23
Chapter 23
Sancta walked toward Benny.
She placed her hand on his side.
— Whoosh!
A white light radiated from her hand. The light pushed back the darkness. Mana enveloped Benny's side.
Its speed, range, and density were entirely different from typical Healing Type mana.
The VIPs each reacted differently to the sight they had never seen before.
Edouard unfolded his arms. Lionel was speechless. Garrett stared intently at the light.
Esme tried to deduce what the light was. It didn't take long for her to realize its identity.
Disbelief was written clearly across Esme's face. In her eighty-three years, she had never seen such a thing in person.
"How can such a child..."
Nadia whispered softly, unable to take her eyes off the light.
Benny surrendered himself to the light. His side grew warmer, and the heavy, pressing pain gradually began to vanish.
"...Thanks, Sancta."
Sancta did not respond. She remained expressionless as usual, though her eyebrows were slightly furrowed.
Just then.
Isael clenched his fists. His expression shifted.
Where a gentle smile had once been, there was now nothing.
The mask he had maintained for decades was stripped away in a single moment.
Isael's gaze locked onto Sancta. He couldn't pull his eyes away from the light, his pupils trembling slightly.
"It can't be."
He muttered to himself.
Isael began walking toward Sancta.
"No way."
Fast.
"It can't be!"
Faster.
"No way!!"
"It can't be!!!"
"No way!!!!"
"It can't be!!!!!!"
Isael was now sprinting toward Sancta.
Sensing his approach, Sancta squeezed her eyes shut. Her entire body froze in an inexplicable terror.
Benny stepped in and blocked his path.
— Thud.
Isael's feet came to a halt. Benny stood his ground, arms spread wide to shield her.
"Move."
Isael spoke, but it wasn't his usual gentle voice.
"No!!!"
Benny shouted.
His determination was absolute.
Isael reached out his hand.
At that moment.
Enoch's hand snatched Isael's wrist just before it could reach Benny.
Enoch spoke.
"That's enough."
His voice echoed across the entire Empty Lot.
"First Apostle of the Lucea Holy State, Isael. Don't even think about touching my kid."
Isael and Enoch glared at one another.
Silence fell over the Empty Lot. Even the wind and the grass grew still.
Isael slowly withdrew his hand, letting go of the grip Enoch held.
Isael caught his breath, struggling to regain his composure.
"Do you... do you know what kind of child she is?"
His voice steadied.
Enoch stared intently at Isael.
"I do."
"......."
"You're talking about the Stigma, aren't you?"
Esme's and Isael's eyes widened at Enoch's words.
Silence filled the air.
'How on earth does that teacher know about that?!'
Esme leaned on her staff, unable to hide her sheer astonishment.
"Stigma?"
Nadia whispered. Even the Merchant Guild Leader of the Sharan Republic had never heard the word.
Isael's eyes wavered.
"How could someone who isn't a member of the Holy State know about the Stigma...?"
"I heard about it. A long time ago."
"...From whom?"
Enoch hesitated before responding.
"From a member of the Holy State."
Isael was at a loss for words.
'Stigma.'
The Token of the Saintess.
She was exactly what Isael needed most right now.
He needed her to bring order to the Holy State, which was in chaos both inside and out.
Enoch already knew this.
He had claimed to have heard it from a member of the Holy State.
But Isael had no way of knowing who it was or when it occurred.
'How can I get that child...'
Enoch picked up on Isael's intention.
"If you're thinking of taking her."
His gaze turned cold in an instant.
It was hard to believe this was the same man who had been blankly watching the sparring.
"You'll have to deal with me first."
In that moment.
Everyone in the Empty Lot felt a terrible chill. Their complexions turned pale.
Bloodlust.
The tangible sensation of a will to kill.
It was on a completely different level than any bloodlust they had ever faced. A suffocating pressure weighed down their entire bodies.
Their skin reacted first. Goosebumps broke out across their arms.
Next was the chest. It felt as if something were crushing the center of their heart.
They struggled to breathe, but the air wouldn't enter their lungs.
Then they realized.
This wasn't Enoch's conscious will.
It was their own bodies reacting to the bloodlust.
Countless past experiences were screaming at them.
— Run if you want to survive.
Even Garrett, who entered battlefields like his own home, began to break into a cold sweat.
The years Enoch had spent in countless life-and-death struggles were etched into his very being.
Even without conscious effort, his invisible scars were felt by everyone around him.
Anyone who felt Enoch's bloodlust had the same thought.
—Just how long has he been fighting?
—How many deaths has he witnessed?
They understood it intellectually.
They knew Enoch wasn't an enemy, but their bodies refused to believe it.
Nadia took half a step back, only realizing it a moment later. Her legs had simply moved on their own.
Lionel was speechless. For the first time in his life, he couldn't find the words.
Edouard froze. The most cold-hearted noble of the Elysia Empire lost his composure.
Garrett slightly raised his sword before lowering it—a purely instinctive, defensive reflex.
Esme leaned heavily on her staff.
'What... what is this?'
Though no one spoke, they were all thinking the same thing.
Edelyn and Morse walked quietly up behind Enoch.
From the back, Benny whispered to Edelyn.
"Why is everyone acting like this all of a sudden?"
Edelyn looked at Enoch and then scanned the area. The VIPs were backing away.
"...I don't know."
Morse quietly pulled Sancta into an embrace.
The atmosphere was entirely different from when they had faced the Red Fang.
Enoch was issuing a genuine warning.
The VIPs stumbled back, pushed by the immense pressure.
Isael took another step back, his legs trembling violently.
Unable to watch any longer, Esme stepped forward.
"Ambassador Isael, you as well."
Her words were low and brief.
"Withdraw completely."
Isael looked at Esme, who remained focused on Enoch.
Tension was evident in Esme's eyes.
Isael nodded. Keeping his gaze fixed on Enoch, he slowly retreated.
The bloodlust gradually began to lift.
The air returned to normal.
Nadia exhaled sharply, and Lionel cleared his throat.
Edouard crossed his arms with trembling hands, needing a moment to steady himself.
Enoch snapped at Isael.
"Focus on cleaning up the Order's internal affairs."
Isael's expression stiffened.
"How long are you going to let yourself be played?"
Isael stared at Enoch with a look of disbelief.
"Just how much do you actually know?"
Enoch looked into the distance, lost in thought. His face was so serene it almost seemed the aura that had swallowed the lot had been an illusion.
Enoch said nothing more.
Isael stared at him for a moment before putting his mask back on.
His usual smile returned.
However, his eyes did not smile.
Enoch turned and gave his companions a warm gaze.
"Let's go."
Benny answered reflexively.
"Yes!"
His voice was bright, sounding as if he hadn't felt the bloodlust that had just filled the lot.
As Enoch stepped away, his party followed.
Morse walked, holding Sancta's hand. Her sister's hand was still trembling.
Morse squeezed her hand.
The party crossed the Empty Lot.
Enoch turned his head toward the VIPs as he walked.
"I enjoyed the meal."
That was all.
The party vanished into the darkness. Footsteps grew distant. Benny's questioning voice was heard faintly and then disappeared.
Only the VIPs remained in the Empty Lot.
Nadia collapsed on the spot. Her legs gave out. It wasn't so much that she sat down, but that her knees buckled.
Lionel plopped down beside her.
The two stared into the darkness.
There was silence for a moment. No words came.
Garrett's expression was stiff. He watched the direction Enoch had vanished, hand resting on his sword.
His face was completely different from how it had been after the sparring match.
Edouard was lost in thought. He was certain his predictions had been correct.
Isael maintained an awkward smile.
Esme leaned on her staff, looking where Enoch had disappeared.
"I knew he wasn't ordinary, but..."
She narrowed her eyes and continued.
"I never expected this level of power."
Everyone who had felt the bloodlust agreed with Esme.
Nadia asked Lionel in a low voice.
"I wasn't the only one overwhelmed by that bloodlust, right?"
"Was that even bloodlust to begin with?"
Lionel added, looking down at the grass.
"To me, it felt more like..."
"Something more primal."
Garrett finished Lionel's sentence. Everyone in the group empathized.
Lionel asked Isael as if something had just occurred to him.
"What exactly is a Stigma? What is it that made you try to take that child so rashly?"
"Exactly. I'm curious too."
Nadia nodded. Despite the scrutiny, Isael only kept smiling silently.
Realizing Isael had no intention of answering, Lionel changed the subject.
"That F Class teacher named Enoch... who on earth is he?"
Garrett spoke briefly.
"I don't know."
Lionel was used to Garrett's silence, but it was the first time he'd heard him admit ignorance.
Isael frowned.
— Focus on cleaning up the Order's internal affairs. How long are you going to let yourself be played? —
Those words wouldn't leave his mind.
From the Order's secret internal affairs to the source of the information, and the fact that he was being manipulated.
'Does that mean he sees through everything...?'
Isael was confused.
Nadia said, leaning her hand on the grass.
"I think I ate something wrong for dinner tonight."
Lionel chuckled at that.
Silence fell over the Empty Lot.
Stars twinkled and the wind passed. The grass swayed.
Vivianne stared intently in the direction Enoch had vanished.