Advent of the Three Calamities-Chapter 482: Mysterious Woman [1]

Clank-

Closing the door behind me, I took a deep breath and slumped down on the nearest bed. "...I might not live long at this rate."

I was thankfully able to dodge the bullet for now, but there was no guarantee things would remain that way. I had to prepare myself for the inevitable day Leon was going to learn about his true origins.

Once that happened then...

"Haa."

I covered my face with both hands.

"It'll be a horrible day."

A day of sadness.

'No, I can't think about such terrible things now.'

There were more pressing matters to focus on-like the current expedition. To be honest, I still didn't have much information about the whole affair. All I knew was that we'd be hosted by a certain Household and tasked with scouting the situation within Kasha.

Why did the trades stop? And what was happening there? Furthermore, why couldn't the Empires figure out what was going on?

"No, maybe it's because they are so busy with the current state of affairs that they can't check."

I knew for a fact that the Empires had enough power to check the situation within the Kasha. The only plausible reason why they couldn't figure it out was because of how volatile the problem with the Mirror Cracks was.

"Maybe there is so-"

"Human."

"Hm?"

A pair of eyes gazed at me from above as a head popped into my vision.

"Owl-Mighty? What's wrong?"

Owl-Mighty wasn't usually the type to appear out of nowhere like this.

"Did something happen?"

"Yes."

I quickly sobered up upon hearing the gravity hidden in its tone. As I sat up, Owl-Mighty hopped off my chest and looked up at me from the bed.

"There's something off."

"....What happened?"

I instantly grew alert and looked around me. I didn't feel anything. Furthermore, with the Empress and Emperor of the Empire both present, who would have the guts to do anything? If it wasn't here then...

"Do you feel something coming from the outside walls?"

"Yes."

Owl-Mighty nodded, its deep, penetrating eyes seeming to pierce through the thick walls of the room, gazing intently toward the towering walls that loomed at the edge of the city.

'I've never seen Owl-Mighty look so grim.'

While Owl-Mighty usually tended to be serious, this was the first time I almost felt something akin to 'wariness' from the owl.

For someone who was trying to learn about emotions, this was quite a clear sign to me that the situation was a lot more serious than I previously anticipated.

'Should I go and report this?'

But how could I tell them that there was something wrong out there?

'Does it even matter?'

Thinking about it, couldn't I just say this directly to Delilah? She'd probably question me for a bit, but after getting to know her better, I knew she would stop after a certain point. She'd just get too bored talking about it, or just leave me at my own devices.

If that didn't work, then there was also Atlas.

He could definitely help me out. Not only was he part of the Royal Family, but he was also a powerful seat within the Inverted Sky.

If it was him then...

"I can sense my true body outside of the walls."

"....Eh?"

All thoughts ceased the moment I heard Owl-Mighty's words.

"Wait, what?"

Did I just hear correctly? Owl-Mighty's true body was outside of the walls?

"But how? Last I recall your main body should be in the Mirror Dimension. Don't you have a connection with it?"

"I do."

"And...?"

"I lost it."

"???"

And you tell me that now?

"When did it happen?"

"...A day ago."

"What? Why did you only tell

now?!"

"Because I was trying to find a connection until now. It's not rare for me to lose connection with my main body, but this time it's different. Rather than losing connection, it's more like someone took that connection."

The more Owl-Mighty talked, the more shocked I became. I knew that Owl-Mighty had inserted a strand of his consciousness in me by using his bone. He had done this so that he

could better understand emotions.

...It was a deal the two of us had made.

Once he learned all that he needed to learn, Owl-Mighty planned on returning his

consciousness back to its main body and breaking through to the Destroyer-Rank.

In the process, I would still get to keep the bone while Owl-Mighty planned on using its time

with me to develop a new one in its real body.

Everything was proceeding accordingly, so how...?

How was it possible for Owl-Mighty's body to move on its own accord?

"Something is controlling my main body, pulling it out of the Mirror Dimension. With my main consciousness residing in your body, I couldn't put up much resistance."

"That..."

"That's not all."

Owl-Mighty turned its head to the right where a black cat appeared. Pebble wore a similar

grim look, his eyes fixed on the land beyond the walls.

"You also feel it don't you?"

|| ||

Pebble didn't answer, but its grim look told me enough.

My heart sank.

With the two of them being monsters, they could detect things others couldn't.

"What? What did you feel?"

Looking back at me, Owl-Mighty's beak opened, "My body isn't the only one that is being controlled. I'm afraid it's much more than that."

"More?"

A lump formed in my throat.

I was just about to open my mouth to speak when the world around me darkened and my head

started to feel light.

'Ah, this...'

Familiar with the entire process, I didn't panic.

I just calmly accepted the changes and waited for the darkness to fade.

For I was having another vision.

Thump!

I felt something hard pressing against my lower body as my body stumbled down on the

ground.

"Ukh...!"

A groan escaped my lips.

'Wait, what is this smell?' Before I could take in my surroundings, a putrid, acidic smell assaulted my nostrils, carrying a

sharp sting that made me wince.

With a blurred vision, my head raised as I looked around.

But it was hard to see.

I could hardly see.

'... What is going on here?'

Through my blurred vision, I caught sight of the sky above me. It was gray, but a softer,

lighter shade-different from the oppressive gray of the Mirror Dimension.

I blinked my eyes, and then...

Half of my vision suddenly dyed red.

!....!'

Squelch!

What followed after it was a familiar squelching sound as something gripped my right wrist,

planting me in place.

As I blinked again, my vision gradually sharpened, bringing the world into clearer focus.

What didn't make sense suddenly made sense and I realized the reason for the red within my

vision.

'Owl-Mighty.'

I turned my head slightly, my gaze falling on my right wrist, where a thick root had wrapped

itself tightly, pulsing faintly as it held me firmly in place.

Drip, drip!

My skin tingled painfully as faint droplets of water drizzled from above, their rhythmic

dripping resonating sharply in my ears.

It was all I could hear.

All I could hear until...

Tak-

The single sound of a footstep shattered the noise.

When my head turned, a figure I was all too familiar with appeared again.

"Ah."

My expression changed. From shock to acceptance. The process was quick, and I felt my lips

curl in amusement.

"Looks like they've got you."

SHIIING-

The sharp tip of a sword pointed at my face.

I felt my breath falter as I caught a glimpse of my own reflection. There, I saw that my smile

hadn't faded; in fact, the amusement was even more pronounced.

"... Why am I not even surprised? At this point, this seems like the norm."

Leon's sword trembled faintly and his vacant eyes faintly shook. It was then that I noticed his

arm was bandaged, a detail I hadn't caught before. "What? It's not like I'm wrong?"

Chuckling, the smile slowly faded from my face as mana began to rapidly drain from my body.

Purple hands emerged from the ground, but before they could fully take form, Leon thrust his

sword forward, aiming to strike me down. Just as the blade was about to impale my neck, he

froze, stopping mid-motion.

Click, clack-

A gentle click resounded in the air and a figure appeared not so far from where he was.

The moment I laid my eyes on the figure, whose features became clear the closer she came,

my heart almost stopped beating.

Because...

"Ah, looks like you've finally shown up. And here I thought you wouldn't show up."

She bore an uncanny resemblance to...

"Mother."

Julien.

***

'I'm always happy to help you. We may not have the same status, as you're my knight, but I'll always

make sure to treat you right.'

'Come now, you look pale. Let me help you.'

'You see, I do this quite a lot for him. Like I said, I treat him like a b... b... brother.'

'I would never wish to sell him.'

'He's part of my family.'

Shaa-

Water dripped down from the sink as Leon washed his face over and over again. His face was

pale, and his hands couldn't stop trembling.

Recalling the series of events that had transpired moments prior, the trembling grew worse

and his stomach churned.

".... What is he planning?"

Fear had completely taken over Leon's mind.

Yes, fear.

All he felt was fear upon thinking about Julien's unusual behavior. He wanted it to stop. He

couldn't handle it any longer.

"What should I do?" Leon felt a rare sense of despair.

How long has it been since he had felt this way before?

Closing down the water, Leon came out of the bathroom and was just about to fall on the bed

when he heard a soft knock on his door.

11

He flinched, flicking his head to look at the door with trembling eyes.

'It's not him, right?'

Leon bit his lips.

He wasn't sure he could handle the current Julien. No, he was sure he might take some drastic

actions if he saw Julien.

"That, I am-"

"I'm not Julien."

Leon's entire body relaxed when he heard the unfamiliar yet familiar voice. It took him a few

seconds to recognize the voice.

Amell? What was he doing here?

Though Leon was confused, he opened the door and greeted Amell.

"Do you need anything from me?"

"Ah, no... I'm just checking up on the cadets to see if they were fine."

This was actually not the truth.

Amell had come up to check on Leon to see if he was doing well. He had seen him looking sick

when Julien had brought him up, and after everything that he had observed, he was able to see through Julien's weird behavior.

'Does he think Leon will do something to him if he finds out about his origin? Does he have a guilty

conciense?'

That would explain his behavior, but how did he know? This was something that Amell had been wondering ever since Julien had relayed to him that he knew. Not many people knew.

While the two of them had the same colored eyes, gray eyes weren't exactly uncommon. There

were many people with similar-looking eyes.

Then...?

'Did he know from the start, or did he figure it out himself?'

As Amell was busy pondering over the situation, Leon cocked his head.

"I'm doing fine."

"Uh, oh."

Amell quickly snapped out of it and looked at Leon. Pursing his lips, he nodded his head.

"I see. I hope you enjoy your stay over here. If there's anything you need please do tell me." "Will do."

Leon prepared to close the door when Amell suddenly laughed, putting on a friendly smile. "Haha, now that I think about it, our eyes are quite similar. I heard you were picked up by the

Evenus family from a young age. What do you think the chances are that we're related?"

"?"

Leon cocked his head and looked at Amell.

Besides the eyes, they didn't look alike at all.

"Pretty low."

Amell's face twitched, but he soon recovered.

"I guess, but what would you do if we actually were?"

"What I would do?"

Leon didn't think much. He already had an answer.

"I'd sell Julien."

"Uh?"

What did he just-

Clank!

Leon closed the door, leaving a stunned-looking Amell who blankly stood by the door with an

open mouth.

'That...'

He licked his dry lips.

'... Why does it look like he's not joking?'