Chương 67: Accident

Qorbin Ravenbane was no stranger to awkward situations. Granted, he was generally the one to incite most of them. Awkwardness generated hesitance, and hesitance created openings that he could then exploit. However, here he found himself in the rare position where he could for once say that the scene unfolding before him wasn't his fault. Anastasia was still wearing the same simple white summer dress as before.

If she were anyone else, Qorbin would've questioned the thought process behind wearing an outfit of such dubious combat practicality into battle. As it stood, Qorbin was more than aware that she could probably defeat him even if she were sporting a straitjacket. In that regard, Montague was correct. Anastasia did hard counter him. Under normal circumstances, Qorbin would've been pretty worried about getting caught red-handed mutilating a high-ranking noble Royal Sentinel officer in his own home.

He had lost track of how many laws, treaties, and adventurer codes they were breaking. He wouldn't even know where to begin explaining the situation in such a way that wouldn't result in his psyche getting broken by Anastasia's Divine Skill. Fortunately, he didn't have to.

"That's quite the intricate piece of magic you've got there," Levi said, nodding at Anastasia's glimmering incorporeal wings. They had been folded up, but at his words, they seemed to subconsciously spread to their full length.

"Condensing that much mana into such a complex framework without it collapsing into itself… It's exquisite."

"Thank you," Anastasia said, "though I'm afraid I cannot take credit; I owe it all to the Goddess–" She narrowed her eyes.

"No, you're not distracting me. What are you doing here, Levi?" Her gaze shifted over to the rest of them.

"You too, Qorbin? Are you two in cahoots with this paunchy hooligan who was assailing the city garrison outside?" Merriweather's entire body seemed to wilt in place. Her words seemed to do more damage to him than all her prior attacks combined. Qorbin saw him disbelievingly mouthing paunchy hooligan over and over again. Levi coughed.

"Uhh…"

"Don't tell me you're the ones behind this attack," Anastasia said, aghast.

"The entire city is in a state of emergency!" She glanced around, taking in the state of the ballroom. It had been wrecked by Liliya's rampage earlier: the polished hardwood floors were splintered, the walls were cracked in multiple places, and one of the marble pillars was toppled over. Then her gaze fell upon Montague, and she visibly suppressed a wince.

"And why does Royal Officer Theodore Montague look like he just went several rounds with the Church Inquisitors?" The Church Inquisitors, for reference, was a special division within the Holy Church infamous for their brutal torture and interrogation techniques. Well. Qorbin was sure Levi had a way to talk them out of this–"He tripped," said Levi. … Qorbin slowly uncorked his hip flask and took a long, long drink. Anastasia stared at Levi.

"Montague… tripped?"

"And fell on his halberd," Levi added as clarification.

"That's why he's so injured."

"Montague tripped and fell on his halberd," Anastasia repeated slowly.

"That's why he has a missing left hand, an obliterated kneecap, multiple fractures, and over a dozen assorted lacerations and perforations." She looked over pointedly at Montague's halberd, which was decidedly not anywhere in his proximity.

"And why his halberd is ten meters away from his body." Levi nodded, his expression grave.

"A terrible accident, to be sure." There was a long moment of silence. Off to the side, Montague was too outraged to even speak, his mouth moving soundlessly. Liliya and Merriweather had both joined Anastasia as well in staring incredulously at Levi. Qorbin, for his part, was trying his best not to snicker out loud, even as he prepared himself for a difficult battle. Did Levi seriously think Anastasia would accept this excuse–? Anastasia's expression suddenly shifted in understanding.

Her eyes flickered over to Liliya for a moment before she fixed Levi with a soul-piercing gaze.

"Was she the one you mentioned?"

"Yes."

"And all of this is necessary for what you want to become?" Levi met Anastasia's eyes.

"Without a doubt."

"I see." For several long moments, they just looked at each other, their gazes so scarily intense that it was like they'd forgotten they weren't alone in the room. Qorbin looked between them, intrigued. What were they talking about? Did Levi mention Liliya to Anastasia during their private meeting? And what did Levi want to become? Then, Anastasia finally broke the gaze. She let out a dramatic sigh.

"Well, these accidents do tend to happen. It's a tragedy, but I suppose it can't be helped." Qorbin blinked again. Huh?

"Huh?" said Liliya.

"HUH?!" shouted Montague, finally recovering his voice.

"What are you saying? What accident? They clearly attacked me in my own home–URK!" Montague's protests were cut off in a choked gurgle of pain from the blast of wind that struck him in the windpipe. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"He appears to be coming down with something as well," Levi said offhandedly.

"He's losing his voice, the poor guy."

"I'm not surprised," Anastasia said, dutifully pretending she hadn't just seen Levi flick his fingers.

"The pestilence has been especially rough this year." Qorbin stared at them. Just what exactly had happened in that meeting room for Anastasia to have such implicit, unconditional trust in Levi? To the point that she was willing to turn a blind eye and go along with these excuses?

"Wait," Liliya interjected, looking between them in disbelief.

"You two know each other?"

"We met a week ago for the mission debriefing," Anastasia said.

"On that note, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Liliya Volkov. I've heard good things – well done on the Ascension Trials."

"T-Thank you," Liliya responded, looking stunned that she'd just received praise from a High Priestess. She hesitated, glancing down at Montague.

"So you're okay with us doing this?"

"Doing what?" Anastasia asked innocently.

"Royal Officer Montague just tripped, is all." Montague gestured violently at her, incoherent noises sounding from his throat. Then, Levi's expression turned serious.

"That being said… Anastasia, can you please examine Montague for traces of possession?" Instantly, Qorbin, Liliya, Merriweather, and Anastasia's gazes all sharpened. Even Montague paused, confusion and worry flickering across his eyes. The atmosphere in the room became heavier.

"You think Royal Officer Montague was possessed?" Anastasia asked. Levi snorted.

"Oh, I know he was. I had the distinct pleasure of speaking to whatever thing was in his body earlier." He turned to Qorbin.

"The thing that possessed him was what influenced Montague to hire you and the Last Order to assassinate me." Merriweather and Anastasia both choked, even as Qorbin narrowed his eyes.

"The Last Order?!" Anastasia exclaimed. She examined Levi's form.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was able to dispatch them fairly easily."

"What?" Merriweather whispered.

"You killed them? Have you any idea just how many people they've–" His voice became emotional.

"I've lost dear comrades to their blades before. Friends whose only sin was accepting a protection mission. I owe you a thanks, my lad. They can finally rest peacefully now."

"That explains why Montague was acting so irrationally," Qorbin said, his mind racing.

"I did think it was strange that he was willing to go to such lengths for someone who, no offense, ultimately wasn't that important." He inspected Montague.

"It doesn't seem like he's aware of it, either. Makes sense, amnesiac effects are standard for possession cases. Though…" He looked at Levi.

"Why would the thing that possessed him want to kill you? Do you think it's because of your, ah, condition?" For all his skill and experience, Qorbin was well aware that he'd barely scratched the surface of the world's mysteries. There were ancient powers out there, slumbering forces and forgotten beings whose nature and motives he knew nothing of. There was a very real possibility that someone, or something, had sensed Levi's status as a dimensional transmigrator and decided to hunt him down.

"Maybe," Levi said. He'd likely come to the same conclusions as Qorbin.

"It didn't say anything, and it escaped before I could properly interrogate it." He sounded frustrated.

"It was completely undetectable. I couldn't tell Montague was possessed until he was screaming in my face. Even now, I can't sense any magical residuals lingering in Montague's form." Anastasia's brow furrowed.

"Undetectable… You think the Hollow was involved?" The Hollow's magic devoured magic by nature. It didn't leave behind any residuals, only permanent scars in the world's ambient mana itself. Her eyes took on an emerald green glow as she inspected Montague.

"Hmm… I don't see any signs of Hollow involvement, though. Or any signs of possession, for that matter. You're certain it wasn't a split personality of some sort?" Levi shook his head.

"I know what I saw. No split personality could make my instincts react so strongly. Besides, it knew things that Montague shouldn't be able to know." He pursed his lips, his gaze pensive.

"So you can't detect anything either…"

"I can't," Anastasia said, her eyes returning to normal.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Levi said.

"It was a long shot anyway–""How laughable," Montague rasped out. He'd finally regained the ability to talk.

"Don't pretend like I don't know what you're doing. You think I was possessed? Me? You're just coming up with excuses. Well, it won't work. I'll have your heads, all of you. I will levy the might of the royal government, no, the entire country, against you. I won't rest until the four of you are tossed into the deepest, darkest dungeons in the Royal Sentinels headquarters, tortured day and night until you're begging for death, and only then will I behead – no, burn you all to death." He turned to Liliya.

"And you… It appears that your father failed to raise you properly. That's fine, I'll just have to do his job for him. I will spend the rest of my life disciplining you until you learn your place. You will submit–""Okay, I'm sorry," Qorbin frowned.

"I must be missing something here. Does… Does Montague think he's in a position to make threats?" Montague paused, then flinched. Merriweather stroked his mustache.

"It appears he does… It's rather strange. Did he suffer any head injuries earlier?"

"Several," Levi said.

"But to be fair, I think he was already like this." Anastasia was looking at Montague with no small amount of distaste.

"He's quite the unpleasant fellow, isn't he? I'm starting to understand why he… tripped."

"Oh, you don't know half of it," Levi said. He clapped his hands together.

"Anyway. How are we doing this?" Anastasia frowned.

"Doing what–?" She paused as she realized Qorbin, Merriweather, and Liliya had all drawn their weapons. Slowly, she looked down at Montague. She connected the dots easily enough.

"Levi, no! You can't execute someone like this!"

"... I can't? I mean, he's right there–""You know what I mean!" Levi sighed.

"Look, you heard him. He won't rest until he gets revenge on us. This is the only way."

"But – you can't–" Anastasia floundered.

"What about the Duke? You can negotiate directly with him, right? He can force Montague to swear a blood oath that he won't seek retribution–""Oh," said Qorbin softly. Levi looked at him.

"What's wrong?"

"Earlier, when I was fighting the castle's guards, I'd found it strange how weak they were. Their numbers were far fewer than I'd expected. It's almost as if someone else had wiped them out. And…" Qorbin's heart sank.

"The only reason why Phantasm would need Montague alive is because Montague is the heir to the…" Comprehension dawned in Levi's eyes, followed by a hint of worry.

"Oh." The hallway outside the Duke's quarters was littered with the corpses of guards, Royal Sentinels, and mercenaries. Crimson splattered the walls, viscera covered the floors, and the familiar pervasive stench of death filled the air. Qorbin and Levi burst into the Duke's quarters, sword flashing and magic swirling. It was a massive, opulent room, filled with extravagant displays of wealth. Two maids lay on the floor near the entrance. Thankfully, their chests were rising and falling; merely unconscious.

The remaining occupant in the room, however, wasn't so lucky. Duke Alan Montague stared back at them with sightless eyes, eight iron rods fixing him to the wall.