Chapter 95: Journey to the Holy Land

"Here we are."

Joey Johansel waved at Karyl as if he had been waiting. He seemed somewhat brighter than when they had met at the banquet, possibly because it was broad daylight. His white priestly robe was exceptionally radiant.

"It will take about fifteen days to reach Heim."

This was a first for Karyl, for he had never stepped foot in Heim, the Holy Land of the Church, not in this life nor in the previous one.

"The preparations went smoothly thanks to the funds you provided. I reckon we’ll have a comfortable journey.”

Karyl looked behind him at the twenty carriages filled with food and other essentials. It seemed excessive for this departing party.

They were tokens of courtesy for the Church.

"But can we actually reach Heim in just fifteen days?”

"The goods will follow more slowly, but we will use a Magic Circle to travel faster.”

Karyl nodded at his explanation.

Fifteen days’ journey... That would barely get us out of the borders of the Three Kingdoms. There was only the Niero Monastery, I believe.

He dredged up memories from his past life.

It was a small monastery, and I didn't know it had a Magic Circle... It’s unbelievable that they installed such a Circle even here... The Church is indeed formidable. And activating the Circle must require a considerable amount of magic.

He glanced at Joey Johansel.

His mana must be that abundant.

But a high level of mana also meant it was easier to detect. Karyl thought he should continue to conserve his own mana as much as possible to prevent Joey Johansel from noticing.

"Will the goods be alright?"

"Don't worry. We will use the carriages up to the monastery. After that, the priests from the monastery will directly transport them to Heim," Joey Johansel explained with a slight smile. "Thanks to you, Mr. Karyl, I seem to have gained some face at the monastery."

"Think nothing of it."

"Then, let's depart."

"Agreed."

Karyl climbed into the carriage. The cushioned seat felt oddly uncomfortable, perhaps because he had gotten used to sitting atop the Sand Serpent.

"Master, I shall sit on the coachman’s seat,” said Aidan with a slight bow as he followed behind Karyl, prompting a light nod from him.

Aidan pulled his hat over his face as if searching for something. He was the only one from Tatur who would accompany Karyl on this journey.

***

Rustle—

There was a faint sound, barely audible unless one focused on their hearing.

A shadow moved in the darkness.

"..."

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

But it was only for a moment.

Among the carriages loaded with luggage, the rustling sound faded into the night as though it had never been, leaving only the sound of the sleepers’ breathing.

"We'll soon reach the monastery.

Inside the tent, Joey Johansel handed Karyl a warm cup of non-alcoholic liquor.

"It should help relieve the fatigue. It has no alcohol, so it’s safe to drink.”

"Eh, I actually could’ve used some booze,” Karyl remarked.

Joey chuckled slightly.

"Setting up camp isn’t easy, but you seem accustomed to it.”

"Compared to recent events, this is luxury. These days, I’m grateful just to have a blanket on the ground to sleep on.”

Joey tapped the floor with his cup as he took a sip.

"..."

Karyl noticed the scars on Joey's wrist; they were just barely visible from underneath his sleeve.

Those are clearly cuts from something sharp. The discolored skin around the scar suggests poison was involved. Joey, what have you been up to?

Karyl was certain the scars were recent. The likelihood of encountering something poisonous on a mere religious mission seemed low.

"You must have been to some dangerous places."

"Haha... I take great joy in my duties. Being chosen to fulfill the work of the Church is a blessing.”

"I see."

They looked at each other. Although they were both smiling, their eyes were significantly more wary than when they began their journey.

"I've taken too much of your time. Rest now. We'll arrive in two days, and soon after, we'll reach the Holy Land."

"Thank you for everything.”

"I hope this will allow the Church and Tatur to establish a good relationship.”

"I hope so too."

With Karyl's response, Joey nodded and left the tent.

"What do you think?" Karyl said out loud after Joey was gone.

"Nothing unusual."

"Really?"

Surprisingly, Aidan appeared with a blur, and his face was covered.

"As you ordered, I checked the last carriage. It mostly contained food and other essentials."

"Hmm..." Karyl frowned at this report. Before starting their journey, he had given Aidan one instruction—to inspect Joey Johansel’s carriage.

It was a simple yet potentially difficult task, but Aidan felt it was the most fitting task Karyl had ever given him.

"There was something slightly different in the last carriage, though,” Aidan said as he took off his gloves.

Karyl waited with anticipation, his expression indicating that he had known this was coming.

"What was it?"

But contrary to his expectant look, Aidan shrugged nonchalantly. "An old tome. It seemed like a doctrinal text from the Church... The cover was too worn to make out the title. Plus, it appeared to be written in an ancient language..."

"What did it say?"

"The box containing the tome was securely locked, but I don’t think it's anything important. I managed to open it with ease, which means it wasn’t sealed with mana.”

"That's not necessarily true. It could have been unsealed before. Most artifacts are unsealed when they’re removed from a site." Karyl shook his head lightly.

"Uh... but wouldn’t they be resealed afterward with magic?”

"That depends on what it is. The magic used for sealing can vary based on the artifact's properties."

Aidan nodded. "However, as I told you earlier, the cover was too worn to clearly make out the title. A... K... N... something... It looked like an ancient language.”

"A, k, n...” Karyl repeated after Aidan.

What could that tome be?

Karyl closed his eyes as if to organize his thoughts. When he first met Joey Johansel at the banquet, many things crossed his mind.

Why had the Church's priest come to the Three Kingdoms? Was it merely a missionary trip, or was there more, considering his close ties with the children of the Three Kingdoms? He had to have interacted with them before. Not only that, but from the first and last conversations Karyl had picked up, it was clear that Joey was involved in something with them.

He was sure that those fresh-looking wounds on his hand were connected to that.

The Three Kingdoms of Istan and the Church.

Unfortunately, Karyl's memories held no links between the two. In any case, he was merely speculating. That tome could simply be an item Johansel had taken from an old bookstore he had discovered during his travels.

"Was there anything unusual about the box?"

"Yes. It was old but looked expensive. It had a mechanical lock. Oh...! Now that I think about it, the style of the lock was unusual. It could be because it's an ancient artifact."

"How so?"

"It wasn't just a simple pattern. It looked like a motif... like a sword or lightning striking through a dragon's head."

"Uh-huh..." Karyl had no memory of such a motif.

But...

If it's not from my memories, then...

It was at that moment when all of a sudden, Karyl felt as if he was being warped into another dimension.

Click...! Click...! Click...!

In the darkness behind his closed eyes, a vast bookshelf materialized, unfolding like a mirage. It was glowing, and from among the hundreds of thousands of books, one fell out and landed in Karyl’s palm.

Click-!

As he touched the cover of the book, the metallic sound of something being opened echoed through the darkness; gears meshed and moved. The pages of the book unfolded, and numerous letters scattered into the air. Each letter emitted light, spiralling as they flowed into Karyl’s mind, etching themselves into his brain.

"?!..."

As Karyl opened his eyes, Aidan noticed that his pupils had turned to a golden hue, similar to a snake’s, but they quickly returned to normal.

Allen Javius, I’ll forever be grateful to you.

Karyl nodded, satisfied.

I didn't know it was found here.

The afterimages that lingered in Karyl's mind were vivid. They depicted a human figure, each part of their body completely covered in ancient script. The characters were complex, resembling a mix of mathematical equations and descriptive text.

Though I have endured what felt like an eternity in Pharel, the time I have spent is ultimately confined to the tower. Therefore my experience of the continent's history is limited. However, the thousand years you have lived through have revealed far more history to me than the eons I have spent.

Karyl had yet to fully explore the knowledge Allen Javius had implanted in him at the Abyssal Rock. The vast amount of information was too abundant even for Karyl to fully claim as its own, but he could explore and glimpse at it all the same.

Every time I see it, I want it. Someday, when I have fully absorbed your knowledge, making it my own, my magic might transcend all boundaries.

Karyl hovered within the elusive realm of Allen.

"It's nothing, right?"

"No. It's quite something."

"...?"

"Aidan, bringing you along was indeed a brilliant decision. No one would’ve noticed without your keen eyes.”

"Haha... Thank you." Aidan scratched the back of his head, embarrassed by Karyl’s praise. "But what is it?"

Of course, he had no clue as to what peculiarity he had discovered.

"There's a small ruin in the southern part of the Kingdom of Istan. It was built during the Magic Era, and at that time... it had nothing to do with the Church." Karyl recalled his memories.

"Huh...?”

"But it has something that the Church would very much be interested in. And I know a bit about the artifact too."

He lightly traced the words Aidan had mentioned in the air.

"Joey Johansel probably left the artifact in the box because he didn't know what it was."

Aidan's eyes traced his finger.

"This artifact from the Magical Era is called Ashkelon in the ancient language. In our modern language, it would be called Ascalon. Well, only the name remains now; it doesn't exist anymore. The method might be in that tome, but the Church doesn’t know that. If they knew, they would have seen the real thing,” Karyl explained as he went through his memories.

"Ascalon... What does that mean?" Aidan repeated the name, asking him.

"Dragon Slayer,” Karyl whispered.