Chapter 195

functioned slightly differently than . It still allowed Nick to scan his surroundings for presences and keep track of every little movement, but it also included a more instinctive component.With it, Nick was able to sense not only the present but also the traces of the pastThe difference was significant, as it became quite clear when they arrived at the next temple.

From the outside, it didn’t look much different from the other minor ones. In fact, Nick would even say it was almost a carbon copy of the Messenger’s temple, if it were more intact.

But what immediately caught his attention was that a strange presence lingered over it. Not a domain, as he’d become quite skilled at recognizing those, nor was it an active effect, since didn’t react.

But it was something. And allowed him to peer deeper into the eddies of the ether, much more clearly than .

A sense of rejection lingered, as if the previous occupant had not just been weakened or driven off, like in the other temples, but had been entirely excised from it.

Nick was something of an expert and easily recognized the signs of a ritual performed to drive away any divine influence from the temple.

Initially, he suspected Sashara’s priests were responsible. They certainly detested the beastmen’s deities enough to do it, but the emotion behind it felt too frigid and impersonal, unlike the fire and passion they were known for.

There were some pockets of residual emotion, but they felt newer and simpler. Perhaps that was due to animals being slaughtered or someone getting injured.

He alerted the girls that something strange was going on and led the way forward, more curious than cautious.

“Are you sure this isn’t the dwarves’ doing?” Rhea asked, looking around suspiciously. Ever since their discussion about the future, she had been working hard to prove her worth in battle, and it didn’t surprise him that she was eager for another chance to show off.

Nick chuckled to himself, knowing it wasn’t exactly true.

“No, it’s not them,” Elia answered before he could. She was staring intensely at the ruins, as if trying to discern something, but eventually shook her head. “Cao-leò told me this site has been dead for decades.”

Nick filed that away, humming to himself. It certainly made his growing suspicion more likely, though he wanted to gather more tangible proof before jumping to conclusions.

When they arrived at the temple grounds, it quickly became clear that they weren’t the only visitors in recent times. There were no scattered supplies or bedrolls to suggest that anyone was still hanging around, but the burnt-down fire pit, the latrine dug in the back, and the rotting remnants of food painted a pretty clear picture.

“This isn’t more than a week old,” Elia eventually said, sniffing a pile of bones that looked to have belonged to birds.

“Who could it have been if not the dwarves? I haven’t heard of any trade routes passing this way. The central road should be the go-to for anyone coming from Alluria, and those few merchants that come from the south always follow the trail of villages that surround the Green Ocean.” Rhea wandered around, idly kicking some rocks.

Nick, on the other hand, wasn’t particularly worried. Sure, it would be nice to know, but the temple itself captured most of his attention, and he doubted it had been anyone with hostile intentions.

The main nave remained intact, and upon entering, it was evident that it had been used quite recently—just a few weeks ago, in fact.

Perhaps a less careful mage would have missed the signs, believing the hairline cracks running through the marble were merely the result of the siege magic that had broken the beastmen’s resistance, but he was not so limited.

Both and his experience as an Occultist indicated that the lines were not so casual.

After inspecting the entire central nave, he concluded that they were signs left behind by a powerful ritual.

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Its residual presence in the ether was obscured, either by time or by various forms of magic that had been cast in this area, but he could recognize an occult ritual when he saw one, which turned his suspicions into near certainty.

The discovery of a few well-hidden symbols carved into the marble at specific points settled the matter for him, especially since he recognized them. He had seen the very same ones being used in the journal his father had given him.

The discovery was truly fascinating, and Nick was eager to spend time studying every aspect of this ritual; however, it also uncovered a few uncomfortable truths.

Cao-leò said its spiritual destruction had occurred decades ago, not a century, when the war had been waged. This indicated that Aleister had probably not been acting in alignment with the kingdom’s desires, especially since he’d been exiled for his unsavory dealings and was likely not inclined to help out.

It wasn’t that Nick couldn’t think of any reason. After all, he had done something similar to the crazed guardian of the Messenger’s temple, even if he hadn’t gone quite that far.

Aleister was a man who desired power; that was certain. If he had wanted to use whatever guardian still resided within to fuel his growth, he could have understood. But something didn’t fit.

This was not a parasitic ritual intended to siphon off the power of the resident spirit. The more he examined it, the more Nick reaffirmed his initial impressions. This was an exorcism.

A ritual had been deliberately established to remove the divine presence from the temple and nothing more. Aleister, if it was truly him, had intended only to purge, not to take.

“Hey, come look at this!” Rhea shouted.

had already informed him of her findings, but Nick rushed to join.

“Don’t touch that!” He yelled.

Rhea, who was putting on a thick work glove, looked at him in surprise. “You know I’m used to handling volatile ingredients, right?”

“What is it?” Elia asked instead, landing on the grass beside her. Her three tails fanned out around her, giving her a majestic air, and Nick had to admit she truly looked the part of the leader now.

Blinking to get back to the urgent matter, he grimaced, “I don’t know, but that thing feels wrong.” It was difficult to explain exactly how, given the jumble of emotions he could feel radiating off it in the ether.

It blended in well, since it was not magically active, but now that he was looking at it, Nick could see it was dangerous nonetheless. It might not have contained mana or enchantments, but the thin needle Rhea had found was still dangerous.

“I think it might be a tattoo needle,” he said after a moment. A dried, tar-like substance covered its sharp end, and the top was flattened slightly, as if to provide a better grip.

“What would that be doing here? Beastmen don’t get tattoos, right?” Rhea asked Elia, who shook her head, staring at the object with curiosity. She probably sensed some of what Nick was seeing, though he doubted she had any idea of just how densely packed with emotions that thing was.

“No, we do not. I have heard my mother speak of distant tribes in the south, of cat-people without fur who get them to commemorate their victories in battle, but they have never come anywhere near here,” Elia replied.

Both turned to him, and Nick took a breath, trying to articulate the jumble of sensations he felt.

“I can feel some residual spiritual weight coming off it. And considering the signs of a ritual I found inside the temple, I think this might be a place where people come to do some very weird stuff.”

Not that he had any ground to stand on, but he’d certainly never branded anyone. That had to count for something, right?

“What signs?” Elia asked, immediately turning around and walking toward the temple.

Nick grimaced. It wasn’t something he could hide, and he doubted she’d be able to connect it to his ancestor, but that didn’t mean this wasn’t a delicate situation.

“If you look at how the cracks in the marble connect and form first a triangle and then a circle around it, you’ll see what I’m talking about,” he called out.

Then, turning back to Rhea, he signaled for her to step away from the needle.

Uncertain about its reaction to direct mana, he tore out the chunk of soil it was innocently resting on and levitated it closer.

still insisted that the needle was potentially dangerous, but he could see that, when alone and without contact with mana, it was probably safe to handle.

The emotions were mostly contained within the ink at the tip, though he still sensed some emanating from the black metal. It was truly an interesting artifact, and even a brief observation provided him with ideas on how to replicate it.

Explosive ofudas were likely off the table, as he didn't want to face someone capable of disrupting them and then have to manage their volatile charge. However, binding ones would probably work very well.

Given how useful the spell had been even against high-level monsters, he was now seriously considering how to replicate it.

It was so interesting that he almost forgot where he was, but the growl that emanated from the temple quickly snapped him back to reality.

Elia emerged looking half-feral. Her lips curled into a snarl, revealing her sharp teeth, and her eyes blazed with fury and flames. “They have been desecrating hallowed grounds.”

Her words emerged as a whisper, yet the anger they held was unmistakable.

Staring back at the needle, Nick decided it would be better not to mention how fascinating he found it.

“We will find them.” She ordered, and although Nick was halfway tempted to see just how far she was willing to go in her righteous anger, he decided to put a stop to this before it could spiral any further.

“I doubt they are still anywhere nearby. You said it yourself that they must be at least a week away. Dozens of villages fall within that range, assuming they were keeping to the beaten paths.”

For a moment, it seemed like Elia might fight him. She clearly wanted an outlet for her anger, and Nick almost expected her to lash out. Her control had improved significantly, and Cao-leò seemed to have taught her even more about managing her new powers, but she was still a teenage girl.

Unexpectedly, she took a deep breath and exhaled. The air shimmered with heat as she let go of her accumulated energy, and she slumped. “Let’s just get back home.”