Iosef looked back at the Wanderer sitting on the stairs of the burning chapel. His suspicions of this disgusting Necromancer were somewhat alleviated due to his clearing the nearby Dungeon.
He tried to do the same himself but was overwhelmed by the sheer number of demons inside. Fortunately, this strong Wanderer didn't take the villagers' side and instead helped him cleanse this cursed town with fire.
[Luckily, he doesn't seem to be one of the bad ones. Furthermore... that look of his right now. I've seen it countless times before in those that went through traumatic experiences. Having an entire town go mad and drag you into their craziness... *Sigh* poor lad doesn't seem to have encountered such things before.](Iosef)
There was also the look the Wanderer had when he killed those attacking them in the warehouse. It made it plenty obvious to the Monk that it was the first time the man killed someone to defend his life.
[However, as much as I want to pity the lad, there's something strange about him. Leaving aside that he was put through a demonic ritual and fed the blood of that demoness, the fact that he could see a vision through the memories of the petals... that's not natural. There's an apparent connection between him and either the Sanctuary or the horned woman. I need to report to the Cathedral and find out how to deal with him.
Also, if he goes to that faithless Hermit, the man can sound him out. If he's dangerous, there will be a pyre waiting for him. By Light's will!](Iosef)
The Monk saddled the horse and left the man behind. There was a lot he needed to let the Cathedral know, and he couldn't waste time here since his mission was complete.
------------------------------------------------
Watching the Monk leave, Michael rested on the steps of the burning chapel. The blazing fire provided him with warmth in the harsh cold of the wintry night.
Today has taken quite a toll on his mental sanity.
"Starting from a child ripped to shreds by demonic wolves, to a crazed village, to a damned Dungeon where I almost died multiple times, to killing my first human beings... *sigh* I need a drink and lots of sleep..."
Looking at the coffin in his inventory and remembering the town priest mentioning Vani's child, another wave of exhaustion hit his body. He felt he lacked the strength to move, speak, or even breathe anymore.
Proping his hands on the wooden stairs, he stood shakily and returned to the burning chapel. There, he took out the child's coffin and pushed it into the middle of the aisle, where the fire would reach it easily.
Taking some steps back and hearing the creaking sounds made by a soon-to-fall ceiling, he watched the smoldering fire in a daze.
So many things were wrong with this village that he didn't know where to start.
"However, was it truly wrong of Lilith to do what she did? The man called it an 'awakening' while she mentioned the impending invasion of the lords of Hell. Her compassion towards the villagers wasn't fake; she truly believed they stood no chance while enslaved by the mental shackles the Church of Light placed on them. That means that there will be a schism among common folk very soon regardless of what happens next..."
Those who believe in the Light and those who wish to follow Lilith's guidance. No matter which side is right and which one is wrong, there will be a clash between them.
And if she were right about the incursion coming straight from the Burning Hells, then that would only weaken the already shoddy battlements of humanity.
"*Sigh* The strong eat the weak and get stronger, while the weak perish. From their remains, a force strong enough to resist the invasion of the demons would emerge... huh!? Wait a second..."
Seemingly trying to catch a fleeting thought, Michael grasped at straws for a good fifteen minutes, and as one of the wooden beams fell from the chapel ceiling, he remembered.
[I saw my corpse, and from my mouth crawled Hatred. A father burned his children on a pyre, and a mother molded a new age from the ashes...
I saw the weak made strong, a pack of lambs feasting on wolves. Tears of blood rained on a desert jewel, and the way to Hell was torn asunder.
Then came a spear of light, piercing Hatred's heart. And he who was bound in chains... was set free.](?)
The strange voice he heard while Oswen was dragging him to be butchered.
"A father burned his children on a pyre, and a mother molded a new age from the ashes... Doesn't this allude to Inarius and Lilith? 'I saw the weak made strong, a pack of lambs feasting on wolves'... this refers to the weak common folk being 'awakened' by Lilith and gaining enough strength to fight back the demons? There's too little information..."
Hating the cryptic message he heard, he couldn't help but think of the prophesies he usually read about in novels. They had the same bullshity cryptic format, and the main character wouldn't be able to figure things out until the events were already occurring.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
This message he somehow got was similar to that.
"Fuck it, trying to make sense of it with so little information would only backfire. 'I saw my corpse, and from my mouth crawled Hatred'... what the fuck is that even supposed to mean? Did the man foresee his death? As for 'Hatred,' it's mentioned twice...
'Then came a spear of light, piercing Hatred's heart. And he who was bound in chains was set free'... leaving aside the ominous reference to Hell knows what kind fucked up demon would be released eventually, 'a spear of light, piercing Hatred's heart' should refer to Inarius and Lilith. Maybe it is an allusion to their grudge being resolved? Probably not peacefully..."
Inarius's congregation was under the Cathedral of Light, and their entire faith was based on the 'Light,' as both the Monk sacrificed to Lilith and Iosef kept talking about it.
As for Hatred, it was no doubt a reference to Lilith, as Michael remembered the Monk calling her 'Daughter of Hatred.'
"However, Hoduin called her a Princess of Hell, unwilling to go into details. Does that mean she's the daughter of one of the lords of Hell she warned the people in the chapel about? Then... would the prophecy still apply to her and Inarius? AGH! Fuck! To begin with... is it a prophecy or something else!?"
Remembering the discomfort of sharing a mind with someone else, Michael hypothesized that whoever sent that message was strong. He and the speaker had a faint connection but couldn't quite place his finger on it.
"*Sigh* After so many fried neurons, I still reached no probable conclusion. Also... I can't seem to place Lilith at fault for some reason, even if she's involved with the deaths of this entire town. Morally, though, she did nothing wrong. She only offered them a choice, which they accepted. After that, the villagers acted on their desires..."
Moral dilemmas were a pain in the ass, especially when you might have to pick sides in the future.
"Judging from how she looked at and talked to me, she is very much aware of my presence but doesn't seem bothered by it. Even if through these visions, I can see and hear her plans, potentially being capable of putting a stop to them. If she hopes to draw me to her camp, I must first see what the other side of the fence looks like. And completing this bullshit Quest might be my ticket to an audience with the higher-ups of the Church of Light.
If there is anyone that knows more about this fucked up situation, it should be them."
Seeing Lilith's hands-on approach, Michael realized that Inarius must be similar since the old man Al said the clergy was also raving about the Father descending in the Sanctuary.
It was no laughing matter to be caught between two lovers fighting, much less two that were powerful enough to have created a world.
"So... in conclusion, I need to finish this damned Quest, don't I? What does it say? To find the Hermit's house? The fuck!? Where am I supposed to start looking for him?"
Looking at the burning village and seeing the streets and the surrounding air filled with smoke, Michael shook his head and opened the MAP.
There was no marker or GPS this time, so he could only go about it the old way.
"Iosef mentioned the cabin being in the northeast. As of right now, there are three roads I can take. The one leading me back to the cave I came from, the road leading to the ruins further blocked by the snowstorm, and the third road leading northeast. Using my only functional neuron, I'd say it should be the route I must take to get to my destination."
Resummoning his Skeleton Warriors since the Monk had left already, Michael took one last look at the burning buildings and shook his head. Fortunately, he didn't get on the bad side of that crazy Monk. Fanatics are not the type of people one wants to screw with.
"At least there's more light now... Gotta see the full side of the glass, or I sincerely doubt I'll be able to live properly in this world. Or long enough... I can't bring my mindset from Earth in Sanctuary, or I'll go insane before I know it..."
The snow covered the road, and Michael had his Skeletons box him in the same formation while advancing. The Dungeon was down, but that doesn't mean any other creatures won't be affected by the spill of demonic energy from the ruins.
Safety had to come first. He barely managed to get out of the village when a *Ping* sound drew his attention back to a sudden prompt from the system.
[ MAP has been updated. ]
"Huh!? Updated with what? Eh!? Well... I guess that's somewhat useful."
A strange yellow line encircled a significant area of the MAP. Michael couldn't see much since it was an unexplored location, but he would undoubtedly find the Hermit's cabin nearby.
"A useful function, no doubt? Huh? What now!?"
Looking in the distance, a glowing red figure could be seen. Horns adorned her head, and a pair of wings were open as she held a small flame in her hands.
Michael almost shat himself thinking that Lilith came by for another visit, but breathed in relief when noticing that it was only a statue.
Moving closer, he couldn't help but be impressed with how realistic the statue looked.
"Weird as fuck... Didn't Aylin say that knowledge of Lilith was forbidden ever since Inarius banished her? Even speaking her name can cause one to die on the pyre, but these lunatics decided to create statues of her!? It doesn't make sense... not to mention the craftsmanship is amazingly detailed... This couldn't have been done in a short amount of... time?"
[ Identified objective - Altar of Lilith
Description: Using her powers to bless the land, the Sanctuary responded to her pleas and helped her erect statues that would strengthen her children. Due to the demonic nature of these altars, the Sanctuary helped shield them from the sights of those who don't consider the Mother an ally.
Prompt 1: Altars of Lilith are hidden all over Sanctuary. They grant permanent boosts to all residents of this realm upon activation.
Prompt 2: There are consequences of accepting Lilith's blessings. ]
"..."
Reading the prompt and looking at the statue, Michael understood the severity of the situation.
"*Sigh* No wonder she appeared sincere in wanting to help humanity resist the invasion of the demons. Invisible shrines only for those willing to accept her blessing... though, according to the system prompt, there will be consequences upon accepting it. Maybe it's a faction-type mechanic?"
Michael was more curious about what 'all residents of this realm upon activation meant.'
"Does that mean that every living person in this world gets a boost in certain attributes or similar things upon the altar being activated? I can see it as a mechanic for a game, but the Sanctuary is real-world for me right now. Could activating this altar really affect the entire human population?"
It seemed like a crazy notion, but Michael realized that the demonic woman was the creator of Sanctuary. Also, if Inarius put shackles on the blood of Naphelem running through humanity's veins, maybe these altars were similar to keys to open them up.
Plagued with uncertainty, Michael walked from and back to the altar about five times already.
"Fucking hell... no wonder she was smirking. She knew I would come across this damned thing. It makes me not want to activate it since she expects me to, but can I deny power boosts that ensure normal people survive in fights against demons? Or at least, if they can't fight back, maybe this would be sufficient to escape danger by running away."
Remembering that alluring smirk, he shook his head and reached toward the flame in the statue's hands. The light vanished inside it and lit up its eyes.
Sensing a gaze from a distance focused on him, Michael could've sworn that the statue's previously blank eyes had now a bright blue and a pale grey staring at him.
He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the statue seemed to smile at him.
Then, a strange diagram of a five-pointed star inside a circle, inside a triangle, was imprinted on the ground under the altar.
"A pentacle!? Wasn't this supposed to represent protection against the demonic?"
Seeing the absurdity of the situation, Michael looked back at the statue, but it had the same blank eyes as before. There was no feeling of being watched anymore, either.
[ Prompt: Realm power collected
Description: Dexterity has been increased by 2 for all inhabitants of this realm.
Experience rewarded: 440. ]