Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 693: Return to Empire [1]

Evenus Household.

Moonlight poured into the quiet office, casting a pale glow across the room. A lone figure sat by the window, gently twirling a wine cup between his fingers. Noel’s eyes were locked on the distant moon, reflecting its pale glow in his eyes. Whatever thoughts stirred behind that gaze remained his alone.

Eventually, he drew his gaze away from the window and lifted the cup to his lips. The rich taste of the wine lingered on his tongue as he closed his eyes, savoring the moment in silence.

He didn’t particularly like wine or alcohol.

He drank not because of taste, but out of necessity. With his heart missing, he lived every day in pain.

Some days he could bear the pain, but there were other days when the pain was simply too much for him.

This was such a day.

From time to time, Noel’s body would twitch as he tried his best to suppress the pain. However, as hard as he could, the pain continued to linger, clawing at his chest and mind continuously. It was only when he drank the wine that he was able to somewhat forget the pain, as his usually stoic face showed signs of melting.

Taking another sip of the wine, Noel lowered his head to stare at his own reflection.

Towards the reflection that displayed a face that wasn’t his own.

‘…He should be done by now.’

It had been quite a while since Emmet had gone to the Mirror Dimension, and according to his estimates, if nothing went wrong, he should’ve been able to collect the eye. Not only that, but he should’ve also learned about the Outer Beings.

A small smile played on his lips as he thought about Emmet while his reflection rippled.

‘I bet he’s probably angry at me for not telling him everything.’

Noel could practically imagine Emmet cursing at him for not telling him everything and stringing him along. Noel certainly could’ve told him everything, but where was the fun in that?

It was much better to show him than to tell him.

‘Either way, all of it won’t matter once he gets his true memories back.’

It wouldn’t be long before that happened.

Swoosh!

Right then, a sudden shift occurred, and the curtains billowed as a strong wind suddenly swept into the room despite the closed windows.

Unfazed by the strange occurrence, Noel slowly lifted his head and stared at the figure that had just appeared before him.

It was as if the sun had descended before him, flooding the surroundings in an overwhelming, radiant light. It was overwhelming enough to cause any regular person to go blind. And yet, Noel didn’t seem to be affected at all by the light.

But was that truly the case?

Upon closer look, his eyes shifted from light blue to normal and back again, continuously repairing themselves under the bright light, which gradually faded to reveal the silhouette of a figure whose features remained hidden.

Noel took a sip of his wine as he stared at the figure before him.

“I take it that he’s managed to collect the eye.”

“….He has.”

A soft voice replied to him shortly after.

“Not only that, but he was also able to almost take down a primordial ranked being. I was prepared to step in at any moment, considering how I owe you, but he was able to take care of the matter before I even had the chance to step in. He’s impressive.”

“Yes, he is.”

Noel took another sip of his wine, trying his best to hide the smile that threatened to form at any given second.

‘So she still is unaware of his real identity.’

This was a good thing. Noel never planned on revealing it considering how he still didn’t trust this woman. In fact, he didn’t trust any of the other ‘gods’.

“…He is now leaving the Remnant South. He should be back to you soon. This is all that I needed to say. Oh, and a powerful woman came in the end. She was the one who actually took care of the primordial ranked being.”

“Powerful woman?”

Noel’s hand paused, his brow raising up as he looked at Panthea.

This…

He was unaware of this part.

“Yes.”

Panthea nodded quietly, her gaze falling on Noel as she described to him her appearance and power. It didn’t take long for Noel to understand the situation as he closed his eyes and pursed his lips.

‘In the end, you couldn’t help yourself, huh?’

Noel didn’t know what to do with his brother. On one hand, he was annoyed given how he had instructed him to remain quiet. On the other hand, he also understood why he did it. It wasn’t even because he was too emotional.

Knowing his brother best, Emmet most likely gave hints about himself as a sort of backup plan if he ended up losing himself in his own act. Given how he was pursuing the fifth level of emotive magic, Noel was aware of the challenges that he had to take in order to reach such a level.

This was why Noel wasn’t too angry.

In the end, he owed his brother too much to be angry. Thankfully, the situation was still manageable.

But on a different note…

‘Who would’ve thought my cold brother of all people would have a woman be his ‘backup’ plan in case he lost himself in his own act.’

Noel suddenly felt that the situation was quite interesting.

Of course, it was only a fleeting thought as he looked at Panthea once more. She was currently staring at him in silence, her expression impossible to read under the bright glow that enveloped her.

In the end, her voice drifted into the room not long after.

“How is the situation with Toren? Has he…”

“He’s currently busy handling other matters. He won’t be making any major moves in the upcoming days. However, I can’t guarantee that it will remain like this for long.”

Thinking about Toren, Noel’s heart sank. The situation within the church of Oracleus was currently quite dire. All sorts of people were flocking to the area, demanding a new Saint candidate following several incidents that occurred involving him.

The backlash had gotten so bad that even the Round Table had no choice but to step in.

Everything, of course, was a result of Toren’s actions. But at the same time, he also most likely figured out the truth behind the incident, or was close to it.

‘He’s now probably waiting for the Saint of the church to fully absorb the blood before taking it for himself and then looking for Emmet.’

Noel understood that they didn’t have much time. From the moment Emmet came back, they’d have to make preparations for Toren’s arrival.

Thinking about what was about to come, Noel closed his eyes for a brief moment before looking at Panthea once more. He quietly stood up as he did so, placing the wine cup by the side.

“Considering how you’ve helped me out this time, we can consider our debt repaid.”

“Okay.”

Panthea merely nodded her head at the statement. This was all that she wanted to hear.

“In that case, I shall take my leave.”

Gradually, her figure started to fade as the bright glow that once enveloped the room started to dim.

However, right as she was about to leave, she recalled something and stopped.

“I advise you not to look for your heart. As far as I’m aware, Ivanth appears to be guarding it. You’ll have an incredibly hard time getting it back if it’s truly him who is guarding the heart.”

The moment the word reached Noel’s ears, her figure vanished completely, leaving the room in total silence as he stood frozen in place.

Eventually, his fists clenched together tightly as his expression threatened to change.

However, after a few deep breaths, he regained his composure, his expression settling into a cold indifference as he eased back into his seat.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

His fingers drummed across the table as his eyes flickered.

‘Ivanth…’

***

“H-help.”

Looking around in despair, I had a hard time breathing. I could see hands reaching out for my throat in all directions, and when I turned to look at Leon, instead of helping me, he appeared to be giving them tips on how to strangle me.

‘Audacious knight! Traitorous bastard! I should’ve sold you when I had the chance!’

Leon merely stared at me, his lips pulling into a soft smile as he pushed several cadets my way. At the same time, I saw him mouth something like, ‘I’m nothing but a failure, right? In that case, what does it matter if I do this?’

He continued to push people my way as I started to despair.

“No wonder everything had gone bad! He was here all along!”

“Damn it! No wonder!”

“Fucking jinx!”

Wait, what?

Lifting my head up, I looked around. Who said that? Jinx? Me…?

I wanted to push myself to have a good talk with whoever said that. However, I couldn’t quite pinpoint who said it as the number of people who were trying to assault me increased. And it also seemed like it wasn’t just one person?

Which bastards?!

“Eukh!”

Eventually, I turned my head towards Delilah, who stared at me in silence.

Yet again, she said nothing.

She just stared at me. However, just for a brief moment, I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a slight curl of her lips as my eyes widened.

‘This woman!’

The curl disappeared right as it appeared, but I knew what I saw as I glared at her.

That…

That probably wasn’t the best decision, as I saw her brow raise and her expression cool off rather quickly. I pressed my lips tightly and turned my head away.

‘Right, okay. Fine.’

Considering everything that I had done, I was going to concede just for now.

But only now.

By the time we came back to the Emp—

“It’s good that you’re back.”

Right then, a certain voice whispered into my ear, and my thoughts came to an abrupt stop. Lifting my head up, I saw the others looking at me with a mix of different expressions as the strangling subsided and they all looked at me.

“It’s really good that you’re back…”

“..It’s nice.”

“It… really is good.”

In the end, closing my eyes, I leaned my head back.

“…Yeah.”

It’s good to be back.

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