Haruto wasn't debating the existence of the daemons. In fact, he dared not. Although he didn't outrightly know how powerful they were, he knew meeting one of them if they weren't in your favour was a death sentence.
'Thank God they're dead'
But, somehow, he just had a feeling that humans had underrated the power of the daemons. More disturbing was: why was Icarius referred to as a Force God? As far as he knew, gods were entities that could oblirate the lot of the earth if left without sentinels with so much as a few attacks— that was what he thought. No matter how powerful Icarius was, he was still human, wasn't liking him to be a god too much?.
As if reading his thoughts, Mr Grey continued:
"Icarius' followers believed that although, Icarius was human, he was just very close to becoming a god, hence the title"
Haruto raised his brows.
'that was bullshit'
"But, I believe it's all fallacy and vivid misconception or, probably misconduct. Ever since the first Sentinel, humans have never beheld a god. Only glimpses, like when what scientists called a meteor shot through the skies, obliterating all residuals of humidity in the sky as well as frozen air and leaving it bare and extremely hot for about a week or thereabout"
Mr Grey, finally finishing his experiments, started to walk away from there, Haruto followed.
As he did, he wondered what a meteor was and how it was so destructive.
Still walking, Mr Grey continued.
"Scientists had discovered many other strange phenomenons like that occurring at different intervals in time, they all confirmed every object of impact to contain residuals of enchantment energy in insane quantities, more than a Sentinel would have, calculating how much essence they can gather three times after using it for each. However, this still does not prove their existence…leaving us blind"
Finally stopping in front of a shelf, Mr Grey reached a ladder, vertically resting on one of the large shelves. He placed one leg on it, then he held the frail thing and shook it slightly. He was probably testing to see the probability of it falling off after going very high up.
Wait a minute! That might actually cure My Grey's broken head.
'What the hell?! No, I'm not that heartless to have thought that…. right? Curses!'
Haruto paled, and perished the thought with a grimace.
He wondered if Mr Grey could read minds. Like Nagisa? Things would turn really, really awkward.
'I'd rather not think about it'
But, he still had one more question.
Staring grimly at the old man ascending the inclined ladder rather cautiously, and noticing the considerable distance between them, he asked rather loudly:
"Mr Grey, what's an essence?!"
For a second, he felt that his action just now had been wrong. He twitched his face.
How was asking about the basics of surviving a one on one with an horror wrong? No, he had to be right. Was he not?.
Mr Grey however, seemed to be frozen from on top the towering ladder, his head, tilted right down at him. Beneath the glasses, he seemed to have a look of utter confusion. No, that wasn't quite right, Mr Grey wasn't the subject of confusion, rather, He was.
'What did I do wrong?'
Perhaps, using "an essence" in his context had been utterly wrong. But, there wasn't any choice really…since he didn't know if it was a noun or a verb in the sentence context. Haruto grimaced.
'Ah! Scholars and overemphasis'
Mr Grey returned to searching for a book, and soon enough, he found what he was looking for. A small dusty book with a pouch? That was the lot Haruto could see. Heaving heavily, Mr Grey said rather calmly:
"A flaw, says the modern folks, discipline, I refer. Overall, you can refer to it as a limitation. After all, no matter how strong you are, you can't keep working for long hours.
As it is for mundane humans, so it is for us Sentinels. We can't keep throwing spells and fighting using the power of the enchantment. For some period of time after continuous usage of skills or powers of the enchantment actively, energy is spent, just like in the case of a mundane human. That energy in the Sentinel term is called Essence."
Saying that, and holding the book firmly, the man started his descent.
Haruto meanwhile, was frozen stiff with widened eyes.
'Calmly. He spoke calmly, and I could hear him clearly. Damnation!'
Of course! Mr Grey, British as he was, wasn't looking at him weirdly because of his use of English, but because he was apparently disturbing his eardrums! It was a cave after all, all he had to do was talk lightly, and the cave would reproduce the sounds.
'Curse you old man!'
Haruto scowled in resentment. He disliked it, as much as he disliked the concept of trust. Vile and impossible as it seemed, he had lost his cool.
'Damn it!'
Mr Grey's voice broke through his foul mood, he sounded…scared?:
"Say, lad you sure wouldn't mind holding this wobbly thing in place will ya?"
Cursing under his breath, Haruto obeyed and held the creaking wooden ladder in place.
Very soon, Mr Grey completed his descent and let out a long sigh. Out of consideration, he dusted the book, causing his face to be blinded by brown fog. He let out a few dry coughs. Then, he used his hand to chase the dust away — futile effort.
He hesitated a little. Then, he handed the old book to Haruto. However, he withdrew it again from the lad's outstretched hands.
"Y'er would definitely handle this ancestor carefully will ya? It's older than the father of your grandfather"
And after Haruto muttered a barely audible"sure", he handed it to him and made his way into the horde of glasses. Haruto followed.
As Haruto followed Mr Grey into the dim maze of glass cases and strange relics, the faint creaking of the wooden ladder behind them faded into silence.
For a while, only the soft shuffle of their footsteps and Mr Grey's occasional muttering filled the air.
Then, from deep within the cavern, something groaned. Or growled? Haruto wasn't sure. He shivered slightly.
It was low, heavy, and ancient.
'What the hell was that just now?!'
Haruto froze, blood draining from his face.
That hadn't come from Mr Grey.
Mr Grey paused too, but didn't turn around.
"Ignore it," the old man said, voice tight.
And he kept walking.
Haruto stood there for a heartbeat longer, feeling the weight of unseen eyes pressing against his back—
…then hurried after him, clutching the ancient book like a shield.