332 Sinners
She said she wasn’t Aurore Lee? Lumian felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck him, his thoughts freezing in their tracks.
In fact, he could deduce that Aurore Lee wasn’t his sister’s real name. Someone deliberately settling in a border village wouldn’t likely use their true identity. Yet, after almost six years together, he could sense that his sister embraced the name “Aurore Lee.” She never spoke of her original identity or her past life in his presence. Moreover, the forged identity documents she possessed seemed increasingly genuine. When she rose to fame as a best-selling author, their authenticity was unquestionable.
Why would she suddenly say that?
And how did it tie into her inexplicable faith in the enigmatic existence known as Inevitability?
A sharp ache throbbed in Lumian’s head, jolting him back to reality. Anxiously, he inquired, “Did she mention who she was?”
On the mirror-like surface, no longer shrouded in black flames and frost, Guillaume Bénet, pallid and tinged with a bluish hue, responded with a dazed expression, “She claimed to be Roche Louise Sanson.”
I’ve never heard of such a name… Lumian furrowed his brow and probed further, “Did she mention anything else about this identity?”
Guillaume Bénet shook his head.
“Nothing more.”
Lumian pressed his left hand against his temple. After a brief silence, he pressed on, “Was Roche Louise Sanson involved in the plot to sacrifice Cordu in exchange for the arrival of the Inevitability angel?”
Guillaume Bénet appeared to wrestle with himself, but ultimately yielded to the sway of the spirit channeling. His response came forth, candid and unfiltered: “No, that was my doing.
“I was driven by the desire to attain godhood swiftly, to ascend as a saint. Aurore Lee initially approved, only to oppose my plan mere hours later. She was indecisive. Eventually, I chose to conceal my intentions from her and made covert preparations. Later on, she seemed to tacitly endorse our efforts, offering aid during critical junctures. Occasionally, though, she resisted and engaged in acts of destruction, yet she’d quickly relent.”
The Aurore you depict almost seems schizophrenic… Lumian found himself clinging to the image of Aurore, yet he couldn’t escape the memory of the lizard-like, diaphanous elf emerging from his sister’s mouth. He recalled her sporadic awakenings, her discussions on escaping their predicament.
But even in those moments of “clarity,” Aurore’s behavior hardly resembled normalcy. She even overlooked the option of summoning Hela’s messenger for swift assistance, the most direct solution out of their ordeal.
Lumian shifted the conversation, asking, “When did Aurore begin propagating the faith of Inevitability in Cordu?”
Guillaume Bénet appeared even more muddled than before.
“My initial investigation pointed to around May or June of last year. After that, she paid me a secret visit.”
Seems to be consistent with my suspicions… Something must have transpired back then to corrupt Aurore… If she was an original believer in Inevitability, she wouldn’t wait five or six years before proselytizing… Lumian’s expression flickered with pain, which he quickly suppressed.
“Have you ever come across diaphanous, lizard-like creatures in Cordu?”
“No,” Guillaume Bénet answered truthfully.
“Do you have any knowledge of a figure known as the Sufferer in Cordu?” Lumian inquired further.
Guillaume Bénet appeared taken aback.
“I don’t know. No.”
Lumian’s facial muscles twitched involuntarily.
“Have you observed an owl around Aurore?”
“No,” Guillaume Bénet negated again.
Lumian continued to pose inquiries regarding the Cordu catastrophe, yet the answers offered were far from satisfactory. Finally, he probed, “Is there a secret organization or a heretical Church associated with Roche Louise Sanson?”
Guillaume Bénet, his pallid countenance increasingly diffused, finally nodded.
“Yes, it’s called Sinners. I now hold the position of one of the Sinners’ archbishops.”
Sinners… The heretical Church which believes in Inevitability? Lumian’s intrigue grew as he delved further.
“Who leads the Sinners, and who acts as the intermediary for you?”
“I’m uncertain of the leader’s identity, but he’s the sole individual among all the sinners who possesses godhood,” Guillaume Bénet’s hollow voice responded with an eerie timbre. “The individual responsible for my contact is Bouvard Pont-Péro.”
Sole individual possessing godhood… Could it be the Sufferer lurking in my midst? Lumian’s mind raced as he continued his probing.
“How can I establish contact with Bouvard Pont-Péro?”
“It’s futile,” Guillaume Bénet’s ethereal voice replied, a hollowness to its tone. “Upon my demise, he will sense the shift in fate and preemptively erase all traces. Transfiguration is one of the abilities granted through a pact. He can become anything, but he is no longer himself.”
Can take on any form, but at the cost of his own identity… Prolonged use of Transfiguration might have driven him to complete madness… Perhaps I can visit the asylum and seek out any patients with similar cognitive impairments… I must be careful with acquiring further contract abilities. If there are only three or four negative effects, that’s manageable. However, if the list becomes extensive, it not only invites trouble but also provides enemies with exploitable openings… If the padre had encountered a member of the Bliss Society or a bestowed from the Mother Tree of Desire, he would undoubtedly fall victim easily… Lumian gazed at the altar mirror and posed another question, “Why did the Sinners organization send you to Quartier de la Princesse Rouge?”
Guillaume Bénet’s indistinct visage lit up with zealous fervor.
“It satisfies my desires and simultaneously serves as a recruitment ground for believers, all in preparation for the upcoming grand ritual. Only by allowing our lord to tread upon this realm can sinners like us seek redemption and baptism, thus escaping our predetermined fates.”
“Did the Sinners organization provide you financial support, or did you amass funds independently?” Lumian aimed to trace the origins of the money for potential leads.
Guillaume Bénet shook his head.
“It’s an anonymous deposit from Aurore Lee—no, Roche Louise Sanson. The sum totals 100,000 verl d’or.”
“Dammit, you swine!” Lumian cursed.
While he had foreseen this, the realization that the padre had been using Aurore’s earnings to support a courtesan and sustain a lavish lifestyle for recruiting heretics ignited a seething anger within Lumian.
Suppressing his emotions, Lumian let out a scornful chuckle and stated, “Did the Sinners organization not provide you Beyonder characteristics? Have you never consumed a potion?”
Otherwise, the padre would have been even more formidable and difficult to deal with.
“Beyonder characteristics of the Seer, Monster, Apprentice, and Marauder pathways that Inevitability’s bestowed are compatible with aren’t easily acquired. I’ve been searching for them.
“Given the adverse effects those contracted creatures have on me, drinking potions from other pathways would undoubtedly lead to a loss of control on the spot.”
Fortunately, my current negative effects remain minimal and feeble. If they were more potent, it could jeopardize my ability to ingest Hunter pathway potions in the future… Lumian’s spirituality was dwindling, so he capitalized on the moment to pose one final inquiry.
“What are Sequences 6 to 0 of the Inevitability pathway?”
Guillaume Bénet’s voice hollowed further.
“Sequence 6 is Ascetic, Sequence 5 is Fate Appropriator, Sequence 4 is Circle Inhabitant, and Sequence 3 is Sufferer. Beyond that, I am unaware.”
Ascetic… It seems akin to the advancement of an Alms Monk… Why didn’t Termiboros inform me? Right; as a victim, He will likely have the Ascetic boon extracted from Him in the future. It’s only natural for Him to evade answering related queries. If He remained utterly impassive and too willing to provide an answer, I would have grown wary and suspected a trap… Lumian’s gaze lifted slightly, his countenance involuntarily contorting.
“What abilities does an Ascetic possess?”
Guillaume Bénet’s voice drifted as he responded, “An Ascetic is defined by endurance, accumulation, and eruption. After accruing one’s usual strength within the body, it can be momentarily unleashed during combat, rendering the Ascetic akin to a giant. Accumulating ritualistic processes permits the simplification of certain special rituals, making them applicable in combat.”
Akin to a giant… A momentary outburst… Lumian recollected the confrontation between Shepherd Pierre Berry and the investigator, Ryan, along with the metallic giant the padre had morphed into.
Had the metalized Guillaume Bénet not been overly cautious of the Spell of Harrumph and abstained from close-quarter combat, constantly maintaining a safe distance and shifting positions swiftly, thereby thwarting Franca’s Psychic Piercing, by amalgamating Steel Body with Ascetic, the padre could have likely outmatched Lumian, who needed to use his spirituality judiciously.
This corroborated Lumian’s rationale for disregarding the strange creatures that came with the boon’s knowledge and opting to identify a contract target from the spirit world bestiary. If he hadn’t, the padre would have been able to determine if the Spell of Harrumph was still at Lumian’s disposal and gauging his remaining combat strength. In that scenario, his adversary’s battlefield decisions would probably have starkly diverged from the ultimate outcome.
Guillaume Bénet had earlier “shared” details of the simplified ritual.
By enveloping an individual in sheepskin through ritualistic accumulation and intoning the incantation, they could be transmuted into a sheep. A cumbersome and intricate ceremony was unnecessary.
Just as Lumian was on the cusp of inquiring about the abilities of a Sufferer, an acute pang surged through his head, thwarting his continuation.
A pang of disappointment ensued, albeit one he could accept. Had Franca not devised the Magic Mirror Spirit Channeling Spell, Lumian wouldn’t have been able to amass such a wealth of answers through his line of questioning.
Lumian engaged his Spirit Vision and concluded the spirit channeling. He took deep breaths as Guillaume Bénet’s spirit drifted out of the mirror.
Having calmed down, Lumian suddenly extended his right palm, capturing the padre’s Spirit Body.
Though his grasp couldn’t control the intangible entity, crimson flames surged forth from Lumian’s palm, immolating the already fragile spirit of Guillaume Bénet.
Amid the flames, which burned fiercer than the noonday sun, Lumian watched the apparition writhe instinctively, a pained visage etched upon it. A faint smile curved Lumian’s lips as he proclaimed, “Praise the Sun!”
Momentarily bewildered, Guillaume Bénet’s form swiftly disintegrated within the flames.
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