Holy Relic: Sun-bask (2)
That felt good.
The cleanup-slash-warmup had gone off without a hitch. I evaporated the blood clinging to my body with Aura and looked around. Scattered in every direction were the things that had once been monsters. Blood and scraps of flesh painted a spectacular scene.
Had I gone a little too wild? The landscape had already been grim, but now it was a full-on imitation of hell.
Cleanup, at least, wasn't going to be a problem. The monstrous birds that had been circling overhead had come down and were throwing themselves a gluttonous flesh party. Those things had just flapped their wings from a distance even while the ground monsters were charging at me. Looks like they'd figured out early which side they needed to pick if they wanted to eat.
"Take your time."
They didn't show a shred of hostility even when I walked right up beside them — that's how good the meal must have been. They even accepted my petting without protest, like they'd taken a genuine liking to me. At this rate I was starting to feel like some kind of beast tamer. Watching them gobble down the meat with such gusto was strangely endearing, too. I stood there watching until one of them finished eating, then approached.
"Give me a ride, would you?"
I pointed toward the center of the lake as I asked. The bird tilted its head, then offered me its back.
"Thanks."
I hadn't known it was possible to communicate with monsters like this. I wondered if it would work with other monsters too. I'd have to check next time I ran into some.
"Let's go."
I carefully climbed onto a back that was just the right size. The monstrous bird took off at once, flying toward the Abandoned Temple.
The closer we got to the center of the lake, the more intense the murky Holy Power became. The bird let out a strained whimper, struggling under the pressure. Meanwhile, I was seized by a discomfort that seemed to crawl up from the deepest part of my heart.
Holy Power purifies the wicked. Even if its color had been muddied by the dungeon's corruption, its essence hadn't changed. In other words, I was officially certified as evil by Holy Power itself. I felt a little sorry for myself, wondering what I'd done that was so wrong.
"O noble Sun, at this rate I might actually become the 'Excommunicated Saintess' the world thinks I am."
Still, I was better off than the bird, which was now spraying blood from its eyes and beak. That was supposed to be encouraging, but it felt more like a glimpse of my own future, which was just unsettling.
"Sorry. Head back."
I wrapped Aura around both legs and leapt from the bird's back. With regeneration this good, there was no risk of getting hurt from a little fall. After a brief stretch of airtime, I landed on both feet atop the artificial island at the lake's center. A flawless landing — if you ignored the slight tingling in my leg muscles.
I gave my legs a decent rubdown, then studied the structure that filled one side of my vision. A temple whose outer walls were painted in a harmonious blend of white and red. That was the Abandoned Temple.
Seeing it in person, I could understand why it had been abandoned. It was inconvenient to get in and out of, and needlessly huge — the upkeep costs must have been brutal. And being a "temple" made it even more of a problem. Following the Goddess's teaching to pursue practicality over grandeur, they didn't build these anymore.
Anyway, in its current state it was nothing but a troublesome dungeon. It would only have value after I cleared it and it went back to being an ordinary temple.
"Hah..."
I was trembling, but for a different reason than when I fought to lose. Regeneration and Aura wouldn't mean a thing if a mental attack shattered me. What kind of trial would the Abandoned Temple put me through? With my chest tight with tension, I stepped into the dungeon.
In that instant, everything went white.
I was standing in front of a cathedral. Its exterior was a carbon copy of some medieval architectural style. The solemnity was overwhelming — like piety itself had been punched straight into my eyeballs.
But where was this? It wasn't a location that had appeared in Apolis Tales. And yet it felt strangely familiar, so I found myself walking inside without thinking.
"Ugh..."
The moment I stepped inside, I covered my eyes with my hands. Light was pouring down as intense as the midsummer sun. It was far too bright to just be lighting the interior of a building. A waste of electricity. Or mana.
Only after a good while did I manage to lower my hands and look around. An empty chapel. There were no pews — only red, round gemstones scattered across the floor, pretty as a flower field in full bloom. But the moment I turned my head, the gems lost all their worth and became nothing but dull rocks.
"Ahh..."
Where my gaze landed, there was a statue of the Goddess, wrapped in a radiant halo. It was so beautiful. Beautiful enough that tears spilled out on their own. My legs started walking of their own accord, without so much as consulting their owner — toward the statue that was still shining brilliantly.
"O Sun..."
This time my lips moved on their own. I still couldn't get used to the feeling of my body parts doing whatever they wanted. But I'd more or less figured out the situation.
"Please forgive me..."
The frailty that had been excavated from the deepest part of my heart. A trial well within the expected range.
"I beg of you, please save me..."
I sank weakly to the floor. More precisely, my mutinous legs made that decision for me. The tears wouldn't stop. They flowed and flowed until there was nothing left to come out.
I wasn't sad, and yet I was sad. My chest hurt like it was being torn apart. I knew this was an illusion the Abandoned Temple was putting on, but I could barely keep my head straight. I even caught myself thinking it might be easier to just give in and find some peace.
"Be silent."
A bone-chilling, ice-cold voice. Everything around me went dark — everything except the Goddess, who was looking down at me with crimson eyes.
Words that were practically a curse drove themselves deep into my chest. I closed my eyes in resignation.
"Don't you think that's a bit harsh?"
No — I opened my eyes wide. A mental attack of this caliber wasn't nearly enough to shake my heart to its core.
"I'm hurt. I don't understand why you treat me like some heinous criminal."
"How dare you..."
"Be quiet. I'm talking right now."
This entire situation was fake. That Goddess was fake too. So there was no reason to watch my words.
"You turned your back on me so easily — so why can't you abandon the corrupt priests and holy knights?"
I dumped out every word I wouldn't normally be able to say, packed full of all the resentment I'd been carrying.
"Is it because you're too soft-hearted? Then why did you excommunicate me without so much as a warning?"
This was for the sake of clearing the dungeon. I had a legitimate purpose, so it was legal. Or not. Whatever.
"That's right. The Goddess discarded you like a worn-out shoe."
Maybe because the attempt to break my mind wasn't working at all, the fake Goddess changed form.
"I am the one who saved you."
The Demon King. The one who had utterly crushed me and my companions.
"Come into my arms."
The fake Demon King spread his arms toward me.
"I can be your sanctuary. I will soothe your wounded heart."
"What is this lunatic even saying."
I might have put up with it from the Goddess, but I wasn't about to sit there and listen to the Demon King's nonsense. I sheathed my right hand in Aura like a second skin.
"I'd rather smash my head into a wall and die than join forces with you."
"Change your mind. I can give you defeat on a regular—"
I thrust my right hand forward without hesitation. My fist buried itself in the Demon King's chest.
"Losing to a righteous hero is more my style."
"Foolish..."
The Demon King's body crumbled away. Then the cathedral shattered, and a dark, dust-choked space appeared. The interior of the Abandoned Temple. The dungeon had been cleared.
Thankfully, it had ended without any major problems.
"...O Sun, I overstepped just now. I'm sorry."
The reason that had briefly stepped out came back and informed me that I'd gone way too far.
"Also, I apologize for using a loophole to awaken Sun-bask. But I trust You know my sincerity."
I headed straight to the temple's center. Once the dungeon transformation was lifted, the Holy Power would return to its original purity. But this place had lost its status as a temple, so the power couldn't stay here. And so the Holy Power, having lost its way, would flow toward the most sacred object nearby. Which, at the moment, was the holy relic: Sun-bask.
"Wake up."
A gentle radiance bloomed. The vast Holy Power drifting through the air flowed into Sun-bask.
Only after absorbing a while longer did an elegant woman's voice reach my ears. It was Sun-bask — missed, and welcome.
"Greetings."
"I am Gloria, appointed to assist the former Saintess. It is an honor to meet you."
What was up with her?
"Why'd you change the way you talk? And who's Gloria?"
"......"
Had I caught her off guard? The voice cut out, then came back.
"Lady Clitia?"
"Sleep well?"
"Oh my goodness! What happened to you?! Don't tell me you've reclaimed your position as Saintess?! But where is this? This doesn't look like the Sky Temple... Don't tell me the Nuset Church collapsed while I was asleep?! Good heavens! What do we do now?!"
So noisy. Now this was the Sun-bask I knew.
"I'm still excommunicated, this is the Abandoned Temple, and our Church is fine."
I gave her the abbreviated version.
"Wait... so you used a loophole to wake me up?"
"You don't like that? Are you going to abandon me too?"
"I would never!"
Sun-bask reacted violently to the question I'd tossed out so casually.
"I like you, Lady Clitia. Honestly, the other Saintesses always pretended to be so prim and proper — it drove me crazy!"
Not flattery — genuine feeling came through in those words. It wasn't even a big deal, but I felt oddly pleased.
"You'll help me no matter what I do?"
"Of course. That's my role, after all."
"Even if that means helping me trespass into the Purple Magic Tower?"
"Pardon? What did you just..."
Sun-bask couldn't finish her sentence.
"My language processing is broken, right? That's what's happening?"
"It's not broken."
"Trespassing into the Purple Magic Tower?! That place is an impregnable fortress packed with security magic! You'll never break through — you'll just collapse!"
"I know."
The humiliating sense of defeat I'd feel when I fell to my knees before that security magic.
"That's what makes it so good."
I couldn't wait.