Chapter 60, The Order (5)
I walked through the cathedral corridor.
I had already been here twice before, but even so, the feeling was still fresh.
As I quietly walked while looking at the candles placed at regular intervals, the end of the corridor soon came into view.
Beyond it was the large open chamber.
There, Eriel stood wrapped in the colorful light reflected by the stained glass, almost like she was wearing it as a robe.
Her blue eyes met mine.
It had been four days since we last met, yet she somehow felt as familiar as someone I had seen just yesterday.
“You came again. It's nice to see you.”
“It's nice to see you too.”
I returned the greeting while looking at her.
She asked me to wait for a moment, then turned toward the statue shaped like a god and began praying.
Perhaps it was because she was an angel, but the entire process of her prayer felt incredibly sacred and solemn.
Only after finishing her prayer did she properly face me.
Our eyes met.
Like a reflection appearing on the surface of a lake, her vivid blue eyes contained only me.
Her gaze was filled with kindness and peace.
If the concept of goodwill itself were shaped into a pair of eyes, they would probably look like that.
Even though her gaze made me feel a little uncomfortable, I spoke.
“Eriel. Have you ever thought about leaving this place?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. We're planning to leave the Order soon. If you're willing, I'd like you to leave with us.”
That didn't mean I intended to accept Eriel as one of our companions.
Even just talking to her like this made my heart naturally warm.
The fact that I was already itching to show her kindness meant accepting her into the group would practically be the same as willingly infecting myself with Agape.
What I meant was that I wanted her to escape the Order that was exploiting her and find freedom with us.
Judging from the information we had gathered over the past five days and Delta's behavior, it seemed likely that the Order had infected Eriel with Agape.
That meant the Order had infected her with Agape, then created a situation where she willingly sacrificed herself to help them.
The victim helping the perpetrators.
I suppressed the unpleasant feeling boiling inside me and looked at her.
Her gaze was as benevolent as ever.
She looked at me and smiled gently.
“Thank you for the thought, but I'm fine. I still want to remain here.”
I was about to say something, but closed my mouth.
I had noticed the loneliness lingering around her eyes.
It was the kind of bitterness found in someone who knew another person had done something wrong, but forgave them because they were family, and loved them because they were family.
It seemed like she already knew everything.
That the emotions she felt came from Agape.
And that the Order was responsible.
I stared into her eyes for a moment, then took an music box out of my clothes and placed it down.
When I pressed the button, a lullaby began to play.
The slow melody spread throughout the cathedral.
My head started to feel slightly hazy.
Eriel seemed confused by what I was doing, but she didn't stop me.
I forced my slowly drooping eyelids to stay open and asked one final question.
“Then, if I tried to kill every follower of the Order, would you stop me?”
“...Yes.”
That was the end of the conversation we had after five days.
I closed my eyes and put in earplugs.
Eriel stared at me blankly, then around three minutes later, she fell asleep.
It was the effect of [Lullaby for Perfect Sleep], the Mystery we had obtained from the Company.
There was a condition that the target had to remain still and listen to the lullaby for three full minutes.
But once that condition was fulfilled, the Mystery could put anyone to sleep.
I collected the music box and looked at Eriel.
She appeared to be sleeping deeply without a care in the world.
After adjusting her body so she could sleep comfortably instead of lying awkwardly on the floor, I left the cathedral.
Arlin was waiting for me alone outside.
Her gaze moved behind me, but no one was there.
“It seems bringing the angel with you failed.”
“...Yes. Still, I put her to sleep, so she shouldn't interfere.”
After saying that, I took a bottle out of my bag.
The cylindrical glass bottle had a label on it that read KCN.
It was something I had obtained from the [Chemical Materials Corner] while trapped in the Backrooms.
Its name was potassium cyanide.
A poison commonly known as cyanide.
I packed it away, then put on the Invisibility Cloak.
Arlin used a spell that made her own body invisible, then created a three-dimensional map of the surrounding area using mana.
That was why I had brought her instead of Hwa-ryeon or Lee Yeonhee.
She could create a perfect map.
“Follow me.”
Arlin examined the map she had created and took the lead.
I followed behind her.
Our destination, carrying poison with us, was the dining hall.
It didn't take long for us to arrive.
A large dining hall stood in front of us.
Every follower ate breakfast there each morning.
Because of that, the security was fairly strict in case anything happened.
The building itself was made from a tough material that existed only inside the Inner World.
And the door blocking our way was an iron door that required a lock.
At the same time, it was also a Mystery.
[Scq205, Normal Door]
[This door can only be opened in a normal manner.]
A normal method.
In other words, the only way to open it was by unlocking it properly.
Whether we detonated explosives or blasted it with fire, the door wouldn't suffer even the slightest damage.
Since its ability was entirely focused on security, it was exceptionally thorough in that one area.
