章 425: Quite a Day
Getting a hold of Saint Cor was surprisingly easy. Simply saying that she had an urgent report about her first day in Ravenheart was enough to get Noble fast-tracked, and a car was sent immediately to the Academy even though she had assured everyone that she could take public transit.
Soon she was with Cor at Government Headquarters dumping all the information that she had into his lap.
The grizzly Saint had been the one to respond to the request due the Chancellor being unavailable. Maybe Gui was afraid that Noble would be mad at him for assigning Fort to Ravenheart and was therefore avoiding her, but Noble suspected that he was putting out a different fire to keep humanity safe.
Gui was a very busy man.
Hopefully, any problem the Chancellor was dealing with wasn't in Bastion. Noble would need to check on her mother as soon as she could and warn Julius about the Skinwalker as well.
'Too many people to warn and too little time.'
Not that it would do much good if they didn't have a viable solution for identifying those who had been taken and dealing with the plague.
Giving all the information that she was able about what had transpired, Noble concluded her report with what she thought would be the hardest news.
"I don't know everyone who the Skinwalker has taken, but I do know Master Yosh is one of them. He is who alerted me to the problem in the first place. The first time I met him, he was warm and kind, but when I saw him again, his emotional signature–his very being had been fundamentally altered. I am sorry. Master Yosh is not himself anymore. He is a Skinwalker now."
How would Wake of Ruin take the news? Fort had once said that Yosh was one of Cor's most trusted people. Finding out they had died and that something else was inhabiting their body would be quite a shock.
Cor sat at his desk for a moment, tapping his fingers together lightly. "So Jet was right..."
"Sir?" Noble was confused by his response.
"Jet told me that something was off about Yosh's departure. She said he was avoiding her. She wanted to go after him, saying her senses were telling her that something was off about him and his behavior. He didn't even tell her goodbye."
Cor ran his fingers through his dark hair and sighed.
"But I didn't listen. I said he was just dealing with the Battle of the Black Skull in his own way. I thought he would come back eventually. But as soon as he got to the Eastern Quadrant, his communicator went silent. I haven't heard from him since."
"I am sorry for your loss," Noble could understand Cor's emotions.
Up until this moment, he was having a disagreement with a friend. Now it turned out the friend had been dead for months and Cor's last interactions with that friend had actually been with a monster.
"I was led to believe that Saint Jet, Saint Kai, and Saint Athena might have more information on the Skinwalker," Noble said carefully.
Hadn't that been who Mordret had mentioned?
Wake of Ruin nodded, accepting the information without questioning it.
"I will speak to them when we are through. Jet will want to track down Yosh as soon as possible. And if the problem is as widespread as you believe, I am inclined to let her. Not that she really needs my permission." Cor allowed a ghost of a smile.
As two fellow Saints, the balance of power between Soul Reaper and her mentor had shifted. Noble could guess that trying to stop Jet from doing something she wanted was virtually impossible.
"I hope she finds him and stops the Skinwalker from doing any more damage. There was a second person–a woman that I ran into here at Government Headquarters that was taken as well. I don't know her name and I cannot sense her right now, sadly."
"We will get a description and track her down," Cor made a note.
"Good. The sooner the creature is gone, the safer we will all be." Noble pressed her hands together hopefully.
Part of her worried that the problem was already too big and widespread. If it was in Ravenheart and the Waking World, then it could also have traveled to the other major citadels.
"We should let the House of Night and Clan Valor know. Maybe they have people like me who can tell the difference."
"I will handle it. Thank you, Child of Promise." Cor nodded firmly. "If there is nothing else..."
Noble stood, paused, and pursed her lips. She leaned forward slightly.
"Actually, there is one minor thing, but it is unrelated to this. I want to start a feeder school to the Academy. I want to train people who plan to take on the First Nightmare. Anyone can come and get solid skills to help them survive. If the government has a problem with the association, I would do it privately, but..."
"Take it up with the Academy, but I personally see no problem with expanding to include an establishment like the one you described. The higher we can get the success rate for those who take on the Spell, the better it is for all of us."
"I see. Thank you."
With Cor's blessing, Noble finally felt that she could leave.
She dipped her head and bid him farewell. He was already pulling out his communicator before she reached the door.
Who would he call first?
A furtive glance told Noble that the answer, inexplicably, was Saint Athena.
Noble did not stick around to find out why. She stepped into the hall and let out a sigh, happy to have shared all that she needed.
Rather than return to the Academy, Noble pulled on her tether to the Dream Realm. She could talk to the leaders at the Awakened Academy another day.
For now, her family was at the forefront of her mind. She wanted to head home to them...and to see her home for the first time.
Leaving the Jade Palace behind, Noble eagerly glided toward the bridge and the volcano on the other side.
What a strange day it had been!
Not that a day where one was moving their family between worlds was ever going to be normal, but things had taken a truly wild turn.
Due to their reclusive nature, most people would never meet a single Princess of the Clan Song, yet Noble had made the acquaintance of four in a single encounter.
If that wasn't strange enough, there was the man that had been with him. Noble didn't want to think about him, especially when she realized where she might have heard the name.
If her thinking was correct, then his presence begged more questions than it answered, and Noble had no desire to get caught up in Clan matters any more than she already was.
For now, she would focus on what she could control–looking for any Skinwalkers who might be hiding in the Awakened camp.
Sure, the professor had told Seishan that she would look tomorrow, but there was no harm in sweeping while she traveled home. Her mind would have done it unconsciously anyway. It made sense that she should take note of any anomaly.
Thankfully, at least for now, there weren't any, and Noble could continue home in peace.
As soon as she hovered over the volcano's edge, Noble slipped half of [The Other's Voice] behind her ear. If her measurements were correct, then soon she would be in range.
Noble cleared her mind and sent out a preliminary thought. "Honey! I'm almost home!"
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット