—Cole POV—
Moving jugs of wine and spirits around to access other areas of the space, we undercovered a magic circle I hadn't encountered before. Reverse Engineering the enchantments within, I discovered that the circle was crafted to replicate items placed in the center with magic. All the user had to say was the number of items they wanted to replicate, and the enchantments would do it for them. Unsurprisingly, the enchantments were only able to replicate food and beverages…but with enough research and time, I was confident it could be used for other applications.
"A magic circle that can replicate food and drinks…we could have used something like this a long time ago…", Celestial said with a downcast look.
"Agreed, a lot of our people could have been saved.", Desmina agreed.
"I am not so sure this would work well on a large scale, the conversion from magic to matter is very inefficient. In all likelihood, you would have removed all the magic on Alestar within a few months.", I stated giving a rough estimation, "It worked here because it would have only fed maybe a few dozen people at a time. A larger group than that would have caused permanent damage to the natural ecosystem around here. The world can only replenish so much magic naturally after all."
Copying down the magic circle in my old notebook, the one that Rebecca had taken extremely good care of, I decided to research it later. There were many things I was already thinking of using this for, like being able to replicate medical supplies, finite resources, and even life-saving organs. Theoretically, I could go to Dead Worlds and use the circle to mass-produce the items with no impact on anyone. Not only could it help increase our cash flow, it would also help my family out a lot.
'Diapers, formula, and wipes are the first things I am going to mass produce.', I thought knowing the full amount of those items we had burned through, 'With the number of kids we will have, I might also consider buying stock in diaper manufacturing."
Putting the notebook back in my storage, we started tossing the large number of items into my own pocket dimension now that we were sure there weren't any traps. Clearing out the space in a few minutes, we uncovered a trap door that had been hidden from view. Opening the door before we could tell her not to, Raphtalia let out a scream and ran to hide behind Naofumi. Peering into the cellar, we found roughly a dozen adult skeletons down below. Seeing the fine linen gowns they were wearing, the skeletons belonged to women…most likely the priestesses that took care of the God that lived here.
"They were trapped down there…the poor souls.", Aria said with a sad expression, "Someone must have trapped them leaving there to die instead of just killing them."
"What a way to go…", Shera gulped.
"Well, it partially explains why the pocket dimension was sealed so tightly. They wanted to make doubly sure that the people in here didn't get out. That said, the priestesses alone wouldn't have had the strength to move all the weight on the door anyways, what else is going on here?", I remarked, "There must be something else hidden here that explains why."
Carrying the skeletal remains out of the cellar, I burned their remains behind the residence and let the wind carry them away. They had likely served the God that lived here for ages, they deserved to be laid to rest here after enduring that slow, dreadful death. Searching the residence from top to bottom afterward, we didn't find any more secret rooms or valuable resources. Stepping back outside, we glanced over at the massive crystal-clear pool with old wicker chairs around it.
"This is more like a summer home than a Holy Site.", Naofumi commented, "I mean there is booze, food, a pool, a nice house, and really good weather here…"
"You will learn quickly that deities don't think the same way mortals do. For them, this is the basic bottom of the barrel home while we see it as the lap of luxury. Based on the layout, decor, and lavish amenities…I guarantee he was bringing women back here, and sleeping with them.", I remarked, "You will learn very quickly that most male deities think with their dicks over their brains."
"Let's check the smaller building across the pool, it looks like maybe it's a storage shed.", Esmeralda suggested as she started walking around the pool.
As we drew near the second building, we heard some noises coming from within the building. Hearing chains rattling and a weak voice calling out for help, I got in front of my wives and blasted the door in. Leaping into the building, expecting an enemy attack, I nearly tripped over a badly, beaten Angel currently chained to the ground. Instead of the usual white wings we were accustomed to seeing, she had jet-black wings on her back.
Looking at us like an abandoned pet, she leaped forward and hugged my waist. Unable to cry, due to centuries of starvation and thirst, she shook violently as she still attempted to cry.
"Please…don't leave me…here…", she said softly unable to speak in a normal tone, "I don't…want to be..in the dark anymore."
Not sensing any malice or ill intent from her, I broke her chains and carried her out of the building. Sitting her down on one of the wicker chairs, I offered her some food and water which she snatched out of my hand before I could ask her. Stuffing her face in a hurry, she scarfed down the meal like a ravenous animal. Reaching her hands out with an embarrassed expression, she asked for more food.
"That's not a problem, can you tell us what happened here?", I asked pulling out some sandwiches for her.
"We…we were attacked.", she informed us, "My Lord, his priestesses, and I retreated to this Sanctuary a few months ago. As the fighting outside came to a standstill, My Lord left to get help from the other Gods leaving me to protect his priestesses. A few days after he left, the enemy broke through the walls and their commander was able to breach this Holy Place. I…I did everything I could to force him out, but I couldn't stop him. He beat me nearly to death before locking me away in that place. Is My Lord with you?"
Looking at each other, her sense of time was completely out of wack. Telling her to stay calm, I said that we weren't here on his behalf or request…we were exploring Ancient Ruins. Putting her food down, she started shaking her head violently saying that there was no way the temple was ruins now.
"Miss, you haven't been locked up for a few months…it's been several thousand years.", I said breaking the news to her, "The world outside isn't what you remember it to be, and the deity you served is no longer among the living. I am sorry you have to hear this terrible news."
"No…stop lying!", she said weakly trying to push us away, "My Lord will come back, and we will hunt down that evil man together. I…I know he wouldn't abandon me like this!"
"He isn't lying, his priestesses were locked in the cellar of the home here. They were skeletons when we found them.", Celestial stated trying to console her.
"Don't lie to me!!", she forced herself to shout and swing her left hand out to hit Celestial.
Grabbing her hand firmly, I told her not to lay a finger on my wife or else I would drown her in the pool myself. Telling her that she needed to face reality as it truly was, and trying to deny the facts would only cause her more pain than it spared her. Calling us liars, I decided to show her so she could see the facts for herself.
"If you want proof, I will show you proof.", I said grabbing her by the scruff of her neck.
Carrying her outside the Pocket Dimension, I watched her expression shatter as she came to terms with reality. Finding that world around her was no longer what she remembered, she hung her head in defeat. Curling up into a ball she stopped responding to anything we said to her. Taking her back inside, I sat her down again and forced her to start eating again.
"I can't imagine what she is going through.", Senko stated looking at the Fallen Angel, "Being chained up like that for thousands of years…she must have gone insane several times."
Agreeing with that assessment, I needed to see if I could ID who the assailant was that attacked her. Normally a healthy angel was more than enough to suppress the strongest mortal with ease which meant the mortal had help. Peering into her mind to see who they were, all I could find was a man in a heavy, black suit of armor.
'Hmm…that's not Guts or anyone else I am familiar with.', I thought.
Knowing that it was unlikely that it was an Otherworlder like me, it had to be someone in this world's distant past. The problem was, this world is a combination of four worlds, and each merger threw everything into chaos making finding specifics nearly impossible. Deciding to give the Church's books another once over, after the Queen tore them apart, I would look into the man's identity. He could be someone tied to the Waves or might have been a disgruntled Former Hero. Putting that aside, for now, I needed to get this angel talking again as staying silent would do her no good.
"We haven't heard your name yet, what should we call you?", I asked her politely.
"It's Cis…former assistant to the God of Celebration.", she replied unable to look anyone in the eyes, "What will you explorers do now?"
"Well Cis, we are going to be looking for other places like this around the world. Would you like to come with us?", I offered her, "There may be others like you that could use a friendly face around. Unlike us, they know you and might be willing to hear you out more than us."
"I…I want to go…staying here is too much for me now.", she agreed not wanting to stay around her greatest failure, "Could I…could I ask for some fresh clothing and a few minutes to clean up?"
Giving her another look over, I realized that her clothing was in tatters and needed to be replaced. Handing her some spare clothing I had on hand, we hung around till she was ready to go. Carrying only a small satchel with her, Celestial offered to have me stow larger items away if she had anything she wanted to bring. Shaking her head, Cis informed her that what was in the bag were her only belongings. As a deity's assistant, she didn't have a lot of time to herself, and her uniforms were made by her lord directly so she had nothing left to wear now.
"Thank you for the clothing.", she said bowing her head respectfully.
"It's fine, I am glad we had clothing that fit.", I chuckled as we left the pocket dimension.
"Also, when we get back home we will see to it that you receive clothing of your own to wear.", Aria assured her, "Won't we dear?"
"Of course we will, I don't want to see her selling her body for money.", I stated.
Marking this site off the map, I transported us to the next closest location which was six hundred miles southwest of here. Arriving on a fertile plateau, we looked around us and discovered we were just over a mile away from an active volcano. Pulling up the map to confirm where the site should be, I put the map away once I confirmed where it was…somewhere among the many lava flows below us.