{|} Chapter 2-A: Our Destination and the Means to Get There {|}
} A-Part {
"I'm bored, so... SO BORED! Seriously, how long does it take for someone to go looking around the inside of some stupid little house like this one? I mean, it doesn't even look that BIG from the outside."
Currently, Aqua was sitting just outside the house that Chris had gone inside in order to see if her hunch was correct about Kazuma being in there. Aqua, in her boredom, had first sat down and waited patiently for her junior goddess to return, either with or without the NEET, as she didn't think it would take that long to find him if he was indeed here.
It had been thirty minutes since then and now Aqua found herself having gone from sitting patiently to laying on the grass, looking to the sky as she swayed her legs back in forth as they were held up out of her boredom, as a sign of her annoyance.
Finally, Aqua's patience, which was never really all that great to begin with, finally fell apart as her brow furrows, showing her annoyance. She then shouts out-
"Damn it, that's it. I can't take this waiting anymore. I'm going to waltz into that dank little hovel, find out what Eris is doing, then drag her back out so we can figure out how to get ourselves back to... you know, I never did bother to find out what the name of that strange planet Eris lords over actually is. I need to remember to do that later, once this is all over. After all, my darling faithful live there too."
Aqua tries to do something fancy; tries to do a flip stand like she had seen on TV in the past, where someone is able to go from laying on the ground to standing by doing a kind of 'wave' with their body. Naturally, Aqua had no clue how those people who did that actually managed to do it, resulting in a less than desired outcome.
In other words, she was still laying on the ground, now in a more awkward position, and hurting alongside that position. Aqua groans, perhaps even whimpers a little as she opts to stand the more agreeable and easy way, now getting some discomfort as she does so.
"Owie, why did I try to do that? Damn those fakers from TV. I knew that must have all been faked. Because of them, now I have aches and pains all over and my poor back is... oh right, I'm both a goddess and an arch priest. I can fix myself up faster than I can blink. Heal!"
Nothing happens, making Aqua blink in surprise.
"I SAID Heal! Heal? Sacred Heal, Break Spell, Sacred Break Spell? Force Fire?"
Aqua tries every spell in her arsenal, getting no response from any of them. With each failure, her worries grew more and more, and so too did her anger at an even faster rate. Finally, her was practically raging as she stomps her foot upon the ground while shouting out-
"Damn it, what the hell? Why can't I use any of my spells. I know this place is supposed to be void of all mana and all that, but I should still be able to do something as I'm still getting anima from the Heavens sent down to me, I know I am as I can still... feel...?"
It was then Aqua took notice of it, the anima or the sort-of lack of it. She closes her eyes to better focus her mind, allowing her to feel the anima being sent to her more clearly. Yes, it was indeed there but something wasn't right. It was almost like there was a kind of barrier standing between her and the anima, keeping her from being able to connect with it, tap into it for her personal usage.
"What's going on? Why can I feel the anima but not interact with it? Shouldn't I at least be able to..."
["Have you forgotten lady Aqua. Whenever a god or goddess is down in the mortal realm like lady Eris and you are now, you have to rely on mortal mana as your primary source of power. You're still receiving a feed of anima from the heavens too, but all its allowed to do is mix with your mortal mana to act as a massive power-booster, making any magic powered skills you use far stronger than what a regular mortal can achieve alone. Sure, you won't be as strong as you would be were you able to tap into anima fully, but you're still above and beyond what any mortal can do. Also, mixing anima with mana causes the recharge time to be greatly enhanced, almost to the point where it can feel like you have unlimited mana to work with!"]
Aqua blinks in surprise from the sudden voice that had spoken to her through her mind. She nods her head as she listens and once the voice had gone silent, she says-
"OK... OK... OK, I didn't understand a word of what you were saying but I think I get the gist of it. Even though I can feel the anima, it doesn't do me a lick of good without any mana to combine it with. Man, that's really... wait, who the heck was just talking to me?"
Aqua begins to look around in a panic, thinking that someone was playing a joke on her. Finding no one, Aqua begins to panic even more as the lack of any person present could only mean one thing.
"Gah, I'm being haunted by evil spirits. Be thankful I can't use any of my purification powers right now or else I'd be using them to send you on your way, foul specter."
(Up in the heavenly realm, Aqua's angel assistant, Tsunami, sighs in exasperation. Of all the gods and goddess's she could have been sent over to work with, why'd she have to be the assistant of Aqua?)
As Aqua's panic continues, she darts all over and around the house, looking here and there in an effort to find the so-called evil spirit. Even if there wasn't anything she could do about it, it was still in her nature to track it, hunt it down, and do something about it.
And because of this, something was triggered within Aqua she really didn't need right now. Her stomach unleashed a rather loud growl, making her place both her hands over her stomach.
"Great, this is just fantastic. Not only can't I use magic or heal myself, now I'm hungry too. Hm... wonder if this place has any food to eat. Wait, that's it. That's why Eris hasn't come back out yet. I bet she's been gorging herself on all the food this place has to offer. How dare she leave me out."
Aqua then runs straight towards the front door of the house, shouting as she does.
"Eris, I swear to our unseen Creator. If you've eaten all the food, I am so going to lecture you till your ears bleed and fall off... and if you even think of drinking any booze that might be in this place too, I'll have to destroy you with my own hands."
Aqua goes running into the house, racing directly into the kitchen where she finds a large fridge like box over to one side. Stopping before it, and drooling like crazy, she opens the box only for her heart to sink. Sure, there was still plenty of food in there, but none of it looked edible.
In fact, it looked like it had been sitting inside this wannabe fridge for at least a few centuries.
Aqua quickly closes the fridge, needing to pinch her nose as both the smell and the sight of the items within was making her gag. She then slumps her shoulders, knowing she wasn't going to be silencing her stomach of its hunger needs anytime soon. Maybe if she could find some booze at least, then she could drown out those hunger pains with that. But she hadn't seen any booze within the fridge... had she?
Aqua takes a chance and opens it again, nosed firmly pinched, as she scans the contents before shutting the fridge again. Nope, there was no booze to be seen. Did that mean the people who lived here weren't the kind for drinking the good stuff? Did they rely on simpler things like water or maybe milk because if so...
"Hey, what's that?"
she asked herself as her wandering eyes spotted small swinging doors like one would see in and old west style saloon hanging from the wall that led into a side room. Curious, Aqua goes to check it out and finds it was a pantry. While none of the food items within appeared to be in any better state than what she had found in the fridge, just less moldy and stinky, it was what else she found in the far side of the pantry that made her eyes light up with joy.
"Booze, sweet, beautiful BOOZE!"
Aqua practically threw herself against the shelf that held well over two dozen different bottles of wine and liquor. After a quick examination, she grabs one and pops the cork off and is about to start drinking but stops and does a sniff test first. Finding the smell to be acceptable, she begins chugging the bottle down without a care.
"Oooo yeah, now that's the good stuff there. Whatever year this was from must have been one hell of a good year."
Aqua takes a few more deep chugs before smacking her lips with satisfaction, then she re-corks the bottle and attaches it to her skirt for later. She then decides to start looking around, see if she can find something big enough for her to stuff the other bottles of booze into for later; just in case they end up needing to leave this place in order to leave this whole screwy world.
She returns to the kitchen, checking ever cupboard and shelf, finding nothing. She then heads into the living room, also finding nothing save for a bunch of pictures scattered about. She was about move on to the various rooms connected to the hallway but stops as several of the pictures catch her eye.
One was a picture of four people: two of them looking like Eris. One had the longer hair Aqua was used to seeing Eris sport while the other had shorter hair like she was working with now in her "Chris" persona, except the girl in the picture had a noticeable ponytail. There was another girl in the picture, having black hair with red highlights, and a guy with reddish pink hair who looked to be rather attractive.
"A family photo perhaps? I wonder... could that be Eris's family from back when she was a mortal?"
For Aqua, that would explain why Eris was taking so long with her search of this place. If this was her old home back when she had been a mortal, then of course she'd want to take her time with looking around and enjoying past memories the place would bring back to the surface.
She looks at a few more pictures, nothing of real important note to Aqua. There was one that looked to be from a little party they appeared to be having, one from a trip to the beach. One with the three girls hugging the guy in a possessive way, and several wedding-implying pictures with the guy and each girl.
'Wait, does that mean all three of them were married to this one guy? Eris never told me about that before.'
Aqua was about to move on when one final picture caught her eye. She picks it up and looks at it closely, Seeing the four of them again, except this time there was a fifth addition to the mix, a cute looking baby girl with the same hair as the guy, being held by the girl with black-red hair. What made it even cuter was the fact the baby didn't appear to be at all happy with having her picture taken.
Or maybe she wasn't happy with who was holding her that was the problem?
Aqua puts it down, smiles at the total pictures on display, then gets back to her searching. She finds what she was needing quickly enough, several bags that could hold the booze, yet she still wanted to see what else this place had to offer.
The bathroom didn't have anything of interest to her and the next room she examined didn't have anything to it either as it appeared to be a guest room, or so Aqua assumed. The next room must have been the baby's room, though whoever had done the design work for it must have been a little wonky in the head as it had a rather nightmarish look about it.
"Ugh, now that's scary. Whoever was in charge of setting this room up must have been a psychopath; in serious need of therapy."
(Elsewhere, Megumin found herself suddenly suffering a serious eye twitch, as well as the desire to hurt someone badly, alongside Cecily of course.)
Aqua then pokes her head into the next room, expecting to find nothing of importance there either. Instead, she finds Eris sitting at the side of a bed that had the NEET sleeping within. Eris had failed to notice Aqua's arrival as her focus was on the sleeping Kazuma, her hands reaching out to hold one of his own.
Aqua goes to talk, to let Eris know that she was there and that they needed to be doing more than just sit around, worrying over one sleeping guy, but her voice escaped her. She just looks at Eris, seeing the worry in her eyes and expression on her face before Aqua turns and leaves the room.
'Eris, do you... are you actually in love with that guy?'
If that was the case, then Eris's taste in men left a lot to be desired in Aqua's mind. Still, Aqua couldn't also feel a bit jealous as well there. To find someone, to love someone. That was something Aqua had always wanted for herself but due to her status as a goddess and the responsibilities that came with the job, finding that special someone seemed like an impossible task.
Aqua pushes those thoughts from her mind as she steps outside the house. She sits down on the porch, takes a swing from the wine she had at her side, and does something she didn't often do, THINK! I mean, really stop and think about things.
'I should give Eris some time to... do whatever it is she's doing. But what about me? What can I do while she's taking her time doing THAT? Oh, I know...'
Aqua stands, her gaze out towards the rest of this little village. Since Eris had her attention elsewhere, it would be up to Aqua to step up and take command of the situation. And for her first action, she would go check out the village and see what she could find.
Maybe, just maybe, she could find something that would see them escape this place and get back home!
} B-Part {
"Why is Eris's house located so far away from the rest of the homes and buildings in the village? If I didn't know any better, I'd say she and her household fellows must not have been the most popular."
After about fifteen minutes of walking, Aqua had finally reached the first closest building to the home Eris and her friends had lived in. Aqua helps herself inside, taking time to look around. Much like Eris's home, all the food found within was less than edible though she did find some more booze which made the search of this home worth it.
She made her way around, going from building to building in her search for something to eat. She did find this strange plant like substance that appeared to be edible. Figuring that it wouldn't harm anything, she gave it a try and while it tasted horrible, it was still an acceptable bit of food to munch on.
She then enters a new store, finding it to be a clothing store of a sort. Seeing herself as an expert when it came to fashion, Aqua looks over the various clothing items available. While most of the items were less than trendy, in her opinion, there were still a few items that got her seal of approval.
When she exited the store, she was sporting a nice cerulean colored coat to help combat the cold in the air. Aqua let's out a sigh, feeling better now than she had before with the added warmth. She then looks up at the sky and lets her gaze linger on the sky above her.
"Those are some pretty nasty looking clouds hanging over this place. If that's not bad enough, what makes those clouds even worse is the fact we're out in the middle of the ocean, I think. Clouds like that, out here, could mean hurricane weather and I'd rather not be caught out in something like that. I worry about that later. For now, let's get back to... what was I doing again?"
It takes a moment for Aqua to recall what it was she was doing out here. Once she remembered, she quickly got back to searching the rest of the buildings in the village save for two structures. One looked like it may have been a church of some kind and the other was an old barn near a gate arch.
Aqua makes her way over to the church like building first, curious to find out what deity from the heavens the people who once lived here gave their faith to. The large single door gives off a creaking sound as she pushes it open, finding a large room with several rows of pews. From the looks of it, there would be just enough space to sit several hundred people in this room: possibly the entire village.
Aqua looks around, looking for any marks or symbols to tell her who may have been the god or goddess of this world in the past, finding nothing that stood out. Aqua then looks towards the alter, seeing a simple statue set up at the back of the room. Curious, Aqua walks up to statue in order to get a better look at it.
First was the size. It wasn't as big as the statues of her back in Arcanretia, but it was still a nice size for a place like this. From the design of the statue, the god of this world was clearly female, thus making her a goddess. She had long hair and dressed in what looked to be a cute, frilly dress.
Aqua studies this statue closes for a few moments then closes her hard as she tries to think about who this was meant to represent.
"Hm... mmm, ah... damn it, I just can think of who this could be. Why didn't they at least scribble her name down somewhere on... oh wait, there it is."
Sure enough, there was a name etched into the base of the statue. In fact, there was more than just a name but a whole inscription. It was strange language, one that Aqua needed a moment of deep diving into her own mind in order to find the translation for.
"Let's see, it says 'In honor of our graceful and pure-hearted Lady... Aqua?' Wait just a minute. Does that mean..."
Aqua can't help but clench her fist and grit her teeth as she looks into the eyes of the statue as she says with anger.
"I can't believe it, I mean... it doesn't make any sense. These people were followers of a goddess named Aqua. But that's impossible. I'M LADY AQUA! But this isn't... I don't understand... wait, I think I know the answer to this mystery."
She begins to ruffle her hair with her hands while continuing her rant.
"Someone's been going around, claiming to be me. Was it some sad sack of a human playing on these people's good and ignorant natures or is there someone up there in Heaven trying to pass themselves off as me, like a pathetic angel wanting to get some accolades about them. I mean, just like at this statue. It doesn't look anything like me, not like the statues back in Arcanretia do!"
["What are you talking about, Lady Aqua. That statue looks exactly like you, all the way down to your manner of dress and the water molecule looking ornament in your hair. In comparison, all those statues of you back in Arcanretia don't look anything like you."]
"Gah, get out of my voice, head... I mean, get out of my head, voice. I don't need you going around, proving that everyone is right when they claim that I'm crazy, loopy, and not quite right in my noggin'!"
Worried that the strange voice would choose to speak up again, Aqua quickly exits the church. After taking a moment to take in some deep breaths, she prepares to head back to Eris's place only to stop as she recalls there was still one place left she hadn't looked around in yet.
"Ugh, do I really need to go check out the barn. I mean, what am I even going to find in there? A bunch of horse remains or something?"
Aqua begins walking in the direction of Eris's place yet finds her gaze wondering back to the barn several times. Finally, the curiosity proved too much, making her scream out on frustration.
"Damn it all, fine. I'll go take a quick look inside."
Aqua runs over to the barn, wanting to get this quick little peek inside over as quickly as possible. Once she had reached the barn, she forces one of the two large wooden doors open just enough to let her look inside. She needs a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness but when they do...
"Yup, like I suspected. There's nothing in here except a few saddles, some repair tools, and..."
Her words come to a stop as she sees one very specific thing inside this place.
"OK, now I don't think I should be seeing something like YOU in here, nor even on a world like this!"
Back with Eris, she had remained locked to Kazuma's sleeping side, always holding his cold hand while occasional reaching up to either run a finger through his hair or to place a hand against his cheek for a few moments.
It tore her up inside, seeing him in this state. He had been forced to suffer so much since coming to her world, been made to put up with a lot and go through more crap than most. And worse of all was the fact it had all happened in less than a year's time and his struggles and burden weren't over yet.
"Kazuma, I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can. Know that I am here with you now and I'm not going to leave your side. I... I hate that you have to keep going through all this crap and I wish it was within my power to take it all onto my own shoulders so you didn't have to suffer like you did."
It was true. Chris knew that she would take his burden off his shoulder and onto her own without a second thought if that was an option. And she knew Megumin, Yunyun, and the others would say and think the same thing. That's how important Kazuma was to them. Maybe it was time they truly made that truth known to him, if it wasn't already.
"OK me, I need to start thinking about other things here for a bit. What was it Rubrikt said before? That the clue that would lead me to find him would be found within my bedroom. Well, this could be seen as my bedroom so..."
Chris begins to look around the room, not seeing anything that stood out to her. She decides to do a more meticulous search, making her look back at Kazuma.
"Ah... Kazuma, I know I just said I wouldn't leave your side but would it be OK if I took a couple of minutes to see if I can find that clue Rubrikt said he left for us here?"
Kazuma didn't say anything. Chris then let's go of his hand, gets up from her chair, and begins to turn the room inside out, finding nothing that shouldn't naturally be there already. She then plays it safe and checks the other rooms, just in case Rubrikt goofed and used the wrong room.
In the end, she didn't find any clue.
Once she had returned to Kazuma's side, she once more takes his hand while saying-
"No luck, I'm afraid. You know, thinking about it, I wouldn't be surprised if he was just messing with us, you know. I don't know, what do you think?"
Once again, Kazuma doesn't respond. Chris still nods though before closing her eyes as she tries to mentally and emotionally reach out to Kazuma in the hope that it may help him to awaken at last.
And because of this, a voice speaks up in her mind.
'What if he didn't mean THIS home?'
"Huh, what?"
said Chris, her eyes opening wide as she looks around the room. Obviously, there was no one there beside her and Kazuma. She then looks back at Kazuma and asks-
"Kazuma, was that... you who...? Wait, what did you mean by 'THIS home?'"
Chris found herself perplexed by that question for a few moments till realization comes to here.
"Is it possible? Could the answer actually mean..."
"ERIS!"
A few minutes later, Chris found herself standing just inside the barn with Aqua, looking at the strange object located within. After having found this strange thing, Aqua had rushed back to the house, grabbed Eris, and dragged her all the way out here. Chris looks at the object, then at Aqua and says-
"This is what got you all excited? A motorcycle, complete with a side car..."
"Why aren't you more excited about this? Isn't this discovery a big deal or something? I mean, was seeing something like this in this world normal or something?"
"... Actually, no. This shouldn't be here. Good fine... I guess, Aqua."
"That's right, praise me some more!"
Chris ignores Aqua, instead walking over to the motorcycle in order to examine it. From what she could tell, it didn't appear to be anything special. It wasn't until she found her eyes looking at the engine does Chris finally see that there was something very different about it when compared to what rides like this one would usually have.
"OK, so what's the deal with..."
"Eris, Eris, lookie-lookie at this!"
Chris turns her attention away from the odd engine on the bike to whatever it was that Aqua was wanting her to look it. It was a small little ball, glowing with light that dangled from one of the handlebars of the bike.
"What the heck is this?"
"I want to say it's some kind of ornament but I can feel power coming from it."
Chris agreed as she takes it in hand, pulling it off the handlebars only for the thing breaking as a result.
"Ah, Eris. What did you just do? You didn't have to..."
Before Aqua could finish, a ghostly image of Rubrikt appears before them, making Aqua squeak in surprise before she hides herself behind Chris.
["Testing, testing, one-two-three. This thing is on, right? OK, looking good. Ahem... sorry for this sudden communication with you, ladies Eris and Aqua. It occurred to me after sending you on your way that the place I was sending you would have zero mana for you all to work with, thus make things rather difficult for you all when it comes to getting around from one place to another."]
["To rectify that issue, I have left this for you both to make use of. This little motorcycle is special, running off a special power battery that will see you to your ultimate destination. Even better, it has limited flying abilities built in as well. Not much, mind you, as the bike can only hover about ten feet off the ground when the flying mode is in use."]
"Well, that's awfully nice of that guy to do, don't you think, Eris."
"No, not really. I mean, he could have just sent us directly to the place we need to be at right off the bat. Even better, he could have NOT sent us here to Arbel to begin with, instead just told us exactly where to find him, thus saving us a lot of time, effort, and trouble."
"... Mother fu..."
["Please be aware that there's only so much energy in the engine that can be used to make it run, so you'll need to make periodic stops so it can naturally recharge itself. How does it recharge itself, especially when on a world with zero mana? Well, that's a professional trade secret."]
["Now, by my calculations, you should be able to reach your desired destination within two point five to three days, so long as you don't take any unneeded detours that is. Now, I shall take my leave so you can get started on your little trip. A word a warning though, I would advise caution going forward as I believe the Praegem may have left something behind as a just in case anyone ever came a-visiting."]
With that, the ghostly image of Rubrikt fades, returning the inside of the barn to being dark and spooky.
"Aqua, help me move this thing out to the main gate. We'll then go get Kazuma and we'll be on our way."
Thirty minutes later, Chris makes sure Kazuma's sleeping form was firmly secure inside the side car before hopping onto the motorcycle. Aqua then stuff the bag full of booze in with Kazuma, making Chris send her a sorrow look.
"Really Aqua, you're bringing all THAT along for the ride?"
"Well, yeah. Unlike you, I'm a fan of the finer things in life. I need my booze, Eris. It helps to calm my nerves and keep my mind focused!"
"And makes it clear to one and all that you have a drinking problem."
"No I don't. I can stop drinking whenever I want to. I just don't see a need to do that. Forget all that, Eris."
Aqua then hops onto the motorcycle, behind Eris and grabs on tight.
"Now, put the peddle to the metal and let's get this thing flying. Wahoo!"
With that, the sound of the engine comes to life as motorcycle goes flying out of Sala Village; the long journey to their destination having finally started.
} Intermission {
"Man, why do I even bother sometimes?"
said the teal haired angel, letting out a sigh.
Why did she always have the worst luck, she wondered. Having to be the angel assistant to a goddess like Aqua. Didn't anyone even understand just how much work she always had thrown onto her shoulders. Even when her boss was away in a somewhat exile, she still always found a way to make her poor helper have to go quadruple duty when it came to what she needed to take care of.
"Hey Tsunami, I came to see if you were... Boy, you look like you're having yourself a bad day."
The angel named Tsunami turns to see her best friend, Clover, appear from a little gate that had opened off to the side. Once Clover had fished passing through, the door of light fades as the blonde walks over to her friend.
"When have I not been having a bad day over the past near millennium."
"Point taken. Surely things have been easier for you as of late, what with your boss having been sent down to lady Eris's world. I mean, you wouldn't need to make all those little trips to grab snacks, drinks, and all those little things that come from the mortal world."
"You would think that, yeah. Unfortunately, I still have to go take care of signing any paperwork that comes about because of something lady Aqua has done while down in the mortal realm. As I'm sure you can imagine, there is a LOT of paperwork I have to deal with relating to that."
"... I'd rather not imagine that, if you don't mind."
Clover then gives Tsunami a few head pats to cheer her up. After letting herself enjoy the kind gesture, Tsunami thanks Clover for always being there for her. Clover nods happily, then asks-
"So, what's lady Aqua done this time to get you so depressed?"
"Where do I begin? (giggles) Seriously, I've been doing what I'm always doing for her, ever since she was sent down to the mortal realm as punishment for being... well, for being herself. I was speaking to her, in her mind; doing what I can for her by giving her advice or pointing things out to her."
"Wait, we're allowed to actually go do that? I was visited by master Pathos a little while ago and he told me while lady Eris, lady Aqua, and mister Kazuma are stuck on Arbel, I'm not allowed to do anything, even communicate, until either they find the clue that Rubrikt guy hid away for them to find, or seventy-two hours have passed since they got there. Didn't he do the same with you?"
"Really, he never showed up to talk with me."
"Ah, that's not fair."
"I think I know why he didn't feel the need to come tell me any of that. Like I said before, I've been trying to help lady Aqua, guide her as it were by being a little voice inside her head. It never seems to work though. She either ignores me, thinking my voice is a product of her imagination or she assumes I'm some evil spirit, trying to lead her astray. Take my most recent attempt, the one I just finished trying to do before you showed up. I tried to make her realize the Aqua that was the center of the faith on Arbel was actually her and she didn't believe it, all because she doesn't remember her time as Arbel's goddess."
"Wait, she doesn't remember?"
"It was of her own choice. After Arbel went to hell and all that, she took this little memory tonic that sealed all memories concerning Arbel... at least I think it was of her own choosing. Maybe lord Pathos had something to do with it. Long story short, she refused to believe it, even going so far to say the statue of her looked nothing like her, unlike the statues of her that litter Arcanretia."
"But none of those statues look anything like her."
"Try convincing her of that!"
"(quiet for a second) Dumb question... why does she think she's hearing the voice of an evil spirit. Surely she would... lady Aqua doesn't know the sound of your voice, does she?"
"(anime style water works) NO!"
All Clover could do was pat Tsunami on the back as her friend continued to cry from her lot in life.
{|} Chapter 2-B: Diving into the Depths of the Crypt {|}
} A-Part {
The group consisting of Darkness, Megumin, Yunyun, Cielo, Chomusuke, and Serena had arrived outside the Erisia Cathedral, stopping to take a moment catch their breathes before heading inside. Due to this, they have a moment to take in the current state of the cathedral.
"This is horrible. Look at all the damage..."
said Cielo, her voice sounding crest fallen. Darkness places a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her, while saying-
"It could have been a lost worse, you know. The fact the only external damage done was to the stained-glass windows and few sculptures of past Eris faithful and heroes could be seen as a good thing, though just seeing this much done really hits me in the feels."
"If you think this is bad, then you're really not going to like the inside."
said Serena casually on reflex. This gets everyone to look at her then Yunyun asks-
"So, you actually went inside before then? I thought you said you just saw Cecily heading inside with an unconscious Kazuma."
"... That's right, I did. I also followed her inside, up till she entered this old passage that led down into the dark earth. It was then I made my decision to find you all before going any further."
"Then what are we waiting for. Let's hurry up and get after Cecily."
shouted Megumin, already heading into the cathedral. The others nod before following her inside.
Once they were fully inside the cathedral, they understood the full extent of the damage and vandalism done to the place. Most of the paintings that had been on display were gone; the few that still remained had either been slashed up or were new paintings depicting the goddess Aqua.
Almost all the statues had been smashed to pieces. The only one left standing was the largest of them, depicting the goddess Eris, which had been butchered and defaced with several obscene words written on it. Also, scattered about the place were many Eris followers, now dressed in the garments of the Axis faith. Among them was mother Clerica and all of them were currently on the ground unconscious.
Cecily quickly runs over to Clerica, kneeling down beside her with Darkness right behind.
"Well Cecily, how is she?"
"I think she's OK, just sleeping at the moment. I'm assuming the same is true for everyone else in here."
"They'll be fine, I'm sure. Probably a side effect from being under that Cecily persons control. Don't forget I found you all unconscious too and the only reason you're awake now is because I used my healing magic on you."
"Can't you go ahead and heal them too, miss Clerica?"
asked Yunyun, getting a negative as her reply.
"Don't misunderstand. I COULD accelerate their awakening easily enough. But would bringing them back to consciousness now, to see all this, really be the best thing for them to experience?"
"Serena's right, Yunyun. Once they wake up, they're going to see all this and they've done over these last few days. That's going to hit them... HARD! So much so that I don't want to even imagine how that's going to weigh down on their minds and hearts."
"But none of this was their fault, Cielo. Surely they'll understand that they were controlled by..."
"That's not how they're going to see it, Yunyun. Sure, you're right in that they were being brainwashed, just like we were. Despite that, are you saying you can forgive yourself so easily from just those thoughts alone?"
Darkness's question makes Yunyun go quiet. Serena looks at each of them, giving them a sad look then says-
"I know things seem bad, and I guess, in a way, it is bad. That said, it could be a lot worse also. As far as I know, nobody was killed which is the best thing we can hope for. Everything else... that can be replaced. Sure, it won't be the same but at least there are options there with some of what was lost."
"Hey, will you guys stop dicking around. We can't be wasting any time... especially now!"
shouted Megumin who appeared to have gone on ahead, only to come back once she realized no one was following her. With a sigh, the others get back on their feet and join her.
Once they had reached the library, they saw that many of the shelves were now devoid of text. Many had likely already been destroyed while others appeared to be on carts, probably being prepared for the fire. Or maybe they were replacement tomes, delivered from Arcanretia with haste.
They didn't linger on this to long as their eyes fell on the large opening in the wall.
"Are you sure this is where she went, Serena?"
"Positive. Just follow me, everyone."
Serena then steps through the gaping opening with Megumin right behind her. The other three look at each other before following as well. After descending down the stone steps, they emerge into the darkened crypt. Serena then produces from her adventurer's pouch several torches with glow manatite connected to them, handing one to everyone to maximize their illumination.
As they begin walking through the dark and eerie chambers of the crypt, Yunyun can't help but shiver as she says-
"Can't believe we have to make our way through this creepy place again!"
Serena glances back at her then asks-
"You've been down here before?"
Cielo answers, saying-
"Only the one time. It was a few months back. Mother Clerica had found this passage when one of the record keepers accidentally exposed this place; an area of the cathedral no one knew existed before that day. She asked us if we could come down here and investigate for her."
"... And what did you find?"
The slight hint of worry didn't escape Darkness's notice. She wonders if the others had picked up on it too. She pushes that observation to the side for now, instead answering-
"Not much, really. Didn't go that far in. All we really found was a lot of tombs, cobwebs and spiders, and an old lich named Keele. At his own request, Cielo purified him so he could pass on into the afterlife. After that, we made our way back topside where mother Clerica decided to seal up this place. Guess she didn't do a good enough job there, huh."
"So, you didn't find anything else? Nothing at all?"
If the others had failed to notice the slight worry coming from Serena before, her more earnest tone was definitely noticed now. Cielo responds, saying-
"There was this one passage that led deeper down, near where we met Keele at. We didn't go exploring past that though as we were getting this dark vibe and didn't sit well with us. Even Keele himself said he had never been able to explore further down himself because of the unease he felt when near the door."
"... I see. Good, that's good..."
Darkness and Cielo take a quick glance at one another. Yunyun then speaks up, saying-
"You both forgot one little detail. Remember when Kazuma's new red leather jacket he found in mister Keele's room caused us all to dance the Thriller. That was weird at the time but thinking back on it, that was really fun too!"
"DON'T REMIND US OF THAT, YUNYUN!" (x2)
Serena stops, looks back at the three of them, then turns back having decided she didn't want to ask.
After another ten or so minutes of walking, they finally came to a stop before an especially dark door that seemed to have an almost miasma like mist coming from it.
"So, is this the furthest you four have gone in this place?"
"Yeah, this is the foreboding door Keele told us about. Do we really need to step beyond it?"
asked Cielo. Yunyun is quick to add-
"Shouldn't we check some of the side rooms we passed by just to reach this spot? You know, make sure Cecily isn't hiding out in one of those rooms with Kazuma."
"... No, I'm sure she would have gone deeper down. Now, let's stop wasting time and get this done. The sooner we're finished here, the sooner we can leave."
"Agreed!"
said Megumin, already taking the lead by walking into the unexplored passage, disappearing as she begins to walk downwards. Serena follows after her with Yunyun just a few steps behind. Cielo and Darkness look at each other again, give one another a nod, then step into the passage as well.
} B-Part {
The air was filled with a strange kind of fog that seemed to have a kind of energy behind it. This fog wasn't something that was ever present in the air; rather a phenomenon that would becoming thick enough that one could see it for a few seconds before it faded from sight again.
Ever since they had passed beyond the door located down in the crypt and had passed into the unknown, they had been seeing this fog. Was it connected to the dark, ominous, and foreboding feeling that had originally kept them, and Keele, from doing any further exploration?
In truth, the four girls found they're natural instincts screaming at them to stop and turn back, but they couldn't do that. Not when there was a chance they would find Kazuma down here in this place.
Darkness looks at her glow manatite, frowning as it seems to grow dimmer and dimmer.
"We may be in trouble here. Our light source isn't looking so hot. I'm worried that they'll fail if they grow any dimmer and leave us lost in the dark which, in a place as unfamiliar as this one, won't be a good thing for any of us."
"Yunyun, do you think this strange fog has anything to do with the glow manatite growing weaker?"
"Hm, it's possible. No, I'd say it's definitely the cause as I can feel my own magic energy becoming wobbly and unstable. Let's hope we don't run into any monsters down here."
"I doubt we will. Even if we were to run into anything, my priestess magic should be enough to deal with them. Your priestess powers should be fine as well, Cielo."
"What if our magic becomes too weak to be of any use, Serena. As much as I hate to say this, maybe we should head back, if only long enough to..."
"It'll be fine. While the mana dampening nature of the fog may have a negative impact on the glow manatite and our magic, it won't completely drain and cut us off from using it!"
"... How do you know this, Serena?"
asked Darkness. Serena doesn't respond at first; a silence lingering in the air just long enough to make Cielo go to ask the next obvious question, only for Serena to finally respond by saying-
"Not the first time I've seen something like this. Can't recall what this kind of fog is called, hence why it didn't answer right away... in case you were wondering."
There's quiet again for a little bit, until they reached the bottom of the very long set of stairs. Despite the weak glow of the manatite, they were able to just barely make out the room they had emerged into.
It was big, probably around the same size as the main room of the cathedral, where the people would gather for worship. They could make at a fair number of stone coffins. A couple appeared to be on the ground, but most were actually set into the walls, possibly carved from the very stone walls.
"You don't think... there's any dead bodies resting inside those coffins, do you? If you think they could come alive and start attacking us?"
asked Yunyun, her voice having very noticeable worry. Cielo silently agrees while Darkness can't help but imagine having a bunch of undead jumping her and doing all manner of creepy things to her body.
"It'll be fine. I'm pretty sure this is all meant to be decoration. Something to add ambiance and all that crap. Given the fact the remodel of your mansion was all your idea, a place like this must speak to your personal style and preference, am I right Megumin?"
"Who cares about all that now. Ask me that once we've found Kazuma. Until then, keep your focus where it needs to be at people."
Megumin's words had a bit of a bite to them, making everyone be taken aback. Even Serena hadn't expected it. It was now clear just how focused and driven Megumin really was right now so maybe it would be for the best to save any additional talk till after this was all said and done.
"Understood. This way, everyone!"
The continue walking through the room and as the door that led into the next room began to take shape in the dark, a sudden sound comes to their attention, the sound of stone moving against stone. Unable to stop themselves, they look back to see the lid of of the coffins being pushed by some unseen force till it falls off to the side of the stone coffin.
A hand then rises out, covered in skin so thinned out that it showed off the shape of the bone, that grips the side of the coffin. The head and upper torso then rises up, looking almost like a skeleton that still had the slightest amount of dried out flesh just barely clinging on.
As it works to step out of the stone coffin, they observe it was wearing a kind of armor, very ancient looking from what they could tell. As it comes to stand, now free of the stone coffin that had confined it, Serena has a sudden intake of breath as she takes a step back.
"What's that supposed to be? Some kind of zombie?"
asked Megumin, sounding more annoyed than anything else.
Serena shakes her head, her body visibly shaking which wasn't expected from someone like her. She then tells them, her voice shaky and filled with dread.
"No, that's not a zombie. It's far worse than that. That thing... that warrior..."
The creature, its eyes having the pulsing reddish glow that danced around a lifeless pupil, reaches into the stone coffin and pulls out a sword that had a long, rectangular design with no curved edges.
"It's a Draugr!"
{|} to be continued... {|}