Chapter 172: First clue

"What now?" To say that the prince was surprised by my question would not give justice to the weird face he made while hearing what I asked about. "Don't tell me…" Casting a quick glance at me, his face tensed up.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I need to know. But just for you to know, while I'm not sure about the place myself, I will know once I reach it whether you guided me properly." Given that I showed a huge chunk of my abilities to the man, there was a chance he would send me off to the literal end of the world, just so that I wouldn't be there as a danger to him or his colleagues. 

That's why I was sure to emphasise the fact that I would know if the place he would potentially point me at would be right or not. The fact that this knowledge would come from the system was my sweet little secret. 

"Well, for me, the sacred core belongs to the papal crown. But with the fall of the northern church, I heard that said crown was found out and melted for coins by the new government who took over the holy land." As he said those words, the prince's face darkened a bit. His fists slightly tightened as his glare turned colder.

"And if not the crown, what would be your other guess?" Hearing how the second item I was likely to need was most likely gone from the world, I couldn't help but get restless.

Because the system couldn't just force me to craft an exact replica of that crown, couldn't it?

"The history of the sacred core is actually quite complicated." Noticing the distraught in my eyes, the prince's voice softened a bit. It appeared as if he finally understood that I was just as ignorant about the reason behind my quest as he was when he first heard about it. And that alone proved that I wasn't here to wreak havoc but to accomplish something tangible.

"But still, before it was used as the crowning jewel of the northern church, it was located at the main altar of their main church. But given how it's right in the capital of the new, revolutionary state…" Looking to the side, the prince actually gave me an answer. 

If the revolution in this world looked anywhere similar to what happened on earth, then there was a chance the church building the prince spoke off was already either gone, remodelled to be a government building, or would turn from a place of worship to a place of torture of those who still dared to worship even after the revolution. 

"I understand. On that note, though, do you think there will be any further clues if I reach that church?" Even though I was speaking to a prince, I couldn't be bothered to use proper honorifics. Rather than calling him a majesty or a prince directly, and indirectly acknowledging his authority over the humans in the area, I simply treated him as someone worthy of respect but not loyalty. 

After all, the only thing that connected the two of us, was a deal that already reached its conclusion. 

"I will surely pray for that to happen." Nodding his head in a mute acknowledgement of how little he managed to help, the prince then started to move away, clearly giving the hint that the discussion was now over.

Thinking about this, the fact that he spared me so much time already was quite strange, given how he was still in the middle of the battle. Most likely, the showcase of my power was the only reason behind this man's polite attitude. 

"Sure, before I go, just one last question." Speaking up before the prince could turn completely around, I could see how his jaws clenched. But once the man once again looked at me properly, there was no hints of anger or annoyance on his face anymore.

"That winged female from before. Why did she get so excited when I showed her that core?" That was the last thing puzzling me about the current situation. From how desperate she turned the moment I flashed the item in her eyes, it was clear that for some reason, she was pretty desperate to get her hands on it. Heck, she even exclaimed it herself a few times just a few moments ago!

"I have no clue. I stopped trying to uncover what is going on through those heretic's heads long ago." Shaking his shoulders, the prince looked at the other side of the battlefield with clear hate written all over his face. "Maybe it was shiny and she wanted to make it into a necklace? No clue." Shaking his head, the prince looked at me with the hints of annoyance finally appearing on his face.

"I do not wish to disrespect you, but I have the battle to take care of…" Before the prince could even finish, I nodded my head with respect before butting in. "I understand. Thanks for all the information and time you gave me. Good luck with the battle!"

With those words parting ways from my lips, I didn't bother waiting any longer. Daring not to take to the skies, I simply walked away from the place. Or rather, I wanted to just simply walk away, before the damned reality dawned upon me. 

While I was quite far away from the heat of the ongoing battle, it by no means I was already on the back row of the human forces. Recalling what I saw back in the air, rather than leisurely walking away, I would have to somehow make my way through countless rows of soldiers. And given their tight formation, it could actually prove to be even more dangerous than actually flying up.

After all, the barrier didn't differentiate an accidental rub of the side of the spear from an attack executed by it. For a barrier, anything that would press on it would slowly sap its energy. And just by climbing one of the hills between the long stretches of the human units, I could tell that by the time I would finally reach the outskirts of the human formations, I would be akin to a hedgehog, with sharp pieces protruding from all parts of my body!

"I guess I don't really have a choice, huh…" Staring at the endless stretches of the soldiers marching towards their demise, I swallowed a gulp of my saliva before looking towards the skies. 

And sure enough, I could make out a shadow of several silhouettes cast down on a nearby cloud!

"I guess I will need to risk it a bit." Shaking my head in annoyance, I counted all the stones still in my possession. After the scuffles on the frontlines, nearly half of my tools was exhausted, turned into a pile of useless dust. Given how varies the stones in my possession were, it means that outside of the three barriers around me, I only could erect two or three more!

Making the flight even riskier than I already expected it to be!

Faced with the choice of letting the random pushing and shoving get rid of all my currently erected barriers and betting on them in an attempt to dash away from the battle through the air, the choice was rather obvious.

Clutching the recurring barrier stone in my hand, I dug my heels into the soft ground of the hill I was at. But rather than easily taking to the skies, I invoked both the repulsion by imagining that hideous bug from before crawling atop my skin and the attraction by forcing my eyes to see a silhouette of a naked female right below my feet. 

For a moment, I allowed those two forces to counter each other, right as they continued to grow in strength. With this process ongoing, I took yet another look towards the other side of the battlefield. 

From how desperate that girl was to obtain the stone, I had some doubts whether she wouldn't be the one who would really know where said stone belonged to. But after her actions from before, I could already be sure they wouldn't let me leave with the core after reaching the place they themselves wanted to bring it to.

"No matter who is right, given how I can still turn back from the suggestions of this prince…" Taking a quick look at the man who already fully committed his focus to command his troops, I spat out on the ground. "I guess there is no need to think about it too much. Ultimately, they will lose this battle, so I should be able to ask those winged people about their own suggestions later on." 

With my resolve now filling my body, I rapidly broke my immersion in the picture below my feet, stopping the witchcraft of attraction. With the balance of forces now broken, my body shot forward under the immense power of all the repulsion that accumulated. 

And for a moment, I could believe that this small trick of mine would allow me to avoid the chase of those winged people. For a moment, I thought that this quest of mine wouldn't be as hard as I was initially worried it would be. 

Then, without even a single sound to warn me about it, the silhouettes I observed before disappeared, only to appear in their full glory right beside me!

"That's…" Clenching my teeth, I braced myself for what was about to come. Ejecting myself from the ground like that allowed me to instantly gain a breakneck speed, but also lifted me a bit too high into the air, making it impossible for me to control the position or momentum of my body with repulsion anymore, given how any target of it was simply out of my witchcraft's reach!

"DIE!" With a powerful shout, a bastard sword wielded by a man with grey wings broke through the first and second barrier of mine at once, sending me flying towards the ground.