Chapter 76

As soon as I finished speaking, there was a shimmering light and a clunking sound from Mazvin. This time, the thing that looked like an hour hand went round and round and stopped as if showing the way.

“Go over there.”

Pointing my finger at one of these places, Yeriel and other Kefienas stared in awe.

“What are you doing? The savior commands.”

Declan’s face, as he said so, was filled with pride. It was like bragging about how smart his child was.

Yeriel immediately commanded the Kefienas, and she rode on the camel again. After that, I asked for a way in the middle. At some point, a powerful light burst out of Mazvin before the letters Namos emerged.

“Stop! I think this is Namos.”

As we hurriedly got off the camel, Declan and Yeriel followed. At that moment, a strong wind blew from somewhere, and a low altar covered in a pile of sand appeared.

“I didn’t expect this to be here.”

Yeriel was also quite surprised when she saw it for the first time.

“It must have been a temple in the past.”

Declan murmured as he ran his hand over the stone altar.

Now that we found Namos, we only need to find eight Hodein.

‘…Hodein means guide.’

Guides meant those who took advantage of strong divine power at a time when only some priests had divine power. However, even those who were called the guides had already disappeared a thousand years ago.

‘There is something related to Hodein around here.’

…Was it a statue? Or some other symbol?

I turned to the party and shouted out loud.

“Please, check if there is anything related to guides around here.”

At that, I hurriedly looked around, reciting the names that I had seen in the records of the Great Temple. Thankfully, it didn’t take long before I found a stone path leading to the altar. In the middle of the path, a phrase was engraved in the holy language.

“Found it.”

It was the name of the first guide.

As we walked a little further, we could find the name of the second guide.

“Your Majesty! Yeriel…!”

When I shouted, the two quickly approached from different directions.

“It was like this.”

Declan gazed down the stone path with an intrigued expression.

“Is all eight here?”

“I think so. This is the second one.”

Saying that, I slowly walked forward with Declan.

Just as I stood before the name of the Eight Leader, an intense golden light rose through the reddish horizon. When a single ray of light struck the stone road, there was a great vibration. Everyone was nervous with their swords in their hands.

“That…”

Among the piles of sand, there was a pedestal stone large enough for five people to surround. Yeriel approached the stone and knelt down.

“…Finally.”

As she raised her hands toward the sky and praised God, the Kefienas did the same around the stone.

“I think this is the lost door.”

“Looks like that.”

Although Declan answered calmly, he seemed a little confused as if the situation was strange.

“But, if it’s a door… shouldn’t we be able to open it?”

I also thought it would be all right to open the door once we found it…

When I saw the stone tablets attached to the ground, I was very upset.

“Is there anything else in Epist?”

“Well, nothing in particular.”

If that was the case, then it meant that I had to find a way from that pedestal.

“Your Majesty, if this is a door, there must be a mechanism to open it.”

“I can only see the rubble of the stone tower collapsed.”

As the saying goes, the pedestal had grooves all over it as though there were columns or walls on it. While I tried to see if there was a secret device, nothing happened.

“Ha, we answered those ridiculous riddles.”

Declan gave a false smile and frowned.

It seemed that he didn’t like this situation.

To be honest, I could not deny that my patience was slowly reaching the limit as well. I had been running frantically out of desperation so far though now, I was starting to wonder if it was really God’s prank.

‘All right. I’ll try it one last time, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll go.’

After swallowing a gulp to the point where my throat rumbled loudly, I approached Declan.

“Your Majesty, please take Mazvin out.”

I shouted, placing my hand on Mazvin that Declan had given out.

“If you don’t tell me how to open the door, I’ll knock it all out and go home!”

When I shouted with threats, Declan smiled and added, “If the answer is not good, I will shatter everything in this place.”

Hearing those words, Yeriel’s face turned a little pale, recognizing that Mazvin was a holy relic. However, I felt refreshed and laughed out loud.

As if the threat had worked, Mazvin began to turn.

〈 Epist 〉

‘…Epist? There was nothing else there.’

For a moment, the groove on the top of the pedestal stood out in particular. The shape and size were just of Epist’s size.

Just in case, I approached Declan.

“Please put Epist here.”

“Here?”

As I nodded my head, he took Epist and placed it there. Then, as though it was customized for Epist, it went right in. At the same time, something rose from the groove in the middle of the pedestal.

Declan, who saw it, murmured grimly.

“Are you teasing me?”

Even so, it was ambiguous to say that it was a door that rose because there was only a small dangly door. I stared at the door with a hole in the middle and turned my head in surprise at the intense light shining from the side.

It was a light that emanated from Mazvin I was holding.

“I think the key to this door is Mazvin.”

Declan, who was quietly looking at Mazvin, walked over and put it into the groove. Mazvin then quickly turned again and stopped at a moment with a shudder.

“Wow.”

The open part became opaque, and a blue current began to ripple.

“…This is the door to Perseum.”

Yeriel, who suddenly approached us, had tears in her eyes.

‘Is this really the door to Perseum?’

I was just desperately hanging on because there was no other way.

‘It’s a place that only appears in myths…’

Nonetheless, a door leading to it appeared in front of me.

…So, could I be a human now?

The anticipation that I had been pressing for so long burst out at once, and I wanted to go through that door right away.

‘Is it magic?’

Even though there was obviously nothing behind the door, if I touched the rippling current, I seemed to be sucked in. As I reached out as if possessed, a large hand hurriedly tried to hold me but passed through.

“Erica.”

When I turned my head to the urgent call, Declan was looking at me with anxious eyes. I could finally go to Perseum, so why was he making that face…?

“This is the Perseum we were looking for. I-I might be able to be a human!”

Even with my excited words, his face was still hardened and it seemed as though he didn’t know how to straighten it out.

“I have to go quickly. We never know when this door will close.”

“Erica.”

When I saw the fluttering eyes as if they had met a storm, my excited heart slowly subsided.

“Why, what’s wrong?”

“…I don’t know either.”

Declan swept his face.

“I’m worried. I’m afraid I’ll never see you again.”

“We’re going in together, so what are you so worried about?”

“This space is distorted. So, I don’t know what kind of effect it will have on you, a soul.”

If so, then we wouldn’t know what would happen to the human Declan.

I hesitated, thinking it could be dangerous for him, too. Still, I couldn’t stop my eyes from going through the door.

“…But, maybe you can become a person.”

“That’s right.”

Declan still struggled with his worries.

“Can’t Yeriel come with me?”

I asked, wondering if he could be relieved if a Kefiena could go with me.

“I’m sorry. Only the savior chosen by God can enter it.”

I stopped and nodded my head in understanding. Did she just say that only the savior could enter…?

“Yeriel, I’m not the only one who can pass through this door, am I?”

…Please, say no.

“…Only the savior is permitted.”

As soon as I heard those words, my mind went blank.

Tang!

I turned my head to the clear ringing and saw Declan staring down at his hands with a contorted face. When he touched the door again, the door that had been swinging hardened and made the same sound as before.

The door deflected him out.

‘Let’s think, think!’

I clenched and extended my fists, trying to clear my mind. Since he couldn’t go in, that meant that I had to go alone.

‘I’m glad Declan didn’t take the risk, so why am I nervous?’

Perseum was the land of God, so there was no danger.

Besides, I was qualified to go in.

‘However, what if I don’t come back…? What if I can’t see him again?’