Chapter 217: Arrival?

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“I think Louveci is there.”

At Sugar’s words, Riley crossed his arms and fell deep into thought. Vivi’s face twisted into a scowl.

Surprisingly, Professor Trace showed no change in expression—he only held his breath.

“Vivi. What was Louveci’s relationship with the cult like over the past ten years?”

“I don’t know the details since it was before I was born… but the Shadow Cult branded her a traitor, labeled her as evil, and kept hunting her down.”

“Yet they never properly caught her in all that time.”

“Right. That’s why they resorted to locking me up in a place like this.”

Her voice carried a heavy weight of emotion.

“So I’ve been thinking—what if Louveci’s hiding place was here all along?”

“You think she was hiding in a place like this?”

“Heretics have ranks too. The Shadow Cult’s been around since the age of saints—they’re an ancient bunch. And now they’ve even joined hands with the up-and-coming Cult of Unity. Yet they couldn’t deal with one Louveci. Even if she’s an Apostle, she’s just one person. She must’ve hidden herself well.”

“They… did succeed in taking her eyes. She fled immediately after… but with her vision nullified, they probably didn’t pursue her further.”

“And then they left her alone until she made her move recently.”

“That’s how it seems. But… are you really okay discussing this in front of me?”

“What’s the problem? You’re my subordinate now. We’re heading straight to the Holy City once we get out.”

“Since when was I your subordinate…?”

Sugar shrugged.

“Anyway, Louveci’s been making active moves lately. That’s probably how Claude caught her trail. He must’ve figured something out.”

B-13 was trapped in the spatial distortion.

“Of course, that alone would be reason enough for Claude to come here, but…”

Louveci’s hideout was here too.

“That bastard’s cautious—you think he’d just waltz into a weird place like this without a plan? He doesn’t take risks unless he has to. Even though each of those crows is a precious spare body, he sent a whole flock. That means he was confident. And… given that he’s known Louveci for a long time, he might’ve picked up something.”

“So Louveci was trying to lure me to her hideout?”

At Vivi’s question, Sugar nodded.

“Her hideout’s probably the safest place in this space. Hiding there, never showing herself, only sending familiars… It explains why they couldn’t find her all this time.”

“So.”

Riley cut in.

“What you’re saying is, we should go meet the woman hiding in that hideout?”

“Exactly. If she’s been moving around through familiars, she must have a deep understanding of this space. She might even know an exit. Finding an Apostle is way easier than blindly searching for a door. Because I’ve got—”

“A hunch.”

Riley finished for her, and Sugar grinned.

Not long after entering, they met Vivi and ran into Claude. In the disorienting, seemingly endless space, all of this had happened within a span of about two days.

“You all heard it earlier. I’m not just wandering aimlessly—I’m walking based on some kind of principle. After listening, I realized it. Certain places keep catching my attention. Before I know it, my feet just move there on their own.”

“And in those places, there were Apostles.”

“Right!”

Thanks to that, they found Vivi much earlier than Louveci or Claude, despite the latter two having started their search well before Sugar.

“Now for the good news. Right now, there’s a direction that’s really bugging me. I feel like I need to check it out immediately.”

“And if what we find there isn’t the Apostle we want?”

“Then it’s the opening act of Hostage Situation No. 2.”

“Gyaaah!”

As Riley and Sugar bantered, Vivi flinched violently beside them.

“What’s wrong? A little acting could get us out of there. We don’t need unnecessary fights in a place like this.”

“And then if things go south, you’ll actually stab me, won’t you?!”

“Oh, come on. As if I would.”

Sugar waved her hand cheerfully, grinning.

“Besides, we’re going to find Louveci? The one who tried to trap me here—what kind of reaction do you expect me to have?! …Ah! Saint, you’re the same! You’re just using this as an excuse to find an exit and isolate me—”

“No, that’s not it. I’m taking you with me.”

“…Huh?”

Whether from fear or anger, the trembling girl froze mid-outburst, stunned by Sugar’s unexpected reply.

“I told you earlier. We’re going to the Holy City. I don’t think locking you up here is the answer.”

Her tone was eerily calm, as if she had some plan in mind.

Then, a slight change of subject.

“Alright. Let me ask you this. Do you want to summon the Evil God? Do you want to destroy the world? To swallow the continent whole and hold it in your hands?”

“I’d already be dead by then…”

Her death would release the power of the Evil God sealed within the Prism Tower—the sanctuary.

Reminded of that fact again, Vivi hesitated before speaking haltingly.

“And… if that’s the order given to me…”

“…Let me rephrase the question.”

Sugar let out a deep sigh at Vivi’s blunt admission that she’d end the world if ordered.

Then, she asked:

“Don’t you want to live?”

The girl’s eyes widened.

It was as if she was recognizing something unthinkable for the first time. Like a broken machine, her mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.

No one had ever asked her that before.

Of course—neither the believers nor the Apostles of the neighboring cults. No one. Not a single soul.

From the moment she opened her eyes in the test tube and demonstrated her abilities, her fate had been sealed. It was only natural, and even B-13 herself had never once considered the question.

No—had she really never thought about it?

Vivi closed her slightly parted lips.

As she mumbled wordlessly and bowed her head deeply, it finally struck Sugar that the girl seemed like a child.

Now that their goal was set, now that they knew other factions were involved, there was no time to dawdle. The place Sugar’s intuition led them to might not be the right one, but they still pressed forward. There was no other choice.

As they walked, Sugar chatted with Riley as usual—teasing him, getting smacked, clinging to him annoyingly. Occasionally, she even messed with Vivi.

“Here, have a chocolate bar.”

“…”

“Take it.”

“…”

“I said take it already.”

“…”

She dangled the chocolate bar above Vivi’s head, using her own petite stature to toy with the even tinier girl.

Vivi, her face blank, turned away sharply.

“You’re sulking? Come on, take it.”

“This is so childish I can’t even.”

“Huh?”

Behind them, Riley sighed.

Throughout all this, Trace remained silent. Lost in thought, he only gave the bare minimum of answers when questioned, maintaining his quiet demeanor. The others didn’t bother pressing him further.

“Sugar. What about the crows?”

“Hmm… Hang on, I’m not used to this… I can sense something nearby, but I can’t pinpoint their exact location. They must be uncertain too.”

Both sides were hiding their magical presence while moving.

Of course, Sugar’s group didn’t want to deal with swarms of crows or geometric creatures, so they stayed hidden. The other side likely didn’t want to confront the creatures either—or perhaps they were secretly tailing Sugar to find clues about Louveci.

If anyone were to release a wide burst of magic, their location would be revealed—but the same would happen to them. So, for now, they had no choice but to rely entirely on Sugar’s intuition.

It was similar to magical detection, but not quite the same. Sugar’s constitution allowed her to “hear” the whispers of ambient magic, but it made her mind too restless for precise detection. This intuition, however, was different—it was purely the “feeling of the Evil God,” undistorted by interference.

They walked, trusting in that feeling, and even took two rest periods along the way.

Then, at some point, the air grew suffocating.

The moment they entered a certain area, the atmosphere changed. Sugar wasn’t the only one who noticed—the others’ expressions darkened as well.

She looked ahead.

Originally, this distorted space was a dark place where everything was tinged in deep blue. The ribbons of light streaking across the sky, the glass-like floor beneath their feet, the bizarre floating polyhedrons—all shared the same hue.

So why was that place white?

A distant area stood out, as if all color had been drained from it.

“Everyone, stay alert.”

Sugar knew this phenomenon well.

Things exposed to the Evil God’s power turned white.

They lost all color, bleached into nothingness.

That area held the Evil God’s power. There was no need to deduce it—the stifling, oppressive feeling made it obvious to everyone.

“Vivi. You’ve rested enough—can you use your ability? Stand next to the professor and put up a barrier.”

Sugar clung tightly to Riley’s arm as she spoke, wrapping both of them in her magic.

Once prepared, they advanced, carefully navigating through the less corrupted zones.

“… I knew about it, but seeing it in person is strange.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You really are the Saint.”

Vivi stared at Sugar in pure amazement. Walking unscathed through an area steeped in the Evil God’s presence—without even a barrier—was nothing short of miraculous.

“The cult had to erect multiple barriers underground just to block this energy…”

“Hey, you’re the one who’s amazing.”

“Even I’d start corroding if exposed to that without protection. You’re the only one who can withstand it barehanded… It really is a miracle. You weren’t even born in a lab. Truly, a special being granted by nature—”

“—Shut up.”

A sharp voice cut through Vivi’s musings.

“She’s not like that. Keep your mouth shut and walk.”

Riley’s curt tone made Vivi’s eyebrows shoot up.

Sugar was taken aback by his reaction—she hadn’t expected it at all.

Why is he suddenly in a bad mood?

Vivi hadn’t said anything wrong. Did he dislike her because she sounded like a heretic praising her?

Or—

‘Wait… is he jealous?’

Even though they were enemies, Sugar had been treating Vivi kindly, even giving her a nickname. Was that it?

She glanced up at Riley. His furrowed brow, his displeased gaze, his tightly pressed lips.

This is totally jealousy, isn’t it?

“… Hehe.”

“What?”

“Oh, Riley… Ehehe…”

Suddenly giggling and swaying playfully, Sugar earned a “What’s wrong with her, did she take something?” look from Riley. But she didn’t care. Even that glare seemed affectionate to her now.

Love truly was blind.

(Of course, Riley had only cut Vivi off to avoid burdening Sugar with unnecessary expectations. But well, as long as she was happy.)

.

.

.

They reached their destination.

“Ugh…”

A groan escaped Sugar’s lips. Disappointment? Concern? It was hard to say.

Before them lay a pool—about the size of a modest living room.

That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that the pool wasn’t filled with water, but with the Evil God’s power.

“This is it? Is there nothing else around?”

The issue was that it was just… there. No markings, no structures—just a lone, ominous pool.

“My intuition says this is the right place, and it does look suspicious, but…”

Holding up the Dream Lantern, Sugar circled the pool, searching for anything unusual. But there was nothing—just the black pool and the bleached-white surroundings.

“Apostle, care to explain what this is?”

“If the Saint doesn’t know, how would I?”

“Riley, any thoughts?”

“Maybe this pool is that blind woman?”

“Gasp!”

While the Saint, the Apostle, and the Grimoire’s owner were all baffled by the pool—

“Below this…”

A voice spoke up.

The one who had remained silent the entire journey—Professor Trace.

“Below this… there must be something.”

Staring into the pool, his eyes held certainty—as if he knew.