Page 386
Page 386
“Even if they’re not a threat, it’s still troublesome if they keep popping up one after another,” Shiomi said. “It’s like having ants blocking your way on your way home… no, how should I describe it…”
“My husband, you don’t need to describe it in such detail.” Morgan patted his shoulder. “We understand what you mean.”
Enemies that can be easily eliminated, yet must be eliminated, keep appearing one after another, only wearing down one's patience.
This is not a good thing.
Olga Marie also sighed silently; she could understand what Shiomi cared about.
Then, she noticed the direction Shiomi was looking in; from the hill where the village was located, one could see the fields on the island.
In this lush and verdant field, there are huge metal wrecks scattered everywhere, covered with moss and vines, as if they had been abandoned here for a long time.
Shiomi is looking at these things right now.
“What’s that?” Morgan also noticed his gaze.
“According to the villagers, those things are remnants of a war between gods tens of thousands of years ago. The young people in the village call them ‘remains of the gods,’” Shio told them what he had found out.
“Oh? ‘Remains of God’.” Morgan’s expression showed interest. “Speaking of which, the director and I just passed by the textile shop and, out of curiosity, went in to take a look at what was inside.”
Olga Marie immediately added, "Although the villagers say it's made from birch bark, it contains Teos Cllonomia."
“Teos?” Shiomi raised an eyebrow.
“‘The Legacy of the Gods’,” Morgan said with a smile. “It seems this island… no, this Lostbelt of Atlantis is quite extraordinary. On one hand, it is indeed under the rule of the gods, and on the other hand, it truly contains all sorts of divine relics.”
At this moment, Shio pointed to Zero One, who was some distance away from the village. There stood a huge ancient Greek-style building, which looked like a temple.
"So, my husband means that we plan to investigate that temple next?" Morgan asked. "Perhaps we'll find something inside."
"Let's skip today and wait here for the Chaldea team to arrive." Shiomi turned around and found a rock to sit on. "Once we've regrouped, let's see if we can get some supplies from here first."
As he spoke, he unfolded the nautical chart he had obtained from Bartholomew.
Morgan and Olga Marie then sat down on either side of Shiomi, looking at the nautical chart in his hand.
"All the islands in the Atlantis Sea form a roughly circular shape. In the central sea, where the Imaginary Tree is located, is the 'Void Cavern,' which is said to be a very strong vortex, causing the surrounding gravity to become abnormal. It is most likely something set up by the Olympian gods. Approaching it rashly before finding the correct entrance will only cause more trouble."
As he spoke, he moved his hand clockwise toward the southwest room and continued:
“Starting from Hestia, the two nearest islands are Hercules to the northeast and Nemesis to the southwest.”
"Are we going to split into two groups again?" Olga Marie asked instinctively.
“No, that’s not advisable. Unlike when Humanity was burned, we used Chaldea as a base to transfer spirit particles to the Singularities, providing a relatively stable rear.” Shiomi shook her head. “But now we’re personally venturing into the Singularities. Storm Border is our only mobile base and support location. Dispersing rashly isn’t a good idea. Besides—”
"And?" Morgan asked.
"The sky to the southwest has been overcast, and it's said that the sea weather around Nemesis Island is extremely bad. Although the locals say that there's basically no contact between the islands, Nemesis Island is completely inaccessible," Shiomi said. "To put it extremely, I think there must be magical beasts in the nearby waters that are extremely adapted to this environment."
"In other words, my husband's next idea is that we should set sail northwest from here, investigate the various islands counterclockwise, gather intelligence, and find the entrance to the Imaginary Tree." Morgan understood.
A fairly sound strategy.
Even if they annihilate Odysseus's fleet, they will not let their guard down.
After all, they haven't destroyed the true main force of this Lostbelt. For Kilshtalia and even the Lostbelt King, it should be equivalent to losing a finger.
It hurts, but it's not a big deal.
"Also, regarding Bartholomew Roberts," Shiomi said, "as a Servant, his combat strength is merely icing on the cake for us. Rather than having him join us, it's better for him to remain on Hestia Island."
"Why? Does the teacher still not trust the other Servants?" Olga Marie asked.
“No, I intend to restore the island’s spiritual veins and have him serve as a guide for new Servants after the restoration of the spiritual veins.” Shiomi explained his reasoning. “If there are other Servants later, I also plan to make similar arrangements.”
“Once the spiritual veins recover to a level that allows Servants to manifest, they will be detected—” Morgan pointed to the sky.
"So we need to find a good position to snipe Artemis first, and take out that machine god above us." Shio nodded, his tone casual, yet resolute.
Olga Marie felt a surge of power within her. She realized that because of the information she had shared with tide Jian, she was now about the same distance from him as Morgan was at that moment.
Olga Marie sensed her body temperature through her combat suit and realized something was wrong.
But while Shiomi and Morgan were still discussing the battle, she had no heart to listen.
Just then, the voices of Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mashu came from the main road leading from the coast to the village, and Olga Marie jumped up as if she had been hit on the toe.
"Everyone's here. I'll go and greet them. Teacher and Ms. Morgan, please rest here for a while!"
"She's in such a high mood." tide Jian was taken aback.
“A girl in her early twenties should be more lively; it’s good for her physical and mental health,” Morgan said, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Makes sense."
Shio couldn't help but express her deep agreement.
Chapter Seventeen: The Detective in the Temple
The following day, at the temple on Hestia.
Looking up from the village's high platform, it resembles an abandoned temple, and getting closer only intensifies this feeling.
“The temples here… look similar to the temple ruins I saw when I traveled to Greece before,” Sakura said first.
Bavan Shi approached the nearby stone pillar and adjusted his glasses: "Judging from the weathering of the limestone pillar, it has been abandoned for at least several hundred years? Or even longer? I haven't seen any Greek ruins from the Pan-Human History series, so I don't have a definite impression."
"Who knows? At least we can be sure these pillars won't collapse halfway through, right?" Karen stretched out her finger and seemingly pushed it hard.
Fujimaru Ritsuka quickly advised, "Don't push it! What if it really falls over?"
"It's alright, I'll protect everyone," Mash said earnestly, as if the pillar really was going to fall down.
The girls took turns expressing their thoughts on the stone pillar, while Olga Marie wore a slightly troubled expression.
"...We're not here for a spring outing..."
Since the temple is visible from the village, the composition of the group was relatively easy.
But everyone's relaxed attitude made Olga Marie feel a little out of place.
“That’s good too. Now that we’ve confirmed that no enemies have appeared, it’s good to relax a bit,” Shiomi said, seeking approval from Skadi beside her.
Skadi stroked the pillar, which exuded the texture of time: "But I can sense that these were not purely accomplished by human labor. Perhaps they are relics left behind by the gods of Atlantis before they retreated to Olympia?"
“The relics of the gods…” Shiomi thought of the previous legacy and remains.
The nautical chart marked the names of several islands near Hestia, all of which were named after the Olympian gods.
The same applies to the island of Hercules.
According to Bartholomew, Hercules of Lostbelt was a full god, not a demigod hero.
"Is there anything that the teacher is concerned about?" Olga Marie asked.
"No, I'm just thinking about when exactly the divergence point between this Lostbelt and the history of humankind occurred." Shiomi shrugged. "Although it's not very important, it can serve as an important cornerstone for understanding this Lostbelt."
Skadi chuckled softly upon hearing this: "It's probably no simple matter to make the gods abandon Atlantis and retreat to the divine city of Olympus."
“Something feels off.” Shio nodded. “It’s supposed to be an Olympian Lostbelt, but I have this strange feeling of déjà vu.”
"Could it be... also related to the white giants that ravaged the planet 14,000 years ago?" Bawan Xi turned around and asked Shiomi.
“Perhaps.” Shio nodded. “According to the records of Pan-Human History, white giants ravaged the earth. At that time, all the gods on the planet could be said to be vulnerable. Only the Holy Sword, which embodied the hope of the planet, could defeat the predatory planets from the universe.”
“There are similar records in Northern Europe.” Skadi nodded. “So when I later heard from you that there was even a history of the Star Sword failing to be forged, I was quite surprised.”
Even Lostbelts, before a certain divergence point, share a history that is basically consistent with the history of humankind.
Shiomi gradually fell into deep thought, but was pulled back by Olga Marie's voice.
"teacher--"
She held onto Xijian's arm, looking very worried about him.
"Sorry, there's no use in daydreaming here. Let's go inside the temple first," he said with a helpless smile.
Skadi laughed along, "They're all waiting for you, don't waste your time here."
So Shiomi stepped forward and entered the temple first, while Sakura and the others waited.
Unlike the ancient Greek style on the outside, the interior feels like a laboratory or even a research institute.
The walls and floor were covered in metal, with straight lines engraved on them. The metal was not flashy, but rather made the interior of the temple look neat and tidy, and showed a level of technology that was beyond the reach of human history.
In the center of the entire temple stands a cylindrical mechanical device.
This stark contrast between the inside and outside surprised everyone.
Skadi, however, reacted differently. She quickly moved in front of the girls and stood behind Shiomi to protect them.
At that moment, Shio reached out her arm and stopped the others who were still looking around.
"Stop," Shio whispered a reminder.
"What's wrong?" Olga Marie asked.
Ritsuka also found it strange: "There shouldn't be anyone here..."
“No, there is someone else.” Bavan Shi also realized, “Someone got here before us.”
“That’s right.” Shio nodded, then raised her voice, “Who is in the shadows? If you’re not an enemy, show yourself now. If you are, then forget it. I will make this temple your tombstone.”
Then, the figure deep within the temple slowly began to walk, the crisp sound of footsteps echoing in the empty temple.
The other party clearly had no intention of hiding their identity and instead emerged from the shadows.
Their attitude was upright and aboveboard.
When he appeared before everyone, everyone except Skadi and Bavan Shi showed expressions of surprise.
"It's been a long time since I last greeted you all. How have you been?"
The girls gradually lowered their guard, which puzzled Bawan Shi: "Do you... all know him?"
“He is Mr. Holmes,” Mashu explained. “He has appeared to assist Chaldea in the Atlas Institute of the Sixth Singularity and in Shinjuku of the Subspecies Singularity…”
"That's how it is." Holmes stood at a safe distance, neither putting himself in danger nor making Shiomi feel that he was deliberately getting close. "I am currently investigating on the various islands of Atlantis as a servant dispatched by Pan-Human History."
"Is that so?" Shiomi slowly walked forward, stood in front of Holmes, and met his calm eyes. "But I didn't expect that as a Servant, you could repeatedly maintain records of other singularities. Which god helped you?"
"I'm not quite sure about that either," Holmes shook his head.
"If you don't know, then forget it." tide Jian gave up on asking further.
After all, there are similar cases like Mordred. If there really is a god in pan-human history secretly creating a system for summoning heroic spirits, and opening a backdoor to save records, it makes sense.
"However, I have always wanted to meet you, Mr. Shiomi."
Then, Holmes greeted Shiomi in a very polite tone.
Chapter Eighteen Intelligence
It's no surprise that Holmes would be interested in Shiomi.
As early as the later stages of the exploration of the Sixth Singularity, Sakura and Kallen had told their father everything about the Atlas Institute.
"I didn't expect that after so long, the famous detective would still remember me so much. It's really amazing." Shiomi put one hand on her hip.
"After all, even Hermes, the Tower of Trinity, couldn't solve this mystery, and my detective instincts compel me to investigate further," Holmes said.
"So what now?" Shio asked.
"Still nothing." Holmes shook his head, undeterred.
Shio pursed her lips: "Then please keep up the good work, Detective."
He finally learned a little about his origins from BB after the burning of human reason was resolved.
If you want to know the whole truth, you'd probably have to be invited to Mooncell to find out the full picture.
After all, judging from the current situation, Mooncell undoubtedly foresaw the complete destruction of Earth, yet it still left it to Shiomi and the surviving humans to work together.
Then, while answering Holmes, Shiomi walked to the side and asked, "So, famous detective, why are you here?"
Shiomi, who had never worked with Holmes, actually harbored deep suspicions about Holmes.
London, Atlas Institute, Shinjuku.
Was Holmes moving between different singularities on his own initiative, or was it the call of the Counter Force?
Even though her real name was correct, Shio still felt that the mystery surrounding this detective was no less than that surrounding herself.
"I'm not here, I just haven't gone to Olympus," Holmes explained calmly. "I'm not the kind of Servant who excels in combat, and even if I went to Olympus, I would only be a burden to the other Servants. Therefore, I chose to stay in Atlantis, analyzing any potentially valuable information here while waiting for Chaldea to arrive."
"Oh?" tide Jian crossed her arms.
svetikya