"Wait! Something doesn't add up!" Charles seemed to have spotted a flaw in Erik's account. "Erik, you said he's been asleep for 500,000 years, right?"
"That's right," Erik nodded.
"Has it ever occurred to you… that this might be a lie? No offense, but… do you realize what kind of concept 500,000 years is?" Charles asked.
"You're trying to say it predates the earliest known human civilization, aren't you?" Dismask sneered.
"You knew?" Charles was stunned.
"What, you think we're savages or something?" Erik said irritably.
"Uh… sorry, I didn't mean it like that…" Charles apologized, though truthfully, he had sort of thought that. After all, people secluded in the mountains and cut off from the outside world—how could they possibly keep up with the times?
"I have a master's degree. He has two PhDs," Dismask pointed to himself, then to Erik.
"Ah?" Now Charles, Hank, and Raven were all completely dumbfounded.
…
…
"After Uncle Melin woke up, he began a massive reform of the Sanctuary to bring it in line with the modern world. He didn't impose requirements on the rest of us, but he's very strict with the Saints—especially the Gold Saints. You're not allowed to graduate without a doctorate." Erik chuckled.
"Then… him…" Raven pointed to Dismask, since he had just introduced himself as having a master's degree.
"So he hasn't graduated yet. That doesn't mean he can't go on missions," Erik explained, shrugging.
"Oh? So what you're saying is—he's the bottom of the class?" Raven grinned, clearly delighted. After being restrained by Dismask for so long, she was thrilled to have found his weakness.
"Hah? I'm still better off than a certain someone still struggling with her undergrad thesis." Dismask said with an air of smugness.
"Cough, cough. Dismask, if Galan hears you say that, you're getting punched again," Erik quickly reminded him. Talking behind someone's back might feel good for a moment, but it could land you straight in the crematorium afterward.
"What's to be afraid of? It's not like he's here anyway."
"Sigh… suit yourself." Erik gave up trying to stop him.
The relationship between Dismask and Galan was long distorted.
To Dismask, Galan was like a mentor and older brother. It was Galan who taught him his first combat training. Their bond ran deep. Frankly, if needed, they'd give their lives for each other.
And yet, they couldn't sit down and talk properly. Every time they met, it turned into bickering. Dismask even loved pulling pranks on Galan whenever he had the chance—and then getting chased and beaten for it.
"Let's get back on topic," Charles said. He had once felt a sense of superiority due to his professorship. Now, he realized the joke was on him. Best not to flaunt his knowledge.
"You're saying our leader lied to us? Heh, maybe most of us didn't witness his awakening, but there were still plenty who did. The Pope and others were there in person. And the Sanctuary still preserves messages passed down from the very first Pope," Dismask said.
"But still…"
"Whether he lied or not doesn't matter. It was the leader who brought me back to the Sanctuary and gave me this life. Even if he lied—so what? My life already belongs to him."
Dismask didn't bother arguing further. Belief is belief. Those who believe don't need convincing, and those who don't never will. And just like Dismask said—back then, it was Melin who pulled him out of his pain and despair. Even if Melin wasn't a god, so what? Dismask followed not the god Melin, but the man he saw as a father.
"…I'm sorry." Raven apologized—something rare for her. She hadn't known these things.
Raven had also once been an orphan. She only found a home after sneaking into Charles's house for food and being discovered. That gave her a sense of connection with Dismask. After all, they had both once been abandoned children.
"Alright, I'll take you to your temporary quarters so you can rest. After that, I'll bring you to meet Uncle Melin," Erik said.
What Dismask had said—Erik had wanted to say too. Melin had also given him a new life, pulling him from his grief over his mother's death and his hatred for Sebastian Shaw.
Erik believed that everyone in the Sanctuary was loyal to Melin as a person, not because he was a god.
Perhaps the likes of Shion once revered Melin out of faith, but now—even they were probably drawn in by Melin's charisma.
With Erik leading the way, Dismask didn't need to stick around. It was the perfect chance to give the three of them some space.
Once they reached their temporary residence, Charles began searching his memory for information about the Sanctuary. Though they now had a slight rapport with the Sanctuary, he was convinced that the lingering sense of familiarity was the key to unlocking the truth.
Finally, in some dusty corner of his mind, Charles found a fragmented memory about the Sanctuary.
"I remember now!" Charles and Hank shouted at the same time. Hank had been doing the exact same thing.
"What the hell?! You scared me!" Raven snapped, startled by the simultaneous outburst.
"Raven, do you remember the story I once told you? About the warriors who protected the Earth with love and hope? You loved that story. Made me read it to you over and over again," Charles reminded her.
"Did I? Let me think… hmm? I remember now! That's weird—I really liked that story. Why did I forget it?" Raven frowned, then her eyes widened. "Wait, Charles, you mean…"
"Warriors of love and hope who protect the Earth. Warriors of the goddess Athena, clad in golden armor, whose punches split the land and parted the sea. Mortal men who dared face divine power…" Charles recited the parts he remembered most vividly. Raven's jaw dropped.
"Well? Sound familiar?" Charles gave a wry smile. "Hank, you've heard this story too, haven't you?"
"Yeah. Don't laugh, but I remember after hearing that story as a kid, I got so excited I couldn't sleep. I even dreamed of becoming a hero like them." Hank said, a bit embarrassed.
"No, no, that's not funny at all! I was the same! I even swore—if I couldn't become a hero like them, I'd marry someone like that…" Raven blushed, face turning bright red.
"If I'm not mistaken, the place those warriors came from… was called the Sanctuary…" Charles's voice trailed off, and all three of them looked at Erik.
"If you remember correctly, then yes—this is the place," Erik said with a smile.
"Oh! My God! What have I done?! My childhood heroes were right in front of me, and I mocked them to their faces! I… I should just die!" Raven wailed. Thinking back to all her past behavior, she wished she could slap herself.
"But… there are still so many questions. Like this Melin guy. Isn't he the Father of the Earth? How come I've never heard of him?" Charles asked. He loved classical literature, including mythology. He often looked to old stories for lessons on life.
And yet, not once had he ever heard of "Melin." He was certain that name didn't exist in his memory.
"Yeah, and isn't the main god of the Sanctuary supposed to be Athena? She's a virgin goddess—how could she have a husband?" Raven asked urgently.
"I asked Uncle about that too," Erik said. "He said that after the final battle back then, the surviving gods intentionally erased all traces of his existence to weaken his influence."
"Then does that explain why our memories are so distorted?" Charles asked.
It might be normal for one person to forget something they didn't care much about. But for three people to all forget the same thing—something they had once cared deeply about—that was suspicious.
"That, I'm not sure about. Aside from Uncle, maybe only Grandpa Molkaba knows," Erik replied.
"Grandpa Molkaba? Who's that?" The three were stunned.
"He's one of the Sanctuary's elders. Supposedly, he's survived since the mythological age. His grandfather was the first Aries Gold Saint and died in the final battle alongside Uncle Melin. His mother was the second-generation Aries Saint, and he's the third. So he probably knows a lot about the myth era."
"Huh!?"
"What? You don't believe me?"
"No… it's just… how is that possible? If Melin is really a god, then it makes sense that he's still alive. But Saints are human, right? Can a human really live that long?" Charles asked.
He was a professor, a scientist. He believed science could explain everything. But everything they'd experienced today had completely shattered his worldview.
"Uh… I never asked, but it should be true. The current Aries Saint, Mu, is from Grandpa Molkaba's clan. Everyone in their family says that as far back as they can remember, Grandpa Molkaba's always been the same. Even when they grew up, he still looked exactly the same," Erik said.
The three of them fell silent. They didn't quite believe it—but the story had come this far, how could they not?
If what Erik said was true, then this matter must never leak out. They couldn't even be allowed to dig into it. Otherwise, the world would once again descend into chaos. But as researchers, Charles and Hank could barely contain their curiosity and excitement.
"Erik, can you take us to meet this grandpa of yours?" Charles asked.
"Well… I'll go ask Mu. Grandpa Molkaba only shows up occasionally to guide Saints in training. The rest of the time, he's impossible to find."
"We're counting on you."