Wandering Blade
"I already know the proxies from Lumen Guard and the support forces have arrived, Lin."
Cheisi said with a smile. But Lin knew it was a forced one. And she responded in a tone dripping with feigned concern.
"Oh, Cheisi. It's not just one or two proxies. Shouldn't we tell the militia leader to tighten security?"
"No. If the militia starts acting like that, it'll only make things more dangerous."
Raphael and Cheisi stepped closer to Lin, positioning themselves with the sacred Lildar statue at their backs. They engaged in a subtle war of nerves. Cheisi kept smiling, but she scrutinized Lin's expression. It looked worried, but Cheisi knew better than anyone that it was all an act.
Lin turned to Raphael, the high priest, and asked, "Priest Raphael, I'm worried about the children. Wouldn't it be better to evacuate them to a safe place first?"
"No, where could be safer than here for those children? There's no place to house that many right now."
Raphael maintained his calm tone. But when Lin mentioned the children, a flicker of unease crossed his face, and she didn't miss it.
"What if the Harkens side with the military?"
"They won't. They have no justification."
Cheisi shot back immediately. Lin replied in the same concerned tone.
"If the militia attacks, doesn't that give them justification?"
Uncharacteristically blunt, her words hung starkly in the air. Cheisi and Raphael glared at her. What wind had blown this way? It was hard to believe this came from someone who had worn her mask for years.
Lin Kseszbet had once been a beacon of hope in the Lildar Church. Regardless of race, she had cared for the orphanage children purely out of a desire to help, showing unwavering dedication for years. That's why Cheisi and Raphael had held her in high regard. When she brought medicine into the barrier's limited medical system to ease suffering. Even when the armed group smuggling it was absorbed into the militia. People trusted her without question. Raphael had too. He saw her as a noble sent by a pitying God.
Once. Everything changed when they learned the truth about that miraculous drug. It was dangerously potent. Up until Lucia's mother's death roused suspicions in her father, Patrick Beloche, who had deep medical knowledge.
"That's quite a conspiratorial thought for someone who just moments ago claimed to cherish the children so much, Lin."
Even when rumors of "God's grace" spread through the streets, and those who received select medicines either recovered dramatically or died suddenly. No one suspected a thing. Only after strange powers began manifesting in the children. After Patrick Beloche's analysis charts prompted Raphael and Cheisi to conduct their own investigation.
Patrick claimed the military was experimenting on people. And that day, the fading light in Cheisi's eyes reignited.
Facing the truth wasn't hard. Barrier Commander Innocent Remar was open-minded enough to readily accept Raphael's private audience request. And when he saw Lin's photo, his kindly face twisted into something terrifyingly stern.
In their final private meeting, Raphael had asked, "Do you have any words for me?"
Remar glanced out the window and said quietly, "Lin Kseszbet. I don't know why she was pretending to be a civilian out there, but she's a proxy with the Rain Code Management Bureau."
Raphael was inwardly shocked but simply followed his gaze out the window. The cityscape and massive barriers stretched beyond. What else was happening within these walls?
"And Patrick Beloche's accident was tragic, but there were no special circumstances."
At that moment, Raphael sensed exhaustion in Remar's expression.
"And about Kseszbet providing food she cooked herself to the orphanage children."
Remar forced a smile and added his advice. "I'm sending a proxy from Lumen Guard's science and technology division whom I know for the investigation. I'd appreciate your cooperation."
"We'll cooperate fully. Lildar watches over us."
"Watches over... Haha, I shouldn't say this to a high priest, but I've been agnostic since entering the barrier."
Remar chuckled lightly, and Raphael gave a wry smile in return.
"God's blessings extend to all."
The words sounded uncertain, and Remar glanced at Raphael pityingly before saying, "I suppose so... Ah, you should try to keep Kseszbet from getting more involved with the church."
"Understood."
The question of why she did it lingered unresolved between them.
"Can't you... arrest her?"
Raphael frowned for the first time. Cheisi had already noticed everything alongside him. Yet she couldn't stop. No, she wouldn't. Under the guise of monitoring Lin, Cheisi had become obsessed with building her own power.
She who couldn't even save herself. The children who lost families beyond the barrier. What had they done wrong to suffer this here too? Raphael felt it all stemmed from his own failings.
When Lin, claiming Lucia showed proxy potential, recommended Patrick's daughter to the Management Bureau. When they learned Lucia had to go to Lumen Guard. Even he, who had comforted the hesitant Lucia with his first "revelation" as "God's proxy standing against evil," felt pathetic.
If only he could force it to stop. In truth, Innocent Remar felt like his only hope.
But contrary to his expectations, Remar tapped his desk a couple times and said, "We can't detain a proxy without solid evidence."
Harsh. Reality always was.
"I suppose not..."
"And would a proxy come quietly? Some think they're gods themselves, like in your revelations."
Sadly, Director Innocent Remar looked tormented. His final words haunted Raphael all the way back to the church.
After his return, he and Cheisi confirmed it wasn't under Remar's orders—Lin was acting independently. As proof, Remar tightened controls on unapproved drugs and inspections of spoils from mercenaries returning from beyond the barrier. Official relief medicines were distributed under the Rain Code Management Bureau's name instead.
And even as protests continued. They never showed the military.
He was that kind of man. Raphael knew it well.
Raphael skillfully masked his rising thoughts, gazing at Lin with a dignified expression. Lin feigned surprise in response.
"Conspiratorial? Oh, Priest Raphael. I was just voicing my concerns."
"Lin, do you know the rumors circulating in the streets?"
At Raphael's question, Lin thought coolly to herself. She knew it referred to the false revelation mentioning the red-haired knight's sacrifice.
"Of course. Priest Raphael. It was quite tragic for the Bonyak people."
"Is God saying the Lildar Church and Bonyak should take all the blame?"
"Oh, Priest Raphael. As the high priest beloved by God, surely you know."
Lin bowed her head, and Raphael gave a bitter smile.
"You know that revelation didn't come from me."
"Does that mean the revelation was false?"
Raphael inwardly clicked his tongue at Lin's brazen attitude. And he dropped his own mask.
"Lin, do you think what you've done aligns with God's will? To those children... what you..."
"Priest!"
Cheisi cried out urgently to intervene, but Lin lowered her eyes briefly before smiling leisurely.
"God's will... You say the most intriguing things, Priest. Do you think what I did wasn't for these children and the barrier's future?"
"The barrier's future. You mean the future of proxies."
Lin smirked.
"Precisely that power. The strength that seems God-given. Isn't that why Cheisi cooperated with me?"
Her mask, worn for so long, was crumbling fast. Cheisi froze under Lin's gaze. Suddenly, she recalled the drones multiplying in the skies since last night. Unrelated to Grand Marshal in overall command from Lumen Guard? If not him, then who?
Cheisi frowned unwittingly. If the drones were monitoring not the protesters but Rain Code Management Bureau personnel?
She pondered deeply. 'Did the overall command not know about the Luminot leaks? But with proxies dwindling, that's no good for the bureau.'
The declining number of proxies was obvious to anyone paying attention. The same faces appeared in bureau propaganda, and even they were thinning out.
So Cheisi had believed the Grand Marshal was experimenting to replenish his asymmetric forces—proxies—for power retention. And she planned to use it herself. Better to use than be used.
But if that wasn't the goal? Hadn't she abetted human experimentation?
Cheisi hid her trembling hands inside her church robes. Raphael interjected in a deep voice.
"For that future, can you hide what you did to the children and accept people's deaths?"
Lin stared coldly at Raphael.
"We can't save everyone, Priest. No achievement comes without sacrifice. You know that best."
Steadying her breath, Cheisi snapped at Lin, who no longer pretended goodness.
"So what do you want? To overthrow the military? Or something bigger?"
Lin replied meaningfully, smile intact.
"I'm curious too. Who all this is for. Maybe even the Grand Marshal doesn't know."
The air between the three sharpened. Cheisi fled the spot, fearing her own blade might waver if she stayed. Lin watched her go with a venomous smile, then turned to Raphael.
"Well, no more masks. This might be the last time, so out of old sentiment, let's cut to the point."
"Old sentiment. So you had such feelings too."
"Oh, how harsh. I was sincere when cooking for the children."
Lin covered her mouth, laughing a few times, then added, "Before Lumen Guard kills all these children. Hand them over to me."
"What... does that mean?"
Lin pulled her robe hood low and spat it out.
"You think the Grand Marshal will leave any embers? Priest Raphael."
Raphael felt the world spin before his eyes.