Rock’s plea devolved into screams.
She had a terrible, unshakeable feeling that if she were to receive the werewolf curse at this moment, she would lose herself forever.
She probably wouldn’t be satisfied until she’d destroyed everything and everyone in these ruins.
“I don’t need power! I absolutely don’t want it!”
Placido loosened his grip when he heard her strangled cry.
“Roxy…?”
He blinked in a daze, as if he’d just awoken from a dream.
Lauretta’s expression also changed, and she clung to the bishop, who had the dagger raised over Rock.
“Bishop, my daughter is terribly upset. Please let her go for today—”
“What has gotten into you two? There was an oracle. Oracles are absolute.” The suspicious bishop shook Lauretta off.
Lauretta rushed over and placed herself between the bishop and Rock.
“Please stop! My daughter is so terrified!”
“What happened to you? Why would such devout believers stand in my way…?”
The bishop tilted their neck, as if they were staring at an enigma they couldn’t understand.
Placido and Lauretta also seemed confused. They stiffened and exchanged perplexed looks
This was the time to escape.
With her arm restraints loosened, Rock sat up on the altar.
Just as she did, the double doors were thrown open with enough force to break them.
“Bishop!”
A man dressed in the cult’s blue robes barreled into the room.
“What’s the matter?” the bishop asked.
“We’ve got trouble!” the distraught man cried. “Werewolves! People who suddenly transformed into werewolves are rampaging in the sanctuary!”
“Werewolves?” the bishop repeated, emphasizing the plurality.
The man jerked his head up and down.
“Y-Yes. I saw at least two, both young men. They were praying in the sanctuary, when, without any warning, their clothes tore, and they became werewolves.”
“Impossible… Only those who’ve received the blessing can become werewolves,” the bishop muttered in their childish voice. “The people worshipping in the sanctuary haven’t received the blessing yet. Are you certain you didn’t see wrong?”
“I know what I saw!”
All the color had drained from the man’s face. His knees were shaking so hard they were smacking together—a sure sign he’d seen something terrifying.
“They’ve lost their minds! Please do something!” he begged for assistance from the bishop, as if the child were his one and only hope not to be eaten.
But his nightmare was Rock’s salvation.
Two young male werewolves the Brotherhood knows nothing about… They might just be…
Rock couldn’t sit still when she thought of that possibility.
She slid off the altar and ran at full speed for the doors, shoving the bishop and man out of her way as she went.
“Outta my way!”
Rock might not have been the strongest person out there, but the trembling man and child bishop posed no obstacle to her. They easily tumbled to the ground, and Rock took that opening to bolt from the cavernous room.
“Roxy!” Placido called after her a moment later as he regained his senses.
“Don’t go, Roxy! It’s dangerous! Come back!”
Rock heard Lauretta’s panicked plea as well, but she didn’t look back. She yanked up her dress so the hem wouldn’t get in the way and ran for her life in the direction of all the noise.
She didn’t know which way to go. But if she relied on the screams and commotion, she was sure to run into them.
I knew he’d come. I trusted he would absolutely rescue me. I’ve cried. I’ve suffered. Yet, I was able to endure it all and wait because I knew. And just as I’d hoped, he—they have come for me.
Rock was sure of it even before she saw him with her own eyes.
She was about to see Ebel again.
As she raced through the narrow corridors, she gradually started to make out more of the noises. Multiple screams and the sounds of people running around like crazy mixed into the louder bangs and crashes of stuff being destroyed. It sounded like beasts were going on a wild rampage.
Rock relied on those sounds to navigate her way through the mazelike corridors of the ancient ruins.
When she finally managed to return to what she assumed was the living quarters, Krister flashed to the front of her thoughts.
He should’ve been somewhere behind one of the many doors.
If she was going to run for it, then she should take him with her, but he’d only one good leg now. She didn’t have the strength or stamina to escape while supporting an adult man.
But rescuing him shouldn’t be hard if she could meet up with Ebel and the others. She had nothing to lose by confirming his whereabouts first.
With that in mind, Rock started searching the familiar living quarters.
Relying on her memory, she threw open the wooden doors and cloth partitions.
Every single room was empty—only the beds and simple furniture remained. It seemed like the cultists cohabited here, but maybe the residents had fled in all the commotion. Chairs were knocked over in some of the rooms, and half-eaten bread and opened books were left atop the tables.
The identical rooms continued on endlessly, with Krister’s workshop nowhere in sight.
I hope he got out all right, Rock thought as she left the nth room she’d checked.
Suddenly, someone clad in a blue robe appeared in the corridor she thought was empty.
It was a tall man. He had the hood low over his face, obscuring it from view, but he was quickly coming her way.
Rock freaked out for a moment, her back pressed up against the door, keeping her out of sight.
She considered running for it, but the robed man didn’t seem to be after Rock. He walked by as if he couldn’t care less about her, so Rock tried to run past him like she was fleeing the commotion.
“…!”
Then the man’s arm shot out and caught Rock around the waist.
Rock jumped back and cautiously looked up, just as the man used his other hand to pull down his hood.
“Don’t run away and spoil our touching reunion.”
The devious grin that appeared made Rock’s voice crack.
“…Father!”
There was her father’s face that was so comforting she could cry.
He had his chestnut-colored tresses tied back and his beautiful skin free of makeup. His blue eyes gazed down at his daughter lovingly.
Driven by joy and relief, Rock flung herself at him, and Phoebe caught his daughter, wrapping her up in his strong arms.
“Sorry I took so long, Roxy.”
“Don’t be. I’m glad you came,” she said, rubbing her face into her father’s muscled chest. It felt weird to press her cheek against the robe’s strange fabric rather than her father’s usual dresses, but it was still reassuring nevertheless.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything when it happened. You were kidnapped right before my eyes…”
“It’s all good, as long as you’re safe, Father. And I’m grateful you came for me.” After telling him the honest truth, Rock tugged on the robe he was wearing. “But where’d this come from? Why are you wearing it?”