Campione! - Volume Ex - Chapter 4.3

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Aisha departed to travel by herself in the young age of 17 years old.

Riding steam locomotives, steamboats, or horse carriages, she was touring the coast area of Mediterranean Sea as she pleased. She had been traveling like this for several months.

She didn’t decide her destination. She would stay for a while in the land that she felt was interesting.

When she had enjoyed it enough, she would depart to the next land.

After staying in Greece that was her heart’s desire, she went to the large city Istanbul.

In Kairo, Egypt’ she was also able to make a lot of friends. From there she passed Malta Island, Tunis, and then she landed on the country of passion, Spain.

She reached to the ancient city Valencia while aimlessly wandering the eastern part.

……At the Middle Age it was invaded by the Moor people who were Muslim and it was put under their rule throughout several centuries. Later on a country restorationreconquista was started by several Christian countries and then Valencia Kingdom was born as a part of Aragon United Kingdom──.

Aisha came to Valencia that had such history.

In the recent years due to being dragged into Napoleon War, where it was repeatedly attacked and occupied by Frances army, and the frequent guerilla warfare by the uprising people, it was without any exaggeration, a dangerous area.

But, right now the political situation was stable. Due to the spread of the industrial revolution, it was also developing as a city.

There she was enjoying her stay leisurely──or that should be the case.

「I wonder, why am I in this kind of place?」

That night, Aisha was tilting her head.

Her female friend who she became close with in Valencia city invited her saying 『There will be a special mass three days later』. She was interested and came along with her.

She got into a horse carriage with her friend and arrived at a farm village where there was nothing but farm land.

She had fun interacting with the idyll villagers and enjoyed countryside food starting from paella. While doing that the night of the mass came.

Aisha vaguely thought that a Catholic ceremony would be held.

But late at night, a festival suddenly started.

Several tables were lined up at the public square at the center of the village. They lit fire grandly there. The villagers were bringing a feast to there. And then they had a grand banquet where they drank and sang.

The villagers were gulping down wine while dancing and making strange voice.

Their yelling voice──their words were excessively blasphemous. Aisha was dumbfounded.

「We will begin the ritual now!」

「Throw out the bread and blood! Throw out everything to the land now! The promised day right near us!」

「Only the dying flesh and the blood of redemption will be the delight of the holy grail. Oo Lord, please come. Lord please come. O Lord, we will throw out your flesh and blood to the land!」

「The Lord’s blood become the wine, His flesh become the bread, they become the offering to the holy grail!」

「Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.」

「Holy grail. Please guide us in the place of the shitty Lord!」

The holy grail that they mentioned was right beside the bonfire.

To describe it concisely it was a lump of rock. A lump of rock with faint pink color was lying down there.

It was brought out from the cave at the outskirts of the village at the same time when the sun was starting to sink. It was placed on a parade float that was decorated gorgeously. It was then transported until the square of the village.

Rather than a mass, it was a banquet of a demon. It was a mad festival that was worthy of the designation of Sabbath.

「Say……what could, that be?」

Aisha talked to the person beside her with a small voice. It was the female friend who invited her to this mass.

The woman who was heavily drunk stopped yelling and dancing. She kneeled and prostrated toward the pink lump of rock. Aisha asked to her whisperingly.

「That rock, for some reason it looks like a lying down cow to me though……」

「My, you’re really just like I anticipated! As I thought you are a chosen person!」

「?」

「Listen. In the past, the priests were also preaching the teaching of Christ in this land too. But one day, a pagan goddess came. Our ancestors immediately became her devout believer but──suddenly she died. That goddess’s corpse became stone and became the holy grail that we worship!」

「……Haa」

「And then when the chosen person look at the holy grail, they will get the vision of a beautiful cow or a goddess. It seems that kind of person can become a special offering. Lovely isn’t it?」

「O, offering?」

As expected, the story and tension that were just too heretical made even Aisha to be creeped out.

Even so the mass was progressing. The old pastor-sama who was also the village chief led a single lamb toward the pink lump of rock.

「O holy grail. Please accept the sacrifice this time.」

The pastor pushed the quiet lamb to make it went beside the rock.

Then the adorable and obedient lamb was──sucked in. Into the pink lump of rock.

The lump of rock was faintly turning transparent with pink colors.

Inside the figure of the lamb curling into itself could be seen clearly.

It seemed to be sleeping. Aisha leaned forward. But the next instant, the sleeping lamb vanished inside the rock.

Furthermore a piglet, a calf, and even a small horse were also led there as the second wave of offering.

The cute and small animals. Everyone was absorbed into the pink lump of rock and vanished as expected.

「E……eeh!?」

Aisha was astonished. But, she was ignored and the ritual was progressing further.

「My people, rejoice. The holy grail devour the sacrifices, bringing them into itself. The holy grail is happy.」

The old pastor nodded and then announced proudly.

「Then, bring the next sacrifice here.」

「Understood. Now, it’s your turn.」

「Heh? E, err, why are you taking me to the front row~-!?」

Several villagers including the female friend who she made in Valencia.

They were pushing her back insistently. Aisha was pushed hard until she came to right before the lump of rock. She then fell in front of it.

The pastor waiting there was putting a smile that was like mask on his face.

「Now the last sacrifice. The gate to the country of god is right over there.」

「Hyoeeeeh!? I, isn’t this the so called heretic or demonic ritual-!? The one where a young maiden is sacrificed-!」

「This isn’t heretical. It’s none other than our religion that is the legitimate and righteous religion.」

「This isn’t a joke! Let me go home──ah」

Aisha immediately got up and tried to run away.

But the pastor pushed her just before she started running. *Ton-*. Aisha staggered and crashed on the pink colored rock lump. She was absorbed into it…….

.

The India born maid woman who was coming along to the ritual without any concern.

She was swallowed as a sacrifice for the holy grail. In a farming village where the people were secretly protecting the doctrine and tradition of heretical Christianity of Servius faction.

……Until this point, it was something that occurred often in this village.

The holy grail that was passed down in the village for generations seemed to be something that stocked up 『power』 by devouring and absorbing life endlessly. In any case that was what was said in the tradition.

And then this time an India woman who introduced herself as Aisha was swallowed.

Even though that was all there was to it──

「Tha, that woman, she won’t vanish!?」

One villager yelled and pointed.

The faintly transparent pink rock──the girl Aisha was absorbed into it.

All the sacrifices until now would vanish in ten-odd seconds no matter who. Just like how stomach was digesting food. However this time Aisha’s body wouldn’t vanish no matter how long time passed.

She was taken in by the pink rock and lied down with her eyes closed as though she was sleeping.

There was no change even after they waited for an hour. Even after half a day passed, even when a day went by, the girl Aisha’s body wouldn’t vanish. She was transformed into a “sleeping princess” inside the rock.

And then finally a month later──.

Even now the brown skinned girl Aisha didn’t vanish. She was still like a sleeping princess.

At this point, the village chief who was also a pastor groaned.

「A saint……. This person is the saint who the holy grail recognized!」

「Oo, saint!」「Saint!」「Everyone, let’s praise the saint!」「Saint-sama!」「Saint-sama!」「Saint-sama!」「Saint-sama!」

The pastor and the villagers gathered at the cave at the outskirt of the village.

The object that was the target of their cheers──the girl Aisha was still staying as sleeping princess inside the holy grail.

.

Thus──

Aisha who was sent to the middle of 19th century due to the plot that was prepared by the King of the End Mithra and god of time Zurvan fell into eternal sleep.

Of course, the current her wasn’t a “godslayer”.

But Mithra and his cohorts were on their guard. It was doubtful that the wildness and danger possessed by that abnormal species of godslaying beast could be taken away completely just by doing something like turning their body and heart in time.

That was why they sealed her. They forced Aisha to become a meaningless existence with an eternal sleep.

However.

It was slightly too optimistic even for the god king Mithra……no. He forgot.

This world was a world where godslayer hadn’t existed for several hundred years continuously. With godslayer nonexistent, naturally the record about them was also fading.

Just how extremely abnormal and outrageous the existence of the godslaying beast was──.

Right now, a situation that surpassed Mithra’s assumption was starting.

.