The Spike of Conviction: The World Through the Eyes of the Witch's Apostles - Episode 5

Volk left the conference room, but the air lingered. That heaviness, soaked into the stone walls. The echo of the words "I will request an assembly tonight" still clung to the inside of Gouf's chest. Walking down the corridor, Gouf looked at his left hand. The scarred back of it. He curled his fingers lightly. Opened them. The sensation was there. No problem. (Faster than expected.) That was all. There was no panic. Only that time had become shorter than he'd thought. Nothing more than that. As Gouf descended the stairs to the third basement level, Ortz was waiting on the landing. The usual expressionless face. Yet something in those eyes was different. "The location," "The eastern vacant section. We've increased the lighting. The believers are already gathered," Gouf nodded. He said nothing more. Ortz said nothing more. The two descended the stairs side by side. —— The eastern section was a wide stone chamber that normally went unused. The ceiling was low, and even with illumination stones placed at the four corners, the edges remained dim. In that dimness, about twenty believers stood along the walls. All of them were directly under Gouf. Not a single person from the Weltheim faction. When Gouf entered, all eyes converged on him. Gouf stood in the center of the room. "The upper council convenes tonight. Volk has requested it," The room fell silent. Everyone's face showed they understood the meaning. "I opposed the operation in the Creyvan district. That was the conclusion of today's strategy meeting. There is a high possibility that my opposition will be overturned at the upper council," No one spoke. A few of the believers along the wall glanced at each other's faces. That was all. "I will not comply regardless," He spoke shortly, quietly. The words were absorbed into the stone walls. "I have no intention of allowing an operation that involves civilians to be carried out under this cult's name. No matter what kind of ending that brings, my answer will not change," One believer stepped forward. A man in his thirties, named Lett. Someone who had been at the base for a long time. "……If that is what you have decided, Lord Gouf, we will follow you," Gouf looked at Lett. "You don't need to follow me. Just decide now which side you will choose. If you remain ambiguous, you won't be able to act when the time comes," With that, Gouf left the stone chamber. —— Walking down the corridor, his eyes met Seril's in front of the dining hall. Dinner time had long since ended. Yet she still sat before a table, eating something. Breaking black bread into small pieces, bringing them slowly to her mouth. Seeing Gouf, she stiffened slightly. Then her gaze quickly returned to her plate. It was not wariness. ——It was a face of slight hesitation. Gouf stopped at the entrance to the dining hall. "At this hour," "……I couldn't sleep," Her voice was slightly muffled. Perhaps she had sensed that something had happened upstairs. A child's ears are sharp. Gouf did not enter the dining hall. He leaned against the wall at the entrance and looked at Seril. The girl's hand, holding the black bread, had stopped. "Do you understand what happened," "It's an adult matter," "You said the same thing earlier," It was not an objection. Simply a statement of fact. Gouf was silent for a moment. "I had a disagreement with the people above. That's all," Seril stared at the black bread for a while. Then she set it down on the table. "……What happens if you lose," It was a straightforward question. Unmuddied. No evasion, no hesitation. Gouf took a moment before answering. "Either I get removed, or this base changes how it operates," "……What about me," "That's still unclear," He did not lie. Seril's fate depended on the outcome of the upper council. If the Weltheim faction gained control, the talk of "disposal" would surface again. Gouf understood that much. Seril did not respond. She only traced the wood grain of the table with her fingertip. Her slender finger moved slowly. That gesture stirred something nostalgic within Gouf. Something he could not quite put into words, something that made his chest feel slightly heavier. "If you can sleep, then sleep. Tomorrow will bring the same morning," Seril looked up. In her eyes floated something more complex than anger or resignation. "……I can't tell if you're just putting on a brave face, or if you're really okay," Gouf did not answer. He left the dining hall and walked down the corridor. —— The upper council began late into the night. The location was the strategy conference room on the second basement level. The lighting had been increased, and twelve people sat around a long table. Eight from Volk's faction, three from Gouf's side, one neutral. Looking at the numbers alone, the meeting was already decided. Volk spoke first. "Today's agenda is the approval of operations in the Creyvan district. The opposition from Archbishop of Pride Gouf has been received. However, as the policy of the entire cult, we prioritize the operation's effectiveness," Gouf sat with both hands placed on the edge of the table, watching Volk. "I ask for the basis for permitting civilian casualties," "To expose the kingdom's corruption, we must show the results that corruption has caused in a visible form. Some chaos is the price of awakening," "The price is not paid by us. It's paid by the people living in the Creyvan district," "That is the result of the kingdom's corruption, as I said," The two men's gazes collided across the table. Giine interjected from the side. Her voice carried something sharper than it had during the day. "Gouf. You are the Archbishop of Pride, are you not. I don't mind if you think your judgment is the world's standard. But if you defy the cult's decision——that is no longer pride, merely rebellion," The room fell silent. Rebellion. The word remained on the stone walls. The temperature in the conference room seemed to drop slightly. Gouf rose from his chair. Quietly, slowly. "I oppose this for the sake of the cult. I am trying to stop it before the cult makes a mistake," "That is not for you to decide!" "I decide it. That is the authority of the Archbishop of Pride," A moment of silence. Then Volk spoke quietly. His voice was calm. That calmness was especially terrifying tonight. "We will take a vote," The result was nine to two. The one neutral member sided with Volk in the end. After hearing the vote count, Gouf said nothing. He removed his hands from the edge of the table and stood. "Let it be recorded. I opposed this to the end," "It will be recorded. However——" Volk continued. "I will not permit interference with the operation. If Gouf acts independently, the cult will need to take measures," It was not a threat. Merely a fact. That made it heavier. Gouf left the conference room. —— Stepping into the corridor, the underground air felt different. The same stone walls. The same lighting. The same sound of dripping water. Yet something had shifted, unmistakably. The vote result was something Gouf had known from the start. Still, something inside him solidified. Not anger. Something colder, something deeper. (Now I belong nowhere.) He could not act as a member of the Witch's Cult. Yet there was no place to return to in the kingdom. A path like Helga's, living as an individual, was not available to Gouf. Then what remained? Gouf placed his hand against the corridor wall. The cold sensation of stone. The scarred back of his left hand touched the rough grout of the wall surface. It hurt, slightly. That was enough. As he touched the wall, faint footsteps echoed from the direction of the first basement level. Small footsteps. Light. Seril appeared around the corner of the corridor. Whether she couldn't sleep or had heard something——Gouf could not tell. The girl's eyes looked at him. She said nothing. Only looked. Gouf said nothing either. Between them lay a quiet moment. The illumination stone flickered faintly, casting two shadows on the stone wall. A large shadow and a small shadow, side by side on the wall. That was all. Yet for Gouf tonight, it felt strangely heavy. Eventually Seril turned on her heel and walked toward her room. Her small back disappeared into the darkness. Gouf removed his hand from the wall. Once the Creyvan operation began, Gouf would have no time left. He understood the meaning of Volk's words about "taking measures" against interference. He had to think about his next move.

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Episode 5

Name: The Spike of Conviction: The World Through the Eyes of the Witch's Apostles
Author: Novelia

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