Chapter 90
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: All-Omnima
The bloodline of an ancient hero?
The makings of a Saint?
‘The Vanroah bloodline... is something like that?’
Before I knew it, people had gathered around.
“Oh, it's real! Flames in his pupils...!”
“To think I'd see the bloodline of an ancient hero here...”
“Could it be? Could he be able to communicate with the holy spirits?”
A murmur rippled through the crowd.
Despite their limping legs and bleeding heads, they all approached me, peering into my eyes.
“It's real, it's really real.”
“Good heavens... I've never seen it before.”
What's the big deal? Flames burning in my eyes.
Is this really that amazing?
Well, of course, it is impressive.
Even in Vanroah, only those with a strong noble or royal bloodline had eyes that burned like this.
And all of them were exceptionally talented.
But,
‘A Saint? An ancient hero?’
It was special, but not to the point of overwhelmingly dominating the nobles of other nations.
It was often seen as just another physical trait, like how some royals had a golden ring around their irises, or how some nobles had sky-blue hair.
So, no matter how special it was, being called a Saint or an ancient hero was a bit... bewildering.
Aren't you all mistaken about something?
The words nearly escaped my lips...
“Saint!”
But Sheneril, her eyes welling with tears, clutched my trouser leg, and I couldn't bring myself to say it.
“You really are a Saint! You answered my prayers...”
Dropping pearl-like tears, she clung to me. She even stood on her tiptoes to look up at me.
“Saint... Please... Please save us.”
I mean, how could I tell a seven-year-old girl, who was shedding glass-bead tears that seemed to shatter as they hit the ground, 'I'm not who you think I am?'
I don't know.
In truth, I don't even know the origin of the Vanroah bloodline myself.
Maybe they're right about the ancient hero and Saint stuff.
*Grab.*
For now, I lifted Sheneril into my arms. She was light for a seven-year-old. She smelled like a wrung-out rag, probably from not being able to wash in the chaos, but that only made me more concerned for her.
Holding Sheneril, I met the gazes of the people surrounding me.
Expectation, longing, hope...
So,
“What do you need me to do?”
What is it you want from me?
Just then, a limping knight emerged from the crowd. Blood was still dripping from his bandaged thigh.
“I am Louis, a Holy Knight. I... I will guide you.”
A Holy Knight.
So they really exist.
I'd only heard stories about them back in Glowingsteel.
That in this era, there were beings called priests and holy knights who wielded divine miracles.
They were said to handle a completely different power from aura or magic—divine power.
Does that mean this man, Louis, can also use divine power? What kind of power is that?
‘I have no idea.’
Is it because it's too special? No matter how hard I looked, I couldn't sense anything other than aura.
“This way.”
Still, befitting a knight, his willpower was formidable. He tried to lead me while limping on his profusely bleeding leg.
Ah,
before that.
Sheneril. I should put her down.
*Squeeze!*
I leaned down to set her on the ground, but she hugged me tightly and wouldn't let go.
“Me too! I want to go too!”
Huh? Is that okay...?
I thought everyone was gathered here to escape.
I glanced at the knight who seemed to be the leader, and he nodded.
“If you, pilgrim, can awaken the power of a Saint, then there is no reason for us to leave now. We still have other preparations to make, so it should be fine for you to be gone for a short while.”
In that case.
I lifted Sheneril back into my arms.
This small, grimy child who smelled like a wrung-out rag trembled in my arms, but she soon quieted down, seemingly reassured by the gradually spreading warmth.
I followed Louis up a path that stretched to the top of the hill. This town, called Pilgrim Valley, looked like it must have been a charming, beautiful, and peaceful place, but now it was a complete mess.
“Saint. Saint. There's something you need to be careful about.”
Sheneril chattered from my arms.
“First, even if you hear whispers, you must not listen to them. Your body could go boom! and explode.”
Right. The place was such a mess that even a little kid like this had memorized a list of gruesome rules.
“Second, even if it itches, you must never scratch. That part will slowly change, and something weird and wriggly might sprout out.”
I didn't need to be told. I could see them.
A person whose skin kept bursting and staining with blood, as if something was exploding inside their body.
He clutched his ears and screamed. "Please, stop! Stop! It's too loud!"
From another young man's arms and thighs, finger-length, thread-like things had sprouted through his clothes and were wriggling. People were holding him down, but the young man kept struggling to scratch himself.
“Third, if the sky suddenly flashes and brightens, you must never look up. Your eyes, and later your whole face, will melt into blood.”
Ah, I see one. That woman over there. Blood was trickling down from beneath the bandages wrapped tightly around her eyes.
Besides them, people who looked to have been injured in battle sat on the steps of buildings, and the bodies of the dead lay here and there, covered in cloth. The sobbing of bereaved families echoed from all around.
The wailing people.
And the sky, as if in mockery, caressed their screaming faces with its multicolored light.
‘The bodily mutations remind me of that Apostle bastard's leeches, and this damned multicolored moonlight reminds me of that wolf monster...’
I was in a thoroughly foul mood.
I asked the back of Louis's head as he walked ahead.
“What in the world happened here?”
Louis didn't seem to have the strength to turn around. He answered, panting.
“It seems the damn cultists are after the All-Omnima, the Tree of a Myriad Images.”
A cult.
Of course. No one but those bastards could create such horror.
But,
All-Omnima?
What is that?
Since I didn't know, I kept my mouth shut for now.
Fortunately, Louis, despite his panting, explained it on his own.
“You may not know, pilgrim... You saw the giant tree as you passed through the holy ground, didn't you?”
“Yes.”
I actually hadn't seen it.
I didn't even know what the holy ground was.
But I pretended I had.
“That is the All-Omnima, which is recorded to have been planted by the goddess of wisdom, Mivavar. It is also called the Tree of a Myriad Images because it is said to hold every kind of fruit, flower, and grass in the world.”
“Why are they after it?”
“We don't know. Those cultist bastards covet anything from the Age of Myths.”
Hah...
Louis let out a long sigh and continued in an anxious voice.
“The All-Omnima is not just a symbol. The people of this village all make a living by tending to the All-Omnima and harvesting the fruits and flowers that grow there.”
Ah...
So if that tree is gone, an entire village will starve?
“In fact, the same goes for the nearby cities. The harvest here is processed into goods by the surrounding cities. If the All-Omnima were to disappear... at least a million people would lose their jobs. Food prices would skyrocket as well.”
A million people?
Over a single tree?
That's larger than the entire population of most cities in Roverland.
“The All-Omnima is also a sacred sanctuary for the orcs. That's why everyone is fighting for their lives. Humans and orcs alike...”
“Are there no reinforcements?”
“...That's all we're counting on, but the cultists have done something to jam our magical communications. We couldn't break through the front lines, so we tried sending messengers through a detour via the holy ground... but it seems they were all consumed by the curse and died.”
The holy ground. Following Louis's backward glance, it seemed the area starting from the bottom of that hill, where the gorge ended, was what they called the holy ground.
So they're fighting the monsters up in the gorge, which means the area below the gorge is open?
But if we go that way, the curse...
Huh? Wait? A curse?
I glanced down at Sheneril, nestled quietly in my arms. At the word 'curse,' she gave a slight shudder.
“Wait a moment. You're saying we'll be cursed if we leave the village?”
“Yes. Of course, the curse is falling within the village as well. The strange patients you saw on your way here are its victims. But it gets much worse outside. The village is currently protected by a purification barrier. Even so, the curse is still seeping in.”
“But didn't you just try to help the children escape the village?!”
My voice grew sharp on its own, and Louis's voice sank low.
“We had no other choice. At this rate, the barrier protecting the village will soon break, and it won't be long before our defensive line collapses... The plan was to have the Holy Knights protect the children as best they could while they evacuated.”
Louis's voice was heavy with doubt as he spoke.
He, too, seemed to not believe the operation would succeed.
It was merely a last-ditch effort born of desperation.
Hmm.
This is more serious than I imagined.
“Honestly, considering the monsters swarming us now, our only hope is for the Horizon Knights to come... but we have no way to get word to them...”
Grand Duke Laitena's personal guard.
The strongest in the world.
So it's bad enough to need the Horizon Knights?
I felt like I had a rough grasp of the situation now.
Except for one thing.
That one thing, I still couldn't figure out.
“But the ancient bloodline? The makings of a Saint? Is that really the important issue right now?”
Shouldn't we just grab our swords and go fight?
“It is crucial.”
But Louis cut me off, speaking gravely.
“Because all ten priests who were in the temple have been martyred.”
“The priests?”
“Yes. They took in too much of the holy spirits' power to block the cult's curse and invasion... They were all martyred yesterday. Thanks to them, we've held out until now... but soon...”
He glanced up at the sky, where the aurora churned.
I did too.
‘Gods...’
The word still felt like something out of a fairy tale, but I could no longer deny their existence entirely.
A power capable of blocking such a potent curse over such a wide area... it seemed difficult to explain without attributing it to the grace of the gods.
“So, you're saying the barrier is collapsing because the priests were martyred, and if I have the makings of a Saint, I can restore it... is that right?”
“Yes. If you have the aptitude and can awaken even a little of it... more than that is possible.”
Louis hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“Of course... I know this is a long shot. It's true that an unusual number of those with the blood of ancient heroes are born with the aptitude of a Saint, but even then, it's only about one in a hundred. And among them, not even one in a thousand truly awakens as a Saint...”
But we're just that desperate... Louis added, his voice bitter.
Just then, Sheneril chirped from my arms.
Children are quick to sense the moods of adults... she spoke brightly, as if to comfort Louis.
“Sir Louis, the Holy Knight! Don't worry! He's a real Saint! I prayed, and then—ta-da!—he appeared! He's a real Saint sent by the gods!”
Hmm...
Honestly, I don't know.
The makings of a Saint?
I didn't think I had anything like that. I've never heard the voice of a god.
Still.
I made a promise to myself.
‘Whether I have that aptitude or not, I'll keep my promise, kid.’
Even if I can't protect everything.
I'll somehow protect most of what's important.
Well, anyway, from the looks of it, protecting this village seemed to be my current mission.
I gave Sheneril's matted hair a rough pat.
If she just washed it, I bet she'd have magnificent silver hair like my Catch or Gepetto, but right now, it just looked like unwashed dog fur.