Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss-Chapter 186: Stolen Magic
Francis didn't bother to knock.
First, there was no use knocking when he was the superior here. Protocol didn't matter. His word was law.
Second, it was much easier to get a feel for who a person is when you catch them off guard. And he'd definitely caught Archivist Davien off guard. Or to be more precise, off consciousness.
The… larger than life man was currently snoring away… the table creaking under the weight of his considerable upper bulk.
Francis didn't even blink. It wasn't really a surprise for archivists to be so… corpulent, or to waste their time with useless things. Their jobs were not that important. But that wasn't an excuse to be lazy.
He walked into the room, hands clasped behind him. "Wake him." He ordered as his Chosen fanned out around the room. One of them stepped forward and knocked loudly on the table.
Nothing.
Then, the Chosen curled his hand into a fist and banged it. Archivist Davien shot up in an instant.
"I'm done! I'm done!" the man muttered, rubbing the drool off the corner of his mouth as he tried to pretend he wasn't just sleeping. "I'm do…." He trailed off as he caught sight of the Chosen in front of him.
He frowned, rocking back slightly in confusion. Then, his eyes flitted over the Chosen arrayed in the room to land on Francis.
He blinked as if his brain was processing the information. An aura of authority and a guard of eight Chosen, completed with a robe of silver with golden threads. There was only one conclusion that was possible from these combinations.
Standing in front of him was a member of the Synod.
"F— Father!" He stammered, bowing low and almost hitting his head on the table in front of him. "I— I— I didn't know you were here."
"Peace, Archivist." Francis raised a hand calmly, hiding the disgust on his face perfectly. "May the resonance guide your truth."
"And may our truth be in harmony." Davien answered automatically. "If I may ask, Father, wh—"
"Give me the list of all aspirants that made it to Rainhold." Francis said, cutting off the archivist. He wasn't here to waste time.
"O— of course, Father." The man bowed. He began digging through the parchment on his table, managing to spill a bottle of ink.
He began muttering 'sorry' under his breath as he cleared the ink and stained parchment as a slight frown appeared on Francis' face. As long as the list hadn't been destroyed, he could forgive this… behaviour.
The archivist kept searching the parchment, not finding what he was looking for.
"Didn't you make a copy for the Bishop earlier today?" One of the Chosen spoke up and Davien blinked in realization.
"Oh, you're right." He chuckled, before moving to one of the shelves at the side of the office. After half a minute of searching, he retrieved a scroll, offering it to Francis with a bow. "This is it, Father."
Francis collected it with a slight nod. He quickly untied the string keeping the scroll in place and unrolled it.
His eyes traveled down the list of names, searching for a Ren or a Lilith. It was easy as all Chosen lose their last names the moment they became aspirants.
His eyes reached the bottom of the list and there was nothing.
He blinked.
Maybe he'd made a mistake.
He went through the list again until he arrived at the end. No aspirants named Ren or Lilith.
He looked up at the archivist, who had been watching him carefully. "Is this the original list?" he asked.
"Yes, Father."
"Could you have made a mistake and missed the names of some aspirants?"
"No, Father."
Francis stood there for a few seconds before something occurred to him. His eyes narrowed as he raised the list once more. His eyes roved around it, counting the total number of aspirants. It was the same number of people he'd inducted into the order of the Chosen today.
This could only mean one of two things. Either the Ren and Lilith pair had decided to change their names as they became Chosen or they'd been infiltrated and have given the gift of resonance to those undeserving of it.
He knew which one was more likely.
He turned away, walking out of the office, his guards following behind him. The archivist said something as he left but his focus was elsewhere.
"Where is the ceremony of the new Chosen being held?" He asked.
"At the Chosen hall, Father." The Chosen closest to him on his right answered. "But the Synod wants—"
"The Synod will want me here." Francis interrupted, his voice hard. "Strangers have gained access to the gift of Resonance magic. Right under our noses."
He felt the ripple of shock pass through his guards.
"Father?" One of them choked out in surprise.
Throughout the history of the church, this had never happened before. Not once has anyone who was not previously a trained aspirant taken the trail to attain Resonance magic.
Ren and Lilith. Who really were they?
He kept walking, his boots echoing around the halls. The churches had been designed this way, so that even those around the corner would be able to hear someone coming without seeing them first. And that was why he was able to hear the running.
The sound floated closer and closer, until one of the Chosen sprinted around the corner.
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"Father!" The man panted. "There's… bad… news."
"Speak, Chosen." Francis said calmly. Had the infiltrators caused trouble? Had they stolen something? Had they killed someone?
"The… the church wall!" The man panted.
"What happened to the church wall?" Francis asked with superior calm. Couldn't the man just hurry up and spit out whatever it was?!
"The wall has been breached!" The man finally said. "They're pouring in!"
"Who?!" Francis was instantly alert, allowing a bit of his loop to slip out of the hold he had on it.
"The infected." The Chosen answered and Francis' loop almost broke in surprise.
"The infected?!" He asked incredulously as he focused, tightening the loop in his iron-like grip.
"Yes, Father." The Chosen finally straightened. "The plague is in Rainhold."
