Chapter 200 - Lead-ups
When Scarlett returned to the previous chamber, she found the whole group still waiting there for her, their expectant gazes fixed on her. That included Raimond, who showed no signs of harm.
“How’d it go?” Allyssa asked, her eyes scanning Scarlett’s appearance. “What did you find?”
“It went smoothly,” Scarlett replied, directing her attention to the young Shielder. “And I found nothing worth recounting. The master of this place tried to deceive me with tricks, but I dispelled and dealt with those promptly. Our path forward is clear.”
Raimond regarded her closely, eyebrows raised. “Consider my interest thoroughly piqued. What manner of trickery might we be talking about? Though perhaps questionable in judgement, it is rather impressive to hear that you chose to confront a Vile’s machinations alone and prevailed.”
Scarlett briefly locked eyes with him. “…She attempted to mislead me by employing your likeness to ambush me.”
That caused the priest’s brow to furrow into a frown. “That is a dastardly tactic indeed. One can scarcely imagine the inner turmoil anyone would face upon being confronted by my own disarming visage as an adversary.”
“The concern is unnecessary, Father,” Scarlett said bluntly. “I dispatched the imitation, ensuring its swift demise.”
He blinked. “Surely you felt at least some hesitation.”
“None whatsoever.”
Raimond brought a hand to his chest, as if visibly wounded, while Allyssa wore a sympathetic expression beside him.
Scarlett then shifted her attention to the rest of the group. “This trap could have proven perilous had we confronted it as one unit. Now that it has been dealt with, we can proceed unhindered. Follow me.”
Turning around, she stepped through the veiled doorway, returning to the corridor where she had confronted Anguish. The mirror covering the right wall was still missing, revealing the duplicate corridor with the spiral staircase at the end. The others joined her soon enough, with Fynn taking the lead, and they started making their way towards the stairs.