40 Pre-War Preparations (V)

"What?"

The current Ecclesiarch, Inovia III, rose from his chair in extreme shock.

He was an elderly man with a full head of white hair. Usually stern and taciturn, he could never have cultivated such a face otherwise—a face that seemed all the more severe even in shock. Like all Ecclesiarchs, he wore heavy robes adorned with all manner of highly symbolic ornaments.

"But, my lord—" Inovia III furrowed his brow deeply, a storm gathering across his face. "—the person chosen at your request has only just boarded the shuttle?"

Karyl nodded knowingly. His holographic image flickered before the Ecclesiarch, then went dark, though his voice remained perfectly clear.

"If that is the case, then apologize to them on my behalf. It seems someone chose her before we did."

Inovia III froze quite visibly. The storm that had yet to take shape vanished in an instant. He sat back down, nodded, and his expression became devout.

Karyl ended the communication and absentmindedly adjusted his collar.

Compared with before, this heavy uniform coat seemed to have undergone subtle changes imperceptible to ordinary people. Dark red vein-like patterns spread downward from both shoulders before mysteriously disappearing, only to reappear on the inner side of the coat's hem, forming a mad and bloody painting like a wildly growing rosebush—lush and dripping, as though it had only just drunk its fill of warm blood.

The source of this change was naturally self-evident, but the matter itself was still worthy of attention—the daemon named Laerhe seemed to be on the verge of some kind of transformation. Over these ten thousand years, it had devoured far too much blood.

Or rather, sin.

Karyl touched his cuff, and it responded with a gentle gnawing. He turned and walked toward the laboratory entrance.

It was still dark here,