Chapter 859 859 - More about proselytisers
Panning his gaze further, Erik noticed Anne's expression was one of discomfort as she looked at Meilin, while Elora looked at them both curiously.
Erik then cocked his head a little and moved his gaze back to Nora. "Nora? What's with the look?" he asked, some concern in his voice. Though Meilin was a hunter and an enemy, the look on Nora's face suggested something deeper.
Nora immediately reacted to his voice, but turning his head towards him proved surprisingly difficult for her. "I'm… not sure, Master," she growled softly, clearly fighting the urge to glare at Meilin again. She wanted to show her master due respect, but there was clearly some instinct demanding she confront the unconscious confessor.
Frowning, Erik could see Nora had a little trouble thinking clearly right now. So instead, he panned his gaze over to Elora, knowing she'd likely have some answers.
Elora looked at him, then shrugged lightly. "I have no concrete proof, but… There is one most likely explanation, which I'm sure has already occurred to you. What little research I've been able to do regarding proselytisers describes two of them as being like oil and water, unless they happened to worship the same ideal. The same should be true for followers."
Erik immediately sighed with some exasperation. Yes, he'd feared that answer the moment he noticed Elora's expression. "Things just keep getting better, huh…" he muttered softly, turning his gaze back towards Meilin.
From the moment he learned of the existence of proselytisers, he'd feared having to face one. Though their combat prowess was not guaranteed, their prowess in the field of influence, intrigue, and public opinion was so immense that it gave even him pause.
Although Erik and his family were powerful, a proselytiser could potentially convince an entire world to hunt them down. Having one as a foe could quickly dash any hopes of establishing your own faction, as you could never be sure of your people's loyalty.
Unless, of course, you had your own proselytiser… which did soothe Erik's worry about a situation just like the one he found himself in now. In the universe at large, most major factions had at least one proselytiser under their wing, or at least other methods of countering their influence. Alternatively, some factions actively hunted down any and all of Nora's kind they could find.
Thus, the fact that Imogene had her own proselytiser actually didn't come as too much of a surprise. Considering her power, influence, and knowledge, it was no surprise she'd been able to find one.
Truthfully, proselytisers weren't that rare. Most worlds would host at least a handful of them at any time—assuming they weren't hunted down and killed—but most went their entire life without knowing their true potential. After all, their power would only reveal itself if they found an ideal to worship with all their soul.
How many people could say they found something like that and mean it? Truly, not only had Erik been extremely fortunate in encountering Nora, but impressing her to the point of awakening her hidden nature was proof of his ability.
"Can I assume we're not thinking Meilin is actually the proselytiser herself?" Erik asked, his tone exhausted. Between the choice Elora had put before him, his battle against Meilin, and now this news, today had been a tiring day.
"No," Elora reassured him, shaking her head.
Meanwhile, Nora had gone back to glaring at Meilin together with Anne. Elora's revelation had made perfect sense to both of them and only fueled their disgust. How dare this woman not only not worship their master, but even worship someone else?! Ignorance was forgivable; heresy was not. If Erik gave the order, they'd likely jump at the chance to convert this woman, no matter the means, morality be damned.
"If you know what to look for and your omnisense is powerful enough, it is possible to detect a proselytiser from their voice," Elora explained, having entered teacher mode. Her gaze was stern, her hands folded behind her back. "Their voice will vibrate in a way that's undetectable to even the ears of the highest-rankers… at least among Arcanists."
"Who knows what high-ranking Runebound will be able to do?" she wondered, having raised an eyebrow.
Then she shook her head. "But I'm getting off-track. As I mentioned, omnisense can detect this vibration if you know what to look for. Since Meilin's voice doesn't vibrate in this way, I can be certain that she's no proselytiser."
"Well, that's… actually a shame," Erik chuckled wryly. "It would have sure made my decision a lot easier…"
Had she been a proselytiser, he might not have even waited for Emily's return and would have executed this woman immediately.
"Anyway," he continued, looking back at Elora with a raised eyebrow, "what does this mean for us, then? Is it still possible to do your second plan? What if she's reached the same level as Anne has?"
When he mentioned her, Anne actually looked proud, even setting aside her disgust towards Meilin for a moment to puff out her chest. Smirking, Erik caressed her head for a moment. Though her pride at the level of devotion she'd reached felt strange to him, it was also kind of cute. In a 'knowing she'd literally die for him in a heartbeat' kind of way.
Meanwhile, Elora frowned in thought. "I know it's possible for one proselytiser's followers to be converted by another, but… Anne's situation is something I actually haven't read anything about. I highly doubt we're the first to discover this, but it's clearly not well-documented. Thus, I don't know if someone like her can be converted, or if her current state prevents that."
Anne's eyes widened considerably upon hearing this. This was the first time she'd considered the chance of being convinced away from worshipping Erik as her lord, master, and practical god… It scared her.
" I-I hope it does…" she gulped, seemingly suppressing a chill. She then quickly turned to Erik, her gaze deeply determined. "Don't worry, Master. If I'm ever captured, I will do a better job of killing mys—"
"Shut up," Erik immediately growled, glaring at her. "Your life is not yours to take. If you're captured, you'll resist conversion until you're returned to my side, and that's the end of it."
Anne's lips slammed shut. Her eyes quickly filled with love, devotion, and even a few tears. Though she quickly got a hold of herself and nodded with possibly even deeper determination.
Satisfied, Erik turned his attention to Elora again. Though his reason for refusing her promise was more sentimental than he let on, he knew a possessive command was easier for her to accept.
Meanwhile, unlike Erik, both Nora and Elora were more satisfied with Anne when she offered to take her own life in the event of capture. But, naturally, Erik's word was law to both Nora and Anne.
"Anyway," Elora continued, shrugging once more. "We won't need to worry about that… because there's also a noticeable difference between Anne and Meilin."