CH 653

The tense atmosphere between Liana and Cliffman had eased somewhat.

It was enough that they still cherished each other.

"Your ability… it's that powerful?"

"Yes."

"I heard there was some strange weather last winter… Was that really?"

"Yeah, it was me."

Cliffman couldn't help but be taken aback when Liana revealed that she could now not only summon lightning but also cause weather anomalies.

That's why, knowing that the weather anomalies that had occurred thus far were Liana's doing, he could only nod blankly.

"That's amazing…"

"Still, I can't use it just any way I want. It's a bit peculiar."

"Peculiar how?"

"Well…"

Liana sat down on a rocky ledge and sighed deeply.

"I guess I should say… the worse I feel, the stronger the effect."

"Hmm…?"

"I think my power reacts to my emotions. Weather anomalies, for example… seem to react to negative emotions."

A power that responded to dark, negative emotions.

Initially, it hadn't awakened through positive experiences.

As long as she couldn't control her emotions at will, there were bound to be limitations if those were the activation conditions.

"It's a strong ability, but… it doesn't seem easy to use."

At Cliffman's words, Liana lowered her head.

"It's not exactly like that. I can use it whenever I want."

"…But you said you have to feel bad to use it?"

"There's a way."

Liana pulled out a potion from her belongings.

From Cliffman's perspective, it was just a bottle containing an unknown drug. Liana gave a bitter smile.

"If I take just one of these, I'll become so depressed that I'd want to hang myself right away."

"A depression-inducing drug…?"

"That's right."

"And you take that?"

"There are no side effects. It's safe. And so what if there are some side effects? If I can kill hundreds of thousands of monsters in exchange for feeling a bit down, I should do it."

It wasn't a matter of life or death, just a significant decline in her mood.

At that point, Cliffman could only nod blankly, thinking it was a no-brainer. Some people couldn't even kill a single monster despite risking their lives, so if the price was just that, they should do it.

However, Cliffman noticed that Liana, as she spoke, had a trembling hand holding the crystal potion.

Undoubtedly, Liana was afraid of the drug in her hand.

She would know best the horrible feelings she would experience when she drank it.

It wasn't without cost, but she mentioned hundreds of thousands.

Cliffman felt dizzy at the scale.

Even if he combined all the monsters he had killed so far, would he even reach ten thousand?

But Liana made it possible with just one use of her ability. Though Cliffman had become stronger compared to the past, Liana was on a completely different level.

With just one battle, Liana could annihilate tens of times more monsters than Cliffman had killed throughout his life.

As Cliffman's expression hardened, Liana took his hand.

"Why are you making such a face…? Don't look like that."

"No, it's not that. You and I just have different things we can do. I was just thinking about it for a moment."

"Right…"

Cliffman knew that everyone had different abilities.

While Liana possessed an excessively powerful ability, the fact that Cliffman had killed over a thousand monsters up to this point was already an incredible feat.

It was just a matter of comparing with the wrong person.

Could there be a Supernatural more powerful than Liana?

The moment Liana had gained the ability to summon lightning, Cliffman couldn't help but recall that memory.

In front of her father's coffin, Liana had screamed and awakened her ability.

Although he didn't know much about Supernaturals, Cliffman clearly remembered the moment Liana had awakened to her new Supernatural power after a shocking experience.

And now, she possessed an even greater power.

Had she naturally gained such power?

Or...

"Liana."

"Yeah?"

"Did something... happen?"

Her father's death.

Had she awakened another power through another, similarly significant event?

From Liana's sudden change in complexion at his question, Cliffman could tell that something had indeed happened.

After a brief silence.

"I committed a sin."

"..."

"A sin so great, it couldn't be undone."

It was difficult for Cliffman to understand that it was not a sad event, but something she had brought upon herself.

Liana briefly explained.

She had killed people, not monsters.

Countless people.

She didn't elaborate any further.

"Why... did you do that?"

There was no way Liana would do such a thing without reason, so Cliffman had to ask.

"There was a reason. Definitely."

"..."

With a stern expression, Liana gazed at the wild grasses growing beneath the bare ground in the forest.

"But I realized too late that there are things that shouldn't be done, even if there's a reason."

She had thought it was something that absolutely had to be done, but in the end, it was something that shouldn't have been done.

As a result of doing what shouldn't have been done, someone else was paying the price.

"So now, I don't think about revenge anymore."

Having become someone for whom talking about revenge was laughable, she said that revenge no longer crossed her mind.

Liana had merely stated that.

------

Liana had returned.

No matter how long they talked, their reunion would always feel too short.

Cliffman had left, and Liana was waiting for us at the location we had agreed upon.

"How was it? Did you talk well?"

"Weren't you hiding and listening to everything anyway?"

At Liana's words, Harriet and I couldn't help but flinch.

"...How did you know?"

"You wouldn't do that, would you?"

Me.

Was I unexpectedly an obvious person?

No, thinking that I wasn't obvious might have been a bit absurd.

Liana's expression had lightened. Cliffman's probably had as well.

If that was the case, Cliffman might later be able to support us, but that wasn't the reason Liana had met with Cliffman.

There were things to be resolved before the final battle, apart from political meaning.

"Do you feel relieved?"

"A little?"

Liana smiled and nodded at my question.

There was still much to be done.

"Let's go back; there's no point in staying around here any longer."

Harriet started casting after she finished speaking.

Liana had certainly been afraid.

Cliffman might have changed.

Certainly, Cliffman had changed, but not in the way that Liana feared.

I had certainly taken on a different appearance, but I checked on how everyone was doing.

However, I couldn't tell what their reactions would be when they actually faced me.

Just as Cliffman didn't resent Liana, there might be people who don't really resent me. Scarlett was one such case.

Like Christina, who didn't show it on the surface, they could be harboring hatred within.

Cliffman wasn't someone Liana absolutely had to meet.

But Liana, who faced Cliffman, seemed considerably more at ease.

I too wished to meet someone in that manner.

There wasn't much time left.

There was just one person I wanted to meet so badly.

Besides Ellen, there was only one person.

------

The day before the march, Adriana found herself in a barracks she had never visited before.

She wasn't scared, but she couldn't help feeling tense in an unfamiliar situation.

The owner of the barracks was sitting on a desk, not a chair, with her arms folded, silently watching Adriana.

She had a youthful face.

Her actual age was unknown, but she looked like someone who couldn't be more than six years older than her.

She had a consistently smiling face, giving a good impression wherever she went. But this was Adriana's first time dealing with her, and somehow she couldn't help but feel a sense of unease from her smiling face.

Although she was smiling, her smile seemed too plastered on her face.

Despite the other person smiling, Adriana felt strangely that she didn't look like she was smiling at all.

There was Adriana, a Holy Knight.

And there was the highest commander of the Holy Knights, the Holy Knight Commander, Rowan, right in front of her.

Suddenly, indeed.

Adriana had received a summons from the Holy Knight Commander.

As a Holy Knight who moved with the Temple Army rather than the Holy Knight Order, Adriana was not under their direct control, even though she was technically a member of their order.

Thus, she rarely had any reason to see the newly appointed Holy Knight Commander, which made her feel both puzzled and tense when she was summoned.

The sudden replacement of the former Holy Knight Commander, Eleion Bolton, was strange news even for Adriana, who did not move with the Holy Knight Order.

The exact circumstances of what had happened still hadn't been made clear.

Even Adriana couldn't make sense of the situation, so the confusion within the Holy Knight Order must have been even worse. And that confusion was still ongoing.

There were rumors about Rowan's background being quite unusual amid the controversy and suspicion.

There were whispers of his involvement in the darker aspects of the Holy Order.

Rumors of being an inquisitor of heretics or a member of an assassination squad.

Someone who shouldn't have come out into the open had done so.

Was that even allowed?

Adriana felt the weight of the circulating rumors filled with suspicion.

And now, the new Holy Knight Commander, Rowan, shrouded in suspicion, had summoned Adriana.

She was someone who had never seen her before and had no reason to be interested in her.

Adriana was not even a high-ranking Holy Knight.

While her skills were beyond reproach and she already possessed abilities equal to or greater than those of a high-ranking Holy Knight, she had no actual position or obligations.

And so, the summons from the Holy Knight Commander felt strange to Adriana.

Moreover.

Having called her and made her stand before her, she didn't sit on a chair but rather on a desk, staring intently at her.

She was a smiling woman, but somehow, it was uncomfortable.

Rudely, she couldn't help but think her gaze was unpleasant.

"Commander, did I do something wrong...?"

Eventually, Adriana couldn't help but cautiously speak up first.

At Adriana's words, Rowan tilted her head.

"...No?"

"Then, is there something I need to do...?"

"Hmm..."

Rowan remained silent in response to Adriana's question.

She was an inscrutable woman.

People can usually guess the mood of others from their expressions and reactions to some extent.

However, Holy Knight Commander Rowan, who was right in front of her, was not someone from whom she could feel any such thing.

She was smiling, but she didn't seem to be in a good mood, and she couldn't tell what she was thinking.

As if she had received some sort of special 'training.'

When conversing with someone whose intentions and emotions were indiscernible, people tend to feel discomfort.

However, if that person also held greater power and authority than oneself.

Especially if they held the power over life and death, it was only natural to feel fear instead of discomfort.

Adriana couldn't help but feel that Rowan was accustomed to such situations.

Someone who was accustomed to instilling fear in others just through their attitude.

Naturally, Adriana couldn't help but sense that one of the floating rumors had a high likelihood of being true.

Even though the Holy Knight Commander used polite language with Adriana, a low-ranking subordinate, she couldn't tell if she was being respectful or not.

How much time had passed?

Just as Adriana was thinking that she had become stiff as a board,

"Adriana, your career seems quite impressive."

"...?"

She couldn't help but be more puzzled by the unexpected words.

An impressive career.

Did she have anything that could be described as such?

"Isn't being a Temple Royal Class graduate itself an impressive career?"

"Ah..."

It was that story. Adriana cautiously nodded her head.

The Temple, which gathers talents from all over the continent.

Only those with exceptional abilities were granted admission to the Royal Class. Neither status nor power matters. Only talent determines admission to the Royal Class.

That's why being a Royal Class graduate alone could be considered an impressive career.

"Other people might not know, but I... I'm not so sure."

Adriana wasn't being humble when she said that.

Indeed, powerful Supernaturals and mages definitely possessed the firepower that suited their background and talent.

Comparing herself to those with such formidable talents, Adriana thought she was rather shabby.

"Why? Are only mages and Supernaturals considered talented? Your record in monster extermination is quite extensive, even compared to high-ranking Holy Knights and priests of the Holy Knight Order."

"...Is that so."

She couldn't remember how many times she had been on monster extermination missions. Not only with the allied forces but also during the ongoing Gate crisis, she had continuously gone out to exterminate monsters.

Thus, unbeknownst to her, she had amassed a career worthy of the Holy Knight Commander's attention.

Rowan began reading the document laid beside her on the desk.

"Originating from the Artoon Monastery in Saint Owan, the Duchy of Saint Owan... Birthplace unclear... Received education at the monastery, displayed talent, and entered the Royal Class at the Temple..."

It seemed to be a document containing Adriana's background. Adriana watched as Rowan quietly read through it.

"Left the Temple around the second year... Joined the battle after the outbreak of the Gate incident, returned to the Order... Afterward, enlisted in the Temple Army and served until now..."

As expected, the document contained not only her withdrawal from the Temple but also her return to the Temple and enlistment in the army after the Gate incident.

Rowan didn't read further, which was likely all about her combat experiences. In the end, what was the purpose of having her background prepared and what was she going to say?

Rowan stood up from his desk and approached Adriana.

"Our backgrounds are similar."

"...?"

"I also come from a monastery. An orphan left there."

At those unexpected words, Adriana couldn't help but be taken aback.

Both Rowan and Adriana were children abandoned at a monastery.

Their ages seemed similar, although Rowan seemed slightly older.

"Our talents also seem to have been similar."

With Rowan's words, Adriana became increasingly confused.

Both were orphans from a monastery, of similar age, and even had comparable talents.

But she was the Commander of the Holy Knights, and she was merely a Holy Knight in the Temple Army.

Was she taunting her about their differences?

Adriana didn't understand why the Commander would make such pointless jabs at her.

Rowan brought her hand to Adriana's cheek.

Adriana felt a chill from Rowan's touch on her cheek.

It wasn't due to her discomfort.

The touch was genuinely eerie.

Contrary to her innocent and clean appearance, Rowan's dry palm was excessively rough and firm.

Adriana's hand was similar, but the touch of that dry hand undoubtedly expressed some hardships Rowan had experienced in her life.

The Commander of the Holy Knights looked at an ordinary Holy Knight and said,

"What difference is there between you and me that..."

It wasn't disdain or mockery.

"I am like this, and you are like that..."

In her tone, there was unmistakable jealousy and envy.

Adriana couldn't comprehend the emotions she sensed from Rowan. Why had the Commander of the Holy Knights summoned her, and what did her incomprehensible words mean?

"There is someone who wants to meet you."

The Commander of the Holy Knights simply said that.

------

In the end, the Commander of the Holy Knights only spoke cryptically.

She just informed her that someone wanted to meet her and provided a location and designated time.

The time was set for night.

It was an inexplicable command, but she couldn't refuse it.

Therefore, Adriana headed alone to the southern region of the garrison, a place where no one ventured.

Why had the Commander of the Holy Knights given such an order?

Someone wanted to see her.

Could someone make such a request to the Commander of the Holy Knights just to meet a Holy Knight of Adriana's rank, who wasn't even a high-ranking Holy Knight?

Who could that person be?

Why would such a person want to see her?

Amidst the uncertainty, Adriana left the garrison and continued walking south.

A meadow far from the battlefield, with no traces of combat.

In the moonlight, Adriana soon saw someone sitting in the grass.

"Ah..."

She still couldn't understand what was going on.

She didn't even know how it had come to this.

However, Adriana couldn't help but have some suspicions.

What was happening?

Why had the Commander of the Holy Knights given such an order?

What had happened to the Holy Knights?

She couldn't know everything, but she couldn't help but guess what was happening and what had happened.

And why would anyone want to see someone as insignificant as her?

The person who had been sitting quietly stood up when he saw Adriana.

It wasn't a face she could describe as one from her dreams.

It wasn't a face she had been longing to see.

Their relationship wasn't like that.

They weren't that close.

But undeniably,

still,

deep in her heart,

there was someone she cherished, standing right in front of her.

"Rein...hardt...?"

"It's been a while."

Under the moonlight, her ill-tempered junior smiled sadly, as he always had.

"Senior."

And he called her by the same title as before.

Spellbound, Adriana knew she couldn't understand everything, but she knew one undeniable truth.

"You're safe...!"

As if enchanted, she rushed forward and tightly embraced her terribly ill-natured junior.

"Well, who am I?"

Just like before,

her wicked junior spoke arrogantly.