The Apostle's Shadow Descends

An emergency meeting for the Apostle had been convened. Mirien had been summoned in haste, and soon Count Albio Yurtel, agents from the Yurtel branch of Argos, and mages from the Magic Tower gathered in my living room. Spies from the enemy infiltrating Yurtel wasn't a new occurrence, but nothing had ever stirred up this level of tension and unease.

"You mean the target can't be read at all?"

"Nothing shows up. It's like there's noise interfering—impossible to read anything."

"Isn't it possible because there are too many futures, making it unreadable?"

"If that were the case, my head would hurt, but it wouldn't shock me like this. It doesn't show up at all. No idea how, but we can't read the target whatsoever."

Something was coming, but we had no clue what. It was a first. After arriving in this world, I'd encountered my first being immune to my ability. It wasn't like the emperor, where the sheer number of possibilities overloaded it—no, it simply didn't appear. As anxiety made my hands tremble, Mirien gripped them firmly.

"Do not tremble. I am at your side. Kaien will not stand by and watch you die."

I was still meeting regularly with the warriors dispatched from Kaien, informing them of earthquake dates and attacks from the tree monsters known as Betua. Kaien could never abandon me. And the empire was no different.

"We'll mobilize Argos's full intelligence network. We'll stop it, no matter what it takes. Great Seer, please don't worry."

The count chimed in as well. "Without you, Yurtel falls. I won't sit idly by."

His words eased the shaking in my body. Right. I wasn't alone. The empire had my back. That thought calmed my mind a bit. I took a deep breath and scanned the room.

"Let's devise a plan."

Everyone here was an expert. And like true professionals, they swiftly began filling the gap left by my ability.

"From the Red Alliance's perspective, terrorizing all of Yurtel would carry too much political baggage. So far, they've only executed operations targeting specific individuals for assassination—nothing aimed at Yurtel itself."

The count nodded at the Argos branch chief's words. "The moment a single civilian in Yurtel gets hurt, it's war between the empire and the Alliance. With both sides holding nukes, escalating to that level would burden the Red Alliance too."

"Exactly. It's a war where both sides deploy everything they've got, but no civilians can be harmed or killed. That's the conflict we're fighting now. In other words, that entity arriving in three days is targeting only you, Great Seer."

"Its abilities must be specialized for that field, then."

"Precisely."

That narrowed it down. The Magic Tower's chief mage, the most knowledgeable among us, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spoke cautiously.

"To nullify the Great Seer's ability, it can't be a standard mage, spirit user, or knight."

I'd read Mirien's, the count's, and even Tower Master Kalanis's futures just fine before they intertwined with mine. Everyone agreed with the chief mage's assessment that it wasn't a conventional method. He continued.

"In my view, it's one of two possibilities."

"Go on. What's the first?"

"The thing most specialized in handling souls beyond magic is miracles. It's long been known they borrow divine authority, but magic's development has long since unraveled their principles. Miracles draw power directly from the soul itself."

"And manipulating or ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠concealing the soul itself with miracles?"

"Yes. Possible."

Miracles. Then what was the other option?

"What's the second?"

At my question, the chief mage glanced around warily. Mirien's shadows enveloped the room.

"Speak freely. No chance of this leaking."

The chief mage took a deep breath before slowly opening ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his mouth. "It could wield the power of the taboo."

"Taboo?"

"I know little about it myself. Argos and the dark elves probably don't either. Within the empire, only His Majesty or perhaps Tower Master Kalanis would know. It's an immensely dangerous, uncontrollable force. Ordinary mages are forbidden from even studying it."

The chief mage shrugged. "Even the mad Red Alliance wouldn't go that far. Miracles make more sense. Especially since... before the Red Alliance rose, their territories were where the most miracles were developed and researched."

I knew that too.

"The Red Alliance's lands were once the Holy Romanov Empire, overflowing with high priests, saints, and holy ones."

"Correct. It was the most religiously fervent land of all. Now it's all ancient history since the Alliance took over. But secretly, they might still be using those old miracle users."

It was a long discussion. By the end, we'd narrowed down the enemy and brainstormed countermeasures. Our collective conclusion:

"We should assume it's a miracle user who can conceal their own soul. No wide-area destructive power, but specialized in silently taking one life."

Knowing the enemy made countermeasures feasible.

"Request an urgent dispatch of holy knights and priests from the Holy Kingdom at the Yurtel territory level."

"Argos will set traps at the location you predicted, Great Seer."

"My warriors and tribe will assist with trap setup. Shadow spirits will prove useful."

As the plan rushed forward, the chief mage raised a hand quietly with one proposal.

"If possible, we'd like to capture it alive."

"Alive?"

"Two reasons. This infiltration is likely the Red Alliance's trump card. From their view, assassinating you is worth it. We need to identify exactly what it is."

He wasn't wrong.

"And it could help diagnose your condition, Great Seer."

"This unknown entity could help with my condition?"

"Yes. We don't have enough scan data for certainty, but your condition seems tied to your ability. Analyzing why it doesn't work on them could give clearer insight into your illness and potential cure."

My ability and my illness are connected? Mom's words from the day before she died flashed back.

"It's divine. Divine descent. A strong possession is both blessing and curse. The vessel weakens too soon for the soul, so they leave early."

She'd prophesied her own future—her first and last time—then slipped away in sleep. My power was no weaker than hers, perhaps stronger. In Korea, there'd have been no cure for divine descent's toll. But this was an isekai world. Magic and miracles breathed here. Maybe... healing was possible.

"We have to capture it."

Everyone agreed. Mirien. The count. Argos. The Magic Tower. No one wanted me dying young. Thus, capturing the unknown intruder alive was decided.

After the sticky, sordid past between Grand Prophetess Iris and the Black Cardinal was exposed because of me, the Holy Kingdom was tiptoeing around the imperial family. Once rulers over the entire Cardran Empire, they'd embodied corruption and incompetence, rotting the land from within. The founding emperor had slain the corrupt priests and pope with his holy sword, birthing the current empire. He hadn't turned every cleric to dust, but his zero-tolerance policy on religious corruption endured to this day.

As the Holy Kingdom fretted over imperial reprisal for the Black Cardinal scandal, the official aid request from the Imperial Intelligence Bureau was apparently a golden chance to prove loyalty.

"32 holy knights and 12 elite battle priests."

"That's... a bit much, Cardinal."

"The Great Seer is the empire's treasure. The Holy Kingdom can't sit out an operation for such a figure. We arrived discreetly to minimize leaks—the Red Alliance won't know we're here."

Dark elf warriors. Argos's elite agents. The count himself, his personally trained knights, Knight Captain Marco. Magic Tower mages. Holy Kingdom holy knights and battle priests. An overkill force for one assassin. And there was a reason for the numbers.

"Yurtel's tourists must remain oblivious. This is strictly off-the-books. It can't leak, and nothing can cause a leak. End it quietly, as if nothing happened."

Argos planned to conceal the fight to spare Yurtel fallout. Kaien's dark elves had shadow spirits ready to encircle the operation zone. Mages prepped illusion magic and silence barriers to contain noise. Holy knights and priests took measures against miracle aftereffects. With layers of precautions, the trap was set, and the ambush team waited silently.

Dawn. Yurtel's theme park parades and songs faded late into the night. Tourists soaked in hot springs sank into bed for deep sleep.

Exactly the time I'd predicted, the entity stealthily heading for Yurtel was spotted. Listening via magic comm from my lodging with Mirien, I swallowed hard. Shadows around her sharpened.

"Worry not. Even if it breaches them, I will protect you. You will be safe."

I nodded. It couldn't beat a Spirit King's contractor. Calming myself as we awaited the next update—

Reports confirmed the operation's smooth progress. With the count and his knights personally involved, capture would be easy.

"Let's have tea. It's trapped now—capture soon. With that many deployed, no escape."

Mirien playfully poked my cheek and rose to prepare it herself. I chuckled too.

"You're right, Mirien. I overreacted."

"First being your power couldn't read. Natural to tense up. Stay put. I'll brew it."

"Thanks, Mirien. Always in your debt..."

Mirien's and my eyes snapped to the comm. Shouts exploded from it. No room for leisure. Shock. Amazement. And...

Terror-filled voices flooded the comm.