Chapter 1257: Relic Origins

I had Fran ask Sibylla a question that had been on my mind.

「What are relics? Also, is your sword different from a normal relic?」

Sibylla and Apollonius had mentioned something about relics being “bestowed by the king”, and it sounded like Sibylla’s sword was special somehow.

This piqued my curiosity.

「Well, that’s… 」

「To put it simply, Raydoss’s relics are powerful magical items granted to the dukes and Red Knight Captains by the king!」

Apollonius answered our question in place of the hesitant Sibylla. It seems he had finished his conversation with Jean.

Special magical items known as “relics” were granted to the dukes and Knight Captains by the royal family. These serve as proof of their position, and they cannot be wielded by anyone without official approval.

Well, that much was kinda obvious.

I wanted to know the details, such as why I can cannibalize them, their true abilities, and how they were created.

「Does the king make the relics?」

「That I don’t know. All I can say is that he is the one bestowing the relics to us. Only the King, the Chancellor, and the four dukes know the actual secret behind them.」

Was there some sort of skill for creating the relics? No wait. Considering how all the kings have the same ability, maybe there’s a magical device for creating them? It would make sense for such a valuable item getting passed down the royal family for generations.

Honestly, a magical item capable of creating multiple of those super-powerful relics sounds like it might be getting close to the divine sword level.

Sibylla and Madred seem to have mixed feelings about Apollonius answering our questions readily. They themselves had kept silent about the relics. In fact, Kranzel never asked such questions to avoid antagonizing them.

While Sibylla and her men betrayed Raydoss in a sense, their motivation still lied with the people and the nation. They were more than willing to share information about the faction responsible for the massacre, but they never disclosed secrets about Raydoss itself.

Now, with the Hero Zombies joining our ranks, there was no hiding anything from us. Still, they didn’t go as far as to interfere with our questioning.

「… Is Sibylla’s red sword different from other relics?」

「Indeed it is!」

Sibylla frowned, but she still had no intention of stopping Fran. After all, we could always ask later if she did.

「For quite a while, there was a plan in the works to develop a powerful magical item with a Dungeon Core. But it turned out no one could control it, and the research stagnated for ages. All until someone brought up that Sibylla, who had incorporated a Dungeon Core into herself, might be able to wield it.」

「Incorporated a Dungeon Core?」

What’s that supposed to mean? Well, I know Sibylla has a voracious appetite…

「That girl can eat practically anything, and whatever she eats becomes her own power, even a Dungeon Core. I refused to let them use Sibylla as a guinea pig while I was alive, but it seems she ended up cooperating with the plan later.」

「I see.」

「Dammit, old man!」

Sibylla exclaimed reflexively as if she couldn’t contain herself. Having her secrets and the kingdom’s classified information revealed in front of her must have been getting on her nerves.

「What’s wrong, foolish daughter of mine? I am currently serving the black cat girl, so I can’t keep any secrets from her! How about I tell her about the time you wet the bed too!」

「I told you, that was just me knocking over a water pitcher!」

「Then how about the time you ate all the provisions at the garrison, and the adjutant scolded you severely? Oh, maybe when you got duped with counterfeit antiques and wasted your entire allowance!」

「Ugh! Enough! Fran doesn’t give a damn about any of those things! You’re blabbing everything of your own free will!」

「Fuhahahahaha! I wonder if that’s really the case!」

It’s clear that these two get along well.

Apollonius seemed satisfied after teasing Sibylla, and turned to Fran with a slightly more serious face.

「What now? Do you want to hear more?」

「Enough about Sibylla.」

Digging any deeper into Sibylla’s personal business would only strain our relationship. Also, we don’t need to hear about Sibylla’s abilities at the moment.

Let’s change the direction of the conversation a bit.

「Tell me about the powers of the relics.」

「Very well! Then let’s start with Lucard!」

「Sure, ask away.」

Being under my control meant they would answer all my questions. The humble-looking young man Lucard began explaining his relic after getting nominated by Apollonius.

The Vermilion Eye was a prosthetic eye-shaped relic. In addition to enhancing the wielder’s vision and reflexes, it also had the power to identify weaknesses and see a few seconds into the future.

Furthermore, observing the flow of his own mana allowed him to gain delicate control over magic. In summary, the relic allowed him to instantly determine the target’s weakpoint and deliver a powerful blast of magic.

The last resort ability involved activating several types of magic eyes at the same time, thus giving him a huge boost of power for a few minutes.

Simple and effective. A woman named Shuzeka was apparently the current wielder, as well as the most powerful wielder in the relic’s history.

We got a lot of info on the other relics as well. Well, the relics themselves were right in front of us, so I could always appraise them too.

Particularly surprising was the Cardinal Flag’s ultimate move. I never imagined it would drain the life force of your companions. Good thing I learned about that before using it carelessly.

「Then what about Sibylla’s red sword?」

I had seen her sword before, but I knew nothing of its abilities. We’ve only seen Sibylla swinging it around like any other weapon.

「That I do not know. The Red Sword Knights were always a unique order. Unlike other the others, we were never bestowed a relic.」

「Really?」

「Indeed. My girl’s sword is a recent creation. It didn’t exist when I was captain.」

The Red Sword Knights were the first order of Red Knights to be established in Raydoss. Their main mission was to patrol the country and eliminate threats such as magical beasts and bandits. In addition, they also had a hidden duty.

They were intended to act as a failsafe in case those in power ever go off the rails. If the royal family, the Chancellor, or anyone else ever proved to be harmful to the people, the knights were to stop them by any means necessary.

「Those who rely on the relics lose everything when said relics are taken away, rendering them unable to oppose the king. As such, exceptional individuals are chosen for the Red Sword Knights, and they are not given a relic based on the king’s powers.」

In other words, Sibylla’s sword wasn’t truly a relic. It would be more correct to simply call it a magic sword.

「Hehehe, pretty cool, right? Those researchers made this sword just for me!」

「Oooh, your very own weapon, huh? That’s quite something!」

「Damn right! I still despise those researchers, but it was all worth it since I got this baby!」

Either way, we won’t learn its true capabilities unless Sibylla tells us. But it seems we won’t have the time for that.

「Mrgh.」

『Here they come again!』

「Woof!」

Now that we’ve traversed deeper into Raydoss, we once again sensed the presence of the undead hordes.