Her eyes darted to Ulrich before dancing across the room. The chairs and table were scattered, no, more than that. There was a gaping hole that had collapsed to the lower floor. She coughed, the dust settling in her lungs. Then, she saw Victor lying on the floor, her expression shifted.
“What happened here?” She asked with worry.
Captain Ottis turned to Ulrich, his voice low. “We will need an explanation.”
After confirming Terry Mondie's position and firing the signal flare, they were attacked! By a Bishop of the Twilight Order no less! Fortunately, an old man had marked him in the shadow realm, allowing another member of his organization to follow him, and thus, lending a hand in the process. All of these words were spoken mentally in Ulrich’s head.
The seer loosened his grip, letting the dark arrow dissipate into nothingness, then relaxed his shoulder.
“We were attacked.” He said.
Captain Ottis listened attentively, not interrupting the young junior of their organization. Meanwhile, Rosaline descended into the lower floor, examining Victor’s condition.
“It was Lewis Smith.”
The name had Captain Ottis blink, followed by a cold gasp. “The one that you killed before?”
He nodded. “He was ready. Both of them, Terry Mondie and Lewis Smith. They work together to set up this ambush, knowing that we were going to attack.”
Recalling Lewis Smith's reactions, as well as their first encounter, Ulrich churned with thoughts and speculations.
“I believe it was all planned since the start, and I mean, everything.”
Captain Ottis leaned against the broken door frame, his face solemn as he took out a smoking pipe.
“How so?”
At this point, Ulrich was a worthy asset. If it was true that they were ambushed, attacked, and everything thus far was a set up, then there was no questioning what the Twilight Order was up to. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good news, far from it. The seer below him was inexperienced, but he was the only person who came into contact with Lewis Smith the earliest and most intimately.
As a matter of fact, reaching this point was all due to Ulrich’s persuasion and persistence. That, the experienced Captain had to admit, was worthy of praise.
“Back then, I dabbled in mysticism, yes, but only Divinations. Nothing else, I swear on the Mother. When I learned about the prohibition, I was afraid, scared perhaps. ” He admitted, only switching up the chronological order of certain events to cushion his crime. Though he knew, Captain Ottis and Rosaline wouldn't condemn a young man's curiosity, not in the slightest.
Meanwhile, Ottis Owen acknowledged the youth’s fear with a curt nod.
“The first divination I performed was Coin Divination, and the target was Selena Morris, my friend. Well, I was skeptical at first about Divination, so I had to make sure it worked before divinating about Selena.”
By this point, Rosaline finished examining Victor, a subtle smile reaching her eyes. Then, she turned to Ulrich, praising him. “You’re smart, unlike some people.”
“Prior to Selena's absence, I borrowed a book from her, but when I returned to the library to give it back, she was no longer there. Ms. Francis took over her shift. I was doubtful. And out of curiosity, I divinated one question.”
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Technically, it was true. But Ulrich prefers holding the cards to himself and only exposes one. He held his breath, then let it out.
"Is Selena's absence from the library voluntary?"
That was the statement he had divinated back then. It was the start of everything: his meeting with Lewis Smith, killing him, encountering the Ministry, and eventually joining the secret organization. Everything else that follows was the result of this single divination.
In that moment, Captain Ottis, Rosaline, and Ulrich looked at each other in silence. None spoke a word, letting the question hang freely in the air.
After about a minute, Rosaline spoke with curiosity etched on her face. “So? What was the result?”
Had it been any other time, the seer would’ve cracked a joke. However, the situation was too pressing for such tomfoolery.
“It was false, meaning that her absence was involuntary. Following that, I checked on her home, then encountered Lewis Smith. The rest, I’m sure you know.”
“You killed him during a direct confrontation; we’ve checked thoroughly.”
Ulrich nodded.
Captain Ottis tapped the smoking pipe with his index finger, doubt rising on his face. “How is he still alive? Wasn’t he just a weak Weaver? Being Rank 1, maybe Rank 2 at most?”
The seer smiled, though it didn’t reach his eye. “I had the same thought. I didn’t understand what you meant when you said I was lucky back then, that I had managed to kill him in a direct, unprepared confrontation. But now I understand.”
Rosaline and Captain locked onto Ulrich’s eyes immediately, their heart wrung with tension. The little watchman opened his mouth, then closed it. After a second, he opened it again, his voice now solemn and dejected.
“He let me. He wanted to die. Maybe it was all part of his power, some kind of puppet control. But he fooled me into thinking that I killed him. I performed a divination on that spot back then; it said he was alive, but that made no sense. The man’s identification matched the face I blew up. How could he be alive?”
Captain Ottis's eyes lit up with realization. “You would have continued questioning it, but we changed your mind. We met you, explained how you killed him, shared our investigation result, and you, none the wiser, trusted us. Believing it was your lacking skill that must have produced a false result.”
Ulrich didn’t stop there and proceeded to drop a bombshell in the room that startled even Rosaline, the usually indifferent Keeper.
“I also learned of Lewis Smith's true identity.” He said, drawing the Captain and Keeper’s attention.
“Oh?”
“Lewis Smith is the Bishop of the Twilight Order.”
“Seriously?” Rosaline blinked, then blinked again. “Are you certain?”
Ulrich spoke with confidence. “He reintroduced himself as the Bishop of the Twilight Order. And when I killed ‘Lewis Smith’ back then, I found a note. The Twilight Order was searching for an item, but they lost it, and had requested the help of a Bishop. His code name was L. I assume L. could simply mean Lewis Smith.”
"All I know is that the Twilight Order has one objective, an item. It's so important that they are willing to involve a Weaver on the Bishop level. Important enough for these madmen to plan everything months ago. The Resistance Leader and their organizations, it all started two months ago, when the First Kidnapping occurred, and when the Resistance arrived. I believe all of it is for the sake of that item."
Ulrich paused, gathering his breath and spit out one final statement with an ashen face, "Whatever this item is, I don't think it's good. The madmen are obsessed with their Twilight Lord. This item is definitely connected to 'him', a 'God', drowned, but a 'God' no less."
Once again, the silence filled the room with the occasional sound coming from Victor as he rolled on his side, his snore echoing in the room. Neither the Keeper, Captain, nor Seer spoke. All of them relished in the silence, using it as a moment of respite. After about five minutes, a series of footsteps echoed from behind the door. Gradually, it came close; a man's face popped from behind Captain Ottis.
It was Erwin, the doctor, who was supposed to be on standby. Captain Ottis put out the flame, cleaned the smoking pipe, then made way with a smile on his face. “At least there is some good news tonight.” He said, his eyes resting on Ulrich like he was the star of the show.
“And you are blessed by Lady Luck tonight, Ulrich.”
Ulrich tilted his head, confused and unable to guess the meaning of his captain's words. “What?” He blurted, looking at Erwin's face and his sweaty skin.
“Young lad, you wouldn’t believe what we found.” The doctor said, nudging his glasses.
Found?
Erwin had the urge to tease the seer further; however, noticing Captain Ottis’s piercing gaze, he cleared his throat and gestured something behind him.
“Tada! Selena Morris, alive and in the flesh!” He’d expected the young watchman to jump with delight, but the man’s face twisted, like encountering his worst nightmare.