Holy Knight (2)
Holy Knight (2)
An empty underground plaza.
There was no other passage, and the murals showed no flaws that might suggest a hidden opening.
There was only a single statue standing there.
It was a statue of a knight holding a real sword.
After we entered the plaza, the motionless statue began to move.
Everyone flinched and stopped in their tracks.
Having just seen the golems move moments earlier, they weren't overly shocked.
[I have been waiting for you.]
But they couldn't help being startled by the voice that followed.
Everyone's eyes widened as they scanned their surroundings.
They couldn't tell where the voice had come from or who had spoken.
But I could tell.
I raised my sword and pointed it at the statue.
"Is it a recording? Or an Ego Artifact?"
[I am Teodora, once known as a Holy Knight. Or, as you said, an Ego Artifact possessing the memories of a Holy Knight.]
The statue gripped her sword, slowly approached, and stopped in front of me.
It stood a head taller than I did.
The statue was incredibly well-crafted.
Although the armor and helmet were made of stone, at a glance, they looked like real plate armor.
The statue's movements were remarkably human, too.
It was almost as if a real person would be revealed if the stone armor and helmet were stripped away.
"My goodness..."
The Grand Archduchess covered her mouth in astonishment.
I had seen Ego Artifacts like the dagger and the orb before, but this was her first time seeing one.
I felt a little apologetic.
The dagger was something she had repaired, and the orb was also an item she was supposed to repair.
Yet, I had kept all of this a secret from the Grand Archduchess.
I once again resolved to tell her for certain when the time was right.
I looked back at the statue that claimed to possess the memories of the Holy Knight.
"Was this sculpted in your likeness, Holy Knight?"
It was on an entirely different level from the golems we had seen on our way here.
[To display the same level of skill, it is best to have the same appearance. That Sculptor fellow got to show off his skills for the first time in a while.]
Listening to her speak, it felt as though I were talking to the Holy Knight herself rather than an artifact.
Perhaps because of that, it was difficult to speak casually to her.
"By Sculptor, do you mean that handsome Hero?"
Just as Balea had said, there was indeed a Sculptor among the heroes.
He had appeared in the heroes' stories, but because he focused solely on sculpting in the background, he wasn't very popular among young boys.
[That is the guy. He was a fellow who loved to sculpt under the moonlight, muttering about how the moon was rising and whatnot.]
The statue replied while staring into empty space.
I asked her.
"It seems you brought over more than just your memories."
[Well... I suppose this could turn into a philosophical discussion.]
The knight statue scratched her helmet with her other hand.
It seemed to be a habit, but seeing a statue do that looked incredibly bizarre.
[Whether memories form the foundation of personality, or whether something else shapes one's character, is a matter for philosophers to debate,]
The statue stroked her sword with her other hand.
[But having obtained the Holy Knight's memories, I do not think I am any different from when I was a Holy Knight. Honestly, I feel like I am Teodora myself.]
I think I understood why she felt like the Holy Knight herself.
The statue's actions, words, and everything else were exactly like a human's.
It was fascinating.
I had so many questions, such as how a mind or memories could be placed inside an artifact, and how the Sculptor had been able to create such an artifact.
But the statue—no, Teodora—didn't give us any time.
[Now, shall we finish up our business quickly?]
As we stared at her, bewildered, Teodora pointed at the sword in my hand and spoke again.
[On your way here, you saw the golems bowing to that sword, didn't you? That sword is one of our Order's sacred relics. Since you have been acknowledged by it, you are qualified to receive this one.]
Teodora showed me the 'Holy Knight's Divine Sword'.
[But I cannot just give it to you simply because you brought its brother sword. I must verify that you are capable of protecting this sword. Now, this is the final test.]
Whether it was the training sword or something else, heroes seemed to enjoy testing others by nature.
I raised my sword.
I had a greatsword, of course, as well as other swords, but I felt I had to use this one right now.
As I raised my sword, the statue took a stance as well.
[A fine stance. It is almost like looking at Carlos.]
Beneath the stone helmet, it seemed as if the statue was smiling.
As the statue and I took our stances, the others stepped back.
They all seemed to have a mountain of questions, but they waited without asking.
I swung my sword with all my might.
I fought hard, but I couldn't win.
Even though she wasn't Teodora herself, the artifact that had inherited her memories was extraordinarily powerful.
If I had used my necklace or other artifacts and unleashed my hidden abilities, I might not have lost, of course.
But there was no reason to fight that way in this duel.
I caught my breath and looked at the statue.
My opponent wasn't human, so her breathing didn't even quicken.
She merely stroked her cracked chest and nodded.
[Splendid. You seem to still be in your teens—unless you have an unusually youthful face—and yet you possess such skill... I look forward to seeing how much you will grow in the future.]
She drove the Divine Sword into the ground in front of me.
Looking at the Divine Sword, I thought back to what had crossed my mind moments ago.
Come to think of it, Teodora hadn't used the Divine Sword's abilities either.
She had used it purely as a sword, without employing penetration or recovery.
A stone statue couldn't be healed anyway, of course, but I couldn't ignore the fact that she had held back.
I sheathed the sword I was holding at my waist and drew the Divine Sword.
Although she had called it a brother sword, the true divine sword was different.
Its appearance and the mana radiating from it felt entirely different from the 'Divine Sword of Pisen'.
[With that level of skill, I can trust you with it. Now, you should head back. It is time to close this place down.]
"Wait a moment!"
The moment Teodora finished speaking, the Grand Archduchess cried out.
It was uncharacteristic of her, but the Grand Archduchess didn't care.
"What do you mean, close it down? That means we won't be able to come back here in the future!"
Seeing artifacts for the first time, the Grand Archduchess seemed highly excited.
"Surely you can give us a little more time. To investigate the golems, examine the ruins... We went through so much trouble to get here, so please give us some time."
Teodora—the statue—bowed her head to the Grand Archduchess.
[My apologies to the beautiful lady. But I cannot do that.]
Although the statue refused, I shared the Grand Archduchess's opinion.
We couldn't just leave with only the sword.
I couldn't simply walk away, leaving behind swordsmanship and a mana cultivation technique I had never seen before.
Though I didn't know how she had done it, Teodora had used all of her swordsmanship and mana cultivation technique even as a statue.
Though not as varied as Carlos's, her mana cultivation technique and swordsmanship were incredible.
It was impossible to master them from a single duel.
"Aren't you curious about what happened to the outside world?"
Judging by the situation, she must have spent all her time in here. There was no way she knew how the world had changed.
"I can tell you why the shrine knight who entered before us came here, and how we ended up coming here as well."
If worst came to worst, I was even planning to tell her separately about the things I hadn't shared with my team members.
But she shook her head.
[I do not wish to know. Everything must be flowing according to its natural course.]
"Is that why you spared the shrine knight as well?"
Since she kept refusing, my words came out a little sharp.
She merely replied calmly, though.
[No. Knowing that the person to whom I would entrust the sword had arrived, I could not easily kill someone, even if they were an intruder.]
It seemed she was connected to the golems in some way.
That was why she had spared him, but I had gone ahead and killed him...
[One can let a fleeing person go, but one cannot spare someone who lunges forward with intent to kill.]
As if she had read my thoughts, she made an excuse on my behalf.
[Seeing that a shrine knight has come, the religion established by Priest Pio must be erasing the memories of the time before the Great War with the Empire, and we must have vanished from people's memories.]
She stared intently at the sword in my hand.
[Still, since there is someone to inherit the sword, I have fulfilled my responsibility.]
An unexpected story had reached my ears.
The Order is erasing records?
This was the first time I was hearing of this, too.
If only for information like this, I had to keep her here.
But her final words left me unable to open my mouth.
They were the words of someone incredibly exhausted.
The voice of someone who had endured hardship for far too long.
She continued, looking at the Grand Archduchess.
[I did not know what it truly meant to store one's memories inside stone. I am an Ego, but I am Teodora. For a human to dwell inside stone and live on is more painful than any prison.]
She raised her hand and tapped her own body.
[I cannot feel sensations, smell fragrances, or taste flavors. I could neither eat nor drink. A life devoid of human senses is truly far more difficult than one could ever imagine.]
Placing her hand over her chest one last time, she bowed to the Grand Archduchess.
It was a knight's salute.
[Since I have fulfilled my responsibility, I shall now rest. Please grant me permission.]
No one could open their mouth at her words.
After a brief silence, the Grand Archduchess spoke.
"You have worked hard. Please rest now."
Lowering her arms and raising her head, the statue placed her hands on her waist and spoke.
[In any case, the mana sustaining this place is nearly depleted. Without my sword, it wouldn't have lasted even a few days, so there is no need to look so apologetic.]
Though the stone helmet was unchanged, it seemed as if the statue was grinning widely.
For the disappointed team members, Teodora handed over a few artifacts as souvenirs.
Judging by the Grand Archduchess's surprised reaction, they didn't seem to be ordinary artifacts.
Afterward, we left the waving statue behind and exited the underground plaza.
Teodora, the waving statue, looked truly relieved.
Looking back several times, we passed the corpse of the Purge Squad Leader lying on the floor, crossed the underground plaza scattered with stone fragments and corpses, and headed toward the surface.
Perhaps the Holy Knight had done something, as no golems appeared on our way back.
Everyone was silent on the return journey.
They must have had questions for me as well, but no one asked.
As we passed through the hall and descended the stairs, the building began to shake.
Creak.
It was the sound of the Holy Knight sealing the ruins.
We quickened our pace.
The farther away we got, the more the building shook.
Once we had retreated to a safe distance, the building finally collapsed.
Rumble.
She had called it a closure, but we could tell from her words what she meant.
She wasn't simply closing the doors; she meant to bury everything.
Herself and the entire ruins.
We stared blankly at the collapsing ruins.
At that moment.
I jerked my head around.
Amid the sound of the collapse, a faint noise could be heard.
It was the sound of the ground rumbling.
Thud.