Chapter 216: Pathfinding (2)

Ｒ​ｅａｄ ｏｎ ＫａｔＲｅａｄｉ​ｎｇＣａ​ｆｅ​

Sugar took a deep breath in and out.

There was no mistaking it. This was not an animal that should exist in such a bizarre space.

Keeping her face still, she rolled only her eyes to check the reaction of Vivi. Her shoulders were trembling.

When she turned her gaze back to the crow, its beak parted slightly.

[It’s been a long time since I’ve seen these faces.]

Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve heard that grating voice.

How many years has it been? Almost a decade?

Sensing Riley shifting into combat stance beside her, Sugar twisted her lips into a smirk.

“Has it really been that long? You’ve been watching us all this time, haven’t you?”

[I won’t deny it.]

“Tch. My cuteness must be a crime. The Saintess is just too pretty and adorable. How many years have you been stalking me, you creep?”

The crow, carrying Apostle Claude’s consciousness, momentarily clicked its beak.

“Can’t deny it, huh?”

[Enough with the pointless, delusional taunts. I have no business with you—for now.]

“So you’ll have business with us later?”

[Who knows?]

“Ah, right. Well, we’ll be on our way, then.”

She placed a hand on Vivi’s shoulder and pulled her along. There was no need to ask Claude’s current objective—he was searching for the girl who played a crucial role in the Descent Ritual. She’d been missing for over a month; of course he’d be impatient.

[Stop.]

“You dare give orders to the Saintess?”

[If you want to be treated with the reverence a Saintess deserves, why not return to the cult?]

“‘Treatment’? You mean being turned into the Evil God’s favorite plush toy?”

[‘Evil God’? How grating. To think you could always remain by that one’s side—just the thought of it is bliss—]

“Shut your nonsense.”

Riley cut him off, pulling out the grimoire. A suffocating pressure filled the air.

The crow turned its gaze to Riley as the latter glared at it with eyes brimming with the hatred he’d accumulated over the years.

[Ah… To think that little boy has grown so much. Yes, I’ve kept an eye on you from time to time. But I’ve always wanted to say this—you’ve grown well in many ways.]

“My childhood friend did grow up nicely. Don’t get any ideas.”

Because he’s mine.

Sugar made a face and butted in from behind.

[Compared to him, you haven’t grown at all, it seems.]

“Who asked for your critique? Let’s wrap this up. What do you want?”

[You already know, don’t you?]

“I don’t.”

[Then I’ll enlighten you.]

The crow spread its wings and opened its beak wide, as if to spew something—

[—Wait… What are you doing?]

Then, abruptly, it stopped.

Until now, this encounter had gone exactly as Claude expected.

The two, still inseparable even as adults. Their hostile attitude. The absence of the fear-stricken gazes they’d had as children, replaced by the dignity of their elevated status.

The meeting itself was unexpected, but he’d assumed the conversation would unfold like this.

Or so he’d thought.

“Shut up. Cut the crap.”

[Aren’t you the ones pulling nonsense right now?]

“Hah? How is this nonsense?”

Sugar grinned as she shot back.

“It’s very deliberate nonsense.”

In her hand was a knife, its tip pressed against Vivi’s throat. She spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

[…]

“You said you’d enlighten us. Talk. Everything you know—every secret you’re hiding. Spit it all out.”

[Fool. You don’t even realize what you’re meddling with. B-13. Attack.]

At the command, the girl’s body flinched. The knife at her throat, the crow she’d just reunited with—all of it was so bewildering that she could only blink in confusion.

Then Sugar retorted.

“No? I know.”

[What?]

“I know this kid has no way to attack me with her full strength. I know you’re planning the Evil God’s Descent. I know she’s playing a key role in that plan.”

[Then what more do you want me to say? No, wait… I think you’re missing the most crucial part.]

“I also know that if she dies, the sanctuaries across the continent will explode.”

[You really do know everything!]

His voice sharpened. He was starting to get angry.

[And yet you’re pulling this hostage farce? How laughable. Absolutely pathetic.]

“What’s so funny? I’m lighting the fuse on a bomb right now.”

[That’s exactly why it’s ridiculous. You’re really about to ignite the powder keg that’ll blow us all up.]

“Ha… Hahaha… Now I’m the one dying of laughter…”

Sugar let out a chuckle—a slow, dark laugh, uncharacteristic of her.

“Crow. Do you really think this is a ‘powder keg’ that’ll take us all out?”

[What are you getting at?]

“Did you forget why you people wanted me so badly? Why you treated me like a Saintess?”

[…!]

“If the Evil God’s power suddenly floods the world, even you won’t be able to handle it. You won’t survive. Even an Apostle’s resistance will corrode in an instant.”

She delivered the next words with absolute confidence.

“But y’know… I don’t have to worry about that!”

[…What?]

It wasn’t that Claude was unaware. He knew better than anyone that Damutria’s power was equally threatening to the Apostles.

But he hadn’t expected Sugar to say she didn’t care, so the reflexive “what” slipped out.

“Whether you all rot into nothing or choke to death, I’ll be just fine! Huh? ‘We all go down together’? Bullshit! You all go down—I don’t! It doesn’t affect me! You die, I don’t! Why? Because I’ve got pure magical resistance!”

Ha-ha! She laughed, loud and triumphant.

Her wide-eyed grin, knife in hand, was the very picture of the Evil God’s Saintess—unnerving to anyone who saw her.

[Hah… You think that threat will work? You won’t do it, and we both know it.]

“How would you know what I’ll do?”

[You’d never ruin the world with your own hands!]

“Wow. Guess I have been living too nice. Hearing that from you is wild. But… who cares about the world? My friends are in the Holy City right now, and no matter how chaotic things get, the Holy City’s safe, isn’t it?”

[What about your lover beside you?!]

“I’ll stick to him day and night and protect him myself.”

She didn’t deny the relationship, only curling her lips into a sinister smirk.

“So spill all the secrets you know. Normally, interrogations start with stabbing someone, so consider this mercy.”

[What kind of nonsense—]

“By the Saintess’s decree, it’s our cult’s new rule! Didn’t you know, you dull-witted Apostle?”

[You’re out of your damn mind!]

The crow spread its wings and shot upward. Fleeing? No—it wouldn’t abandon its crucial target. Years of meticulous planning wouldn’t be tossed aside so carelessly. It didn’t fully believe Sugar’s bluff either.

Most likely, it was trying to create chaos.

But Sugar had her own preparations.

“Professor!”

At her signal, Professor Trace—who had been chanting a spell at a distance—finished his incantation unnoticed. Claude’s attention had been fixed on Sugar, Vivi, and Riley, giving the professor time to work.

He raised his staff high.

What followed was a spectacular fireworks display—literally. Magical explosions lit up the dark sky in bursts of color.

Beneath them, dozens of crows swarmed in eerie synchrony. Just as expected. Claude favored overwhelming numbers, so Sugar had planned accordingly.

A three-way battle.

Geometric shapes, shifting endlessly, reacted to the magical fireworks and began converging from all directions.

Sugar and Riley, who had already prepared flight spells, grabbed Vivi and Trace and took to the air.

The shapes—now wing-like—gave chase. The crows tried to regroup and retreat, but it was too late. They, too, were targeted.

“Sugar.”

“Got it!”

Amid the chaotic clash, Sugar dove sharply at Riley’s signal. A few shapes pursued her, but most fixated on Riley and his grimoire, drawn to his potent magic.

[How do you plan to escape? You’ll just get caught in the crossfire!]

As if.

Riley ignored the taunt from one of the crows, focusing on his spell. The coordinate transmission from his piercing had failed, but his eyes still worked. He tuned out the chaos and locked onto Sugar.

Her speed, estimated trajectory, distance—all calculated in an instant.

Then, the trigger word.

Teleport.

Between the swarms of crows and geometric shapes, the young mage—holding the older one—vanished.

“Whoa!”

In the blink of an eye, he reappeared beside Sugar, landing smoothly. Sugar, already sprinting at full speed, bounced excitedly. The plan was nearly complete, and she was overjoyed he was safe.

“Full speed ahead!”

Grinning like a child, she dashed forward as if her earlier madness had been an act. Vivi, clutched in her arms, looked utterly drained, lips pressed tight.

Crows that tried to follow were shredded by the shapes. Any obstacles in their path were frozen by Trace’s spells, fired from Riley’s back like a mobile turret. With the path clear, Sugar and Riley ran unimpeded.

“Vivi! Do something useful!”

“What more do you want from me?!”

“Talking back to the Saintess?”

“Gyaaaaaah—!”

Light flickered weakly from the horns on Vivi’s head. She wobbled as she glared at the pursuing shapes, mustering her strength to repel them.

“Is this hell…? It’s gotta be hell…”

She slumped unconscious. Sugar’s plan all along had been to exhaust the girl before she could cause trouble.

Sugar and Riley handled the movement. Their passengers handled the defense.

A flawless combination.

“Haah… Ugh…”

They’d been running nonstop for what felt like hours.

The mages collapsed behind a large pillar, gasping for breath. For now, nothing pursued them.

“You two worked hard.”

“Professor… you too… chanting spells back-to-back… Huff… you did great…”

“At least there weren’t many chasing us toward the end. It must’ve been tough for you two carrying us on foot.”

Sugar nodded weakly, forcing a smile. For now, they had successfully escaped.

Beside her, Riley loosened his tie and undid his collar button to cool down. She handed him a handkerchief, and he wiped his sweat away, exhaling heavily.

His expression was the same as usual, but his brows were slightly relaxed, his face flushed from the rush of blood. Sugar pressed the handkerchief against his face, then took it back after he was done.

Riley’s sweat-soaked handkerchief.

She brought it to her own face, pretending to wipe her sweat, then inhaled deeply—sniff, sniff—

Fresh sweat doesn’t smell much. Just a faint, musky scent unique to men. Mixed with that was the warm, familiar fragrance of his body.

“Ah…”

Her pupils trembled slightly as she looked up, and Riley, who had been about to scold her, seemed to reconsider—instead burying his nose against the nape of her neck and inhaling—

“Enough. Come here. The girl’s waking up.”

As if nothing had happened, the two stood and walked over to where the professor and Vivi were.

“Let’s… summarize what we know.”

There wasn’t much to organize.

They had simply run into Claude after a long time, messed with him, and fled.

“But… do you really think he came here just to find Vivi?”

“What do you mean?”

Vivi, now with a bandage on her neck (not from the knife but from the wind pressure when it was pressed close), tilted her head.

“You were swallowed by Louveci’s familiar—that black serpent—and ended up wandering this place. Claude noticed and came looking for you.”

“Yes…?”

“But something’s off. Feels like we’re missing something. I get Louveci’s plan—she trapped you here to isolate you, the continent’s doomsday switch, so you’d never be pressed.”

Vivi nodded reluctantly. It was blunt, but true.

“But would she just leave you here? We saw it ourselves—this place is crawling with hostile geometric constructs. Would she really dump a girl whose death would cause catastrophe in a place like this alone?”

“Ah… about that…”

Vivi hesitated, then spoke softly.

“Actually… when the serpent swallowed me, I… used my ability to shield myself…”

Riley cut in.

“You isolated yourself during the teleportation?”

“Yes… that’s what happened.”

“That would cause a transmission failure. The coordinates would warp, and you could’ve ended up somewhere impossible. That was reckless.”

Vivi pressed her lips together. Sugar, beside her, spoke up.

“She probably did her best in the moment. ‘Shit! I got swallowed by a snake!’—panic mode, you know?”

“Pretty much…”

“Then… I don’t know if this is lucky or not. The teleportation still happened, but instead of Louveci’s intended coordinates, you ended up somewhere else.”

Sugar rubbed her cheek, piecing it together.

“But was it really just the warped coordinates that dragged you into this dimensional rift? Or was Louveci’s original destination already some twisted space?”

The others stared at her.

“I don’t think so.”

“How so?”

“Hear me out—this is just my theory. This space was Louveci’s intended destination. ‘To stop the Descent, isolate B-13 in a dimensional rift.’ Simple goal. But the target’s unexpected resistance messed up the landing.”

No one asked, What does this have to do with us now?

Even though escape was the priority, this felt relevant—like they were getting closer to the truth. They listened, spellbound, to the Saintess’ words.

“So where was that ‘perfectly intended place’? A location to isolate one girl in a dimension full of hostile entities. I’m not sure, but…”

Sugar paused, then smiled faintly.

“I think Louveci is there.”