#013. The Javelin Family's Treasure
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Chapter 0 (Zero) – Abyss.
You have resonated with the Key of the Abyss.
Help ??? and escape this world.
Reward – Logout.
Time Limit – None.
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"Uh... Lord Virgil... a quest all of a sudden..."
The moment Hanna tried to speak of the newly appeared window, terrible shrieks began to reach her ears.
-Screeeeech!
"We need to avoid them."
"Huh?"
"Every ghoul in the city is probably swarming here right now."
"Whaaat?!"
"Let's go."
Virgil took Hanna's support and headed toward the sewer entrance they had first come through.
Strong vibrations beyond the door.
The underground was no exception to the direction the ghouls were swarming in droves.
The two turned around and headed back behind the collapsed wall.
"Wh-what should we do...."
"Don't worry. I expected this."
Virgil unfastened the Makum fur cloak draped over his back.
"Lower your head."
He used the cloak to completely cover both his and Hanna's bodies.
They curled up as much as possible.
-Screeeeech!
Before they knew it, the inside of the clock tower was filled with ghouls.
They showed no interest in Virgil and Hanna, pouncing only on Rebecca's body.
They sank their teeth into the corpse reeking of foul stench and frantically began tearing off flesh.
Crunch!
A spectacle of hundreds, thousands of ghouls gathered together feasting was bizarre and horrific.
"Curl up more. It's only just beginning."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Rebecca's corpse swelled up and soon exploded with a massive roar.
Boom!
Scorching heat surged forth.
It was not heat born from something burning, but rather the scorching intensity of being bathed in powerful light.
The ghouls couldn't even scream as they were devoured by the light one by one.
The wall shielding Virgil and Hanna could not completely block the light.
Soon, it began to strike the Makum cloak.
Since it was a cloak made to cover only one person, it was insufficient to protect two people.
Virgil's boots, protruding outside, began glowing red-hot.
The mass of light leaking from the clock tower illuminated the entire city.
As if the sun had descended.
People hiding in every nook and cranny watched the beams of light with vacant expressions.
It was warm.
The rays of light shot up to the sky and touched the empty air.
Cracks formed as if to prove that the night sky which had existed before was not the real sky.
Sunlight poured through the opened rifts.
A brilliant radiance.
Soon, all the darkness gnawing at the city disappeared.
And so the sun chewed up and swallowed every trace of the moon, newly reigning as the ruler of the sky.
Once the heat on the cloak's surface faded, Virgil cautiously poked his head out.
The surroundings were clean, not a single ghoul corpse in sight.
Pushing away Hanna, who tried not to let go, he headed toward the center of the clock tower.
There, a middle-aged woman lay dead, naked.
It was Rebecca.
From her slightly parted lips, a small bead flowed out and rolled across the floor.
A translucent red bead covered in sticky liquid.
This was the Seed of the Sun obtainable in Javelin.
It was a precious gem worth keeping for a long time, one that permanently strengthened flame-type skills.
But what Virgil wanted was not this, but what he would obtain through it.
The moment he picked up the bead, Rebecca's corpse crumbled into dust and disappeared.
"Let's get out now."
Outside the clock tower, many people had already come out.
Seeing Virgil and Hanna, thoroughly scorched, they cheered in jubilation.
Among them, Sophia Javelin could be seen, supported by the townspeople.
At the sight of her alive when she should have died, Virgil nodded.
His prediction had been correct.
Unlike a game, this world had no predetermined ending.
In other words, depending on his choices, the events that followed could change entirely.
"Virgil...."
Sophia approached, limping.
Marks from being bound were visible on her wrists and ankles.
If he had not come straight to the clock tower and had gone to the temple instead, he would have seen Sophia transform into a ghoul broodmother on the spot.
"Truly, the sun... Thank you...."
Her tear-soaked face was a mixture of three emotions.
Joy at the rising of the sun, sorrow for the dead townspeople, and rage toward Sherman.
Then Hanna, standing behind Virgil, entered her eyes.
"And you are...?"
Sophia asked with a puzzled expression.
"Ah, I'm Hanna. We met back then. With Uncle Jake...."
"Ah... the Laughing Ones... Pardon my rudeness... I didn't know you were Lord Virgil's companion...."
"It's all right...."
For some reason, Hanna found it hard to look Sophia straight in the eye.
She didn't know what to say, seeing as Sophia's birth mother and father had ended up like that.
Sophia took her eyes off Hanna and looked at Virgil again.
"Could you please tell me in detail what happened inside...?"
"Another time. Now it is time to restore Javelin's sun."
"What do you mean... The sun has already returned."
Virgil raised the Seed of the Sun in his hand.
Sophia lost herself in its mysterious light.
"What is this...?"
"It is what will return the true sun to Javelin."
***
The place Virgil led them to was the Temple of the Sun located in the center of the city.
Bathed in bright sunlight, the temple's true appearance was revealed.
The building was incredibly beautiful with its intricate carvings, and the Sun God's symbol hanging from the tip of the spire scattered golden light in all directions, creating an air of reverence.
However, contrary to its exterior, upon stepping inside, a musty stench could be smelled and a purple magic circle was visible on the floor.
"Aah...."
Sophia, who had entered with them, was terrified by the sight and staggered.
Recalling the moment she had been bound atop the magic circle.
She only came to her senses after being supported by the soldiers.
Virgil left them behind and stood inside the temple, beneath the symbol of the Sun God bearing a benevolent expression.
After clearing away the objects on the altar, he began feeling around here and there.
After searching for some time, he turned around and looked at Sophia.
"Over here."
Sophia slowly approached.
Virgil drew a dagger and simultaneously grabbed her hand firmly.
As the soldiers panicked, Sophia raised her hand to stop them.
"I am fine."
After telling Sophia not to worry, he lightly cut her fingertip and drew blood.
With the flowing blood, he began drawing something on the altar.
A simple flower shape and three spears crossing over it.
It was the emblem symbolizing the Javelin family.
The moment Virgil stopped his hand, a faint vibration echoed throughout the temple and the altar slowly slid back.
"Wh-what is this...."
Below where the altar had been, stairs leading underground were revealed.
Virgil stepped forward without hesitation.
When Sophia tried to follow, he raised his hand to stop her.
"It is dangerous."
"What still remains?"
"One never knows. I will check first, then call for you."
"Ah... yes."
This time he looked at Hanna and gestured for her to follow.
"Wh-what about me? Am I okay?"
She spoke in a disappointed tone, but as soon as the word 'companion' left Virgil's lips, she quickly scurried after him.
Beneath her mask, a smile lingered at her lips.
'Ugh... I should have stayed up there....'
However, not long after entering the stairs, her expression twisted into a grimace.
Putting aside the darkness, she felt something sticky constantly clinging to her skin.
It was utterly unpleasant.
Relying on a torch as they walked, a massive door appeared at the end of the stairs.
"Wow...."
Hanna exclaimed without thinking.
A magnificence so overwhelming one felt pressured just standing before it.
Long spears were bound in layers to create the door, and a skull was embedded in every single spearhead.
Virgil reached out and pushed a shield-like object that appeared to be a handle to the side.
With a clamorous noise, the door began to open.
"Wow... thi... insan...."
Hanna couldn't close her mouth at the revealed sight.
She was reminded once again of the nickname for Javelin she had heard from Virgil.
The Tomb of Spears.
She understood at once why this place was called that.
Literally, it was a tomb of spears.
Spears of all kinds were embedded in the floor, walls, and ceiling without exception.
Hanna approached the wall to take a closer look.
"Ugh, ugh!"
Startled, she stumbled back.
Because just like the door, skulls were embedded at the ends of the spearheads.
Seeing that, Virgil opened his mouth.
"This place was built to honor warriors who fought demons that crossed the great ocean in ancient times."
"Ah...."
"The Blood Cult's goal was precisely this place. To stain the city in blood and awaken the sleeping souls, making them their power."
"Aha...."
He had explained specially to block annoying questions beforehand, but her reaction, as if she hadn't even asked, slightly annoyed Virgil.
From now on, he would ignore all questions.
"Then all those skulls are...."
"Let's go."
At the very end of the tomb.
There was an altar of the same shape as the one seen in the temple.
A skeleton that appeared to be human lay upon it, and judging by its condition, it seemed to have been quite meticulously preserved.
And before it, a large basin was placed, filled to the brim with dark red blood.
Most likely, Sophia's blood and demon blood were mixed within it.
Virgil stood impassively before the altar.
Hanna approached from behind, covering her mouth.
"Wh-what is this...?"
"It is the Blood Cult's curse."
He answered hurriedly in case she touched it.
"But what is the Blood Cult?"
"...A group that worships the God of Death and his kin, the Sixty-Six Great Demons."
It was also the organization he would clash with most frequently going forward.
He didn't bother saying this out loud.
"Ah... sixty-six... great demons...."
Before Hanna, who couldn't comprehend, a quest window floated up.
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Chapter 1 – Finale (Chain).
The Javelin Family's Treasure.
You have found the source of the misfortune hanging over the Javelin family.
Mission – Investigate the Altar of the Sun and purify the blood curse directed at the Javelin family.
Reward – Draco's Spear Shaft.
Javelin's Secret Arts.
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"Huh? Lord Virgil, a quest popped up."
"I thought as much."
"What should we do now?"
"It's simple."
He tossed the Seed of the Sun into the blood-filled basin.
Siiiiiiizzle-
The blood dried up, and the Seed of the Sun began emitting an even stronger light.
After a short time, not a single drop of blood remained in the vessel, all absorbed by the seed.
Virgil handed the purified seed to Hanna.
She accepted it skillfully and placed it inside her bag.
"It is finished."
"It's so simple."
"It would have been difficult if you didn't know the method."
"Ah...."
"Now look at that."
Virgil pointed at the lying skeleton.
It was gradually turning to dust and disappearing.
Because it had been used as a medium for black magic, all traces of him were disappearing.
"Who could it be...?"
"The previous lord."
"Huh? Then Sophia's father?"
"Yes, a pitiful man."
"Pitiful? Wasn't he a bad person?"
"You are too gullible."
"Huh?"
"That bastard never forced himself on Rebecca, and Sophia is not Sherman's daughter. From the beginning, Rebecca despised him. He tried to drug and rape her when she was young, or so I heard."
"Wh-what... that bastard... So all of that was...."
"Sherman's delusion."
"Wow... then what the hell was his revenge for?"
"A pathological obsession. Commonly known as a twisted one-sided love."
"Th-then...."
"Look there."
A short while later, when the skeleton had completely crumbled to dust, only what it had been holding was left behind on the altar.
A sturdy-looking staff and a rolled-up parchment.
"What are these?"
Hanna pointed at the staff.
"Draco's Spear Shaft."
Virgil picked it up. As expected, he didn't feel anything special.
After a moment's thought, he handed it to Hanna.
"You use it."
"Oh! Really?"
"For now, it's a rental."
Truthfully, there was someone else he had intended to give this to.
Since it would be a long time before he met her, he had decided it was best for Hanna to use it until then.
"Hehe, I still like it."
Believing there must be something special about it since Virgil gave it to her, Hanna's grin spread from ear to ear.
"Check it."
"Yes, sir. Item check."
After checking the item description for a moment, Hanna's eyes went wide.
Not only did it raise various stats, but it also had a new skill embedded in it.
"Wow... this is insane...."
"Try it."
"Yes, sir."
Hanna stood up and grasped the staff with both hands.
Infusing it with mana, she shouted.
"exsúrgo! (Ekseureugo!)"
At the tip of the staff, a blue blade shaped like a spearhead formed.
"Wow... It's beautiful."
"That blade expresses the caster's disposition...."
While Virgil was speaking, the sharp shape gradually distorted and soon changed into a large heart shape.
Seeing that, Virgil considered taking it back.
"...Never mind, it's fine."
"Heeeh... pretty."
Virgil looked at her mouth visible beneath the mask.
She smiled brightly and purely.
"Hanna."
"Yes!"
"In this world, mages and shamans will be very different from what you know."
"Huh? What do you mean...."
"Shooting guns is basic, and there will be more close-quarters combat than you think. Sometimes you'll spit and throw dirt too."
"......Huh?"
"Just keep that in mind. In that regard, that weapon will prove useful."
When Hanna looked at him with a face that said she couldn't understand, Virgil nodded expressionlessly.
Only if you live will my heart be at ease.
He swallowed those true feelings inside.
Leaving Hanna, who was caressing the staff, behind, Virgil approached the altar again.
He picked up the abandoned parchment and carefully tucked it into his bosom.
Truthfully, this was the real reward Virgil had sought.
"Now go up and tell Sophia to come down."
Shortly after, Sophia entered the tomb.
After looking around, her face became blank.
To her, Virgil began a brief explanation.
That a veil had been cast over the sky due to black magic, and because the medium was her family's blood, her health had been poor.
He also didn't forget to mention that she would now be able to use mana.
"Aah! How can this be! Thank you truly!"
"The true sun I spoke of before is you. I expect you to return Javelin to its former glory."
At his prepared words, Sophia sank down and wiped her tears.
Virgil left her be and went outside.
Hanna followed and asked.
"Where are we going now?"
"The inn."
"Huh? Wh-why...."
Hanna's voice trembled slightly.
In contrast, Virgil replied gravely.
"To wash up."