Arknightcraft Modpack (Steve in Terra) (Minecraft x Arknight)

The distance they had to walk before leaving the Inquisition's base was ridiculously far.

Steven and Irene had been walking for over an hour before they finally saw a small Western-style town come into view.

"Wait... This isn't a mobile city?"

Steven glanced at Irene in confusion.

He had assumed that the Inquisition would have its own mobile city.

But now, it looked like they were way more down bad than he had thought.

"Do you think mobile cities are that common?"

Irene sighed.

"Most of them were damaged during the Profound Silence. Right now, there aren't many left in Iberia that still function properly."

"Besides, we're only out here on a mission. If a natural disaster really were to hit, we'd get a warning from the Catastrophe Messengers in advance."

As she spoke, her tone grew slightly melancholic.

Back in Iberia's golden age, mobile cities had been one of the most abundant and impressive sights across the land.

But after the Profound Silence, all of that vanished.

The glory days were long gone.

"Tsk. So what the hell is this 'Profound Silence,' anyway?"

Steven rubbed his chin.

"You guys keep mentioning it, but no one ever explains it properly. And while we're at it, what exactly is a Catastrophe? Not gonna lie, I'm pretty curious about all this."

There were way too many interesting things about Iberia—

The Seaborn, the Profound Silence, the Church of the Deep…

Each one seemed like a giant can of worms just waiting to be opened.

At the very least, it kept him from getting bored.

Irene shook her head.

"I don't know either. I wasn't there for it. If anyone truly understands what happened back then, it would probably be Saint Carmen."

She had no memories of the time before the disaster.

For as long as she could remember, Iberia had always been in its current state.

But Catastrophes—

Those, she had experienced before.

"Almost every type of natural disaster falls under the category of a Catastrophe. The difference is that they're far more destructive and have a much greater impact on people's lives."

"Not only that, but Catastrophes are often accompanied by massive outbreaks of Originium, which leads to an even bigger problem—the spread of Oripathy."

If it were just the natural disasters themselves, people could still evacuate in time.

The real problem came afterward.

The lands tainted by Originium became uninhabitable—

Farming? Impossible.

Living there long-term? A death sentence.

This was exactly why mobile cities were created in the first place, to protect people from Originium contamination.

Steven scratched his head.

"So then… the people in these non-mobile towns just have to sit around and wait for death?"

That was basically like having bombs dropped on you at random, except the explosions came with radiation poisoning.

Life in Iberia sounded brutal.

Irene gave him a small nod, but she had no real solutions to offer.

"Catastrophe Messengers, on the other hand, are people who can predict incoming Catastrophes ahead of time. They travel between different mobile cities, warning people so they can prepare."

Not wanting to dwell on such depressing topics, she continued explaining.

Steven, however, had a very different focus.

"Damn, I bet they get paid really well."

Catastrophe prediction? Disaster warnings?

That sounded like a high-paying job to him.

Irene gave him an exasperated look.

"It's not about the money. You do realize that only the strongest people can do this job, right?"

Irene rolled her eyes at Steven.

She really didn't get why this guy could be so damn pragmatic all the time.

But as she kept talking, she started feeling less confident herself—

After all, when it came to raw power, she wasn't exactly in a position to lecture this freak of nature standing next to her.

"Huh. So that's all you know?"

Steven wasn't too surprised.

This little bird was still a newbie in the Inquisition.

Expecting her to have all the answers was just wishful thinking.

It'd be much more useful to grill Carmen about it later.

Instead, what really caught his attention was—

"How the hell did you even get that far away from the town? What could possibly be so important that it made you run off like that? Bird feed? French fries?"

He wasn't buying that she just randomly wandered off.

Something must have lured her deep into that territory.

And considering how reckless she was, it was probably something major.

Though, knowing this scatterbrained bird, she might have just charged in headfirst without thinking.

Would she actually learn her lesson after almost dying this time?

"But it was such a rare opportunity!"

Irene clenched her fists.

"I finally tracked down a bishop from the Church of the Deep! How could I just let him go so easily?!"

She felt so frustrated just thinking about it.

That hooded man, dressed like some kind of priest—

She had spent so much effort tracking him down.

If it weren't for those damn sea monsters, she would've caught him.

And now?

Her big fish had escaped.

How could she just accept that?

"And yet, you're the one who ended up getting caught."

Steven gave her a light punch on the head.

"That was a trap. Specifically set up for you."

"And their goal wasn't just to kill you—it felt more like they wanted some kind of intel from you."

"Or maybe… they wanted to turn you into one of them."

Had he arrived just a little later, the next time he saw her, she might not have been an Iberian bird anymore, but a poor little Iberian fish-girl instead.

And knowing her personality, she would've offed herself before fully turning.

Steven was absolutely sure of that.

This little bird really needed to stop giving him so much stress.

"But… that doesn't make sense, does it?"

Irene frowned.

"I'm just a regular Inquisitor. I don't know anything that important."

"That kind of setup would've been overkill even for a High Inquisitor."

"Why would they target me specifically?"

Steven raised an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't you be asking yourself that?"

"Have you run into anything weird lately?"

"Or has anyone told you something and specifically warned you not to tell anyone?"

He stared at her like she was an idiot.

What did she think he was? Some omniscient search engine?

How was he supposed to know if she herself didn't even think about it properly?

Irene furrowed her brows, lost in thought.

And then—

Her gaze slowly shifted toward Steven.

Because if there was one thing she knew, something so classified that only she was aware of it…

It would have to be this guy right here.

It was all Steven's fault.

Because he had gotten too close to her, Irene had nearly forgotten something crucial—

Steven's true identity was someone even Saint Carmen had to show immense respect toward.

Not to mention, Carmen had completely silenced any discussion about him.

Meaning, the only people who even knew Steven existed were herself, Carmen, and her master—High Inquisitor Dario.

Irene gave Steven's arm a firm squeeze, her gaze saying everything.

"Now that I think about it… the only top-secret thing related to me right now… is a certain someone."

So it was his fault after all.

No wonder those sea monsters had targeted her.

After all, only three people had interacted with Steven.

Carmen was off-limits—the Church of the Deep wasn't bold enough to mess with a Saint yet.

And Dario?

Not only was he far stronger than her, but he was also a veteran Inquisitor, far too calm and experienced to fall into a trap so easily.

Which meant…

The only easy target left was her.

"Me? Something about me is classified?"

Steven scratched his head.

But then it hit him—

And he got it immediately.

Never mind his combat abilities, that potato he gave Carmen was an absolute game-changer.

If it solved Iberia's food crisis, then the Church of the Deep would have a much harder time stirring up chaos.

Because let's be real—

Who would join some creepy cult if they weren't starving and desperate?

If people had food, they wouldn't need to cling to false hope.

And that made him the biggest obstacle to their plans.

If Steven were them, he wouldn't pass up the chance to dig up everything about himself either.

"So they couldn't find me, huh?

"So now they're targeting you, one of the only people involved, to get information?"

Steven sighed.

"It's a clever idea, but they picked the wrong person."

Getting targeted by some crazy cult wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling.

These people didn't care about morals or ethics.

They'd use any excuse to pull off some underhanded trick.

As the saying goes, it's not the thief stealing that's scary,

It's the fact that the thief won't stop thinking about you.

Steven might not have his roots in Iberia, but just the thought of these guys lurking around left him annoyed.

"Don't worry!"

Irene puffed out her chest.

"Even if they capture me, I swear I won't spill a word about you!"

"After all, we're frien—"

She coughed.

"Ahem, I mean, I am Inquisitor Irene, after all!"

Steven gave her a deadpan stare.

"Yeah, no thanks. I'd rather not give them the chance to 'calculate' me like that."

If they wanted his intel, then maybe it was time for him to go see them in person.

And give them a nice, up-close look at him.

Steven cracked his knuckles, a familiar smirk creeping onto his face.

<+>

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