Chapter 194: Lucky Cillian

Launching an attack on the Shepherds.

Cillian thought it would happen in the far future, since no image had ever passed through his mind of how he would attack the Shepherds in a way that could damage the organization as a whole.

Exposing them was one thing. Attacking the Shepherds was another thing.

But now, he was hearing something similar from Darwin, who went inside the abandoned house and urged Cillian to follow him. They eventually reached the basement, where a single hanging light was enough to illuminate the area.

[Death Flag]

[Black Flag]

[Black Flag]

Then, figures started revealing themselves inside. They were the usual trio from Darwin’s group, along with a few more who seemed to be several years younger than him. It wasn’t hard to tell that they were the other surviving teachers from Viola’s Academy who had survived the attack. Though, aside from Darwin and the trio, Cillian didn’t recognize some of them.

“What? Cillian?”

Ulrich was the first to react after seeing one of his students together with Darwin. He immediately called out to him.

Ulrich had a Black Flag on his head.

“It’s fine. He’s with me.” Darwin followed up.

Meister, who had a nasty scar across his face, then chimed in after seeing a familiar student show up. However, he and Cillian weren’t close with each other, and instead of starting right away as Darwin had planned, Meister began to raise objections.

“This is dangerous, Darwin. We can’t allow a kid to work with us.”

He also had a Black Flag above his head.

Meister flashed him a glance and repeated the same words.

“He’s with me.”

Cillian, who didn’t give a damn whether he was part of this group or not, glanced around.

Including the newcomers, there were exactly thirteen people currently in this basement, and most of them had Black Flags above their heads.

[Death Flag]

There was one person who caught his interest after he noticed the Death Flag above his head. Aside from Darwin and Ulrich in this room, he was the other person who had one.

It was Zeist, the previous second-year principal of Viola. Wearing a cloak that he had uncovered after seeing Darwin enter, Zeist had short black hair and brown eyes, with an average build. He looked rather ordinary, but a silver ring on his right thumb stood out from the rest of his appearance.

It was Cillian’s first time seeing this man in person, and like the rest of the people here, he probably had his own reasons for following Darwin.

Eventually, the group started talking to each other.

And the more Cillian heard about it, the more insane it got.

‘You’re bombing that area?’

Their conversation could be summed up by those statements from Meister and Zeist, who were the ones who had discovered a hidden base of the Shepherds located in the sewer system underneath Xesie.

They were planning on bombing it and killing any Shepherds they came across along the way the moment they saw one.

Since Cillian remained an observer as the old guys talked to each other, he was able to learn more than he probably should have.

‘Judging by the way they were talking, they hadn’t fully explored the place yet and were planning on doing so while making the place a mess as well.’

Cillian didn’t know what Meister and Zeist had discovered to assume that it was one of the bases the Shepherds had established for themselves. They had each conducted their own research, which had led them to that conclusion, but they weren’t willing to share their findings now that he was there listening.

He even noticed them glancing at him as if his presence alone was putting the operation at risk, but Darwin remained firm in his decision to have him there.

‘Aside from the bombing they were planning, they’re just informing each other about things that seem important at first, but they actually aren’t saying anything. Hah, I guess it’s natural that they don’t trust me, but why? I helped people during the past two attacks by the Shepherds.’

This thought continued to run through Cillian’s mind before Zeist stepped in and said the final words.

“We’ll attack this weekend.”

At the end of this exchange of information, Cillian heard the same thing that Darwin had told him, this time from Zeist’s mouth.

“That’s all we have, Darwin.”

Meister said this while glancing at Cillian before adding,

“If there’s anything to add, I’ll inform you about it.”

‘You don’t need to make it this obvious, geezer. Geez.’

Cillian merely gave Meister a smile at his obvious actions, but he didn’t give a crap for now since the day of the attack was important.

When everything was done, the members started leaving the basement one by one to avoid drawing attention to themselves in case anyone happened to notice them.

“We’ll go now, Darwin.”

Meister said this as he left with Zeist.

Then, Ulrich came next, giving Cillian one last look. His expression already made it clear that he didn’t like involving Cillian in this.

Whether it was because Cillian was only a student or because he could potentially ruin their plan, Cillian didn’t know.

Well, he didn’t need to know about it.

“You came here already knowing what this meeting would entail. Do you perhaps want me to join you? I mean, it’s a different type of collaboration with us this time, right? Hmm, you probably wanted me to join you in your exploration of the sewers.”

Finally left alone with this crazy man who was driven by revenge against the Shepherds, Cillian finally got to ask the question that had been bugging him.

Darwin had already given him an overview right before they entered the basement. Everything they said inside should have remained a secret from Cillian if Darwin hadn’t let him enter, much less follow Ulrich.

Darwin smiled.

“That’s right.”

‘I’m right…’

Cillian remained silent, as he needed to hear what had made Darwin come to this conclusion.

“It’s because you’re a lucky brat.”

Cillian was about to open his mouth, but he was left confused by those words.

‘What? Lucky?’

Darwin saw the stupefied expression Cillian was wearing, as he definitely hadn’t expected an answer like that, before adding,

“You’ve gone through two different events involving the Shepherds and managed to survive both of them. And it’s not some little event like the time I went hunting in the past. Those two attacks were enough to destroy one great family. And guess what? We don’t even know the reason why they were doing these things. What’s their purpose?”

The Shepherds of Creation.

What is the mission of their organization?

Cillian had some guesses, but they were merely guesses. Hence, it was the same as not knowing anything. It was obvious that Darwin was unaware of their mission as well, having barely discovered their organization aside from hunting them in the past.

“But is it important to know it?”

Cillian retorted in a rather confused tone.

‘Why are you taking so long to give me the answer I wanted?!’

Darwin chuckled.

“You’re right. The reason isn’t important. All we have to do is stop them. And this is where you come in.”

Cillian tilted his head.

Then, Darwin continued in a rather proud voice.

“During the past two events, I’ve noticed that you’ve become the center of it. And you managed to stop them. Yes, you’re skilled for your age. The same goes for that swordsman classmate of yours, but you’re also lucky. I think your luck would bring a good result in the upcoming attack.”

It was then that Cillian became even more confused, wearing the most stupid expression he could currently muster from both of his lives.

The reason was… absurd.

He was invited here because he was lucky?

‘Crazy… This bastard is crazy.’

…

1 chap for today. i’m ashamed ??