Unlike magic based on mysterious systems, roots, and the Five Great Magics, the Weave-based arcane magic in this seemingly interstitial world shows no signs of weakening. A fireball effortlessly caused an explosive "bloom" in the middle of a cluster of trolls, blowing these seemingly fat and dumb creatures to smithereens.
"…Do these guys have way too much blood?" Touko frowned, commenting on the aftermath of Aoko's attack. "It always feels like watching an overfed leech explode."
"Hmm… it does seem a bit like that," Aoko observed after a moment. "But it looks like their bodies were modified by some kind of power. Such a large amount of blood might be the price they pay for carrying that power?"
"Let's grab what we came for and get out of here. This scene is honestly disgusting," Touko said with a hint of disgust. Although the Wind Realm shielded them from the stench of blood from the outside world, some sensory phenomena still gave them the impression of the smell just from watching. "I hope we don't find any of these revolting creatures in the church over there."
Aoko waved her hand, and a Mage Hand spell snatched the golden pendant from the altar and floated it into her palm.
Together, she and Touko carefully examined the pendant. First, they noticed that the square pendant, about half as large as their palms, was made of a gold-like material, though it was noticeably harder than pure gold. However, Aoko wasn't sure whether this was some kind of alloy or a result of magical effects.
The design carved on the front of the pendant was somewhat abstract—or perhaps just baffling to them.
"The people in the design… it seems like they're praying to something," Touko commented. "So, who are they praying to? Their god?"
"Hmm, that god seems quite strange," Aoko replied. "In any case, it doesn't look like a humanoid god. Otherwise, those trolls wouldn't have turned into such grotesque forms, right?"
"Are these patterns some kind of writing?" Touko suddenly pointed to the decorations on the back and edges of the pendant. "Can you read them?"
Aoko thought for a moment and cast Comprehend Languages on herself, then stared at the patterns, trying to decipher their meaning.
"Outer… deity… shadow…" Aoko slowly pieced together the text. Unlike her previous experiences, this time the decoding was not smooth. Some of the characters seemed to be indecipherable patterns, likely immune to her spell, which left the overall meaning fragmented and strange.
"Hmm…" Aoko pondered and then said to Touko, "The gist seems to be that, after suffering some kind of hardship, certain people discovered information about an external deity from the shadows of their ancestors?"
"That vague?" Touko asked. "Who are these people? The Horned Ones?"
"Probably," Aoko replied. "But I can't say for sure. Some of these patterns are beyond my spell's ability to translate. We might need corroborating documents to fully understand them."
"This thing is also a special artifact," Aoko remarked, weighing the pendant in her hand. "Holding it seems to slightly enhance my 'intuition' or 'perception.'"
Taking the pendant from Aoko, Touko held it in her hand and felt that her awareness of the surrounding world did, indeed, become a bit sharper.
"Not bad," Touko nodded, returning the pendant to Aoko. "At least this trip wasn't for nothing. This world has some pretty good stuff after all."
Since there was nothing else in the town worth investigating, Aoko immediately directed the Wind Realm toward the church southeast of the town.
Like the previous town, this church was situated on a seaside cliff, where the crashing waves could be heard in the distance.
"I have to say, the creatures here are way too weird," Touko said, standing on a large rock near the cliff and looking toward the church. "That sheep was already large enough, but why was it sparking electricity all over?"
"And it was golden," Aoko added. "Before we leave this world, let's remember to catch a few smaller ones. Golden fleece is still quite valuable in the European magical community."
The two chatted and joked as they prepared to enter the church, which was overgrown with weeds and had long since lost its roof.
"There's a dead body here," Touko suddenly said. "Why did they die here?"
Aoko didn't answer immediately. Instead, she waved her hand and used magic to pull the unfortunate soul, who had died near the edge of a pit, toward her.
"Before death, he was a knight," Aoko said, crouching down to examine the body. "Hmm… looks pretty young."
"Hey, Aoko, look at this," Touko said after removing the knight's helmet. "This guy doesn't have horns."
"So, does that mean he belonged to a faction opposed to the Horned Ones?" Aoko asked. "Although the rules of this world are different, his body shows no signs of decay, and it's not dried out like those charred ones we saw earlier."
"Hard to say," Touko replied, examining the patterns on the helmet. "Do you remember the soldier we saw sitting by the roadside? This knight's emblem is different from his."
"Meaning this unlucky fellow belongs to a third faction?" Aoko speculated.
"Not necessarily," Touko thought for a moment. "In medieval Europe, it was common for kings or lords to have guest knights serving them. These knights might carry different emblems."
"Forget it, let's leave him for now and check out the church." With that, Aoko stood up and headed toward the church. Touko first put the helmet back on the corpse before following Aoko inside.
The church bore a striking resemblance to the Church of Marika in Aoko's memory of the Elder Ring. Though heavily damaged—its walls barely standing in places—the carvings on some of the remaining pillars confirmed it was the same type of structure.
At the far end of the church stood the most prominent feature: a statue of a goddess, tall and graceful, with her arms outstretched as if embracing all living beings. However, the statue's head was long gone. Even so, Aoko could still recognize it as Marika with absolute certainty.
At the base of the statue, a faint golden glow stood out against the dim sky above.
Aoko walked forward and picked up the glowing object, immediately recognizing its origins.
Golden in color, shaped like a droplet, its front depicted a great tree, beneath which were hands holding a golden chalice. Yet, instead of the golden dew she remembered, the chalice held a finely polished blue gem shaped like a droplet.
"A Blessed Dew Talisman," Aoko murmured. "Could that tree be the Erdtree?"