I Possessed The Worst Character In The Hellish Game
Chapter 22: The Archbishop of Night and Darkness [1]

Chapter 22: The Archbishop of Night and Darkness [1]

In the common room of Silver Rabbit Inn,

A black cat with fur like shifting wisps of solid smoke finished the last morsel of her treat with a satisfied chirp, which Mikael had given her.

She licked a crumb from her whiskers, then sat down primly with her one paw lifted as she began to groom herself behind her ears with the unhurried grace, completely unbothered by the flattened man gasping a few feet away.

When suddenly--

*Click--!*

A click of the heel on the wooden floorboard broke the silence, echoing in the otherwise silent room.

A figure stepped forward, seemingly materialized from the shadows themselves.

Though in reality she had been standing there for some time now.

The low light clung to her form and then released it, revealing a woman of striking beauty wearing a formal black robe of the Church of Goddess Sableth, Lady of Night and Darkness, which did nothing to hide her curvy figure.

But unlike the standard vestments worn by most clergy.

Hers were trimmed with silver embroidery along the sleeves and collar, subtle indicators of a rank that required no ostentatious display.

And a simple obsidian pendant hung around her neck.

She had long black hair with strands of deep amethyst that cascaded past her shoulders as her lavender eyes fixed on the gasping Captain Edmund, a few feet away from her.

She was Archbishop Sophia Ellert.

A Low-Tier 9 Awakener of the Church of Goddess Sableth.

Jeanne’s breath caught in her throat as her sword dissolved instantly into tiny sparks of emerald-green essence.

She quickly dropped into a formal bow.

"Your Grace. I am Jeanne Morwell, heir to House Morwell. Thank you for your timely intervention. We are deeply grateful."

Sophia inclined her head slightly in acknowledgment, but her eyes had already moved past Jeanne as they settled on the man still pinned to the floor.

"Edmund Varn."

She spoke in an authoritatively calm voice.

"Release him, Nyx."

The black cat—Nyx—gave a lazy flick of her tail, and the crushing essence pressure surrounding him instantly vanished.

Edmund sucked in ragged gulps of air as it flooded back into his lungs.

Slowly.

He pushed himself up on trembling arms.

His face was flushed red and white with humiliation and barely contained fury, as sweat plastered his red hair to his forehead.

"Your Grace." He managed with a hoarse voice. "I can explain—"

"Can you?"

"....."

"Explain to me, Captain Varn, exactly which tenet of Church doctrine grants you the authority to use such a powerful essence pressure against a Tier 1 civilian who has not been charged with any crime, found guilty by any court, or formally declared a threat by any ecclesiastical authority."

Edmund’s jaw tightened.

"I was conducting an investigation—"

"You were conducting an interrogation."

Sophia corrected him before he could speak further.

"There is a difference—a rather significant one at that. An investigation involves gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and building a case through proper channels. An interrogation backed by potentially lethal force against someone who hasn’t even been formally accused... well."

She tilted her head slightly.

"That has a different name entirely."

"....."

Silence stretched between them.

"Tell me, Captain. If I had arrived thirty seconds later, what would I have found? A young man with his internal organs ruptured? Perhaps permanent damage to his essence channels? The Morwell family demanding answers that the Church would be hard-pressed to provide?"

"I was simply applying pressure to compel cooperation." Edmund said through gritted teeth. "The subject was being deliberately obstructive—"

"The subject?"

Sophia’s lavender eyes flickered with something cold.

"You mean Mikael Morwell. A seventeen-year-old who hasn’t even begun his formal academy training. And you, a Tier 6 Captain with nearly two decades of service, decided that the appropriate method of ’compelling cooperation’ was to crush him under essence pressure that would have made even Tier 4 trained knights buckle."

She took a single step closer to Edmund.

She was not taller than him, barely 5’ 8" to his 6’ 2".

But in that moment, her presence seemed to tower over him, reducing him to something small and insignificant.

"There are methods, Captain Varn. Truth detection arrays, witness corroboration, formal depositions conducted in the presence of legal counsel, patience, diplomacy, basic human decency."

She counted each one off on her fingers.

"All of these are available to officers of the Order. And yet.... You chose none of them."

"I had reason to believe he was connected to—"

"You had reason to believe he was connected to all those deaths in the city? That is the extent of your evidence. Everything else was speculation fueled by your personal feelings."

Her voice hardened.

"Do not insult my intelligence by pretending otherwise."

Edmund’s hands clenched into fists at his sides as he trembled.

Sophia studied him for a long moment, then turned towards Mikael.

He was standing with considerable effort as blood dripped from his mouth, nose, and eyes, staining the white fabric of his shirt.

He tried to bow despite the blood bubbling up from his lips, but his legs buckled before he could finish the gesture.

Jeanne quickly arrived by his side and caught him with a firm arm around his back before he could collapse.

Sophia watched Mikael with an expression that flickered between amusement and something almost like impressed....

Yet, beneath it, a trace of disappointment lingered.

Without a word, she extended her palm.

Pale amethyst light shimmered around her fingers, and a matching magic circle flared to life beneath Mikael’s feet.

A gentle warmth spread through his chest, sinking deep as it chased away the cold ache of internal bleeding.

The pain in his ribs dulled, and the essence overload also vanished completely from his body.

And the dried blood from his skin and clothes flaked away.

"Thank you. Your Grace"

"Don’t thank me yet. We still have much to discuss."

"Yes."

She turned back to Edmund as her amused expression vanished.

"The case you are currently handling--all ten deaths, including the knight of the Morwell family--will be transferred to Captain Louisa Clarke effective immediately. You will compile all the evidence you’ve gathered and deliver it to her office by morning. Is that understood?"

"B-But. Your Grace." Edmund’s voice trembled. "I have been working on this investigation for over a week. I know the details better than anyone. Transferring the case now would set our progress back—"

"That is not a request, Captain Varn. It is a directive....

"You will comply, or you will find yourself reassigned to archive duty in the northern sanctuaries. I hear the winters there are... bracing."

The threat hung in the air.

"Now."

Sophia gestured toward the door.

"You are dismissed. Return to your quarters and remain there until I summon you. We will discuss your conduct.... and potential sanctions.... at a later time. I suggest you use the interim to reflect on the difference between justice and persecution."

Edmund rose from his position.

His face was a mask of barely suppressed rage.

He turned to leave as his eyes filled with hatred met Mikael’s one final time.

Mikael met his red eyes without flinching, completely unbothered.

The door closed behind Edmund, and the tension in the room dropped several degrees.

"Well then. Now that the unpleasantness is out of the way, shall we begin properly?"

*****