Chapter 1475: Chapter 1475
Ancient, porous stone structures, seemingly worn down by ages of flowing water, loomed high. Bizarre, twisted pillars propped up the sky.
The gulf between the ground and the cavern roof was vast, as real and remote as the sky. This was the ancient complex beneath Black Town, a malevolent realm that had concealed a dreadful power since time immemorial.
Jenkins's suspicions from the previous story had been correct. This was no part of the material world, but a pocket dimension that periodically returned. It was the birthplace of the Beast of Calamity, and because the power of its transgression could never be truly erased, it had been sealed away.
Over countless ages, spirits born of sin and wandering, masterless souls spawned countless horrors within this place. Whenever the pocket dimension brushed against the material world, these entities would scheme to find a way back into Black Town. For tens of thousands of years, most of the unsettling events in the town could be traced back to them.
The halfling diviner had been abducted and brought here for glimpsing the truth of this realm. The indescribable entities, akin to specters and malevolent spirits, did not torment him. Instead, they simply cast him aside, leaving him to his fate.
When Jenkins found the halfling, the man was still unconscious, his brow deeply furrowed as if trapped in a nightmare. Only when Jenkins pressed an All-Seeing Card to his forehead did the diviner stir. His eyes flew open and he let out a terrified scream, as though he had seen some hideous monster, before promptly fainting once more.
The bizarre entities lurking within the ancient complex remained hidden from Jenkins the entire time. They warily observed this peculiar soul who had ventured down from the world above, sensing the immense, almost terrifying vitality radiating from his body.
Jenkins safely carried the halfling back to the surface. After getting him settled, he went alone to the tent to find the lion. The great cat was lying quietly in its cage, seemingly waiting for him, and its posture reminded Jenkins of his own cat at home. Get full chapters from novel✶fire.net
"I have seen you before, in the distant past."
"What role did I play in the past?"
The lion shook its head but gave no answer. Instead, it suddenly opened its great maw. The jaw unhinged to an angle that surpassed any physical limit, tearing the flesh at the corners of its mouth. Deep within that dark, cavernous opening, Jenkins could faintly make out a human face.
"Since you've appeared, my plan cannot succeed this time. But that is of no consequence. You and I both know that there is no true end to what happens here. No matter how many years pass, we will always have a chance to return to the world of mortals."
"Are you that afraid of me? You abandon your plan the moment you see me? I am truly curious... what role did I play in the past?"
Jenkins asked, but the human face within the lion's maw remained silent. Even when Jenkins plunged his sword into the beast's throat, it uttered no cry of pain.
After dispatching the lion, Jenkins returned to check on the halfling diviner. The man had woken, but it was as if he'd suffered a complete mental breakdown. He reacted with extreme sensitivity to the slightest sound; even the pitch of Jenkins's voice was enough to trigger bouts of hysterical sobbing.
This was not a permanent affliction; time would help the halfling recover. Jenkins simply hoped that this talkative friend from a bygone era would stay far away from such dreadful affairs in the future.
He returned the All-Seeing Card to the diviner and then noticed the old storybook pages on the man's table. Upon waking in the church bed earlier, he had realized there were only two stories left before the night was over.
The clues so far all pointed to the terrifying Beast of Calamity, born here in a distant epoch, as the root of all this misfortune. Perhaps, then, the final story would pit him against that calamity in its infancy. He couldn't see what purpose it would serve, and he had very little confidence in his ability to defeat it.
He was about to turn to the twelfth story and continue reading when a knock sounded at his door. When he opened it, he found Father Fletcher, the priest he had told earlier that night about the terrible Mysterious Object sealed in the lake.
"We've handled it. We found the Mysterious Object in the center of the lake. It was still sealed, so we were able to contain it quite easily. We can't transport it ourselves, so a Scribe from a nearby diocese will be coming to town to take it away. Mr. Williams, I imagine the people of this town will be very grateful to you."
Father Fletcher explained excitedly. He had likely been up all night, participating in the entire containment operation for the "Maiden of the Lake." Jenkins was relieved that a potential disaster had been averted, but at the same time, he couldn't help but worry about what awaited him before the sun rose.
The twelfth story was set in a distant autumn, when the fallen leaves of roadside trees blanketed the town's streets. In this era, the town had once again become prosperous. The brilliant golden leaves, snow-white walls, and tidy streets gave the setting the air of a fairy tale, more so than any of the previous stories.
Jenkins's boots crunched through the leaves as he entered the town, and the locals busy sweeping them away looked up to offer him friendly smiles.
The town's layout was vastly different from how it had been in the 18th Epoch. A hill now rose abruptly from the very center of town, with a flight of spiraling stone steps connecting the streets below to a castle at its peak.
And it was a true castle. The shadow cast by the colossal structure blanketed half the town in shade. The fortress looked as though it had been built for giants; the enormous arched gateway alone, from what Jenkins could see, was taller than the highest building in town.
"The name of the story is 'The Legend of the Dragon Slayer'..."
This tale felt like a pastiche of a contemporary chivalric romance. The castle looming above, as Jenkins soon learned, was the dragon's lair. The town of Black Town was under the dragon's protection and rule; the townspeople paid it taxes and tribute, and in return, the great beast shielded them from harm.
Ignoring the fact that their lord was a dragon, the arrangement was sound and sustainable. Indeed, the story's background suggested it had been this way for many years. The problem, however, was that in every age, there were always "brave" young men who regarded dragon-slaying as the ultimate test of courage and strength—and this was especially true when the dragon in question had taken a princess for a bride.
It was easy enough to learn the details just by asking around town. The dragon lord was marrying a princess, and he had announced that anyone could attend the wedding feast. He required no gifts, only the blessings of his guests. As a result, adventurers from all corners of the land had been lingering in town for the past few days.