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Fall of the Holy City – Part 02

Hikaru arrived in the holy city late into the night. Unlike three days ago, when the city buzzed with life, it now lay shrouded in silence.

As darkness fell, not only were the windows firmly closed, but the eateries in the back alleys had also shut down. At first, Hikaru assumed it was due to the late hour, but the complete absence of open establishments felt abnormal. Hikaru proceeded cautiously.

Suddenly, an unbearable stench assaulted his senses. It was a foul odor unbecoming of Agiapole, where not a single piece of trash littered the streets.

“Aaah… Aaah…”

A figure shuffled towards him, one decaying leg dragging behind the other. A Living Dead. Its clothes, partially rotting, were what the average citizen in this area wore. Its body was half decomposed, revealing skeletal remains.

Hikaru reached for the dagger at his waist and furrowed his brow.

All I have for a weapon right now is this makeshift knife.

He had exhausted all his weapons when facing the enormous chimera created by the mad Man Gnome scientist, Ranna.

Hikaru activated his Stealth to max power and turned his back to the monster. It worked against the undead, apparently.

As an experiment, he only enabled Imperceptibility, which worked against the five senses, and the undead monster turned to him. Life Cloaking concealed his unique life energy, rendering him invisible to the undead. Enabling only Mana Cloaking, on the other hand, made him perceptible.

Both the Ghosts and Skeletons he encountered reacted similarly, suggesting that the undead creatures were searching for enemies based on life force.

After running for about thirty minutes, he had passed by more than ten undead monsters.

The number of temple guards and security personnel patrolling the holy city was insufficient. They were going around in groups of five, wearily taking down one monster at a time. The holy water they were using seemed effective, but using so much just to defeat one was worrying.

Yeah, this is definitely weird. I don’t think Luvain is behind this.

If these monsters were created intentionally, they should be easier to control.

Hikaru made his way to the Tower.

The chaos with the monsters had considerably weakened security, allowing Hikaru to infiltrate the Tower with ease. He headed towards Luvain’s private chamber.

---

It was already past midnight, but the light was still on in Luvain’s room. Numerous books and ancient documents were scattered across the large table.

Luvain had dark circles under his eyes and appeared visibly fatigued from the events of the past few days.

“Looking into something?”

Startled by the voice, Luvain turned abruptly. Upon recognizing Hikaru—or rather, Silver Face—a wave of relief washed over him.

“You’re finally here. Let me make some tea.”

The fact that he was being welcomed was unsettling.

Hikaru took a seat on the couch facing Luvain but refrained from touching the tea, in case it was poisoned. He studied Luvain. The man took a sip of the tea and exhaled softly.

“You guys seem to be having a hard time against the undead. I thought this was the heart of the Church,” Hikaru began, attempting to glean Luvain’s thoughts.

“I see the irony. However, this was an unforeseen event.”

“Is that so? I thought you were behind this chaos. The longer Einbiest’s army stays in the country, the better it is for you.”

“We’re not lying when we say that freeing the slaves will take time. The undead has nothing to do with it.”

“Yeah, right.” Hikaru couldn’t believe Luvain was still putting on an act under these circumstances.

Luvain cracked a rare smile. “We’ve reached a ceasefire agreement. I understand you’re on Einbiest’s side, but the deal is done. Now it’s up to both parties to hold up their end of the bargain.”

“You know I was present at the discussion?”

Luvain nodded, surprising Hikaru. The envoy, Leonie, had spotted him while he remained concealed in the shadows alongside Jillarte.

“I didn’t expect a woman of that caliber among the central priests.”

“The Church as an organization is a lot bigger than you think. The corrupt officials just stand out.”

“Anyway, what about those undead monsters? You probably know something about it.”

Luvain hesitated briefly. Wearing a pensive look, he rose from his seat and indicated one of the ancient documents spread across the table. Hikaru approached it, but the text was inscribed in an ancient language he couldn’t comprehend.

Maybe I should’ve brought Lavia with me. No, if I showed her this, she might insist on staying until she’d read it all. It’s better I left her behind.

“This is a document dating back over a thousand years, a secret kept by the former Pope,” Luvain explained. “It pertains to the founding of Agiapole.”

Hikaru looked at Luvain in astonishment.

The Pope nodded. “You know the relationship between the first Pope and Funai, yes?”

“…I guess.”

“I thought you were the carefree type, living life on your own terms, but I see you’re also intrigued by the enormous fetters that bind the people of this world.”

“What do you take me for? So what does the first Pope have to do with the current situation?”

“Do you know what’s sealed beneath the Tower?”

“Some kind of massive fissure from which something malevolent spews out, sealed at the cost of Man Gnome’s lives.”

Luvain nodded gravely. “Sorcery that uses souls is extremely powerful, but it’s not everlasting.”

“Are you saying the seal is weakening now?”

“Not weakening. The seal is on the brink of breaking.” Luvain’s firm tone said he was sure about it. “I’m sure you’ve met her. I believe the missing Ranna undid the seal beneath the city.”

The magic lamp, which constantly emitted a steady light, flickered momentarily.

---

Lavia, reading a book in the tent, noticed a flicker in the lamplight.

“What’s going on? A malfunction?”

Sighing, she closed her book, set it aside, and placed both hands over her eyes. It was boring without Hikaru around. Reading books was enjoyable, but having experienced the warmth and comfort of reading with someone, reading alone felt somewhat dull.

“A privileged problem, I suppose.”

The book she was currently engrossed in had been borrowed from the Chelonians’ representative, who worked as Jillarte’s aide. Carrying books even on a military campaign showed a deep love for reading. Chelonians were apparently avid readers, often passing books around within their own race.

As for the book’s content, it was a tale of homosexual romance, where men became romantically involved with each other. Furthermore, it featured Beastmen—one half-goat and the other half-horse—a niche that caught Lavia off guard when she received the book. This was why she couldn’t stop reading books.

Earlier, after dinner, Jillarte had returned while Lavia was engrossed in her reading. Her clear disappointment at Hikaru’s absence was palpable.

“What are you up to? Reading?”

Upon learning that Lavia had borrowed a book from the Chelonian, Jillarte’s competitive spirit ignited. She decided to borrow one too and started reading in the same tent, but within ten minutes, she was dozing off on the couch. Heaving a sigh, Lavia covered her with a cloak.

“What are you even doing? You’re probably running short on sleep with all your responsibilities.”

She stood up and placed the book on the table.

“I just hope Hikaru is okay.”

Stepping out of the tent, Lavia saw Agiapole’s white limestone metropolis gleaming under the moonlight.

---

The magic lamp flickered.

Hikaru, after activating Mana Detection to investigate the cause, sensed faint waves of magical energy spreading across a wide area.

Is this coming from underground? he wondered. There’s something weird going on down there, all right.

“The seal is weakening,” Luvain said. “Malevolent energy is seeping through, rousing wandering souls on the surface, turning them into undead monsters.”

“Is this why the previous Pope sheltered Ranna?”

Luvain’s eyes widened. “You catch on quickly. Impressive.”

“Save the flattery. So my guess was right on the mark, huh?”

Hikaru had been puzzling over why the Church gave refuge to Ranna, a Man Gnome banished from her village. The previous Pope knew about the conflict with the Man Gnomes that had occurred over a thousand years ago, so taking in Ranna effectively meant taking a confrontational stance against the Man Gnomes.

One might argue they didn’t care about ancient events, but the fact was: Man Gnomes, like Unken, remembered the past. Since Man Gnomes lived three times longer than humans, those memories weren’t as distant, and they didn’t fade as much as human memories did.

The Man Gnome village had managed to create something similar to soul cards. It was as if they were reclaiming their ancestor’s invention. Hikaru had initially assumed that upon learning of this from Ranna, the Pope elevated her to a key figure due to a sense of rivalry with the Man Gnomes.

But that wouldn’t have been enough. The previous Pope took in Ranna before the Man Gnomes declared they would disclose the production method of the soul cards. Taking in Ranna could have also provoked the Man Gnomes, leading to the public release of the soul card tech, which is exactly what the Pope would’ve wanted to avoid. There was one other important secret that Ranna shared, besides the intel on the soul card, chimeras and the Accursed Toxin, which secured her the Pope’s protection.

This was where the underground seal came into play. The seal was the greatest matter of interest for both Ranna and the Pope.

“What did Ranna tell the Pope?”

“To loosen the seal and allow malevolent energy to seep through. She claimed it could be used to create new weapons.”

“Weapons? Did the Pope want to rule the continent or something?”

“The previous Pope was utterly devoted to the Church’s doctrine. However, his unswerving dedication may have backfired. It seems he and Ranna ventured underground multiple times to inspect the seal. Back then, there were already minor cracks in it. After prolonged exposure to the malevolent energy, the previous Pope began to exhibit abnormal behavior.”

Going out for wool but coming home shorn, Hikaru thought.

While the Church held dominance over other nations, Hikaru found their actions in the Kingdom of Ponsonia—spreading poison—excessive. It was purely erratic behavior, far from diplomatic.

But if the previous Pope was influenced by malevolent energy and couldn’t make sound judgments, it would make sense. It didn’t look like he had advisors who could rein him in.

If the underground fissure was indeed the cause, Luvain would also be considered a victim.

“So, what do you want from me?” Hikaru asked.

“I’m really glad you’re quick on the uptake. If the Tower had five more individuals as bright as you, we could reform the Church instantly.”

“I said enough with the flattery.”

“I mean it. In any case, I have one favor to ask of you. I want you to go underground and bring back Ranna. If, by any chance, you can’t bring her back, please kill her.”