CHAPTER 167…………………………………………..
Shion and I looked up at the towering wall, unable to hide our awe.
Through the crack in the wall, we could catch a glimpse of what lay beyond.
“I’ve never heard of a place like this before… Since the building is so old, I suppose the walls cracked over time, revealing hidden rooms.”
Indeed, that made sense.
“It would be nice to check inside… The problem is how to get in.”
We could see inside through the fissure, but it wasn’t large enough for a person to pass through.
And we couldn’t just start breaking it down. After all, this was practically an ancient relic.
“I’ve heard that some hidden rooms exist to protect against external intrusion. If this is one of them, there must be another way to enter.”
We scanned the surrounding walls thoroughly. And then we discovered…
“Emily, I think I found it.”
Following Shion’s finger, I saw a gaping hole, with an inscription above it: “The worthy shall claim it.”
Written in an ancient language long extinct.
Of course, the Bible had been written in this language, so it was a required knowledge for the nobility—I could read it well enough.
“What exactly is this hole for?”
“You’re supposed to put your arm in it.”
“Huh?”
“Do you remember that magical artifact we saw in the basement, used to verify divine power? It looks different now after multiple modifications, but I heard the original looked like this.”
Ah. So it was a device to restrict access only to priests.
“Of course, back then there was no divine power, so it probably wasn’t meant to detect that. I don’t know the exact mechanism… but I’ve heard there’s a device here to distinguish followers of the Helios Church, so it’s probably something similar.”
Shion explained, then said he would try it first. If it’s a device to identify Helios Church followers, that made sense. I nodded.
Swish.
Sliding his arm in, it fit perfectly into the hole.
Vrrrrrr-.
A sound of something activating came from inside.
“Ugh!”
“You okay?”
“It’s nothing… Seems like it checks by pricking your fingertip and using the blood. I was just a little startled.”
The device we saw before had been touch-based. This was definitely a primitive method.
As we waited, the buzzing sound eventually stopped.
Beep!
A red light flared and then vanished.
The door didn’t move.
“…Did it fail?”
“Seems like it.”
Shion withdrew his arm. Sure enough, his fingertip had turned red with blood.
“Looks like it’s not for identifying Helios Church followers.”
“I see…”
“Do you want to try?”
“Huh?”
I jumped at Shion’s suggestion.
“I don’t know what we’re looking for, but if we both try and fail, we can just leave it. No point messing with it unnecessarily.”
“……”
With a nervous glance, I stared at the round hole.
How could I tell how this place, which had just tested a dark mage’s blood, might react?
What if alarms suddenly blared: “Dark mage! Kill him!”
I hesitated, but Shion said it would be fine to pass if I didn’t want to.
But…
“…I’ll do it.”
Somehow, it felt like something inside was waiting for me. Strangely so.
It was as if it was beckoning me closer, oddly familiar.
“Alright. If an alarm goes off, I’ll just say it’s broken from age.”
If the walls were already cracked, a malfunction wouldn’t matter.
And the fact that it had no effect on Shion, a saint, would be proof enough.
With that thought, I cautiously put my arm into the hole.
Vrrrrrr-.
Sharp!
Something pricked my fingertip, making me flinch. The blood that dripped threatened to raise my hand, but I pressed it down.
Vrrrr-, ding!
A clear tone rang out, and a green light shot out! Done!
Kugugugu…
Simultaneously, the floor beneath Shion and me shook violently!
“Emily. Duck your head.”
Following Shion’s words, I held on to him tightly, leaning against the wall as if he were protecting me.
“Wait, you might get hurt…!”
“Stay still.”
He kept scanning the surroundings. As rocks tumbled from above, he pulled me in close!
Thud, crash!
“Sh-Shion…”
The sound of heavy impacts echoed. Shion’s back, bracing the rocks, must have been bruised badly.
I cautiously called his name, and he straightened his body and looked down at me.
“Uh.”
I jumped in surprise.
Of course—I had never seen Shion’s flawless face marred, yet the falling rocks had grazed it!
A thin scratch, but enough to be shocking.
It looked as if a god had meticulously painted his face, only for a human blemish to appear while saving me.
What a sacrilege!
“Oh my… there’s blood.”
I couldn’t even touch his wound, fiddling nervously with the surroundings instead.
Shion’s head and clothes were coated in gray dust from catching the rocks, yet he didn’t brush it off and instead asked me,
“You’re not hurt, right?”
I felt my chest tighten.
“You’re the one hurt, Shion!”
I accidentally shouted, then clamped my mouth shut. Shion smiled lightly, wiping his cheek with his sleeve.
“This is nothing.”
“Don’t touch it. Even if we disinfect it, it wouldn’t be enough…”
I nagged, and Shion hesitated for a moment, then grinned.
“Ouch… that hurts.”
He had said it didn’t hurt before!
I looked puzzled, and he gazed at me with a pitiful expression.
“It hurts like crazy. Emily, could you check it? If this scar leaves a mark, I might be disqualified from being a saint, since it wouldn’t fit the title of God’s messenger.”
“What?!”
Wasn’t that too harsh? And more than that…
“Wait, was there really a beauty standard?”
“Hmm?”
“Ah, no… I just thought maybe. Like, did they pick saints by looks…?”
What am I even saying?
Flustered and babbling, Shion burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! You really thought that? That they picked saints by looks?”
“…You were joking just now.”
Shion wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, giggling.
“What do you think?”
“Shion. How can you joke in a situation like that? I really thought it was true…!”
Ugh. Totally tricked.
“Sorry. You seemed too worried, so I just tried to lighten the mood. Didn’t expect you actually thought that…”
He lied so convincingly. Even in that situation!
I gave a dumbfounded look, and Shion laughed again.
Can a saint really be this cheeky?
“Haha… But it’s actually a relief.”
“Huh?”
“I thought Emily wouldn’t be tempted.”
He smiled, bright even with the scratch on his cheek.
Even a slight flaw looked like part of his charm.
Growing up in the Walker Duke family, with my extreme aesthetic sense, Shion’s face was still extraordinary.
“It’s my secret weapon. Would be disappointing if it didn’t work.”
What are you talking about? Who wouldn’t be captivated by that face? Claiming uncertainty when you know exactly how to use it was unconvincing.
“Anyway, I think we actually entered that room earlier, right?”
“Oh!”
I looked around. In the darkness, I hadn’t noticed, but the air was cooler than before.
“What happened?”
“It moved as a whole. The wall and floor spun together~.”
I couldn’t see well, but Shion clearly had.
Amazing. To think such intricate technology existed so long ago—it was astonishing.
“I don’t know why it reacted to my dark mage blood…”
Regardless, we had entered a remarkable place. Naturally, we had to explore it fully.
“Look at this.”
Shion shone a light on one wall.
Following his gaze, I couldn’t help but marvel.
The entire wall was covered with a mural. Its size was enormous, and the delicate details and vibrant colors made it look like a masterpiece.
It was perfectly preserved, as if time had stopped here. So vivid it could have been painted just two days ago.
“…I’ve heard that in the past, paintings like this were used to teach biblical stories, since literacy was low.”
Shion’s guess sounded plausible. I immediately objected.
“But this scene… I don’t recall seeing it in the Bible.”
I had studied the Bible thoroughly. Laughable that a dark mage was so well-versed, but it was part of basic education.
Plus, in social circles, people often referenced biblical anecdotes in poems or speeches. Even non-religious people knew the main stories.
But this mural…
“It looks like a disaster has struck.”
