Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 277 Quick Judgment

The "smoke" that briefly touched him dissipated.

However, more smoke is still escaping from the Cathedral of the Storm, fluttering, gathering and dispersing from time to time, like a dark cloud, gathering invisibly over Prand, and its coverage is getting bigger and bigger, gradually spreading half of the city-state.

Duncan's fingertips still had a bit of cold touch, he frowned slightly, looked at the sky above the city, and his heart was full of doubts.

Those gray-white fog gave him a feeling... as if a huge creature lost its form, and its soul rose in the dimension of reality, unrestrained into this appearance, as if it was a creature located in reality. The things behind the dimension are gradually releasing their own perception, using the fog as tentacles, "feeling" the outline of the real world.

The second feeling was especially obvious when he touched the smoke.

"Uncle Duncan?" Nina's voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting Duncan's wild thoughts, "What are you doing with your hands outstretched?"

"...It's nothing." Duncan blinked and said softly.

Obviously, Nina couldn't see the smoke—nor could Shirley and Alice next to her, nor could the ordinary people gathered inside and outside the pier.

But can the people on the Cathedral of the Storm see it?Can she see the female pope who sits in the cathedral and is regarded as the spokesperson of the "Goddess of Storms" in the world?
Duncan quietly watched the magnificent "Ark" that was almost as huge as the entire port area, watched it slow down at the edge of the Pland, watched its side mechanism slowly deform, extending out as if growing some kind of limb. A long mechanical bridge was built, and it was connected with the trestle on the port.

And the shapeless and invisible smoke has obviously expanded in this process.

Duncan didn't feel any hostility from the fog, nor did he perceive any harm, so he didn't take any action for the time being.

……

According to the ceremonial requirements, after firing salutes and playing vocal music at the port of Purland to welcome, the Cathedral of Storms released the long mechanical bridge, completing the connection between the pilgrimage ark and the city-state, and then, a message was sent from the ark There was a second burst of melodious and solemn whistle.

The huge steam valve rotated and opened, and the pressure relief pipes and siren devices all over the patrolling ark were activated at the same time. Straight streams of white air gushed out from the walls and spire of the church, and went straight into the sky with the sound of the siren.

The bell towers on the city-state and the cathedral ark rang simultaneously.

Fan Na took a deep breath—standing in such a solemn scene, even as a judge, she couldn't help being a little nervous at the moment.

After a while, she saw some colorful flags appearing on the edge of the church ark, and then, a group of apostolic knights wearing special armor appeared on the long mechanical bridge, riding a steam walker , along the mechanical bridge to the pier, one of them went straight out and came in front of a group of senior priests.

"Bishop Valentine, Judge Vanna, the glory of the Lord of Storms is with you."

The Guardian Knight Commander lowered his head—his whole body was covered with armor made of black alloy, and the structure of pressurized pipes and steam valves could be seen everywhere on his breastplate and armguards, covered by a thick steel mask. Seeing the knight's true face, Vanna could only see the faint red light in his goggles, and hear the hiss of air mixed with his voice.

Steam is the breath of God, and steel is the bridge between man and God. Under the visor, the airflow in the words neighs with the sanctity of preaching.

"The glory of the Lord of Storms is with you." Fan Na lowered her head and said together with Bishop Valentine next to her.

"His Holiness invites you two to board the ark," the Commander of the Guardian Knights said amidst the hiss of the airflow, "Others, please wait a moment."

Fanna raised her head in surprise, and then subconsciously looked at Bishop Valentine, only to see that the latter also had a puzzled look on his face.

Is there such a link in the ceremony?
"This is a temporary arrangement by the Pope," the Commander of the Guardian Knights explained, seeing the confusion of the two high-ranking priests in front of him. "She wants to know something from you."

"According to Your Majesty's arrangement." Bishop Valentine immediately restrained the confusion in his expression, bowed his head and said respectfully.

Fan Na next to her also reacted immediately and lowered her head to express her obedience to the order.

"Priests and city-state officials, please wait for a while—you can also go to the side to rest for a while," the commander of the guardian knight looked at Dante and the others, nodded slightly, "please rest assured, we won't wait too long."

Bishop Fanna and Valentine stepped onto the mechanical bridge leading to the Cathedral of Storms—the majestic cathedral was getting closer and closer in her sight, and at the same time, it exuded more and more thrilling, and even A slightly suffocating majestic aura.

Just getting close to it, Fan Na felt her heart start to pound.

Bishop Valentine who was on the side noticed the hesitation in Fanna's footsteps, and the old man shook his head lightly: "Relax, this is not the first time you have seen His Majesty the Pope."

"……Yes, I know."

Led by a group of guardian knights, Vanna and Valentine crossed the long bridge, walked through the connecting deck almost as wide as the pier square, and were finally brought into a huge elevator.

Vanna thought the elevator would take her somewhere on the upper level of the cathedral ark, but inside she felt the entire car sinking all the way.

The car's sinking process lasted for a long time, so long that Fan Na couldn't help but began to suspect that the elevator was going straight to the sea, and the creaking sound of the steel cables running in her ears suddenly stopped.

The elevator door opened.

The voice of the apologist came from the side: "Please go forward—His Holiness is waiting for you."

Fan Na walked out of the elevator with Valentine in a daze, and heard the fence door slamming shut with a sound of friction, and then the two looked forward, and what they saw was a room that was almost completely shrouded in darkness. place in.

He could only vaguely see a figure in Chinese clothes standing in the middle of an extremely dim room.

Fan Na hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.

And just as she stepped forward, the slight explosion of the flame suddenly broke the silence in this dim space.

Bang bang bang, several braziers were lit one after another in a series of slight bangs, and the flames suddenly dispelled the darkness near the elevator, allowing Fanna to see clearly the Pope Helena who was standing not far away, and at the same time She was also shocked to find that the scale of this space was far wider than she had imagined——

Even with the illumination of several braziers, the space in the distance is still shrouded in darkness. Fan Na can't see where the end of this "room" is. She can only see the gray-black, slightly rough ground. It stretches out in front of the eyes, all the way to the end of the darkness, and on the edge of the brazier's light, you can vaguely see some huge "pillars", and there are many criss-crossing shadows connected between those pillars, it looks... like The piping system at the bottom of the church ark, and possibly the supporting structure.

Is this the bottom warehouse of the Touring Ark?

Why did the Pope host himself and Bishop Valentine here?
Doubts arose in Fanna's mind for a moment, but before she could open her mouth, she heard a gentle and majestic voice from ahead: "You are here—Saint Valentine, and Saint Vanna. Welcome to the Ark."

"Your Majesty the Pope," Fanna quickly suppressed her doubts, and after she straightened her expression, she saluted with Bishop Valentine. After the salute, she raised her eyes slightly and said cautiously, "You summoned us because... "

Helena didn't wait for Fan Na to finish, but suddenly asked a somewhat inexplicable question: "Do you know where this is?"

"Isn't this... the Cathedral of the Storm?" Valentine raised his head and blinked in confusion, "The bottom of the Cathedral of the Storm?"

"This is indeed directly under the Cathedral of Storms, but strictly speaking, it has been separated from the main body of the Cathedral," Helena smiled. Under the reflection of several braziers, her smile seemed to hide A little deep, "You are standing at the bottom of the patrol ark, the 'belly' of this giant beast."

She raised her head, her gaze wandering slowly between Fanna and Valentine.

"This place is under the watchful eye of the Lord of Storms, and at the same time, it is also the place closest to the deep sea. The Lord's blessing and the Lord's judgment coexist here."

Helena's eyes stopped, but she didn't look at Fanna or Valentine.

She seemed to be speaking to nothingness in the darkness:
"Is it difficult to continue to perform your duties after your faith has been shaken?"

The expression on Fan Na's face froze instantly.

The same is true for Valentine next to him.

An unbearably oppressive atmosphere filled this vast and dark space.

After an unknown amount of time, Fan Na was the first to react. She took a deep breath: "My belief..."

"I didn't ask about your faith," Helena shook her head. "What I asked was, after your faith has been shaken, has it become more difficult for you to continue performing your duties?"

Fan Na was stunned for a moment, as if she didn't realize the deep meaning of the pope's words, but Bishop Valentine next to him was stunned for a moment, and the old bishop immediately said: "I perform my duties as always, protecting the city-state and guiding believers From the heart..."

"Very well, Saint Valentine, I am moved by your steadfastness—you should continue to fulfill your duties as the patron of the city-state of Purdue to the end.

"Saint Fanna, I can also see your confusion. In view of your actual situation, I have to announce the temporary suspension of your position as the judge of Prand.

"This decision is effective immediately."

Helena spoke quickly, and before Fanna and Valentine could react, she finished speaking.

The two saints at the scene looked at each other.

Valentine: "...?"

Fanna: "...?"

(End of this chapter)