Chapter 89: Altar of Vampires
St. Winifred Great Church on the outskirts of Knot Reed.
It was the terminal point of the main twelve pilgrimage areas in the vicinity and was the oldest and only God’s church in Knot Reed.
In the basement of the cathedral where it had been renovated many times, there were remains of the era where Ignitia’s teachings were conveyed to this place for the first time.
The two phantom beasts and I were in the deepest part of the second floor basement of St. Winifred Great Church.
After the banquet, we secretly went out of Water Palace and came to this place.
There was a faint sound of water came from behind the wall.
Perhaps there was a groundwater flowing somewhere.
The cave was cut out of limestone.
At the height of a standing adult, the ceiling drew a round arch.
In the back of the cave, there was a square marble altar engraved with a relief of the Sun and the angels.
Next to me were Palug who had dressed up as a man and the plush toy-size Tirnanog.
The altar, illuminated by the torch that Tirnanog had, seemed to be an ordinary common altar for Ignitia’s rituals.
Dropping the large jute bag she was carrying on her back, Palug opened her mouth.
“I’m sorry for bringing you here.”
“Don’t mind it. We are equal status in this regard.”
『I have to confirm that you are not just playing around.
Since you have brought us along, were there some good results?』
“Good results……if I can choose, it would be better if I didn’t find any result at all.”
『Hm? Do not use weird phrases.
Didn’t you call us because you wanted to show us something?』
When Tirnanog pointed it out, Palug smiled while narrowing her eyes.
It was a ferocious smile.
“Unfortunately, there is nothing here, or rather there is only something I don’t want to be exposed to anyone’s eyes if possible.”
『Fumu, in other words, our purpose is to check the existence of things that should not exist.』
“Correct. Although if possible, I want it to only be me thinking too much.”
Palug glanced at the altar.
And yet, it was a mediocre and ordinary altar.
“Is it impossible to check it alone, or is it dangerous?”
“If it really exists, neither you nor myself should touch it.
However, if we really have to check it……don’t you Aurelia have a convenient technology?”
Saying so, Palug pointed to the sandbag that had been transported by Tirnanog.
I see. She was thinking of making a golem to act on our behalf for the dangerous matters, huh.
Tirnanog opened the sandbag, poured the soil onto the floor, and roughly shaped it into the shape of a person.
I took out the athame knife and carved magical letters from the 72 letters on the core to be incorporated into the golem.
Unlike the standing-upright golems made at the testing field, this golem also incorporated proper motion control.
As I breathed in magical power into the golem, the headless humanoid earth golem stood up.
Since it could only act in a sluggish manner as it was now, I threw one portion of the torch into the hollow part of his torso as the power source.
While the torch was burning, the golem would become somewhat agile and it would be possible for it to do physical work.
“Is this sufficient?”
“Yes, it’s more than sufficient. From here, please move in accordance with my instructions.”
When Palug nodded in satisfaction, she took out several items from her jute bag.
An old golden candlestick branched into seven.
Seven candles made of beeswax.
Silver handbell with leather belt handle attached.
And, a tattered codex with several sheets of bookmark put between the pages.
“Thou, those who will step into the Realm of Death.
The threshold of the impure has already opened before thee.
First, burn the seven-branched light and illuminate the visible darkness.”
On the ground underneath us, Palug’s poetry reverberated.
I ordered the golem and let it set the candles on the candlestick and lit them on fire.
At Palug’s cue, Tirnanog extinguished the fire of the torch by smothering it.
The seven flames of the candles projected the ominously swaying shadow of the headless golem on the ceiling.
“Second, ring the silver bell and call out to the Other Side.”
The golem picked up the handbell and shook it several times.
The sound that should be refreshing resounded coldly.
Before I knew it, I couldn’t hear the water sound that I heard from the other side of the wall.
Feeling as if the temperature of the room which had been cool by nature cooled down further, I hugged my own body.
“Third, praise Him and shout words of profanity.
Beware, thou will not return under the sunshine.
—You are already in the Realm of Death.”
The golem picked up the codex.
At the same time, Palug moved us several steps back.
The moment when the page marked by a bookmark was opened, some creaking sounds resounded from the golem’s chest.
The part where the clavicles should be in human beings was torn apart horizontally, and it became a mouth-like figure.
From the opening of the golem that shouldn’t have any vocal organ, a low voice that resembled the voice of a toad leaked and shook the air.
『N-now—, I respectfully offer You my salutations……ooh, Lord of Fresh Blood……
You who are the Master of Mausoleum, of the Night and Darkness—.
I will come to Your side—for this soul is pure—.
These are Your hands on my back, and in Yours lies my fate.
Ooh, I wish, bestow on me my own mouth to speak—』
The golem was already breathing by itself, moving away from my control by itself.
Mutated into an unknown monster, what was once a golem knelt towards the altar.
A change also occurred to the altar.
As if seeping out of empty space, drop by drop, blood was stuck to the marble surface.
It seemed as if an invisible offering on the altar was being chopped up.
『I, who I am diminutive here and now, respectfully offer You my salutations.
The Exalted God of Corruption, You who dwells eternally inside the Tombs of the Land of Dusk.
The One who rides a boat of Skin and Flesh and passes time perpetual, the One who takes on Many Kinds and Many Forms.
Ooh, King of lands vast and clad in dark night, You who is magnificent, Your Name is—』
Before I knew it, the golem was speaking fluently just like a human being.
The lump of soil around the golem’s core was bulging and wriggling towards the core, trying to capture it.
Just before the characters of emet engraved on the core was captured by the mutated lump of soil, Palug swung a glowing nail.
The golem whose characters engraved turned into met, turned back into a lump of earth once again.
『Mu……!?』
“This is……just what exactly……”
“Wait. It’s not over yet.”
Palug took us by hand.
As she said, even after the golem, the performer of the ritual, was destroyed, the changes of the altar continued.
I wondered how many times the sacrificial knife was swung down.
The blood of the invisible offering wet the altar.
There was a trace of blood continuing down from the altar to the floor, as if something soaked in blood had fallen down.
Flopping down, I looked at the traces on the floor and shuddered.
No matter how I looked at it, it looked like a human handprint.
An unseen knife cut off the life of a person and their handprints were erased by the newly flowing blood.
Then several more bloods were shed, when the altar was completely covered with fresh blood, the phantom halted.
Inside the narrow basement was filled with unpleasant smell of blood.
『Twelve people……huh.』
“The number of altars is also twelve. One person was killed per altar.
Unfortunately, it seems that my conjecture is right.
In addition, it’s the worst among the worst conjectures.”
Palug had a smile on her face that made her seems about to bite at the unseen killer.
With that expression alone, I could see that she held a considerable anger in her chest.
“No way, for what purpose did they kill 12 people?”
“They wanted to rewrite the altar’s ceremonies and authorities.
This was a dedicated offering to a different God, this altar is not the altar of my God anymore.
The other eleven altars connected to this altar should have also been rewritten completely.”
『By doing that, they were snatching your and the other angels’ power.
Fumu. Having done that, it means the power of the faith that is currently being scattered to the sea is a diversion, huh.』
“Yes, thanks to that, I was late in realizing this.
It seems that this someone didn’t want to be found out by me.”
Tirnanog was throwing glances at Palug’s way.
Speaking of which, she was depleted of power until she almost died because of this.
There was a sound of him clenching his fangs anxiously from underneath his face armor.
He was also thinking about the circumstances of his quarreling friend.
『I do not know who it was, but they have a bad hobby.
Secretly sucking up the lives of other people, even if it was discovered, it would still give a serious wound on the other party.
If you had exposed their secrets unknowingly, you might have been encroached and taken in.』
“Yes, that was their……the vampires’ way.”
Vampires.
Just hearing that word, I felt chills running through my spine.
Information on the worst bad end of the original game came to my mind.
A mountain of dead bodies covered the ground, exchanging kisses smeared with blood on top of it.
With the same name as the last King of Casketia, the hidden character named Cain.
『Was it a survivor of the destroyed ancient Kingdom, or was it a religious fanatic enthralled by the power and knowledge of the vampires?』
“Even if it was a religious fanatic, if they have the power and wisdom derived from the vampires, I couldn’t leave them as is.”
Palug cut off her words for a moment and looked at me.
Her eyes held a firm resolution.
“Erica, please give me time to move freely.
I can help you with your oracle during the interval.
Even if I am the only surviving angel, this is the only enemy that must be destroyed.”
I held Palug’s gaze and shook my head quietly.
Her eyes shook a little in unrest.
“That’s right. I am not an angel anymore; I am your subordinate.
I have attracted unnecessary crisis with my selfish behaviors—”
“That’s not it, just you alone are not enough, right? You will need plenty of help and supplies.”
Hearing my answer, Palug was dumbfounded for a while.
Tirnanog’s laughter echoed within the silent underground altar.
『Kukukukuku, interesting. That’s the friend I know.』
“Hey now, Tir is also included in this, for the time being, I wonder if the three of us is enough.”
“Y-you guys……jeez, just how much of good-natured people are you~~!”
Palug cried out with somewhat teary eyes.
She was so happy that she couldn’t help saying the opposite words.
I thought so when I saw her lion-tail jutted out and swaying lightly.
To tell the truth, I was angry with this culprit.
I thought about how terribly miraculous it was being alive.
Whether it was people or beasts, they were earnestly standing on the place where they belong, it was unreasonable to take away their lives easily.
Even so, this was not natural selection or natural disaster, but clear animosity and malice.
“I need to prepare. Even if every vampire of Casketia revives, we only need to destroy them a second time.”
With a glimpse of the biggest death flag appeared in front of me, I spoke so in determination.
It could be said that my challenge was reckless.
On the other hand, Tirnanog had an expression like he was admiring the grades of a good student, and Palug was nodding with a new expression of resolute.