Chapter 663 - Seventh Story: Above the Demon Lord's Temple ②
In other words, we are apparently looking at the Demon Lord's Palace now. Apparently, because there's no other building that comes to mind.
"In terms of position, we're right above the cave where the Demon Lord will be resurrected, right? And if we look south from the entrance here in the world we were in, we could see the entrance to the cave, right? I think that palace is built in the place that corresponds to that."
If the appearances of the three worlds are the same, it automatically becomes so.
"Then, the Demon Lord before resurrection is in that place, right?"
"Right. But I don't think living humans can go there."
The consultation between Eleanor-sama and the Priestess in one person in two roles continues. The others are just listening in silence. Only Harold-sama and Bonnie are whispering while looking beyond the window together.
"Why is that?"
"Um, you know, ghosts don't need things that humans need to live... for example, food or water, or to put it more simply, air."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. But there are things that, if they weren't there, the ghost body couldn't be maintained. Hey, does Fiona understand?"
She suddenly threw it to me. This time it's not one person in two roles... wait. There's nothing I can answer.
"Spiritual power... perhaps?"
Fiona answered with my voice.
"Correct! You're studying properly, aren't you? You have a good teacher."
"Thank you. I will convey that to the Okugata-sama."
"Then, do you feel it? The spiritual power beyond this window."
"Yes. I can tell somehow. It's quite strong."
"Correct again. if you can tell that much, you'll be able to reach advanced rank soon. Maybe you can even go to super-advanced."
"Is that true?"
"Yeah. You have the talent."
"I'm happy. Thank you very much."
They are being friendly, but if she feels the spiritual power on the other side of the window, are they really connected? And not by Teleport.
"Priestess, may I proceed with the experiment?"
"Yeah, it's fine. Next is Harold-san, right?"
"Hmm. I am ready."
What Harold-sama took out was an arrow with a silver thread attached to it, just like last time. Since it smells like oil, he probably intends to make it a fire arrow. It's shining faintly in the light of the Firefly for illumination. The end of the thread was tied to an iron rod, and Bonnie held it in her hand.
"Lyudmila, please provide a Wind Barrier with a hole."
"Yes. Wind Barrier!"
Lyudmila deploys a Wind Barrier as if to block the window. There's a hole the size of a fist in the middle.
"Jeanne, a wall of Light is needed. Please turn off the Fireflies. Wilhelmina, a lantern."
"Yes."
"I have accepted."
Will lit a lantern, and I canceled the Light.
"If something happens, I'll have you block it with Light. If I or the Priestess give the signal, or if Jeanne herself judges it necessary, after Lyudmila cancels the Wind Barrier, please release it with all your might without hesitation."
"Yes. I understand."
Eleanor-sama gives instructions one after another. A sense of tension is rising.
When Harold-sama slowly drew his bow and released it with a "hyo," a black ball of fire flew away. The target of the fire arrow is quite far above the palace. The arrow, which was first released diagonally upward, of course fell more and more in a parabola. There's no blurring to the left or right. Is there no wind either?
The reason for the small rustling sound at his feet is probably because the silver thread, which is in a loop, is being pulled. After all, the inside and outside of the window are connected.
"There was resistance when going outside, although it was very slight. It seems to be partitioned by something like an invisible thin film."
A film... in other words, a barrier. There was something similar when I met Dune or when I met Mel. In Dune's case, it was stopping the water of the lake. It was probably made of water. Since the underwater was a world like being in a white mist, it was white even when looking at the underwater from the film.
Wait? Wait a minute. This place is dark, so it's black. That means.
"Um, is it okay?"
"Did you think of something? Jeanne."
"Er, it's just a possibility, but doesn't it look pitch black because the film-like thing Harold-sama mentioned earlier is black?"
"Why do you think so?"
I convey what happened when I first met Dune. At that time, only I and Robinson-san saw it.
"Hmm. Interesting."
Harold-sama was the first to react.
"However, at that time, the other side of the film was pure white and nothing could be seen, right?"
"But it wasn't darkness either."
"What do you mean?"
It's mist. When you shine light on mist, it looks unusually white. It's as if the mist has become thicker. I've encountered thick mist during the day before. When I shone a Light on it, the whiteness stood out even more, and it became harder to see. At that time, even though it was underwater, it was unusually bright. There was light. So, it could only be seen as pure white. When I first met Mel, there was a similar film. However, that one couldn't be broken even when Henry-sama poked it with a silver spear. The toughness is different from this one. Also, Harold-sama said the resistance the arrow received was very slight. The thickness might be different.
"Then, I'll just stick my face in and take a look."
At the Priestess's words, no one could object, and it was decided to actually have the Priestess take a look once the arrow was safely recovered.
The arrow was recovered safely. All the thread was out, and there was a feeling of it swaying, so it probably didn't reach the ground. Harold-sama held the rod the thread was tied to and another rod in both hands, and by skillfully rotating the two rods as if straddling them and pulling the thread, the arrow came up.
"Watch carefully."
When he pulled out the arrow itself, it looked like it got caught a bit at the arrowhead. There was resistance. The existence of the film was understood because Harold-sama identified it when he released it. He identified the very slight movement of the released arrow.
"Well, I'll go take a look."
The Priestess slipped out of Eleanor-sama's body.
"Ah, wait a minute. Jeanne, get closer to the window."
It was Fiona.
When I wondered what she was doing, she put her upper body out of my stomach, stretched out both hands, and grabbed the Priestess's waist.
"I'll support you."
"Hehe. Thank you."
I see. If a human supports her, there's a possibility she'll slip through.
Eleanor-sama brought the bowl as close as possible, and the Priestess stuck her face into the window right in front of my eyes.
For a while, she was looking around in various directions, but in the meantime, her shoulders started moving up and down as if she had started deep breathing. What on earth is she doing?
"Amazing! The Priestess's spiritual power is rising!"
It was Fiona. What does that mean?
"The Priestess is taking in the spiritual power from the other side."
Is such a thing possible?
"Um, you know, it's like a monster taking in magic power. I'm sure she'll power up."
"Is it okay?"
I hope her body doesn't suddenly become large. I don't know if the concept of health exists for ghosts, but I'm worried about that aspect too.
"There are places with strong spiritual power in our world too. The Interstice where I'm training is like that. When you're in such a place, your spiritual power rises. According to the Okugata-sama, it's the same as an evil spirit taking in other spirits to become powerful, and the spiritual body doesn't particularly change."
"I see."
"Yeah. So, Jeanne..."
"Fiona wants to do it later too, right?"
"Yeah. Is it okay?"
"Let's ask the Priestess. If the Priestess says it's okay, I think it's fine."
"Yeah! Thank you!"
Ghosts also become powerful if they are in a place with high spiritual power.
I heard that Dragonewts are doing fertility activities in places where magic power is concentrated, and Sertoria's magic soldiers are training in places where magic power is concentrated. There are various things.
The Priestess returns and merges with Eleanor-sama.
"It was an amazing place!"
Her emotions are leaking out. It's being transmitted to everyone with Thought Communication. In short, the pitch blackness didn't change, but it's apparently filled with spiritual power so strong it's unthinkable in the world we live in. The scenery apparently looks black because the spiritual power is too concentrated. She said the film itself was also black, but that wasn't all.
However, black spiritual power... maybe it's the thing humans call miasma.
However, that spiritual power was not like that of an evil spirit, but was surprisingly overflowing with freshness. She said it was just like a temple.
"How should I put it, if the place where the ascended souls go is the Goddess's place, this might be a place where ghosts who can't ascend come to reflect on their lives."
She's quite excited. I don't understand the meaning of what she's saying.
"Priestess, may I do it too?"
"Do it, do it. You might reach advanced rank."
"Is that true? Th-Then, I'll do it."
"This time, I'll support you. You know how to take in spiritual power, right?"
"Yes. I've been taught by the Okugata-sama."
"Then, do your best."
"Yes!"
The conversation between ghosts ended, and this time Fiona stuck her face in. After looking around just like the Priestess, she's deep breathing.
"She's doing it well. I'm sure she can become powerful."
The Priestess guaranteed it. Advanced rank? I'm looking forward to it.
It seems spiritual power is not something that can be absorbed indefinitely. Just as humans become full, there's a limit. And just like people who eat a lot and don't exercise only get a big belly, it doesn't become power.
"I'm sure the Queen she serves will train her thoroughly."
I see. It's not enough to just absorb it.
"Is it about time? I've absorbed as much as can be used for intense training."
Intense... My condolences.
Just as the Priestess reached out her hand to Fiona, Fiona came back. Moreover, it was a feeling of hurriedly pulling back her neck that she had stuck out of the window.
"I-It's a disaster!"
"What's wrong?"
The Priestess is composed to the end.
"A huge number of ghosts are flying this way!"
When I looked out the window, I could see countless black shadows flying from the direction of the palace.
"I'll use Light! Priestess and Fiona, merge!"
"You don't have to panic. Those guys aren't ghosts."
"Eh?"
I was stopped by the Priestess. Fiona, whose neck popped out from my right shoulder as she tried to merge with me with too much momentum, let out a silly voice.
"They're probably Pretas."
Pretas? Like a money-grubber, that kind of guy?
According to the Priestess, Pretas are those who left behind unfulfilled desires... especially strong greed... in this world, and even after becoming ghosts, they remain greedy. They are apparently self-inflicted people who were too greedy to ascend. Combined with the story from earlier, they might be there to reflect.
If you leave behind unfulfilled desires, you become a ghost; if you leave behind resentment, you become an evil spirit; and if you leave behind greed, you become a Preta. In a large category, that's how it goes. According to the Priestess, there are many more types, but in short, it's just a difference in words, like a personality. If that's the case, there would be as many types as there are ghosts.
Pretas, so to speak, are stingy, so they want to be in a place with a lot of spiritual power and don't want to go to a place with little. So, they won't come to this side, she said. In another sense, it's a disappointment.
In fact, they approach the window, but they don't try to come to this side. Since the Priestess and Fiona could put their faces out, they should be able to come if they tried. Despite surrounding us enough to be called a wall of people, they are just watching. Occasionally, they fly over, but they just cross by.
"Ah, I know. Shall I teach you why living humans shouldn't enter? Jeanne, do you have the dried meat you always have?"
Of course, I have it. I brought two today.
When I took out one, the Priestess cut off a piece about the size of a handful with the knife at her waist and threw it toward the film.
The Pretas changed suddenly!
I can't see them. I just felt it. Like an Ogre in the middle of a battle, they opened their large mouths as if letting out a roar, bared their teeth, and with bloodshot eyes, they pounced on the fragment. When one held it in its hand, the others pounced on that Preta.
Being speechless with fear is exactly this. Lyudmila clung to me, and Henry-sama and Harold-sama drew the knives at their waists with a speed the eye couldn't follow and stood ready.
Beyond the window, the Pretas are engaged in a scuffle for the fragment. Because they were this shallow, they might not have been able to ascend...
"You understand, right? What happens if a human... in other words, raw meat enters."
They would be eaten. Just imagining it makes me shudder.
I've heard stories about being eaten to death in battles with monsters, but fortunately, I've never seen it. I've seen someone being bitten, though.
Finally, one Preta who won the scuffle pushed the dried meat into its mouth, and the matter was settled. Aside from the Preta who was chewing the dried meat with a satisfied look, the others again kept their distance from the window and watched us. What a thing. If you are too greedy, the Goddess won't welcome you after you die, that's what priests tell people. Even so, humans are greedy. Is this their end... Humans are truly...
"Eh? Something's strange."
The Preta who had been chewing the mouthful of dried meat seems to be closing its eyes and shedding tears. Was it that delicious?
"Maybe because it was originally human. They probably haven't eaten proper food for a long time. And that dried meat is delicious. Maybe it remembered the old days."
Somehow, I started to feel sorry for it. I unintentionally offer a prayer. Since the Priestess and Fiona are here, I don't offer a prayer for ascension. It's a very general prayer to the Goddess. The Priestess also chanted along.
In the meantime, it faded away like a shadow thinning when the sun is clouded, and finally became invisible. However, I felt a chill for a moment.
"Eh? It ascended."
Eeeeeeeeeee! W-With dried meat?
"Jeanne is a bishop, right? A bishop is a religious leader, right? And I am too. In short, Jeanne, the leader, brought the dried meat, and I, the leader, handed it over, and while it was eating, the two of us prayed. So, I think it was completed. I think it went safely to the Goddess's world."
Then, the chill from earlier...
"Right, it came to this world once to pass through to the Goddess's world. Since it passed through upward, it probably could go outside, and I think it ascended safely."
I see. That's good. We were able to send it off safely.
After that, the rest was fast. First, everyone shared the work of cutting the remaining dried meat into fragments, and while the Priestess and I prayed, we threw them out of the window one after another. Other people also chanted along. We also used Highway Cookies. Harold-sama and Bonnie also had dried meat. Since we threw them in more and more, no scuffle occurred. It became like feeding chicks in a bird's nest. I thought we would run out, but we somehow made it in time, and everyone who came near the window ascended. It would be a problem if more came, and we ran out of time. We ended it here for now and returned to the fortress.