Chapter 21……………………………..
Zion and I looked up at the towering wall, unable to hide our amazement.
Through the cracks in the wall, we could catch a glimpse of what lay beyond.
“I’ve never heard of a place like this… It must be an old building, and over time, the walls cracked, revealing hidden rooms,” Zion said.
Indeed, that made sense.
“It would be good to check inside… but the question is, how do we get in?”
Though we could see into the crack, it wasn’t big enough for even one person to pass through.
And we couldn’t just smash it recklessly—this place was practically an ancient ruin.
“I’ve heard there are a few hidden rooms like this to protect them from outside intrusions. If this is one of them, there must be another way in,” Zion continued.
We carefully examined the surrounding wall. And what we discovered was…
“Emily, I think I found it,” Zion said.
I looked where he was pointing and saw a hole in the wall, along with an inscription: “The one who is worthy shall claim it.”
It was written in an ancient language that had long since died out.
Of course, since the Bible was written in this ancient language, it was considered essential knowledge for nobles, so I could manage to read it.
“What’s this hole for?” I asked.
“It means you’re supposed to put your arm in here,” he explained.
“Excuse me?”
“Remember the magical device in the basement that tested divine power? It’s been modified many times since, but I heard it originally looked like this.”
Ah. So it’s a device to verify that only priests can enter.
“Of course, back then there was no divine power, so it probably wasn’t meant for that. I don’t know the exact mechanism, but I’ve heard there are devices to detect followers of the Helios faith here, so this is probably something similar.”
Zion said he would try putting his arm in first. Since it was a device to identify a follower of the Helios faith, it seemed safer for him to test it first. I nodded.
Swish.
He slid his arm in, and it fit perfectly in the hole.
Vrrrrr—
We could hear something operating inside.
“Ugh!”
“Are you okay?”
“It’s nothing… It seems to test with a tiny scratch of blood at the fingertips. I was just a little startled.”
The devices I had seen before were touch-based; this was definitely a primitive method.
We waited silently, and the buzzing sound soon stopped.
Beep!
A red light flared up and then vanished.
There was no movement near the door either.
“…Did it fail?”
“Seems like it,” Zion said, withdrawing his arm. Just as he said, his fingertips were stained red with blood.
“Looks like it isn’t a tool to identify Helios followers,” he concluded.
“I see…”
“Do you want to try?”
“Eh?”
I jumped at Zion’s suggestion.
“Whatever it’s looking for, if even you fail after trying, we’ll just give up and move on. No need to meddle recklessly,” he explained.
I stared nervously at the round hole.
After all, this was a place that had reacted to a dark magician’s blood before; who knew what it might do now?
What if warning alarms suddenly went off, shouting ‘Dark Magician! Eliminate!’ or something?
When I hesitated, Zion reassured me that we could just move on if I didn’t want to try.
But…
“…I’ll do it.”
Somehow, it felt as though whatever was inside was waiting for me. Oddly enough, it felt that way.
It was as if it was gesturing for me to come closer. It even seemed somewhat familiar.
Alright. If an alarm goes off, I’ll just say it’s broken from age.
What harm could a malfunction do when the wall itself is cracked?
Besides, the fact that it didn’t affect the holy Zion would be proof enough.
With that in mind, I carefully slid my arm into the hole.
Vrrrrr—
Ouch!
I flinched as something sharp pricked my fingertips. A drop of blood fell, and I had to press it down with effort.
Vrrrrr—Ding!
Then a clear note rang out, and a green light flared brightly. Got it!
Kugugugugu…
At the same time, the floor beneath Zion and me trembled violently!
“Emily, duck!”
I grabbed him tightly at his words, bracing myself against the wall as if he were protecting me.
“Wait, Zion might get hurt…!”
“Stay still,” he instructed.
He kept scanning the surroundings, and when rocks began to fall from above, he hugged me tightly!
Thud, crash!
“Z-Zion…”
A heavy impact hit him. His back, which had taken the brunt head-on, was sure to bruise badly.
I cautiously called his name, and Zion straightened, looking down at me.
“Uh.”
I gasped.
After all, Zion had always seemed perfect, and now his face had been scratched by a falling stone!
It was only a thin line, but enough to startle anyone.
It felt as though humans had dared to mar a face that the gods themselves had painstakingly crafted. And it happened while he was saving me.
What a sacrilege.
“Oh my… you’re bleeding.”
I couldn’t even touch his wound, just fidgeted nervously around him.
Zion, having absorbed the rocks with his body, was covered in gray dust from head to clothes.
But instead of brushing it off, he asked me:
“You’re not hurt, right?”
I felt a surge of emotion.
“You’re the one who’s hurt, Zion!”
I shouted before realizing it, then clamped my mouth shut. Zion chuckled lightly and wiped his cheek with his sleeve.
“This is nothing,” he said.
“Don’t touch it! Even proper disinfecting wouldn’t be enough…”
I scolded him, and he paused briefly before grinning.
“Ouch… that hurts.”
But earlier he said it didn’t hurt at all.
When I looked at him in confusion, he gave me a pitiful look as if saying what are you talking about?
“It really hurts. Emily, could you take a look? If this scar leaves a mark, it wouldn’t suit my title as God’s Messenger, and I might be disqualified from being a saint.”
“What?!”
Wasn’t that a little harsh? More than that…
“Were there really appearance standards?”
“Huh?”
“Well… I sort of thought maybe. That maybe saints were chosen by appearance…”
What am I even saying right now?
Flustered and rambling, Zion burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! You really thought that? That saints are chosen by looks?”
“…You’re joking, right?”
He wiped the tears clinging to his eyes and giggled.
“What do you think?”
“Zion. Do you really have the mind to joke in a situation like this? I actually thought you were serious…!”
Ugh. Completely fooled.
“Sorry. I just thought you looked too worried. I wanted to lighten the mood with a joke, I didn’t think you’d actually believe it…”
He looked so natural that I couldn’t tell it was a lie. Even in a situation like this!
When I made a dumbfounded face, he laughed again.
Can a saint be this mischievous?
“Haha… but I’m actually happy.”
“Eh?”
“I thought Emily wouldn’t be tempted.”
He smiled softly.
Even the scratch on his cheek seemed to enhance the freshness of his smile, as if it were intentional.
A slight blemish looked like fashion on him.
Even with my refined aesthetic sense from growing up in the Walker Duke family, Zion’s face was extraordinary.
“It’s a secret weapon of sorts. It’d be disappointing if it didn’t work.”
What is he even saying? Who wouldn’t be mesmerized by that beauty? He’s using his own face and pretending not to be confident—it doesn’t make sense.
“Anyway, we seem to have entered the room earlier, right?”
“Oh!”
I quickly scanned the area. In the darkness, I hadn’t noticed, but it was definitely cooler than before.
“What happened?”
“The whole thing moved. The walls and floor rotated together.”
I couldn’t see properly, blocked by Zion, but he had clearly seen it.
Incredible.
They had that level of sophisticated technology so long ago? I couldn’t help but be impressed.
I don’t know why it reacted to the blood of a dark magician…
Anyway, since we were clearly in a remarkable place, it was only natural to explore it fully.
“Look at this,” Zion said, shining a light on one side of the wall.
Following his gaze, I was stunned.
The entire wall was covered with a mural. Its size was enormous, and the delicate detail and vibrant colors made it look like a masterpiece.
It seemed as if time had stopped here alone, perfectly preserved. The clarity was such that I could almost believe it had been painted just two days ago.
“I’ve heard that in the past, people would teach the contents of the Bible through paintings like this. Literacy wasn’t widespread, you see,” Zion speculated.
I immediately objected.
“But this scene… I don’t think I’ve seen it in the Bible.”
I had studied all of it. It was ironic that a dark magician knew the Bible so well, but it was basic education.
Moreover, in social circles, people often referenced biblical anecdotes in poetry or conversation. So even non-religious people knew the main stories.
But the mural before us…
“It looks like a disaster has struck.”
