Abellus, dressed in a black suit, strode forward while keeping a sharp lookout.
He passed by Iris, who was hiding behind a steeple, and continued walking.
Watching his unhesitating back, as if he’d been here many times before, Iris’s eyes sparkled.
‘Where is he going? Somehow, I have a hunch that if I follow Abellus, I’ll be able to find a clue to the sacred relic. I’m glad I’ve been steadily leveling up my <Stealth>.’
Carefully, she trailed behind him, slipping from shadow to shadow.
The rear of the Congregation Hall was quiet, as the worship was in full swing.
Where could he be heading alone without even the Lucael Priest?
Abellus had told Iris he was a layman.
Of course, that was a lie.
He was so self-centered, there was no way he’d be the type to believe in a god.
If she continued to follow him, perhaps she’d learn the reason he’d left in the middle of worship to enter a sect building only the staff used.
As she followed Abellus, the chill she’d felt since entering this corridor grew more intense.
It was no longer just goosebumps—her breath was visible in the cold air.
‘Ugh, this is strange. When I saw the real necklace in the Lab Director’s Office, it didn’t feel like this.’
At first, she thought her nerves were tingling because she could sense the presence of the sacred relic, but this was different.
It was an indescribable, unpleasant, eerie feeling rising up from her toes.
‘No matter how shaded it is, how can it get this cold?’
Unconsciously, she shivered.
Today’s weather had been unseasonably warm for early summer.
When she’d first entered the Church Entrance, the sun had been shining warmly overhead.
But as she followed him deeper, the surroundings darkened.
She understood that the buildings were packed so tightly that sunlight couldn’t get in, but she couldn’t fathom why the temperature had dropped this much.
For some reason, she felt she absolutely shouldn’t go any further.
Driven by instinctive aversion, she tried to back away, only to bump into a dead-end wall.
At that moment, the gem and silver charm on her necklace clinked together with a clear sound.
How unlucky!
Iris held her breath in panic.
‘Oh no. If Abellus heard that sound…!’
She covered her mouth with her hand and shrank back.
It was strange.
She’d never heard her necklace make that clinking sound while wearing it.
And now, of all times, it had to happen while she was secretly tailing Abellus.
Was it a sound it always made, but she’d only now noticed it because she was so tense? She couldn’t figure it out.
‘There’s nowhere to run.’
Glancing at the inner recesses of her hiding spot, she bit her lip in frustration.
She was hidden in a small gap between buildings, but it was a dead end with no escape.
All she could do now was hope for one thing: that Abellus hadn’t heard the clinking of the necklace.
But contrary to her hopes, it seemed Abellus had heard the sound.
He stopped in his tracks and suddenly turned around.
Iris quickly ducked down and hid behind a trash can.
She wanted nothing more than to use <Light-Speed Spring> to leap atop the building, but that would surely expose her to Abellus.
Regrettably, <Stealth> was not a panacea.
While using the skill, she had to restrain herself from making conspicuous movements to remain undetected.
At that moment, the sound of approaching footsteps grazed her ears.
The footsteps grew louder—he was definitely coming her way.
What would she do if she was caught now?
It was clear she’d be discovered while hiding; would a feeble excuse like “I got lost looking for the restroom” even work?
But then, bursting out and cheerfully greeting him with a “What a coincidence!” would be pure madness.
She was caught in a dilemma.
While rolling her anxious eyes, she suddenly remembered a skill she’d acquired but never used: <Complete Delusion>, a mental-type skill she’d gotten from Laika.
‘Right! Why didn’t I think of that? If I use <Complete Delusion> … wait! Ugh, but that can’t be used on someone with a higher level than me.’
Her momentarily brightened face quickly darkened again.
When she’d seen Abellus’s State Window, his level had been higher than hers—she hadn’t even been able to check it.
‘Wait. Isn’t it true that I can always check a State Window I’ve seen once before?’
She opened the System and checked Abellus’s State Window, only to fall into despair.
Just as she expected.
Even if he’d lost a bit of power, his level was still higher than hers.
Mental-type skills had no effect on targets of a higher level than the user.
So <Complete Delusion> was useless against Abellus.
And she couldn’t recklessly attack Abellus, who had the real necklace.
In the worst case, she’d have to pretend to know nothing and play along to find out where the real necklace was.
‘Guess my best bet is to stick to the “I’m looking for the restroom” excuse. It’s a pathetic excuse, but maybe Abellus will pretend to believe it.’
Clutching the necklace’s gem in her hand, she held her breath.
Abellus was a sly, psychopathic man.
If he realized she hadn’t fallen under the curse, he might put on a disgusting act.
All with that annoyingly smug smile of his.
“…What the?”
At that moment, Abellus tilted his head, a plainly flustered expression appearing on his face.
He’d heard a suspicious sound and, wondering if someone was watching, activated his <Wondrous Perception> skill—but the skill didn’t work at all.
He tried to use the skill several more times, and his hand was soon slick with sweat.
He definitely had the real necklace in his possession, yet the skill he’d gained from it suddenly wouldn’t activate.
‘What in the world…’
While he chewed his lip, the sound of a bell tolling the hour rang out in the distance.
DANG— DANG—
Confused, he took a deep breath and turned around.
With his skills suddenly unresponsive, this wasn’t the time to worry about the fleeting clink he’d heard earlier.
It must have been his imagination.
‘…Huh?’
As she forced a stiff smile and prepared a clumsy excuse, the approaching footsteps suddenly faded away.
She pricked up her ears and held her breath, peeking beyond the wall.
Abellus’s broad back came into view as he walked away.
Whether he was simply dull, too busy, hard of hearing, or something else—at any rate, it seemed he hadn’t discovered the hiding Iris.
‘Phew, looks like he didn’t think to come all the way here. He’s not just pretending he didn’t notice, is he?’
Thankfully, Abellus hadn’t found her.
It was partly thanks to her <Stealth> skill, and partly because he was so distracted by the shock of <Wondrous Perception> failing to activate.
He was on his way to meet “it” in secret.
He’d been thinking the curse laid upon Iris was less effective than expected, but now there was another reason to meet “it”: to find out why the skill awakened by the sacred relic had suddenly stopped working.
If anyone would know, “it” would.
‘Whew, is this just a temporary phenomenon? There’s no reason for a skill to suddenly disappear. …Come to think of it, shouldn’t Iris have already fallen under the curse by now?’
It was strange.
According to “it,” by this point, Iris should have arrived here already, but there’d been no sign of her.
Just in case, he’d even attended worship today, but hadn’t spotted Iris.
He’d been so frustrated he’d almost contacted her, but barely restrained himself.
By now, she should have felt something amiss with her body—but how could he check?
For now, he’d talk with “it” and try to learn why the curse’s effect was so faint.
As she watched Abellus head down into the basement of a black building, Iris narrowed her eyes.
She felt certain there was something there.
Just as she was about to quietly follow, she hesitated.
The chill had intensified.
‘Ugh, but strangely, my feet won’t move. I have a bad feeling about following him.’
Now, even standing still, her teeth were chattering.
How had Abellus endured this cold?
She hadn’t seen his face, but judging by the way he’d strode so confidently, he hadn’t seemed to mind at all.
She had no inkling that the reason she felt this chill was because she was drawing near the one who had cast the curse.
‘Isn’t there a way to find out what’s in the basement without going down?’
As she pondered, a good idea flashed through her mind.
How could she have forgotten?
If she used the <Wondrous Perception> skill, she could scope out the basement without going down herself.
After all, when she’d used the skill before, she could see straight through her bag.
Glaring at the basement where Abellus had gone down, she activated <Wondrous Perception> —and soon, the view beneath the stairs began to come into focus.