Chapter 163: The Woman With Purple Eyes
The more Cillian heard about Oliver’s claims, the more his expression hardened in surprise. Even Aster, who had been eating nonstop no matter how good the food tasted, completely stopped as he continued listening to his teacher’s words while the conversation went on.
The Shepherds had already made their appearance years ago. The recent attack on the Academy wasn’t their debut, nor was their attack on the Viola Family their second.
They didn’t appear as Heretics, like what Mouthful Eye was implying at the start, but as the real Shepherds of Creation. However, Oliver and the elite group only knew them as the Shepherds back then.
There had been a secret mission to eliminate the Black Shepherds, who had been found scattered across the continent, mainly on humanity’s side.
But the mission had now been stopped after they supposedly ’eliminated’ all of them, which was clearly not the case.
"I was part of this group, which I’d like to remain hidden. Ah, that’s right. You remember your third-year principal at the Academy, Darwin? He’s also part of a squad, but he’s in a different division. I’m one level higher than him, though. But the ranks don’t matter here."
Saying the ranks don’t matter when he clearly stated that his one level higher than him, Oliver let out a short cough before ignoring the stare he was receiving from Cillian.
Then, he continued.
"The Shepherds of Creation, yes. I can confirm it now. They’ve been secretly influencing the world, as if they were preparing for something."
’Preparing for something... preparing.’
Cillian focused on Oliver’s last sentence to see if he could connect it to something he already had. After all, what Oliver said was true.
The Shepherds are more than capable of bringing destruction to the entire continent through their attacks, as they have an abundance of Ruiners, Sorcerers, items, and artifacts. They also have the manpower to carry out large-scale missions, and the destruction they leave behind is nothing to scoff at.
So, what was making them hesitate? Or were they even hesitating at all?
’No, instead of saying they are hesitating, they are building up their strength so that whatever comes their way, they will be prepared—’
Cillian immediately halted his thoughts when something suddenly clicked in his mind.
’Fuck, how could I tunnel vision so hard! Mouthful Eye told me hundreds of times already, even mentioning it once in a while! They’re preparing for whatever is coming in the middle stages! The Runic Gates filled with monsters!’
It was a cliché trope where monsters would fill the world, to the point that even the Shepherds might not be able to withstand the brunt of the attack if they recklessly used their manpower.
That was why, to Cillian’s spiraling mind, it was one of the heavy reasons why they had slowly accumulated their strength, influencing the world from the shadows. So when the time came, they would reveal themselves at the right moment.
’Did the Shepherds of Creation call it Cataclysm? I only heard this word once when Jack was talking to the person on the other side of the Artifact he was using, whom I assume was the Captain. But it’s obviously referring to the world being plagued by the ruins if taken into context!’
Honestly, Cillian was already suspicious about the Shepherds’ involvement in the entire world, especially since, although it wasn’t confirmed yet, one of the families might be working under them.
’Hah! It’s obvious why they aren’t influencing the world with an iron fist. They’re afraid that the world will revolt because who would want to be someone’s slave anyway? Maybe the variables at play were too difficult for them to calculate. It’s not a bad strategy. If they’ve been preparing for the incoming middle stages, then they might as well do it carefully.’
That’s why Cillian found the attack on the Academy weird, the place where everything had started to fall apart for at least both sides.
’It is really out of character for them to do this. It’s as if they were forced to act out of impatience or because of a personal plan. They could’ve carried out the attack quietly, but instead, they made a scene by destroying the entire place.’
Then another weird thing came to mind that happened recently.
’And that time back at the open-view Shrine, where Aster was using Singularity. They had no idea who he was, when they should’ve had information about the one wielding the Five Swords of Chaos. Yet it was as if the attackers at the Academy were the only ones who knew about him, not the people from the recent attack.’
As if someone was making a mess of everything after years of hard work keeping things quiet.
’Wait...’
And surprisingly, Cillian couldn’t help but think of one suspicious person who might be behind all of this, someone who wasn’t following the usual script that had been handed down to them.
Cillian had seen her once at the Academy, and he couldn’t help but think that she was also the one who had successfully made the God’s Killer work. The pillars were only supposed to number eight, yet there had been nine, with one of them appearing in the territory near Viola.
Oliver didn’t send someone there using his Traveler.
’It’s that fucking woman with purple eyes.’
There was no way everything was a coincidence.
That White Shepherd is interfering with matters that were supposed to happen smoothly. As if she were part of them, yet somehow, she wasn’t.
But there was something Cillian could confirm.
There was no doubt that it was the woman with purple eyes who had wiped out the entire Viola Family. It wasn’t just some hallucination Fergus had imagined after watching every family member die in front of him.
And with two other Shepherds behind her, they might have been her accomplices.
If that’s the case...
’Why did she deliberately only tell the attackers from the Academy about Aster having the Five Swords of Chaos, but not the people from the recent attack on the entire Viola Family?’
If they did, they might’ve been able to capture Aster at the open-view shrine and focus on him to snatch his Singularity Piece.
"Cillian. Hey, your food is ready."
Suddenly, bringing himself out of his reverie after thinking about the connections in his head, Cillian looked at the food in front of him, feeling his appetite disappear.
Then, with a sigh, Cillian decided to reveal one of the things that was currently on his mind. He wasn’t saying this because he was unsure, but because there was already confirmation that it would happen.
He had heard about it from Jack, Mouthful Eye, and then the Hidden One. After coming this far, Cillian needed to spread the news around the world.
There was no way he would keep this a secret from them. At least for the other things that were currently on his mind, Cillian needed to conduct more research before revealing them.
Cillian then focused himself.
"The sudden Runic Gate disappearance is not a coincidence."
Quintin, who was serving the food, stopped. Harry, who was carrying a bag of ingredients, also halted. Orion, who was helping Eve serve the dishes that Cale had cooked, stopped as well, causing the other two to freeze in place.
Aster and Oliver listened intently.
It wasn’t even related to the previous topic they had been talking about, since they were discussing the Shepherds of Creation, not the Runic Gates.
However, Cillian never said something as a joke with that serious face he was currently wearing right now.
"I’ll explain this as simply as possible. The Runic Gates will return. I’m not sure when, but they will bring chaos to this world. Why, you ask? Well, not only do we have to clear them again, but we also have to defeat the monsters they bring with them."
The whole shop then turned eerily quiet.