Chapter 57: Cultists of the Anomaly
...
"You mean that Anomaly came from within a fissure in the sky?" Kuina, who seemed to have understood everything until now, asked while widening her eyes in shock.
"Not only that... but considering the position of the stars in this painting... it happened right above this island"
And the date of when all of that happened... was three days before I was born...
Had the anomaly any relation with my birth? Or was I actually a plaything for that strange god that sent me here?
Although I called that being that I was ordered to kill an Anomaly because his existence was something that shouldn't happen in this world, in reality, I couldn't deny that I was also an anomaly, as well as my entire crew.
I'm not someone who should have been born in this world, and all of them were people that should have been dead by now. Yet, now they were completely alive and kicking. In a way, you could say that we were all an anomaly in this world.
Was I actually the Anomaly all this time? Am I just a clown for that strange god that sent me here? Was he laughing his ass off seeing the Anomaly actually looking for itself?
...
It didn't matter.
In exchange for becoming the Shadow eminence that I am today, I have the responsibility of making sure this world is not destroyed by that Anomaly. Whether it really exists or not, whether I am the anomaly or not... it doesn't concern me, I will continue looking for it, even if hundreds of years pass.
Though I doubt I will live that long...
My situation right now should be something like this...
If I don't find it, I die.
If I give up on finding it, I die.
If I find it, but fail to defeat it, I die.
It's as simple as that, my and this world's only option for survival... is to kill it.
Besides, even if that guy arrived three days before me, it doesn't necessarily mean that I'm the actual Anomaly. It might also mean that three days passed while that god noticed the anomaly and chose me to destroy it. Who knows...
"Boss, there are more paintings inside!" While I was lost on my thoughts while glancing at the painting in front of us, Yasu, who was really curious about all this matter, entered even further into the cave. And it wasn't long before he called out to us with an amazed tone in his voice.
Of course, I already knew about the other paintings inside, However, I wanted to analyze this one first. As it was the one that proved that something had actually happened 19 years ago...
"Let's go"
""Yes""
I and the others soon started venturing deeper into the cave. Many different paintings stood there as if telling a story. However, as if it was a horror one, the deeper the paintings were inside the cave, the more dark and macabre they could turn.
"This is... atrocious..." Kuina frowned deeply as she continued observing the paintings on the walls, the grip on her sword tightened up and she gritted her teeth in anger.
And she wasn't the only one angry while seeing these paintings. Yasu, Kayn, Kuent, Tom, and Hiriluk had similar reactions. Even though most of us weren't saints, the images on these paintings were really a bit too much.
The first image showed a crimson-colored meteor, or at least something similar to that. I guessed that it was the Anomaly after it came out from the fissure in the sky, but I wasn't completely sure either.
Then, as if the meteor blew up completely out of nowhere, the next painting showed the meteor shooting crimson rays in different directions, hitting many people on the process, and whom I was guessed to be the creator of this paintings possibly.
Then the paintings started turning crazier. This time it looked more like a religious painting than the previous ones, with a red figure standing on top, and shooting several crimson rays in different directions from its body. And hundreds of people receiving them with graze and smiles on their faces.
It was fine until then, just another religious group with extremist tendencies... But then the next painting came.
It was honestly a bit wrong to call it a painting. After all, even a fool could notice that the liquid used to create this wasn't exactly paint. And the images in front of us were pretty clear on what it really was...
Women and babies were being torn apart by the one who seemed to have created these paintings, dozens of heads were being severed, and the bodies were being dragged away and offered to whatever that red being was.
"Even if the one responsible for this is not our actual objective... whoever did this must die right now...!" Yasu gritted his teeth and struck the painting with rage using the spear on his back.
The painting crumbled apart and the horrible scene in front of us also disappeared along with it.
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"What other horrible things could that bastard have done..?" Kuina tried walking deeper into it. However, I stopped her with my arm and shook my head lightly.
"It's better if you don't go further... Any of you. I'll go alone"
Everyone flinched when they heard my voice, but nodded with grim expressions.
*Tap*
*Tap*
*Tap*
I walked into the last parts of the cave and stopped in my tracks in order to analyze my surroundings. I was currently inside of what seemed to be a small room within the walls of this long cave. Dozens of skeletons of different sizes adorned the walls of the room, be it from children, adults, old people, or gyojin, and several skulls could be seen hanging from the ceiling. It looked exactly as if it had been taken straight from a horror movie, and a very good one at that.
At the end of the room, a throne sculpted from rocks and covered completely in blood, and the cervical spine of what I could identify to be a gyojin, stood at the center of the throne as if decorating it.
Unfortunately, there wasn't any devil fruit of blood or something like that on the throne, it was actually empty. And although I could have left the cave right away after that, there was another thing that picked my interest at the last moment.
I moved towards the dozens of skeletons hanging at the walls of the room and started examining closely what I believed could be crucial to find who, or where the guy who made this was.
The chains that bounded these corpses to the wall, although something that could pass unnoticed at first glance by an amateur, in my hands was a vast source of information that could reveal even the most incredible details...
*Cling cling*
"Interesting..."
Due to the amount of oxide accumulated on the chains, even though there are no sources of water nearby, it must mean that it had oxidated due to the humidity of the air inside this cave, which takes around 14-16 years if nothing intervenes mid-way. Not only that, but seeing the model of these chains, and the manufacturing method used while creating them, I could say that I knew somewhat where did they come from...
This method for creating chains was used by the marines to stop the onslaught of pirates that was unleashed by Roger a few seconds before dying, As they were in a need of capturing the pirates and imprisoning them, the black-smiths of the marine created this method of manufacturing chains. However, years later another type of method was created and replaced the old one, as it made the chains a lot more resistant, and less expensive to produce.
Thus the method used for creating these chains was used very commonly by the marines around 21-10 years ago... Which should mean that whoever did this... was a marine, or had deep connections with blacksmiths from those years...
The actual problem is... no blacksmith has retired during these 22 years since Roger died... This should mean, that either the man who made these chains is still there... or an actual cultist is infiltrating within the ranks of the marines.
IF there's only one cultist that is... who knows how many cultists may have already infiltrated within the marine...
*Sigh...*
"Poor guys, they have actually more problems than just their higher-ups being corrupt, huh? Who could have thought that they could also have an evil religion probably brewing within its ranks without them even noticing... It's like they are asking me to take over the whole organization and set things in order once and for all..."
After examining the whole place once again just in case there was anything I may have overlooked, I went back and reunited with the crew.
"How did it go? Did you find something?" Kayn, who until now seemed to be a bit bored, asked out of curiosity when he saw me finally arrive.
"I managed to find some clues about where our next destination should be. Unfortunately, the exploration of the last two islands that we have yet to check must be left for another time. Right now we must move to another place..."
Kuina looked at me with seriousness after she probably realized that something bad was going on, and asked out to me with a raised eyebrow.
"Where exactly? It is not like you to postpone visiting new islands..."
...Well, this looks like I'm bullying the Marine on purpose...
"We are visiting MarineFord..."
"..."
"..."
Kuina looked at me with a dumbfounded expression, as she sweatdropped a bit after hearing my answer.
"Again?"
...