[FMMIKA] Chapter 311: Treasures of the Gods

A little over ten minutes later, when Ritsuka wanted to complain about being hungry, Stheno led everyone to the depths of the temple.

As they reached the bronze doors, they swung open automatically, bathing their faces in a radiant golden glow. Countless gold coins, bricks, and ingots were piled up like mountains, while on the other side, silver, ten times more abundant than gold, glittered alongside countless jewels.

Diamonds, gemstones, cat's eyes, agate, amber, carnelian, jade, ambergris, along with coral, chalcedony, pearls, and ivory, all of this, seemingly casually stacked in the treasury, looked like nothing more than garbage.

Amidst it all, Artorius also spotted numerous exquisitely carved artworks. Beyond bronze and silver-gold vessels, there were plenty of marble sculptures, ancient Greek-style black-figure pottery, as well as weapons and armor crafted from bronze.

"This is one of the Great God's treasuries."

"At the same time, it is one of the most important treasuries."

Leading the way, Stheno's gaze remained calm, seemingly uninterested in these riches. On the other hand, Ritsuka was already embarrassing herself as she exclaimed "Oh yeah!" and rushed into the pile of gold coins to cosplay as Uncle Scrooge. {T/N: Donald Duck's uncle.}

"It is indeed spectacular and quite... valuable..." Artorius remarked with the same calm demeanor.

For someone aspiring to conquer the universe, money, jewels, and treasures held no meaning. Having already conquered one Earth and possessed the Third Magic, he could fill the Pacific with gold if he so desired. Thus, these things were meaningless to Artorius.

The same logic applied to various precious materials and natural treasures. As long as Artorius knew their formulas and properties, he could easily imagine and materialize similar items.

Therefore, he believed that they weren't brought here for these meaningless things.

Of course, taking a step back, if that were truly the case, Artorius's opinion of these so-called Greek gods would plummet significantly.

Whether it was the cunning Zeus, the equally cunning Athena, portrayed as a villain in modern adaptations despite being the most virtuous in the original myths, or any of the twelve Greek gods, if it turned out they were after such trivial things, Artorius would be deeply disappointed.

"Yes, of course, all this is meaningless to Your Majesty. The true legacy lies deeper."

After Stheno finished speaking, she continued to lead the way forward.

"Senpai, hurry up, or we'll leave you behind!"

Meanwhile, Mash shouted loudly to Ritsuka who was still swimming in the gold.

"Wa-Wait up!"

As Ritsuka yelled in panic, she casually grabbed a couple of gold coins and stuffed them into her pocket.

===

After that, there was another long corridor. Passing through a massive door cast in shimmering silver, the items inside sparkled, making Ritsuka feel a bit dizzy.

"Mash, give me a hand, I'm feeling a bit lightheaded."

"..."

Making sure Ritsuka wasn't joking about the whole 'support-me-while-I-faint' thing, Mash did as she was told. She also understood why Ritsuka felt 'lightheaded'.

"These are all Noble Phantasms..."

Mash widened her eyes, looking at these things with some disbelief.

Weapons, bows, spears, swords, chariots, armor, goblets, statues—there was no shortage of diverse items. Unlike the first hall, where gold and silver were illuminated and reflected, these Noble Phantasms naturally emitted light. At the same time, they carried a strong magical fluctuation, which made Ritsuka uncomfortable.

'It's like a scaled-down version of the Gate of Babylon.' Artorius thought. 'But these are not 'Nasuverse's original' but 'genuine to the original myth.' If that goldy saw these, he would definitely scream 'fake' at the top of his lungs.'

This was already a rare treasure for ordinary people, but for someone like Artorius, it was nothing.

So what if they were Noble Phantasms?

He could mass-produce Noble Phantasms too.

Hundreds of years ago, his knight order was already equipped with Noble Phantasm-ranked equipment like frostsilver armor and pure white swords. What's so special about these?

'The real treasure should be deeper inside, something that can't be replicated or mass-produced by conventional means.'

'Special formulae.'

'Special powers.'

'Laws, concepts, or...'

"The next door must be made of gold, seasoned gamers know..."

As Artorius pondered what lay ahead, Ritsuka whispered beside him. This time, he didn't scold her because he thought she made a lot of sense.

===

"Behold, Your Majesty, the treasures that truly belong to you are inside. Please have a look." Ritsuka proclaimed proudly in front of a grand gate forged from gold. "See? What did I tell you?"

"..."

Stheno cast a glance at Ritsuka, pondered briefly, and ultimately decided it was better not to engage with such a fool.

The gate slowly opened before the group. Afterward, an ancient, primordial aura, reminiscent of a time of raging wars, chaos, and madness, greeted them as if transporting them back to that era.

"Tha-That is..."

"Trident, the weapon of Poseidon."

"A-And that..."

"Bident, the weapon of Hades."

Ritsuka's eyes widened as she stuttered, while Mash responded, recognizing the weapons.

The pure gold trident emanated faint azure energy, while the black bident was entwined with an ominous blood-red glow.

Golden and silver bows and arrows, a sword gleaming with red light and flames, a chariot crafted entirely from gold, and an intricately fringed round shield. Among these powerful Divine Constructs, the spear surrounded by thunder and lightning radiance held the greatest power.

If Artorius guessed correctly, there was only one explanation for all this. 'Divine Constructs used by the Greek gods, huh...'

"Yeah, baby!" Ritsuka couldn't help but whistle.

'Weapons may be meaningless, but the will contained within, and the power of the laws, are priceless.' Artorius thought deeply.

At the same time, the goddess stood before him and gracefully spoke, "After enduring for so long, I have finally reached the end. I have fulfilled my duty."

She pointed to a gem box next to the thunderous spear.

"There lies the last trace of divine power in the Greek pantheon."

"With Your Majesty's abilities, leveraging this divine power is enough to create a Divine Core of the Chief God."

"You will establish a new pantheon, becoming the Supreme God Emperor."

"So..." Artorius looked at her calmly. "Are all these things mine now?"

"Yes." Stheno nodded, blushing slightly. "Wealth, treasures, artifacts, and a Divine Core of the Chief God. Everything here, including me, belongs to Your Majesty."

"Very well." Artorius nodded. "Now, I understand what you all want to achieve."

After saying that, he turned without hesitation.

"Let's go."

He beckoned to his group, not sparing a glance at everything behind him, striding purposefully towards the exit.