I let a grin slip onto my face.
The kind of grin that suggested I genuinely wanted them to attack.
That was enough to make them second-guess everything.
Behind me, the crewmates were slowly recovering.
They staggered, held their wounds, and tried to stand.
If they recovered enough, the Exorcists would lose their chance to attack me freely.
So the Exorcists would want to act soon.
At least, that was what they thought I believed.
But I knew they wouldn’t attack at all.
A soft mechanical whir cut through the air. The drone that had been observing us from above descended.
"New Order. I am Judy. Identification: partner of Saint Maverick. Executing diplomatic protocol," Judy said, her voice flat through the drone’s speaker.
There was a brief silence.
Then the voice answered. "So it seems he has decided to join your group. Are you planning to tell us not to kill him? Him joining you only increases our reasons to eliminate him."
"Discussion on this topic is inefficient," Judy replied, her tone unchanged. "Priority alert: evaluate sky condition. Domain instability is rising. New directive: escape must take precedence. I propose a ceasefire until we exit this domain."
"And why should we agree to that demand?" the Exorcist asked.
"From this point onward, we will not kill a single Cursed Spirit inside this domain. This includes myself, Saint Maverick, Caelum, and the crewmates under Caelum. In exchange, you must assist us in escaping and restrain the Cursed Spirits that try to attack us," Judy said.
My earpiece crackled, and this time Judy’s voice came quietly, so low only I could hear it.
"Private message: Caelum, agree to the terms for now. Exorcists have the narrative of ’finding evil and erasing it.’ Their narrative assists with discovery of information about Cursed Spirits. They can locate escape clues more efficiently than us."
I didn’t respond aloud.
Inside, something in me relaxed slightly.
I could feel my soul healing by everything that was happening.
In my last life, I would’ve shouted at these people.
I would’ve snapped each time New Order tried pulling stupid tricks like this—especially when they demanded we spare every Cursed Spirit, even ones trying to tear us apart.
But this time, I had expected it.
My plan required them to be exactly like this.
I felt a strange satisfaction watching them act out the same behaviors that used to irritate me to the point of rage.
That was what I felt inwardly.
Outwardly, I snorted.
"I don’t want help from idiots who refuse to kill Cursed Spirits even when those spirits are trying to murder us."
The Exorcist replied immediately, "They are bound by their narratives, Caelum Nocthera. They have not touched the truth yet. Their behavior resembles beasts, but that is not their intention.
"We aim to avoid conflict, so we will explain again. Would you call a child a murderer if it kills someone because it was raised and taught to kill? These Cursed Spirits are like those children. Their narrative—"
"Yes, I would call that child a killer," I said, cutting him off. "Are you going to tell the victim’s family that the child is innocent? Are you going to bring the victim back? The child was taught to kill, so it’s not their fault? What about the person who died?"
I clenched my jaw.
"There’s something called responsibility. If you’ve taken a life, you’re responsible for it. Don’t hide behind philosophy to avoid your crimes."
The forest seemed to hold its breath.
Finally, the voice spoke again, slower now, and sharper. "Caelum Nocthera... it seems you have no intention of reconciliation."
"I don’t. Not with people who want me to die because I killed something that tried to kill me," I said.
That was the truth.
But another truth ran quietly under it.
I did want to work with the Exorcists from New Order.
I knew exactly how to escape this domain.
But if I said it outright, I would look suspicious.
Because I would be too knowledgeable about things I wasn’t supposed to know.
If the Exorcists joined me, I could simply nudge them toward the clues.
They would believe they discovered the method to escape.
That way, the credit went to them, and nobody would look at me strangely.
And besides...
Soon, a certain Cursed Spirit would appear.
A special one.
One everyone would hunt.
A Cursed Spirit that knew things about the future.
I didn’t want anyone mistaking me for that Cursed Spirit, so I needed to make sure no one would think I knew information that would be found in future — like the escape method of the domain where we were.
To prevent that, I needed to look as normal as everyone else.
Which meant letting New Order believe they were the ones uncovering the escape method.
"Caelum," a voice called from the drone. It was Saint Maverick. "Please follow Judy’s directives for now."
"You think we can escape this domain without killing a single Cursed Spirit? Let’s be realistic. That’s impossible," I said.
"We have to do our best with the cards we have, Caelum," Saint Maverick answered.
He sounded strained.
He was probably fighting Ghoul Valen while speaking through the drone.
Splitting his attention put him at risk, and it annoyed me more than anything the Exorcists had said.
I frowned and clicked my tongue. "Fine. I’ll listen for now. You helped me against Ghoul Valen. I won’t make things harder for you."
"Thank you," he said, and the connection cut off.
Judy spoke next. Her voice was flat, emotionless, artificial. "Confirming agreement. New directive: finalize cooperation parameters. Caelum, do you acknowledge alliance with New Order under current conditions?"
Yes," I said. "Because unlike some fools, I know how to treat allies. I kill enemies and support the people working with me, unlike others who support their enemies and become a roadblock to their own allies."
"What about you, New Order?" Judy asked.
The voice answered from all around us. "We agree. As long as you do not exorcise any Cursed Spirit, we will work together to escape this domain."
Shadows gathered at the edge of my vision.
The two Exorcists emerged from behind different trees.
They didn’t hide their displeasure at the agreement, but they also didn’t argue.
"Alright," I said. "Let’s get moving. We need to help Saint Maverick, and if we stay here longer, I might pull the trigger by mistake."