This was because all the walls of this building were sprawling with mysteriously planted creeper plants and thorny undergrowth. The foliage was even spread across the entire floor and all of the pillars, making it difficult to clearly distinguish the building's overall structure. Through the small crack within the intertwining vegetation, a white stone surface could be seen.
Furthermore, since the creeper plants and thorny undergrowth were spread all over the place, it was impossible to find the building's entrance.
"For the time being we should try to clear these... The seeds of green which manifests these grounds, pay tribute to the witch descendants."
Liliana muttered and proceeded to touch the creeper plants in front her with her hand.
As a result, the green creeper plants, thorny undergrowth, and vines that were blocking the shape of the building gradually diminished, finally retreating back into the ground. It was pretty much like a video recording of the vegetation’s growth reversed.
With this, the shape of this building could be clearly ascertained.
It was a white stone-made building. The structure had few walls and was spacious, with round and thick rock pillars neatly arranged.
After entering the building with Liliana, they arrived at a vast courtyard.
At the center of this place, there appeared to be the white colored pedestal to an alter. Godou examined the emblem carved on top.
"......It sort of resembles the shape of a bird."
The inscribed design on there appeared to be a bird with its wings spread out.
"Speaking of which, the Crown of Saturnalia also had a similar shape."
Compared to the Crown, the bird form was more noticeable in the stone object’s design.
Godou felt suspicious. He had this gut feeling that he had already seen this same design somewhere before.
At this time, Liliana, who was by his side, suddenly shouted:
"The marking of the sun which reigns the heavens! Plus it is the icon that symbolizes Ahura Mazda[27]. Could it be Mithra[28]!?"
Ah I see, so it was Mithra. As a result of Liliana's statement, Godou remembered.
This was the design he had seen before in Napoli. Perseus——also had an insignia that was the same symbol as the divine Roman hero, Mithra.
"Could this be Perseus' shrine?"
"That is a possibility. Except, if we were to consider this design the symbol of a sun god, it would be widely known throughout the East. The same could be said about the Roman Empire worshiping Saturnus."
"It looks roughly like a sun god's symbol."
During his discussion with Liliana, the silver-haired witch squinted, unable to take her eyes off the inner part of the shrine.
"The setting sun......leaving traces of sunlight——?"
"Did you see something!?"
She was perhaps inquired due to being bestowed with a spirit vision. Towards this, Liliana nodded.
"Yes, let's go. The reason why the divine tree sprout of Saturnus revived.....I think I already figured it out. Basically, the answer should lie within the inside of the shrine"
Part 2
Before continuing onwards inside the shrine, Liliana once again utilized her witchcraft.
She intentionally retracted the creeper plants to cover up the shrine again with their green stalks and foliage.
"If the grey divine spirit comes here, then we will let these kiddies block him. Incidentally I have also implemented barrier magic. Even though it isn't as sturdy as Erica’s senatus consultum ultimum, if it’s just for buying a couple minutes it can still play a substantial role.”
Godou should be able to guess his counterpart's intentions based on this explanation.
While wandering around within the shrine, Liliana delved more specifically into what she mentioned before.
"For the divine artifact that cult leader Luo Hao termed as the Crown of Saturnalia——I believe its origins lies not in Saturnus but a different god instead."
After walking along a corridor that was surrounded by stone from all sides, they encountered a staircase that led underground.
Of course they would head downwards from here. Like the setting sun changing its spot of radiance over the ground during dusk, the underground passage did not get any illumination. Through the use of magic, Liliana lit up the path ahead by summoning forth blue colored wisps.
"In fact, my familiar didn't sniff out the earth’s aura from the Crown of Saturnalia and Saturnus is clearly the god of earth's bountiful harvests.”
Speaking of which, he had previously witnessed this. Godou recalled the boat excursion from before.
"Kusanagi Godou, the immortality you are probably most familiar with are the divine traits of the Snake goddesses. Well, besides those, what other types of gods do you think utilize immortality?"
"......Surely they must be sun gods?"
With the emblem they saw in the courtyard and the direction this inquiry was headed, making this kind of connection was henceforth guided and should have been obvious.
"That's right. Despite the sun disappearing after sunset, in the morning it will reappear across the eastern skies. Although weakening during the times of winter, its strength will gradually recover following the approaching spring. The Sun and Snake both possess the divine attribute of immortality."
"In other words, that bastard Perseus still exists somewhere at the moment?"
Godou felt his previous suspicions have been answered. At the time, he did defeat Perseus at Napoli. However, having not gained any authorities afterwards, he believed the reason was Perseus was definitely still alive.
"If only that grandiose guy didn't bring trouble upon humans......"
Even though he always gave people problems, how could anyone hold everlasting hate towards the handsome divine hero.
Towards Godou, who recalled Perseus's sumptuous words and actions, Liliana said:
"The name of the god of agriculture originated from the appreciation of the year's bountiful harvests and the festivals praying for bountiful harvests the following year. The festival would be held at the end of the current year, using the winter solstice as the set date."
"......Going back to that, why does Saturnus get revived during the winter solstice?"
Godou spoke of the suspicions he harbored before.
"The current calendar and the calendar of ancient Rome's are different right?"
"Yes, in the wake of change in both the country and time period, the calendar utilized will also change. However Kusanagi Godou, the winter solstice is actually not influenced by that kind of behavior. The so-called winter solstice occurs when the night is at its longest during the year or when the day is at its shortest. In other words, it’s the day when the distance of the sun is furthest from the earth."
"I see. What's important isn't the calendar but rather the position between the earth and the sun."
As the two of them were conversing, they had already reached the bottom of the stairs. They finally arrived at their destination.
This expansive basement made out of stone was most likely used as a chapel.
At the center there was a black wooden coffin resting flat on the ground. An unusually intense magical power trickled out from the interior. Sensing this, Godou casted an eye signal towards Liliana.
After his partner nodded her head in confirmation, Godou placed his hand on the coffin's cover.
He hastily lifted up the cover. Inside was a human body that resembled a male at the prime of his life. On his face was a mask made out of gold with a distinctive lion design on it.
Furthermore, there was tattered yellow clothing on the body. In the past, it probably would have been a golden color.
He tried squeezing the clothing. Underneath was the physique of a robust male body.
After briefly coming in contact with the body, he could feel the body temperature transfer to his hands. Next, he checked for a pulse but was unable to confirm if there was a pulse for life. He then
tried placing his hand by the heart. However, the beating ceased in this aspect as well.
He wanted to get the mask off but this was not an easy task. The mask seemed to be tightly bonded to the face.
"What the heck? Is this guy still alive?"
"No, it’s a dead corpse——the corpse of a sun god from the past."
Liliana responded with her judgment using a serious tone.
It wasn’t just her tone of voice, she even revealed a rarely seen distant gaze. It was obvious the spirit vision revelation was the result of her being affected by the magical powers released by the corpse.
"Furthermore, this is considered to be the main body of the divine artifact, the Crown of Saturnalia......In the past, the master who heretic Saturnus served......"
'Witch, do not speak any further!'
Suddenly, a voice came from above.
'Don't break down my fall from grace again! It's humiliating. It’s a history of defeat. My former defeats must be sunk in the abyss of darkness forever.'
The ground rumbled as it swayed, the walls shook, and the cries of the birds could be heard above the ceiling.
It was basically like an earthquake. Perhaps the cause of this was the arrival of the Grey One. If the basement collapsed from this, would the two of them be buried alive? Godou swiftly said:
“We better quickly escape. However, how do we deal with this thing?"
Godou contemplated as he looked down at the coffin lying there which held the sun god's corpse.
On the surface, the coffin would appear to be extremely heavy if they tried to carry it and it was uncertain if there was any value in doing so. However, leaving it here unattended seems improper as well——.
On the other hand, with a dissatisfied expression towards Godou who was deep in thought, Liliana said:
"Did you forget about the barrier I deployed not too long ago? Didn't I say that it could hold out for a couple of minutes? If the barrier isn't destroyed, the most that divine spirit can do is convulse the ground to this extent."
After being told this, he recalled. Liliana must have known something like this would happen in advance.
Towards the nodding Godou, the faithful knight went a step further and said:
"Kusanagi Godou, although the opponent is a divine spirit, it should be able to withstand for a few minutes."
"?"
"What I mean is, for the time being we should be fine!"
Liliana's face was entirely flushed as she shouted. What point was she trying to get across?
Godou reflected over this and then immediately figured it out. In short, she was referring to the action they had performed many times up till now. Godou could not help but attentively watch the shuddering Liliana whose lips appeared to want to say something.
Noticing Godou's line of sight, she suddenly hung her head down. However, she quickly gazed back up, seemingly to try and peek at Godou's facial expression. Liliana displayed a rarely seen prying glance as she looked upwards.
Seeing her seldom used expression, Godou's chest started to beat intensely.
"C-Can this place hold out for the time being......"
"Y-Yes, since I figured this kind of situation would occur, I was deliberately attentive......"
Because Godou was timorous with what he should say, he simply inquired a meaningless verification.
For Liliana, despite it being a meaningless verification, she offered a response while still shyly peeking up at Godou.
——Godou took a deep breath. What should he say during times like these?
Even until this day it remains unclear as to why whenever such moments arise, everyone becomes restless. However, not saying what needs to be said during such instances is unacceptable and thus he has to formulate a plan for this. Afterwards, he made up his mind.
He essentially had to muster up even more courage than when battling a god in order to say it.
"Although it always turns out this way, this time I really do require assistance. So......please help me."
Well, to one's surprise he was unable to even state his request. Even he felt no progress was made......
Despite this, after steeling her determination, Liliana deeply nodded.
"My answer to that......would be the same even today. For the sake of completing the task of forging the Sword, I will never decline regardless when it occurs. This time, please allow me to battle together with you."
Murmuring those words, she calmly closed her eyes.
Godou realized that the resulting embarrassment was probably because they were on the verge of performing that action, or perhaps it was anticipation that caused Liliana's body to slightly tremble.
Those extremely adorable rigid movements and sincerity of hers pushed Godou over the limit.
Godou vehemently held Liliana's lavish figure and planted a kiss on her lips.
"Ah......"
The supposedly stern and imposing knight nevertheless percolated a faint sigh from her lips.
However, she and Godou both had the goal of forging the Sword. She immediately spread open her lips, accepting the lips of Godou.
Merging together, the pair of lips were tightly bonded as they shared the sensation of each other’s lips.
Following that, Liliana began speaking quietly.
"This corpse......I’m not sure if this was someone giving the final send-off for the everlasting sun. Rather than being a god of that same category, perhaps it is related to an ancient godslayer——"
The basement still rumbled from the non-stop shaking. However, Godou and Liliana paid no heed. The two of them exchanged kisses while savoring each other's heart and knowledge.
"Except, once dead, his corpse didn't actually perish and still remained on the surface. Thus, it became a divine artifact with immortal divine qualities......"
Liliana utilized Instruction magic. Due to the efficacy it has, vast amounts of knowledge and mental images started to transfer over. The Crown of Saturnalia, Godou and the others have seen this divine artifact before but only the outside of it. The concealed coffin existed within the interior.
The corpse laying there was the actual divine artifact——!
"In the distant past, the soul lodged within this corpse turned lackluster over the course of many years, eventually transforming into the grey divine spirit......Therefore, it was probably able to move due to the divine artifact’s will and spirit."
Her cute, quiet murmurs and gasps for air poured into his mouth.
As Godou was receiving all of this while kissing Liliana's lips, he extended his tongue in. Her tongue initially recoiled from surprise but then proceeded to grasp the thrusting tongue of Godou. Their tongues intertwined over the course of this tongue lapping as they shared each other's sensation.
From this point onwards, the degree of intimacy between them surged greatly. Their heart-to-heart connection also became much more profound——.
This sequence replayed in his mind numerous times in the past.
However, Godou noticed he clearly wanted to implore his feelings and interact even more intimately. His counterpart did not respond in kind though. Her tongue movements became clumsy and overall her lips became stiff.
Perhaps that was the reason why the transfer of knowledge was somewhat slow and the information quantity was less compared to usual.
Liliana appeared to have something holding her back.
Was it because she was bothered by the grey divine spirit's meddling?
"Are you concerned about the situation on the outside?"
"Ah, yeah. Everyone on the surface......obviously Erica and the girls are engaged in battle, but I'm the only one who is letting these thoughts affect me......I'm very sorry......"
Liliana casted her gaze downwards and quietly muttered those words.
"I figured I would have to compete over meritorious services to monopolize you......but to be kissing you like this is......"
This was what snatched the determination from Li
liana's heart.
The cause of this appeared to be a sense of sinning rather than vigilance. Even Godou's heart was pressed with a heavy burden after hearing Liliana. He felt it was cruel to conduct this sort of act with Liliana in a location where no one else was around and it was eating at him like the pressure felt prior to a competition.
——But instead, Godou shook his head.
The person who must bear through this was him, Kusanagi Godou.
After Godou gave Liliana a gentle kiss, he then immediately tilted his face downwards and proceeded to slowly slide his lips down to suck on her slender neck.
"Uhn......ah!"
Due to his sudden incursion, Liliana's body trembled slightly.
Godou disregarded this while he sucked on her neck. He let his tongue slide upwards as he kissed her once again on the lips. Furthermore, he planted a kiss on her rose flushed cheeks. Closing in cheek-to-cheek, he kissed Liliana's ear and then clamped her earlobe with his lips. Next to her ear, he finally whispered:
"The one who entrusted you with this duty is me, so you don't have to worry about it. At the very least, just try not to think about anything right now."
"But——ah!"
Because Liliana appeared to want to say something, Godou gently bit her earlobe.
He nibbled on it as if he was amusing himself. However, her fairy-like body once again shuddered for a moment and tilted backwards significantly. Also, her lithe body mass was completely entrusted to Godou as she tightly hugged him.
While being hugged, Godou re-embarked on kissing Liliana.
Compared to before, she was already much more relaxed while accepting him. Liliana opened her lips and stuck her tongue into Godou's mouth. As if wanting to moisten his lips, she attentively licked the lips of the man she considered as her master.
"W-Was that your command? As a king——no, as my master?"
"Y-Yes."
"Since it is like that......then I guess there is no other choice."
It was obvious that Liliana's words did not contain any intention of giving up.
These were the words of someone intending to ignore a guilty conscience, implying premeditated criminal intent. Afterwards her gaze dulled, she reinforced the strength applied to Godou's arms in their embrace.
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