I Thought I Was Collecting Systems, Not Overpowered Wives

Chapter 61: Saga 61: Shadows in the Archive

The eastern archive wing, usually silent and dust-choked with centuries of accumulated Church history, had transformed into a battleground by the time Kael, Sylvia, and Ari arrived, breathless from the sprint through winding corridors.

Three figures in dark, nondescript robes moved through the stacks with unnatural, fluid grace, cutting down the token guard presence with brutal efficiency, blades coated in something that hissed faintly where it met flesh.

"Umbra Black," Sylvia confirmed grimly, already summoning her ability, hair bleaching silver-white as Array of Swords began crowding the ceiling above them.

The nearest robed figure turned at the sound of their arrival, revealing a face hidden behind a smooth, featureless mask that gave nothing away. "The false Saint arrives to witness her own ending," the figure said, voice distorted through whatever enchantment powered the mask. "How fitting."

"You’ll have to get through us first," Kael said, mana already surging to the surface, Black Hole crackling faintly at his fingertips in warning.

"We anticipated resistance." The masked figure gestured, and two additional shapes melted from the shadows between bookshelves, corrupted creatures similar to the mutated beasts from Sumbiya, though smaller, more controlled, clearly bred for precision rather than overwhelming force. "We simply didn’t anticipate quite this much of it."

Sylvia moved first, swords descending in a coordinated barrage that forced the creatures back, buying Kael the opening he needed to close the distance with the lead masked figure. Their blades met in a shower of sparks, the figure’s strength considerably beyond what their slight build suggested, forcing Kael back a full step before he could stabilize his footing.

"You’re stronger than expected," the figure admitted, disengaging briefly to circle warily. "Cardinal Vane warned us Azure Blake shouldn’t be underestimated. I confess I doubted him."

"Vane," Kael repeated, filing the name away. "Your leader, I take it?"

"Among other things." The figure lunged again, blade weaving through a complex pattern meant to overwhelm through speed rather than raw power.

Behind them, Ari had produced a staff from somewhere within her borrowed combat attire, channeling holy magic Kael hadn’t seen her use before, a shimmering barrier of golden light forcing back one of the corrupted creatures mid-lunge.

"You actually can fight," Kael called out, impressed despite the chaos.

"Told you," Ari shot back, breathing hard but standing firm. "Rusty, not helpless."

’Rusty is generous,’ Kael thought, watching her land a solid strike that sent the creature reeling. ’That’s genuinely impressive.’

[Focus, Kael. The masked figure’s testing your defenses. This isn’t their full effort yet.]

The warning came a half-second before the figure’s true assault began, blade speed doubling in an instant, forcing Kael onto the defensive as Quitax Barrier flared instinctively around him, absorbing a strike that would have otherwise opened his throat.

"Impressive reflexes," the figure conceded, stepping back once more. "Though reflexes alone won’t save the false Saint tonight."

The masked figure pressed forward again, blade weaving through another complex pattern, and this time Kael met it with Black Hole flickering briefly at his fist, a small, contained pulse of gravitational distortion that threw the figure’s balance off just enough for him to land a solid counterstrike across their shoulder.

"You’re holding back," Kael observed, noting how easily the figure recovered from what should have been a crippling blow. "Testing me, same as I’m testing you."

"Perceptive." The figure straightened, shaking off the strike with unsettling ease. "Cardinal Vane instructed us to gauge Azure Blake’s true capabilities before committing fully. Consider this evening a reconnaissance exercise as much as an assassination attempt."

"Comforting," Kael muttered, readying himself for the next exchange.

Behind them, Sylvia had finally dispatched her own opponent, the remaining corrupted creature dissolving into ash beneath a decisive strike, freeing her to turn her full attention toward supporting Kael against the more dangerous masked figure.

"Two against one," Sylvia said, blades already rising in formation. "Care to reconsider those odds?"

The figure’s masked head tilted slightly, some calculation clearly running behind the featureless surface. "Reconnaissance objectives achieved regardless. I’ve seen enough for tonight."

"Not so fast," Kael said, lunging to close the distance before retreat became an option.

Their blades met again, this time with considerably more force behind the exchange, sparks scattering across the archive’s ruined floor as ancient documents crunched underfoot. The masked figure fought with a discipline that spoke of extensive training, every movement economical, betraying no wasted motion despite the pressure Kael continued applying.

"You fight like someone who’s studied under a genuine master," Kael observed, parrying a strike aimed at his ribs.

"We all have," the figure replied. "Cardinal Vane demands excellence from every disciple who serves the true purpose of the Hollow Choir’s revival."

"Hollow Choir?" Kael repeated, filing away the unfamiliar name even as he pressed his attack.

The figure’s mask tilted, some hesitation flickering behind the featureless surface, as though realizing they’d revealed more than intended. "Forget that name. It means nothing to outsiders."

Before Kael could press for more information, Ari’s voice rang out from across the archive, calling for assistance as the second corrupted creature redoubled its assault against her position, and the fight’s brief lull shattered entirely once more.

"Kael!" Sylvia’s voice carried urgency now too, having finally dispatched her own opponent but noticing the growing danger to Ari across the ruined archive. "She needs help!"

Kael disengaged from the masked figure with a final feint, sprinting across the debris-strewn floor toward Ari’s position, mana already gathering for whatever intervention the moment demanded.

The masked figure didn’t pursue immediately, instead watching the shift in the fight’s balance with what Kael could only interpret as calculating patience, clearly already reassessing whatever plan they’d arrived with. Whatever came next, Kael suspected, would not be the same tactic twice.

’System, did you catch anything else from that exchange?’ Kael thought, even as he closed the distance toward Ari’s position.

[Beyond the name Hollow Choir, which I’ve flagged for further investigation, I detected a faint magical signature on the figure’s blade consistent with old Church-sanctioned enchantments, decades out of date. Whoever trained this operative, they learned from someone with genuine ecclesiastical combat training, not merely street-level assassination technique.]

’So Vane’s people aren’t just hired thugs. They’re trained specifically to counter Church defenses.’

[That would track with a former Cardinal’s involvement, yes. Someone who knows exactly how Songrel’s holy magic functions would be considerably more dangerous than an outside threat lacking that insider knowledge.]

Kael filed the information away, reaching Ari’s side just as the corrupted creature lunged again, and threw himself fully into the fight, determined not to let tonight’s reconnaissance exercise become anything worse than it already had.

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End of Chapter—