Chương 543: 957
The next day.
After breakfast, Eun-ha's group headed to the Pantheon to receive the promised treasure.
Located in the center of Rome, the Pantheon was a dome-shaped stone building boasting a massive size and majestic atmosphere.
'Is this where they keep the treasures? Like Korea's National Museum?'
Perhaps the aura of the treasures stored inside was seeping out.
Looking up at the Pantheon, one's heart becomes solemn.
Eun-ha's group was overwhelmed by the grandeur of the Pantheon for a while.
Meanwhile, Pricis Memory was lost in appreciation for a different reason.
"It's been a really long time since I've been here. For a building with such a long history, it was well-preserved, and there's almost no change in the exterior. Just the exterior, that is. If you look closely, there are layers of magic around the building. Alarm magic, security magic, protection magic, interception magic, reflection magic, and so on... It's quite diverse. It seems to be a precaution to protect the treasures inside. There are also traces of modern technology here and there. Probably reinforced after the <End of Century Destruction> when they decided to use it as a vault?"
"..."
Pricis Memory, who had almost transformed into a tour guide since coming to Italy, explains.
Eun-ha's group half-listened as they moved into the Pantheon.
A high ceiling and vast space greeted Eun-ha's group.
Light seeping in from the hole in the ceiling brightly illuminated the surroundings.
"Hmm... The interior has changed a lot. Modernized and refined... You can feel the passage of time. Ah, but the hole in the ceiling is still there. Can you see it? That's called the Oculus. Oculus means eye in Latin..."
"..."
Pricis Memory is talkative.
She had become somewhat senile since shaking off her distant past.
Eun-ha's group vaguely went along with her while looking around the interior of the Pantheon.
The murals and exhibits imbued with Italian sensibility were impressive.
Not long after.
"Hello, I'm Giovanni Boccetti, the chief administrator of the Pantheon. I've heard from Big Mama. Welcome to our Korean visitors."
An old man approached Eun-ha's group, leaning on a cane.
He introduced himself in Korean.
'Everyone we meet speaks Korean well... Did we bring <Time Witch> as an interpreter for nothing?'
Eun-ha glanced at Pricis Memory.
He suddenly wondered how she would react if she knew his thoughts.
'She'd probably get upset?'
"Pandora Clan Lord? Why are you suddenly smiling at me? Is there something on my face..."
"No, it's nothing."
"Huh? It doesn't seem like nothing..."
As Pricis Memory tilted her head in puzzlement, Eun-ha chuckled softly.
At that moment, the chief administrator spoke.
"This way, please."
The Pantheon had 8 niches carved into the walls to display statues.
The place the chief administrator guided them to was a niche displaying a statue of a woman holding a spear and shield.
When he placed his hand on the statue and removed it, the statue descended with the floor.
Rumble...
"..."
The sunken floor is filled anew.
The chief administrator, who walked across it, reached into the niche hidden behind the statue.
Then the empty space began to shimmer like a mirage, and an elevator revealed its existence.
'Of course, they wouldn't carelessly place a vault where everyone comes and goes. They've taken measures so that the vault can't be accessed without following proper procedures.'
The statue that disappeared earlier was probably a sentinel guarding the elevator from unauthorized persons.
Eun-ha guessed so.
Meanwhile, the chief administrator stopped Eun-ha's companions who tried to enter the niche with him.
"I'm sorry, but from here on, only those with permission can enter. Please, only Player Noh Eun-ha may enter."
"That's how it is. You all wait here. I'll be back."
It can't be helped since it's for security.
Eun-ha asked for his companions' understanding and got on the elevator.
Eventually, through the closing doors.
"Have a good trip."
"Eun-ha! We're expecting you!?"
"Take your time choosing! Ah, but don't be too late either!"
"We'll be waiting."
Pricis Memory, Byeok Hae-su, Jo A-ra, Jin Seo-na, and others saw Eun-ha off with smiling faces.
Future Yu-seong was there too.
"Father, you know, right?"
Future Yu-seong waving his hand lightly.
Eun-ha nodded and answered with his next words.
"Yeah, I'll be back."
Soon after, the doors closed.
The elevator carrying Eun-ha descends deep underground.
* * *
'How deep is it...'
After getting off the elevator, a spiral staircase was waiting.
Eun-ha had to follow the chief administrator down those stairs.
Meanwhile, the chief administrator continued the conversation sociably.
"People contain mana, and the mana they unconsciously emit is imbued with their memories, emotions, and thoughts. The stronger and more numerous these mental images are, they inevitably affect the world in some way."
"That's how monsters are created, right? Mana gathers to form ubiquities, and when the collective mental images within them are realized in the world..."
"Yes, that's right. You know well."
"Any player would know."
"But sometimes these collective mental images and ubiquities bring forth things other than monsters."
"...What are they?"
"Mysteries that have been lost in the flow of history, or..."
Myths, legends, oral fairy tales, folk tales that exist only in people's imaginations.
By the time those words continued, the stairs were coming to an end.
Eun-ha spotted a massive iron door visible below.
"The highest-grade vault of the Pantheon contains treasures of historical value that have continued from ancient times, before the Roman Empire. And the mental images of not only Italians but also people from surrounding countries including Greece, Sweden, Austria, and others that have been realized..."
"You mean there are mysteries too."
"Yes, that's right."
The chief administrator affirmed.
Having descended the spiral staircase, he stood with his back to the iron door.
"May I offer some advice?"
"Yes, please do."
"Alright... When you enter the vault, you'll walk through illusions created by the aura of the treasures. So don't be flustered and move forward. As you advance, a treasure drawn to Player Noh Eun-ha will appear at some point. My advice is to choose that treasure. There won't be a treasure that suits Player Noh Eun-ha better than that one."
"...Yes, thank you for the advice."
Eventually, the massive iron door opens.
Brilliant lights poured out from inside.
Eun-ha, leaving the chief administrator behind, stepped into that place.
Light enveloped him.
* * *
"..."
A thick fog surrounds the area, making it impossible to see beyond.
Awareness of where he is now and why he's here becomes hazy.
But his mind was calm.
'It's the same phenomenon as when I entered the Taeguk grade vault before.'
He calmly advances through the fog.
He doesn't worry about where he's going or if there are obstacles in his path.
Eun-ha walked through the fog without hesitation.
It was then that he suddenly heard the sound of a violin.
'This is...'
It's a piece he's heard before.
Eun-ha, who often listened to classical music with Han Seo-hyeon who enjoyed it, knew the name of the piece.
It was Spring, one of Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons violin concertos.
When that thought crossed his mind.
Whoosh!
As the violin sound grew louder, a golden light descended before his eyes.
Within it, a violin was playing a piece by itself.
'The chief administrator said earlier. The first treasure to appear is the one that suits me best. So choose it.'
Certainly, Eun-ha felt drawn to it.
He had a vague intuition that he would have good compatibility with the violin in front of him.
But.
'Yu-seong said. Don't be captivated by the aura of the treasures. One treasure doesn't represent all my potential, so I should choose the treasure myself. Not let the treasure choose me... He's right.'
Because he remembered future Yu-seong's advice.
Eun-ha just looked at it quietly, not reaching out for the violin.
Then the violin changed its tune.
"..."
A melody that announces the start of a harsh winter and makes one feel a sense of crisis.
It was Winter from Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons violin concerto.
The violin was conveying to Eun-ha through that piece.
If he doesn't choose it.
'Are you saying I'll regret it?'
For a treasure to try to choose him, how petty.
He should be the one to choose.
Eun-ha snorted.
────!!!
It was then that he heard another music sound.
An orchestral performance consisting of drums, violins, trumpets, and more.
Along with a splendid style reminiscent of opera and rich singing.
'This time it's Verdi's Requiem?'
It's Dies Irae from Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem.
Eun-ha took in the baton descending with a light no less brilliant than the violin's.
The singing was coming from the baton.
From that point on.
'These things are fighting.'
The violin and baton, as if competing, gradually increased their music volume and circled around Eun-ha as if asking to be chosen.
Eun-ha, who had shown interest for a moment, soon frowned.
'It's noisy.'
No matter how good the music, listening to them simultaneously was no different from noise.
Eun-ha waved his hands to chase away the two treasures and moved forward.
Just then.
"..."
A sound he had never heard before, one that naturally stirred his heartstrings, came to his ears.
Eun-ha, who stopped for the first time since entering the fog, looked up at the sky.
A golden harp emitting beautiful light was descending from there.
'This one is making up for the mood ruined by those things. It sounds good.'
It's a good song that heals the heart.
Eun-ha closed his eyes and appreciated the harp sound as it was.
Then he took a step.
"Thanks, I enjoyed listening."
───!!
As if it hadn't expected Eun-ha to just listen to the music and pass by, the golden harp was flustered.
The harp, having lost all the dignity it showed when it first appeared, followed Eun-ha like the violin and baton.
'Now that I look at it, this one is clingy too.'
"Find someone better than me."
Eun-ha shook it off as if annoyed.
He continues to advance through the fog.
Whoosh! Neigh!
The next treasure to appear was a chariot.
The chariot was pulling a fireball reminiscent of the sun.
Feeling the aura of the treasure, Eun-ha let out an exclamation.
'I know this. Apollo's... Do they call him Apollo here? Anyway, it's that god's sun chariot.'
I want it, it's tempting.
But Eun-ha suppressed his desire and passed by the sun chariot.
Neigh...
'Don't follow me. Don't whinny sadly either.'
Lest his heart might turn.
Eun-ha didn't give a glance to the sun chariot matching his steps beside him.
Then, as if mocking the sun chariot, a chariot pulling the moon appeared, making loud hoof sounds.
Clop, clop, clop! Neigh! Clop, clop...
'This time it's Artemis... They called her Diana here, right, probably? That goddess's moon chariot?'
He was just as tempted as when he saw the sun chariot.
But Eun-ha exercised patience and passed by the moon chariot, pretending not to see it.
Neigh...
'You don't follow me either...'
The sun chariot and moon chariot follow on both sides.
Eun-ha desperately ignored them.
The flag of revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, the wine of chief god Dionysus, Julius Caesar's helmet, Nero's imperial crown, Alexander II's warhorse, the sword of war god Ares, the seed of Persephone queen of the underworld, the arrow of love god Eros, Hermes' winged sandals, and so on.
He didn't give any chance to the treasures that appeared afterwards either...
'I want them so badly.'
Eun-ha tried hard to resist his greed.
He continues to advance through the fog.
Then he stopped at the appearance of the next treasure.
He had to stop.
Because he felt such a strong attraction.
Whoosh!
"..."
The treasure that appeared in a brilliantly colorful light was a round shield.
In the center was engraved an emblem modeled after a woman's face.
'This is...'
It's the shield that the statue in front of the niche was holding earlier.
However, the shield before his eyes was emitting a mysterious aura incomparable to that one.
Eun-ha, unknowingly captivated by that aura, spoke the name of the shield.
"Aegis."
The shield of the goddess who presides over numerous domains including justice, wisdom, war, peace, civilization, intellect, reason, learning, law, tactics, and more.
Known as Athena in Greek mythology and Minerva in Roman mythology.
"So this is what I chose..."
Eun-ha muttered blankly.
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