He suddenly felt the urge to convey his feelings to Iris immediately.
Since she said she was in front of the Temple, he would be able to run into her if he went there quickly.
Johannes, who had bolted up from his Bed, hesitated while hurriedly putting on his clothes.
Wouldn’t she be surprised if he suddenly appeared?
‘…I can just pretend we met by chance.’
If it were anywhere else, it might be different, but Iris wouldn’t find it strange to encounter him at the Enraka Temple.
His movements, which had paused for a moment, quickened again.
Standing before the Mirror in a black shirt and shorts, Johannes shook his head.
He hurriedly stripped off the clothes and rummaged through the wardrobe.
Since it had been a while, he wanted to meet her looking his best.
‘Not this one, and not this one either. I wore this last time. Twice, even.’
Only after choosing for a long time could he finally find an outfit he liked.
It was a black suit he had never worn before, but it had a similar feel to the suits he had worn previously.
After quickly dressing, he meticulously styled his hair.
They say one gets better at grooming with practice; though he originally had no talent for dressing up, he had become able to style his hair, albeit clumsily, from paying attention every time he met Iris.
After looking in the Mirror and feeling satisfied with his appearance, he called James, who would be hiding somewhere in the Home, wary of others’ eyes.
Ring—
“James, I’m going to the Temple. Have a car ready.”
Understood, Heir.
Johannes left his room with an excited expression.
Striding down the stairs with his long legs, he called the Watcher. It was to confirm whether Iris had entered the Temple.
Yes, Heir.
“Did Iris enter the Temple?”
No. She hasn’t entered yet.
“Really? Hmm….”
A wrinkle formed between his thick eyebrows.
Why was Iris waiting in her car in front of the Temple?
It was different from the behavior the Watcher had reported until now.
Whenever she visited the Enraka Temple, she had always gone inside immediately without delay.
‘Since today isn’t a day for worship, did she go to the Temple to find the place where the Relic is kept after all? It won’t be easy to find.’
One had to go deep into the path lined with buildings behind the Congregation Hall for the building containing the Relic to appear.
Since Iris was a Hero, she might be able to search the buildings by sneaking around differently from ordinary people.
But could she make it to where the Relic was, and even into that basement?
It was impossible for Iris to enter there alone. Because a being that was not human was guarding that place.
As far as he knew, ‘That One’ was usually alone and could not leave that room.
So, if he drew the attention of ‘That One’ and then Iris quickly snatched the Relic, there might be a chance of victory.
In truth, that wasn’t a certainty either. This was because the extent of the power of ‘That One’ could not be measured.
If ‘That One’ was much stronger than expected, it would only lead to a meaningless death.
‘A frontal breakthrough won’t work. Unless I use a trick to spirit it away. Besides….’
He had just realized that if Iris was the Container for Relic Power, there was no way ‘That One’ would let her return safely.
It would try to capture and use her somehow. If so, he wanted to talk to her before Iris reached the place where ‘That One’ was.
He wanted to tell her that he would help, so they should prepare thoroughly before going. Just then, the Watcher’s voice broke his thoughts.
If she enters the Temple, should I follow her inside?
“No. As always, do not enter the Temple and wait outside.”
Yes.
After putting away his Handphone, he stepped out of the house with a quick pace.
Just thinking about seeing Iris after a long time made a hum escape his lips.
He remained completely unaware of the situation she was about to face.
* * *
In the basement of a building within the dark Enraka Temple, Teresa lay collapsed in a corner with her hands and feet tightly bound, bleeding from her head.
A pained groan escaped from between her barely parted lips.
“Ugh….”
“Phew, it was hard catching her. If Abellus hadn’t attached a Chimera to us, we would have been the ones taken down instead. I thought she was just an ordinary old woman, but she has a Superpower.”
Looking down at Teresa, a burly man wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He was one of the Villains serving as a henchman for the Enraka.
His attack Ability wasn’t strong, but because he was simple-minded, he was a good sort to use.
Abellus nodded with a reluctant look.
Since it was something being done secretly from J Corporation, he had to receive help from the Enraka side’s Villains rather than their own, and it felt uncomfortable because the more people involved, the easier it was for secrets to leak. Therefore….
“Ugh, why, why are you… ugh….”
“I don’t like it when there are many people.”
The man’s eyes bulged as he made a gagging sound. Barely lowering his gaze, he saw a blood-stained arm that had pierced through his chest.
The Chimera standing behind him had pierced the man’s chest in a single stroke with its arm.
It was certain that Abellus, who had the Superpower to command Chimeras, had given the order.
Resentment and shock flashed in the man’s wide-torn eyes.
Along with that, the fear of death. As Abellus’s purple eyes flashed dangerously, the Chimera withdrew its extended arm.
“Ugh, uuu!”
In the Chimera’s hand was a heart dripping with blood. Along with a squelching sound, blood gushed out from the man’s chest.
Soon, his house-sized body stood trembling, unable to endure any longer, before collapsing forward with a thud.
Abellus, twitching one eyebrow, kicked the man’s body with force, flipping it over.
Only after confirming that the light had vanished from the staring eyes did a satisfied smile grace his lips.
Looking down at the corpse that could no longer hear anything, he spoke with a numb expression.
“I’m glad you were useful. I almost had to leave the Chimera I spent so much effort making stuck in a cage without ever using it once. Well, I suppose you can’t hear me now.”
After shrugging his shoulders, he turned his head toward the Chimera standing behind him.
The Chimera threw the man’s heart onto the floor and was staring blankly at its hand dripping with blood.
Watching the blood drip down the Chimera’s arm, Abellus frowned.
It was because the blood of a Villain who was weak and foul-looking felt filthy.
‘Imagining that blood getting on my hands makes my stomach turn.’
It couldn’t be helped in unavoidable situations, but he generally did not fight directly.
It was because he hated personally dealing with beings that were weak and pathetic-looking.
It was fine if something was already dead, but he didn’t want to get the hot blood of a living thing on his hands.
It felt as if inferiority would transfer to him if that blood touched him.
While it was impossible, he felt that unpleasant sensation.
Animals and Monsters were fine, but it was only like that when dealing with people.
This was the reason why Abellus insisted on staying only in the Laboratory despite being a high-rank Superpowered Individual after joining J Corporation.
Fortunately, because he had an outstanding mind in addition to his Ability, Kaisar, who was bewildered at first, eventually tolerated and overlooked his staying only in the Laboratory.
Abellus, who had instinctively pulled his head back and grimaced, soon returned to his original expressionless face.
As expected, it was a good idea to bring the Chimera.
Thanks to that, he had handled troublesome matters without getting a single drop of blood on his hands.
After pointing his chin toward the corpse on the floor, he stared at the Chimera.
“Put this away in the corner.”
“Grrr….”
It does this again after doing well. The Chimera, which had seemed to listen to him obediently, suddenly bared its teeth and its eyes shone dangerously.
Had it seen blood and remembered something from when it was human that it had forgotten?
Abellus let out a hollow laugh while looking at the ceiling and then glared into the Chimera’s eyes.
If it wasn’t fully tamed yet, it was troublesome, but he might have to kill it on the spot.
“Ha, I went to the trouble of bringing you back to life, and you want to die?”
“Stop right there, Abellus. Once the power of the Relic is complete, you’ll be able to handle that fellow without any issue.”
Amidst the taut tension, a low voice intervened between the two.
It was ‘That One’, who was standing with its back against the wall.
Abellus, taking a deep breath, used his Skill once more.
Then, the Chimera’s body shivered, and it began to drag the corpse on the floor with vacant eyes.
After confirming the Chimera placed the corpse in the corner, Abellus bit his lip.
Recently, his Skill had been upgraded thanks to the help of ‘That One’.
He had become able to give orders mentally, and the Skill did not break even from a considerable distance.
In addition, he could instill a significant amount of fear and obedience into the target.
Thanks to that, he had succeeded in taming a fairly strong human-type Chimera and could order it to kidnap Iris’s aide.
‘There’s a reason why the Enraka keeps that creepy fellow around. It seems like a being that can’t be kicked out anyway, but he’s quite useful.’
Just then, a thudding sound was heard from the corner.
Turning around, he saw Iris’s aide, Teresa, whom he thought had fainted, struggling on the floor.