I'm guilty? Of murder, no less?
Charlotte stood by the window, gripping the Dagger, her mind momentarily blank.
What Julian Wright had just spoken was neither Intisian nor the Hermes she had recently struggled to memorize. Yet when those words reached her ears, they seemed to penetrate the depths of her mind, allowing her to understand his meaning without understanding the syllables themselves.
That was clearly some language capable of harnessing natural forces. Could it be Ancient Hermes or Jotun... A slight chill ran down Charlotte's back. She immediately realized that Julian had not been threatening her with words, but activating some Beyonder ability.
The instant she heard "You are guilty," she had indeed felt unable to move, as though invisible rules had pinned her in place. But after he pronounced the specific charge of "the sin of murder," that sense of restraint rapidly faded without causing any further effects.
The bewilderment on Julian's face was the best proof. He had clearly expected Charlotte to be injured, weakened, or rendered completely immobile once he pronounced the specific charge.
But had she really committed the sin of murder?
The image of herself stabbing Etienne with the Dagger, watching his face pale as he bled profusely, surfaced in Charlotte's mind. But Etienne had ultimately died from a gunshot fired by a servant of the Gustav Family. Besides, she had been a kidnapping victim fighting to survive. Even if his death really were attributed to her, it would only have been lawful self-defense.
As for the original Charlotte's dozen or so years of life, nothing she had done had remotely involved that charge.
Could Julian's information be inaccurate? Did he simply use his position to learn about the account of Etienne's death Baron Gustav submitted to City Hall, then assume the fatal wound had been inflicted not by the armed servant, but by Baron Sauron's daughter, sheltered by her family's power? So, in desperation, he tried to use that information to pronounce a "conviction" on me... Was he confused because he'd misjudged things? At that thought, Charlotte halted her preparations to jump out the window.
She should have immediately jumped down to the street and regrouped with the Purification-ers below, especially Viève, who could counter him. But Julian's "conviction" had failed to fully restrain her, and she still had the Dagger and Holy Water. More importantly, the confidence that kept spreading from her palm to her heart after she grasped the Dagger gave rise to a dangerous yet tempting idea:
Perhaps she could deal with this cultist herself. From start to finish, he seemed not to have displayed any real offensive abilities.
Although she rationally understood that she should not indulge such arrogance, Charlotte's body had already acted ahead of her thoughts.
She pushed off, stepping across the carpet blackened by the intense light, and charged straight at Julian. At the same time, she fixed her eyes on his and instantly unleashed the authority of an Arbiter. This power did not rely on incantations or rituals, but exerted influence through expression, gaze, and mental state, making its target instinctively hesitate for an instant and incline toward obeying her judgment.
Sure enough, Julian's eyes changed, taking on a submissive look like the hounds crouching low in the hunting grounds.
But a moment later, he narrowed his eyes and broke free of that state. His lips began moving again, as though he intended to deliver another "conviction" in that strange language.
Charlotte, however, had already reached him and swung the dull-surfaced Sealed Artifact Dagger. He had no choice but to step back into the shadows between the door and the wall, his entire body melting into them like liquid.
I knew it... Charlotte flicked her left hand, sending the glass bottle she had already been holding flying. It shattered against the wall, splashing clear liquid over the carpet at its base. Fine golden motes immediately lit up within the shadows. The Julian-shaped shadow let out a shrill cry of pain, and his body was forced out of the darkness, burn marks appearing on his face, the backs of his hands, and his other exposed skin.
This was Holy Water Viève had prepared in advance, infused with her devout prayers and the power of a Solar High Priest!
Seeing the injured shadow return to human form, Charlotte gave the cultist no chance to recover. She followed through with the Dagger in her right hand, stabbing toward his chest. He barely twisted aside to avoid the strike aimed straight at his vitals and fled the shadowy gap that should have been his perfect hiding place but was now drenched in Holy Water, his movements hurried and clumsy.
He wasn't good at close combat. He might not have any ability in it at all!
The discovery greatly boosted Charlotte's confidence. Without hesitation, she pressed forward in pursuit and once again unleashed the oppressive force she had long since mastered, imagining him as prey fleeing in panic.
She knew that a Sequence 9 ability would have an extremely limited effect on a Beyonder clearly stronger than herself, at most making him hesitate for an instant. But in close combat, that was enough to let her close the distance another step. Holding the Dagger in a reverse grip, she slashed at the right arm he raised to block the blade.
Julian's expression changed drastically. Unable to spare a moment to withdraw his arm, he broke free of her Intimidation and declared at tremendous speed in that language whose meaning penetrated directly into the mind:
"You are committing a crime!"
This again... Charlotte had barely formed a mocking smile before her body stiffened once more, leaving her completely unable to control her movements.
And this time, the effect was clearly far stronger than "You are guilty."
Fortunately, her right hand had already swung the Dagger. Even after she lost control of her limbs, momentum carried the blade across Julian's blocking forearm. The attack should only have sliced through his sleeve and a little flesh, but just as it made contact, Charlotte's arrested movement happened to alter its trajectory, easily cutting through the blood vessels deeper inside.
Blood instantly gushed out, spattering Charlotte's skirt.
Clutching his right arm, Julian staggered backward, pressing his left hand over the wound. His face twisted with indecision, worried both that the bleeding would not stop and that applying pressure would worsen the injury.
He glared bitterly at Charlotte, whose limbs were rigid, whose smile had frozen on her face, and whose Dagger-bearing right hand remained extended. Instead of trying to use his abilities again, he endured the pain and walked toward her, reaching out to seize the pitch-black weapon. Though stained with blood, its surface remained unchanged in color, as if it had absorbed it.
Sacrificing her and pleasing the great being no longer mattered. All he wanted now was her death!
What wonderful expressions those Purification-ers will have when they return to the room and find a fresh corpse... If my identity hadn't been exposed, I'd really love to come back and admire them... One thought after another surfaced in his mind. Ignoring the blood still dripping from his right hand, he reached for the Dagger.
But at that very instant, Charlotte's face moved at the edge of his vision. The smile that had frozen when his conviction succeeded came alive again.
The Dagger within his reach whipped backward, then thrust toward Julian even faster.
Its point pierced the hand he had extended to grab it, passed through his bleeding arm, punctured his white cravat and shirt, and angled upward into his heart through the most vulnerable spot beneath his breastbone.
Just as described in Etienne's autopsy report.
With a wet sound, the blade pierced his beating heart. Julian's eyes flew wide. Feeling the stabbing pain in his chest and his rapidly ebbing strength, he looked in bewilderment at Charlotte's smiling face.
He could not understand why she had broken free of the restraints again, seemingly unaffected by her own crimes, while his spirituality had given him no warning of danger whatsoever, allowing him to foolishly approach and offer his vitals to the blade.
That smiling face drew a little closer. Her lips parted as she leaned toward his ear.
"You attacked me first. Why accuse me of being guilty?"
So that's how it is... The bewilderment faded from Julian Wright's eyes, as though he had accepted that conclusion. His eyelids slowly closed, his knees sank onto the carpet, and his body tilted toward the door, sliding into his favorite shadowy gap. Blood continued flowing from his right arm, mingling with the Holy Water on the carpet and giving off a faint sizzling sound.
Watching Julian's expression ease, as though he had finally understood something, Charlotte suddenly felt that she had pronounced some correct truth. An immense satisfaction filled her.
Does this count as becoming-or rather, acting as-an Arbiter... Wait, the plan was to capture him alive and interrogate him. Why did I stab him in the heart again... A flash of inspiration first crossed her mind, followed immediately by a sense that something was badly wrong. She snapped out of the confidence induced by the Sealed Artifact and turned toward the window.
Viève, who had left through the window half a minute earlier, was crouching on its frame with one hand braced against the edge. Her white shirt and dark vest clung a little more closely to her body after the climb and the fighting, while the fitted trousers below outlined her long, powerful legs. Her expression remained calm, her gaze moving back and forth between Julian's corpse and Charlotte's face.
She didn't hear that excuse just now, did she... No, the worst case is that she overheard everything, including Julian declaring me guilty of murder... Charlotte was startled at first, but then felt that she had done nothing wrong, nor had she exposed her identity as a transmigrator. She forced herself to straighten her back, trying to look as justified as possible.
But she soon realized that Viève was not looking at her expression, but at the Dagger Charlotte had thrust into Julian and left embedded in his chest.
The blood welling from the wound in his heart did not drip down the blade. Instead, it seeped into the metal little by little, as though the Sealed Artifact were absorbing it.
That wasn't me. It was just the overconfident me who did it... Charlotte's excuse reached her lips, but she could not bring herself to say it. Viève, however, did not continue watching her with that calm gaze. Instead, she jumped down from the window frame and strode over to the dead Julian, taking candles, essential oils, and other objects from an inner pocket of her vest and arranging them on the spot.
"What are you doing?"
Charlotte could not help asking. Although she guessed that Viève was attempting some kind of ritual, the little mysticism booklet had not mentioned any rituals that could be performed beside a corpse.
"Spirit channeling," Viève answered briefly as she arranged an altar with the candles and enclosed a safe area with a Wall of Spirituality. "In the world of mysticism, the dead are sometimes more useful than the living."
As the candlelight took on an eerie, somber green hue, a faint breeze stirred within the Wall of Spirituality. Charlotte, who had activated Spirit Vision in advance and was intently observing Julian's corpse, noticed a translucent figure with his exact appearance rise from the body and float in midair. His face was impassive, as though he had already accepted his death.
So this is the Spirit Channeling Technique... Amid her surprise, Charlotte also felt a little nervous, worried that Viève might ask questions about her and hear things she should not.
"If conditions permit, combining the Spirit Channeling Technique with Dream Divination allows us to see more detailed information, but doing that with a cultist is very dangerous," Viève explained from beside her. "Ordinary spirit channeling only allows three questions, and it must be performed within an hour of death."
Only three... Charlotte felt slightly reassured.
Once Julian's spirit stabilized, Viève immediately asked her first question:
"Who are the others who share your faith?"