kscans

Chapter 199 - The Sunken Church and the Church of Light (Part 3)

When we returned to the altar, we all froze.

Countless arms were sprouting from the floor.

They were a translucent white, devoid of life, swaying like plants in a breeze.

"Mo!"

I shouted, drawing my sword. Hearing my voice, Marmi readied her wand.

The garrison soldiers also drew their swords, forming a circle around Marmi.

Several of the arms stretched toward us, extending unnaturally as they closed in.

I slashed at one, but my blade passed right through it.

"What the—!"

As I cried out in surprise, a palm touched my body. It was as cold as ice. A powerful chill shot through me, and I felt as if my life force was being drained away.

Panicked, I swung my sword wildly, but the blade passed through harmlessly, and a white hand seized my arm.

The chill hit me again, and my strength abandoned me, causing me to stagger.

A bolt of lightning shot past me.

It was Marmi's lightning magic. The arm struck by the lightning dissolved into what looked like white steam and vanished.

The hand gripping my arm disappeared as well.

But where it had touched me, a white bruise in the shape of a hand remained.

"...Mash, don't forget to circulate your mana. Those hands drain life,"

Marmi said. At that very moment, one of the soldiers collapsed.

Before I could even call out to him, countless more hands lunged at us.

She unleashed another bolt of lightning. The white arms around us were wiped out, but new ones instantly sprouted from the floor.

"...There's no end to them,"

Marmi muttered. A drop of sweat trickled down her forehead.

I had to stay calm. Magical attacks worked.

I stopped swinging my sword blindly and took a proper stance. Calming my mind, I unleashed a clean horizontal slash. As before, I felt no resistance, but the white arms vanished.

"Mo, I'll handle the enemies around us. I need you to clear a path to the door."

"...The door might not open."

"Then I'll summon Laciel."

Even if I collapsed, two soldiers were still standing. They should be able to carry me out.

Just as Marmi nodded, the stone statue of the goddess she had knocked over began to shake.

Fine, capillary-like veins appeared on the surface of the statue's fragments. They stretched out like threads, connecting to other pieces and pulling them back together, restoring the statue to its original form.

"Mo!"

At my word, Marmi raised her wand.

"...Lightning Magic, Thunder!"

A flash of light erupted from the tip of her staff with a deafening roar, and a bolt of lightning struck the statue directly.

The arms around it dissipated, and the smell of burnt ozone filled the air.

"Did we get it?"

"...No."

The statue had reformed into the shape of a goddess and was now standing. Its white skin, which should have been made of plaster, moved smoothly with a fleshy texture.

Two prominent breasts, a smooth white tunic covering them, and an iridescent celestial scarf.

What was different from the usual Laciel 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 tunic and white body red.

"Mo, all the enemies you fight are headless."

"...Would you prefer it had a face?"

Having a face would probably make it less terrifying. But this enemy was a replica of Laciel. It might actually be easier to fight without one.

"...Mash, this might be a dungeon. Your imagination and mine created a goddess monster."

If what she said was true, that probably wasn't the whole story. The statue had been in the shape of a goddess from the start. It must have been created by the faith of those who visited this church.

I readied my sword and faced the statue.

Thanks to Mo's lightning, there were no white arms around the monster for now. This was our chance to take it down quickly.

I left Marmi's protection to the soldiers, rushed the monster, and leaped. I raised my sword high and brought it down with all my might.

The bright blade struck the monster's shoulder. But its body was hard, and my blow was deflected with a high-pitched metallic clang.

"What the hell!"

Steeling myself, I struck again, but my blade still couldn't cut through its body.

The monster raised a hand toward the ceiling. The space there seemed to warp and twist. A spear emerged from it. The monster grabbed it and thrust forward casually.

I gritted my teeth against the numbness in my hands and parried the blow. But the spear didn't stop at one attack; it unleashed a flurry of consecutive thrusts.

Unable to counterattack, I was forced to retreat, dodging the thrusts, until a white hand caught my leg. My movement stopped, and a thrust from the spear pierced my left shoulder.

"Guuh!"

My vision swam with pain.

I could see fresh blood dripping from the tip of the withdrawn spear.

Just as the monster raised its spear to finish me off, Marmi unleashed a bolt of lightning.

"...Mash!"

Her cry echoed through the room. I glanced over to see her staring at me, her face on the verge of tears. Of the soldiers protecting her, one was still down, but two were still on their feet, fending off the white arms. I couldn't pull them away from her side.

I would protect Marmi no matter what. I couldn't waste the opportunity she had created for me. I swung my sword, clearing the white hands clinging to my legs.

Then, I tried to return to a proper stance and realized my left arm wouldn't rise due to the pain.

Reluctantly, I held the sword with only my right arm. The tip wavered.

A second bolt of lightning struck the monster. The lightning seemed to be able to temporarily halt the monster's movements, but it didn't look like it was doing any damage.

I tightened my grip on the hilt, steadying the tremble in my arm, and stared at the blade.

This sword wasn't my usual partner, but it was a masterpiece that Maryanne had treasured. I would cut down this monster with my next strike.

Just as I resolved myself and prepared to close the distance, the monster flapped its white wings, spread them wide, and soared into the air.

"Tch!"

My sword couldn't reach it. And I could feel an immense amount of mana gathering at the tip of the monster's readied spear as particles of light converged there.

I unleashed an Icicle from my water magic at the enemy. The arrow of ice shattered against the monster's body instead of piercing it.

"...Mash, get back! I'll block it with a barrier!"

Hearing her voice, I retreated. The white hands pursued me, so I cut them down with my sword and broke free.

I reached the altar where Marmi was just as the statue monster brandished its rainbow-colored spear and hurled it at us.

Perfectly timed, Marmi created a magical defensive wall. Just like the barrier she used to defend against Komachi's special skill in the fight against the pirate ship, it was designed to deflect the attack at an angle rather than take it head-on.

The barrier shattered with a deafening roar, but it seemed to have succeeded in deflecting the spear's trajectory.

The spear smashed through the church's stained-glass window and plunged into the distant lake. An explosive sound followed as a massive column of water erupted into the air. The blast wave tore through the church, and a mist-like spray of water filled the room.

As I trembled at the sheer destructive power, I held Marmi tight to keep her from being blown away.

The goddess statue monster floated serenely in the air, seemingly unaffected by the blast.

It showed no signs of descending. It was flapping its wings, but that didn't seem to be what was keeping it aloft.

"Is there a magic for flying..."

From that position, I couldn't hit it with my sword. My water magic and Marmi's lightning didn't seem to be working either.

The monster readied its spear again, aiming the tip at us. I couldn't tell if it had recalled the spear it just threw or created a new one, but I could see mana gathering at the tip once more.

"You need mana to create magic, right? Once it's consumed, shouldn't it take time to gather more?"

The three sacred treasures were brought to this world during the ancient war of the gods. When the goddess Rishal destroyed one of them, the Jar of Holy Oil, mana flooded the world. I had been told that magic was made possible by taking in that mana as magical power. After releasing such a huge amount of power, it should take time to use magic again.

"...I don't know. But mana is overflowing from within the monster,"

Marmi answered.

The monster was preparing to unleash the same attack again. We couldn't let it hit us.

The gale subsided, and I let go of her.

I didn't know how much it would help the pain in my left shoulder, but I took out a health potion and drank it.

The two soldiers seemed to be unharmed, but they were staring at the monster in a daze.

The white arms, which had temporarily retreated into the floor from the monster's spear attack, were now extending again, trying to grab us. One of the soldiers was caught in multiple places and fell.

The remaining soldier, his face pale, was swinging his sword like a madman to keep the white arms at bay.

"Mo, I need you to deploy a defensive wall horizontally. Make it reach the monster's feet."

"...A defensive wall isn't something you can run on."

She seemed to have realized I intended to run across the barrier and strike the monster.

"...But, this might work."

She held up her wand and used earth magic to create giant stone spheres. She launched them one after another at the monster's feet, creating a makeshift platform.

All the while, the monster continued to gather mana at the tip of its spear. There was no time.

Marmi launched another lightning bolt as a diversion. Using the attack as cover, I ran.

I placed my left hand on the hilt. It hurt, but one swing should be fine. I would bet everything on this one strike.

I ran up the stone spheres scattered on the floor, one, two, then leaped toward the monster.

The monster detected my movement. It aimed the tip of its spear at me and, without a moment's hesitation, threw it.

I had to believe there was nothing this sword couldn't cut. I would cut down both the spear and the monster. I focused my entire being into this single strike, channeling it all into the tip of my blade.

I swung horizontally, aiming for the tip of the oncoming spear.

The spear, split in two, parted to avoid me and flew past at incredible speed.

The sword had sliced the monster's spear clean in half, but its tip stopped after cutting halfway through the monster's torso.

I tried to put more force into it to bisect the creature, but the blade wouldn't go any further.

Behind me, I heard the sound of the spear fragments hitting the floor, but there was no explosion. I was left dangling in mid-air, still gripping the hilt.

The monster's fist swung up and smashed into me. The impact forced me to let go of the sword, and I was sent crashing to the floor.

I had managed to damage it, but I couldn't defeat it. The pain was too much; I couldn't even stand up.

I managed to move my head and look up. The monster already had a spear in its hand.

"Kuh..."

I bit my lip in frustration.

My strength wasn't enough to cut down the monster. The only option left was Goddess Summon. I regretted not calling her from the very beginning. But even if we defeated this enemy, would we be freed from the church?

Just as I thought that, Marmi's clear voice rang out.

"...Lightning Magic, Thunder Ray!"

A bolt of lightning shot from her wand. It was far more intense than before, a blinding flash accompanied by a deafening roar.

The strike hit the sword embedded in the monster's abdomen, destroying its body from the inside out and blowing it to pieces.

The smell of burnt flesh filled the church.

The monster's presence vanished from the church, and the countless hands disappeared as well.

Marmi came over and gave me a health potion to drink. I was finally able to move on my own.

"...We can get you treated at the church back at the fort."

She handed me the sword she had 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 thing to Famu's kunai. She didn't get angry."

I wondered if Maryanne would be angry when she saw this. I sheathed the sword.

"What about the two soldiers who fell?"

"...They seem to be okay."

I looked toward the altar. The two of them were getting up, and the soldier who had remained standing was giving them health potions.

"...And also..."

I followed Marmi's gaze. Where the monster had been, the spear it had used lay on the floor, and floating in the air was a Crystal Core, shining with an iridescent light.

"...It looks like it was inside the statue."

"Should I destroy it?"

"...I checked the door. It seems we can get out, so I don't think you need to break it."

"You want to keep it, Mo?"

"...Are you sure? But it would be better to give it to Myra to compensate for the Great Temple's Crystal Core."

"I don't think we were at fault for that incident at all. But you're right. It's better to be owed a favor than to be resented."

As I thought about it, an idea occurred to me.

Could this phenomenon be related to the disappearance of the Great Temple's Crystal Core?

Strange things may have happened before, but no one had actually gone missing. Was it just a coincidence that three soldiers disappeared after the Great Temple's Crystal Core vanished?

Laciel was the one who made the Crystal Core disappear. And it was Laciel who was worshipped in this church. Laciel is one of the five goddesses and is an object of faith for many people, so this church alone isn't special. But was this really just a coincidence? I couldn't help but think about the strange connection.

Right now, I just wanted to get out of this place as quickly as possible.

I put the monster's leftover spear and the Crystal Core into my storage.

When we crossed the bridge of light and returned to the shore, the fireflies that formed the church began to fly away, one by one.

Like a sandcastle in the wind, its shape crumbled, and the fireflies stopped blinking, melting away into the darkness.

And then, there was nothing but the surface of the lake, reflecting the moon once more.

"What on earth could have caused something like this...?"

one of the soldiers murmured to no one in particular.

"...The lingering resentment of the villagers who stayed behind?"

Marmi squeezed my hand. It was a little cold, but soft and small.

"Maybe... If Mo's ghost story was true, it said that those who opposed the lake stayed behind in this village, but was that really their own choice? If it was their decision, they shouldn't have any lingering regrets, right?"

"...What do you mean?"

Mo tilted her head.

The church's secret room was structured so you had to move the altar to get inside.

If someone were to hide there, after they went into the secret room, someone else would have had to move the altar back into its original position.

Of course, the people hiding couldn't have moved the altar back themselves. That means someone who left the village must have put it back.

What were they thinking when they did that? We have no way of knowing now.

But it seemed to me that only a few people could have done it. Someone who knew the location of the secret room. And someone who had the key to the secret room and knew that some of the villagers were hiding there.

I thought about it again. Did the people who remained in the village truly stay of their own free will? Did they even know the location of the secret room?

And now, the church that holds the truth of that day lies sunken in the deep, dark bottom of the lake.