Chapter 207
Chapter 207
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 207
Chapter Title: Reunion (2)
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Delohim Church's first cathedral.
The church headquarters of the order, located in a fallen kingdom, was on a scale far beyond my wildest imagination. I'd never seen a religious structure this massive before.
"...Bigger than the Star Temple?"
Even the temple in the Holy Kingdom, the order's central hub, wasn't this grand. I followed behind Cardi, taking in the sight of the church.
Cracked walls.
Collapsed sections.
The church, abandoned for centuries, was piled high with ash. Every step I took sent ash swirling into the air on the wind. There were no worshippers praying here, no priests preaching the word of the gods.
But the sanctity remained.
Ancient script, as if transcribed from the gods' own words, covered the walls. It wasn't just letters arranged in rows. The twisted patterns and alignments exuded an air of mystery.
And from mystery, divinity is born.
Even I, who didn't believe in the stars and saw the Delohim Church as little more than a pile of filth in the sewers... felt some divine presence in this place.
"...Impressive."
The church was defiled and ruined, but it seemed even the flow of time couldn't erase the sanctity that lingered here.
"What was the Delohim Church like in your era?"
"They believed in the gods but never forced their faith on others."
Cardi replied without breaking stride.
"They had their quirks, but their core doctrine always emphasized human salvation. Though interpretations varied wildly."
Cardi gave a wry smile.
"We're almost there."
He stopped walking.
A sudden gust scattered the ash into the air. It floated up, then settled back down like falling snow.
"This is it."
Cardi turned to me amid the drifting ash.
"Beyond this door lies a path underground. That's where the grail is enshrined."
What came into view was a firmly shut door. Flanking it were massive statues, their crossed swords barring the way.
Huge swords crossed to block the door.
I stared at them as I pulled off my gloves with a snap. I'd encountered similar statues in the north before. Though those had been much smaller by comparison.
"Just smash them, right?"
As I clenched my fist, Cardi shot me a weary look.
"Smash what? Just open it."
"...Just open it?"
"You think I activated those statues in the wasteland for fun? This is a mechanism. And not the kind you can smash."
Cardi tapped the statues casually.
"Only a being with the power of the stars—like a saintess or hero—can enter here. That's how it's designed."
"...I see."
I narrowed my eyes.
Now I noticed the faint starlight surrounding the door. Circuits etched into it resonated with the glow.
...This.
I'd seen it a few times before.
Skeval's altar, which only Kyle's holy sword could destroy, had the same structure.
"...Looks like the one from Skeval's altar."
"He must've copied it. But not perfectly. Creating this required Gleria's divine power as an essential element."
Cardi pointed to the center of the crossed swords. There was a small indentation like a keyhole.
"Infuse starlight here, and the door opens. No shortcuts."
Just mimicking Kyle's holy sword like at Skeval's altar wouldn't cut it. I stared at the hole in the center of the crossed blades and spoke up.
"So how do we open it? Neither of us has starlight. I could burn some lifespan to make it, but..."
"Normally, you couldn't. Normally."
But, Cardi added.
"I can."
He reached into the hole.
Then slowly twisted his wrist to the right.
"Because I'm the one who designed this mechanism."
A click echoed from the statues. Cardi pulled his hand out and stepped back a few paces. Soon, the two statues began to vibrate.
Rumble. Roooarumble.
The ground shook with them. Ash and stone dust poured down from the statues. The guardians of the door began to move slowly.
The crossed swords before the door shifted.
The blades, angled toward the ground, now pointed skyward. The statues raised their swords perpendicular to the heavens.
Click.
Another mechanism engaged. This time from the sealed door itself.
"It's open."
Cardi said curtly, and the door swung open.
It opened without a sound—not even the slightest creak. Smoothly and silently, as if bypassing centuries of time.
"Let's go down."
Beyond the open door lay a spiral staircase descending underground. No need for torches or light spells.
...Starlight.
It emanated from within, illuminating the path.
2.
The church basement was a vast open chamber lined with pillars.
They seemed to support the church above, yet also just for decoration. There were thirty-seven in total, but I had no idea what the number signified.
"Just think of it as a sacred number. Digging deeper won't help much."
That was all Cardi said.
As we walked between the pillars, starlight began flowing beneath our feet. It traced the circuits etched into the floor.
Just like the northern holy site.
Following the circuits upward with my gaze, I found the source of the light.
...The grail.
A single chalice.
Platinum, resting atop a statue mimicking a human hand. Starlight poured from it. I stared, entranced.
"That's the grail."
Cardi said.
"It's the Star Grail because it holds starlight... and the Holy Grail because the saintess forged it."
A sacred chalice to contain the stars.
"Raniel, how much do you know about the grail?"
Cardi asked, standing before it.
I shook my head. I knew nothing.
"What about the Star Trials?"
"Those, I know."
I nodded.
The Star Trials.
I knew about the trials one had to pass to wield the Star Armaments. Kyle had explained them once.
「I was in a canyon. The moment I entered the otherworld the stars opened, a holy sword lay before me—one that emitted no light. The instant I gripped it, specters wielding blades came swarming.」
Killing endless hordes of specters to escape the canyon—that was Kyle's trial.
「When it ended, light finally shone from the holy sword.」
He said he'd gained control after overcoming it. The other heroes' trials were similar.
Galahal of the holy spear.
Destel of the vile one, too.
They said that upon entering the otherworld, a lightless weapon was embedded in the ground, and starlight began emanating only after passing the trial.
"That makes it easy to explain."
Cardi said, touching the grail.
"In the past, Ganikalt—who'd endured the Star Trials—told me and Gleria that they were no different from becoming a superhuman. Only he, a superhuman swordsman before becoming a hero, could sense that something."
A swordsman who was a superhuman before hero.
Ganikalt van Garatric.
"...That is pretty weird."
One must lose something to become a superhuman.
That was my basic understanding.
But... not Ganikalt.
The Ganikalt I'd seen in the northern tower's records was a perfect human. He'd lost or sacrificed nothing.
"Doesn't becoming a superhuman require losing something?"
"That's the easiest way, Ganikalt said."
"...Easiest?"
"Yes."
Cardi said.
"He became one without losing anything. He said he recognized the wall within himself, gave it form, and severed it. He called it reaching the realm of the Mind Sword."
"...What's a Mind Sword?"
"No idea. I gave up trying to understand it. Too vague a concept."
He shook his head.
"Instead, I focused on something else."
Cardi narrowed his eyes.
"Giving form to that inner wall."
He gripped the grail.
The light streams along the circuits halted.
"Manifesting it, materializing it into reality."
That was.
"The true nature of the Star Trials."
The essence of the trials, Cardi called it.
"I sought to replicate it. Using Gleria's blessing and specific catalysts, I succeeded in artificially reproducing the Star Trials."
Cardi lifted the grail.
The light surged. Streams flowing through the circuits were sucked toward the grail. Starlight welled up and overflowed.
"This magitech artifact is the result."
Starlight filled the chalice.
I watched the brilliantly glowing vessel.
"Anyone who's glimpsed the wall within themselves, even once, will trigger a response from this grail. It'll impose the trial upon them."
"...And overcoming it?"
"Destroys the inner wall, making them a superhuman. Without losing anything."
I swallowed hard.
This... is beyond imagination.
Becoming a superhuman without sacrifice.
This grail made it possible, holding immense value. It could advance my plans by leaps and bounds.
"Take it."
Cardi handed me the grail.
The platinum vessel brimmed with light.
"Better in your hands than rotting in some ruin."
I stared at him blankly.
This grail he'd created bordered on defying providence. I couldn't even imagine its inner workings.
"Hey, Cardi."
"What?"
"...Who the hell are you, really?"
The elf before me felt utterly alien today. He just shrugged at my gaze.
"Previous Archsage. Just like a regular sage, but with a 'great' in front—makes me special, right?"
The difference between Great Sage and plain sage? I let out a hollow laugh and reached for the grail he offered.
"If you had something like this, why not give it sooner?"
"Couldn't, even if I wanted to. Only those close to the truth can hold it. If someone who'd never heard of Arkadia tried, it'd scatter to dust."
I grasped the grail.
It didn't disintegrate.
"That's why you can."
Cardi smiled faintly.
"A kid barely past twenty, yet close enough to the truth."
We faced each other and laughed.
I laughed knowing my journey hadn't been in vain. Cardi laughed, pleased he could pass it to someone.
And that was the moment.
Whoosh.
An arrow streaked in from somewhere.
3.
"Footprints."
"...The heroes who came before?"
"No. Not a week or two old—only a day or two."
Someone had passed this way recently.
Remia, the elf with the finest scouting skills among her kind, spotted the traces.
"And beast corpses too."
She focused on the mangled magical beast carcass on the ground. Smashed flat, like by a blunt weapon.
"I'll scout ahead."
"...You sure?"
"No problem. The kills aren't clean—bludgeoned, looks like. Think I'd fall to that?"
Remia shrugged.
"Not to a blunt dumbass. Sara? A blessing?"
"Yes, one moment."
Sara chanted. The completed spell dissolved into starlight, merging with Remia's body. The blessing repelled the overflowing demonic energy of the ash-choked land and enhanced her flesh.
"Done, Remia."
"Thanks."
Her body lighter, Remia tapped the ground twice with her toes.
She gazed ahead.
A massive church loomed in her sight. The tracks led inside. Pointing at it, she glanced back.
"Follow slow. Don't forget my share of the loot."
"Got it."
Kyle nodded, and Remia kicked off. Elves run like the wind—not mere legend. She dashed into the church without a sound.
Golden hair swayed in the breeze. Her eyes pierced the darkness unerringly.
Then, Remia spotted the huge door. Tracks continued inside. She slid through the open entrance and dangled from the spiral staircase railing, peering down.
"......"
Below the stairs.
Vast chamber.
They're there.
Two figures.
Remia narrowed her eyes and reached for the quiver on her back. Nocked an arrow.
Two of them.
Hoods obscured faces, but she clearly saw what they held: a platinum chalice leaking light.
The grail?
It fit the name perfectly.
Their goal was right there. Snatch it from these tomb raiders and hand it to Kyle—she'd get her fun tonight.
Lick. Remia wet her lips.
One shot's enough.
No need for more against an unguarded foe. She was the elf called Divine Archer, confident in her skill.
Screeech.
The bowstring of world tree branches bent taut. The arrowhead atop it steady as stone. Expressionless, Remia tilted the bow.
Target: the woman holding the grail.
Nothing easier than piercing a stationary mark. She released the drawn string. The arrow sliced the air.
Whoosh!
It homed in. She envisioned the arrowhead piercing the woman's chest. No margin for error. A blind shot from outside her view—unreactable.
That instant.
Defying Remia's expectations, the woman moved.
In a blur of afterimages, her hand snatched the incoming arrow. The motion was fluid, utterly efficient.
Crack.
The woman snapped the arrow.
She slowly turned her head. Her gaze locked precisely on Remia. Amid the dark, blue eyes flashed. Distance separated them, but their stares met dead-on.
"Whoa."
The woman spoke first.
"What a crazy bitch."
Her blunt voice echoed through the chamber.
Remia frowned. An inexplicable familiarity from the stranger.