[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-advent-of-the-three-calamities":3,"chapter-advent-of-the-three-calamities-advent-of-the-three-calamities-chapter-407":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Advent of the Three Calamities",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},758792,1005,"Chapter 407: Gathering of the Seven Churches [4]","advent-of-the-three-calamities-chapter-407",407,"\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything grew still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if my soul had been ripped away from my body, I lost all control over it. The surroundings started to change, and I found myself standing in the middle of an alley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Нааа... Наа...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breath was heavy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My lungs were on fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And my vision was blurry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'What's going on...?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uekh....!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A groan escaped my lips as I hunched over and leaned my hand over the wall. The dizziness was starting to affect me as my head repeatedly turned back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huu... Huu.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt a vivid paranoia claw at my mind as my head repeatedly moved on its own, flicking towards the right where an empty road appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where was this...?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surroundings felt a little familiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the looks of things, I wasn't at the Academy. Where?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Am I running away from something? Is something chasing me?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn't experience any emotions during the vision. Even as I relived the incident, the only sensations I felt were the physical effects of the exhaustion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, I could more or less make out what was happening. \"S-shit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A curse escaped my lips as they parted on their own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Damn it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My jaw clenched tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How did things turn out this way? It shouldn't have...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frustration and despair were clear in the tone of my voice as breathing started to become\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>more difficult. The pain in my chest intensified as I looked back once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still nothing...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Haa... Haa..\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I took heavy breaths, slowly trying to recover my stamina.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I observed everything in silence and strained my ears to better understand what was happening. I tried to look for any clues or anything of the sort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, I understood nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only thing I could make out was that I was running away from someone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But who...?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who was I running away from?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...And why did I sound so defeated?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Kh.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My jaw clenched once more as my body pulled away from the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My head once again flicked to face behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was still nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...Or at least, it didn't seem like there was anyone. However, I felt the hair on my body rise as I hastily turned my back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My entire body grew rigid as a person cloaked in white appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"T-that...!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stepped back, staring at the person in white with widened eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their features were hidden beneath the cloak, making it hard for me to see. Their cloak was\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>also entirely white, leaving behind no clues of their affiliation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where do you think you're running?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice was deep, belonging to a man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt my stomach flip at the sound of his voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...You must pay for your sins.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sins?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What sins?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I strained once more, trying to pick up any hints or clues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn't enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far from enough!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My mouth opened, my voice coming out hoarse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Didn't do it. He did...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He did?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice grew deeper, evident anger displayed in the tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you think we're stupid? You were the only one present in the room. And...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ukh!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man in white's movements were rapid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't even give me the time to react before snatching my hand and pulling it up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What are you-\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was never able to get the words out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Staring at my hand, the man in white pulled my sleeve down to reveal several bandages that\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>covered the arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn't even give me the chance to say anything before pulling down the bandages,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>revealing my forearm, devoid of any tattoo or mole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"....It looks like you're fully healed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He appeared calm by the fact that he found nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sweat trickled down the side of my face as the man silently stared at my forearm. His gaze was\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>so intense that it paralyzed my entire body, leaving me in a passive state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eventually, he reached out and calmly wiped the skin of my forearm, revealing a tattoo that\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>had been hidden beneath a thin layer of makeup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breath left my body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though I couldn't see his features due to the cloak, I could feel a trace of a smile forming on\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the man's lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"....I knew it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice grew lighter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You were working for those guys.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ukh!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An intense pain washed over my body as the man's grip on my wrist tightened. I tried to\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>struggle but it was to no avail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man was simply stronger than me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eventually, his gaze turned to face me, his eyes directly meeting mine as he looked through\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>my soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt my lungs deflate at the sight of his gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt so...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Horrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'No, I need to focus.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In spite of it all, I knew that I had to remain focused. I couldn't let the intensity of my gaze\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>distract me from the situation. I needed to find out more information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn't enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was happening? Who was the man in white? Why was he chasing me? How did he figure\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>out about my tattoo, and-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!....!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My mind shook as the surroundings started to fade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'No, no...!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I realized that the vision was coming to an end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, this was far from enough!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>....I still knew nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Not yet! Not yet! Just a little more!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the world around me started to fade, I used every little bit of my concentration to remain\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>focused on the conversation. Even as the world around me grew black, I strained my mind to focus on the faint words that were leaving the man's lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Come on...!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The anxiety gnawed at me, but I persisted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I knew there was more for me to hear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had to hear more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was far from enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Kh!'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An intense pain washed over my head as I strained to listen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It hurt like crazy, but I had no choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And eventually...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...I had a hard time understanding how you managed to kill him, but now it all makes\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>sense.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I managed to hear it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You used their hel-\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Julien!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Light entered my eyes as a pair of gray eyes stared directly at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I blinked my eyes a couple of times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey, are you okay?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon wore a frown on his face as he looked at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How did I currently look in his eyes?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I took a deep breath to calm myself down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"....I'm fine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wasn't.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I had to act like I was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You don't look fine?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was just practicing my domain. I overexerted myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Ah?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Look.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I brought my hand forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My mana is exhausted. You can check for yourself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What...? Ah? Seriously?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon appeared speechless. I couldn't blame him. Who in their right mind would practice their\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>domain while waiting for the delegates of the seven churches to arrive?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, not me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was just looking for an excuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...It's been taking quite a while and I was getting bored.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But that's...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Diligent?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmm.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon's frown deepened. He was actually thinking of a way to refute my comment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I left him on his own as I took another deep breath to cool my mind. There were more pressing things that I needed to think about.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'I killed someone...? And from the looks of things, someone really important. Why else would they send\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>someone so strong to chase after me?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But who?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who did I kill exactly? And why would I do that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Is it possible that I got framed?'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, that was a possibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, when I thought about the man in white who knew about my tattoo, there was a\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>chance that I had been forced into killing someone due to the organization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was also another thing that I had taken notice of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it was the fact that the man in white appeared familiar with the 'Inverted Sky'.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'....I knew it.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'You were working for those guys.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The familiarity of how he spoke about those guys made it clear that he was rather high up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Central...? Or...one of the churches?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it was Central then I needed to figure out who was high enough to know about them and had\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>a grudge against them\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...And if it was the churches then I needed to figure out which church was against the Inverted\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or more specifically, the Church of Sithrus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'Yeah, that's a direction.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My train of thought wasn't exactly sound, but it was a start.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right after the inauguration of the ceremony ended, I planned on directly finding out the\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>information that I needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'For starters, I'll directly ask Atlas if there is a mission that I need to complete.'\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there was, and it involved killing someone, it would make things a lot easier for me. At least\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>that way I'd be able to find more information on the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More information was better than no information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the information wasn't the most pleasant of things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thump!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A loud 'thump' woke me from my thoughts. As I raised my head, several figures appeared in\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the distance, all wearing different color robes while holding onto large sticks that held\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>different symbols.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They're here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I quietly mumbled, quietly holding my breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The delegates of the Seven Churches had arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trrr-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several large carriages rolled onto the Academy grounds, each one embellished with\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>distinctive decorations and emblems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following the carriages was a long line of disciplines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They all wore different colored robes, each marked with their representative emblem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within one of the carriages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"....We're almost here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An aged voice sounded from within. It belonged to a man dressed in all white, his turbid eyes looking absentmindedly outside of the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sat opposite him was Cardinal Ambrose, his tone low and respectful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, we are. We should be stopping in a few minutes. I've already informed those of the\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Academy. The cadets should be greeting us soon.\" \"Mhm, that's fine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man in white responded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"....I will not be attending the initial ceremonies. I'll be attending the confessional hearing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps I might do some myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A look of surprise flashed across the Cardinal's face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The confessional hearing was a one-on-one meeting between a high member of the church\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and its devotees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was something that was held at each gathering, often delegated to the priests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rarely would anyone ranked above that get involved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You wish to take part of it yourself? Did I...?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You did not.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A hazy smile formed on the aged man's face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shifting his gaze from the window, he turned to face the Cardinal, his cloudy eyes flickering\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...It's been a long time since I last held such a gathering. It'll be a nice change for once.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As his smile widened, he closed his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'll be seeing you soon...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His chest heaved up and down unevenly, unable to hide the excitement he felt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>'...My god.'\u003C\u002Fp>",1812,"2026-06-02T12:40:56.143Z",1,"novelbin.me","4f60a2cdfe884c65dc7c1a8a64fa7e9b1956323d54535f12548d2bf4bbc899e1","advent-of-the-three-calamities-chapter-408","advent-of-the-three-calamities-chapter-406",876,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fadvent-of-the-three-calamities-cover.jpg"]