Chương 91: Chapter 88: Formal Apology

The temple of the goddess sat at the very edge of the valley. Thankfully, it was the opposite side to where the demons were scourging. Since the solstice was approaching and with it the awakening ceremony, the withered chapel had been renovated to a degree which was at least presentable to the people. Mum did not care about that. Before we even landed, I found a few people awaiting our arrival. Mostly the clergy and religious folks who kept the place running.

Even the nearest townsfolk could not match Mum's flight to join before us. She landed before them.

"Surely you have heard the magistratus' message," she said without even a greeting to the head cleric, a bald man in thick white robes embroidered with golden threads, a flaming insignia on his chest.

"I got the gist," the holy man said.

"If you want to--" Mum lifted a hand.

"How much do you know about the formation of the sacrarium?" The head cleric exchanged a look with an elder priest who probably had been here for a longer time. The sheer number of wrinkles on his face were evidence enough.

"Well, we know that it exists," the elder priest said, a little flustered, but a whole lot more apprehensive about the whole thing.

"Though how functional, we haven't got a clue."

"We're merely pious folks," said the head cleric with a sigh.

"There are no hierophants or experts among us." Mum's expression did not change. She had not expected anything less, nor was she dissuaded.

"Fortunately, the town is not short of an expert today," she said, presenting herself.

"I'll make it work." I rather liked the confidence in her tone, and so did the elderly folks.

"I might need to tinker extensively around the temple grounds. So I ask your permission formally before I begin." Once again, they exchanged looks, but thankfully did not waste too much time in indecision.

"Just so the Goddess wills."

"Thank you," Mother said.

"I hope the ancient wards won't be necessary in the end, but I have a bad feeling about this." Finally, she guided the floating form of my friend towards the clerics.

"Look after him. He was poisoned by the corrosive toxins of the devourers. I have purified most of it, but it is not my speciality."

"And the beast?" the elderly man asked, a little unnerved. Mum spared it a glance and shrugged.

"It fought off those dark creatures, as far as I know, such behaviour is befitting of the Goddess's blessing. No need to be afraid of it. Still, take it with you, in case the incoming people panic seeing an unfamiliar creature." The urgency subsided from my mind by the time Mum finished directing them. I quickly summoned my Profile for a quick glance and could not help but wonder about my advancement. If I were Noble Class during the fight, those demons would not be so frightening.

"What's on your mind, Pumpkin?" Mum asked, gesturing for me to follow her.

"Eran is fine, you know."

"It's not that," I said.

"I formed my eighth aether root when I drank the healing elixir."

"You did?" Mum eyed me, her eyes gleaming with a bright golden hue.

"But you haven't advanced." Her brows knitted together, as she saw the truth of the matter. I already had some suspicions, mostly about the bell that restricted me from the ritualistic visions that accompanied my every advancement. Unfortunately, we did not have the luxury of time to discuss the matter right now.

"We'll look into it once we're done here." With that off my mind, I could not help but wonder what kind of formation the temple held. My fractal sight had detected nothing in all the times I had ventured here. If there were any mysteries hidden in this old chapel, I was standing next to the only person in town who could unveil them. To my surprise, she did not venture inside but hurried eastward, towards a large column where an unrecognisable statue of the goddess stood atop it.

A few people crossed the broken arches beside the column and came straight towards us. The first to arrive were, of course, the few guildsmen led by old Rowin, followed by people from the institution, the instructors and the townspeople who lived nearby. The common folk were more muddled, asking the people in power—the awakened denizens—for explanation, whilst the awakeneds clamoured to Mum to get a more definite answer.

Unfortunately for them, she did not even spare them a glance, thoroughly invested in her inspection. Her essence threads lit up the withered column, golden light shone in divine radiance, with many esoteric runes manifesting on its surface.

"It's not a complete waste, at least," Mum muttered. Her display had silenced most of the onlookers' questions as new wonders shaped their expressions, but she paid them no mind and flew towards another identical column ahead of her. I followed and only then realised there were eight such columns in total, forming a fine octagonal shape surrounding the chapel. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Using Fractal Sight, I tried to interpret the runes immortalised in the columns. They were largely unfamiliar to the ones I knew, though arranged in familiar patterns, but so convoluted and... I felt a tug on my shoulder. It was Headmaster Larius, uttering the same questions that were in everyone's mind. I quickly stammered a brief explanation of what we fought in the mountains and followed after Mum. One by one, she lit up all eight columns.

While five shone with brilliant gold, the remaining three emitted only a dim glow, their radiance withered in the river of time.

"Will it work?" I asked. Mum nodded, tapping her chin.

"It'll be bothersome, but what else did I expect from an archaic formation from the time of the founding?" She shook her head and finally turned to the people streaming into the Sacrarium.

"Instead of gawking at me," she said to the guildsmen, "how about you put yourself to some use?"

"How can we be of help?" asked Headmaster Larius. Mum pursed her lips. Her expression suggested that he should not need to ask. He should be old enough to decide what was needed at this moment. But even mature people were accustomed to following orders from someone superior. Mum suppressed a sigh, and when she issued commands it seemed she was entirely a different person.

"Have your people take charge of the organisation," she said.

"Divide into teams—the militia and sentries for defence and safety, and have some of the weaker classes help ensure the common folk don't panic and make the situation worse. Larius, use your people to bring any elderly and children who cannot travel well.

"There should be an underground bunker beneath the chapel. Ask the clerics to open it if they haven't already. Make sure only the elderly and children dwell there. I'm sure you can find many other jobs to keep yourself busy." The people immediately dispersed as old Rowin and the headmaster divided the tasks between them. Most of the militia and sentries were already being handled by the magistratus as they dispersed into smaller teams to help people in.

Only I remained by her side, somewhat lost about how I could be of any help. I would likely hinder her if I tried to help her in any way. Soon, the job that fell upon my shoulders was preventing people from bothering Mum. Within a few minutes, over a thousand people gathered in the temple. Many even brought their cattle, chickens, and other domestic animals, causing no less ruckus. Still, it was better than leaving those pitiful creatures at the mercy of those demons.

The town housed about fifteen thousand people; add a thousand more domestic animals to the mix, and we were looking at an utter haphazard mess with people and domestic animals sequestered together. Well, despite its withered state, the sacrarium in its entirety was by no means smaller than the hippodrome I had seen in Klearon, which could hold fifty thousand people at full capacity with ample room for the games inside it. Considering that, I was a bit more at ease.

Still, the domestic animals, especially the chickens, made the organisation rather chaotic. By such a standard, some people were even more headless than the animals, bursting through lines, pushing and pulling at others, and a few even wanted to enter the bunkers, which could barely hold a few hundred people at best. Thankfully, a burst of aura from a noble-class awakened silenced them. They had to do it multiple times because there was no shortage of foolish people. I could not blame them.

The fear of the unknown made people act in more delusional ways than usual. Then, amongst the crowd, I noticed a figure I did not think I would see so soon. Ao walked through the crowd with a scowl on his face, glaring at all the people he had to navigate through. Hadn't he left town a couple of weeks ago? The familiar face of Auxiliary Lucien was leading him, accompanied by an elderly man with a good number of grey hairs on both sides of his head. He was dressed in common attire.

The only remarkable feature was the sword hanging on his back. However, the way he sauntered through displayed control. Unlike the thousands of other common folks, there was no sign of panic on his face. Fractal Sight let me know the reason behind that. The older man was a Fabled-class Augmenter, and the aura he radiated was by no means meagre in comparison. My gaze seemed to alert his perception as he turned towards me, eyebrows raised.

"Arilyn!" Lucien shouted through the cacophonous crowd. I did not know how to answer him, not with Ao and a Fabled-class Augmenter accompanying him. But much to my unrest, he led them towards us.

"Is it them?" asked the elderly man. The Noble-class Artisan responded with a nod. The Fabled augmenter sauntered towards us and stated the obvious.

"Ashlyn Amadeus, I presume?" Mum turned, her brows furrowing as soon as she took in their lineup. Her eyes gleamed coldly, lips parting in response: "I go by Silverheart now, but that's unimportant."

"Indeed," the man smiled.

"I am Magnus Julius Daenerys." He said the last part as though it meant something to Mum. Perhaps the surname Daenerys meant something in other places, to other people, but her lack of reaction told exactly what she felt about House Daenerys. Magus was not discouraged.

"I don't think I can entertain you, Magnus," Mum said without any preamble.

"Even if I had time, I'm not interested in any small talk. And if you want a fight for that fool, you will have to pick a better time, as you may have noticed, we're kind of busy right now."

"Such impudence!" Ao roared before Magnus could reply.

"How dare you talk that way to Sir Magnus? I'll have your tongue—""Insolent child!" Magnus barked.

"Shut your trap." Along with his voice, a raging aura exploded to strike Ao. His protective wards flared up in a translucent barrier around him, but the little trinket could hardly stop the bludgeoning force. Magnus only relented when the ward shattered and Ao fell to his knees. Even the folks in the area gave wide berth, withdrawing several metres from the imposing old man.

"Uncle, I was trying to—""Know when it is your place to speak," the knight said coldly, before turning his gaze to Mum. She was already irritated by the whole thing, with her precious time being wasted by these people.

"Well, so much for a good impression," he exhaled.

"No matter. As you can see, I have brought along this black sheep of our family to offer a formal apology for the trouble he caused your son, and also to discuss the matter of compensation." Despite all his words, Mum's expression remained unchanged. Her gaze darted to the shaper on the ground. Ao's eyes seemed to bore a generational hatred in them, as though he was glaring at someone who had done him great harm. While in truth, it was quite the opposite.

"He looks anything but apologetic," Mum said, her gaze returning to the taller figure.

"As for the matter of compensation. Fine, I'll have his hide." Magnus Julius Dernerys barked a boisterous laugh, and then, finding her not joining, his eyes narrowed. The laughter faded into oblivion like an illusion. The air grew chillier, and for a brief moment, time seemed to falter, the clamour of people joining to form a background echo.

"Funny," said Magnus with a smile. A cruel smile.

"The compensation we're talking about here is for you to compensate for the barbaric thing your savage paramour did to my nephew."