Once, the Sarkaz Empire was glorious, and the combined royal courts were invincible, sweeping away all opponents. All nations of Terra...
Even the Son of Heaven, who was canonized by Yan, the Great Khan, who swept across the continent with the Nightmare Kheshig, and the future Gaul Empire, which spanned half the continent, only gradually rose a hundred years after the Sarkaz Empire's demise.
But just as suddenly, this ancient Empire, more than a thousand years ago, was destroyed.
To this day, even Sarkaz historians themselves cannot understand why this vast and unified nation disappeared overnight.
And what also disappeared was the brilliant Sarkaz civilization.
Although it couldn't compare to Terra's ultra-ancient human civilization, which could power an entire mobile city with a few thousandths of the electricity from a household medical device, the technological culture of the ancient Sarkaz was still incredibly powerful.
After all, the Spell model Passenger holds, discovered in an ancient Sarkaz ruin, if modified, could instantly turn half of Sargon's Rainforest into a desert—not ruling out Kal'tsit misleading him like that a decade ago to scare a child, but it shows the height of Sarkaz civilization.
Now, everything has long since dissipated with the dust. Sarkaz has taken on another meaning—people without a country, wanderers.
There might be good people among the Sarkaz, but you'd best not gamble that the Sarkaz you encounter are good people. This is a reality everyone on Terra understands.
Both Sarkaz and Aegir are global wanderers, but their reputations are diametrically opposed.
Because Aegir is still strong, and the Aegir are equally resilient. Even after hundreds of years, most Aegir know that they have another home far away.
But the Sarkaz have lost any political entity to rely on, and their culture and civilization have also been severed.
No nation would ever allow the Sarkaz to rise again. Successive kings after the Empire's split all wished to restore its glory, but the fact is, they are still wandering.
Only the Sarkaz in this world can understand this pain.
"Every leader of a political entity still in Kazdel hopes to rebuild the Sarkaz kingdom, whether they are ambitious, opportunists, heroes, or cowards, such an ideal has never died—the Confessarius is one such organization."
Pulling the rapier from a person draped in a black robe who had softly fallen to the ground, Shining elegantly flicked the sword, shaking off the blood, and slowly explained her and Nightingale's identities.
"Liz and I were once members of the Confessarius—but the current Confessarius is different from before."
Now, she stood at the front of the team, walking through a wide, dim underground corridor, constantly advancing towards the direction from which the enemies were pouring.
These enemies took various forms: some were like the previous ones, mask giants purely composed of Spell energy; others were mad humans; there were also twisted, shriveled corpses and silver aberrations, and even some frail, Shining big-headed dolls.
And on the bodies of those human cultists, many extra growths appeared that did not belong to their original racial characteristics—tentacles, scales, protruding bone spurs.
"Stars above—"
Bang!
In short, these cultists began to grow increasingly insane and less human.
However, before he could finish speaking, a mercury bullet pierced through his skull, sending the madman to meet his god.
Beside Shining, the tall man in black, almost as tall as a Goliath, was holding Nightingale in his arms while listening to her speak.
"Mhm, mhm, and then what—Platinum, look to your left, someone's lunging at you. Skadi, smash that pile of rocks at three o'clock, there's a sniper behind it."
Goki's perception was unimaginably keen; no enemy could escape his eyes, and he unhesitatingly became the core of the assault team, directing the girls.
"Which way—ugh, tch, how did you find him?"
Platinum, who was clutching three arrows in her hand, was startled. She unhesitatingly shot the arrowheads, enchanted with electric light, to her left, electrocuting a twisted tentacle that had extended several meters onto the ground, avoiding a repeat of the magical girl X tentacles trope.
"Okay!"
Skadi, on the other hand, didn't hesitate at all. As the team's always strongest DPS output, she unhesitatingly unleashed a sonic boom, shattering a pair of damaged reliefs nearby. Her greatsword transformed into a storm of blades, directly shredding the cultist hidden behind them.
Blood splattered like raindrops, but Skadi's fair skin remained spotless. Even in the darkness of the underground, she was still like an elegant dancer, effortlessly capturing Goki's gaze.
The more time they spent together, the more Goki understood Little Orca, the charm of a warrior and a hunter. This was a completely different experience from just looking at lewd pictures on P-site.
However, if he still wanted to dally, it wouldn't be too late after the battle was over!
Boom—
Goki held Nightingale in a princess carry. In his hands, he held two firearms of different sizes, firing them simultaneously, directly Gun Counter-staggering a church giant charging at Shining, making it fall to its knees.
"Don't get distracted, Nona Shining—although I'm sure you could handle it, it's best if we hurry... You just mentioned the Confessarius. Is that related to the enemies we're facing?"
The next second, the dark cloak flew up, and a dazzling light converged into a beam. Shining's rapier instantly pierced the giant's head.
The Spell unit on the rapier ran out of energy. Shining opened the black briefcase she carried, and in the time it took to turn around, a brand new Originium crystal was already loaded.
A pale golden force field rose, and the volley of crossbow bolts was instantly pinned in the air, falling powerlessly to the ground.
"Yes, the Unification Sect is a local extremist religious force in Kazimierz, but we already knew the name of this organization when we were in Kazdel—like the Confessarius, they are madmen who hope to revive past glory through the power of a god."
Although Shining was unwilling to reveal too many of their secrets to others, unfortunately, as Nightingale said, Goki's ultimate goal was, after all, the same as theirs.
Feeling Nightingale's expectant gaze behind her, Shining pulled the rapier from the enemy's body and continued her narration.
Shining didn't know why Nightingale, after enduring such hardships, would still be willing to trust this stranger, but since she had made her decision, Shining would also try to trust him.
"The former Confessarius was an organization of physicians constantly striving to heal the Sarkaz and revive Kazdel. But as we obtained an ancient Sarkaz artifact and began to study its power—we started to slide into the abyss, and Liz is the proof of our sin."
At this point, Shining's sword-wielding hand began to tremble slightly, and her cool expression was covered by a faint sadness and sorrow.
"Some Confessariuss claimed they had communicated with a Great One god, beyond any power on Terra, who could bring about the Confessarius's revival... They indeed received blessings and power. The person I once followed was also driven from leadership by them and became their prisoner."
"Oh... Let me guess, did some Confessarius go digging up graves again, hmm hmm—"
Goki couldn't help but raise an eyebrow—what a familiar plot! Isn't this just like the story of those Byrgenwerth folks who, having nothing better to do, dug up graves underground, unearthed Sumeru ruins, and ended up making Yharnam's people suffer?
Moreover, just as Goki had speculated, Shining and Nightingale were so concerned about matters related to gods because they themselves were connected to the Great One.
However, before Goki could instinctively start complaining, a soft small hand gently covered his mouth.
Then, Nightingale's gentle whisper sounded in Goki's ear.
"Shh, Mister Goki, let's not talk about that... Shining will be unhappy."
"Oh, oh, oh."
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Goki's emotional intelligence instantly understood that this might be Shining's minefield, and he immediately and obediently shut his mouth.
Nightingale's other hand was still holding her staff, creating a holy barrier for the group of five that could negate the effects of Originium Arts; she seemed much more relaxed after no longer needing to walk.
However, being held in the arms of an opposite-sex individual still made this Sarkaz girl blush a little—though she had lost her memory, she still possessed basic common sense.
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