Chapter 134: Heading North |
Without much effort, Levi arrived at the bizarre wooden cabin.
The place seemed entirely devoid of life, and not even a single corpse remained. Frankly, if the System had not confirmed the death of the Phantom Killer, Levi would have assumed the man had escaped upon seeing the scene before him.
Did that fellow actually die inside his own nightmare? What an incredibly pathetic way to go.
Well, there was no use dwelling on it now.
Levi reined in his thoughts and began searching through the cabin. The interior was incredibly barren, showing absolutely no signs of regular habitation. There was only a bed, a table, a chair, and a wooden chest. The table was cluttered with all sorts of eerie apothecary bottles that immediately brought witchcraft to mind, filled with things resembling the dried remains of small animals.
Levi had no idea what the Phantom Killer used them for, nor did he care to find out. However, his search was not entirely fruitless.
In the drawer of the table, Levi discovered a notebook. He could not understand a single word of the language it was written in.
But there was one part of the notebook he could decipher. Tucked in the middle of the pages was a piece of paper—a torn fragment of a map.
On this fragment, someone had drawn a red circle and sketched the symbol of the All-Seeing Eye right next to it.
Could this thing be connected to the All-Seeing Eye as well?
Then again, the All-Seeing Eye truly seemed omnipresent. Though considering it represented the Creator, that was only natural... Levi compared the fragment to his own knowledge.
If he remembered correctly, the circled region on the map corresponded to the Orens Mountains in northern Merisia. He recalled the Governor mentioning that indigenous tribes were rumored to live out there. It looked like he would have to make a trip after all.
Afterward, Levi thoroughly inspected the rest of the cabin, but apart from an altar, he found nothing else.
The altar was also carved with the symbol of the All-Seeing Eye, with the sole difference being that this symbol was not merely engraved; it had been smeared on with fresh blood. At first glance, it looked like some sort of malevolent mark of an evil god.
Levi figured that if a priest from the Holy Lord Church ever saw this altar, he would probably faint on the spot. As for what the Phantom Killer had used this altar for... judging by the bloodstains splattered nearby, it was not hard to guess.
"Well... looks like I still need to go check it out."
Levi flipped through the notebook. Although he could not understand the contents, the fact that the mission had been completed so easily left him feeling slightly uneasy. In any case, now that the Imperial Army had arrived, the rebels could no longer cause any significant trouble. He no longer had to worry about being ambushed, cornered, or shot in the back like before.
Since he had some free time, it was better to investigate thoroughly. Otherwise, if the Imperial Army ran into trouble right after he left, wouldn't that be a direct slap to his own face?
Having made his decision, Levi returned to Feihat City. He intended to find someone who might recognize the language in the notebook so they could translate it for him and reveal what it actually was.
By the time Levi returned to Feihat City, it was already afternoon. The entire city had been locked down, and Imperial soldiers could be seen standing guard and patrolling everywhere. Of course, these soldiers had no authority over Levi. He flashed his identification, and the soldiers immediately let him pass.
However, as Levi entered Feihat City, he witnessed an unexpected scene. On a street not far away, a group of people was arguing loudly with the soldiers. Levi initially paid little attention to it, as such incidents happened in every city. Besides, the moment the Imperial Army arrived, they forcibly took control of the entire city, so it was only natural for some locals to feel resentful.
Yet, when Levi spotted a familiar figure among the crowd, his curiosity was piqued. He walked over and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Miss Branson, what are you doing here?"
"...?"
Annie turned around and was slightly stunned to see Levi.
"Mr. Levi?"
"Yes. Feihat City is under martial law right now. Didn't you know?"
"..."
Annie nodded silently.
"Then what are you all doing here?"
"Actually..."
Annie briefly explained the current situation to Levi. She had arrived in Feihat City with Levi earlier that day. However, upon arrival, Levi had immediately headed to the City Hall to deal with the Continental Parliament. Annie, on the other hand, went to report to Miskatonic University, where she met her advisor. Coincidentally, this advisor was planning to set out today for an archaeological expedition.
After asking Annie a few questions, the advisor waved his hand and added her to the archaeological team on the spot.
As a result, just as the team was preparing to leave the city, the Imperial Army descended from the sky and placed the entirety of Feihat City under martial law. The poor group had finished packing and was ready to hit the road, only to find themselves trapped here with no one to turn to. The advisor seemed to have quite a temper, so he had boldly confronted the soldiers, demanding that they let them leave. The Imperial soldiers, naturally, refused to comply, leaving both sides at a complete standstill.
"Where are you headed?"
"I heard it is a place called the Orens Mountains."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Levi raised an eyebrow. Talk about a coincidence.
"Wait here, let me see what I can do."
Levi patted Annie on the shoulder and walked to the front of the group. At that moment, the elderly gentleman was screaming at the soldiers, spitting all over the guard's face. Fortunately, the soldier was highly disciplined; otherwise, he would have smashed the man with the butt of his rifle long ago.
"Excuse me, old gentleman." Levi quickly intervened during the brief moment the man paused to catch his breath from all the shouting. "May I have a word?"
"And who are you supposed to be?"
"Someone who can very likely solve your little problem."
Levi offered a chuckle while carefully sizing up the elder before him. The man appeared quite advanced in years, with hair and a beard as white as snow, but his frame was remarkably sturdy, and his voice was incredibly robust. Judging by the heavy tan on his skin, he clearly spent most of his time working outdoors.
"I understand you are heading out on an archaeological mission?"
"That is correct! We plan to conduct a survey in the Orens Mountains, but these redcoats are blocking our way and refuse to let us pass! It is absolutely preposterous!"
As he spoke, the elderly man glared fiercely at the soldier, looking as though he wanted to swallow him alive.
"I see... In that case, I would like to strike a deal with you." Levi looked at the elder and spoke calmly.
"A deal?"
"Yes. I have a notebook I would like you to look at. If you can translate what is written inside, I will find a way to get your group out of the city."
"Oh?"
Hearing Levi's proposal, the old man raised his eyebrows, staring at him with deep suspicion. After all, from his perspective, Levi looked far too young to be any sort of high-ranking official. However, he also knew that shouting here for so long had yielded absolutely no progress. If this incredibly handsome young man truly had a way, it was worth a shot.
"What kind of notebook? Let me see it."
Levi pulled the notebook from his coat and handed it over. The elderly man took it, opened the cover, and began inspecting it with great care.
"Hmm? This script... it is rather strange. It looks somewhat similar to the text of the Golden Age. No, wait, this should be from the Second Century... Ah, yes, this is Morkhand Script."
"What is that?"
"It belongs to a nation that vanished into the depths of history. You must have heard the tales of Emperor Arthur, who fought across the lands and unified the continent. One of the kingdoms he conquered was Morkhand. They did not worship the All-Seeing Eye; instead, they revered an ancient deity from the Golden Age—the Nightmare Goddess Morkhand. According to historical records, after Emperor Arthur destroyed their kingdom, their remnants fled to the northern borders of Merisia. How fascinating! I was originally heading to the Orens Mountains this time to search for traces of the Morkhand civilization. To think someone would actually record things using Morkhand Script in this day and age! Who wrote this? I must meet him!"
"I am afraid that is impossible. He is already dead."
"Dead? What happened?"
"That is beyond the scope of our deal, old gentleman." Levi smiled faintly as the elderly man stared at him with wide eyes, looking as though he wanted to grab him by the collar. "So, are you capable of translating the contents of this notebook?"
"Hmm, let me look closer..." The elder pulled out a magnifying glass, held it over the notebook, and flipped through the pages meticulously. "Well... most of the sentences are incomplete. It reads like some sort of sacrificial log."
"A sacrificial log?"
"Yes, precisely. It lists the items used during sacrifices. However, the majority of the entries read something like... 'On Day X of Month X in Year X, a wicked soul was sacrificed to the Goddess...' It is mostly repetitive entries like that."
"Oh?" Hearing this, a gleam flashed across Levi's eyes. "Is that basically all of it?"
"The repetitive parts are like that, but I cannot fully make sense of the other sections just yet. I will need to study them thoroughly. Who on earth wrote this? Could the faith of the Nightmare Goddess still be alive on this continent? Truly incredible... If those zealots from the Holy Lord Church found out about this, they would probably want to burn all of Merisia to ashes."
The Nightmare Goddess.
Hearing the name, Levi fell into deep thought. The Phantom Killer used nightmares to commit murder, so could there be a connection to this Nightmare Goddess? As expected, just to be safe, he definitely needed to visit the location described on that map fragment.
"Thank you for your explanation." Levi retrieved his thoughts, smiled, and nodded at the elderly man. At the same time, while the man was distracted, he seamlessly took the notebook back into his possession.
"Hey! Can we leave now?"
"I will go inquire about it. Please wait patiently, everyone."
After saying this, Levi nodded to the crowd and turned to leave. Behind him, as expected, the old man's furious roar echoed once more.
"Kid, don't you dare play me for a fool! Or I will make you regret it!"
Levi naturally did not take the old man's threat to heart. He grabbed a nearby soldier, asked for Henry's whereabouts, and then made his way to the City Hall.
The main hall here looked virtually identical to when Levi had left it earlier. Though by 'virtually identical,' one only had to look at the bullet holes riddling the walls and chairs to know there were minor differences. At the very least, Levi's own firearms did not possess such massive destructive power.
"Oh, Captain, you're back. Did you find anything?"
Henry, who was studying a map spread across a table in the main hall, raised a hand in greeting when he saw Levi walk in. Anthony, sitting on a chair nearby, gestured with a wine bottle in his hand.
"Want a drink, Boss? The Continental Parliament originally prepared this to celebrate the successful conclusion of their convention. I figure we might as well use it to celebrate instead."
"Celebrating too early is never a good habit." Levi glanced at the bottle of wine, then approached the table. "I did uncover a few things, so I plan to head out to the Orens Mountains next."
"The Orens Mountains?" Hearing Levi's reply, Henry searched the map for a good while before finally locating the place near the very edge of the paper. "This place is incredibly remote."
"I know, but the case I am investigating is connected to it. To be completely safe, I want to take a look and ensure nothing goes amiss."
"If you want to go, I certainly won't stop you. It's just that I probably won't be able to spare many soldiers to assist you this time, Captain." Henry sighed heavily. "We are currently preparing to launch a full-scale offensive against several cities in southern Merisia. Anthony managed to uncover evidence proving that these bastards have been colluding with mercenaries to attack Imperial convoys and fleets. They even stole a significant amount of Imperial military equipment to use for their rebellion. Even though we've rounded up their leadership in one fell swoop, we can't be sure if the remaining factions will launch a desperate counterattack. This is an all-out war. We must display the absolute might of the Empire to Merisia, crushing their foolish delusions once and for all."
"I don't need your soldiers. In fact, I just ran into an archaeological team that is already planning to head toward the Orens Mountains. However, I do need a means of transportation. Can you assist with that?"
Levi had no idea how the old man had originally intended to reach the Orens Mountains, but he certainly did not want to waste a vast amount of time traveling by conventional means.
"Hmm..." Henry pondered for a moment. "I can assign a Reconnaissance Airship to drop you all off. According to our schedule, it will be heading to the region near the Orens Mountains tomorrow for a scouting mission. I can have them carry you to the vicinity of the mountains, but from there on out, you'll be on your own."
"That will do fine." Levi nodded in agreement. "Then it's a deal."