Treatise Of A Failed Knight-Chapter 268: Missing!

"Knight..."

"Brother..."

"Supreme Leader..."

My eyes are pried open as I listen to these voices in what appears to be an endless abyss of darkness. A despondent eerie color surrounds me, and I feel silhouettes, shadows with ominous shades of terrifying blackness close in on me.

"Why did you abandon us, Knight?" A deformed dwarf appears from the depths of the darkness and points at me accusingly.

I take one step back, but I feel my back hit something sturdy.

The moment I turn to look at what is behind me, I notice a monolith of a man.

Ebony skin, now pale like a corpse.

He looks at me with pitch-black eyes, with thick, inky liquid pouring from his seven orifices.

"The war is not yet over, brother. Where are you going?"

Once again, I try to make a tactical retreat, but I feel something making a firm grip on my legs.

I look below and see the Former Minister of Combat.

Her eyes are bloodshot.

Her hair is crazed, and she appears wretched.

A gaping wound appears behind her, and she appears elderly—hair falling out.

"Don’t go. We need you. The world needs you... Supreme Leader."

I begin to pant.

Terror starts to spread all over my body as I look around me.

The sheer darkness that surrounds me represents all kinds of people, many of whom begin to walk out of the void.

They all stare at me in recognition and murmur incoherent words.

I shudder violently.

These people... I recognize all of them.

They are those I killed.

Those I saved.

Those I manipulated and controlled.

All within the Trial Scenario.

"Knight..." Tyrrion’s voice calls out to me as he approaches me in a floating wheelchair.

He looks like a deformed child.

Almost like how Enrydral looked in his last moments—a fetus with a human head, and all kinds of bubbling viscera clinging to his abominable body.

A pungent odor wafts in the air, and I take a few steps back in recoil.

"BROTHER!"

Kalakuta’s voice loudly echoes from beneath me, and I see his decapitated head fixing its gaze at me. The ground trembles, and I watch as his headless body charges towards me.

Pathfinder is in his hands.

’No... No...’ Breaking into a cold sweat, I quickly kick away the shackles that hold down my legs and begin to flee.

"COME BACK!"

I hear them yell at me, but I don’t dare to stop.

I take a glimpse behind me and notice Kalakuta’s headless body, grabbing his head from the ground and running towards me with a weapon in one hand and his head in the other.

I see the monstrous Tyrrion charging at me with his wheelchair.

I watch an army of Freedom Fighters, whom I slaughtered, charging behind them.

I see all the warriors from the other Great Nations also running after me.

It is terrifying.

My heart races as blood pumps in my chest.

Then, in the distance, I see a Magivore army standing still.

All of them watch me in silence.

"A-ahh..."

For a moment, relief washes through my soul.

Maybe I can control them—

"Kill the Leviathan!"

The Magivores suddenly begin to charge at me as well, their maws wide open as though to consume me.

The path to escape has suddenly been blocked off.

"Oh no!"

I try to halt abruptly, but find myself stumbling and crashing onto the ground.

However, the moment I land, the ground suddenly feels like a bed of clouds, and I sink into it as though it were nothing but soft foam.

My body feels light, and I find myself in yet another absurd place.

A palace.

No.... A temple.

A Mausoleum? An Observatory?

Could it be all of them?

The fogs around me slowly begin to scream my name.

"JAVIER ADITI!"

"BROTHER!"

"KNIGHT!"

Eyes begin to appear amidst the fog, and they slowly begin to morph into faceless entities with mouths. Their lips flap around as my name keeps echoing in the vicinity.

Then, the mist begins to close in on me.

Rapidly.

Nothing else is in sight.

Hands reach out to me, and I cover myself in shame and fear.

I feel naked.

Vulnerable... completely helpless.

Suddenly, the landscape around me transforms into the scenery of the Randalorion Kingdom, covered in all kinds of destruction and fires.

I find myself in this desolate place.

Utterly alone.

Confounded by the bizarre reality that manifests around me.

It’s scary.

I hide my face and cower amidst this destruction.

Then, two cold hands touch my shoulder, and I feel a jolt.

"Javier..."

A sonorous voice calls my name, and I witness Lady Anastasia’s veiled face for a brief moment.

Her dark lips appear so close to my face when they part to utter words.

"... Wake up."

"Arghhh!" I instantly scream, finding myself on my bed in a completely different scene.

The real world.

I am now awake... completely stunned by the contents of my dream.

But, strangely enough, the details begin to grow vague.

’Did I see... Kalakuta... and Lady Anastasia?’ Fogs of mystery cloud my consciousness, and not too long after, the contents of my evident nightmare completely elude me.

"Haaa..." I notice the cold sweat on my body and exhale sharply.

Taking a good look around me, I realize this isn’t my room. Beside me, sleeping soundly on the bed, is Ciel. This is her private chamber.

We had made love before retiring to bed, but then this dream had to drive me awake.

What exactly happened inside?

Why can’t I remember?

"Strange..."

"Hm? Why are you up, Javier?" Ciel softly calls out to me.

Her eyes peek open to express surprise that I’m staring at her so intently.

"I had a dream... but I can’t remember," I tell her truthfully. "It felt important."

"Oh my... You’re even sweating."

"Yeah. It was a nightmare."

"I see..."

Silence envelops us for a moment, as I stare at her naked body, and my worries begin to dissolve as though they were plunged into a vat of corrosive acid.

Suddenly, another emotion takes over.

—Desire.

"You’re so beautiful..." I whisper, leaning closer to her and planting a kiss on her lips.

She reciprocates, giggling softly.

Before long, both of us wrestle once again on the bed and have another enjoyable round of sexual intercourse under the silent watch of the night.

******

The next day arrives, and I find myself walking out of the Sanctuary alongside Ciel.

I’ve been able to conclude everything I came here for.

My First Apotheosis, and a few other arrangements among the Vey’lithars.

I also spent some time with Brad’s villagers and learned more about their living experiences. It’s still a shame I will likely not be around to witness the birth of the first mixed breed between the Vey’lithars and Nowea’rn, but I am certainly excited for the prospects.

If nothing else, I can be guaranteed a great level of integration in the coming years.

It is an encouraging thing to expect.

Regardless, now that my business here has been concluded, it’s time for me to return to the Royal Academy.

The journey should take a few days by Air Travel, and since I already made arrangements for a Flying Beast-Type Magivore, the journey should be rather seamless.

And indeed it is.

A few uneventful days on the road later, I find myself back in Loria, the Academy City.

And hours later... I return to the four walls of the Royal Academy.

It doesn’t take me very long to get settled in, but right as I am on it, I receive some news that Klein is around and that he wishes to meet with me.

What an interesting development.

To be honest, I was planning to look for him after I settled into the Academy.

But to think he sought me out first.

’Does that mean he has made his decision?’ I ponder on this subject matter optimistically as I freshen up, change my wear, and head for the Academy’s Guest House, which is his registered temporary address.

Since I am a Senior Professor and Dean of Discipline and Conduct, I am practically recognized everywhere I go in the Academy.

As such, I offer no documents or visitation notice to gain access to these facilities.

Not only am I able to freely enter the Guest House, but I also get his room number and information on how long he has been staying here.

’Five days, huh? It’s been a while...’ I silently ponder to myself. ’He’s a busy man, yet he waited that long for me to arrive rather than just leaving a letter?’

I thought he would perhaps be enjoying his time with Seraphina, so this is especially surprising.

There have also been no reports of Seraphina in the Royal Academy during this period, and Klein certainly lodged alone, so I can’t even assume that he is with her in this residence.

What business would make Klein readily wait for me like this?

’Is he really that passionate about becoming Head of the Academy? It didn’t really seem that way before, so what changed?’ I can’t help but think about this while I walk to his room and finally knock on the door.

After waiting for a minute or two, knocking multiple times, Klein finally opens the door.

What I witness stuns me.

Klein Mornantte... an esteemed Grand Scholar... appears utterly disheveled.

His hair is a mess, and his glasses appear crooked.

He has heavy bags under his eyes, and the pair is complemented with immense dark circles.

Strands of beard appear on his chin, and he stares at me with despondence hidden in his clouded blue eyes.

’What’s happening?’ My eyes widen immediately. ’What could have gone wrong here?’

"Klein..."

I whisper to my old friend, entering the residence rather quickly and shutting the door.

It would be horrible if someone passing by saw Klein like this.

Since he may very well be the next Head of the Academy, it wouldn’t be a good look for him. The last thing he needs for his career is rumors spreading about his competence, all of which can be traced back to this disheveled state.

"What happened?" I ask him, both in curiosity and worry.

For a moment, he is speechless.

He tries to speak, attempting to mouth the words, but stopping midway at each point.

Deep fear echoes from his countenance.

It’s almost like he is frightened that if he tells me what is wrong, it will then become true.

A dark foreboding feeling courses through me.

I begin to grow anxious.

Bad thoughts, intrusive and logical, swirl within my mind all at once.

Then, as if finally amassing the courage to speak... Klein finally parts his lips to tell me the truth.

It is devastating news.

"Seraphina... has gone missing!"

[A/N: This is the fourth and final Arc of Volume 2: Paranormal Abductions Investigation]