Bear School Astartes

”This is indeed Anka.”

Herodotus examined the religious artifact Lann handed him and made a definite judgment.

After Lann dismantled these two items from Hapalos, he immediately took them apart.

And he put the stone block filled with Chaos Magic Power, carved with numerous runes, into the Alchemy Pouch, alongside the lone anti-magic bomb.

This stone block isn’t a simple item; at least Lann hadn’t seen anything like it in Airetusa’s library, nor had he even heard of it. Judging from its style, it seemed to have some traces of elven influence, possibly an ancient elven magical artifact.

He could only wait until he returned to see if experts like Margaret or Tishaya could decipher anything.

By now, daylight had broken, and Pericles’ mansion was in disarray due to last night’s banquet, but a room suitable for discussions could still be made available.

Lann and Cassandra sat aside, waiting for Herodotus to continue.

This man, already not so young, had not indulged himself last night, so his mind and focus were still quite good.

The Anka Cross, practically a relic, in his hand excited him a bit.

Herodotus gently stroked the cross’s designs and patterns with his fingers, feeling its uneven texture, while speaking in his unique gentle tone.

”Anka, also known as the Life Cross, is a gift Isis gave to her husband Osiris in Egyptian mythology. It represents the powers of ’life’ and ’healing’.”

”But there’s another saying—that the cross’s design symbolizes the human organ uterus, abstracted by Egyptians. After all, Egyptians, known for their mummification skills, have glimpsed many secrets within the human body.”

Lann nodded, showing he wasn’t surprised.

However, Cassandra beside him frowned and muttered softly.

”’Known to all’? I didn’t know that Egyptians would dissect people to look inside? Uh... I actually wanted to travel there.”

Cassandra’s words, whose knowledge level matched Phoebe’s astonishingly, were already part of Herodotus and Lann’s adaptation.

Neither of them paid much attention.

”Where did you get this Life Cross?”

Herodotus asked curiously.

”I once traveled to the southernmost desert of Egypt, but I only saw such well-crafted Anka at the local temple. I couldn’t spot even the tiniest polishing marks.”

Cassandra glanced at Lann, and upon seeing him nod lightly, she began describing to Herodotus how they wiped out Ares followers in a cave.

”You mean... the Minotaur you dragged into Athens this morning... was created by this Anka?! With bulls and humans as material?!”

Upon hearing Cassandra’s description, Herodotus widened his eyes and, as if the Life Cross in his hands suddenly became scorching, promptly dropped it onto the table with a clang.

But then, as if unwilling to part from this miraculous vessel of knowledge, he cautiously leaned over to observe it, ultimately refraining from touching it again.

In entering the city, Cassandra and Lann brought in a corpse they’d killed—bull-headed, with bull hooves and a human body—which caused an unprecedented sensation on the streets of Athens.

This was meant to demonstrate that the Ares followers outside the city were finished, serving as an account for the Athenians’ support of his ’cave expedition’ during this period of time.

Herodotus exceeded Lann’s expectations with his performance.

He might be one of the few of his time furthest from belief in the gods.

”Then it seems this is likely a relic from the First Civilization!”

Herodotus murmured to himself.

Lann swept his hand across the table, grasping the Anka and storing it away.

”First Civilization?”

The Demon Hunter felt he was hearing a term from a science fiction novel.

Cassandra, crossing her arms, explained to Lann, who seemed indifferent.

”Herodotus, in his long travels and research, believes there was a batch of life before us humans, also known as gods...”

”They are not gods, Cassandra! I explained it to you; they were merely forerunners!”

”Aren’t forerunners gods too?”

Cassandra’s rebuttal and Herodotus’ emphasis made the Demon Hunter sort through the massive information conversation.

”Wait... alright.”

Lann hesitated, finally waving his hand as if giving up.

A prehistoric civilization before humans, that also counts as an ageless sci-fi fantasy.

Right now, he had magic, gene seeds, and biological AI; science fiction wasn’t entirely unacceptable.

”So, can we roughly confirm that this Anka granted Hapalos the ability to modify and splice human bodies?”

Lann’s mouth twitched slightly.

”This really is a foolproof operation method. To allow a fanatic to play with it.”

”Not only that,” Herodotus added, ”from your description, this item also activated the forerunner’s bloodline in Hapalos, even granting him most of the forerunner’s power temporarily!”

Compared to the excited Herodotus, Cassandra, as a combatant, remained much more rational.

”If activation results in becoming like a mummy, I think things are pretty good now.”

Lann held the Anka, roughly palm-sized, in his hand, contemplating deeply.

Even a foolproof operation can allow ordinary people and beastly limbs to splice, to be used to some extent...

”Sir.”

Even if Mentos still used the old London chic accent Lann set, the genuine excitement in speaking couldn’t be concealed.

”This is exactly what we need! It’s even better than we anticipated! Automated surgical equipment!”

”With your knowledge, combined with the functionality of this device, we can easily handle the future Interstellar Warrior enhancement surgery process!”

”That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

Lann confirmed Mentos’ idea in his mind.

The enhancement surgery for Interstellar Warriors included brain membrane implantation, a process impossible for a single person to complete.

But if he could use this Life Cross...

”Are you interested in it?”

Suddenly, a question was heard beside him.

Lann glanced to his side, where Cassandra stood watching him.

”If you’re interested in the relics of the First Civilization and their remnants, I’m about to go somewhere after leaving Athens, and you should also want to visit.”

”Andros Island. During my travels, I’ve concluded that this place must relate to Cassandra’s broken spear and the First Civilization.”

Herodotus interrupted from the side, adding a bit of commentary.

”To be honest, we were supposed to go there before coming to Athens. But because Cassandra was eager to come to Athens, we postponed the schedule.”