C96: intermission: Imminent war

“Ah…? I refer to the Deacon team, do I not? The one I am to guide into the forest?” James tilted his head, confused by her confusion.

‘Huh?’ Julia blinked.

“Haven't you, sir, already—”

Before Julia finished her sentence, realization washed over her. Her eyes widened, color drained from her face.

“NO!”

A sharp bolt of alarm shot through her mind.

With a hasty sprint, she jumped toward the window, shattering the glass along the way, and disappeared in a shower of glittering fragments.

For a moment, only drifting shards of glass and cold air remained.

“Oh, oh my. Did I make a mistake?”

James stared at the broken window, sunlight pouring through the jagged opening. The shattered glass sparkled against the polished floor.

“As one would expect of an Adjutor. They need not concern themselves with the trivial expense of a broken window…” He sighed, then thought of his own perpetually empty pockets and continued to sip his tea at his leisure.

As he put his cup down, the porcelain clinking against its saucer, James began shaking one of his legs idly beneath the table.

“What do you think, Miss Watson?” he murmured.

Before long, thin lines of black ink began seeping out from the inner pocket of his coat. They floated upward like smoke given form, gathering in front of him. The ink stretched, curved, and assembled itself into letters suspended in midair.

“Mmm,” He leaned forward slightly, reading with interest.

[“Judge by her reaction, someone must impersonate you." ]

“Elementary, my dear Watson, I am quite aware of that.” He waved his hand lazily through the words, though they reassembled themselves moments later. “Do you perchance possess any other, more illuminating insights, Miss Watson?”

The sentence trembled, dissolved, and then—

[“...I hate you.”]

The words faded. A second later, more ink poured out, forming a longer stream of text. It flowed like a black river across the air, hovering directly in front of James’s face.

[“Someone knows the way in the forest. They must be confident enough to avoid detection, or even not get swallowed by it. They could be someone who is involved with the existence of the forest.

To impersonate you, they must have discovered some means of infiltrating the White Church and acquiring intelligence beforehand. They might be involved in the kidnapping case. A mere spy is hardly the case. The White Church is known to be the most difficult institution to infiltrate.

Perhaps they are even connected to the Demon of Dispute, or the Hysteria.”]

“The forest, kidnapping, the village.” James muttered thoughtfully. “Why the need to pretend? Do they not want me to go to the forest?”

He calmly lifted his tea and took another sip, eyes scanning the floating wall of text until the final word settled into place.

“Hmm.” He tapped the rim of his cup. “I can only think of a select few Extraordinary Paths capable of such a feat.”

His smile thinned.

“But to imitate me in front of the investigator team? To infiltrate the very heart of the Church’s intelligence?” He leaned back slightly. “They are either at a very high stage, or…”

He clicked the cup back onto the saucer with a decisive sound.

"The Demon of Dispute Order. Do they seek to create a new Curse?"

["Why?"]

"Thinking it through. The Disputed Order kidnaps Lady Amelia Augusta. The Deacon proceeds to the forest.

"Lady Amelia is known to possess a Yi constitution. Therefore they clearly desire to foster something related to Yi essence. A Deviant Path is also a possibility.

"But why the forest? Of all places, they chose that one. Coupled with Paths capable of impersonating me."

He adjusted the brim of his top hat in his laps.

"If we eliminate the Spy Path from the equation," his face turned serious. "Does the Curse they seek to foster... relate to that vanished Faction?"

[!!]

“Pff.” James chuckled. “Miss Watson, there is no need to write just exclamation marks. Believe me, I can sense your surprise even here.”

[“HIM!! That man knows the forest’s way!! He is involved in the Curse Domain, that means…”]

Yet, the ink did not slow down. It burst from his pocket more violently, letters forming at a frantic speed!

[“RUN AWAY, JAMES! GET OUT OF HERE! QUICK!”]

James stopped moving, his leg ceased shaking. He raised an eyebrow toward the words.

“Calm yourself, Miss Watson. Why must we flee? As far as I am aware, we are not directly involved.”

He rested his hand on the armrest and leaned on the chair lazily.

“Sure, we might have agreed to lead the way. But that mission is gone for good. Surely—"

[SHE’S HERE! THEY KNOW US HERE! SHE’S HERE! ISI—!]

*Click.*

A clicking sound echoed in his ears. The sound was faint, but not inaudible.

“!” James abruptly stood up, ignoring the frantic words still floating before him. His gaze shifted instantly toward the window.

“O… oh.” A wry smile tugged at his lip “I suppose you are quite correct, Miss Watson.”

[“JAMES!”]

*BOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM—!*

An explosion erupted!

Julia’s office detonated in a violent burst of fire, dust, and shattered stone. The blast tore through the walls, sending debris raining down the corridor. The shockwave thundered across the Cathedral Ward, rattling stained glass and cracking masonry.

At the same time, the great bells of the White Church began to toll, their deep metallic roar reverberating across Easton City.

Its urgent, deafening clang signalling a sudden attack toward the sacred building.

—

Far away from the chaos engulfing the church, high atop the city's central bell tower, an ethereal bird perched silently upon the hour hand of the great clock.

Its head turned toward the cathedral, watching the huge plumes of black smoke billowing into the air, observing the clerics frantically running around the courtyard like a nest of disturbed ants.

However, in its glassy, unblinking gaze, there was no interest in the panic below. Its focus was singular, reflecting only the gaping, ruined aperture of a specific room—Julia’s office.

For a moment, it remained still, silently witnessing the destruction.

Then, it flapped its wings, launching itself into the sky.

As it ascended, its form began to fade, its body slowly dissolving into the ethereal air like a wisp of smoke, leaving no trace that it had ever been there at all.

—

Julia ran with everything she had toward the distant green expanse of the forest, her boots striking hard against tile and slate as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop, her white coat snapping violently behind her. She did not bother with the streets; speed mattered more.

‘Deacon Gregory… hah, hah,’

She panted. Her breath grew ragged, chest tightening with each bound.

Spending months buried behind paperwork had dulled her stamina. Though she was stronger than most clergy and far beyond ordinary citizens, she was still a Baton, an administrator first, a combatant second.

*rumble*

“!”

Before she had run even halfway, a rumble echoed through the city, shaking the very foundations beneath her boots!

The tiles trembled. Her momentum faltered.

‘What is it?’

She looked back, her eyes widening in horror.

‘The church!’

A colossal plume of black smoke billowed into the sky from the direction of the cathedral, a dark stain against the clear sky.

“Chief Adjutor Julia!”

Julia turned, seeing several figures in pristine white attire sprinting toward her, their faces etched with fear and urgency.

“Thank goodness you are safe, Chief Adjutor!”

“What happened?” she demanded, her voice laced with authority despite her ragged breathing.

“We… your office exploded! We are under attack!”

“Attack? Who would dare—” Who would dare to attack Easton City, under the protection of the White Church? Under the gaze of the White Monarch?

“CURSED DISPUTE DOGS! DARE TO COME BACK HERE! COURTING DEATH!”

“!”

Before she could finish her sentence, an icy voice crashed across the sky.

It was cold, resonant, stern, so powerful it shook the entire city to its core.

[“RUNNING IS FORBIDDEN!”]

[“COMBUSTION IS FORBIDDEN!”]

[“LIGHTNING IS FORBIDDEN!”]

Accompanying it was another heavy, equally immense voice.

The decrees reverberated like law etched directly into reality.

Julia staggered half a step as the pressure rippled through her body. Even her equilibrium wavered for a heartbeat.

‘This is… Marchioness Augusta and His Excellency, Bishop Connell!’

At the same time, the atmosphere shifted violently. Clouds twisted unnaturally. A black wind began spiraling toward the northwest quadrant of the city, drawing debris and dust upward into a growing vortex!

What did this mean?

The Demon of Dispute had launched a direct assault!

“This is the Chief Adjutor! Deploy barrier!” Julia raised her voice, her command resonating throughout the entire city, empowered by her Path.

She pointed at the white-clad personnel around her.

“Protectors, secure the civilians! Inspectors, trace every infiltrator! Medics, prioritize the injured!”

“Affirmative!” The various factions of Julia’s Cathedral Ward, galvanized by her command, sprang into action and scattered immediately.

She quickly turned back to the church and shouted.

“Check the other wards! Finn! message the other adjustors! People come first!”

“Affirmative!”

Even as orders flew, another thought pierced her mind.

‘How did they evade our divination?’

The Church’s surveillance divination was not weak. For something of this magnitude to approach unnoticed—

A yellow light suddenly shot skyward from each Cathedral Ward. One by one, luminous pillars rose into the sky before bending outward, forming a massive dome that began enclosing the city district by district.

Barrier protocol activated!

At the same time, bolts of lightning and tornadoes began to appear violently at the northwest of the city!

Simultaneously, lightning cracked violently across the northwestern sky. A tornado twisted upward, while a colossal figure clad in fire materialized.

“ICE DOME!”

Marchioness Augusta’s authoritative voice rang.

From above, a storm of ice spears descended.

Each shard was enormous, jagged, glistening. They rained down toward the main battlefield in the northwest ward, colliding with unseen forces in explosive bursts of frost and steam!

“...”

Julia stood on the rooftop edge, staring toward the distant clash of powers. Even from afar, the magnitude of the confrontation was clear.

For a fleeting second, her gaze drifted toward the distant forest beyond the city.

‘My apologies, Deacon Gregory.’

She closed her eyes briefly and turned her head away, sprinted back toward the Church Ward.

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