TRC 124

Chapter 124…

Not long ago, I had received a direct summons from the Order.

A secret chapel prepared in the basement of the Ark Academy dormitory.

In that place, where only candlelight pushed back the darkness, the voice of Archbishop Belmut echoed.

— Lin—00.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

I knelt and lowered my head.

Then once more, that low, heavy voice burrowed into my ears.

— Have you heard the news about the vessel?

“…You mean Kang Si-woo?”

— Yes. The boy succeeded in suppressing Chaos.

For a moment, my breath caught.

He suppressed Chaos?

That was impossible.

Chaos was an existence that stole everything from its host and destroyed all. That was its very nature.

And yet, that boy had somehow tamed Chaos?

— If he comes to coexist with Chaos, our purpose cannot be fulfilled.

“……”

— Therefore, we will change the plan. Kill Kang Si-woo. Kill him and awaken the Chaos within him.

The order was clear.

Kang Si-woo’s death.

“…Understood.”

Crunch—

I clenched my teeth, forcing down the rage boiling up inside me.

I bowed my head to hide my badly twisted expression.

But inside, unbearable resentment churned violently.

‘If you’d just listened to me and acted decisively from the start…!’

When I was first ordered to monitor Kang Si-woo, I had insisted that he be eliminated immediately.

Naturally, the Order must have had its own plans.

They likely hoped for a “perfect” Chaos to awaken using Kang Si-woo as its host.

That was why they ordered observation instead.

To wait and see when the Chaos inside him would run rampant.

And this was the result.

‘If only I could’ve mobilized troops back when the Origin Gate was opened…’

I had tried, in my own way, to eliminate Kang Si-woo whenever an opportunity arose, but I lacked the manpower to provide that level of firepower.

As merely a candidate apostle, I had no authority to command a dedicated armed force.

If the archbishop had taken a different stance from the beginning, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.

‘Incompetent fools… every last one of you, worm-like trash.’

I clenched my fist.

I wanted to kill them all.

There wasn’t a single one I liked.

Including the one who had served me until recently.

‘Krader, that bastard.’

I had told him to bring something proper if he was going to lure Kang Si-woo into a trap.

But the “monster core” he brought back was all flash and no substance.

Judging by how quiet things still were, that was obvious.

‘That operation failed too… failed, failed again!!’

Vrrrr—

Leaning my head against the cold glass of the tour bus, I bit down hard.

As I came out of my thoughts, the surrounding noise grew clearer.

“Hehe, looks tasty. Lina, want some too? My uncle brought this all the way from the Tower!”

Someone in the seat beside me flirtatiously tore open a snack.

The idiotic chatter and the irritating rustling sound scraped at my nerves.

“You little—”

I hurriedly swallowed the curse that almost burst out.

For a moment, the mask I wore nearly shattered.

Forcing the cracks back together, I tugged my lips into a smile.

“…Could you open it a bit more quietly?”

“Uh… yeah…”

“What’s with that answer? Can’t you hear me? Are your ears blocked?”

At my words, the idiot beside me froze, clutching the snack bag.

His eyes wobbled wildly, and he hurriedly crumpled the bag and shoved it into his backpack.

“Ah— no… sorry.”

Thump—

As the bus went over a speed bump, the snacks he’d stuffed inside spilled out onto his legs.

‘Damn it…’

I grabbed the bag that had fallen toward me and tossed it to the other side.

Sending away an object with no will of its own was effortless.

The idiot blinked in confusion, unable to process what had happened when his bag vanished.

‘Hmph.’

The sight eased my irritation slightly.

I turned my head back toward the window.

And once again, that bastard surfaced in my mind.

‘As I thought… that guy was an apostate.’

I’d felt something was off ever since he brought back that useless core.

The first time I truly suspected him was during last month’s midnight service.

Among the worshippers lined up beneath the candles, only Krader’s gaze had wavered.

And when everyone recited the prayer in unison, he alone lagged half a beat behind.

‘I thought he was just nervous at first…’

But I was wrong.

A few days later, suspicion turned into certainty.

The moment I received the archbishop’s order to kill Kang Si-woo, Krader, standing behind me, flinched ever so slightly.

He probably thought he’d hidden it well.

‘But you can’t hide fluctuations in mana.’

The cycle, the amplitude—

Mana waves, like heartbeats, each had their own distinct characteristics.

Of course, an idiot like Krader wouldn’t know that.

‘That’s why I put him under surveillance.’

I assigned a worshipper skilled in tailing to follow him.

At first, there was no movement.

Then, last night, we caught a decisive moment.

— Lady Lin, Krader is on the move.

The report through the communicator was brief.

And at the next words, my blood ran cold.

— Individuals believed to belong to the Monster Guild have appeared on the outskirts of the Academy park. Judging by their direction, contact is expected in approximately fifteen minutes.

A traitor.

One who burned the bridge.

A gatekeeper who shattered the walls.

An unforgivable existence.

I moved immediately to punish him.

With forces I was now authorized to command by the archbishop, I hid beneath the trees in the park.

Krader sat brazenly on a bench, waiting for someone.

I gave the signal.

“……”

Swish—

The combatants, already briefed while moving, nodded silently and kicked off at once.

Numerous shadows burst from the darkness and surrounded Krader.

“G—ghk…!”

He tried to react immediately, but a black thread was already wrapped around his neck.

[Binding Thread].

A special item used by the Order to deal with apostates.

A perfect restraint—allowing neither sound nor struggle.

“Sharp bastard… y—ghk—!”

Those were the last words Krader uttered.

I smiled coldly and lowered my hand.

“Comfortable deaths are a luxury for apostates.”

The thread tightened, cutting off his consciousness.

A few minutes later, his body went limp. I signaled my subordinates to drag him away into the darkness.

‘Whew… thank goodness.’

Recalling last night’s events, I sighed inwardly in relief.

This operation depended on secrecy.

Even the slightest leak of information could have ruined everything.

‘Talent window.’

I opened the system window against the bus glass.

The sigil etched into my wrist glimmered faintly in response—something never visible under normal circumstances.

A secret that had fooled both the Academy’s relic inspections and the government’s projection magic.

The power that had elevated me to candidate apostle appeared before my eyes.

[Hand of Revelation]
— Rank: S+
— Info: A hand that can carry out ‘His’ will and intent exactly as it is.

Soon after, the surface of the talent window began to warp, like film peeling away.

‘Ah… yes. This is it.’

Crackle—

Like an old reel burning, the letters twisted and distorted.

A tingling vibration ran through my fingertips.

This sensation always felt good.

It was the moment my true power awakened.

[Hand of Disclosure] (Reverse Side)
— Rank: S+
— Info: Can forcibly open the hidden side of specific systems, or intervene in them as needed.

‘Because I hid this, I was able to infiltrate the Academy…’

I remembered the entrance exam.

When the examiner ordered me to share my talent, I showed only the front side of the system window—

The Hand of Revelation.

All the examiner saw was a somewhat religious ability, bordering on divine authority.

“An incredible talent. It seems the Constellation greatly favors Miss Lina Angelova.”

“Yes. I’m grateful for that.”

The examiner nodded and stamped my acceptance.

I smiled politely.

Even now, it was the same.

‘No one has noticed my true nature.’

Not the Academy professors, not even Kang Si-woo himself, nor Joo Geon-ryul, the so-called strongest in the world—none of them knew I was part of the Order.

With this power, it would be enough.

Killing Kang Si-woo—

No, at the very least, forcing Chaos to rampage was guaranteed.

And if I succeeded, I would ascend to the seat of an Apostle, surpassing even the archbishop and cardinals.

“Alright, everyone! We’ll arrive at the Tower in five minutes!”

The supervising professor’s cheerful voice rang out from the front of the bus.

The students immediately erupted into chatter.

“Five more minutes? It looks so close already!”

“I’m definitely taking a photo. If I post it on Starstagram, my followers will explode!”

“No matter what, I’m collecting a fragment of the Tower!”

Excited voices filled the bus.

I looked at each of their innocent faces.

Eyes shining with anticipation, flushed cheeks, hands clasped with friends in delight.

‘Enjoy yourselves while you can. You’ll become valuable sacrifices for the demon hunt.’

Screeech—

After arriving at our destination, I stood up and put on a gentle smile.

These worms must not be damaged yet.

“Everyone, please be especially careful when getting off. Let’s make sure no one gets hurt.”

“As expected, our class rep is an angel.”

“No wonder she’s called a saintess!”

The students replied brightly as they filed out of the bus.

I followed slowly behind them, erasing my smile.

‘Kang Si-woo, you will die today…’

The Order’s purpose:

‘Awaken Chaos and pre-clean the Tower.’

For my Twelve Outer Gods to descend here, hygiene was essential.

Surely this level of sacrifice was only natural for such a glorious welcome.

Hiss—

The bus doors opened.

Fresh air rushed inside.

‘The plan is perfect.’

I would forcibly open the Tower’s entrance.

Those “worms” would be sucked inside without any equipment.

Chaos would erupt.

‘According to reports, Kang Si-woo has already arrived in Seoul…’

He would rush over too late, and amid his confusion, I would make my move.

‘…Huh?’

As I reviewed the plan once more, I froze the moment I stepped off the bus.

My eyes widened.

My heart dropped.

‘Why… why is he there…?’

At the Tower entrance—

Kang Si-woo stood there in plain sight.

With a stiff expression.

As if he had been waiting for us from the very beginning.

‘Impossible…’

My breath caught.

The plan had gone awry.

I had dealt with Krader quietly—this plan should have been flawless.

I silenced him before he could leak information.

‘I even ordered an attack on the Academy just in case… then why?’

By now, Ark Academy should’ve been in chaos from the Order’s assault.

I had instructed them to prioritize students, so the professors and Kang Si-woo’s guild members should’ve been too busy protecting them to focus elsewhere.

Kang Si-woo shouldn’t even have been able to pay attention to this place yet.

So why?

Why was he already standing there?

‘The plan… failed.’

My hands trembled.

Not from fear or tension.

But from rage.

A violent rejection of a situation I couldn’t understand.

The students, unaware of anything, laughed happily as they walked toward Kang Si-woo.

“…Huh?! That’s Professor Kang Si-woo!”

“Wasn’t he supposed to be in China?”

“Hey! If he’s here, that means he cleared the Red Gate already!”