08:00 pm, in the Revelation Sea.
On a huge ship more than 300 nautical miles from the Newcastle Coast, Sebastian Blackwood was on the front stern.
He rested his arms on the white railing, leaning his back slightly as he gazed thoughtfully at the sky. The light wind blew through the air, making his blonde hair flutter.
"I am finally free from those bridesmaids." Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief.
Since the ship's departure, he was constantly pestered by ladies and noblewomen who asked him questions about his private life. As he was a famous detective who earned an excellent reputation from the nobles and authorities of the counties and citizens of Prestwich City, he was accustomed to the interviews they asked him. However, he always declined the questions asked about his private life as he did not want people to know too much about him.
Being alone on the stern of the ship, he sorrowfully admired the half-clouded moon bathing the sea, the sound of the sea waves resounding like a melody in his eardrums which calmed him greatly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Whilst the marine smell entered his nostrils, he heard the sound of footsteps echoing tightly, turning, he saw Duncan approaching while smoking his pipe.
"What's wrong Mr. Genius? You look very worried." Duncan said, resting his arms on the railing while he placed himself next to Sebastian.
"It is nothing, I was just wondering if West Mennork would be safe since no one was at the agency, and then there is Mr. N in the underground prison..." Sebastian replied with a dry laugh.
Duncan pressed his brown hat to his head, his voice becoming reassuring, "What are you talking about? Look, there are Hermit Exorcists in the area, so I wouldn't worry too much, and then for Mr. N we've Luvenia and Gustaf keeping him under control like a dog."
"Mhm… you are right, I am getting too fancy. It is better to enjoy myself for now." Sebastian narrowed his eyes in distrust. "Even if Luvenia and Mr. N are queer."
A doubt formed in his mind, it was as though Luvenia Sherry and Mr. N were very close friends. Although Mr. N was a dangerous Daredevil who killed his family five months ago, he felt that his relationship with Luvenia was somewhat out of place, though Luvenia ultimately had a kind soul when speaking to men.
Duncan winked at Sebastian, forming a friendly smile, "Oh, well done Sebastian, that's the right spirit."
Seeing Duncan smile at his change of attitude, Sebastian could not help but let out a liberating sigh like to chase away his doubts, looking at the moon.
Sebastian then glanced at Duncan "Where are Cleo and Russell?"
"They're in their cabins. Blimey, they've been doing nothing but courting the ladies the whole time. Hah, they shall never change."
"It seems that Cleo has gone back to being his usual charlatan."
"Oh, here we have a person who's jealous of others."
"You are wrong, it is just that he was acting queerly last night." Sebastian denied Duncan's statement with a curt response.
Duncan frowned as he raised his pipe to his mouth, "What do you mean?"
"Yesterday, when we were in Mr. Harlan's apartment, Cleo felt disgusted and nervous. He is usually always rude and talkative when we work on cases, but yesterday, I found him very reserved, and this made me suspicious." Sebastian expressed with a serious tone.
His suspicions didn't end there. Having the acute senses and excellent sense of observation typical of the Wisdom Attribute, he noticed that Cleo licked his lips several times and that his body language was different as if he were another person. Not only Cleo, but also Luvenia sometimes behaved out of place and he could do nothing but suspect them.
Duncan looked up at the sky, "Mhm… Interesting Mr. Genius, that means we should keep an eye on him, just to see what he has to hide."
Sebastian closed his eyes, the sound of the waves ringing melodically in the air as his suspicions towards Cleo grew.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Republic of Steatha, Conan County, West Mennork.
Skyler Hall was aboard the Hermit Exorcist carriage towards Center Mennork.
She sat next to Thea who rested her head on her shoulders. The scent of flowers Thea had made her heart beat faster like it would burst at any moment whilst eyeing Extie and Leigh who were in front of her.
Thea sighed lightly, her voice was soft, "Miss Skyler, wouldst thou share with us the particulars of the conversation thou didst had with the Beckham family."
Skyler twitched her lips, her tone turning serious, "Ehm, t-they said the city w-would soon fall i-into chaos! And that e-everything was a p-prophecy f-from the god with golden eyes!"
"Um, what does that even mean?" Thea asked in puzzlement whilst licking her lips.
That is what Skyler has been wondering since she had the conversation with the mother and son. She could not make sense of what they said like it was all beyond her comprehension.
Even if everything was illogical, she could not remain a stranger to it as she was the witness to the vision of the giant eye that the mother and son had seen, proving to the members of the Hermit Exorcist and everything they said was real.
"I don't know my dear. This matter is very suspicious. If it's as they said, then we must prepare for the worst." Extie frowned, glancing at Skyler. "Did they leave out any other details beside that?"
Skyler nodded in sorrow. "She s-said they had s-summoned the eye last week or something like that."
Leigh sighed, "Oh, and so they would've evoked that 'golden eye' last week, eh… we'd conduct a more thorough investigation. Anyway, I knew they're a bunch of lunatics, but I'd never guessed that almost all of them would take their own lives on the same day."
"That's right, this coincidence scares me a lot, reaaally a lot." Thea exclaimed, nuzzling her face into Skyler's shoulder.
Nathan, who was pulling the horses, turned his head, "They surely knew about forbidden rituals, and that means a lot. But I couldn't have imagined that a young lady would see the eye. Huh, what a twist of fate."
"I wonder why they decided to kill themselves only today. If only the Wraithcrow had not left for Aetheria, we could've prevented a mass suicide by now, hark." Extie drew the leaf emblem on her chest, clutching the bible in her hand. "May the Son of Nature watch over us."
The air grew tense as the carriage passed through the street lit by gas lamps shrouded in fog. Despite the uneasy feeling Skyler had, she could not blame them since all the members of a cult had killed themselves on the same day after they apparently received the prophecy of the golden eye, and the Hermit Exorcists had failed to prevent what happened.
Skyler swallowed, her gaze turned to Extie, "Em, sorry to bother you, but… can you explain to me what actually happened?"
Leigh looked at Skyler, "Since you got caught up in it I might as well tell you about it. Have you heard of the Hallow Brigade?"
"Wasn't that that evil cult that was put down by the Wraithcrow and you?" Skyler exclaimed in surprise.
Leigh smiled faintly, "You guessed it. It was founded about two and a half years ago, and it was a cult that worshiped an evil god by sacrificing children to please it. It was a rather hidden cult, and we had a hard time finding their hiding place. Thanks to the investigations carried out by Mr. Blackwood and the confession of a cult member, we're finally able to discover their lair and arrest them. Eh, sadly for us, we're made escape one–"
"That member managed to escape and reform the cult from scratch…" Exie added as she straightened her back.
"And the most horrifying thing is that each of them drew an eye with their own blood, and they wrote that 'the blonde woman is our savior, and thanks to her we shall see the ruin descend upon the city.' tsk… what scoundrels." Nathan stated in a very deep tone.
Skyler raised her index finger, "Wait, now that I think about it, the mother mentioned the blonde lady too..."
She could only wonder what connection the mysterious blonde lady had to the Beckham family and the members of the Hallow Brigade. It was clear that she was behind the cult's murders, nevertheless, there were still mysteries behind her sinister actions.
"Well, at least we managed to save the mother and son, even if the father passed away." Thea straightened her back, voice wistful.
Extie tilted her back, extending her hand onto Thea's leg as she tried to reassure her, "My dear, we can do nothing but spread the holy water, and pray that the Son of Nature can watch over him."
"The problem remains that giant eye. We would've solved the case by capturing the instigator, but Miss Hall saw it twice, and then their last words" Leigh murmured, glancing at Skyler with a serious expression.
"The mystery deepens." Extie nodded, sitting composedly.
She wasn't entirely wrong. On the other hand, a girl completely unrelated to the cult had seen the eye appear in the blood sky, and it was a detail that she could not leave out for any reason in the world.
While an asphyxiating silence fell in the carriage, Thea glanced at the necklace that Skyler had around her neck. Although she had placed the necklace Inside her dress, the necklace glowed faintly beneath the fabric.
"Ooh, how fascinating. Where did thou get it? It's the first time I have seen one like it." Thea gawked in a haunted tone.
Skyler pulled the necklace out of her dress, "It's a gift from my father, he received it in Aetheria Kingdom."
Extie frowned thoughtfully, "Mhm… I think I heard the name somewhere before. Oh, are you the daughter of Jurgen and Katya Hall?"
"Yea! Do you happen to know them too!?" Skyler tilted her back sharply.
Upon hearing what Extie said, she suddenly grabbed Extie's hands together, her blue eyes shining with excitement and admiration whilst staring at her.
Leigh and Thea, who were sitting opposite each other, could do nothing but be stunned by the sudden change in Skyler's behavior.
Realizing her impulsive behavior, Skyler sat back nervously, cheek blushing. "Eh. I-I'm so sorry! I hope I didn't make you f-feel uncomfortable!"
Exte blinked and replied with a soft laugh, "Do not sweat about it. By the way, I never had the opportunity to meet them in person, but I have heard a lot about them. Many years ago they had explored the ruins of Pandora's Island to search for a relic."
"You mean the grimoire?" Skyler pulled the grimoire from the inside pocket of her coat, "It was in a casket kept in my uncle's shop."
Extie, Leigh, Nathan, and Thea watched in surprise as Skyler turned the grimoire made of goatskin back and forth.
"Uh, that was unexpected, so did you do the Trials too?" Leigh asked with a wry laugh.
Skyler nodded softly. "Yea, I did it a few hours ago. Mh well, it was hard to tell the truth, but I'm happy I survived."
Thea, who had her hands resting on her thighs, narrowed her eyes, "Let's hear, what type of Trial did thou face?"
"Well, where do I start… em, I… ended up in a tower with another person, and we had to defeat a Cursed Beast within two hours." Skyler placed the grimoire on her thighs. "If it wasn't for him, I… I think I would've died there."
Her gaze lowered and her lips tightened bitterly. She could not help but think about Elijah Seinhorn and the immense help he had given to her during the Trial in the tower. How was he? Had he returned home safe and sound?
"If you've that look on your face, then it means you've built a good relationship with that person." Leigh said.
Skyler looked up and stared at Leigh in surprise. "Yea! He's a dear friend."
"Since you are a Daredevil now, we certainly cannot let this slide." Nathan stated, his tone stern.
"Ah, er, what…?" Skyler's brain struggled to process what Nathan had just said.
Extie glared at Skyler. "Yeah, Nathan is right. It's not common for a civilian of the Republic to become a Daredevil, and only important people like nobles and those of the Holy Saint Organization can be."
"And since you just became a Daredevil despite not being in aristocracy, you'll become a special civilian." Leigh smiled as he shrugged his shoulders.
"In other words, it seems clear that from today on you shall officially be a Hermit Exorcist." Nathan advocated in a know-it-all tone.
"Err, em, uh, what? Me? A Hermit Exorcist?" Skyler blinked in dumbfoundment.
An unidentified emotion scorned within her, making her hold the grimoire tightly, though she would crumple the goatskin fabric at any moment. Was it happiness? Was it anxiety that was getting the better of her?
She was unsure, but she felt a warm wave swaying around her slender neck.
"It is just like Nathan stated, but do not get any odd ideas. We do this solely to keep tabs on special civilians like you. Besides, you saw the golden eye, so we'd make sure nothing will happen to you." Extie exclaimed, interrupting Skyler's train of thought.
Skyler scratched her cheek with her index finger, forcing a smile. "Em, I don't u-understand, w-what do you mean by this!?"
Thea, who had been listening until now, raised her index finger. "Thou see, we've to ensure that thou art not cursed or persecuted by evil spirits. And also, those who art involved with malevolent cults find themselves plagued by these wraiths apparitions, only to become possessed or unalive. Therefore, we've the solemn duty of exorcising such spirits before misfortune befall."
Leigh closed his eyes and advocated with a serious look, "By joining us, not only can we help you in case of danger, but you'll also help us with the investigation. Well, I guess that's an offer you cannot refuse."
Albeit Leigh's offer was tempting, Skyler hesitated to respond. Up until an hour ago, she had recklessly ventured into the Arcade District with the intent of joining the Hermit Exorcist, using the necklace as a scapegoat, yet now they want to recruit her for the investigation.
Clutching her father's necklace with her sweaty hand, she looked down as everyone's eyes were fixed on her. Every single glance of theirs was like a double-edged sword that was constantly stabbing her. A strong sense of responsibility was crushing her as if she would suffocate to death.
She gulped down her spit. She should be happy, after all, her plan had come to fruition, yet she bit her lower lip in response. Why does Skyler feel this way? Why was she clutching her father's necklace strongly? Why is her breath quivering like crazy?
"I have to calm down. I… I can't act nervous in front of them. My father's honor is at stake… calm down, calm down Skyler" Skyler thought whilst taking a deep breath.
"Ah, Leigh, dost thou see? we've surely scared her. Might not be better to postpone this for another day." Thea suggested with a concerned nod.
Leigh gawked at Thea. "Huh, excuse me, but what do I've to do with this? I was just listing the benefits that Miss Hall—"
"There's no need to postpone. I decided to join you." Skyler muttered in a weak voice.
Thea blinked in surprise. "Hk, art thou really sure? See here, we may continue this discussion another time. There is no need to hurry."
Skyler shook her head slightly. "No need. I already decided, also because I'd be forced to join you anyway, so it doesn't make much difference to me."
Right now, feeble, straightening her back, she looked at the Hermit Exorcist with a smile on her face. Skyler had strongly expressed her answer as the crimson moonlight shone upon her.
In her heart, she was still anxious about what would happen to her. Even now, the Hallow Brigade horrified her. Their mass suicide, their disgusting practices, the fact she would cooperate with the Hermit Exorcist. Perhaps the time where it would be wiped away would never come.
But, that was alright. Even so, that was alright. As long as her father was proud of her choices, everything would be fine.
"Well, we have come to a conclusion. Let us put this matter off for the time being. After all, it is getting late and we must escort Miss Hall home." Extie then glanced at Skyler. "Remember it, you have to promise us that you will not reveal this incident to anyone close to you."
"I'll take it with me to the grave." Skyler placed a hand on her chest. "Dad, mom... I hope you can be proud of me."
She felt that this was the beginning of everything, a beginning that would forever mark her life. Looking out the window, she admired the buildings covered in the faint white fog while the carriage continued its journey to North Mennork.