Chereads / Delphine of Moria / Chapter 33 - An Uneasy Negotiation

Chapter 33 - An Uneasy Negotiation

Edward understood that Delphine was here to discuss stuff with him, and they had to do it where nobody could hear them. The cathedral itself was all too quiet and nobody talked amongst each other or even moved around as rapidly as they did before. Edward opened the door to his personal room and allowed Delphine and Simon to enter. Simon closes the door behind them and stays by Delphine's side as they wait for Edward to be situated.

"So... you weren't able to defeat the creature," Edward said.

"Forgive me, father. I've caused you trouble," Delphine said.

"Not at all. I'm just glad you're alright," he said. For a brief moment, Delphine thought that he would banish her and Simon and believed he would not allow them to come back to the cathedral.

"Has anything different happened around here? After I fought that beast, why is it that the townspeople are silent?" Delphine asked.

Then Edward answered and said to her, "I don't blame you for asking this? It's always been this way ever since the creature appeared in this place. You're not the first person to notice a large change around the region. It appears to me that your friend has been at your side ever since. It almost seems as if he shares a connection with you."

"Don't worry about it. He's my friend, a demon hunter like me, and a cook," she said.

"But tell me, why have you returned back to me?"

"Forgive me, father. But I have a request."

Delphine and Simon decided to dwell with Edward for the rest of the day until the night came for all of them. Nothing really important appeared to be happening while they were with the old priest, and neither Simon nor Delphine ever had the thought of leaving the chapel. They decided to have dinner with the other priests; it seemed clear to Simon that Delphine was slowly regaining her strength. After having dinner, Delphine and Simon went back to Edward's room and stayed there until the sun goes down. Simon strolled towards Delphine as she was standing before the window and watching the sunset down.

"Hey, Delphine. Are you still in pain? Does it still hurt?" Simon asked.

"No. Not anymore. It seems strange, but for some reason, me walking around and being with you is helping me get my strength back. You've ever had that happen to you?" Delphine asked.

"To be honest, no. I've never had that happen to me. I just carry on with the flow of things if I ever felt injured," he said.

"What's even stranger is that I feel so comfortable when I'm actually moving around and getting some exercise. It's silly. I do all the hard work and you just stay behind me in the sight of danger. Even if I feel like I'm about to fade out, I always go where I need to until I end up about a hundred feet away from that place."

"I'm sort of glad that I'm not in your shoes. I don't think I'd see myself walking forward and having the whole day wasted."

"Yeah? Well, we'll just have to wait a little while longer until he checks back on us. Just be sure you're prepared for the inevitable."

Meanwhile, two priests named Sam and Anderson were walking together in the chapel and were silently discussing certain things.

"Ah, father Sam. You too?" Anderson asked.

"Father Anderson... were you...?" Sam asked.

"Yes. I was called to the great hall despite it being an hour after sunset."

"I was too. I just got the news from the guards."

"I wonder why the great hall of all places."

"Indeed. It's just a big, empty room and it's out of the way."

Before they could say anything else, they open the doors and were not expecting so many people to be in attendance. There were about twenty-four knights standing still in the room and twelve of them were on each side of the pathway. Nobody was informed of this arrangement because they had to tell only those who were ordained by the church to attend the meeting. Both Sam and Anderson walked forward to meet up with whoever thought it was a good idea to call all of the priests together. On the other side of the room were the other priests: Chandron, Rodo, Tony, Raj, Mozgus, Ralph, Andrew, and Edward.

The knights who were in the room stayed speechless, but even they had suspicions within themselves as to why all the high priests were gathered together. They did not know if it was a significant business or if something new would be added to the cities walls.

"What in the world? Father Chandron, father Rodo. Father Tony! What's going on? Why have all the priests and monks been brought here?" Sam asked.

"I have no idea," Rodo said. Before any of them could start questioning each other about who knows what, Edward walked before them and decided to have a short chat.

"Forgive the suddenness of my request. For now please do as I say," he said.

"Father Edward! Is this all your doing? What is going on?" Rodo asked.

"We are inspecting for a demon," Edward answered.

"A demon? This is an outrage! Do you expect me to believe that a monster is hiding among us?"

Edward stayed silent for a short time as he tries to think of a serious reason to bring all of this to their attention.

"Sadly, with things as they are I cannot think otherwise," he said.

"Father Edward! Do you...?" Rodo asked.

"Obviously, you're aware that all of the victims were killed late at night, here inside the cathedral. We should have done this back when it started," Edward said.

"But which one of us could recognize the demon? This monster hunt of yours is just talking! No human can see through to the monster's true form!"

Suddenly, Delphine opened the door of the great hall and she was wearing a hood from her cloak. The other priests were beginning to be very shocked by the way the two hunters appeared before them. Delphine stood beside Edward and slowly removes her hood and shows her whole face to all of them. It was very obvious that Delphine was back in her normal shape and no longer felt the pain that she endured last night. Rodo and the other priests felt as if they have seen their whole lives before their own eyes as they gazed upon her stature.

"Black eyes! It's a demon hunter! Edward! How could you bring such a person to us! Have you gone mad?!" Rodo shouted.

"I will gladly hear your complaints later. But given the seriousness of our situation, there's no time to lose," Edward said. He saw the fearful look on their eyes; none of the holy cities would ever allow a demon hunter to set foot in their churches.

"What is the meaning of this?" One of them asked.

"Bishop... bishop Chandron!" Rodo shouted. Unfortunately for him, he was not on their side because Harry and Sid were standing with him and had their own reasons for being in the hall.

"Father Edward! How could you induce the bishop in your search?! This is inexcusable! Simply inexcusable!" Rodo shouted. The knights circled the nine priests and had their spears pointed at them, and none of the priests could getaway.

They were simply following orders from Harry and Sid and would give anything to protect and serve their city.

"Edward... how could you...?" Rodo asked. Edward felt a little bad in himself that he had to do this, but he had no other choice but to make them trust him.

Things would have been getting ugly if he made some pious lie to Rodo because the whole cycle would start all over again.

"I accept full responsibility. Therefore, I ask that you please cooperate!" Edward shouted. Then, Delphine began to walk towards Rodo to see if he has the scent of a demon within himself.

It was the only way to make sure they were telling the truth; it was the only reason to make them believe that the powerful creature is hiding somewhere in the cathedral. Even if they were lying, she still had to check and see if anyone else had a strong scent. The priests were a bit confused as to why the ebony knight would do this, but they could not give her a straight answer. Delphine lifts up both of her hands and begins to see if one of them knew a secret that must be given to her. She places her hands on Rodo's cheeks and leaves them there for a long while; she moves even closer to him to receive her evidence.

Rodo was absolutely stunned and had nothing to say to her, and he realizes that he could not move a single inch away from her. All of the other priests were making themselves ready for Delphine to see inside their minds. Half of them were not willing to surrender to such a bizarre way to look into someone's head, yet they had no choice but to play it through. As Rodo looked at her, he saw her black eyes flash into his vision, and he could not unsee it as he stood before her.