Chapter 199 - The Sunken Church and the Church of Light (Part Three)
We returned to the altar and froze. Countless arms had sprouted from the floor, covering its entire surface. They were a translucent white, devoid of life, swaying like spectral plants.
"Marmie!"
I yelled, drawing my sword. Hearing my voice, Marmie readied her wand. The garrison soldiers formed a protective circle around her, swords drawn.
Several of the arms stretched toward us, elongating unnaturally as they closed in. I slashed at one, but my blade passed right through it.
"What?!"
As I cried out in shock, a palm touched my body. It was as cold as ice. A violent chill shot through me, and I felt as if my life force was being siphoned away. Panicking, I swung my sword wildly, but the blade passed through harmlessly, and a white hand seized my arm. The chill returned, sapping the strength from my limbs and making me stumble.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning shot past me. It was Marmie's lightning magic. The arm struck by the bolt vanished like mist, leaving behind a wisp of white steam. The hand gripping my arm disappeared as well, but where it had touched, a white, bruise-like mark remained.
"…Mash, do not forget to circulate your mana. Those hands drain life."
Just as Marmie spoke, one of the soldiers collapsed. Before we could even call out to him, a new wave of countless hands surged toward us. She unleashed another bolt of lightning, clearing the area around us, but new arms instantly grew from the floor to replace them.
"…There is no end to them," Marmie muttered, a drop of sweat trickling down her forehead.
I had to stay calm. Her magic was effective. I stopped my frantic swings and took a proper fighting stance. Calming my mind, I unleashed a clean, horizontal slash. I still felt no impact, but the white arms vanished.
"Marmie, I'll handle the ones around us. I need you to make a path to the door."
"…The door may not open."
"If it doesn't, I'll summon Racshell."
Even if that knocked me out, two soldiers were still standing. They should be able to carry me out. Just as Marmie nodded, the stone statue she had toppled—the one modeled after the goddess—began to tremble.
Vein-like patterns spread across the surface of the broken pieces. They extended like threads, connecting with other fragments, and the statue began to repair itself.
"Marmie!"
At my cry, Marmie raised her wand.
"…Lightning Magic: Lightning Bolt!"
A blinding flash erupted from the tip of her wand with a deafening roar, striking the statue directly. The arms around it dissipated, and the smell of ozone filled the air.
"Did you get it?"
"…No."
The statue had reformed into the shape of a goddess and was now standing. Its once plaster-white skin now had a fleshy texture, moving with a terrifying smoothness. It had two full breasts covered by a smooth white tunic and an iridescent sash. The only differences from the usual Racshell were the two white wings sprouting from its back and the fact that it had no head. Fresh blood streamed from its neck, staining its white tunic and body crimson.
"Marmie, all the enemies you fight are headless."
"…Would you prefer it had a face?"
A face would probably make it less terrifying. But this enemy was a replica of Racshell; fighting it without a face might actually be easier.
"…Mash, this may be a dungeon. Our imaginations, and yours, may have created a monster of the goddess."
If she was right, that probably wasn't the whole story. The statue had been shaped like the goddess from the start. It was likely created from the faith of all those who had visited this church.
I raised my sword toward the statue. Thanks to Marmie's lightning, the area around the monster was clear of the white arms. This was our chance for a swift attack. Leaving Marmie's protection to the soldiers, I dashed toward the creature and leaped, bringing my sword down in a powerful overhead strike.
The blade met the monster's shoulder, but it was deflected with a high-pitched metallic screech. Its body was like solid steel.
"What the hell?!"
I focused my strength and struck again, but my blade still couldn't cut into its body. The monster raised a hand toward the ceiling, and the space above it seemed to warp. A spear materialized from the distortion. The creature grasped it and lunged with a simple, artless thrust. I parried it, my hand tingling from the impact, but the spear's assault didn't stop with a single blow. It unleashed a flurry of consecutive thrusts. I couldn't even find an opening to counterattack, forced to retreat as I dodged the blows. Suddenly, a white hand grabbed my leg, and the moment my movement was stopped, the spear pierced my left shoulder.
"Guh!"
Pain warped my vision. I could see my blood dripping from the tip of the withdrawn spear. As the monster raised its weapon to deliver the final blow, Marmie unleashed another lightning bolt.
"…Mash!"
Her cry echoed through the church. I glanced over and saw her looking at me, her face on the verge of tears. One of the soldiers guarding her was down and not getting up, but the other two were still standing, fending off the white arms. I couldn't pull them away from protecting her. I had to protect Marmie, no matter what. I wouldn't waste the opening she created for me. I swung my sword, clearing the white hands clinging to my legs.
I tried to assume a proper stance but realized my left arm wouldn't rise from the pain. I had no choice but to grip my sword with only my right hand. The tip wavered unsteadily. Another lightning bolt struck the monster. The blast seemed to temporarily halt its movements, but it didn't look like it was doing any real damage.
I readjusted my grip, trying to still the trembling in my arm, and stared at the blade. This wasn't my usual partner, but it was a masterpiece that Marianne had treasured. I would cut the monster down with my next strike. Just as I resolved to close the distance, the monster beat its white wings and soared into the air.
"Tch!"
It was out of my sword's reach. Light particles began to gather at the tip of its spear, and I could feel an immense amount of magic concentrating there. I launched an `Icicle` from my water magic at the enemy, but the arrow of ice shattered against its body without piercing it.
"…Mash, get back. I will block it with a defensive wall."
I retreated at her words, slashing away the white hands that pursued me. I had just reached the altar where Marmie stood when the statue monster brandished its rainbow-hued spear and hurled it at us. With perfect timing, Marmie erected a magical barrier. It was the same kind she'd used against the pirate ship to block Komachi's special skill—not meant to take the hit head-on, but to deflect it at an angle.
The barrier shattered with a deafening roar, but it had succeeded in altering the spear's trajectory. The weapon smashed through the church's stained-glass window and plunged into the lake far below. A violent explosion sent a massive column of water into the air. The blast wave tore through the church, filling the air with a fine mist. I held Marmie tight to keep her from being blown away, stunned by the terrifying destructive power.
The goddess monster floated serenely in the air, seemingly unaffected by the blast. It didn't seem to be descending. It flapped its wings, but I had the feeling that wasn't how it was staying aloft.
"Is there a spell that lets you fly…?"
At that height, my sword was useless. My water magic and Marmie's lightning didn't seem to be working either. The monster raised a spear again, its tip aimed at us. I couldn't tell if it had retrieved the one it had thrown or created a new one, but I could see magic concentrating at the point once more.
"You need mana to create magic, right? Doesn't it take time to gather it again after using so much?"
I'd been told that mana flooded this world when the goddess Lishar destroyed one of the three sacred treasures brought during the ancient war of the gods—the Flask of Holy Oil. By taking in that mana as magical power, one could use magic. After unleashing such a powerful attack, it should take time before it could use magic again.
"…I do not know. But mana is overflowing from the monster's body," Marmie replied.
The monster was preparing to launch the same attack. We couldn't let it hit us again.
As the wind died down, I let go of her. I took out a health potion and drank it, not knowing how much it would help my shoulder. The two soldiers seemed to be unharmed, but they were staring blankly at the monster. The white hands, which had temporarily retreated after the monster's spear attack, were now stretching out to grab us again. One of the soldiers was caught in multiple places and fell. The remaining soldier, his face pale, swung his sword frantically to keep the white hands at bay.
"Marmie, I need you to deploy a defensive wall horizontally. Make it so it can reach the monster's feet."
"…A defensive wall is not something you can run on."
She had figured out my plan to run across it and strike the monster.
"…But, this might work."
She raised her wand and used earth magic to create a giant stone sphere. She launched it toward the monster's feet, then another and another, creating a series of footholds. The monster continued to gather magic at the tip of its spear. There was no time. Marmie fired another lightning bolt as a diversion. Under the cover of her attack, I ran.
I placed my left hand on the hilt. It hurt, but I could manage one swing. I would bet everything on that single strike. I leaped from one stone sphere to the next, then launched myself toward the monster. It sensed my movement and turned its spear toward me, throwing it without hesitation.
I believed that there was nothing this sword could not cut. I would cleave through the spear and the monster along with it. I focused my entire being into this one strike, into the very tip of this blade. I swung the sword in a clean horizontal arc, aiming for the tip of the oncoming spear.
The spear, split clean in two, flew past me on either side at incredible speed. The blade sliced through the monster's spear and bit into its torso, stopping halfway through. I put more force into it, trying to sever it completely, but the blade would not go any further. I heard the sound of the spear fragments hitting the floor behind me, but there was no explosion. I was left dangling in the air, still gripping the hilt of my sword. The monster raised its fist and struck me. The impact forced me to let go of the sword, and I was slammed to the floor.
I had managed to damage it, but I couldn't defeat it. The pain was so intense I couldn't even stand. I barely managed to lift my head and saw the monster already holding another spear.
"Kuh…!"
I bit my lip in frustration. My own strength wasn't enough to cut it down. The only option left was to summon the goddess. I regretted not calling her from the start. But even if we defeated this enemy, would we be freed from the church?
Just then, Marmie's clear, determined voice rang out.
"…Lightning Magic: Lightning Flash!"
A bolt of lightning erupted from her wand. It was far more intense than before, a blinding flash accompanied by a deafening roar of thunder. The strike hit the sword embedded in the monster's abdomen, coursing through its body, destroying it from the inside out, and blowing it to pieces. The stench of burnt flesh filled the church.
The monstrous presence vanished from the church, and the countless hands disappeared with it. Marmie came over and gave me a health potion. I could finally move on my own.
"…Once we return to the fort, you can be treated at the church."
She said, handing me the sword she'd picked up. The guard was charred black and the hilt smelled burnt, but the blade itself seemed fine.
"That was a cruel thing to do."
"…I did the same to Fam's kunai. She was not angry."
I wondered if Marianne would be so forgiving when she saw this. I sheathed the sword.
"What about the two soldiers who fell?"
"…They seem to be all right."
I looked at the altar and saw the two soldiers were back on their feet, with the third giving them health potions.
"…And also…"
I followed Marmie's gaze. Where the monster had been, the spear it had used lay on the floor, and floating in the air above it was a Crystal Core, radiating a rainbow-colored light.
"…It seems it was inside the statue."
"Should we destroy it?"
"…I checked the door, and it appears we can leave. I do not think we need to break it."
"Do you want to keep it, Marmie?"
"…Is that all right? But it would be better to give it to Maira to compensate for the cathedral's lost Crystal Core."
"I don't think we were at fault for that incident at all. But you're right. Building goodwill is better than being resented."
As I considered this, a thought occurred to me. Was this phenomenon related to the disappearance of the cathedral's Crystal Core? Strange occurrences might have happened here before, but people hadn't actually gone missing. Was it a coincidence that three soldiers vanished right after the cathedral's Crystal Core disappeared?
It was Racshell who made the Crystal Core disappear. And it was Racshell who was worshipped in this church. As one of the Five Pillars, Racshell was an object of faith for many, so this church wasn't necessarily special. But could this really be just a coincidence? I couldn't help but ponder the strange alignment of events. For now, though, I just wanted to get out of this place as quickly as possible. I stored the monster's leftover spear and the Crystal Core in my storage.
When we crossed the bridge of light and returned to the shore, the fireflies that formed the church began to scatter, one by one. Like a sandcastle in the wind, its form crumbled, and the fireflies ceased their glowing, melting away into the darkness. And then, there was nothing left but the surface of the lake, reflecting the moon.
"What on earth just happened…?" one of the soldiers murmured to no one in particular.
"…The resentment of the villagers who remained?"
Marmie squeezed my hand. It was a little cold, but small and soft.
"Maybe…" I said. "If your ghost story was true, the people who opposed moving the village stayed behind. But was that really their choice? If they made that decision willingly, would they have left behind such a powerful grudge?"
"…What do you mean?"
Marmie tilted her head. The church's secret room was designed so that you had to move the altar to get inside. If you were going to hide there, someone would have to move the altar back into place after you were inside. The people hiding couldn't do it themselves. That means someone who was leaving the village must have moved the altar back.
What were they thinking when they did that? We have no way of knowing now. But it seemed to me that only a very specific person could have done it—someone who knew the location of the hidden room, had the key to it, and knew that some of the villagers were hiding there. I thought about it again. Did the villagers who stayed behind truly do so of their own free will? Did they even know the location of the secret room?
The church that holds the truth to that mystery now lies silent, deep at the bottom of the lake.
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