Chapter 193: Fatal Hesitation

“You said Iris went inside?”

“Yes. She hasn’t come out yet.”

“I see. Good work.”

Johannes nodded and entered the Temple with an excited expression.

His eyes, which had looked weary for so long, were finally full of life as he looked around.

How would Iris react if he told her everything and offered to help?

He was certain she wouldn’t hate it. She might even be grateful and open her heart to him a little more.

The smile never left his lips as he imagined such things.

As he wandered through the Temple with a grin, Johannes’s complexion gradually darkened as time passed.

Contrary to his expectation that he would find her immediately, he couldn’t find a single trace of Iris no matter how much he searched.

“Phew….”

He checked the Congregation Hall just in case, but since it wasn’t a day for service, the doors were tightly closed.

After shaking the unyielding doors a few times, he thought of the places he hadn’t searched yet.

Iris might be in the area behind the Congregation Hall, where the buildings were lined up.

‘Yes. Since Iris came to find the Relic, she must have gone that way to search.’

He hurried toward the back of the Congregation Hall.

However, Iris was nowhere to be seen, even after he walked to the end of the path.

Had she already gone inside one of the buildings?

He returned to the entrance and began wandering through the buildings that weren’t locked.

Then, he paused as a realization hit him.

‘If Iris is currently searching for the Relic, she won’t be happy to run into me.’

If she was searching in secret, she would obviously hide the moment she felt someone’s presence.

That would be the case whether that person was Johannes or anyone else.

He gave up on searching for Iris and sat on a bench at the Church Entrance.

He planned to act as if they had met by chance and greet her casually when she appeared.

“Mmm….”

However, Iris did not appear even after a long time had passed and the sky was dyed red.

He had been sitting for so long that his legs were starting to feel numb.

‘Does it make sense that she hasn’t come out by this time? Perhaps…’

The Sacred Relic Location was the place where ‘That One’ resided.

If Iris had gone there and been attacked by ‘That One’ — overcome by an ominous feeling, he jumped up from the bench, only to groan while clutching his numb legs.

“Ugh….”

He limped on his numb legs and hurried toward the back of the Congregation Hall.

He should have been suspicious sooner, but he had been so excited at the thought of meeting Iris that he overlooked the fact that she could be in danger.

He had simply assumed her search was taking a long time.

It would be a disaster if Iris had actually reached the place where ‘That One’ was and attempted to steal the Relic.

If she had succeeded in taking the Relic, she would have come out to the entrance long ago, so the fact that she still hadn’t appeared meant the probability of failure was high.

His pale face turned even whiter as he imagined Iris collapsed and bleeding.

Johannes arrived in front of the building where ‘That One’ was kept and tried to go inside, but he faltered. The door was locked.

‘Right. They said they keep the door locked so just anyone can’t enter. I think they said they only open it when there’s a visitor.’

If Iris hadn’t entered through the door, where did she go?

His gaze turned toward the other buildings. All the other structures were used by ordinary personnel.

Furthermore, since most of the Superpowered Individuals belonging to Enrakakyo were busy with external activities, there would be almost no one staying at the Temple today since it wasn’t a service day.

This meant that ‘That One’ was the only entity that could harm her. His red eyes looked upward.

Since the door was locked, there was a possibility she had entered through the roof.

After a moment of deliberation, he decided to go to the roof and search the interior.

He wanted to break the door down and go in, but that would be too conspicuous, and the aftermath would be difficult to handle.

Just as he was thinking of climbing the gas pipe, he heard someone’s voice from a distance.

“Who’s there?”

“Ah….”

When he turned around, his eyes met those of a guard holding a lantern.

The guard, who had been on patrol, approached and bowed upon recognizing Johannes.

“Oh, Lord Johannes. What are you doing here? It’s time to close up.”

“Ah, well… I was planning to go in here.”

Johannes pointed toward the locked door with an awkward expression.

The guard looked at the locked door with a troubled face.

“Is it urgent? Everyone should have gone home by now.”

“It’s not that. It’s just….”

He stammered, unable to think of a suitable excuse. Only high-ranking officials of Enrakakyo knew of the existence of ‘That One’.

A guard who was a mere congregant would think of this as an ordinary building, so what should he say?

Above all, the door was locked from the inside. It meant the guard couldn’t open it even if he asked.

The guard watched Johannes quietly before adjusting his hat and speaking.

“Then please come back during the day. No one will be here right now.”

“…I suppose I should.”

Johannes bit his lip and nodded. Judging by the other lantern light he saw behind the man, it seemed there were several guards.

It was a fact he had only just learned, as he had never been to the Temple at this hour.

He wanted to climb the gas pipe to the roof immediately, but if he were caught doing that, his suspicious behavior would be reported to his Father.

As Johannes stood still, the guard gestured, and he had no choice but to follow the guard toward the entrance.

Clang.

After he stepped out of the entrance, the guard closed the massive iron gate.

A look of grief appeared on Johannes’s face as he watched the man firmly lock the padlock.

‘Now what do I do? Something must have happened to Iris.’

He stood in front of Iris’s car, which had a parking ticket attached to it, trembling with anxiety.

Was he overreacting? Iris could have parked here and gone home.

He suddenly tasted the metallic tang of blood. He had bitten his lip unconsciously until it bled.

He paced back and forth before taking out his cellphone and calling Iris.

*Ring… ring…*

‘The phone seems to be off.’

Sighing as he looked at his phone, Johannes eventually called the Watcher.

“Check if the lights are on at Iris’s house.”

– …Yes. Understood.

It wasn’t time for bed yet, so if Iris had returned home, the lights should be on.

About thirty minutes later, the Watcher reported that the lights were not on at Iris’s house.

Furthermore, he added that no one seemed to be home, as the lights were off in both the Detached House where Iris lived and the main house where the owner lived.

After ending the call, Johannes’s expression became grave.

‘Iris is definitely still in the Temple.’

If she was still in the Temple, the chances of her being safe were slim.

The probability that she was still searching the Temple in the pitch-black night was also low.

He decided he had to infiltrate the building where ‘That One’ was, regardless of the consequences.

If Iris was in there, he had to rescue her no matter what.

‘Could something have gone wrong with Iris…’

His hands began to shake as he recalled the rumors that ‘That One’ had cruelly killed those who came to steal the Relic.

After quickly checking his surroundings to ensure there were no pedestrians, he transformed.

He planned to jump over the wall and storm the building where ‘That One’ was.

‘I was too busy worrying about others’ opinions and hesitated. I shouldn’t have done that….’

He should have ignored the guard’s reaction earlier and insisted on entering the building.

Or, he should have transformed immediately after coming outside and sneaked back in.

He possessed a Stealth Skill that was superior to others, after all.

However, he had hesitated and delayed because of the slim chance he was wrong, and because he feared the fallout if he were caught by ‘That One’ after sneaking in.

If something had happened to Iris in that time, he felt he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

After checking his surroundings, he headed toward a high wall far from the Temple entrance.

At that moment, a massive roar erupted, and the Temple began to twist in a bizarre fashion.

‘What is this?’

Johannes’s narrowed eyes gradually widened in horror. The Enrakakyo Temple was writhing like a living creature.

He flinched as he tried to touch the oddly twisting wall. He couldn’t touch it, as if he were blocked by a transparent barrier.