Chapter 311

Distorted perception is dissonance.

What should be there is missing, what shouldn’t be there exists, what is natural feels unnatural, and what is unnatural feels natural.

From this disruption of reason, we feel anxiety and fear.

The more receptive one is to external information and the more sensitive their senses, the greater the anxiety becomes.

…In other words, someone like me is more severely affected by cognitive distortion.

‘No wonder Quilia’s temperament has hardened.’

The less one reacts to emotional stimuli, the easier it is to endure cognitive distortion.

‘And while those who learned Akies Victima purely as a combat technique might manage… someone like Kinuan, who absorbs information without restraint, would struggle to use cognitive distortion equipment.’

Kinuan and I already had many things in common. Today, we added one more.

“You must have experienced a considerable level of hallucination.”

I had tried to hide it, but Quilia had already noticed the severity of my condition. Not that it was easy to conceal in the first place.

Leaning my back against the wall for a moment, I took a brief respite. I had, at least virtually, experienced the worst possible outcome.

“I will explain while you rest. From here on, this is the isolation chamber.”

The hallway stretched on, its lighting dim. Faint blue indicator lights were sporadically mounted on the ceiling.

‘She handled things well while I was caught in the hallucination.’

Quilia must have incapacitated the guards outside.

“How much time do we have?”

“About fifty minutes until the shift change.”

“That’s plenty. Thanks for keeping your promise, Quilia.”

“You trusted me first, Luka.”

Honestly, if Quilia had tried anything while I was in a state of cognitive distortion, it would have been dangerous.

‘That was an unpleasant experience beyond my imagination. And I was completely defenseless.’

I never wanted to go through that again. It was horrifying enough to emphasize multiple times.

My brain, having momentarily disconnected from the negative experience and sensory overload, was stabilizing quickly. Before I knew it, my five senses had returned to perceiving the environment normally. A result of neural enhancement and training.

‘My thoughts are functioning properly again.’

I regained my sense of objectivity regarding what I had just experienced.

“If you can move, please check the isolation chambers.”

Quilia spoke as she moved forward. Right, we didn’t have much time.

Step, step.

Quilia and I split to opposite sides of the hallway, checking the sliding windows of the isolation chambers as we passed.

‘They’ve imprisoned people who are obstacles to the Order.’

Some had gone mad from prolonged captivity. Others bore scars of torture, their bodies covered in wounds.

‘No matter where you go, when an organization grows, darkness follows.’

According to Quilia, officially, the Pioneering Temple has no such detention and torture facilities.

‘That also means once you’re brought here, you never leave.’

I continued checking the isolation chambers, searching for Lars.

“Luka.”

Quilia called out to me. She must have found him.

‘Lars.’

Through the sliding window, I saw Lars, limp and motionless. His prosthetic joints were completely shattered. No matter how advanced a prosthetic was, in that state, it was nothing more than a heavy, expensive mannequin.

Grip.

I reached for the isolation chamber door but stopped.

The door was incredibly heavy and solid. Forcing it open would make a loud noise, echoing all the way outside.

“Step back.”

I rummaged through my coat and retrieved two Mothblades from my dagger set. The blades of the Firelight series were made of Ignium.

Ssshhhk, sssst.

I lightly rubbed the two Mothblades together. The heat built up quickly, making the air sizzle.

Viiiiiing!

I pressed the Mothblade along the edges of the door and sliced. The lock melted under the blade’s intense heat, warping as it lost its integrity.

“Ignium, is it? This is the first time I’ve seen someone use it as a weapon.”

Quilia recognized the material immediately. As expected, she was knowledgeable and experienced in many things.

Ssshhh, clang!

I dipped the blades of the Mothblades into FAI's cooling vents—one of Lapis’ creations. The coolant cartridges, having absorbed a significant amount of heat, ejected outward as they reached their limit.

Click.

Once the blades had cooled, I carefully sheathed them.

‘It’s highly useful in certain situations… but it’s cumbersome and expensive.’

Despite its superior performance, Ignium weapons never became widespread. There were simply too many prerequisites for proper use, and more importantly, Ignium itself was a rare metal, incredibly difficult to obtain.

Creak, thud.

I caught the falling door and leaned it against the wall.

Inside the barren room, Lars sat slumped over, lifeless. He looked like a broken android.

‘No signs of brain removal.’

His prosthetic head remained intact.

“Lars, it’s me.”

I shook him as I spoke. If he wasn’t brain-dead, he would respond.

Bzzzt, twitch.

Lars’ eyes flickered as his shoulders and legs twitched reflexively. But with his joints shattered, all he could manage were weak spasms.

“Ah…”

Though his cybernetic eyes were artificial, I could still see the unease in them.

As his emotions filled his prosthetic body, he no longer looked like a mannequin—he looked human.

Rustle.

I lifted my index finger and moved it. Lars’ cybernetic eyes quickly followed my finger.

I spread my fingers and signaled numbers, then asked him a simple calculation.

“Two, one, eight…”

Lars instinctively reacted to both my movements and questions.

‘A quick test shows no brain damage.’

Lars, who had seemed dazed, soon regained clarity in his gaze.

“I…”

“I’ll ask the questions first. Did you attack Gaya and assassinate the Parish Overseer of Border City?”

Quilia, standing behind me, was likely watching Lars with intense focus.

I was just as alert. Lars wasn’t someone who lied easily.

‘If Ivan had planned to use the Special Task Force to assassinate the Parish Overseer, he would’ve entrusted it to Ilay. Lars is too inexperienced for that.’

Now, I was certain. Lars wasn’t the assassin.

“Huh? Me, assassination?”

Because Lars truly had no idea what I was talking about.

“Quilia, does that answer your doubts?”

Even without turning around, I could tell Quilia had nodded.

“My last memory is… leaving the hospital…”

Lars was trying to piece things together.

“You don’t remember anything after that. You were ambushed.”

Lars was an exceptional soldier. He wouldn’t have been overpowered so easily by just any opponents.

‘Careful planning… And someone who knew both Lars’ and my movements inside out.’

My thoughts raced, suspicions piling upon suspicions. Even Ilay was now a possible suspect.

My thoughts stretched out in all directions, unraveling like tangled thread, only to coil back into a single form again and again.

“…Ha.”

I let out a short chuckle.

The Pioneering Temple was an isolated space, completely cut off from external communication by Corite-based technology. There weren’t many places like this in Border City.

‘I was prepared for a trap.’

But this… this was an unexpected one.

“Quilia, if it were the Parish Overseer’s command, you would turn against me without hesitation, wouldn’t you? I wouldn’t hold it against you.”

Quilia didn’t yet understand what I meant.

My thoughts surged ahead, recklessly charging toward the answer.

‘Still too inexperienced, Luka.’

Due to the disruption and lack of information, and the shocking news of Gaya’s severe injuries, there was a blind spot in my reasoning. The answer to the current situation lay within that very blind spot.

“The way you set up your schemes is still a step ahead of mine.”

I rose to my feet, brushing my fingers over the hilt of Crucis. At the same time, I began preheating Ruina.

“Luka?”

Quilia furrowed her brow slightly and took a step back, putting some distance between us.

Step, step.

Clack, clack.

Two sets of footsteps were approaching. Anyone with keen hearing could distinguish individuals just from their footsteps.

Moreover, I could use auditory vision. Not that I needed to in this case—this situation was as clear as day.

“Parish Overseer?”

Quilia stood in the hallway, her voice laced with emotion. For someone like her, it was practically a shout.

The Parish Overseer, who was supposedly assassinated, was walking toward us.

And… beside him, like a personal escort, walked my long-time adversary. His prosthetic limbs, once severed by me, were now pristine, fully repaired as if they had never been damaged.

‘Kinuan.’

Kinuan and the Parish Overseer were moving together. But the most shocked person in this room was Quilia.

“I must apologize, Lukaus Custoria. It seems I’ve found myself cooperating with Kinuan once again.”

The Parish Overseer gave a slight nod. I returned the gesture with quiet composure.

‘It wasn’t a lie that the Parish Overseer had been betrayed by Kinuan. Back then, he had genuinely asked me to track Kinuan down.’

If he had already been working with Kinuan at that time, I would have noticed.

‘Their cooperation must have started after that—after I left the Pioneering Temple.’

Kinuan must have made the Parish Overseer an offer he couldn’t refuse.

If the Parish Overseer had changed his mind, there was nothing I could do about it. What I couldn’t predict was how the Parish Overseer, who had once trembled with fury over Kinuan’s betrayal, had come to change his stance.

‘More than anything, this entire situation has left Gaya severely wounded.’

The Parish Overseer had a complex relationship with his brother, Gaya. He wouldn’t have wanted to hurt him if he could avoid it.

‘This has Kinuan’s touch all over it.’

Layering deception upon deception, veiling the truth within falsehoods—he had simply been biding his time, waiting to reveal his schemes.

“I said I wouldn’t repay goodwill with betrayal. But you, Parish Overseer, have betrayed me.”

I voiced my displeasure.

“I was sincere at the time.”

“I know. If your words back then had been a lie, I would have doubted you long ago, and I wouldn’t be standing here now.”

Kinuan remained silent, wearing the same faint smile as always. He waited in line, like a customer at a food stall, simply letting me and the Parish Overseer finish our conversation.

“Quilia, come here.”

The Parish Overseer called Quilia. She glanced at me and gave a slight bow.

“I trust you understand.”

“I said I did. Go ahead.”

There was no helping it.

I was both a cadet and a soldier. I understood Quilia’s internal conflict all too well. I had experienced it many times myself.

Quilia stepped to the Parish Overseer’s side. She shot a sharp glance at Kinuan, who simply shrugged in response.

“Luka is an old friend of mine. We have a lot to talk about. Could you wait outside, Dican?”

Dican—that was the Parish Overseer’s name. He gave a slight nod.

“Kinuan, I trust that this time, you’ll keep your promise.”

I wanted to shout at the Parish Overseer’s retreating figure.

‘After everything he’s done, you’re still willing to trust Kinuan?’

But it was pointless. Kinuan must have presented such an enticing offer that even his past betrayals seemed insignificant. It was likely something concerning the continued survival of the Border City Parish.

“Care for some tea?”

Kinuan sat cross-legged on the floor and pulled out a thermos.

‘If I take just one step forward and strike, my blade would reach him.’

For a fleeting moment, countless thoughts of conflict flared within me.

“You won’t attack me. You have too many questions.”

“And as my mentor, you must have prepared for this as well.”

“Calling me your mentor now? That’s unexpected. Seeing you as you are now, the phrase the student surpasses the master feels quite fitting. You’ve exceeded my expectations multiple times.”

“But right now, I’m still in the palm of your hand.”

“Perhaps. But you could always use that famed violence of yours to get out.”

“If it comes to that, I’ll give it a try.”

I sat down across from Kinuan.

He pulled a teacup from his coat, poured the tea, and offered it to me.

I brought the cup to my lips.

The taste was the same as ever. Yet now, that familiar bitterness felt oddly pleasant.

“Is it to your liking? I brewed it from tea leaves I had set aside for the day we would meet again like this.”

“Well, it’s drinkable enough.”

Kinuan let out a brief chuckle.

“I’m glad.”

“So… did you achieve your goal?”

I set down my teacup and asked.