Chapter 186

Chapter 186

Investing Through the Status Window.

Episode 186: The Finger Of God (1)

A large box was delivered to Prophetess Aloa. Along with a handwritten letter… The sender was her future husband, Allen.

Oh my.

While they regularly exchanged letters when there were no missions, it was her first time receiving such a large item.

Calming her heart, which was fluttering with anticipation and happiness, Aloa first opened the letter to read.

Dear Aloa…

The letter, which began with neat handwriting reflective of a meticulous personality, was not much different from usual. However, it mentioned that he had achieved great success in business and was now financially secure, so there was no longer a need for support. Along with expressing gratitude for the past support, a gift was also included.

A gift?

Aloa eagerly opened the box with a fluttering heart at the word ‘gift.’ Inside, wrapped in thick cloth, was a large, beautiful jade-colored orb.

Being fundamentally a mage, she immediately recognized it as a magic orb. Engraved on the orb’s stand was a phrase Allen had personally written for Aloa.

As she examined it for a moment, she touched the orb, and it suddenly lit up brightly, making her gasp slightly in surprise.

It was a magic lamp. And of extraordinary quality.

Ah.

Aloa felt Allen’s affectionate heart and picked up his letter again with an ecstatic smile. She intended to read it once more, but… the letter she had picked up suddenly began to burst into flames.

The Prophetess shrieked and flung it away. At the same time, a pungent sulfur smell enveloped her.

Ugh.

The surroundings had suddenly become a pitch-black world of darkness. Only the precious magic lamp Allen had gifted her was barely illuminating just around her in that impenetrable darkness.

Huff, huff, huff.

Horrifying murderous intent and fear overwhelmed her fragile human body. All Aloa could do was tremble and survey her surroundings.

What is this…?

The pitch-black surroundings slowly, very slowly, turned into a deep mouse gray.

Then she began to see a gigantic pillar standing tall in the distance.

…No, it’s not a pillar. It’s definitely not a pillar.

Aloa, trembling in fear, finally realized after some time that it was a finger.

A crooked finger with a sharp nail, as if pointing upwards.

Denial, fear, betrayal, hatred, despair, sorrow, vice, anger…

A whirlwind of all negative emotions expressible in words surged from that gigantic finger.

-Woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo, woo.

And around that pillar, an unknown group held hands and circled, emitting a somber sound… Like a forbidden ritual offering that vanished into history long ago.

Then slowly, that group began to approach her. With the bouncing steps of a flock of birds.

Ah, aaaaahhhh.

Naked figures wearing bizarre masks of various shapes began to circle around her this time. Overwhelmed by extreme fear, she clung desperately to the magic lamp as if it were her last lifeline.

-Sacrifice, sacrifice, the body, the soul! Sacrifice, sacrifice, the treasure, the treasure!

Stoooooooooooop.

With a scream-like shriek, Aloa abruptly awoke from the nightmare.

Her whole body was drenched in cold sweat; she panted heavily as she stared at the familiar ceiling.

“Miss!”

Hearing the young lady’s scream, the escort knight rushed into the room. She reassured the knight that it was just a nightmare.

“Don’t worry. I’m alright now.”

“Please call me anytime if you need anything. I’ll be on standby.”

Of course, after having that nightmare, she couldn’t fall back asleep at all.

Why did she have such a nightmare after receiving Allen’s gift and letter?

Could it be a prophecy of something bad happening to Allen?

…Or perhaps to the continent again?

Tossing and turning on the bed in endless agony, she eventually faced the dawn with sleepless eyes.

…Deeply troubled by the nightmare she had all night, she finally couldn’t stand it and went out early in the morning.

The one she could rely on more than anyone else regarding this matter.

She went to Ghost Flame Grenzo’s lair.

“What brings our weakling all the way out here?!”

The Ghost Flame welcomed the unexpected guest. A mage with exceptional talent, but unfortunately unable to blossom due to a frail constitution, Aloa… He cherished her as much as he did Elizabeth.

“I’m sorry for coming so early without notice, but there’s something I must ask you.”

“Ask me?”

“May I enter the Group Leader’s library for a moment?”

Grenzo’s smile slightly faded.

“…The library? Why all of a sudden?”

“I had a dream. A very strange dream… I need to look something up.”

“First, come this way.”

Grenzo took Aloa to a secret room. He drew the curtains over the only small window, completely cutting off any connection to the outside. Not allowing a word from here to leak out.

“Go on, speak.”

Prophetess Aloa took a deep breath and cautiously began to speak.

“…It was after I received the magic lamp from Group Leader Allen. Suddenly, everything turned dark except the lamp. I couldn’t see a thing. Then, the world turned ashen, and a giant finger appeared.”

“A… giant finger…?”

“Yes! It was enormous, like a spire! And strange people were circling around it. As if they were offering something… They kept demanding more. Body, soul, and treasures…!”

Grenzo instinctively realized that this was Aloa’s prophecy.

“I felt all sorts of emotions. Fear, betrayal, hatred, anger, sadness…”

After those words, a long silence ensued. Grenzo, as if sinking into the deep sea, fell into a deep, wordless contemplation for quite some time.

Then, as if making a decision, he nodded heavily.

“Let’s go to the library.”

“Yes!”

The two headed towards the deepest part of the hideout—Grenzo’s library, where all sorts of dangerous things lay dormant.

A forbidden place permitted only to him.

Arriving at the heavy iron door of the underground library, she recalled a memory from long ago.

…The memory of the only time she had entered the library before.

“Close your eyes.”

Aloa tightly closed her eyes and gripped Grenzo’s hand firmly.

With a chilling creak, the two slowly entered the library.

After standing still for a while and then entering, Grenzo said it was okay to open her eyes.

Somewhere in the musty-smelling library. On the shelves, not only were there all sorts of books, there were also numerous unidentified objects.

Inside the library, it was not much different from what she remembered before. The eerie feeling was still there.

“Darkness, finger, body, soul, treasure… Is that right?”

“Yes.”

Grenzo placed his hand on a suspicious magic orb atop a massive display reaching his chest.

Then he closed his eyes and searched for those five words.

Rumble. The underground library began to shake.

Hundreds and thousands of ancient books stirred on the shelves… Among them were forbidden books. Cursed books, condemned merely for their existence.

Grenzo flipped through dozens of pages of ancient books at once, tracking those words.

The Ghost Flame occasionally clenched his teeth to endure the wicked resistance that collided with his body. Even for someone as skilled as him, this wasn’t an easy task.

As he searched the ancient books for a while, he finally discovered a related volume.

The moment his eyes widened, the book on the shelf fell to the floor. He used magic to retrieve it.

The cover of the ancient book, made from human skin, seemed to vividly express an emotion akin to a scream.

At a glance, it was a terrifying item that shouldn’t be touched recklessly.

Grenzo, without touching the book, used magic to flip through the pages, revealing the paragraph about the finger.

-The demon betrayed God

-Cutting off God’s finger

-Lurking in the darkness

-Oh, curse eternally

-Offer, offer your body

-Offer, offer your soul

-Offer, offer your treasures

-Oh, one day, it shall descend

-To seek the finger

-Offer, offer, offer

-Offer, offer, offer

-Offer, offer, offer

After reading the sentences that resembled a poem, Grenzo closed the tome again with a thud.

The Ghost Flame, with a chilly face, slowly looked at Aloa, who appeared shocked.

“You’ve seen something incredible.”

The Prophetess couldn’t speak for a moment.

“You said it was after receiving the gift from Group Leader Allen?”

“Yes…”

“It seems you’d better be careful.”

“Then, what should I do…?”

Grenzo exhaled a long, slow breath and spoke calmly again.

“For now, there’s nothing you can do. Just wait.”

The Prophetess ran.

She couldn’t wait as he suggested.

Her light body felt unbearably heavy.

The breath that reached the tip of her chin wouldn’t easily settle, even though she had arrived at her room.

Without even considering catching her breath, she quickly grabbed a paper and a quill pen.

Then she hurriedly wrote a letter to her beloved future husband.

-Allen, be careful.

-Please, be careful.

-Finger.

-Beware of the finger of God.

Please.