Chapter 91
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: The Holy Relic
By the time we stopped walking, we had reached the top of the hill.
A magnificent temple stood atop it.
Lined up before it were pillars identical to the ones I had discovered on the uninhabited island in Lundnasi.
*So this really was the place.*
I had been a little skeptical.
According to the Book of Fate, this place was an uninhabited island south of Lundnasi.
An uninhabited island in the vast, sea-like Great Lake Naelund.
But here, there wasn’t so much as a pond, let alone a lake—only a canyon.
That’s why I’d found it strange… but seeing the very pillars I’d witnessed in the modern era standing tall, forming a complete temple, I finally knew this was it.
Holy Knight Luis let out a long sigh and looked back.
“Hah… You can see the All-Omnima from here. Towering over the entrance to the Holy Land.”
Following his gaze, I looked back and saw it.
*What is that…?*
Far down, where the winding canyon descended, lay a deep basin. There, a ridiculously enormous tree stood as if leaning against the sky.
Its sheer presence was so overwhelming that staring at it for too long felt like it would break my sense of perspective.
The massive tree’s branches were all different colors, and the leaves and flowers that bloomed upon them were of every imaginable kind.
A tree that seemed to contain all the myriad phenomena of the world.
So that was the Tree of All Phenomena, the All-Omnima.
Wow…
The Goddess of Wisdom, Mibavar, planted *that*?
*With something like that around, of course they believe in gods.*
Its presence was so immense that such awe came naturally.
If not a god, who could possibly plant such a tree?
No wonder it could feed a million people.
And behind the tree, an endless basin stretched out.
*Now I get it.*
Only then could I understand how this land had changed over ten thousand years.
The vast basin that the people here called the “Holy Land” had become the “Great Lake Naelund” in my era.
Over an eternity, the basin had been completely submerged, becoming a great lake like the sea, and this temple, situated on relatively high ground, had become an island.
Witnessing how time had reshaped the very terrain filled my chest with a sense of grandeur.
As if sensing my admiration, Luis’s voice swelled with pride.
“That is the Holy Land, the Serene Plains. And that is the Tree of All Phenomena, one of the few that can be found even after searching the entirety of the vast Holy Land. The Fruit of Longevity, the ingredient for elixirs, grows there, as does the Soul Spirit Herb, which awakens the soul. It is truly the grace of the Goddess.”
Huh? Wait a minute.
Fruit of Longevity?
Soul Spirit Herb?
An ingredient for elixirs?
Awakens the soul?
*Gulp.*
My mouth watered. The items were that tempting.
“Are there any there now?”
The greed I had momentarily forgotten because of Sheneril suddenly flared up.
If things like that existed, I obviously had to sweep them into my subspace!
But unfortunately, Luis shook his head.
“No. They were harvested not long ago, so the only things there now are the Everlasting Flowers and Colored Flowers, which grow year-round. Besides, the Fruit of Longevity only bears fruit once every ten years.”
…Is that a lie?!
As someone from Roverland, I couldn’t believe it without seeing it with my own eyes. But…
“Saint. Everyone’s going to be okay now, right?”
The little girl, constantly chattering in my arms, kept me grounded.
*Hah…*
…Right. It’s not like I came here for those things in the first place.
I’ll trust him. I have to.
Why would he lie in a situation like this?
He said they weren’t there, so they must not be. Neither the Fruit of Longevity nor the Soul Spirit Herb.
Now was the time to act fast.
This village looked fragile enough to collapse at any moment.
Forcing myself to let go of my lingering desire, I turned away.
“Please lead the way, Holy Knight Luis. First, I’ll see if I have this so-called aptitude of a Saint, and then we have to do something about those monsters.”
Steeling my resolve, I stepped into the temple.
* * *
Towering pillars.
A ceiling that resembled the sky.
It was a magnificent temple, but the people inside were not much different from those outside.
Sorrow. A sense of loss.
Knights, each injured in some way, and apprentice priests rushing between them, tending to their wounds.
Among them, I could see some of the older apprentice priests using what I had only heard of as “divine power.”
*Vwooom—*
The apprentice priests, sweating profusely, emitted a hazy light from their hands.
Where the light lingered, wounds slowly healed, and bodies that had been mutated by the curse were restored to their original state.
*Fascinating…*
It was truly a power that was neither magic nor Aura. No… it was a strange power that felt like magic and Aura combined.
Having undergone a complete metamorphosis, I could vaguely perceive its structure, but to the people of this era who couldn’t directly manipulate mana, it must have just seemed like a mysterious force.
Of course, even I could only glimpse it; I had no idea how it was possible. How on earth could one process and control mana like that?
Furthermore,
*Power is being continuously transmitted from somewhere.*
The source of the divine power the apprentice priest was using wasn’t inside his body. A power flowing from somewhere else was simply extending through his hands.
The sight honestly shocked me a little.
*Don’t tell me… there’s a real god?*
Where was this power coming from?
If it really was a god… why were there no gods in my era?
Theological questions I had never once contemplated in my life washed over me.
In a short span, all sorts of thoughts rose and scattered.
As we proceeded deeper into the temple.
“Brother Luis? What is it? Did something happen?”
Two holy knights with imposing auras blocked our path.
One seemed to be around the peak of an Expert, and the other was a high-level Expert.
“Commander Herman. I know this sounds absurd, but…”
Luis limped over and whispered something in Herman’s ear.
Herman’s expression changed slightly.
He asked me with a serious face.
“You’re of the ancient hero’s bloodline?”
“…If you mean that flames ignite in my eyes when my emotions run high… then yes, that’s correct.”
Desperation.
The emotion that appeared on the face of Herman, the Knight Commander, was the same as everyone else’s.
The kind of hope that wonders, *what if…?* even while knowing the chances are slim.
He asked with an earnest gaze.
“Have you ever taken theology classes?”
“No.”
“What about baptism?”
“I haven’t had the chance.”
“Have you ever attended a spiritual retreat…?”
“Unfortunately…”
“Prayer…?”
“Once before meals…”
But with each answer I gave, Herman’s face grew darker.
Finally, he hung his head low.
“Hah… This is… I can’t possibly get my hopes up. Even if he has the aptitude of a Saint, it’s difficult to awaken it without the proper education…”
Hmm…
I was starting to sweat.
To be honest, I didn’t think I was a Saint either.
If I were a real Saint, shouldn’t I have experienced mysterious phenomena since childhood or received divine revelations in my dreams?
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t believe that the Vanroah bloodline was related to Saints.
But then Sheneril chimed in again.
“That’s not true, Mister Herman! This person is a real Saint!”
She had been fidgeting in my arms, so I had set her down. Now, she lifted her head high and protested to Herman.
“Uh… Huh?”
To the bewildered Herman, Sheneril spoke clearly.
“The gods answered my prayer! Right, Saint? You’re a real Saint, right?”
Witnessing the pure, unadulterated faith of a child with my own eyes…
My heart ached.
At this point, I wished I really was a Saint.
I just silently stroked Sheneril’s dry hair and met Herman’s gaze.
“Still, since we’ve come this far, let’s give it a try.”
“Yes. For our part as well… we must ask you. We’re in a position where we have to cling to even the slimmest of possibilities…”
Herman bowed his head to me as if in apology and led the way to the depths of the temple.
There, they kept what was called the Holy Relic.
It was in a spot where the ceiling was wide open, allowing the multicolored moonlight to fall directly down.
The Holy Relic floated gently, bathed in moonlight.
*It looks holy.*
Its appearance was simple.
It was nothing more than a perfect sphere about two meters in diameter.
But it possessed a noble white color I had never seen anywhere else, and its surface seemed both as smooth as metal and as soft as a feather.
Floating about ten centimeters off the ground and scattering a soft, glowing light, it exuded a sacred atmosphere, like some egg that had fallen from the sky.
*But I don’t feel any incredible power from it.*
I could feel some power, but that was it.
Even when I used all my senses, I couldn’t detect the kind of miraculous power worthy of being called a Holy Relic.
Is this really it?
Or is the power on such a high level that I can’t perceive it?
Just then, Herman glanced at me furtively and asked.
“By any chance… are you hearing any unintelligible voices?”
Not at all.
When I shook my head, he lowered his gaze, disappointed again.
“I see… Usually, Saints hear the divine language, a revelation, just by approaching the Holy Relic…”
Step by step, the probability was growing.
The probability that I was not a Saint.
Sheneril anxiously clutched the hem of my clothes.
Feeling my face flush for some reason, I wiped my eyes with my palm and said.
“What do I need to do?”
“Kneel before the Holy Relic and place your hands on it. Then, call upon the names of the gods and commune with the Holy Spirit through earnest prayer.”
“Holy Spirit… Is it similar to a Sword Spirit?”
“Not at all!”
Herman snapped for a moment, but then added,
“…However, since this is your first time, approaching it with that mindset might be one way to do it.”
He soon accepted it with a sense of resignation.
*Just give it a try. It’d be great if it works.*
It seemed his expectations had fallen to that level.
I felt similarly.
*Do I really have to do this?*
Sheneril’s boundless expectations.
My own curiosity about my bloodline.
The desperation of the people here.
All these things were pushing me to at least try, but…
Honestly, it was incredibly embarrassing.
What if I do all this and it turns out I’m not a Saint?
*Maybe I should just bluff that I received a divine revelation, then burst out with a flashy display of Aura…*
The thought of seeing Sheneril’s disappointment made me very uncomfortable.
Swallowing my embarrassment and the pressure, I approached the Holy Relic.
I knelt before it and placed my hands on its strangely soft and warm surface.
Then, I whispered a small prayer.
To the only god I knew.
“Goddess of Wisdom, Mibavar…”
*If you’re really out there, if you truly exist, can’t you help me out? Just give it to me straight. ‘You’re a Saint now.’ Please do it. Everyone wants it.*
As if calling a Sword Spirit, I extended my soul, probing the depths of the Holy Relic.
But then,
*…Huh?*
There really was something there. A spirit of some kind resided within the Holy Relic.
*Is this the Holy Spirit?*
It was definitely different from a Sword Spirit.
It was more…
*Strangely similar to the spirit of a Magic Armor…*
But that wasn't quite it either.
It was something far more complex and high-dimensional than an armor spirit.
A Sword Spirit was like a small animal that I had to approach delicately and nurture.
An armor spirit was like a trained pet; we just had to match signals, hand for hand, paw for paw.
But this Holy Spirit was like a giant, sound asleep. I had to reach deep inside and shake it with all my might to wake it up.
*Come on… wake up!*
I extended my soul with all my strength and shook.
Then,
*Vwooom—*
A fine vibration ran through the surface of the Holy Relic.
At the same time, a voice echoed in my head.
[Connection attempt detected.]
Uh…?
It was a language I had never heard before.
Could this be the “divine language” Herman mentioned?
But why could I understand it?
And the tone…
It was strangely formal and oddly polite…
It felt out of place.
Come to think of it, wasn’t it like this with the Annihilation Angel?
[Verifying identity.]
Something scanned my body.
This, too, was just like with the Annihilation Angel.
Back then, that angel scanned me like this, and then…
*Wait? Then are you also…?*
Along with a sudden premonition,
[“Zero Code” confirmed. Switching from hibernation to fully-awakened mode.]
I heard that phrase once again.
*Zero Code!*
Vwoooooom—!
At that moment, the Holy Relic began to vibrate, emitting a radiant light in all directions.
*This power…?*
Suddenly, a power of unknown origin filled the Holy Relic like a lightning strike.
I quickly traced the direction the power was coming from.
Wait a second.
*…The sky? Power is descending from the sky?*
Power coming from the heavens.
What… is it really a god?
The Holy Relic’s radiance grew brighter and brighter.
The light that had only faintly illuminated its surface now blazed brightly enough to engulf the entire vast temple.
A power that was neither Aura nor magic.
No, to be precise, it was a high-dimensional power that used both, with an additional, unknown principle applied, and it raged in all directions.
At the sight of its brilliance, everyone turned to look this way.
The apprentice priests busily tending to the sick, and the patients groaning as if on the verge of death, all shot up, their eyes welling with tears.
“The Holy Radiance!”
Knight Commander Herman cried out as if screaming.
“Oh… Vishanti…”
Someone fell to their knees.
“Glory to the gods!!”
Another clasped their hands and began to pray.
Even the injured lying all around touched their eyes, chest, and lips once with their palms before clasping their hands together.
The holy sign of the Religion of the Thirteen Gods.
The holy knights around me did the same.
After making the holy sign, they pressed their sword pommels with their left hands so the blades pointed to the ground, and knelt before me on one knee.
“Knight Herman, servant of God.”
“Knight Luis.”
“Knight Haynes.”
They bowed their heads deeply and exclaimed in unison.
“We greet you, Saint.”
And,
“Saint!!!”
Sheneril called out to me.
Her face was wreathed in a smile brighter than the blazing Holy Radiance.
Countless questions still remained, but…
It seemed that I,
was indeed a Saint after all.