Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 2042: Shireen’s Journal

The two headed deeper into the staircase.

Luca remained cautious, his eyes constantly scanning the darkness ahead. Michael, on the other hand, stayed close behind him, his body tense as he nervously glanced into the darkness.

”Are you sure we should be heading deeper?” he couldn’t help but ask.

Luca scoffed. ”Quiet.”

This crazy bastard! Michael could only curse in his heart and reluctantly follow.

The deeper they went, the colder the air became. The cold felt unnatural.

Luca stopped several times along the way. Each time, he carefully examined the stairs before discovering another hidden trap. Some were concealed beneath the stone steps, while others were triggered by pressure plates or hidden mechanisms in the walls.

Fortunately, Luca noticed them before they could be activated. He carefully disabled each trap before continuing. After what felt like a long descent, the staircase finally came to an end.

The two stepped into a small empty chamber.

Luca immediately became cautious again. There was a strange barrier covering the entrance to the chamber. It was faint and almost invisible, but he could still sense the remnants of its power.

He carefully studied it before beginning to dismantle it. To his surprise, the barrier was still functioning despite the countless years that had passed.

After several minutes of careful work, Luca finally managed to deactivate it. The barrier vanished, and the chamber beyond no longer appeared empty.

”Whoa!” Michael’s eyes widened. ”It was an illusion!”

Inside the chamber, several chests were arranged along the walls.

Luca approached the nearest one and opened it. Inside were piles of coins. Gold and silver filled the chest, their surfaces tarnished by the passage of time.

”There are quite a lot of them!” Michael muttered.

Luca replied, ”These were likely donations made to the temple.”

He opened another chest. This one, too, was filled with more coins.

However, the coins were not the only thing they found. Several shelves lined the walls, containing old records, ledgers, and various documents.

Michael rubbed his arms, shuddering involuntarily. ”Why the hell is it so cold down here?”

He picked up one of the records and began reading through it. It appeared to contain details about the temple’s day-to-day activities. There were records of offerings, donations, ceremonies, repairs, and other mundane matters concerning the temple.

However, much of the writing had already faded. The ink had disappeared from the pages in several places, making entire sections impossible to read.

Michael frowned and picked up another document, but the result was much the same. Most of the writing had faded away with time.

Meanwhile, Luca glanced around the chamber. Although there were a couple of chests filled with coins, he couldn’t help but frown.

Something felt wrong.

Shouldn’t this place contain something similar to Adam’s Morning Star?

The thought barely crossed his mind when Michael suddenly called out. ”Luca!”

Luca turned toward him. Michael was holding an old leather-bound book in his hands. ”Look! I found this!”

”What is it?” Luca’s eyes narrowed as he approached him.

Michael carefully opened the book. ”I think... this is a private journal.”

Luca had a strange look on his face as he couldn’t help but wonder:

Do these monsters just happen to have a private journal stashed away so we can read them and learn the history of this land?

So convenient!

He shook his head and pushed such silly thoughts to the back of his mind. He took the journal from Michael, placed it on the table, and began seriously reading it.

”Louis has sent his army into our lands.”

”They say Jacob is leading it.”

”The great warrior, Jacob de Vile!”

”Why does he keep attacking our lands? What does he want from us? How many more villages must burn before the war ends?”

”Today, we traveled to another village. The people there had already been attacked. Houses were burning, and the roads were covered in blood.”

”My priests and I did what we could. We treated the wounded, healed burns, stopped bleeding, and tended to those who lost their homes.”

”There were too many. Far too many...”

”Everywhere we go, we find more wounded.”

A few pages were missing. And the following journal entries were recorded several weeks after the last entry.

”I heard that Jacob was trapped by our armies.”

”They say there is no way for him to escape this time. They say he will die!”

”Perhaps this war will finally end.”

”I prayed for it!”

More pages were missing. Some were torn, while others had faded ink.

”Jacob is alive!”

”No. That is not possible!”

”I was certain that there was no way out for him. So how?”

”There are strange people following him now. I have seen them from a distance. I do not recognize their clothes or the symbols they carry.”

”Something has changed. Jacob has changed.”

”He has begun conquering our lands. He is no longer simply attacking us. He is taking our villages! Our cities! Our people!”

”Everywhere we go, there are refugees fleeing from his army.”

”Children cry when they hear his name.”

”People hide when his soldiers approach.”

”I have never seen such terror.”

”Jacob now fights with such ruthlessness. Such anger. Such hatred. Such... pain.”

”And I do not understand.”

”Why?”

”Why would Jacob do this?”

The more Michael read the journal entries, the more his eyes widened in disbelief.

”What the hell?” He couldn’t help but blurt out.

He turned to Luca and said with a stunned look on his face, ”Are you reading—”

Michael suddenly paused. Luca appeared far more composed than him. He couldn’t help but frown and ask in a suspicious tone, ”Why does it feel like you already know about all of this?”

Luca replied with a straight face, ”Because I do.”

”Huh?” Michael was dumbfounded. ”Wha—”

Luca interrupted him. ”Keep reading.”

Of course, the reason he knew about it was that he had read the Antlered High Priest’s journal that Adam had acquired. The entries in both these journals were the same, with Shireen’s journal corroborating the High Priest’s words.

Michael squinted his eyes. But Luca glared at him. ”Go on. Read.”

”Fine.” Michael could only helplessly sigh, seeing Luca had no intention of explaining himself.

He turned his attention back to the journal.

The following journal entries made his eyes widen even further.

”The Edavane King is dead.”

”Jacob killed him.”