Hiya guys, I am looking for an editor for this series ~~~ Please help if you are interested =0
Anyway, I would be releasing this novel in parts (each part is roughly 10 pages or 2000 words).
Chapter 1: The awakening of a life Part 1/4
[– Yo, tta]
By exhaling and extracting the spirit within me, the [Bright sword] in my hand flashed for an instant.
The shadow that came attacking me - the last of the demon with a spirit body [Spectre], was knocked down by me.
Normal physical attack would be unable to damage a demon with spirit body, but by using a double-edged sword embedded with [holy art], one could subjugate them.
Moreover, even when faced with enemy that my sword could not defeat…
I sensed a flash of pale red light accompanied by heat wave on my back.
[Well, I am done here! Have you finished yet, (Clarus)?]
[She] turned around and asked me after burning all the demon [Spectre] to death using a single attack, including those hiding behind the wall and in the shadow.
With beautiful chestnut coloured hair that reach her waist, her hair gave off an eye-catching gold-yellow tone under the illumination of her flame.
Her jade-green coloured eye reflects her strong will power, elevating her exquisite facial feature to be even more dazzling. She was looking at me with a calm expression.
Normally, one would not use fire [Spirit art] in an enclosed cave. But there were holes at every corner in the cave and light from the environment could sip in and illuminate the interior, it was probably fine to use fire magic as long as it did not result in any explosion or strong trembling.
[Yes, I am also done here, (Fiana). There were only five of them anyway]
Fiana was my playmate since childhood and is now acting as my companion. I turned around and saw her looking relax so I also replied in a casual manner.
[However… this ruin should be sealed for several thousand years, so it is strange that the demon that appears here were so weak]
[Strictly speaking, we are only currently on the route to the ruin]
Three thousand years ago, an [Empty period in history] appeared following the fall of ancient civilization,
I, Clarus, a [Holy knight of the temple] and Fiana, a [High ranking spirit magician], were currently in a cave that could potentially store evidence remaining from the empty period of history.
After being sealed in darkness for such a long period of time, it was common for large number of extremely strong demon to appear. Basically, the longer a place remained abandoned, the higher the chance a demon would grow stronger and a large number of demon would also appear.
Hence, it would not be strange for large number of extraordinary strong demon to appear in a genuine remnant of an ancient civilization. Of course, this was "if" it follows our [Common knowledge].
[…I hope this is not a wasted trip]
[Well, no matter what happens, this is a direct order from [Pope] to us… but, I would not exclude the possibility of this being a prank by someone]
Our country - [The country of Tritis], was built based on the belief of [Tritis teaching]. We worshipped the [G.o.ddess of the sun, Retis] and [G.o.ddess of the moon, Lattice].
And we received an order from the person holding the highest authority in the country, the [Pope], so there should not be any errors… but due to certain reason, there were time when the [Private] request from the pope turns out to be a prank.
[– Ah, speaking of prank, Fiana, don"t you think that the tent we are using now is slightly weird?]
[Eh? There is nothing weird - Ah, the quality is good for pre-allocated item? It is enchanted with many spells, and could remove my fatigue so I slept very well thanks to it - but is there something about it?]
— Un, the quality of the item was exceptional… however, I felt something was off when I first received the item.
[It is nothing, but during the time when I received the item… how do I say it? Foster father kept giving me weird smile]
[…Wait a moment! Clarus, please explain in more details]
I was an orphan in the past but was adopted by the leader of the [Holy knight], [Maxwell] as his discipline, and he raised me into an adult.
The holy knight was an unit that would protect the [rule] of the Tritis, so it received the name of [Pope"s sword] as it is the most important national defence of the country.
As foster father is the leader of the holy knight, he is one of the most important figure in national defence and holds the second highest position in the country… but he is unexpectedly childish, so he is troubling for me to deal with.
[Er… He told me (This tent can hide your presence, is soundproof and could recover your stamina. You will be full of energy at night — so this is the time to show your manliness) …. I felt that the way he smiles looked suspicious. If you wanted to keep watch at night, the soundproofing effect would only be an obstacle, right? — Eh, what wrong with you?]
… I wonder what was wrong, Fiana face was totally red.
[– That pervert old man…! This is something to be use for (A couple hardcore night)]
Except the word [Pervert old man], I could not hear what she was saying as her voice soften at the end. I wonder why Fiana became so angry that her face turned red. (T.L Blockhead)
[A,ano~…Fiana?]
[–! No, nothing!! But, but, Is Clarus fine with it? That man obvious has motive when he pa.s.sed you the tent!?]
[Eh? But I would only be using the tent with I am together with Fiana. If you don"t mind, I wouldn"t mind as well]
[~~!? ~~~~~~~~~~~!!… Sigh, although I knew that you did not harbour any bad intention, I still hate this part about you…!]
Fiana showed a tired expression and looked with eyes that were blaming me… Fiana would occasionally showed such emotion, but she would not tell me the reason whenever I asked her.
[? — Regardless, although I do not understand what foster father is planning, this mission is still given by the [Pope] so I feel that it is unlikely this is a fluke]
As it seemed that Fiana did not want me to pursue further, I forcefully changed the topic. Strangely, the anger in her eye now changed into regret.
Fortunately, she recovered her spirit in an instant and started thinking.
[Since that is the case, the thing waiting for us further in, would it be the [Finding the big prize]… or [A big disaster]?]
[…That"s right, I feel that we should be [Finding the big prize]… but let"s still be mentally prepared]
In the remnants of the ancient civilization, the reason why strong demon did not appear might be due to the presence of a powerful magic seal. Depending on the [Content] sealed, what we find might either be cla.s.sified as extremely good luck or extremely bad luck.
The big prize refers to facilities that the ancient civilization aimed to protect. In such cases, there will be a huge number of valuable tools from the ancient civilization being preserved in their original state. The value of such tools could not even be monetized.
On the other hand — regarding the term [A big disaster]… it refers to [Something] that was sealed, something that even demons are afraid. There was once where small country got destroyed by that.
Even if it is not that extreme, it is still something the ancient civilization could not [Subjugate] and had to resort to [Sealing] it. This is obviously not something an individual could resolve on their own.
We are to fall back and report to the higher up at once, if we the seal we discover is related to [A big disaster]. If the seal is broken, we are to reseal it and eliminate potential danger. However, if we are unable to reseal it, we must fight it till the bitter end… we are to use magic to transmit the emergency and to buy time by battling to our death.
[However, this mission was a.s.signed (Only to the two of us), right? Hence, I don"t think we would face the big disaster]
[Un, they either received information from a reliable source or through unique (Oracle). If not, we would usually form an expedition team for the mission– However, it might be dangerous even if we find the big prize]
At that moment, the sensation I felt when walking on the ground changed.
Previously, we were barely squeezing through the cave and there was even no proper footing to walk on. But now, we were stepping on stone pavement.
Next– we saw it after light sipped through the crack from the partially destroyed wall.
Under the illumination from the sunlight, we saw a shrine-liked structure covered in moss. It still retains a magnificent appearance even after all this time.
[…Un, we found the big prize]
[That"s right. You are correct when you said (it might be dangerous even if we find the big prize)]
We were render speechless looking at the scene in front of us.
Not towards the huge structure– but towards the giant statue beside it
There is an unnaturally huge and empty field in front of the shrine, which also indicates that it"s used for [Battling again a giant creature].
[…That statue… would it move…?] [It would… probably move…?]
Living statue. It is a man-made monster that are frequently seen guarding remnants of the ancient civilization.
I even heard that some of the remnants were guard by powerful dragons… the living statue in front of us is easier to handle in comparison, but it was still the first time I saw one so huge. It could even be ranked among the top few ever recorded.
[It seemed that it is still in an inactive state… Fiana, do you think we could just walk by it?]
[… It is unlikely we could. There is an unnatural flow of spirit magic near the living statue. Although it is faint, that thing is definitely (alive). It would definitely wake up if it sense any motion– Clarus, could you go pa.s.s it without being discovered?]
[Impossible. The eyes embedded in the statue is probably a magic stone that could detect magic. Even if I used my holy arts and hide myself, it would definitely move if it detects my magic]
…. We did not expect it to be out of energy, and could also not pa.s.s through it without being detected. Since that"s the case…
[We could only fight it– are you ready?]
[I am ready anytime— and to prevent any surprise attack or being cornered by it, I will be fighting it in the middle of this field. It will be dangerous if the cave collapses due to that thing, so I will destroy it swiftly!]
[Understood— should I fight with you?]
[— No, you don"t have to. I don"t want it to move around too much, so please help with the support instead. I will be counting on you if the cave collapses]
[Understood]
It would be faster to achieve victory if we fought together… however, this is a cave near the remnant of the ancient civilization. There was a high chance of the cave collapsing and the possibilities of more traps.
[Well then—let"s go]
I took my first step onto the empty field.
— I continued walking normally naturally without drawing my weapon but kept my vigilant.
[There is a change in its spirit energy! - It is moving!]
Fiana informed me when I walked one third through the field.
Although it seemed as though there was still no changed to its state, Fiana could tell that the statue was absorbing spirit energy and would start attacking us very soon.
[Understood—change of plan, I will draw it over here instead, so please provide support]
[Un, understood]
Confirming that sunlight were sipping through the cracks of the wall, I positioned the [Bright sword] underneath the light. The [Light stone] embedded within the sword reacts with the sunlight, which caused it to glow.
— Activate… holy arts of the sun, [Light bind]!