Chapter 34: Mystery of Mysteries

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Meanwhile, outside, Vlad decided to return to his ship, so he could place the head inside his lower deck, and only move to claim the pirate's bounty after seeing how things might turn out after some days.

"Vlad, are you alright?"

"Mhm? What's wrong, little Titania?"

"You looked quite upset when that guy started insulting you. But not upset on the part that you are angry, as if you wanted to forget something."

Vlad opened his abyssal eyes while listening to Titania's worried voice, and with only a sigh, he placed her worries aside.

"Nothing happened to me. What gave you the impression something was wrong with me?"

"I don't know, just a feeling."

"Then it is just your feeling." mentioned Vlad who shut this subject, not wanting to open untouched crevices of his twisted memories.

Passing by the guys asking docking tax, they recognised him, and didn't question what he had inside his bag, giving the impression he went to the market and bought meat supplies for his ship.

It didn't take him long to throw the bag with the pirate's head inside the lower deck of his caravel, returning back to the city, and moving along another route toward the Cathedral.

"There's no one seeming to rage about losing his man? Did I scare those guys so much that they went silent about everything? I wonder?"

"Maybe they didn't arrive to that pirate to send the message?" suggested Titania who looked around the wooden buildings, and city, with a colonial city vibe to itself.

"You could be right." agreed Vlad, who noticed that around himself nothing changed in the citizens behavior, as if to suggest that something big happened around.

After 15 minutes, since he returned to the city, Vlad appeared before the biggest building of Fiddler City, a Cathedral made from stone and bricks, giving itself a weird appearance upclose, and Titania made sure to give Vlad each of the details.

"Of course it wouldn't be like Holy Wisdom from Constantinople." whispered Vlad as he stood before this Cathedral, having Titania quietly, ask with a curious mind what he meant to say by the Holy Wisdom.

"Holy Wisdom, it is a Grandiose Cathedral I've heard in some stories I've read when younger. Its splendor and glory can overshadow any Saintly Place. If you are curious, I will draw it for you once we get to the ship."

"Thank you."

With the two agreeing on what to do on their journey to Athkatla, Vlad stepped inside the Cathedral and immediately sensed this familiar sensation that he had when younger, when he would always go to the church and pray.

Out of habit, he did a slow cross, lowering his head with full respect, even though he wasn't sure that the same Jesus Christ or God watched over the sinners of this World.

Then, step by step, without being required to dodge any person standing in front of him, he reached the praying hall of the building.

"No need to say anything, little Titania. We have to be quiet and show respect in this Sacred Place."

Reaching a place with some icons of people that give an heroic, valiant feeling to them, Saints of this world religion, he went toward a bench and sat there, thinking to himself about his life choices inside this world.

'I can be redeemed. My actions might be cruel, but if I keep the sanctity of my soul, I will be alright.'

Minutes passed, and from the Altar an old man wearing a white robe with golden threads on it, walked out to notice Vlad, being the only guy inside the praying hall, actually seeming to pray instead of being here to do business, like most of the criminals inside Bulge Island.

'Wow, is someone actually praying to God? What a rare sight. Also a new face, probably not like the rats from the slums.'

"Greetings, priest. Am I allowed to step inside the Church?"

"Heh, young man, you are already inside the House of the Lord. It will be a sin to ask you to leave his sanctuary. You can stay for as long you want."

"Thank you, sir. I heard that you have a vast Library inside the Cathedral. Is it true what they were saying?"

"Really now? Are you also interested in books?"

The old man looked shocked at Vlad and even did a fake spit with a (Spew), while doing a cross just like what Vlad did.

"You've heard right. I can let you check it out, but … "

"Yes, I know. Running this big place isn't free, but requires the donation of the faithful." responded Vlad who raised on his feet, with his walking cane to his side.

"Exactly. That's what I wanted to say." nodded the old man, looking at Vlad closely, only to see him tap on the floor with his cane, and immediately a thought ran in his mind.

"Blind?"

"Doesn't matter, sir. Can you allow me inside your Library?"

"Sure, sure. Follow me, child."

The old priest didn't go into unnecessary details, asking Vlad about what happened to him, or why he was blind, he knew to keep his mouth shut after all his dealings with the pirates and criminals of the South Blue.

He was shocked to see that Vlad followed him casually staying behind him, as if he wasn't truly blind.

Nevertheless, a small peek when doing a corner was enough to tell him, since he saw Vlad walk with his eyes closed, a legit blindman.

Also, it didn't take the old man long to appear before a small room of the Cathedral, and with a set of keys inside his hand, he began trying them, one by one, coughing up, finding the situation embarrassing.

"Take your time, sir. No need to excuse yourself. I am the guest here, who has all the time in the world."

"Hah, if so many youngsters were like you, this place would have been so easy on this old man. Found it!

Young man, I hope you aren't dissatisfied by the condition of the room. But with my old age and with my bad eyes, I rarely take my time to read."

"Understandable."

Vlad stepped inside the room that was fully covered by dust, and spider webs, having some tables, and chairs, along with bookshelves all the eye could see. The smell of dust and mold reminded him of his prison cell where he spent 13 years.

*COUGH* *COUGH* "I can't stay for too long here, sorry young man."

"Don't worry. This is my donation for the Church, sir." mentioned Vlad who took out his gold pouch, starting place inside the old priest pockets coins of 500 𝔅, until he reached the sum of 10.000 𝔅.

"May God be with you, child. You can stay here for as long as you want."

The old man had a wide smile on his face, as he checked his pocket, and extracted himself from this dusted place, leaving out Vlad by himself, not caring if he could read the books or not.

'Hehe, good business. I actually forgot that I had a Library inside this building. If that blind kid didn't remind me, I would probably have died without remembering about the library.' thought the old priest, returning to his Altar room that was like a luxurious apartment room, with an office.

It was clear where his priorities rested, but Vlad didn't care.

*COUGH* "Too much dust and mold. Titania, can you see a window?"

"Yes, but it seems to be a locket." remarked, the Fairy who noticed a window that had a lock inside.

"Just point me toward it."

"It is here."

Vlad could touch the glass window which had a lock on it, where at first he touched the lock to see if he could open it simply by using the magic sword.

"I think I know such locks. Let's see if it's that variant. Otherwise I'll simply break the window."

*Click*

"It seems this is the House of the Lord. Even looking after the windows." told Vlad after opening the window, while starting to blow toward the window, starting to clear out the dust to make his surrounding hospitable at least.

It took a couple of minutes to be able to stay inside this room without coughing from the dust. Even the hallway of the Cathedral was filled with dust, but no one would be bothered to even check this part of the church.

"Let me see if I can find something old."

Vlad began walking around the bookshelves, starting to touch the dusted books with the intent of picking up the books that felt coarse to his touch, which contained a type of paper or leather giving off a dried sensation, an aging happening to any type of material.

"Don't you want my help?" inquired Titania, resting on his shoulder while watching Vlad move slowly in his search.

"Why? Where would be my fun if I can't pick a book for myself?"

Chuckling after saying that, he continued from book to book, taking his time until he stumbled upon something that felt coarse to touch, fitting his first criteria, and with a grab of the book he walked toward the seats closer to the window, beginning his study.

"It looks old, right?"

"Very, I can barely see the writing on the book." confirmed Titania who landed on the table, patting the book full of dust and spider webs.

"Still readable right?"

"Mhmm, yes, but the title of the book seems slightly weird.

The book is called [Mystery of Mysteries]"

"Mystery of Mysteries? Really now? I wonder what mystery this book holds for us. See, Titania, reading books can always give you more than you will expect.

If we would compare the old ones, the ones before us, the people of this era really have turned dumb that they lost their former knowledge."

"Mysteries? Nice. I am curious to see what it talks about. I am a Fairy, so maybe it might have something about me."

"Indeed, you are still a mystery to me."

"Hey!! Be serious right now, this book might be for us."

"I am all ears." remarked Vlad who relaxed himself on the chair, while Titania started turning the pages, checking them around before reading.

"Some of the pages seem to be ripped. While certain paragraphs are missing, as if the ink was removed."

Vlad stroked his chin, finding this news intriguing, and once Titania began reading the book he picked from the bookshelves, he opened his eyes in the face of the new information.

『Among the many creatures of our world there are but two that are able to draw and absorb the Power, and these are cats and dragons.』

"Okay, it might make sense for a dragon. But a cat? How does that make sense?"

"Shhh, let me continue, there's more interesting information from this book."

『 Both species instinctively sense the presence of mana intersections and often choose them as resting places, which is strange, for other animals avoid these same spots. Numerous theories attempt to explain this behavior, but none do so with thorough success.』

『 Some scholars claim dragons use the Power they imbibe to fly - for as the natural philosophers have proven, no creature of their size and mass should be capable of lifting itself into the air using such meager wings.』

The more Titania was reading this book, with time passing, they were impressed by what they were hearing. It seemed that the contents of the book were out of this era, where the people had other interests compared to the now Sailing and Pirating, exploring the world for a certain treasure, the One Piece.

He paused Titania from reading the book, trying to digest the new information, and making sense of it.

"Does that person joke around with me? Cats can harness this Power? What power? Is his pen regurgitating words to make me wonder about the truth?"

"No idea, Vlad. I am more in awe than you. Those little cats compare to a dragon?"

"Obviously there's no way. Have you ever seen a dragon?"

"No clue. Probably not." replied Titania, who had no memories of such events happening to her.

"Still, from what I understand, a True Dragon is a creature of immense powers. With a size that could destroy the world."

"Understood, but maybe this book is just for those stories. Stories for kids?"

"Maybe you are right. Otherwise, I doubt someone would discuss something so casually."

『As for cats, there is a theory stating the Power is behind their gift for seeing things in complete darkness. Others claim this ability is theirs by nature, and they use the Power of the intersections for other, unknown purposes. 』

『 Indeed, that all members of the felidae genus are able to see beings from other planes, invisible persons and emanations of the Power has been proven beyond any doubt on numerous occasions.』

"Fantasies. Stories for the kids." concluded Vlad after Titania finished reading the book, where from his tone, he looked a bit disappointed.

Nevertheless, he continued picking up random books this time, and began spending his time inside the Library, listening to the contents of the books, from Journals of various Sailors that had little information to him, to nothing specific but ramblings, to reports about Bulge Island.

There were some books that picked his attention, such as [Plants of Barren Lands] which discussed some alchemical plants, some that he had an idea about while others that were new ones.

Then came the [Book of Minerals] which was another hit to Vlad after a bunch of nonsensical books and notes which tired both his and Titania's mind. It was a book that talked in details about certain minerals such as the 'Lunar shards', 'Powdered pearl', 'Albar's crystals', 'Calcium equum' and many others.

"To think I would stumble on something like this. Book of Minerals, I will pick this one with me."

"Are we allowed to take books from this Library?"

"Why not? Can't you see in what state this place was left? Clearly that Priest doesn't care about some books. He will not even notice that something has been taken away. Slowly, I will take what books I want from this library and build up my own Library in the Caravel."

"Makes sense, but isn't it immoral?" asked Titania, who was stretching her body since Vlad stopped from asking her to read books.

"Immoral? I don't have such a word in my vocabulary." remarked Vlad, who got on his feet, dusting his clothes and placing the book inside his pants at his waist, securing it with the belt.

"Where are we going now? It is night."

"I know. We'll visit the Market. Didn't you, my lady, mention wanting some new clothes? Let's see what I can find for you."

"Mmmmhm, you did remember that."

Titania's mood swiftly recovered, no longer yawning and stretching her body like a bored cat, flying off to Vlad's head, and settling herself down.

"Such a silly girl."

.

Closing the Library door, he then started making his way out of the Cathedral, a point where his keen hearing picked upon a conversation going inside the Altar that sounded rather heated between two people, making him certain about a hint he gained from this city.

"Old Jason, some motherfucker has killed one of my boys, Laurance. Have you heard about something so far? From what those idiots told me, it happened in Arachar's Tavern in broad daylight."

"Ohh, that Laurance guy finally got himself killed? Congratulations Vane, you've finally lost one of the heavy kidney stones. Should I prepare a gift for you?"

"Old man, stop jesting. I had one of my strong attack dogs being slaughtered without even knowing who did it."

"And? Should I know? Tell me more about this person at least."

"Long black-hair, a tall frame. Those guys told me that he looks like a devil from the church stories you've been preaching. Killing people left and right without any emotions."

"Not much information, lad. I can't place the rats to work with so little info. Give me more."

"That's all I managed to find from those who reported that incident. A tall man with a strong frame, long black hair, casual clothes, heavy black boots with a slight heel on them."

"Noted down. I will have the rats search around, but this will cost you a lot of money."

"How much?"

"150.000 𝔅 for each day my rats go about searching for your target."

"..."

.

Vlad heard this conversation as it was happening close to him, and getting to eavesdrop on the two guys talking, he understood that it was the guy called Charles Vane along with the old Priest.

From their talk, it confirmed to Vlad that the priest was only a priest in name, without any substance being held on the saintly position, acting like an underground criminal, leading his Organization.

'Should I storm them and kill both of them? No … I don't really have a reason to do this. Search me for all you want, but if you plan to hunt me down, I'll see how the tables will turn.'

Thinking that, while getting distance from the praying hall, he didn't know if Vane agreed with the Priest's price mark, nor did he care since he intended to journey toward the Market.

Walking on the streets of the Fiddler City, Vlad could notice an immense change in the atmosphere of the city, it turned louder than ever, with various people drinking.

Prostitutes on each alley he would pass, getting closer to him so they might find a new client, it was rather an interesting feeling for Vlad who felt each of those women's touches.

"Handsome, I will let you fuck me for free."

"Don't listen to that whore, handsome. I can offer you more pleasure than you can imagine."

Such enticing words, coming from women that had little clothing on their bodies, made Titania who was hiding inside one of Vlad's pockets peek at those girls, staring with big eyes at them. Instead of being angry at them for bothering Vlad, instead she was shocked by how darring they were in their acts.

'Don't they have shame? I am sure they are looking to steal Vlad's money.'

Vlad continued walking without saying anything, while grabbing into their luscious flesh, making them cry in surprise, not expecting him to return the favor.

"Grrrrr, handsome, you aren't half bad."

"You too dolls, but you've picked the wrong time to want to play with me. I am a bit busy. Maybe, later in the night, I will visit you."

"You might not find us."

*Sniff* "With such a strong slut scent. No. I will find you ... if I want. Now please, my ladies. Let's not make a scene."

Hearing Vlad's serene voice, the girls in question looked at him from head to toe, and seeing his features, it made them lick their lips with desire in their eyes and tongues.

And with subtle looks, while walking along the alley, before separating with Vlad, they grabbed hold of his dick to check him and were left with smiling faces.

"That guy, he holds a beast."

"Of course, haven't you checked his body? All his muscles are like rocks. Hard and firm. I bet he is good in bed for sure."

"Let's see if he returns to us. Maybe, maybe, if he satisfy my sexual cravings, I will not steal anything from him."

.

These bold actions, made Vlad give a small smile that vanished when he stepped in another alley, and approaching closer to the Market, he heard Titania remark, sounding displeased.

"So?? Will you visit those girls?"

"Not really. I don't feel like it. Besides, their fragrance isn't pleasing whatsoever, which means, my dragon will be left slumbering."

"Good, you'll remain home."

"I am not a fool to mess around like this and get myself stabbed to death. Haven't you heard those guys talk inside the church?"

"No?"

"Right, my hearing is better than yours. In short the news about me killing that pig has started to spread. Surprisingly it didn't escalate in the mess I kind of foreseen which makes it interesting."

"Hopefully, there's no one looking after us now, at least I want to buy some clothes and we can go after that."