Chapter 98 : The Vast World

Chapter 98: The Vast World

“What is this?”

Daisy asked me.

“A Sacred Relic.”

“A Sacred Relic?”

What had happened in the ten thousand years since...

I brushed my hand over the worn, crumbling surface of <Ea>.

“Yeah. They say it’s a Sacred Relic bestowed by God.”

“God? Religion? Then isn’t it just a scam?”

Exactly. That was a perfectly ordinary reaction for someone of this era, especially from Roberland, the land of disbelief.

“No. It’s something incredibly precious and something to be grateful for. Thanks to this thing, countless people were saved. It actually possesses real power.”

“It has power? Then does that mean... a real God actually exists?”

“Well.”

I didn’t know that either.

Anyway, what mattered now was <Ea>.

This thing that looked broken all over—was it still alive or not?

I placed my hand on it.

Quietly, I tried to sense the Holy Spirit dwelling inside.

‘Has it fallen asleep again? No... is it unconscious?’

I shook it.

No response.

I shook it harder.

Still no response.

Noticing that something wasn’t working right, Daisy asked.

“Why? Why? Is it broken?”

Well...

It seemed like it could still work.

No helping it.

I spread out my palm, raised it high.

Taang!

I smacked <Ea>. Hard! With all my will.

Bam! Baaam!

I struck it so hard that the surroundings rang.

For some reason, Daisy was startled again.

“W-what are you doing?!”

“Hm?”

“No, didn’t you just say this was precious and something to be grateful for...?”

“Yeah. It’s precious and I’m grateful.”

Baaam!

That’s why I was trying so hard to wake it up.

“You’re... a monster, Uncle.”

Somehow Daisy’s face turned cold.

?

I decided to ignore it. A teenage girl’s heart wasn’t something I could understand anyway.

Baaam!

And when I struck <Ea> once more with full force—

Woooong—

At last, ripples of vibration ran across its surface.

[Connection attempt detected.]

“Huh?”

Daisy, who had been glaring at me, suddenly widened her eyes.

[Bless System C113 Alpha. Codename <Ea> on standby.]

“Oppa. What is it saying right now? It’s like... some mysterious voice.”

What? Daisy. You can hear this?

“I don’t know what it means... but it’s definitely saying something.”

In the past, no one had ever heard <Ea>’s voice. Not even Holy Knights or Apprentice Priests.

And yet Daisy could hear it?

‘...Does our bloodline really carry something special?’

The bloodline of the ancient Hero.

The qualities of a Saint.

Words I’d once heard in the past flashed across my mind.

“Ea.”

I spoke to Ea using Divine Speech.

[Yes. Ea, on standby.]

“Why is it that no one else can hear your voice, but Daisy here can?”

[Entity name ‘Daisy’ registered. This entity possesses a Protection Designation Code.]

“Protection Designation Code? What’s that supposed to be?”

[Protection Designation Code is... error. Unable to locate the signal of the Akashic Records. Protection Designation Code is Protection Designation Code.]

Tch.

Of course. What was I expecting from you anyway.

“Wow! Oppa, what is this? You’re really talking with it, right? Its voice is so pretty!”

Beside me, Daisy’s eyes sparkled.

“Yeah. Seems like it.”

I answered half-heartedly while organizing my thoughts.

‘For now, just remember it. The bloodline of Banroa, the ancient Hero, the qualities of a Saint.’

At present, I didn’t have enough information to know anything for sure.

‘If I get to time travel again, I’ll find out more then.’

What these were, what they truly meant.

And... whether they were connected to the Book of Fate.

Still, it wasn’t going to be easy.

When I planted the Dracium, I had quietly asked Louis about it, but even he, a Holy Knight, didn’t know much.

Just vague, symbolic stories like, ‘The ancient Heroes were Apostles of God...’

But I believed that if I continued traveling through time, I would eventually meet someone.

Someone who knew the ancient secrets, the truth.

*         *         *

As I checked,

<Ea>’s current state was not intact.

[Extensive overall damage detected. Full functionality cannot be exerted. Output remains the same, but the duration of ability maintenance is now limited.]

No wonder. Before, as soon as it woke, it scattered overwhelming light everywhere, but this time it didn’t.

I asked what had happened, but of course, it knew nothing.

Giving up, I asked how long its ability duration was.

[Healing Field: 30 minutes activation. Or Sanctuary: 1 hour activation, after which the system will be down for 24 hours. Communication and scanning are free; energy transfer depends on the situation.]

It had become incredibly weakened.

Before, it could maintain Healing Field and Sanctuary for days.

“What about the Holy Sword then? They said the Holy Sword’s power also comes from the Sacred Relic.”

I pulled one Holy Sword from subspace and gave it a swing.

[Aether Blade can remain active at all times, as long as my system is not down.]

Ah, so the Holy Sword’s formal name was Aether Blade?

Noted.

But how curious.

The Aether Blade (Holy Sword) had no time limit?

That meant it functioned in a completely different way compared to Healing Field or Sanctuary...

I couldn’t figure out the principle.

‘Anyway, that works out well.’

I handed the Holy Sword I was holding over to Daisy.

She drew the blunt-edged Holy Sword and swung it about with a whoosh-whoosh.

“This is that, right? The useless sword?”

“Not anymore.”

I grinned and spoke to Ea.

“Ea. Grant Daisy authorization to use the Aether Blade.”

[Yes. Authorization code granted to entity name ‘Daisy’. Full access to all Bless Systems through the Aether Blade is now available.]

I had once heard that only Holy Knights blessed by the Holy Spirit could wield a Holy Sword.

But… according to <Ea>, the method used by the clergy in the Age of Magic was nothing more than a “malfunction.”

This was the proper method.

Once an authorized user granted permission… anyone could wield it freely, without cost.

And I held the highest authority—「Zero Code」.

“Daisy.”

“Yeah?”

“Say <Ea>.”

“Huh? Ea?”

Kuuuung—!

The moment <Ea> flowed from Daisy’s lips, the Holy Sword in her hand was engulfed in a blinding radiance.

“Eh? Eeeeh?!”

Daisy’s eyes widened in shock.

“W-what is this? Aura Blade? No, it’s different… Suddenly the Sword Spirit feels incredibly vivid! It’s absorbing aura so easily… no, wait, it’s amplifying! My aura is being amplified!”

Wooooong—!

From her sword surged swelling aura and sword energy.

That was the power of the Holy Sword.

Even a simple swing unleashed destructive force at the level of a High-grade Expert. And when infused with aura, or when the Sword Spirit was stimulated to produce Sword Energy, the power multiplied exponentially.

A truly extraordinary blade. Far beyond even Banroa’s finest.

Daisy seemed utterly intoxicated by its power.

“Ah… it’s like the Sword Spirit is speaking to me. Oppa! You’re giving this to me, right?”

Give it?

At her current level, it would only poison her.

When one was intoxicated by artifacts, one’s own growth slowed.

“Whaaat? H-hey! Why are you taking it away?!”

I swiftly snatched the Holy Sword from Daisy’s hands and tossed it back into subspace.

“Wait! Oppa!”

Ignoring her squawking, I turned back to <Ea>.

Something it had said earlier was still stuck in my mind.

“<Ea>, are there others like you? Other things called ‘Bless Systems’?”

Earlier, it had clearly stated “access to all Bless Systems.”

That meant there were more.

[Yes. Bless Systems are spread throughout the world.]

“You even know their locations?”

[Yes.]

“You do?”

Unbelievable.

I had only asked to check, expecting it not to know.

I thought it would just bring up the Akashic Records again, but…

[Yes. I know. However, the data has not been updated for 62,311 years.]

…The scale of time was staggering.

Sixty thousand years ago.

It was certain—Sacred Relics were remnants of the Mythic Era.

The fact that something that old still functioned was astonishing.

Had the Mythic Era truly been a time when gods walked upon the earth?

“Sixty thousand years ago… fine. Then tell me. Where are the other Bless Systems?”

[Yes. Transmitting to the system you possess.]

System?

One I possess?

The moment I thought, ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’—

Woooong—

It resonated. The subspace necklace.

Trusting my instinct, I drew out the Book of Fate.

As expected, the Book of Fate was trembling faintly.

With a pounding heart, I opened its pages.

A new page appeared, etched with a map.

‘…What is this.’

But the map was absurd.

‘A world map…?’

In the west, Gloryland. In the center, Roberland. In the east, Oldland, and to the south, Deathland.

There was also the frozen northern land of the Forgotten Land, and even… the legendary Dragonland was marked.

Before my eyes lay a complete world map.

Good heavens…

‘Dragonland really exists?’

Beyond the ancient sea (the Bitter Sea), the land from which the very first Grandmaster, Machina Abrasax, had once crossed according to legend.

Now it was marked clearly, as if to say it was real.

That was my first shock.

‘And there are this many? Bless Systems?’

The sheer number of Bless Systems struck me again.

Across six continents and five oceans, the entire world was dotted densely with blue points.

I couldn’t help but gulp.

‘Let’s start with Norberju.’

I zoomed in on the map.

In the northwest of Roberland, the land where we now lived, blue points were scattered everywhere across Norberju.

‘This is insane.’

Even if their functionality had diminished, the Bless Systems’ power was broken beyond belief.

With Healing Field, severed limbs could regrow in an instant. With Sanctuary, not only were all curses warded off, but the mind itself was fortified.

Within a 40km radius, those powers could be tapped, and Holy Swords could be wielded.

Which meant—

‘Across Norberju, no—across the entire world, I now effectively have my own fortresses.’

Even if only half, or a quarter, or a fraction of these blue points still functioned… strategically, it would be an overwhelming advantage.

I gazed once more at the Book of Fate.

‘The legacies of the Mythic Era are truly extraordinary…’

The Bless Systems blanketing the world, and this Book of Fate as well.

Thanks to <Ea>, one truth had become certain.

It had spoken of “systems,” and the Book of Fate had responded.

The Book of Fate.

‘It too was a relic of the Mythic Era.’

Yes. Not so much surprising, as something that simply made sense.

God… or something very much like one—nothing else could have created something like this.

Which meant, it was almost certain that this 「Zero Code」 had also been bestowed by the Book of Fate.

I’d suspected it for a while, but without anyone to say it outright, it had been frustrating. At last, I felt a bit of relief.

Good.

That confirmed everything I needed to check… just one last thing.

“Ea. Do you sense any powerful energy sources buried nearby?”

[Scan complete. Yes. Multiple powerful energy sources are gathered in one location. Transmitting coordinates to ‘system’.]

Once again, the Book of Fate changed.

On the page filled with blue dots, a single yellow dot began to spin. Judging by the location, there was no mistake.

‘Good. The Dracium is safe.’

The main goal of this time travel—planting the Dracium seed.

That seed had grown for ten thousand years and become a true Dracium.

Somehow… it was a moving moment.

I wanted to rush over and dig it up immediately, but I forced down the impulse.

‘Just a little patience.’

An ancient panacea required preparation even to consume.

Besides—

‘Once Dracium is pulled from the earth, its medicinal effect begins to fade immediately. Better to leave it be for now.’

I had more pressing tasks.

“Daisy! Let’s head back now.”

I turned around, feeling good.

But Daisy still wore a sulky expression.

Her face was like a hissing little kitten.

“Gimmeee!”

“What.”

“That sword!”

It seemed she couldn’t forget the taste of the Holy Sword once she’d held it.

“Nope.”

“Yes! I can! Why not?!”

“No means no.”

“Who gives something and then takes it back, you old man?!”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have let it get taken from you?”

“Th-then do it again! Give it back! I won’t lose it this time.”

Not a chance.

You brat. For you not to lose it, you’d at least have to reach the stage of Sword Support.

Ignoring Daisy’s squawking, I went down the hill.

It was time to return to Rundna City.

To once again develop a unified Ailun, and to restore stability to the chaos engulfing Norberju.

There was so much work ahead.