After running through the long corridor, Rublier reached the central hall of the Papal Palace.

With high staircases on both sides and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, this beautiful and spacious central hall was considered the face of the Papal Palace.

As most rooms in the Papal Palace were connected to this hall after winding around, it was also the space most frequently passed through by those with religious duties.

“Can you hear my voice? Sat…”

“With you calling for Satin so loudly, it’s too noisy to bear. It was extremely easy to find you.”

Rublier stopped in his tracks. From the sticky darkness, Kirion rose and walked out with heavy steps.

“Rub. I’ve been waiting for you.”

On the face that said it had been waiting, there was a strange sense of anticipation.

The surface of the shadow pooled at Kirion’s feet rippled. It seemed as if something like a black dog, or perhaps a snake, was lurking within.

But it was more persistent than a dog and more vicious than a snake. The shadow loyally stayed by Kirion’s side, raising its head opportunistically.

These life-biting creatures did not bite Kirion. That alone was enough to guess Kirion’s condition.

Rublier adjusted his grip on the sword handle.

Kirion also raised his sword, pointing it at Rublier.

Besides the sword in his hand, he had another sword strapped to his waist.

Rublier glanced at that sword. While the scabbard was of an unfamiliar shape, the sword’s handle was familiar to his eyes.

He asked in a low voice.

“Where is Satin?”

Kirion didn’t listen to Rublier’s business. Instead, he spread his fingers wide and boldly extended his hand.

“I need the last piece you have.”

Devil.

Rublier recalled Satin’s voice that faintly pierced the side of his head.

‘It was revered as the sword that defeated the devil, but isn’t it actually the sword closest to the devil than anything else?’

“Kirion.”

He slowly uttered the name of his old friend. Kirion responded nonchalantly.

“What is it, Rub.”

Rublier twisted his tightly sealed lips into a slanted smile.

“Why are you answering? It shouldn’t be your name, should it?”

Though it had Kirion’s face and spoke with Kirion’s voice, he wasn’t the complete Kirion right now.

Rublier tried to gauge what was inside the man standing before him.

How much of his mind had the devil occupied?

Kirion had done things that a person with ordinary conscience and values couldn’t do. It was the influence of the devil possessing him.

However, judging by how he still acted with some level of judgment, it seemed he hadn’t been completely devoured yet.

Rublier gathered his remaining reason.

“I need Satin whom you took away, where did you hide her?”

He had a very bad feeling. Kirion knew that the last piece of the sacred artifact had been passed to Rublier.

Satin wouldn’t have revealed it herself, so Kirion must have pressured her.

“Well. I wonder if she’s still alive until now.”

The devil answered nonchalantly.

Rublier raised his sword. He felt a slimy killing intent from somewhere. He turned around expressionlessly.

It was the evil spirits. The ones that had gathered, wriggling, stretched their bodies long like an eerie birch forest. The smell of blood they brought wafted down heavily.

One by one, as they raised their heads, the evil spirits expressed hostility. Soon, the shadows flew in all at once.

* * *

Gjorn ran through the empty corridor, dragging one leg. He no longer cared where this path led.

For now, it was enough if he could just hide from those evil spirits.

The Sel Wio family was the first to push into the Papal Palace, leading with their family emblem.

By the time they realized it was the wrong choice, it was already too late.

Pushed forward unintentionally by people trying to enter from behind, they found themselves trapped in the Papal Palace, and after running aimlessly to escape the evil spirits, they lost their way.

He tried to retrace his steps by following his memories, but the sudden appearance of evil spirits often forced him to flee deeper inside.

At some point, he had been separated from his family members. Now, Gjorn was alone.

A throbbing heat rose from his leg. The leg that had suffered severe muscle and skin damage due to Delilah had been warned by the doctor to be careful for life.

He had no problem when walking moderately and running in daily life, but using it continuously like this rapidly increased his fatigue.

Moreover, at some point, the wound engraved on his leg began to ache, making it impossible to run properly.

Gjorn massaged his leg and tore the hem of his pants to tightly bind his calf.

The sturdy cloth supported the inflamed muscles, and for a moment his leg moved lightly again, but it was clear it wouldn’t last long.

But he couldn’t stay in one place for long. The evil spirits would follow and harm people wherever they were spotted.

Many people had already died that way. From what he had experienced while hiding and being chased so far, there wasn’t a single safe space in this Papal Palace.

Just as he was about to take a step.

“…Lord Gjorn!”

Someone rushed out of a nearby dark room and grabbed Gjorn. He was so startled that he almost collapsed, his legs giving way.

“Who… Delilah?”

“Thank goodness. I was hoping anyone I knew would pass by, I was so scared… so terrified…. What’s going on? What’s happening?”

Delilah’s appearance was no different from Gjorn’s. She had taken off her long, flowing dress that hindered walking and running, and was hiding in just a thin slip, barefoot.

Her bare back and shoulders, shrunk from cold and fear, looked pitiful. She held onto Gjorn with both hands as if he were a lifeline. The knuckles of her ten fingers stood out white.

Gjorn hesitated unconsciously, just as he was about to shake Delilah off forcefully.

His mind was shouting.

She was a woman he hated so much.

She was such a bad woman.

But it was Delilah.

Even though he hadn’t forgotten what she had done to him, even though he had lived ruminating over it again and again, even though the scars she had inflicted on him hadn’t healed, Gjorn couldn’t bring himself to shake off Delilah.

“…Why are you here, how…”

Gjorn mumbled incoherently. Then, suddenly coming to his senses, he belatedly pulled his hand away.

“Didn’t you leave for your new love? Why did you appear and call out to me? This is the Papal Palace, and that man would protect you better than I could.”

“…No, no, Lord Gjorn.”

Delilah, with her eyes wide open, approached Gjorn closely with tears welling up.

“That, that person is strange. He was very strange…”

“What do you mean by strange?”

“When things got noisy and I tried to find him…, there were a few servants near him. But with just one gesture, black shadows appeared from somewhere, could they be evil spirits? Suddenly, the servants screamed and collapsed.”

It wasn’t the ability of an ordinary person. Even without knowing exactly, it was clear that something was terribly wrong.

Delilah didn’t call Kirion ‘Your Eminence’. It was because he didn’t seem human.

Her instinct warned of danger. Instead of calling out to Kirion or checking on the servants’ condition, she fled from that place.

Observing the situation while hiding turned out to be a very good decision.

Gjorn was at a loss for words for a while.

The person who summoned the evil spirits was Archbishop Kirion?

“…You’re the one who saw that scene. You would know better.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t understand any of it.”

Halfway through her protest, Delilah recalled the subtle nuance Satin had left.

‘To my eyes, the person seems completely changed, but does he look perfectly normal to you?’

Perhaps that woman knew something? If she knew, shouldn’t she have said something!

Delilah chewed on her lower lip. A numb taste of blood lingered. She had tried to leave the Papal Palace several times, but every door was crowded with people pushing to get in.

After hiding here and there to avoid screams, now she had no idea where to go.

Evil spirits, of all things.

She had left Gjorn and followed Kirion. It was because he was a man of honor, status, and power.

Yes, because he was a ‘person’. A person like her. A living being with body, mind, and heart.

She had never imagined Kirion as not being human.

She believed that the old-fashioned legend from two hundred years ago was just a legend. Isn’t that usually the case? Legends are often exaggerated with added imagination.

Moreover, who remembers and adheres to legends for long in a reality where people are busy just making a living and clearing their path?

Wasn’t the old era completely different from the current era, as much as time had passed?

But the past, which was believed to be outdated, had arrived in reality.

There was no time to distinguish whether this was a dream or reality. To survive, one had to protect oneself first.

While everyone was dazed and confused, people died or were severely injured. Most of the dead probably died without even knowing what was happening.

She didn’t know if meeting Gjorn in this situation was fortunate or unfortunate. In any case, being with someone, anyone, was more reassuring than being alone.

Delilah whispered, tightly holding onto Gjorn’s arm.

“Let’s stay together. Two of us will be better than being alone.”

Gjorn felt a throbbing headache coming on.

Delilah was a woman sweet on the lips but bitter to the body. Even though he had been hurt so many times, the sweetness his heart remembered lingered in his mouth.

Moreover, Gjorn was also afraid of being alone deep down. He desperately needed someone to share opinions with and find an escape route together.

Delilah, who had stayed in the Papal Palace following Kirion, might be better than him. He ultimately couldn’t push Delilah away.