Chapter 191
Chapter 191
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: Abraham Revealed
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It's a hospital.
Not the streets of Primrose Path, nor Marco's Labyrinth.
As always, Wittelsbach's mana enveloped my core.
'...No.'
This felt different from the mana stored in the artifact.
I looked up, and my eyes met the real Leo's. Narke, Elias, and even Pie were gathered there, all four of them staring at me identically.
Leo finished casting the healing spell and said quietly,
"I did everything just like you said, Lucas."
The day before yesterday, true to the promise I'd made with Leo, I'd held a strategy meeting with him that evening.
Landing a solid hit on the Chairman wasn't easy, so I needed as much help as possible.
Leo had agreed to take advantage of the moment when the Chairman and his men collapsed from the gas, hand the underlings over to the Investigation Bureau, and transport Marco and me to the hospital.
Narke grinned as he spoke.
"Those guys must've been Pleroma or something—they woke up crazy fast~ Had to chase 'em down right away, broke a real sweat."
"That sounds rough. No issues?"
"Hahaha..."
Narke brushed it off with a laugh.
Looks like there was a standoff. I sat up immediately.
"Good work. Where's Marco Shriver?"
"Next room over."
I headed out and opened the door to the adjacent room.
Marco Shriver was sleeping like the dead.
I placed my hand on his core and completed the covenant spell he hadn't finished reciting.
—In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
"......"
His eyelashes twitched. Marco's eyelids slowly opened.
He lay there motionless for a long while, then lifted his own hand and examined it, as if it belonged to someone else. That gaze hinted at what his last ten years had been like.
Slowly, his head turned toward me.
"Jeremiah."
"......"
"You just spoke to me."
It was undone.
Abraham's revelation binding him no longer functioned.
His friends, who had rushed in after me, stared at him in a daze. From their reactions, it seemed Narke had told them everything about the Chairman and Abraham.
Narke smiled.
"It worked."
Driven by his desperate will to save the children, Marco's mental strength had reached its limit, and he would no longer yield to anyone who threatened them.
No matter how much the Chairman used his revelation ability, the risks would drain away. It was only natural, since we couldn't locate the real body.
Even when the Labyrinth had encroached, he hadn't left Marco's body—instead, he'd asked me what I was trying to do.
For Abraham, maintaining the revelation on Marco's flesh was overwhelmingly advantageous, no matter what I did.
But his absence now meant...
"You killed the Chairman, didn't you, Mr. Shriver?"
The words sounded chilling at first glance, but he gave a faint smile and nodded. I meant them in a good way, too.
Without Marco's body, Abraham couldn't become the Chairman.
If he'd already built a church and was thriving, he might have appeared in another body, claiming he'd "resurrected in a new form" to fool the followers. Fortunately, his cult was still in the preparation stage.
His church, his standing, his career—everything he'd built over ten years had crumbled to nothing.
Abraham would have to start from scratch and work another ten years.
"I imagine you remember everything you did as the 'Chairman.' Am I right?"
"...Two sets of memories coexist in me. The ones Abraham implanted, and the ones from acting as him—both."
"Perfect. You've laid the foundation, so now it's my turn to keep my promise. I'll help you deal with Abraham."
Marco stared at me wordlessly.
"Of course, meeting Abraham will be my job alone."
I said that and gave him a look.
"Rest. Once you're recovered, the Investigation Bureau will come for an interview."
He nodded obediently.
Even if it wasn't his true self, he seemed fully aware of the crimes committed in his body.
As I stepped out of the room, Leo said,
"Lucas. You're not heading out again, right? Rest for a bit."
"I will."
I meant it.
The emotions from Marco's memories still lingered in a corner of my heart.
The Empire's crime from ten years ago, abandoning 353 citizens to die, couldn't be undone. And the children Marco had revived as Pleroma would never remember their father.
Even though he'd willingly become a living corpse for them for a decade.
I needed to escape this heavy truth.
I returned to the bed I'd woken up in earlier and caught my breath. Leo sat beside me and spoke seriously.
"What do you think happens next? Losing that tower he spent ten years on must be devastating for Abraham, but he's probably built a solid position in his original body already. You know he didn't live 24/7 as the 'Chairman.'"
"Weren't you the one telling me to rest?"
"Yeah? I meant don't go wandering around."
Leo replied with a gentle face, as if wondering what the issue was.
As expected of the model student who thought using his brain was no big deal... Thinking burns calories, too.
Of course, since he'd been casting healing magic on my body the whole time, he knew I wasn't physically fatigued.
Elias, who'd been listening with a smile, jumped in at the opening.
"Yeah, Lucas, stop running around. Sit down and read that Pope Gregory book you brought. We just saw you the other day, but it feels like forever~"
"You're right."
I'd rewound time so often, it felt even longer to me.
"Sigh... Leaving only Lucas to do the legwork. If Primrose Path hadn't flagged me, I'd have gone myself. Use me a little!"
"No."
"So firm. How can I get into your plans~?"
I chuckled lightly.
I'd only use him for insane jobs.
Besides, he was all talk—he'd be digging around behind my back anyway. He might be doing it right now without me knowing.
And...
"It's over now. You don't need to worry about being useful for my plans."
This long saga of Primrose Path and the campus rampage would come to an end with one man: Abraham.
Even if, for Abraham, it was just the beginning.
I shook off the thought and turned to my friends and Pie.
"Forget it and focus on school. The third exam's coming up soon anyway."
"Is it really the professors?"
"Sounds like it."
Leo earnestly piled on to Elias's teasing.
No words for that. I hadn't felt like a student myself.
'Strictly speaking, I was a student until the end in my original world, too.'
Except for high school, every phase of my life had more time spent at work than school, so I never really felt like one then or now.
Anyway, with the storm clearing and a moment to breathe, I set aside my complicated thoughts and listened to my friends' chatter.
Of course, they quickly dragged the topic back to me.
"Lucas, shouldn't you have at least asked that guy what Abraham looks like? He'd know. I cheer your headfirst dives into the unknown, but this seems a bit much~"
Valid point.
But I shook my head.
"He doesn't know either."
"What?! He gave you blood!"
"Yeah. But he didn't drink it directly. And he probably didn't deliver it himself. He'd have used a servant to pass it to Abraham."
Narke tilted his head at my words.
"Guessing~?"
"Marco Shriver was under mental manipulation magic. Once Abraham saw his face, he'd bring in a divine power mage to erase the memory. Or cast perception distortion at the time."
It might be hard for my friends to swallow.
I couldn't tell them everything, so it came off curt, but from my perspective, it was nearly certain—not a guess.
If Marco knew Abraham's face, I'd have recognized it precisely in the Labyrinth.
An important figure who'd used his body for ten years, and he couldn't remember the face properly? That screams mental tampering. Nothing more to squeeze out of him.
"You could ask His Excellency Shriver yourself."
Elias shook his head.
"No need when you're this confident. But knowing only the name Abraham? We'll waste time just searching! Isn't this the perfect time to use me~?"
Elias leaned in with a grin.
No idea what he planned to uncover. It only made me worry about the fallout.
"Thanks, but stay out of it."
"Why?"
"I already know who Abraham is."
Leo's gaze turned to me. Elias's eyes widened.
Pie, who'd been nibbling grass alone, sensed the mood and looked up at me.
"You do?"
* * *
Questions poured in about what made me so sure.
I had solid grounds. More than one, even.
For now, I could just spectate the funeral.
I needed to relax a bit before meeting Abraham. It wouldn't last long.
The next evening, an excited investigator's voice came through the artifact.
[Your Excellency Ernst, you were right!]
"Right?"
[No, I don't even know how to put it... You said there'd be someone who'd given revelations to the professors, right? Congressman Alexander Kluger is doing an interview in the Imperial Newspaper right now—you see it? He's saying exactly what you did!]
"Hmm."
I turned up the artifact's volume and rustled the newspaper.
The Pleroma congressman I'd threatened yesterday was giving a lively interview in the Imperial Newspaper.
[A mage introducing himself as Abraham or Gregory is causing problems across society. Abraham can issue direct commands to people's brains if he has their blood. With Pentaron approaching and chaos in the air, crimes could spike—citizens, please be extra vigilant...]
'Not bad.'
He really looked like he cared about the citizens' safety.
I'd only seen him blubbering in front of me twice, so I hadn't expected much, but a congressman was still a congressman, even as Pleroma.
Anyway, people didn't know he was Pleroma. Positions carry trust. That's why we needed to borrow not just Nikolaus's mouth, but the Federal Committee's congressmen to broadcast nationwide.
[He can change his name and appearance at will. Two hours ago, former Vice Minister Marco Shriver revealed he'd lived for ten years under Abraham's control. Report anyone demanding blood unreasonably, and avoid conversations with strangers as much as possible.]
Marco's article dropped at 6 p.m. too.
I'd said there was no rush to release it, and I'd wanted to monitor public opinion more considering his mentality and image before going public, but he was adamant.
Probably to strip Abraham's cards as fast as possible.
I read the Imperial Newspaper while rifling through the stand. Needed to check the others too.
"Oh, a priest?"
I smacked the artifact to mute it at the shopkeeper's words.
Seeing me punch my ear, he looked baffled, so I quickly switched to a smile.
"Yeah, that's right~"
"Which parish?"
"Not here—America. I'm American."
"Ah~ Now that you mention it, you do have that vibe."
What vibe...
I laughed vaguely and changed the subject.
"Anyway, this is blowing up. Hasn't even been an hour since it dropped."
"Abraham? Makes sense. A unique ability like that is unprecedented in Empire history. Probably nowhere else either."
Exactly.
Abraham's ability hadn't been reported in the Empire before.
That's why the imperial mage during the professors' interrogation hadn't easily bought my reasoning.
I scanned the front pages within reach.
[ Crown Prince Elizabeth Hohenlohe: 'Will Personally Oversee Primrose Path Investigation' ]
[Under 'Abraham' Control for 10 Years... Shriver's Shocking Revelation ]
[Who is Abraham—A New Humanity Supremacist and Cult Leader?]
['Abraham's' Superpower: Real Brain Control Ability?]
[Former Magic Bureau Vice Minister Marco Shriver: 'Controlled for 10 Years by Mage with Unidentified Ability']
[Primrose Path 'Chairman' Was Former Vice Minister Marco Shriver? Mastermind Separate]
So it was natural people were terrified.
Articles kept flooding in because of it.
Even using other identities, Abraham couldn't operate like before.
Of course, plenty doubted if Marco was lying.
I bought one paper and read an article.
[The Primrose Path operatives captured are all Pleroma, and they testified he was indeed the Chairman managing all venues and funding them. One operative called Shriver's claims 'a ploy to evade punishment.']
A perfectly reasonable suspicion.
At this stage, at least.
But that wasn't what mattered to me now.
Someone would come looking for me.
I strolled along with a bottle of liquor in one hand and the newspaper in the other.
Fortunately, it didn't take long to get nabbed.
"You can't go in!"
Someone blocked my path.
The scattered onlookers on the street turned their eyes to me.
It was warranted.
This was right in front of Primrose Path, just after the emergency task force formed over the Marco and Abraham incidents.
The detective from the Investigation Bureau peered closely at my face—under perception distortion magic—and frowned.
"Aren't you a priest? What's your business here?"
"Hey! No time for questions—let him in!"
Another detective yelled from inside the cordon.
The first one gestured roughly at me and turned away.
"Go back. Can't enter for a while."
No point arguing when told no.
I hadn't come to enter anyway.
I nodded and turned, locking eyes with someone clutching a stack of papers.
Lemon-yellow hair, golden eyes.
From the attire and what he held, clearly investigation-related. Among them, this tall new humanity with an air of high rank approached me with intrigued eyes.
"What's your business?"
"Came to watch the investigation. Atmosphere's off, though."
"Haha, same here. That's what I thought."
"Yeah~?"
"Yeah. Why watch the investigation?"
He asked with a proper smile.
"Figured someone would come looking for me."
"Hmm? Hahaha."
"What's so funny? Same reason for you, isn't it?"
No answer came.
I slowly turned my head to look at the man beside me.
"Isn't it, Your Highness the Crown Prince?"
Golden eyes like Adelbert's gleamed brightly.
Without tearing my gaze from those deep crimson irises, I corrected myself.
"No—Abraham."