Chapter 392 - Chapter 7: The Giant's Cave (5)
Suddenly, an intense negative emotion filled my head. I knew it was coming, but I didn't expect it to attack all at once like this. The opponent wasn't holding back either. On the other hand, it had also become weaker than when I first felt it. This is probably because the spirits of the children it had attached to itself had ascended. It had been using the spirits of the children to reinforce itself.
James-sama was staggering. Eleanor-sama had said it. Mages are easily targeted. I set the Firefly's output to the maximum. This time, it's reinforced with two of Price-sama's Holy Lances, so it's a bit hot.
For now, the black mist doesn't appear. However, James-sama, perhaps receiving an attack against his mind, had his eyes firmly closed, his teeth clenched, and was looking up as if something were welling up from the back of his throat. His hands were firmly clasped in front of his chest.
"James! Pull yourself together!"
Gwyn-sama called out to James-sama while drawing his silver sword. He was on guard, looking around. However, the enemy shouldn't be there.
Price-sama, while singing the Chant of Exorcism, pressed the Archbishop's ring against the nape of James-sama's neck.
"Hah!"
James-sama opened his eyes. His pupils were red.
"Guuoooooo!"
He let out a scream.
There was a sizzling sound, an unpleasant smell like burning flesh, and smoke rose from the spot where the ring was pressed.
The evil spirit had already possessed James-sama's body. Although his consciousness hadn't been taken over, it was lurking, merged somewhere in his body. It must have been when he saw the image of the evil spirit. The hands clasped in front of his chest were trembling violently. He was resisting, determined not to have his consciousness taken over.
"Gwyn-sama! The evil spirit is already lurking inside James-sama's body. James-sama is desperately resisting to prevent his consciousness from being taken over. Support him!"
"W-what did you say?"
At Price-sama's words, Gwyn-sama was completely flustered.
"Please make sure the hands James-sama has clasped do not come apart. If he lets go against his will, that will be the end; his agitation will be exploited, and James-sama's magic, with his consciousness completely taken over, will attack us."
"U-understood!"
James-sama was keeping both hands occupied so he couldn't release magic. At Price-sama's words, Gwyn-sama crouched in front of James-sama. He reached his hands toward James-sama's hands.
"James! Hang in there!"
Gwyn-sama's voice echoed. He held James-sama's hands as if covering them.
James-sama, while trembling all over, was desperately enduring to prevent his consciousness from being taken over. His complexion turned pale, and black streaks like cracks began to appear on the surface of his skin.
While chanting along, when I directed the light of the Firefly only at James-sama, smoke began to rise from his body bathed in the light.
"Khah!"
Something like a black mist came out of James-sama's wide-open mouth.
"Is it this guy!"
Gwyn-sama shouted. He reached his right hand toward his own sword.
"Stay as you are! You must not lay a hand on it until it's all out! Jeanne! Illuminate James-sama's heart!"
At Price-sama's words, Gwyn-sama let go of his sword, and I knelt on one knee in front of James-sama.
I lowered the Firefly to James-sama's chest and illuminated mainly around his heart.
James-sama was looking straight up with his mouth wide open.
As I illuminated, the speed at which the mist came out increased, and finally, it was all out.
"Holy Overflow!"
The Overflow of a super-high-level mage exploded. The surroundings were enveloped in dazzling white light.
The light of the Firefly, reinforced by the close-range Overflow, took on even more heat. I held it above my head, diffusing the light in all directions.
The ground shook with a thud.
The negative emotions that had occupied my head gradually faded.
At the same time, dark blue-black flames flared up right nearby.
"Jeanne! The Light!"
"Yes!"
I brought the Firefly to my chest and released the maximum light in front of my body... that is, toward the evil spirit.
Suddenly, I was struck by a headache that felt like my head was splitting.
"Holy Overflow!"
Once again, Price-sama released an Overflow.
Bang! An impact like an explosion without sound occurred, and we were all blown away together.
When I pushed my body up with both hands, I managed to raise my upper body and crouch down. My whole body hurt. Especially the front of my body, which had been facing the evil spirit, was painful. In other words, my face also hurt. Instead, the headache was gone.
"Light!"
It was when I produced a Firefly because it had gone pitch black.
Suddenly, that headache from earlier returned. Suddenly, both my hands were grabbed by something and my back was pressed against the wall. The Firefly fell to the ground. With incredible force, both my arms were spread left and right as if they were about to be torn from my shoulders. It went pitch black before my eyes.
This is bad! I'm enveloped in mist!
He's got some nerve trying to possess me, a priest, head-on! Even if I look like this, I'm a Bishop!
"Light!"
I deactivated the Firefly that had fallen to the ground, opened my mouth wide, and released Light from my mouth with the momentum of biting into the mist in front of me. I gave it my all.
A scream echoed in my head. It was a surprise attack. I could see the rock surface illuminated by the Light I released from my mouth. At least I succeeded in tearing the mist away from around my face.
As if waiting for that, for the third time, Price-sama's Overflow exploded.
"What happened?"
When I once again let one Firefly float above my head, Gwyn-sama was standing using his sword as a staff. As expected of a warrior. While staggering, he came to my side and leveled his sword toward the darkness.
"Please rest assured. That evil spirit has been exorcised. James-sama is also safe."
Price-sama was already standing. No, perhaps the pressure of the Overflow had repelled the pressure of the evil spirit. James-sama was lying at his feet. Whether he was sleeping or not, I could hear him breathing lightly. The cracked skin had also become clean, and the nape of his neck, which had been burned by the ring, had returned to normal. Since he was originally good-looking, being illuminated from above by the light of the Firefly, it was a beautiful sight worth admiring.
"We managed to exorcise it somehow. If possible, I wanted to send it off with Ascension, but it was not to be."
We won because it was Price-sama. It probably couldn't be helped that it turned out this way.
Price-sama performed a funeral prayer, and I chanted along. Gwyn-sama also chanted with us.
"What on earth happened?"
Gwyn-sama, who crouched beside James-sama, asked.
"While we were sending off the children, he took advantage of a gap and the evil spirit entered James-sama's body."
The image of the evil spirit I saw was seen by everyone. He had worked directly on our heads to show the image and divert our attention. And since James-sama was operating the bowl, his consciousness was directed toward the operation of the bowl from the start.
"Curse him, how cowardly."
Gwyn-sama was breathing heavily. It is said that warriors are somehow less likely to be targeted by evil spirits. I think they would be the easiest type to manipulate, but I wonder why.
"There is no moment when a gap is more likely to be created in the heart than when a mage is using magic. It's what you call an unavoidable circumstance. And mages are always manipulating magic. In other words, they are existences close to the demonic. For an evil spirit, they probably have high affinity, so to speak."
I didn't know that evil spirits and mages were of the same kind, but the effects of the arts used by ghosts are very similar to magic. If you say there are commonalities, there are.
"U-ugh..."
James-sama woke up.
"Oh! You're awake."
When Gwyn-sama tried to help him up, James-sama sat up on his own with a start.
"What about that guy?"
He was holding Gwyn-sama's collar with both hands and asking.
"That guy? Which guy?"
He didn't seem to be making much sense. Was he having a dream?
"James-sama. Could the priest you saw be the evil spirit that was trying to possess you?"
Price-sama said that people possessed by ghosts, or those about to be possessed, see the ghost's appearance or images from when they were alive, as if they were dreaming.
If that's the case, the one who was manipulating the souls of those children and turned into an evil spirit was a priest. As a fellow priest, I find that hard to accept.
"Is that so? That guy..."
He seemed to have some recollection. He had a face that seemed strangely convinced.
"If you don't mind, could you tell us about that murdered priest?"
At Price-sama's words, James-sama began to speak as if slowly tracing back his memories.
In a certain era, there was a man. He was from a village not so far from this forest, and was one of five priests whose job was to manage the forest ruins... at that time, a shrine. He was the youngest. The priests, with the help of the villagers, performed their daily duties as priests and managers of the shrine.
One day, a mercenary group thought to have come from the continent visited the shrine. The unit commander was an overbearing man and made a certain demand of the shrine's priests.
He told them to show him the secret treasure enshrined in the shrine.
Of course, the priests refused. The unit commander captured the five priests and ten villagers who had come to help, and decided to torture the priests in order of age. Even if they said there was a Vow of Silence, it didn't work on the pagans.
After torture, the first person died. Then, the second and third died, and it was the fourth's turn. The fourth pointed to the fifth, the youngest priest, and said. Only he knows. In other words, he betrayed them.
The fifth priest could use Light magic. The secret treasure was kept inside a barrier that could only be deactivated with Light magic.
Learning this, the commander did not kill the fourth priest and let him go. And the torture of the youngest priest began.
The torture was extremely severe, but the priest did not speak.
Losing his patience, the mercenary commander decided to kill the villagers who had come to help one by one in front of the priest. He said if you want them to live, speak. The villagers were people he had known since he was a child.
When the third villager was killed and the fourth was dragged out, the young priest abandoned his faith of his own accord. And he told the mercenary commander that there was a barrier in a part of the pedestal of the Goddess statue and the secret treasure was there, and as he was told by the mercenaries who took hostages, he deactivated the barrier with Light magic and showed the secret treasure to the commander. Naturally, the commander stole the secret treasure, and the priest who resisted was killed while being possessed by a strong sense of regret for not being able to fulfill his mission.
The church, learning of this, excommunicated the priest who could not protect the secret treasure and cast his body deep into the limestone cave without a funeral. And an evil spirit was born.
Unbelievable. No, it's something that shouldn't happen. The mercenary unit that took such cruel measures is the height of evil. That's for sure. But why did they excommunicate the priest who consequently saved the lives of the villagers? Certainly, the priest abandoned his faith and spoke the secret. However, as a result, human lives were saved. And the Vow of Silence is a contract with the Goddess. If he were to be punished by the Goddess, that would be one thing, but the church has no right to punish him.
"It must be one of the dark histories of the church. They should have appreciated him and denounced the mercenary group. In that sense, I also couldn't save him. It's truly a pity."
Price-sama prayed for the priest whose name he didn't know, and I knelt and chanted along.
"In other words, the Black Stone isn't here. Then, let's at least search for his remains and give him a funeral."
Gwyn-sama said. The secret treasure was stolen by the mercenary group.
"Gwyn-sama, as for the Black Stone, let's investigate a little more. Since it's at least not the Goddess statue that was above, let's search for a Goddess statue within this cave. Also, let's confirm with the Morandine Royal Family and the Royal Capital Great Church."
"That's fine, but do the current church or royal family know anything?"
Gwyn-sama tilted his head at Price-sama's words.
"There's a possibility the mercenary group was the group that founded the Morandine Royal Family. Also, in the dream I saw, there was a village not so far from here. However, there is no such village now. That also bothers me. There should be some record left in the church."
Price-sama was nodding at James-sama's words. They must have the same thought.
"In any case, let's return to base for today. Shall we do the collection of the children's remains and the search for the priest's remains from tomorrow onwards?"
Price-sama's proposal was accepted, and we decided to return on the bowl.
When we returned to the fortress, Roberts-sama's diversionary unit had already returned.
"Oh, you're back. How did it go?"
Roberts-sama raised his hand.
Since this isn't the place, we holed up in a separate room including Sir Edgar.
After clearing the room and casting Mute, we finally spoke about the purpose of the investigation.
"I-in other words, a secret treasure handed down from ancient times once existed in that ruin, and perhaps our royal family plundered it?"
"It might be a story from before the founding. And it's not necessarily Morandine. We don't know when or who plundered it either."
All we know is that it was a mercenary group, and a pagan mercenary group at that. And at that time, the Kingdom of Morandine did not exist.
"What does that mean?"
Price-sama asked. He probably never thought I could specify the era when the plunder incident occurred.
"Probably, it's at least six hundred years ago. In that period, only the country that was the predecessor of Medioland barely existed among the current royal families."
Users of Light have been confirmed roughly every two hundred years. Currently it's me, two hundred years ago it was the First King, four hundred years ago it was the northern person who went up the mountain and was turned into a Revenant, and eight hundred years ago it was King Griffith. The ruins related to the Black Stones were probably built by the Priestess over five thousand years ago. And the residents who came from the continent became small lords in various places over three thousand years ago, and it was a thousand years ago that Undead became a forbidden magic and changed into Revenants and they began to hire mercenaries. Perhaps it's a story from such an era, but at least, there's no doubt it's an event from over six hundred years ago.
Everyone's eyes widened, but Price-sama said, "I see." Come to think of it, among the members currently present, the only ones who know about King Griffith, excluding Fiona who is in the crystal, are Price-sama and Harris-sama.
"Most likely, it's as Jeanne says. Of course, the existence of unconfirmed Light users is also assumed, but for now, we don't need to think deeply about that. In any case, it might become one of the clues. The important thing is the whereabouts of the lost secret treasure. Is there anyone in the current royal family who is knowledgeable about relics of the past?"
Skillful. As expected of the Vice-Archbishop of the Medioland Royal Capital Great Church. By saying this, the tone of denouncing the mercenary group is weakened. Incidentally, I told them that the secret treasure is a thin Black Stone.
As expected, Sir Edgar decided to inquire with the royal family if that was the case.
"Next is the Morandine Royal Capital Great Church."
Price-sama, who saw off Sir Edgar as he went to the royal capital for the inquiry with a gentle smile, turned his expression stern as soon as it was just us.
"The reason he became such an evil spirit is because the Archbishop at that time made a mistake in judgment. Records of excommunicated priests are supposed to be kept. After making a formal apology and lifting the excommunication, let's find his remains even if we have to have the church assist. Then, we will collect the remains of the children and build a grave."
"T-that would be for the best."
For some reason, Harris-sama was flustered. He might have remembered the incident with the King from some time ago.
As for the other diversionary unit, the requirement seemed to have ended easily.
In short, they apparently wanted to confirm the coordination between the monsters of the ruins and the monsters of the wasteland.
"There is no coordination between the ruins and the Demon Realm. To be precise, even if one forest is attacked, the other does not intervene. However, if you intrude into the wasteland, the Demon Realm side will launch an attack, while the ruins side just stays on guard around the forest. What we could confirm through the crossing was only those going from the Demon Realm to the ruins, and we confirmed several Orcs. An Ogre also tried to go with them, but it came back."
Hmm. Was the Ogre kicked out? If so, it seems it's disliked here too. Perhaps it's because there are Goblins on the ruins side. If there were Ogres in the ruins, the Goblins might be bullied. If the Gigant doesn't allow that, there is room for negotiation, just like with the Dullahan.
"Quite interesting. Among monsters, humanoids, especially Ogres, might be different from other monsters in some way."
Price-sama said. It would be appreciated if they could cooperate in the Ogre measures for northern Nakanohara.
According to Keira, originally humanoid monsters are born as a result of evil spirits possessing living creatures. I don't know what kind of difference there is between Ogres and others, but the original evil spirit is different...
Simple and muscle-brained Orcs. Intelligent but ill-natured Ogres. Large-bodied but agile, yet unexpectedly cowardly Cyclopes. Slow but brave Trolls. And intelligent, strong, and kind-hearted Gigants. They're just like humans. Could the original evil spirits be humans?
Wait a minute.
In recent years, the monsters of the Demon Realm have increased significantly. And at the mound we stopped at on the way to Morandine, there were many ghosts of those who died in the battle against the Revenants. And according to the ghosts, many more ghosts had vanished somewhere.
Could it be...