146: Otherwise... Die!
"I originally just wanted to find out the truth about Father... how come instead of clearing things up, it's only getting more and more chaotic?"
The Recording Orb's records had ended. Lina temporarily placed it on the desk, wanting to properly sort out the current clues.
First, the fact that Father had gone to that residential building back then to find and adopt herself and Jasmine was most likely due to instructions from his teacher, former Cardinal Zophi Gregory.
And this Cardinal Zophi's death back then... was also most likely a faked death for some unknown reason. Perhaps this too was related to Father's still-unknown "experiment." After all, judging by Father's records, the experimental project he was responsible for seemed different from what Bishop Zophi was handling.
Calculating the age... if that Lord Zophi were really still alive, he would be sixty or seventy years old by now.
But in that case, the Old Pope's behavior in blocking the news back then seemed to have some deeper meaning. Perhaps he knew something? Or perhaps he had long ago discovered something fishy about his son's "death"?
And then there was that "black mud" and "perfect vessel"... Lina had never heard of anything called "black mud." But judging by how many times Father and the others had failed, this might be some extremely difficult substance to control? And this perfect vessel should refer to something that could perfectly contain this so-called "black mud"?
The questions were piling up... but this secret room had no more clues. Next... where should she go to find the truth?
Lina tilted her head with a headache and subconsciously took a couple of steps to the side. Yet it was this unconscious movement in that instant that allowed her to dodge the slash that had been aimed at her neck.
"What!?"
The sudden wind pressure and the sound of cutting air startled Lina's heart. She hurriedly retreated and turned around, only to see that behind the position where she had originally been standing, a mysterious figure clad in a pitch-black cloak and wearing a knight-like mask had appeared at some unknown time.
And at this moment, he still maintained the posture of having just struck out with his hand blade.
"When did this person...!?"
Seeing that someone could actually sneak behind her without her noticing, warning bells immediately rang in Lina's heart.
Her intuition told her... that this cloaked figure before her... was emanating some rather ominous aura.
Lina took a deep breath and pulled her hood down a bit further. With a light flick of her small hand, a pitch-black cross-shaped hilt instantly dropped from her voluminous sleeve and fell into her palm.
As Lina gently shook the hilt in her hand, a white blade woven from condensed magic was instantly formed.
The Black Key, the basic armament of Executors.
"A Church... Executor?"
The cloaked figure lowered his head slightly. His scarlet eyes, hidden beneath the silver-white mask, calmly swept over the Black Key in Lina's hand. A low, hoarse voice that revealed no gender quietly came from behind his mask.
"..."
Lina did not answer. She slightly lowered her body, her wrist flicking lightly. The Black Key in her hand instantly shot toward the cloaked figure like an arrow leaving the bowstring.
"Oh?"
The cloaked figure clearly hadn't expected Lina to suddenly attack without saying anything. He retreated half a step and raised his right hand at nearly invisible speed, very easily catching the Black Key Lina had thrown.
Pitch-black magic emerged from the cloaked figure's hand, continuously dissolving the holy-attribute magic responsible for weaving the blade on the Black Key.
However, our Miss Lina hadn't expected this sudden attack of hers to directly eliminate this cloaked figure either. The fact that he could silently make his way behind her and launch an attack without her noticing meant this person's strength might very well exceed her own.
Taking advantage of the instant the cloaked figure caught the Black Key, she rushed forward with a sudden burst of speed, then grabbed the Recording Orb she had placed on the table, turned around, and ran out of the secret room.
Seeing Lina flee, the cloaked figure instantly realized that Lina's earlier attack had merely been a feint to blind him, and he hurriedly chased after her.
But when he chased his way out of the secret room, all he saw was an open window. Inside the director's office... there was no longer any trace of anyone else...
……
"Clearly magic with dark magic properties, yet it doesn't get burned by the holy attribute attached to the Black Key? Damn! What kind of monster is that gloomy cloaked guy!?"
Lina held the Recording Orb as she darted back and forth across the roof tiles without stopping for a moment, running toward the suburban villa direction.
As she ran, she didn't forget to complain verbally about that strange cloaked figure.
"Boom!"
Just then, a white flash suddenly struck from behind her, violently smashing into the tiles beneath her feet. With a "boom" from the explosion, Lina's entire body was sent flying by the fierce shockwave.
"How can he be this fast!?"
Standing up rather disheveled from the rubble, looking at the Black Key thrust straight into the ruins, the corner of Lina's mouth twitched slightly. She then stuffed the Recording Orb into her cloak and took out six more Black Keys, holding them between the fingers of both hands. From a distance, it looked like an extended version of Wolverine's claws.
"But if you keep chasing like this... even I will get angry!"
Lina narrowed her eyes slightly, staring dead-on at the pitch-black figure standing atop a street lamp not far away.
At this moment, the cloaked figure had his arms crossed over his chest. His tattered, crescent-moon-shaped black cloak fluttered recklessly in the howling night wind. Those scarlet eyes behind the mask were likewise fixed on Lina.
Two girls clad in pitch-black cloaks, one big and one small, thus began a strange standoff. Fortunately, this area belonged to the city's outermost suburbs, and the nearby houses had long been uninhabited. Otherwise, with them making such a commotion, they would have long ago attracted the surrounding residents.
But by the same token, this place had now become the perfect battleground for the two of them.
"...Executor, you are no Cardinal. Hand over the Recording Orb, otherwise..."
"Die!"
The cloaked figure spoke first. His voice was the same as before, low and hoarse, revealing no gender. He was clearly intentionally concealing his identity. And for someone like this, Lina saw no need to waste words with him. The Recording Orb couldn't be handed over. It still held secrets related to her father. Before unlocking them, Lina wouldn't let it fall into anyone else's hands.
What's more... this cloaked figure had demanded the Recording Orb the moment he appeared. Perhaps... he too was connected to her father's death?
Thinking of this, Lina's eyes gradually turned cold. Golden magic surged around her body as strands of brilliant golden Spears of Judgment gradually condensed around her.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter