful look across the three people's faces. By the way Ben gripped his arm, closing his eyes as if not wanting to see the memories brought to the surface--Lucas felt like retracting the very words that left his mouth. 

"Sorry, bad question…"

"No, it's alright. This...this is all of us. Honestly, all we can do now is be grateful that we have those that are still here. It's a miracle that this shelter was made as quickly as it was."

Listening as Anna spoke with her soothing voice, he looked around at the resting townsfolk, noticing the stark difference between those sitting and the three that were helping him forward. Though Ben, Abraham, and Anna held those same, tired bags under their eyes, blemished by the same fears--they didn't succumb to the horror. 

It took a moment after hearing it for the words to fully realize themselves in his head, but something about the last part of her utterances caught his attention. 

"You said the shelter was formed quickly? The barrier and all?"

"That's right, the miracle was already finished by the time I got here; Father Karl simply waited to activate it until he got as many people as he could inside." 

"I see. This Father Karl person seems to be in charge here. This is the home of the Mayor, right? Then where is he?"

Anna looked back at Lucas as he continued to ask these questions while the group slowly walked down the finely furnished halls of the manor, passing by wooden stands that held lavish pottery. 

Taking it upon himself to send his fit of silence, Ben finally spoke up after adjusting his glasses with a light cough. 

"I was the first to arrive here, actually. I was already nearby as I had planned to ask Mayor Paul for a loan to upgrade some of my cheese-making equipment--but the "husks", you call them, arrived. The first thought in my mind upon seeing those monsters was those big, sturdy walls of this place...I got lucky, I suppose."

Recounting this, the cheesemaker's hold of his spear became shaky once more, calmed as Abraham placed a hand on the young man's shoulder, giving him a calming nod. 

"And the barrier was already in place when you showed up at the door?"

"...Yes, I believe so."

"I see."

Lucas stopped in place for a moment, looking down as he placed his hand over his chin. The others exchanged brief glances before Abraham took a step towards the boy. 

"What're all these damn questions for, anyway? What's this have to do with getting everyone the hell out of this fallen shithole?"

"...More than you might think."

Without turning his emeralds back up towards the man speaking to him, his calm words completely froze Abraham for a moment. 

It might be far-fetched, but the evidence is throwing itself right at me. I doubt the townsfolk would be able to recognize the oddities with something like this; this might be a more arduous task than I had originally thought, he thought. 

"Just what're you getting at here?"

Abraham scratched his head, his question came from a more curious place than a frustrated one, looking at the boy for an answer. Looking side to side, Lucas made sure they were far enough from any others before finally speaking what had been lingering on his mind. 

"That Father Karl...I believe he may be up to something."

Keeping his arms crossed against his chest, Lucas' calmly spoken revelation caused the reaction he expected--shock and denial. 

I believe I can trust these three with this knowledge; they seem level-headed enough, which is likely why they naturally gravitated away from the others, he thought. 

"What?...I've known Father Karl since I was a little girl, what do you mean?"

"I don't know exactly myself, but things aren't adding up around here."

Lucas adjusted the collar of his blouse, feeling the humid air trapped within the enclosed manor take effect on his body; sweat left his pores, clinging to the underparts of his shirt. 

"Like what? You can't make an accusation like that then skim out the evidence!"

"Quiet, I think you and I both know that talk such as this is best left parted from other ears. Anyway, the barrier used by that priest, it's not something that can be made on a whim. Even if it's something that can be done by an amateur--it requires time and effort."

Pointing his index finger directly at the bridge of Abraham's nose as he spoke, he made sure to drill the information straight through the thick skull of the burly man. 

"...That doesn't mean--"

"Anna, I think he's right."

"Ben?..."

Finally speaking up, the look on Ben's timid face seemed as if he had mustered up all of his strength to take this side; finally looking up at his soft eyes met with Anna and Abraham. Slowly, he raised his hand--showing to them just how much it trembled. 

"I...I left out one part of my side, Lucas. Up until just now, I chalked it up to just my mind playing tricks on me with the constant horrors around us, but I know for sure now. When Father Karl opened the doors to let me in--he had blood on his hands. It was only for a moment--the next moment his hands were clean. The mayor...I think he…"

"No...You can't really think…"

Cupping her mouth as her head shook side to side slowly in denial, the cool-headed rationale of Anna was put to the test in the face of this. 

"So, you think he killed Mayor Paul then?"

Abraham bluntly asked this without any tact—a nod in response from both Ben and Lucas.

"Well, I don't take you for a liar, Ben. Those eyes have saved my ass a few times, and I'm not going to doubt them now."

"Abraham…"

Left as the only one denying this concept, Anna seemed as if she was going to burst into tears at any point. 

"Anna…I know you and the Father have been close since you were little, but we have to look at every possibility here."

"….Every possibility?…It sounds like all of you have already decided…"

As a bit of contempt ran over her magenta irises, Anna's next words were promptly shut down as Lucas finally spoke once more.

"…I didn't say for sure that it was Father Karl, at least not the man you know." 

"Huh?…"

"I wasn't going to relay this information, but…I believe the source of this husk attack is from Belmon. Have you heard of it?"

Asking the three commoners, Abraham and Anna shook their heads quickly while Ben gently nodded. 

"I've only briefly read about it in a book once…It sounds more like a folk tale than a real place. A kingdom that exists yet doesn't?…"

"Well, Belmon is said to be a sort of theocracy—except it's more of a cult than anything. Admittedly, I'm not familiar with it—but the magic they use is unique; possessing no elemental affinity but sin itself."

"Sin?…What're you getting at, Lucas?"

"I think if we're going down this road of thinking, it's not far-fetched to believe Father Karl might be a Belmon cult—"

As Lucas finally released the core of his gathered conclusion, an explosion shook the entirety of the manor. Dust glimmered down upon their heads, maintaining their balance as they all looked around in utter confusion. 

"What the hell was that?!"

"It looks like this realization might've come too late--that spell outside, it's not a barrier at all."

"Huh?"

While the others were completely sent into a stupor of perplexion, Lucas' eyes narrowed as the tremor finally confirmed his suspicions. 

"Just now--I felt it. Magical energy released from the seal around the shelter; dark and evil; there's no mistaking it now--Father Karl is our enemy."