The streets around Olisa Cathedral were unusually solemn in the dead of night.
The towering white walls completely separated the church from the bustling secular world. There was none of the raucous, lively atmosphere of the commercial district here.
Patrolling guards carrying torches moved back and forth through the streets, the clatter of armor echoing in the silent night sky, adding a hint of grim tension to this sacred ground.
Two figures draped in dark cloaks appeared silently in the depths of an alley on the cathedral’s outskirts.
Julius reached up and pulled the brim of his hood lower, hiding his face in shadow.
He turned slightly, using his broad back to block any possible view from the alley entrance, while cautiously observing the surroundings.
After confirming it was safe for the moment, he turned to look at the petite figure beside him, wrapped just as tightly, a trace of worry still lingering in his eyes.
“Are you sure you don’t need me to go in with you?”
Julius asked in a lowered voice: “Most of those guards are ordinary men, but this is Olisa Cathedral after all. Add in those Chaos Believers of unknown skill…”
“For a high-risk mission like infiltrating enemy territory, no matter what happens, I have confidence that my sword can protect you.”
But Helos had a different idea.
“Bringing you along is way too conspicuous, you idiot knight.”
Helos extended a hand from beneath her cloak and gently patted Julius’s tense arm, signaling him to relax. Her voice was soft, but her tone carried an easy confidence.
“The moment you stand there, even if you deliberately suppress it, to those perceptive high-ranking clergy or Chaos Believers, you’re basically a walking light source. The holy light radiating from you is as dazzling as a torch in the dead of night.”
“Taking you inside is no different from setting off fireworks right at the front gate.”
The girl raised her head, her pale purple eyes hidden deep within her hood narrowing slightly.
“I’m not here to fight this time. I’m here to get things done.”
Her target right now was Duran himself.
And besides, the Branch of Glamour she’d just mastered needed the perfect stage to put its practical combat effectiveness to the test.
“But what if you get caught?”
Julius was still hesitant. “Your body has recovered now, but if it really comes to a fight…”
“Relax, relax.”
Helos waved her hand, cutting off his concerns. “I’m not an idiot. If I can’t win, can’t I just run? Besides, did you forget who else is living inside my body?”
She pointed at the ring on her finger.
“With teacher Sylvia here, there’s no one in this cathedral who can hold me back. If it truly comes to a crisis, teacher will just vaporize them on the spot.”
At the mention of that great mage, Julius’s expression softened slightly.
After a brief moment of weighing his options, Julius ultimately chose to compromise.
“Fine.”
Helos nodded in satisfaction.
“That’s more like it.”
Julius took a deep breath and released his grip on his sword hilt.
“Then I’ll wait here for you. If anything seems off, or if you send a signal, I’ll charge right in. When that happens, whether it’s the Archbishop or some Chaos Believer, I won’t hold back.”
“Good.”
“Then I’m off.”
The girl adjusted her cloak, making sure no conspicuous accessories were left exposed.
She took a step back, putting distance between herself and Julius.
She closed her eyes and began to channel that strange, slightly hallucinatory power within her body.
As her will turned, the illusory tome deep in her consciousness flipped open once more, settling on the chapter of the Phantom Arts.
[Shadow Stalk] activated.
Julius kept his eyes fixed on the girl before him.
His gaze was intensely focused, as if he were trying to etch her figure into his memory.
But then, in the next instant, an extremely bizarre sensation struck his mind without warning.
He had been staring directly at Helos’s position the entire time, without even blinking.
Yet at some point, his vision seemed to suddenly cut out.
That figure, which had been perfectly clear just moments before, blurred and faded like ink dissolving into water, until it completely vanished from his sight.
No—not just his sight.
Even his “perception” of Helos had disappeared along with it.
He knew she was standing there. His logic told him there was a person in that spot.
But his brain, his instincts, even his sixth sense as the chosen one, were all desperately feeding him the wrong information—there was nothing there, just empty air and a cold wall.
“Helos?”
Julius’s eyes shot wide open.
The massive disconnect between cognition and reality sent a violent wave of dizziness through him.
He instinctively reached out a hand, trying to grab the person who should have been there.
But he grabbed nothing.
The young man’s fingertips swept through the cold air, touching nothing at all.
“How is that possible…”
The black-haired young man muttered in disbelief.
He even began to wonder if he’d been hit by some high-tier illusion, or if Helos had been teleported away by some unknown entity.
Just as he was about to draw his sword out of sheer panic—
“Hey.”
A very real sensation suddenly came from his right arm.
It was like someone had reached out a finger and lightly poked him on the arm.
Julius whipped his head around.
There, less than half a meter away from his side, the air twisted slightly.
Then, that familiar petite figure stepped out of what seemed like thin air, reappearing in his field of vision.
Helos stood there, a smug grin on the small face beneath her hood.
She was looking at the utterly bewildered Julius with a bright smile, her pale purple eyes gleaming with the delight of a successful prank.
“Oh.”
The girl blinked playfully.
“This is your lady’s new ability~ What do you think? Shocked, weren’t you?”
“Th-What is this?”
Julius felt his throat go dry.
That disappearance just now was far too complete. So complete it frightened him.
If an enemy had used this ability, he probably wouldn’t even know how he died.
“Don’t ask so many questions. A lady is entitled to her secrets~”
Helos didn’t explain further. After all, explaining was too much of a hassle, and keeping a bit of mystery around this ability made it more intimidating.
She winked at Julius, then pulled her cloak back into place and waved at him.
“Alright, demonstration over. You should be reassured now, right? As long as I don’t reveal myself, no one can find me.”
“I’m off!”
With those words, Helos didn’t linger.
She turned around and activated Shadow Stalk once more.
Under Julius’s watchful gaze, her form blurred again, eventually melting completely into the dense darkness of the night.
Even though he was mentally prepared this time and stared hard at that spot, he still couldn’t catch even the slightest trace of her.
Wind blew through the empty alley, stirring up a few fallen leaves.
If not for the lingering sensation of that poke on his arm, Julius might have thought everything just now was a dream.
He stood there in silence for a long time.
Finally, he leaned back against the wall, cradling his sword in his arms, his gaze as steadfast as a rock, keeping watch over that brightly lit cathedral.