Advent of the Three Calamities-Chapter 585: Hide and Seek [3]

'He's more eloquent than I expected. He's somehow turning the situation around, and improving his own image. Not that it matters...'

I knew from the very start that my actions would at best cause a little bit of inconvenience to Jackal.

At the end of the day, my goal was something else.

I could deal with Jackal later.

Staring at the scene at the front, I brought my attention away from Jackal and re-directed it towards Delilah, who appeared focused on the scene upfront.

'...Good thing she saw my message.'

I put my communication device away.

A few minutes ago, I had sent her a message, instructing her to block all sound from reaching the ears of the seven targets precisely when the clock hit 9:11 P.M.

I was worried she might not see the message or ignore it, but the moment I raised my head, I saw her staring at the message. She didn't even look at me while staring at the message, only frowning a little before putting it away.

That made me worry as well, but it all turned out well.

Although the seven people involved did notice something amiss, that was as far as they noticed. Given Delilah's strength and skill, there was no way they'd be able to notice anything.

Furthermore, with me suddenly standing up and shifting the attention elsewhere, they quickly dropped the matter and focused their attention on the Emperor.

That was all it took for them to forget about the minor discomfort.

That made things easier for me, as things were still far from over.

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'Got you.'

My attention shifted towards the reporter who had been talking to the Emperor a few minutes prior.

His expression was a mix of confusion and anger.

Not wanting to take any more risks, I quietly navigated through the chaos and moved in his direction.

As things stood, I wasn't worried he'd try something again.

With how things currently were, it was impossible to kill the Emperor. Not only that but with everyone so alert, trying to repeat the scenario would just give away their intention.

And as expected.

Shortly after everything fell apart, the reporter took his chance to quietly move back in an attempt to leave the surroundings.

I followed them with my gaze until,

"Hm?"

They suddenly faded from my sight.

'What in the...'

The unexpected turn of events caught me off guard as I scanned the area for any sign of their presence. Yet, no matter how desperately I searched, they were nowhere to be found.

It was as if they had disappeared from the face of the venue.

But I knew that wasn't possible.

With so many people present, there was no way they could just disappear like that.

'If it's like that, then there's no doubt they've disguised themselves or hid their presence.'

I felt the former was more likely.

"Some sort of hide and seek..."

It was very unfortunate for him that I was quite good at playing hide-and-seek. Especially after my most recent skill acquisition.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes for a brief moment before opening them up again.

Right then, a change occurred in my vision. Everyone's appearance had shifted, now entirely bathed in blue. The outlines of their faces became more distinct, though that was the only real change.

But that wasn't the most important part.

What truly was important was that it granted me the ability to see the 'true' outline of all those present.

In essence, illusions or masks didn't work before my very eyes.

"Ah, found you."

And soon, I found my target.

He hadn't actually gone too far from where he previously was.

In fact, he was still quite close to me and I took that chance to head his way. Unlike before, his hair was now black, and no longer in a bowl cut. His eyes were green, and he appeared to have taken on a few pounds.

He looked like a completely different person than before, and soon...

"Ukh—!"

"Hey!"

I bumped into them.

"Ah, sorry!"

The moment I did, he gave me a glare, but I quickly apologized and patted his body on a couple of occasions.

"Are you okay? I really didn't mean to. I was just trying to get a better view of the situation."

"No, I'm fine. Stop touching me."

"Ah, sorry!"

Throwing me another glare, he distanced himself from me.

I stopped in my tracks then and stared at his departing back. Or more importantly, the multiple tags that I had placed on his body.

'Given the current situation, there's not much I can do right now. But if he plans on making a move in the next few days, I'll be ready to neutralize him swiftly.'

The tags were extremely hard to find, and unless there was another emotive mage present, with the same level of skill as me, then I doubted anyone could find the tags. The only unfortunate thing was that the tags didn't last for a very long time.

I probably had at best a day or two before I'd need to place new ones in his body again.

But a day or two was enough for now.

Given how badly his plan had turned out, I doubted he'd have the patience to wait for another opportunity to arise.

He'd probably force something.

And in case he did plan on forcing the situation, I was prepared to act at any given second.

'Things would be easier if I could get Delilah to do something again, but I doubt she would be able to do a thing considering how closely monitored her every movement is. It might even give away the fact that we know who the culprit is.'

By now, it was clear that the 'reporter' had been the one to initiate the situation instead of the Emperor.

It still didn't take away from what I had previously theorized but it at least made things easier for me.

"Hoo."

I took a deep breath and looked around.

There were still a couple of days left until the end of the Congress. Who knew what was going to ha—

Ding—!

[ ◆ You were able to stop the Emperor from getting assassinated. As a result, peace between the four Empires can continue.]

"Uh? What...!?"

Seeing the notification flash before me, I fell into a daze.

This made no sense.

Completed? How...? This fast?

'No, how does this make sense? Is it some sort of glitch?'

[◆ Main Quest Activated: Royal Dilemma]

: Character Progression + 317%

: Game Progression + 14%

Failure

: Aoife K. Megrail 38%

: Kiera Mylne 4%

: Evelyn J. Verlice 15%

The quest window appeared shortly after, and I could only blankly stare at it.

◆ Game Progression EXP + 14%

Game Progression : [0%———————[87%]——100%]

The progression also increased, further adding to the proof that I had somehow managed to complete the quest.

In spite of how shocked I was, there was no denying it.

I had really managed to complete the quest...

When the reality of the situation sank into my mind, rather than feeling satisfied, I felt weird. While the quest hadn't been an easy one, it had also been a lot easier than the ones I had encountered in the past.

'It's most likely due to the fact that I 'cheated' and got Delilah involved, but still...'

It felt really weird for the quest to end like this.

But I didn't dislike the feeling.

'More importantly, there's only 13% left before the Game Progression reaches the end. I wonder what will happen once it fully reaches 100%'

It had been a mystery to me since the moment the weird system appeared.

But still, I was curious.

After everything that had happened, I knew that this was no 'game' world and that this was some sort of future version of Earth.

In that sense, what would reaching the end mean?

"Ah! What is happening!?"

"Everyone, be careful!"

Suddenly, a few startled screams pierced the air, and my head snapped toward the source of the noise as the hall erupted in chaos.

".....!?"

A bright white light engulfed my vision shortly after.

It was so bright that it momentarily blinded me. By the time I recovered my vision, my gaze fell on the source of it all.

'Ah...'

There, standing between two guards, was none other than Jackal, wearing a simple smile on his face. He was different than before, his presence seeming more 'holy' as even his strength appeared to have increased a little.

Wait, his strength increased...?

I suddenly had a bad feeling.

As if sensing my gaze, his head slowly turned in my direction before nodding subtly.

"I apologize for that, everyone."

With a certain grace that he seemed to lack before, he lowered his head.

"...I had a sudden enlightenment, as seen by my sudden actions. It was completely out of my expectation,s and I apologize for that. I mean no harm."

He turned his attention towards the guards again.

"Please."

Recovering from the shock, the guards quickly escorted him out of the building, leaving everyone in the hall in a state of shock before the place erupted with chatter.

"Did you see that light?"

"It's true, his strength increased. Did you also not see how his strength increased? You can't fake something like that!"

"I can't believe I saw an enlightenment in person!"

"He really is the Saint!"

Seeing the looks of admiration and fervor with which they were talking about the event, I had to take a moment to sit down.

I thought back to the sudden event and covered my mouth.

Something started to boil from deep within my chest.

That was no enlightenment.

Far from it.

"That... thief."

My teeth gnashed harder than I had ever done before as notifications flashed before my vision, and my chest rose and fell repeatedly.

There weren't many things that could piss me off.

But if there was one thing that angered me more than anything, it was when someone took something that was rightfully mine.

There was no denying my greed.

I was greedy. I knew that, and when someone took what was mine...

Ding—!

Slowly raising my head, and staring at the new notification that appeared before my very eyes, a laugh escaped my lips.

"Haha ."

[◆ Main Quest Activated: Collect what belongs to you.]

: Character Progression + 332%

: Game Progression + 13%

Failure

: Aoife K. Megrail 15%

: Kiera Mylne 15%

: Evelyn J. Verlice 15%

"...Gladly."