---

...

...

...

*beeeeeeeeep*

"Recording log..."

"Week 2"
"Friday"
"1324 hrs."
"Site CATHY [ Cathedral ]"
"H.Q."
"Gargan Forest"

...

...

...

Following the arrival of King Galian along with his group of Followers with the Eclipse Knight and Key Caster, they follow Harvey and Fruchiel into a room nearby the main hall. As they make their way, the king can't help but shed some tears as he reminiscences his past memories and nostalgia for this area. For once a naive and brave apprentice back then who witnessed and survived the fall of the Cathedral many years ago is now a powerful king that continues to oppose and fight the same evil that caused the fall. This sense of growing and becoming powerful made the king strengthen his commitment even further as he traverses across the interior of the Cathedral.

"Here we are, your majesty." Harvey stopped in front of double doors. He opens it up and they are greeted by a handful of female maids of various races that were dressed up as your typical medieval-type era maid of browns and whites. The maids bow at them as the king and his group enter.

"Welcome, King Galian..."

"T-Thank you." replied the king.

"Psst. They are already types of races working around here!" whispered Wilma to Troy.

"Yeah. I wonder where did they come from?" pondered and whispered Troy.

As the king and his group sit at a large round table, Harvey and the angel sit by the opposite side of the king's seat. With all of them now seated, this cues for the other maids to go and bring the delicate dishes that were prepared earlier prior to the king's arrival. The dishes that were brought to the tables are different types of meat stews, roasts, barbeques, and some vegetable salads. With wines and drinks that are made by the peasants from various fruits located in the forest.

"W-Woah! These looked delicious!" gasped Eclipse Knight Medara.

"I-Is this a dish made from a Luscus Lupus? I can't believe how beautifully presented this is!" also gasped Key Caster Jode.

"Before we conduct the meeting, we are humbly inviting you to have some of our finest dishes for today." Harvey invited them. Then so, the king leads a short prayer, grabbing a glass of wine and toasting it towards Fruchiel along the way as a sign of gratitude as well. The angel smiled, pleased with the king's humility towards her.

Finished with the short prayer, all of them now take their dishes and eat. Thanks to the additional and modern culinary knowledge that Harvey also brought to this world, they can now also use it for their new types of dishes of this world. New things like making marinades, baking cakes, and making ice creams. The look on their faces, as they take their bite, is enough to tell you that they are shocked and surprised by the new dishes they are eating.

"OOOH! THIS IS DELICIOUS!" gasped Troy.

"Sir Harvey, is this meat from a Quattuor Apros? I've never eaten such a delicious dish before!" also gasped Wilma to Harvey.

"Oh. Do you mean those "four-horned boars"? Yes. Our hunting party does a tremendous job getting our meat supply in good stock." Harvey smiled.

"R-Really? I've heard those boars are really dangerous. They can also spit poisonous acid that can melt your armor if you aren't careful." pondered the Key Caster.

"Indeed. But don't worry. We can handle it. In fact, yesterday, one of our hunting groups killed a giant violet crab that is crawling along the river near here." Harvey continued.

"Giant violet crab? Wait. Isn't that the Cancrorum Hyacinthine? Those creatures are vicious when it comes to territory. They are also hard to kill because of their hard and thick armor shells!" the Key Caster followed.

"Oh. Is that so? I've never heard the exact details of our hunting group. It just said that they killed a giant crab and that's it. I'm amazed at how big it was when they brought it up here though." Harvey continued.

"W-Wow. To easily eliminate these creatures straightforwardly." Wilma was in awe.

"Hahaha! Now now. Settle all of the matters, for now, people. Let's indulge in this feast Harvey and our holiness prepared." King Galian laughed.

"Yes, your majesty!" his group obliged and continued eating along with Harvey and Fruchiel. 

...

...

...

Now finished eating and taking desserts, all of them take a short break exchanging compliments and questions on how they make the dishes.

"- and that's how we are able to at least make the same taste and texture of a bee-honey to apply it to the well-made boar meat." finished Harvey.

"Ohhhh!" the king and his group were impressed.

"Hahaha. Even I am impressed! I can't believe that he manages to acquire some good cooking knowledge from his world." the angel followed.

"Oh? So you're an Alter Mundus?" asked the king.

"Hm? Alter Mundus?" Harvey asked.

"It means "A person from another world"." replied the king. Troy, Wilma, and the others look at Harvey with curiosity, with a hint of shock as well.

"Y-Yes. You're right. I will now tell my past and the world where I came from. Bear with me, alright? Haha..."

Thus, Harvey once again retells his past and his original world. It's history, technologies, modern industries, etc.

...

"- and that brings me here. Pretty weird, am I right?" Harvey concluded his story. All of them are fascinated for a while by his story as he tells it. But then, silence. The king is thinking of something while his Followers whisper at each other.

"S-Say, Sir Harvey. Did you also see a giant angel in golden robes with a staff?" asked Key Caster Jode.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Harvey replied.

"And this is where your Greater Key comes in. Is that right?" followed by Eclipse Knight Medara.

"Yes." Harvey again replied.

The Eclipse Knight and the Key Caster look at each other with smiles of relief, followed by Troy's gasps.

"T-That description! Does it ring any bells for you, Wilma?" asked Troy.

"I-Indeed! It perfectly matches the description!" Wilma looked towards the king which is a thinking stance with his chin resting on his hand.

"I see..." the king sighed.

"There's no doubt that you've already met with your holiness Archangel Celaphiel - the Invocation Angel. "

All are now on eyes at Harvey with great intrigue. 

"T-That..thing? Really?..." Harvey with a low tone asked himself.

All of a sudden the king quickly stands up and approaches Harvey with a stoic face, only immediately kneeling in front of him. 

"Y-YOUR MAJESTY!" the followers gasped. Following their king kneeling on the floor in front of Harvey, they also kneel behind the king.

"W-What's with the sudden kneel, your majesty?" Harvey asked the king.

"Not only that you've managed to rescue our holiness despite my deepest efforts to do the same, is that you've also met with the invocation angel. Please. Don't hesitate to ask us anything." the king solemnly said to Harvey.

Harvey and Fruchiel look at each other, with Harvey making an awkward smile.

"Yeah. You take this instead. I'm not great at this." he whispered to her.

Fruchiel smiles and stands up to pat the king.

"O' Great King of the Almeda Kingdom - or instead, Bishop Gallian of the Cleric Academics."

Surprised, the king makes a gasped expression and gently smiles with a sigh.

"Heh. As expected of our holiness. Even with the collapse of the Cathedral many years ago, you still remember your children that served you."

"Well, I thought at first that you've also fallen into the wickedness of the devil based on the false rumors about you. But, seeing your eyes, I can also see your uncorrupted soul."

The king looks at the angel and stands up, followed by his followers behind.

"Be fret not, Gallian. This man will is forever on our side!" the angel smugged.

The king chuckles and Harvey approaches him for a handshake.

"Although my forces are still small, I hope we can be a great help to you as well, King Gallian."

"Likewise, Sir Harvey."

The two shook hands and the rest clap for a small celebration at the new coalition between the two.

...

"By the way, earlier, you said that there is something you need to discuss with me?" asked Harvey to the king.

The face of the king changes into seriousness as he invites Harvey back to the table along with his followers.

"Yes. Caster Jode, bring it in." the king ordered the Key Caster behind him. 

The Key Caster approaches to the middle of the table to reveal an ominous book covered in an anti-curse barrier.

"Is that.." Harvey stared at the book in curiosity. But before he is finished assessing the book, a notification pops up in his mind.

 

*beeeeeeep!*

"Analyzing subject......"

*beeeeeeep!*

"Analyze complete!"

"SUBJECT: Lessey Key of Hollom"

 

Upon learning about this new discovery, Harvey lets out a small sigh and a silent chuckle.

"Ah, I see. So that's how it is." 

He then looks at Fruchiel who is still trying to figure out what the book is.

"So strange. The book's interior is also developed in some strange aura."

"Your holiness. Sir Harvey - " the king joined.

" - this is the Lesser Cache of Hollom."

"THE LESSER CACHE OF HOLLOM?! YOU MEAN BY IN THOSE LEGENDS?!" the angel screamed in shock.

"Yes, your holiness. We also can't believe it at first when we discovered it hidden inside the basement belonging to a treacherous count." said the king.

"The legends? What do you mean?" Harvey asked Fruchiel.

"You see, as the legend goes: There was this demon who is on the verge of death. When one day in the woods, the demon is now on his last breath when suddenly, a local woman found him. The woman was at first scared at the sight of the demon. But her freight fades away as she too also sees the sight of the demon's poor state. In deep pity, she then takes care of the demon back into her house by a rural side. Days gone by and the demon finally recovers. He then eventually fell in love with the woman. But by the time the demon was going to propose her love to the woman, the village found out that the woman was taking care of a demon and had her killed by fire, acknowledging her to be a witch. The demon then runs away filled with sorrow and hatred to the people that killed his loved one. Then one day inside a cave by a mountain ridge, he successfully creates a magic book, but with no pages. The idea is that the magic book is a soul-capturing book, adding a page inside the book each time the book captures a soul. Believing that the soul of his loved one is still here, he intends to use it to find her soul. He can see what soul is added to the book by a new page presenting the look and name of that person or creature."

"W-Woah. That is some deep fantasy shit right there. What happens next?" asked Harvey.

"Unfortunately for him, the body of a demon can't handle the emotions of a human. He can only able to handle it one at a time. So you've probably guessed what happened to him."

"I see. So he died while feeling the extreme emotions of love and hatred. Correct?"

"Indeed. And that emotions are the auras you can see within the book right now." 

All of them look at the cursed book. Inside the yellowish orb of anti-curse, the book has black and violet cursed aura strings encircling the book. Hatred and Love.

"Hm. I see. "

Harvey approaches the book in order to get a better sight. But then, a sudden crack appears on the anti-curse barrier.

"What?!" Key Caster Jode gasped.

Immediately, all of the king's followers go in front of the king in order to shield him from the book, just in time for the anti-curse barrier shatters and the cursed auras to flow into Harvey once again just like in the previous lesser book.

"HARVEY!" the angel shouted.

 As the cursed aura begins to envelop and circle Harvey, he can hear the cries of hatred and shouts of broken hearts of the souls trapped in the book.

"...that bastard! I swear I will kill him for what he did to my Claren!"

"....NOOO! WHY THIS MUST HAPPEN TO MY BARBARA?!"

"....not anymore, not anymore, not anymore!"

When suddenly, all of the aurae rush into Harvey at the same time.

"AAAARRGH!" shouted Harvey.

...

Shielding his face, Harvey surprisingly feels nothing. He carefully senses for something, and still nothing. He opens his eyes and is stunned by the sight of a huge-sized gray-haired male angel with four huge wings glowing in stardusts. The male angel, however, was not looking at him and instead facing his back at Harvey. He is looking at the souls flying away in the distance going up to the clouds covered in the sun's rays. With a hand on his hip, the angel lets out a celebratory chuckle.

"I DID NOT THINK THAT I WOULD ALSO TAKE PART IN THIS. NONE OF IT CONCERNS ME, FOR AS I DELIVER, I ALSO SERVE."

"Wh-Who are you?" Harvey asked dumbfounded.

This time, the huge angel glances his head to the left acknowledging the presence of Harvey while still hiding his face. He smiles at Harvey while stardusts are beginning to envelop Harvey once again.

"MITTE FELICITATEM, HARVEY."

The stardusts encircle Harvey and after a couple more seconds, he hears a new notification. He opens his eyes and is shocked that he was now back inside the living room where King Gallian, Fruchiel, and the others are anxiously looking towards him.

"SIR HARVEY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" shouted the followers.

"What happened to the book? Where did it go? It suddenly vanished after its auras struck you." asked the king to Harvey.

Fruchiel then starts remnants of stardusts coming out of Harvey.

"Stardusts? Don't tell me...." she looked at Harvey with great thought.

Harvey takes a breather for a while and explains what he saw earlier.

"I-I saw a huge and tall angel with four huge wings covered with some sort of glitter. He was smiling at me when he said the words: MITTE FELICITATEM."

This was enough for Fruchiel to know what happened. After gathering her thoughts for a while due to shock, she chuckles and laughs at Harvey.

"A-Are you serious? Even him?" she thought to herself in awe.

Harvey sees her expression and asks her what is wrong.

"Well, it seems like you've also met with the Messenger Angel - Gavriel."

Another sets of gasps and surprised shouts echo in the room.

"R-REALLY?! THE MESSENGER ANGEL?!" shouted Wilma.

"I-I-I can't believe it! Even he sees his holiness Gavriel!" Troy is also in great shock.

Then, all of a sudden, the king laughs. All eyes are now on him.

"Yo-Your majesty?" asked Knight Medara.

"Hahaha. I'm alright. Hehehe. Sir Harvey. You are indeed full of surprises! After meeting with the messenger angel too? There's no doubt that presenting the Lesser Cache is the wisest and correct thing I did rather than consulting my magic department back there."

"A-Are you sure?" Harvey asked the king.

"Hahaha. Not that I don't have trust in them. But there are still enemy spies lingering and hiding in my kingdom. I don't want to take any chances. I want to be with people whom I deeply trust right now, especially after that incident with the count a couple of days earlier." replied the king while looking with a gentle smile to his followers.

"I see. Thank you for trusting me as well, your majesty." smiled Harvey.

"Don't mention it. Now, what happened to the book? Can you tell us what happened?" asked the king.

Harvey then opens up his system hud to check what is the new notification that arrived. The notification that pops up simply said:

"LESSER CACHE OF HOLLOM:..."
"ACQUIRED!"

"*sigh* I knew it..."

As soon as he finishes reading it, a sudden burst of yellow and bright light appears underneath Harvey coupled with a strong wind gush that also bursts around the room. The curtains and windows start to sway due to the strong wind gush. This forces the followers to chant a magic barrier to protect the king and themselves.

"ARH! WHAT NOW?!"  the angel shouted.

The monotone announcer of the hud starts to speak loudly across the room with all of the people hearing it.

 

*beeeeeeeep!*

"TWO LESSER BOOKS: CONFIRMED..."
"Analyzing..."

*beeeeeeeep!*

"CONFIRMED."
"Greater Key of Sollom is APPLICABLE for COMBINATION."
"Unlocking Corresponding Greatey Key Features"

*beeeeeeeep!*

"CONFIRMED."
"Souls from the Lesser Cache of Hollom: ACQUIRED."
"Processing..."

*beeeeeeeep!*

"CONFIRMED."
"User Level has now been increased to LEVEL 4."
"TWO Additional Functions may now be used."

*WHOOOOSH!*

"Total Amount of Souls Acquired: 5,713"

*beeeeeeeep!*

"CONFIRMED."
"Amount of Souls required for RETRANSPORT is DETECTED."
"Analying RETRANSPORT..."

*beeeeeeeep!*

"Commencing RETRANSPORT in 3....2....1...."

 

"WHA-WHAT IS GOING O-"

*WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!*

Harvey suddenly vanishes again. 

"SIR HARVEY?! SIR HARVEY!" all of them shouted.

"Wh-Where did he go?" asked Fruchiel.

"I can't detect his aura! He instantly disappeared again!" said Caster Jode.

"Calm down everyone. I'm sure he will come back." assured the king.

...

...

Harvey, with his eyes closed, starts hearing muffled beeping noises at two seconds intervals. At first, he thinks that it was just his system hud again, popping new notifications.

"Arrgh..Wha-What happened?...."

As he slowly opens his eyes and regains his senses, however, he is shocked at where he is right now. He is back at the hospital in his original world. The beeping noises were not his hud, but the heartbeat sensor beeping near him. He is lying down in shock to see that he is now back on his world.

"I-I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! AM I REALLY BACK?!" he sat and checks himself up.

He is wearing a patient gown and hoses attached to his hands. 

"I-I'm really back...." he said in awe.

"Wait. That was all just a dream?"

He tries opening his hud, but no hud is appearing, nor is the announcer.

"Seems like it...." he smiled.

"But, it all seems kind of real. All that magic shit going around back there." he looked out a window.

After a couple of seconds, however, a knock comes on his door, followed by an entry of two mysterious people clad in brown trenchcoats, fedoras, and faces covered with scarves and sunglasses. Harvey looks at them, uneasy by their sudden presence.

"Wh-Who are you?" Harvey asked with a little hostility.

The two look at each other for a while, followed by one of them grabbing his notepad underneath his coat while the other approaches Harvey.

"Are you Harvey Johanson?" the first man asked.

"What if I am?" replied Harvey in a serious tone and expression.

The man looks behind his fellow with the notepad. He nods at him and the notepad man nods back after looking at his notepad.

"It's him." the first man said to the notepad man.

"Good. Let's go." the notepad man said as he puts away back his notepad underneath his coat.

The first man then helps Harvey to get up. But Harvey, seeing them as still mysterious people, didn't want to go with them.

"Hey! Get off of me! Argh! Go away!" Harvey continued to struggle.

Surprisingly, the first man then whispers something. As soon as he finished whispering, Harvey suddenly goes limp and paralyzed.

"Wha....what....." Harvey said his last words before being completely paralyzed from head to toe with his eyes locked in place.

"Alright. Let's get it going." the second man said as he exits out of the room while the first man detaches Harvey from the bed and carries him out.

Along the way, Harvey's consciousness is still on, and can process his mind as his sight is locked on the ground while the first man is carrying him by his shoulders.

"...what the fuck is going on with my life?...." Harvey thought to himself. He just got back and the first thing he encountered is having been paralyzed by some weird secret men in trenchcoats.

...

...

After a couple of minutes, the man carrying Harvey places Harvey in a sitting position on a chair facing a man standing by a window in some sort of office room. Harvey can only see the man's silhouette in front of him as the bright sun out of the window is only the illumination in the dimmed room. Harvey can see that he also wearing a fedora and a trenchcoat based on his silhouette.

"Alright. You can let him go now." the man by the window suddenly said in a low tone.

The first man whispers something again and in an instant, Harvey can now move again. He gasps quickly cause he thought that we wasn't getting air due to the paralyzing effect.

"Don't worry, lad. You're fine. We just halted your time-space for a while." the man by the window said again with a low tone.

The two previous men then stood guard by the door while the man on the window slowly approaches Harvey.

"Wh-What the fuck was that? What do you want from me?!" Harvey said with an angry tone.

"Sorry for that. I know that you must be shocked. So, let's fix that."

The man turns on the lights, revealing a man in a black trenchcoat and fedora with a CIA badge and ID on his chest. He puts off his black fedora and puts it on the table in front of Harvey, revealing a man that looks in his 50s with black left-parting hair.

"I'm Joseph McAllen. The current CIA Director. Nice to meet you in person, Harvey Johanson." he smiled.

"W-What? The CIA? Seriously? Wh-What do you want from me?" Harvey asked.

"Let's see. We're not really sure right now, considering this was our first encounter with you. So let me just ask you a question first."

"W-What is it?"

McAllen then grabs a folder under his office desk and sits on his chair. He opens up the folder and reads its content.

"Are you familiar with the terminology: the "HOLY TRIAD" ?"

Harvey's eyes begin to enlarge due to shock as he immediately recognizes the term.

"H-Holy Triad?"

But McAllen is very sharp on his senses and also instantly knows that Harvey knew the terminology based on his reaction.

"I see. They've already explained to you, wasn't it?" McAllen asked.

Harvey suddenly stands up and shouts.

"WAIT! DO YOU MEAN IT WASN'T ALL JUST A DREAM?!"

...

"So you've thought that it was all just a dream, huh? Alright. Let's go on with it." McAllen also stood up and approaches Harvey.

"Just so you know, we are under the direct command of one of the angels in that group - Jofiel. Did you also meet her?" asked the chief.

"N-No. Isn't she the angel of wisdom and beauty?" asked Harvey.

"Indeed. Just as the PJs are in under Rafael, the CIA is under Jofiel. In fact, not just only the PJs and CIA. All of the medical departments, and regiments, are in Rafael, while the same intelligence departments are in Jofiel. You know. With all that wisdom and intelligent stuff."

"I-I see. But, why did you call me here?"

McAllen chuckles and flicks his hand. In an instant, the same bursts of yellow light appear underneath Harvey coupled with the same frequency of strong wind gush.

"WHA-! NOT AGAIN!" Harvey shouted.

"Can't blame you. SHE asked us to help you as well. We can't disobey her. Just be careful out there and may our knowledge will be put to good use."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU KNOWLEDG-" Havey stopped as he starts getting headaches.

He cries in pain as he begins to see and experience first-hand knowledge of CIA activities, operations, and strategies.

"WHAT. THE. FUCK. IS. ALL. OF. THESE. SHIT?! ARRRRRH!"

"Farewell. Hahaha." McAllen laughed as Harvey disappeared once again.

...

...

Just as Harvey opens his eyes, he is back once again in the living room where Fruchiel, King Gallian, and the others were. He sees them with faces of full shock. 

"I-I'm back..." he said to them. 

But surprisingly, they weren't looking at him, but behind him. Added to that, some of the followers of the king start going into combat positions for some reason.

"Si-Sir Harvey. W-Who are they?" the king asked Harvey.

"They? What do you mea-" Harvey looked back at him only to see the same two mysterious men in trenchcoats standing firmly behind him.

"WHOA!" Harvey was taken aback.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"We are now under your orders, Sir Harvey." the two men bowed and greeted Harvey.

...

...

...

---

Soul Energy :

[ Level 4 ]

+ Lesser Key Of Sollom
+ Lesser Cache Of Hollom

 

Soul Count :

[ 5,713 ]

+ 5,610 ( Souls from the Lesser Cache Of Hollom)

 

Spawn Count:

[ 212 ]

= 1 Brigadier General

= 100 Infantry Units

= 109 Special Forces

= 2 Unknown Forces 

---

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UPCOMING NEXT CHAPTER:

Chapter 24 - Nowhere Out of Purpose