The heavy oak door clicked shut behind Luke, and the sound lingered longer than it should have, like the room itself was still holding onto the shape of him. For a few seconds, no one moved. Vianne kept her phone lowered in her lap without looking at it. Ignazio stayed where he was against the wall, arms crossed, but his eyes weren't resting anymore. And Vera… Vera didn't turn from the window. The courtyard outside was fading into evening light, but she was looking at it like it had suddenly become the only honest thing left in the building.
She exhaled slowly, controlled, precise—too precise. The kind of breath that didn't come from relief, but from restraint. Her gaze dropped, just slightly, to her hands. The white gloves he had put on her were still there, smooth against her skin, masking what she had been trying not to acknowledge. Her fingers tightened once beneath the fabric, then loosened again, as if testing whether she was still allowed to feel anything without it turning into weakness.
"Sixth Apostle," Vera murmured, quieter now, not to the room—but to the weight of what it meant. Outside, the last strip of sunlight finally slipped below the horizon, and the clubroom dimmed with it, as though the entire building was quietly adjusting to the fact that something had changed and no one had agreed on what to call it yet.
"You sure you wanna let him go like that, Vera?" Vianne asked,looking at Vera, her fingers still tapping her phone.
Vera's eyes were still fixed on the courtyard.
Ignazio pushed off the wall slightly."So what now? We just pretend we didn't hear 'Sixth Apostle' and move on?"
Vianne tilted her phone, eyes half-lidded."Or we admit we just got dragged into something way above our pay grade."
Silence returned—but this time it wasn't empty.It was waiting.
Vera finally turned from the window. "We observe him. For now, let him keep his peace."
Vianne pocketed her phone in her blazer as she stood up, stretching her arms casually. "So, Master… what's your call?" She asked, her left thumb tracing the Vice Ring on her middle finger as if she could tell what she was about to say.
"You're always mindful, Vianne."
"I know."
Vera took the leather book from her desk. She opened it once, then closed it before picking up her schoolbag. Without delay—she went for the door, Ignazio followed behind her. She paused by Vianne.
"I trust you'll keep an eye on our Vassal," she said, her voice low, and final. Ignazio opened the door for her—letting her step out of the clubroom first.
Vianne smiled. "No worries. Luke-kun is in safe hands," she assured as the door closed behind her with a soft thud. After a few minutes, she tapped her ring. The crown of her Vice ring pulsed; it projected the small twelve star Morningstar sigil a few centimeters above it.
A sharp voice cracked through the ring.
"Vianne-senpai, you called. How may I be of assistance?" Mitoma's stoic voice echoed through Vianne's ring, his voice calculating.
"Alright, Ao-kun I'll need you to keep tabs on Luke-kun."
"You want me to track his covenant ring?"
"Ding! So do that for me, Ao-kun."
Mitoma let out a small breath through the ring, "I'll get on it right away, Vianne-senpai."
Vianne ended the communication, sitting back down on the sofa. She stared at the door for a second before taking her headphones. She let out a sigh and left the room.
◇ ◇ ◇
Vera stepped onto the courtyard, her outside shoes clicking against the pavement. Ignazio walked beside her, letting the silence from the clubroom come between them.
Vera glanced at Ignazio; he looked calm on the surface—but his posture dipped slightly. She felt the unease in his footsteps, the calm expression he wore—but his eyes said something else.
"You've already decided, haven't you?" Ignazio said, breaking the silence.
Vera didn't answer.
"No. You already decided right when he walked out," he continued, "Vera… this will affect your standing against the other noble houses, and even you realise that the Vatican won't let you keep him. You choose to protect him knowing the consequences of your decision. Will you take that risk?"
Vera exhaled through her nose, letting Ignazio's question echo through her head. She finally opened her mouth, "when I first brought him to our household, I never expected he'd push himself like this for his family… let alone us. Even when I saw him as an asset initially."
"So you've stopped seeing him as an asset, then?"
Vera looked down at her left hand; the white glove fabric hugging her skin like a blanket. She switched her focus back to the exit. "If I can't even protect a member of my house, how can I call myself a Morningstar after that?"
Ignazio sighed, "if you feel that strongly about it, I will not oppose it. But a gamble isn't always won."
"True, but it depends on whether the bet is ideal… or risky though I'm doing more of both than the former."
They walked past the gates, waiting for Vianne who stepped out of the school building; headphones in hand. After a few minutes, a sleek black SUV pulled in. On its door a star symbol was engraved on it.
Ignazio stepped into the passenger seat after opening the backseat door for Vera and Vianne. As they settled into the car, Ignazio signaled the driver. The driver nodded, pressing the gas and driving away.
Vera sat by the window seat, looking at the city—her territory. Her expression looked calm, but her mind was already listing the things she had to deal with: Luke, the Vatican, Lamina, and the noble houses.
The city lights brushed over the tinted windows of the car; Vera's gloves catching the light. They were a silent reminder of the game she was starting to play.
"Ignazio."
"Yes, Vera-sama," he answered.
Vera's eyes were still on the city, but her focus shifted away from that. "The defensive boundary over Seishu. Adjust it, slightly. If the Vatican or Lamina make a move, we intercept it immediately."
"It will be done, Vera-sama."
Vera turned to Vianne next, "Vianne, contact our archivist. I want whatever he can find on the Apostle program on my desk by tonight."
Vianne removed one headphone, turning to Vera, "you got it. But what about Luke-kun?"
"Keep watching him, but for now… we have more pressing matters to deal with."
◇ ◇ ◇
Luke walked alongside Kiyomi through the quiet corridors, but he could still hear some students chatting outside, doing their club activities. The sun brushed over the hallways, having not set yet.
He closed the fingers of his left hand, the reaction was still slow—but better.
Kiyomi noticed Luke's movement, her blanket still draped over her shoulders. "Kazama-kun, don't overdo it, I'm just a Warden, so healing isn't my strongest attribute."
"I know that… now, but I appreciate your help even though I'm not fully healed yet." Luke replied, putting his hand over his chest.
"I managed to filter the Holy Water residue out of your system, Kazama-kun. So that solves the poisoning in your body… but your Holy Pillar is starting to break the demonic cage you put up."
"So my Demonic Pillar is failing?"
Kiyomi's head snapped toward him, "yes, and if you don't find a way for them to work together… that holy power will start burning through your soul. And I may have to silence one, if push comes to shove."
Luke's jaw tightened at her words. 'My powers fighting each other was already a hassle,' he thought, his mind now processing his current issue. "Now I have to deal with this? Great."
"So, what do I do?" Luke asked.
Kiyomi tightened her grip on her blanket as if she felt unsettled. After a second, she answered, "if you want to stop the screaming in your soul… either, you don't use your power… or, you find a way to use your power."
'So my options are, do nothing and die or find a solution,' Luke thought, weighing his only options now.
Luke stared down at his hand.The same hand that had once moved without hesitation.The same hand that had carried a sword, cast spells, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves.
Now it trembled. Not from fear, but from the fact that his own power no longer belonged to him.
The golden-white light of the Apostle fragment flickered faintly beneath his skin, fighting against the dark crimson energy wrapped around it.
Two forces.Two wills.One body.
"That's ironic," Luke muttered.
Kiyomi tilted her head. "What is?"
Luke looked at his reflection in the glass window beside them. A normal student in a Seishu Academy uniform stared back.But he knew better.
The uniform was a shell. The gloves were a shell. The smile he wore every morning was a shell.And now even his strength was becoming something he couldn't trust.
"I spent all this time trying to hide what I am," Luke said quietly. "But the real problem was never them finding out."
Kiyomi watched him carefully.
"It was me."
The corridor fell silent. For once, Luke didn't look like the Sixth Apostle. He looked like a boy trying to understand why his own existence was tearing itself apart.
Then his covenant ring pulsed.
A faint violet light reflected against his glove.
Vera's voice echoed faintly through the connection."Luke."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "Buchou?"
Then: "Don't solve this alone."
Luke froze.Because those weren't the words of a master giving an order.They were the words of someone who had chosen to stand beside him.He looked down at the ring.
For the first time in a long while, the weight on his finger didn't feel like a chain.It felt like an anchor.Luke let out a quiet breath. "...You're really troublesome, you know that?"
Kiyomi smiled faintly. "That's a strange thing to say about someone helping you."
Luke ignored the comment and started walking. "Come on. I need to find a way to stop my powers from killing me."
Kiyomi followed behind him. "And if you can't?"
Luke stopped.For a moment, the Ghost returned.Then he looked forward."Then I'll make them work."
The hallway lights flickered above him.The Sixth Apostle continued walking.Not because he had the answer.But because, for the first time, he wasn't searching alone.
◇ ◇ ◇