Chapter 59
Chapter 59: What Was Wrong
The Archangel Gabriel is the bearer of divine will, who has brought omens for the birth of the Holy Son many times.
Starting from the Sequence 6 “Prophet” position, supernatural beings of the Diligent Path will gain the ability to “decide the ‘fate’ of any lifeless object,” praised as “Gabriel’s Sacred Omen.”
But the messengers and scholars of the Diligent Academy cannot truly see images belonging to the future directly from dreams like witches can. Their “prophecies” should more accurately be described as vaguely applying a concept of “turning omens into reality” to objects.
The unrealized are “omens,” the realized are “reality.”
Most Paths need to reach Sequence 3 and step into the realm of “Angel Servants” before they can glimpse the secrets of world laws, but perhaps due to the Lord’s favor, the Diligent Path can lightly touch upon them at Sequence 6.
However, the use of this supernatural characteristic is full of restrictions and prerequisites, not as convenient and powerful as one might imagine.
Whether an omen can be converted into reality is determined by the difficulty of its realization process.
The simpler and more logical something is, the easier it is to realize—these are usually called “valid omens,” while those that seriously violate existing facts and are almost impossible to convert successfully are called “invalid omens.”
And if someone intervenes after an omen is issued and works to help the omen come true, “invalid omens” also have a chance to transform into “valid omens.”
So supernatural beings of the Diligent Path often plan detailed schemes in advance, then issue their omens, and afterward work busily according to their plans to promote the omen’s conversion process.
Of course, as Sequences advance, the reality that omens can interfere with becomes broader, and the effort needed to promote their realization correspondingly decreases.
Making carriage wheels come loose and fall off.
Making a thrown dagger accurately hit and pierce the coachman’s throat.
Many supernatural beings of higher Sequences could accomplish these two simple things, but to make them happen suddenly and unexpectedly in broad daylight, a Diligent Path “Prophet” would be the optimal choice.
The deliberately erased omen markings on the dagger handle, the blurred traces on the carriage wall where the wood cracked and dissolved—these clues weren’t only noticed by Funis.
Roy and Charlotte discovered them too. Charlotte even noticed the abnormality in the carriage material, but they ultimately couldn’t connect it to the Diligent Path as quickly as Funis did.
Because the Diligent Academy doesn’t share the supernatural characteristics they master with outsiders. They are extremely closed off.
Combined with the fact that messengers or scholars who advance to Sequence 6 Prophet are quite rare, even among the seven academies of the Church, few outside the Diligent Academy know about “Gabriel’s Sacred Omen.”
However, Sera Fred was an anomaly in the Temperance Academy and even among all seven academies.
He was obsessed with all supernatural forces that existed in the world, meticulously recording the Path, Sequence, position, and supernatural characteristics of every supernatural criminal he encountered, and actively communicated and discussed with colleagues from the other six academies.
Every formula Sera had seen, every term and concept Sera had read, was still engraved in Funis’s mind at this moment.
This was her hobby and interest, and also the weapon that helped her calmly find her enemies’ weaknesses.
The battle with Iron Finger Weitz had already proven the role of pre-battle analysis. Even after becoming a dream demon and witch, Funis still couldn’t abandon the advantages that extensive learning had brought her.
But now, this was merely a small skill she used to please the witch.
“Didn’t I do well enough? Why is there still punishment…”
Funis’s petite body curled up, sitting in duck position nestled in Cecia’s embrace. Her gorgeous black and white dress with golden embroidered edges draped down, semi-transparent ribbons like feathered garments, lightly scattered on both sides of Cecia’s slender legs covered by black thigh-high stockings.
The witch helped the girl put her stockings and skirt back on properly, then brought her to sit inside the carriage compartment, leaning against each other like real sisters.
“You should know my habits—rewards and punishments are always separate and don’t affect each other.” Cecia used a small oak comb to gently arrange Funis’s disheveled hair. “Your excellence in this regard is unquestionable, bringing me countless surprises. Do you know? You look so lovable when studying, which is why I went to such trouble to borrow those atlases and travel journals for you to read.”
Funis was too embarrassed to look up and meet Cecia’s eyes. She blushed, her two small pink hands gripping Cecia’s sleeves tightly.
The girl knew very well how precious the books the witch had found for her were. They contained forbidden knowledge and strange tales she had never heard before—the Church would never allow such things to be read by clergy of the seven academy institutions.
Cecia had always valued her greatly.
She knew this.
“You should know what you did wrong, right? Do you need me to help you remember?” Without reproach, instead with a slight smile as she patted Funis’s head, Cecia asked gently.
“I didn’t mean to…” Funis trembled.
“How can I know whether you meant it or not if you don’t say it?” Cecia retied the platinum-colored ribbon for her, and a tulip silently bloomed in Funis’s light pink hair. “The punishment was decided long ago—it won’t be increased or reduced. Just tell me.”
“Those bad things I said… I shouldn’t have called you a bad person… The sisters in the society are also… very gentle…” Funis closed her eyes tightly.
“That’s nothing.” Cecia seemed unconcerned, her tone light. “I’ve never been a good person, and you know nothing about the sisters’ pasts either.”
Funis’s heart went cold. She felt like she had suddenly been pushed away hard.
How strange.
“It was clearly the Blood Wine Society that kidnapped the girl, but I said it was you, Witch Miss… and made Charlotte misunderstand that you wanted to establish some kind of dangerous organization…” Funis said quietly.
“I did kidnap a girl. Right now she’s curled up in my arms, sweetly listing her own faults.” Cecia brushed away the hair by Funis’s cheek, removing her glove to use her cool hand to lower the temperature of the girl’s burning face. “And the Black Rose Society doesn’t look like any gentle, kind organization to outsiders. We’re a group of witches who will inevitably fall into madness sooner or later.”
Tears welled up in Funis’s eyes, and her voice carried a hint of crying: “The shoes… flat leather shoes…”
“These little leather shoes are quite cute and suit you well.” Cecia gently stroked the girl’s small ankle wrapped in white stockings. “You didn’t really fall in love with high heels, did you? Honestly, even I can’t stand wearing them all day every day.”
“Wuu wuu wuu…”
Feeling bullied, Funis couldn’t suppress her grievance and buried herself in Cecia’s soft chest, sobbing quietly.
How could this be?
She shouldn’t cry so easily, but now the strong part of her seemed to be peeling away from her personality. Over the past year, she had become more and more like a real girl.
“Let me tell you then.” Cecia leaned close to Funis’s ear and whispered.
Suddenly, the witch mercilessly grabbed the girl’s delicate right wrist, roughly pressing the girl down on the carriage’s long seat. Light pink and jet black hair intertwined and flowed, scattered beneath the seat. Wild crimson occupied the witch’s eyes.