7. To The Holy Land
Xavia just noticed the incident when it was occurring. The shiny water fountain was showering the one man it should not. Her face darkened in fright, similar to her son’s.
Hans rushed to get a towel for his lord. He shouted to the soldiers to bring a seat so he could wipe the armour.
“M-My lord, please take a seat.” Hans feared that the lord might be displeased.
But the giant man did not budge. Instead, he awkwardly stared at Max’s face. Then, contrary to what all believed, a shocking thing happened.
“Hahaha… So this is what having a grandchild feels like!”
“…”
The Inquisitor High Lord laughed in a heavy voice that shook their hearts. However, it was not a menacing laugh, but rather one belonging to a good neighbourhood old man.
It was awkward to be called a grandchild after being 85, but Sylvester was ready to take it if it meant living another day. ‘What a bipolar crazy old man.’
Xavia rushed and took him back into her arms, swinging him to make him fall asleep. He did exactly that. His body had already been overworked, and it was not good for a little boy like him.
Now that the bad luck had passed away, he felt peaceful. He cared not if this Church was evil; all he knew was that he lived to breathe another day. With the melodious humming of Xavia, he felt like lying on a field of flowers on a spring day. The hope that the future would be as bright as her voice reignited in his heart.
His eyes shut with one last thought flowing in his mind, ‘Magic is real in this world. If that’s the case, it’s my shortcut to a peaceful life.’
The strong are respected and feared. The weak have no right. It’s the simple truth of the society he had learnt and accepted in his previous life. In this world, this seemed to be even more truthful.
What he saw today may have been just the trailer. The real movie could be just beginning, and he could only hope this Church was not into young boys.
…
After he dozed off, he had no idea what happened outside. The giant carriage with multiple horses slowly rolled on the unpaved road. The Inquisitor army was marching on foot. Hence, it was taking more time than normal. But there was all the luxury one would need inside that carriage, from water to food.
The soldiers also had all the necessary things, as a few wizards could produce water, while they had more carriages full of meat and vegetables. Each night, they were to set up a camp and cook.
They were highly trained and professional when it came to their behavior, a noticeable difference from the Earth’s inquisitors, who were more thieves and scums than servants of God.
Sylvester woke up after a long sleep. The journey had begun long ago as the sun beamed its rays on them. His diaper cloth changed, and his tummy filled with milk, he freely focused on various sceneries and people.
‘Ugh, I don’t think I can ever get used to drinking milk the natural way,’ he sighed to himself.
“MOVE!” A loud shout resounded, followed by a long sound of a trumpet. The next thing he knew, the carriage hurried with the men at the front and the back beginning to sing the hymns of whatever God they prayed to.
Meanwhile, he was fascinated by the things outside that he saw through the two windows. He was sitting on Xavia’s lap, on whose left side was another female, probably some sort of nun. A thin man in metal armour sat on the right side. The Inquisitor High Lord took the whole opposite side alone. He was a big man.
“Interested about outside? Come, sit here,” The Inquisitor High Lord took Sylvester’s tiny body and put it on his lap.
He looked out, and by far, the most fascinating thing was the giant, steep, rocky cliff on the left that seemed to run just beside the road. He could not see the full height as the road was too close. However, the cliff provided a cool shadow on the pathway. If he looked from the other window, all he could see was a vast plain of infertile drylands.
The Inquisitor High Lord felt the need to tell the baby in his arms about some legends about this place. He spoke, “Studies should begin from a young age, especially for the God’s Favoured. Child, what you see here is the Wall of Void. Beyond that cliff is a vast region called the Divine Desert.
“Perhaps, your birth here is a sign that you too shall conquer this desert one day. Like the 5th Pope, Pollux Ragthon, the warrior.”
Sylvester had a thousand questions on his mind, but he knew to stay silent at such a time. However, he could always mumble around, so he pointed at the locket hanging on the man’s chest and played with it.
“Aya Aya.”
“Oh, marvellous!” the man loudly exclaimed. “Only you, the one graced by the light’s touch, would know the mark of the Church of Solis.”
‘What’s he rambling about?’ Sylvester stayed busy with his thoughts.
PA!
His thoughts stopped wandering when the loud trumpet resounded. The carriage came to a halt with that, and a knight approached the window to report.
“Lord Inquisitor, the sun will set soon. We shall camp here.”
The Inquisitor High Lord looked outside at the surroundings. Yet another day had come to an end. It was an ominous sight to his eyes under the bright full moon. “We will be cornered beside the cliff and the open fields on the other side. It’s a full moon, and the nightly creatures can easily attack us. Tell the men to instal the blessing pillars carefully.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
The army started to create the camp in the form of a semi-circle. First, they used the cliff as a natural wall and made two exits on the open side. Next, they used the various carriages to create a semi-circular wall around the camp, erecting watchtowers on those carriages. All the men moved swiftly. Clearly, this was not their first time.
Then, the largest tent was set in the middle of the most guarded location. This belonged to the Inquisitor High Lord. Then, another smaller tent was placed beside it, and given to Xavia and Sylvester.
There was nothing to do in the darkness of the night. So after everyone ate their fill, they headed to sleep. The guards were stationed to watch periodically.
Soon, the noises subsided and were taken over by the owls’ hoots and the wolves’ howls in the distance. The desert’s coldness didn’t help either and made Sylvester cling to Xavia for warmth in sleep.
‘J-John… P-Promi-ise… Must live. l-love you… For-eve-r…’
“AAH!” Like that of an owl, Sylvester’s eyes shot open a few hours later.
His heart raced madly, and his body sweated. The ghosts of the past had not left his mind even in this life. The painful memory from the past kept reminding him of the last words his wife spoke to him.
‘It’s awfully warm all of a sudden. What’s happening?’ He felt Xavia sweating as well.
Clank!—The sound of swords clashing came. This alerted Sylvester to the fullest. He glanced around and noticed red flashes outside all around the tent.
“Protect the God’s Favoured!” Shouts rang.
‘Is there a fire?’ Sylvester wondered and tried to wake Xavia by punching her face with his chubby hands.
“MAMA!”
Xavia soon opened her eyes and looked around in confusion. But when she heard the loud shouts and the tragic memory from the Deserte village resurfaced. She jumped up and tightly hugged Sylvester, pressing him against her agitated chest.
“W-What’s happening?” She looked around in panic.
“Save the God’s Favoured!” 𝗼𝘃𝗹.𝗼𝐫𝗴
“Don’t let them get closer!”
Boom!—Suddenly, the ground shook, and a loud blast echoed due to a large cliff nearby. Sylvester had lost all his sleep and was looking around to deduce who was even attacking them.
“Grrrrr…”
He was alarmed. This noise was too close to them and too distinct. He tried to look everywhere, from the ceiling to the grou- ‘FUCK! Why does this world hate me?’
A few metres away, the ground started to dig open. Something was trying to come out of it, making unfriendly growls. Then, bit by bit, the head peeked out, completely bald and yellow. It had puss-filled tumours on it.
“Grrrr…”
Then its thin face appeared and sent chills down Sylvester’s spine. It was so hideous that even an incestual mother couldn’t love it. Its round white eyes with no pupils were nearly falling out. The unknown creature’s jaw hung wide open, its tongue brandished outside. Was it a zombie or a normal man? It was unknown.
“Mama… Mag-ic!” he chirped, telling Xavia to do something.
She felt helpless. “I’m a medical wizard, and our magic is the weakest at night… all I can do to harm it is…”
Xavia held him with one arm and started to wave the other in the air, making some sort of pattern. She kept on doing it as her lips moved silently, and then a green light appeared on her palm. It was mesmerising and mindblowing for the little boy, for what was common to her was a miracle to him.
“Please work!” She pushed her palm forward a little and sent the green light towards the zombie-like creature. Unfortunately, the light travelled very slowly and sometimes flickered, proving she was not good at this kind of magic.
The creature was still coming out of the ground by pushing the rest of the body up with its arms. It appeared to be wearing tattered clothes and had flesh wounds all over it, just like a zombie. But its movements were too careful, implying its intelligence.
Soon, the green light touched the creature and passed right through it. Sadly, all it did was burn the creature’s facial hair and make it fully aware of their direction.
“GREEEE…”
Now it hastened and pushed itself out completely. Then without wasting a second, it started walking towards them with constant angry growls.
‘It did nothing!’
“It did nothing!”
Sylvester and Xavia had the same thought at the same time. She quickly retreated back as far as she could, nearly touching the tent walls. Sadly, the tent was not ordinary either, as it was made for safety from the outside. She could not tear it apart.
Xavia didn’t stop, however. She kept sending that green energy wave at the creature. Again and again, not stopping even when she was panting like she had run a marathon. Her hair became dishevelled and fell on her face by the 20th try. She screamed in rage and kept going, “Please work!”
‘This can’t be the end… we can’t die just like that.’ Her heart beat in panic as she noticed the creature had only become more agitated from her attempts.
“Kill… the God Favored!” The creature inched closer while growling.
“NO!” Xavia hugged him tighter and covered his body as much as she could with her arms.
‘FUCK!’ Sylvester cursed silently. Why was this creature after him? When did he make enemies? What was it even? A million questions took over his mind, but the fear of dying was above everything else. The words of his dead wife kept echoing in his head.
‘I must live. I must live!’ He repeated inwardly.
Nobody was going to come and save him, and to expect that would happen was foolish. Always expect Murphy’s Law to prevail. Unfortunately, Xavia was not strong enough, and the tent’s exit was behind the creature. That left him no choice but to try doing the same thing that saved him the last time.
As the reality of the situation seeped into their minds, Xavia hugged him tighter, and Sylvester’s will to survive got stronger. Finally, he turned around in her arms to face the creature, and then closed his eyes to start being what he promised to be—the God’s Bard.
As soon as he sang the crude hymns in his baby voice, a bright golden halo appeared behind his head, shedding its light all over the tent. Then automatically, Sylvester’s right chubby hand came up, and the palm faced forward.
For the voices telling me to keep moving along.
My will is strong, and here I sing your song,
You are the master, the bringer and saviour of disaster.
I sing to you as your loyal magic caster.?
As Sylvester was entirely devoted to singing with his eyes closed, Xavia tried to make as much distance between them and the threat possible. But the creature picked up its pace and reached merely a few feet away.
Your bard stands strong as this creature threatens.
I pray for protection, for granting me the weapons.
Teach me, I call for your lessons from the heavens.
This unholy filth committed one of the gravest transgressions?
The creature reached too close. Its growls became loud enough to shake their hearts. But Sylvester did not stop and continued to chant.
I shall do your bid and ensure there remains not a single filthy trace,
You are the grace and the light that all must embrace!?
BOOOOM!—Sylvester’s right palm shined in golden-white light, followed by a deafening blast that roared and a blinding light that covered the entirety of the tent, making it appear like a lighthouse in the dark night.
“GRWAAAA!” The creature jumped with all its might to reach the child. It protruded its thin arms as far as it could with a high-pitched shrill, for even a single touch was enough to kill.
“K-KILL!… Kill the god’s favoured!”
_____________
[A/N: Check this para’s comments to see the relevant world map for this arc. It’s only 45% of the whole map.]