Blood tax

Chapter 39 The Call of the Ancient Gods ([-])
After leaving Salorian's lab, Griffith found Peperange's room behind a pile of weirdly colored test tubes and flask racks.There was a strange fishy smell all over the place that made me sick, and Griffith almost spat out the bacon omelette he had eaten in the morning.

But strong curiosity still drove him to resist the feeling of tumbling in his stomach and walked into Peperange's room.When he passed through the jars and jars full of pits, his eyes suddenly lit up, and a particularly huge mirror appeared in front of him.

It's not right to say it's a mirror, Griffith can't see himself in the clean mirror.After a flash of fantastic light, suddenly a racing horse-drawn carriage roared towards him, and the rolling wheels were about to run over him.

Speed ​​wagon!how come! ?

"Wow!" Griffith shouted, subconsciously dodging to the side.A few seconds later, he suddenly realized that the racing carriage did not run over, but continued to run in the mirror.

how?what happened?It's clearly in front of you, why didn't the carriage rush over?Such fine details are not paintings, are they?
Could this carriage be sealed in the mirror! ?

Griffith felt that his sanity had evaporated a bit, his limbs were shaking, and there was only fear and helplessness at the incomprehensible scene in front of him.

"Are there any guests here?"

A scruffy scholar came out from behind the clutter.

Griffith wiped the sweat on his forehead, and then looked at the Mr. Peperange in front of him.He is a middle-aged man, his black hair has turned white, he is missing a few fingers, and his left leg seems to have some defects.There is extraordinary experience and wisdom in his deep eyes.But to be honest, his first impression of Griffith wasn't a good one, because he hadn't recovered from the shock when he smelled Peperange's strange smell, which was better than drunken vomit. Not much.

"Oh, poor young man, Veronos has informed me. This is the first time you have seen something like a telescopic mirror. Don't be afraid, no matter what you see, it can't leave the mirror. . This is just the tip of the iceberg of the miracles of the ancient gods. I know why you are here, but if you only have the guts, I advise you to give up your crazy ideas. For those great beings, we too small."

"It's so real, like it's real." Griffith was still sighing at the carriage running in the mirror, "What a wonderful creation."

"What's this," Peperange showed a weird smile, "If it's a complete teleportation mirror, the person in front of the mirror can even take out the objects they see at will, which is limited to objects other than living things."

"That is, can I get a racing wagon out of there?" Griffith became more and more shocked.

"What? A racing carriage? A speed wagon? Haha, you young man is so funny, why did you see a speed wagon?"

Peperange did not say any more words of persuasion, but continued to walk towards the depths of the laboratory with Griffith.Peperange showed him the collections he had collected over the years, all odds and ends.

It can proliferate and condense various forms of metal. It looks like a small iron box from the outside, but it can hold tons of debris, and nothing can be taken out.This is all beyond the realm of magic.

Griffith's whole person is already in a state of confusion.

I really don't know where he got these weird things...but I swear they should never be in this world.Although my knowledge is not profound, it can be considered to have some insight, and these things cannot be deciphered by any of my knowledge.

These creations were created by ancient gods?Then why did they fall, why did the new gods dominate the world, and what was everything I believed in before?Peperange must be crazy to keep these things as a collection at school.

Griffith thought in a mess, and after a while, his mood finally calmed down, and he found a place to sit weakly.

Peperange did not entertain the guests with tea and coffee, but squatted in a dark corner like an old farmer and told his story to the apprentice knight.

"I was born in the city-state of Anok in this eastern continent, you must have heard of it."

"I know this. I heard that it was the strongest human city-state in the East for nearly a hundred years. But then, it disappeared mysteriously, which has become an eternal mystery. It is said that the magic level of the city-state far exceeds that of other cities. If this The city-state can survive to this day, and with their level, they may also become one of the enemies of the Bayeran Kingdom."

"Yes, we were once the most powerful city-state in the East. We concentrated on magic and military under the leadership of the great Archon, and no creature, no matter what orc, troll or dwarf, was our opponent. I remember it very well. , it was the summer of 1425, a group of elves broke into our territory and killed our soldiers. Whatever their purpose, this behavior was a mockery of our great city-state. Thus, our war with the elves here we go."

Speaking of which, Pepe Lanci raised his voice a little, as if the past glory of the city-state had given him a bit of pride.

"If you want me to say, elves are really stupid creatures. They have such good bodies and such good weapons, but they don't know anything about war. Hundreds of our soldiers quickly captured their camps and defeated them. And captured them. Well, I remember killing 7 of 3 captives, by the way, the taste of elf women is beyond your imagination.”

Griffith realized what Peperange was saying, and his heart was filled with disgust and disgust.Suddenly, Peperange's voice dropped again.

"However, I still underestimated a certain elf who bewitched me with her terrifying charm. After we captured the elf camp, I found a book called "Dead Sea" in her study under the guidance of an elf woman. The reading of "Documents". It is it, the existence of the ancient gods that let me know."

The Dead Sea Instruments?The name is rather like the kind of horror novels that are commonly found on the street stalls, how the name is grotesque.Griffith felt incomprehensible that any educated person would believe something written in a book like an entertainment novel?
Peperange seemed to have seen through the heart of the apprentice knight, and said slowly: "Of course, generally speaking, a book with such a strange name is hard to believe. But - I have to take it back a little. What I said before - although elves are arrogant and stupid, their individual wisdom should not be underestimated. Especially the elf woman, the magic theory she told me is still not enough for me to use. Therefore, regardless of this book What is recorded in the book, I naturally accept the above content."

"So, what exactly is written in that book?"

"Through the ancient ruins, the song of the elves awakens the ancient gods."

"What does this sentence mean? Is it some kind of spell? Or is it a description of a ritual? What are the ancient ruins?"

Peperange's words have a peculiar magic that makes people want to listen and explore.

"Don't worry, child, you are too impatient, listen to me slowly, we still have a lot of time. According to the "Dead Sea Documents", this is a ceremony to call on the ancient gods. Among the elves, there used to be a group of people who believed in the ancient gods. On a summer evening, under the gaze of the stars, the fanatics gathered on the ancient altar and succeeded in summoning the ancient gods."

"It's true? Then why isn't there any record left. If someone, um, the elves accomplished this kind of outrageous thing, it's impossible for no one to know about it for so many years."

"Hee hee hee, you said it's impossible to keep a record, because those elves who successfully completed the ritual have all disappeared!"

"You mean, they were all killed?"

"Kill? Hehe, no, the ancient gods wouldn't do things that low-level creatures would do. Hee hee hee, when I said disappearing, I mean disappearing in the true sense. They didn't even leave a corpse, they just disappeared. No one knows where they went? Hahahaha."

Peperange began to laugh strangely, as if he had something in his mouth.

Griffith felt a chill behind his back, not only because of the bizarreness and horror of the story, but also because Peperange, who told the story, was a little abnormal when he talked about topics related to ancient gods.The corners of his mouth and limbs were twitching incessantly, there was madness in his eyes, and he even spoke with a sinister, uncomfortable smile.

"I told you, I believe what this book says. So, I don't care where the elves end up going. All I know is that if the elves can summon the ancient gods, then they are smarter and better than them. Intelligent human beings can do it too. And I, hee hee, are the best of scholars, so I'm sure I can do this ritual too. It's going to be the greatest feat of all time, hahahaha. "

Griffith found that Peperange is not only a rational slob, but he is not an exaggeration to say that he is a lunatic.Griffith wouldn't even look him in the eye if he met him on the road.

At this time, Griffith already wanted to leave here, after all, no one wanted to be in the same room with a lunatic.Still, curiosity drove him to stay.

"It's impossible. According to the contents of the Dead Sea Documents you just said, only the singing of the elves can call the ancient gods. Then how did you perform the ritual?"

"Hee hee hee, I told you before that we fought with the elves and took a few prisoners."

"Could it be that"

"That's right, I and several other congenial scholars - including Veronos, the guy who introduced you to the idea - secretly brought the elves out of the prison and used them to complete the summoning. Ritual. We took those spirits to an ancient altar. Hey, yes, you still don't know the ancient ruins. It's a ruin hidden in a dark and corrosive jungle, no one knows it passes here How many years have passed. It is said that as long as you go deep into the core of the ruins, you can touch the origin of the world. There are many strange creations there.

"Let's continue our topic. Hee hee hee, those elves are really dishonest, they have been struggling and refuse to cooperate with us. Only the female elves are in a frenzied excitement, reciting some words we don't understand. So ah , we tied them to the stone pillar of the altar. Hehehe, it took a lot of work. However, this way, they can't go anywhere, they can only sing for us there, hahahaha. "

Griffith was horrified.Once again confirmed the fact that the scholar sitting across from him was a lunatic.Galadia is not much different from a human girl except for her pointy ears.Even in the far east, very few arrogant and cruel elf hunters would clash with the Eastern Legion, but it was only limited to the battle between warriors, and the victor would definitely give each other a pleasure and avoid excessive pain.

And Peperange actually used the elves for living sacrifices, and Veronos actually participated!This is absolutely unacceptable to Griffith's moral values, and a crime that makes people fear and disgust from the bottom of their hearts.

Wait a minute, Veronos, what does he want to do?
Just then, Peperange's story interrupted Griffith's thoughts.

"However, the ceremony did not go as smoothly as expected. Woohoo, after several days, there is no sign of the ancient gods coming. The ruins in the dark are full of danger. Our team was attacked by mutant monsters and several people died. Even the elf as a sacrifice was killed two, and only the female elf was still singing.

"Several scholars, including Veronos, lost their confidence and left there. Hey, it was the darkest time in my life, do you understand that feeling? That kind of thing you finally caught the call of. The little hope of the ancient gods has been gradually worn away in the passage of time. No one around believes me anymore, they all feel that they have taken such a big risk, and the result is no success, and they are complaining. After a few words, I left. Hey, hey hey hey, people like them who are not firm in their beliefs should not have the qualifications to see the gods. That being said, in fact, even I myself began to doubt whether the ancient gods were real at that time. exists."

"Finally!" Peperange's emotions became excited again, he was not satisfied with squatting and telling stories, and the whole person jumped up, "In the evening of the seventh day, things took a turn! I will never forget that One day. The earth is trembling, the air is filled with a divine breath, even the sky is eclipsed, the ancient gods have descended!"

"You mean, you finally saw the ancient god with your own eyes?"

"Uuuuu, no."

"But didn't you say that the ancient god appeared?"

"Son, there are too many things beyond common sense in this world. And the ancient god is the most bizarre of these things. Yes, that day, the ancient god did appear, but the night was too dark, I couldn't see him clearly, Everything was shrouded in darkness, and an eerie and ominous feeling came over him. Moreover, he was too big to be fully observed even in the daytime."

"How... how big is it?"

"It's bigger than all the creatures that humans have seen in all history. It's so big that it seems that the ancient gods did not create the world, but the ancient gods themselves are a world. I was really shocked at the time, and I stood there blankly, There's no more thought to move."

(End of this chapter)