Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss-Chapter 237: Left Or Right?

The bell tower groaned beneath Ren's boots as he leaned out over the edge, scanning the cityscape below.

From his vantage point, he could see the roiling chaos stretching across Edenhold.

Smoke curled from the outer districts where King Mikael's army had breached the wall with the wave of corrosion. Even now, resonance enhanced arrows continued to rain death across the city.

The late morning light, which might have once made the white marble of Edenhold's buildings shine like divinity, was instead catching on blood, ruin, and falling debris.

Screams carried through the air, mixing with the metallic ring of steel and the wild, rhythmic pulse of resonance magic.

Ren's eyes drifted from the chaos that was slowly spreading inward from the city's edges toward the holy cathedral that pierced the skyline. Its spires reached toward the heavens like judgmental fingers, still untouched by fire or destruction. That wouldn't last. It couldn't.

He exhaled slowly, his hand slipping into his spatial pouch. Then, he pulled out his beloved sword Freedom.

It was time.

He turned from the window, descending the crumbling bell tower swiftly. At street level, he slipped into the alleyways where the rest of the group was waiting.

"Is it time?" Thorn stood from where he'd been crouched. The streets were nearly empty, with most of the souls gone and in hiding.

Ren gave a single nod, and everybody was immediately alert. He dipped into his spatial pouch and retrieved the very thing he'd stolen for this part of the plan.

The white Chosen cloaks were distributed, and in a few seconds, all five of them had the cloaks around their shoulders.

And with that, they set off on their way.

Ren led the way through the twisting arteries of Edenhold, their cloaks flapping around them.

The chaos of the battle had opened every door they needed. They walked in plain sight through the panicked interior ring, moving through the frazzled Chosen, who were sending messages and running from place to place.

Of course, they tried not to stick out, so that meant moving in a rush. Why would a Chosen be walking so slowly in the middle of the greatest civil war in the kingdom's history?

And so, they blended in. No one questioned them. No one stopped them. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Every few minutes, a small group of ragged Chosen would cross paths with them.

Lilith's fingers twitched at her sides, and her soul threads would do their job. None ever knew they were manipulated in those brief seconds they passed each other.

But they were all subtly manipulated, just enough to steer them away. A slight hesitation here. A false urgency there. None of them suspected.

"Four on the left." Lilith whispered, not looking up.

Ren gave a slight nod, his expression unreadable.

With Valen in the middle of the group, this time, Thorn and Elias brought up the rear.

As they passed, they exchanged glances and an idea sparked within them, without the need for words.

They slipped away together as they sighted what they were looking for. Thorn knelt beside the old wooden warehouse, poured a thin line of oil beneath the doorframe, and signaled Elias.

Elias activated his sword, channeling a brief spark of fire through it. The oil caught, and the fire leapt high, licking up the dry beams.

The flames weren't meant to kill. They were meant to disrupt. The fire would move, drawing more attention to the city itself than the cathedral.

"That'll keep their heads spinning." Thorn muttered as they jogged ahead to catch up.

"Where were you guys?" Ren hissed harshly as they returned.

"Burning a few things." Thorn answered, expression serious. "It'll draw more attention out of the cathedral."

Ren thought about it for a second and nodded, continuing in silence.

Soon, they jogged through the gates of the church, no one there to stop them.

Approaching the cathedral, there was only one word that could describe it. Gigantic. It looked as if someone had built a small city within a city.

The castle was so wide, jogging in a circle around it would be considered a brutal punishment.

Ren led them to the side, and the closer they got, the clearer they could see it. A door. He arrived at a heavy service door with an exhale.

This was the first time he was here in person, but not the first time he'd been here.

In the game, a large part of the red plague storyline had taken place here. By that time, the holy cathedral was already a ruin. And he'd spent hours upon hours, over weeks exploring it. He knew enough to lead the way to where they were going.

He worked the door open and they piled in after him, into a small room that looked like an entrance room.

Here, they stood quietly as Lilith closed her eyes, her head tilted slightly to the side.

"The corridor's clear." She confirmed. "I can't sense any traps or energy patterns. It's clean."

"Then we move." Ren said.

They stepped inside.

The air changed immediately. The roar of war vanished. The silence was heavy, almost reverent. Their footsteps echoed against smooth stone walls, as if the church had been designed to magnify each step by ten fold.

The cathedral's interior was grand and grim, lit only by flickering wall-mounted candles and blessed glass lanterns. Mosaics of the Creator's so-called miracles lined the halls, their painted smiles still shining even now.

Then, they got to the crossroads. Two corridors moving in two different directions.

And Ren paused.

"What now?" Thorn whispered.

"I…" Ren frowned. "I can't remember."

"Wait, what?" Elias blinked.

Ren stared down the identical passages. Yes, he'd explored the place while he'd played the game, but the church was so big that it was hard to remember everything correctly. And to make matters worse, it had been more than six years. His memory wasn't absolute.

"I just can't remember." Ren said softly. "Left?" He stared at the left hallway. "Or right?" He stared at the one on the right.

Valen frowned behind him as he wondered how Ren could've entered the holy cathedral enough times to have a memory of it.

"Ren." Lilith finally spoke. "It doesn't matter." She smiled. "Follow your gut. No matter what you choose, we trust you."

Ren closed his eyes, thinking hard about it. Then, he opened it.

"Right." He said with confidence he didn't feel.

And so, they set off towards the right, not knowing whether they were heading towards salvation or destruction. But at this point, it didn't matter anymore.

They were getting the Blood Chosen, one way or the other.