The Ritual (1)
The Ritual (1)
Rumble.
The massive doors began to open.
Through the widening gap, an altar could be seen in the distance.
Beyond the doors lay a grand hall, with a large altar situated deep inside.
With its high ceilings, vast space, and pillars rising through the middle, the hall closely resembled a Greek temple.
Priests and priestesses stood in rows inside the hall.
As expected of the capital's temple.
I had never seen so many priests and priestesses anywhere else.
The good mood I'd been in after obtaining a new ability quietly faded.
And I felt a little tense.
It seemed to be because I had witnessed the memories of the first king.
Instead of coming to perform a ritual, I felt as though I'd stepped into enemy territory.
Fortunately, my helmet's visor was down, so no one could see my expression.
If things had gone wrong, I might have ended up with my face completely stiff.
Regardless of my expression, I followed the order of the ceremony and stepped toward the altar.
Standing before the altar was the young priest who had conducted the Knight Tournament.
Unlike during the Knight Tournament, the priest spoke with an expressionless face.
"The offering."
Another priest approached and raised both hands.
He held an old incense burner.
Mana flowed from it, making it clear that it was an artifact. It seemed to have been prepared by the royal family for this ritual.
Although I had brought the Knight's Sword, the royal family's treasure, for the ritual, I couldn't actually sacrifice the Knight's Sword.
The incense burner was the artifact to be offered to the order in its place.
The priest placed the incense burner on one side of the altar.
"O loyal knight of the King, raise your sword."
Though I wasn't a knight loyal to the King, I drew my sword, gripped it with both hands, and raised it before my eyes.
Then I approached the altar and knelt on one knee.
"We pray to God. May the King of the Carlos Kingdom..."
As I bowed my head, the young priest standing beside me began to recite the prayer.
His voice was quiet, yet it resonated throughout the entire hall, perhaps because it was infused with mana.
"...heal the King's illness..."
"...heal the King's illness..."
"...the King's..."
At the same time, all the priests and priestesses in the hall began chanting the same prayer.
It seemed they had all diligently memorized it beforehand.
Their rhythm and breathing were perfectly synchronized.
And the mana they generated began to resonate with one another, filling the entire hall.
It was an immense amount.
The priests and priestesses here were not awakened nobles.
Nor had they acquired mana through training, like knights.
They could use contracts and healing abilities simply by becoming priests and priestesses of this order.
The order called this proof of faith in God, and the people of this world believed them.
I, too, had believed it to some extent before witnessing the memories of the first king.
I still didn't know how the priests and priestesses had obtained mana, but the mana they were emitting now was no weaker than that of awakened nobles.
The mana they raised battered the entire hall and my physical body, but that wasn't all.
Hum.
A sound vibrated through the air.
Along with it, mana surged once again from the walls and various parts of the hall.
With my head bowed, I shifted my eyes to examine the walls where the mana was surging.
Old items hung on the walls.
Faded murals, worn-out accessories, and even torn flags.
They were items that didn't belong in this magnificent hall at all.
Mana was surging from those very items.
It wasn't just the walls.
Mana was also erupting from the suits of armor standing around the hall and the weapons they held, as well as from the stone statues and sculptures.
They were all artifacts.
I must have been more tense than I'd thought. Only now did the artifacts inside the hall catch my eye.
There were many artifacts inside the hall. They came in a wide variety, and I could even see some with peculiar shapes.
If I could have, I would have wanted to examine them one by one, but right now, I couldn't even raise my head.
'It's going to be difficult to find the Divine Sword right away.'
I couldn't see many artifacts from the corner of my eye.
I could see swords held by a few suits of armor, but none of them were the Divine Sword.
It was disappointing, but I held back and waited for the ritual to end.
The ceremony was now rushing toward its climax.
The mana raised by the priests and priestesses and the mana emitted by the artifacts were making the entire hall tremble.
'At this rate, it wouldn't be surprising if a miracle occurred...'
It was a truly spectacular sight.
The altar, where all that power was gathering, shone with dazzling light.
The young priest beside me was drenched in sweat as he directed the wild, raging mana.
I could see why not just anyone could perform high-level sacred arts.
Controlling this kind of mana was not something just anyone could do.
'But no matter how I look at it, that seems like an inherited ability...'
The ability to tune mana like that wasn't an ability of a priest or priestess.
That young priest might be a descendant of the priest Pio, whom I had seen in the memories of the first king.
With this much mana, it seemed as though they could revive someone on the verge of death—or even someone with only their head remaining.
But even with such a grand ritual, curing the King would be difficult.
The King wasn't injured, nor was there anything wrong with his organs or any other part of his body. His lifespan was simply running out, and it was time for him to die.
The priests, the alchemists, and even those who had examined him with abilities had all reached that conclusion.
Though there were potions dozens of times more effective than the red medicine from my past life, and priests and priestesses who were better at saving people than doctors, they couldn't save someone whose lifespan had run out.
Restoring a lifespan required a miracle from God.
That was why they had no choice but to perform a ritual like this.
But I didn't think a ritual dedicated to a nonexistent god would have any effect.
I simply maintained my posture and waited for time to pass.
The mana filling the hall was gradually absorbed into the altar under the young priest's direction.
The altar shone even more brilliantly.
The mana kept rushing into the altar, and eventually, all the mana that had filled the hall vanished.
The sound of prayer also quieted down.
"Thank you for your hard work. You may rest for a moment before returning."
"Phew..."
As soon as the young priest finished speaking, the priests and priestesses let out heavy sighs and slumped to the floor.
Everyone looked as though they'd taken a shower in sweat.
And judging by their pale faces, it seemed they had completely drained all the mana they possessed.
It was mana depletion.
Considering how much mana had filled the hall, it was only natural that they were depleted.
But I couldn't tell what this extracted mana was actually doing.
Having absorbed all the mana, the altar was now just an ordinary stone altar.
As the priests slumped down, the young priest spoke to me.
"Now, you may sheathe your sword."
It seemed the ritual was truly over.
I stood as well and sheathed the sword at my waist.
Even though I'd been kneeling for a long time, my body felt light.
An awakened body would have no trouble kneeling, but it shouldn't have felt lighter than before.
When I checked my body, it felt as if mana had massaged me from head to toe.
'Could it be?'
I checked my information window.
< Knight-type Hero Ability User >
< Active Abilities >
Physical Optimization: Level 22
Mana Circuit Construction Method: Level 2
Mana Resonance: Level 1
Equipment Summoning: Level 1
Mana Emission: Level 1
< Unauthorized Abilities >
Mana Materialization: Level 2
Death Regression: Level 2
Physical Optimization had gone up by two levels.
No wonder my body felt so light.
"It seems you've achieved some results. Your talent must be exceptional. Contrary to what people say, not many experience an effect even when present for the performance of the highest sacred art."
The young priest congratulated me.
It was indeed worth celebrating.
Although only my Physical Optimization ability had increased, those two levels were no small matter.
It was an amount that would normally take nearly a year to gain.
The change I felt in my body was even greater.
It might have been because I had obtained a new ability, of course, but either way, my body had definitely changed.
I had a burning desire to go outside and swing my sword right away, but I held back. I still had work to do.
"Since the ceremony is over, you may leave first."
"May I stay for a moment as well?"
"...Very well. But you must not move around or touch the artifacts carelessly."
Fortunately, the young priest granted my request.
Relieved, I stood in place and looked around.
Many artifacts I hadn't been able to see while my head was bowed came into view.
There were even more artifacts than I had seen at the Pisen Marquisate.
Perhaps because they had just emitted mana, the artifacts looked more worn-out than before and seemed somewhat drained of power.
'Is it not here?'
I kept looking around, but I couldn't see any sword that resembled a divine sword.
A few artifacts that looked quite impressive were visible, but they had nothing to do with the Divine Sword.
If only I could have taken out my dagger, I might have been able to find out whether any of the other artifacts were related to the heroes...
Unfortunately, I couldn't equip such an artifact here.
'Is there no other way...'
I had come all this way; I couldn't just back down like this.
I stealthily scanned my surroundings. No one was watching me.
Even the young priest was sitting down, catching his breath.
I slowly slipped my hand into my chest pocket.
My fingertips brushed against the pouch.
Fortunately, neither the Knight's Sword nor the artifact pouch had reacted to the priests' prayers.
If the artifact pouch's mana had been drained, I might not even have been able to open it.
I reached into the pouch and pictured the sibling sword of the Divine Sword that I had found at the marquisate's blacksmith shop.
My hand gripped the sword's hilt.
The inside of the artifact pouch and the artifact bag was a sort of subspace, completely isolated from the outside world.
The inside and outside were separated by the entrance, and neither mana nor abilities could cross between them.
Because of this, items inside the artifact pouch could not be detected from the outside, and placing an artifact inside the pouch sealed its abilities.
The Divine Sword of Pisen was the same.
As long as it was inside this artifact pouch, its Mana Thread wouldn't connect to other swords.
I infused the sword in my hand with mana. Then I found the virtual circuit and flipped the switch.
Click.
Since the sword was still inside the pouch, the Mana Thread wasn't visible.
I carefully drew the sword out.
Only far enough for it to emerge from the pouch, without letting it show outside my clothes.
I drew out the sword's hilt.
The moment the hilt peeked out slightly from my clothes.
Zing!
A thread made of mana stretched in a straight line from the hilt.
I stared at the altar.
The thread made of mana didn't lead anywhere else.
The thread led inside the altar—no, beneath the altar.
The sword connected to this one was located beneath the altar.
'Could they have hidden it because it's a holy relic of another religion?'
It was a sudden thought, but a highly plausible one.
The Holy Knight's Divine Sword was a holy relic of a religion that had now vanished. There was no way the order would leave it out for others to see.
It made sense, but that was a problem.
Since they had hidden it beneath the altar, there was no way to search for it.
I needed to at least lay eyes on it to figure out my next move...
While I was staring at the altar with a troubled expression, the priests and priestesses rose to their feet.
They must have been far from fully recovered, but it seemed they were going to move after merely catching their breath.
The young priest stood up as well, and it was time for me to leave the hall.
Regrettably, I couldn't cause a scene here right now. I didn't even know where the entrance was, and I couldn't act at the risk of my life.
Giving up, I prepared to slide the slightly exposed sword back in.
At that moment.
Rumble.
The altar began to shake.