Chapter 29 “Those Who Protected the City”
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Deep within the very essence of existence, supreme divine beings dwelled, casting their timeless and transcendent gaze over the cosmos. Devout disciples, by tapping into their spiritual energies, sometimes accessed this divine viewpoint, glimpsing the future or observing unseen transformations in distant parts of the world that’s beyond human comprehension.
These revelations, transcending time and space, carried perilous risks, including potential corruption by subspace forces. Yet, for the truly faithful, this powerful and hazardous force served as their primary defense, safeguarding the fragile flame of civilization across the vast universe.
For several consecutive days, a fervently devout inquisitor had been tormented by a hauntingly persistent vision.
In a state between dreaming and wakefulness, she saw an endless ocean tainted by a pitch-black, ink-like substance. This tranquility was shattered by thunderous sounds from beneath the sea. The ocean split open, revealing a terrifying chasm leading to the ocean floor. From this abyss, a colossal ship engulfed in flames emerged, floating in the air as if an airship. Following the ship, a shapeless giant cloaked in starlight advanced towards the city-state of Pland.
In her lifetime, the inquisitor had faced such massive and ominous “omens” only twice before.
The first was during her childhood when a nightmare filled with blood and violence woke her, terrified. Soon after, she tragically lost her parents in a brutal attack by cultists, leaving a scar on her face.
The second was four years prior when she dreamt of a dark sun rising beneath the city-state, signaling the impending destruction of the Sun Cult’s largest bastion within the city. To this day, remnants of these cultists still lurked in the city-state of Pland’s vast and ancient tunnels, engaging in futile skirmishes with the Storm Church’s guardians.
Now, she had seen a vision of a ship rising from the ocean depths, bringing an indescribable giant entity with it.
She withheld the full truth from the priest before her—the vision was so vivid it had deprived her, the city’s local inquisitor, of sleep for days.
The priest looked into her serene gray eyes and hesitated before asking, “But when you sought the gods through prayer, you received no forewarning of danger or negativity, did you?”
“The goddess does not always provide warnings for every danger; sometimes, trials themselves are the test,” Vanna replied calmly. “But let’s not dwell on this. Have there been any updates from the Explorer’s Association?”
The priest nodded quickly. “We were just contacted by a liaison from the association. The sacred relic at the headquarters detected the presence of that ship in the southwestern seas. However, the ship’s telegraph device is malfunctioning, and we cannot establish contact. We know the ship is moving towards Pland at its normal speed and course.”
“…It disappeared from our relic’s detection, only to reappear in a completely different section of the sea, far from its predetermined route. It’s currently unreachable and heading directly for the city-state… I recall this vessel had been assigned to escort an abnormal cargo before it lost contact,” the inquisitor said, her brow furrowing slightly. Her years of dealing with supernatural occurrences had honed her intuition, which now urged caution. “The ship is called the White Oak, correct?”
“Indeed, the White Oak, under the command of Captain Lawrence Creed, a veteran sailor and member of the Explorer’s Association. Before setting sail from Lansa, they informed the church about the unusual cargo on board,” the priest recalled. “It’s also important to note that the accompanying clergyman on the ship is a registered member of our Storm Church.”
“One of our brothers… Let’s hope the situation isn’t dire,” Vanna expressed her concern gravely. “Nevertheless, there’s something wrong with that ship. The entire journey from Lansa to Pland is within the ‘safe zone’ monitored by the Explorer’s Association, yet the ship vanished from the relic’s detection… I suspect that the White Oak may have temporarily ventured beyond the boundaries of our reality, or even… visited realms it should not have.”
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“Notify the guardians at the harbor to keep a vigilant eye on the ship once it docks. Nothing and no one should disembark until we’ve completed a thorough inspection. Have we heard back from the security forces?”
“Please be at ease. Your uncle, Governor Dante, has already issued orders to the security personnel to establish a perimeter around the harbor and raise the alert level. Until further notice, all incoming and outgoing vessels at Pland will be redirected to the auxiliary harbor on the western side.”
“That’s reassuring… My uncle has always been cautious,” Vanna’s tense expression relaxed slightly. “As long as he refrains from involving those unprepared individuals from the security forces in this situation.”
The priest observed Vanna’s ashen gray eyes and chose his words carefully, “Do you think… that the ship might have been ‘contaminated’?”
“It’s too early to conclude, but history has shown us that ships which temporarily leave our realm rarely return completely unchanged. It’s possible that some cargo on the vessel might have unknowingly transformed into ‘anomalies,’ or latent psychological disorders within the crew could have been activated. There might even be new sailors not accounted for before, or a replacement of the original captain… Experience has taught us to be extremely cautious with ships showing such unusual behavior.”
“Ah… I can only hope for the safety of the ship and its crew,” the priest said, instinctively placing his hand on his chest, silently invoking the protection of the Storm Goddess. “May the Storm Goddess shield those brave souls who dare to confront the sea.”
“May they find safety,” Vanna murmured quietly, her eyes gently closed in prayer. Then, as if to remind the priest, she added, “But if they are unfortunate enough to miss ‘safety,’ we must be prepared to face whatever comes.”
“Yes, I understand,” the priest acknowledged.
Vanna nodded, and just as she turned her attention to the sprawling cityscape through the window, a rapid patter of footsteps echoed from the direction of the stairway.
In the next moment, a young guardian dressed in a black uniform with silver trimmings, bearing an amulet of waves and a dagger on his chest, rushed up the staircase.
“Your Honor, Inquisitor!” he gasped for breath before urgently delivering his message, “We have discovered a sun-worshipping cult’s sacrificial site in the sewers, and we’ve managed to apprehend a group of the cultists!”
Vanna’s expression instantly hardened. “Those cultists who worship the Black Sun? You said you found a sacrificial site… not just a hideout? They dare to conduct another ritual?!”
“Indeed, it was a designated sacrificial site. We found evidence of ceremonies that had recently taken place,” the guardian explained hurriedly, “And we discovered a large number of victims in the nearby catacombs—most of whom had been gruesomely sacrificed. However… there’s something peculiar about the ritual site.”
Seeing the guardian’s puzzled and shocked look, Vanna quickly grabbed the heavy blessed sword, a gift from the Storm Goddess, and slung it over her back as she moved toward the stairway. “Lead the way. I will personally inspect the scene.”
“Understood!”
The sound of the blessed sword clattering against her metallic pauldron echoed through the room. Vanna quickly descended the long staircase inside the clock tower, emerging into the small square outside. Several guardians were already assembled there, ready for action. Parked at the edge of the square were a couple of steam-powered walkers, their spider-like mechanical bodies emitting a rhythmic clanking noise.
Without hesitation, Vanna signaled the guardians to move forward and approached one of the walkers. This mechanical giant, roughly the size of two double-decker buses, resembled a giant robotic spider crouched on the ground. Its steel-clad limbs were equipped with wheels for easy movement on flat terrain and steel hooks for more challenging conditions. On top of the walker, gunnery cockpits were fitted with revolving barrel firearms.
While these purely technological constructs had little effect on “anomalies” or “phenomena,” their overwhelming firepower was useful for eliminating heretics who tried to exploit these anomalies from the shadows. Although the walker wouldn’t be very effective in the confines of the sewers, it served well as a formidable barrier.
Armed with blessed 8-millimeter rounds, the machine could quickly eliminate a group of fleeing heretics bound for their dark master in subspace.
The gray-haired inquisitor jumped atop the shell of the walker, standing resolute against the night sky, the blessed longsword attached to her back. Two guardians skillfully climbed into the gunnery cockpits on either side of the shell. Accompanied by the hissing of cylinders and pressurized pipes, white steam burst from the joints of the walker’s limbs. The massive mechanical spider rose to its feet, making a nimble leap onto the adjacent main thoroughfare, and smoothly switched to its wheel mode, rapidly heading toward the nearest sewer entrance.
The setting and the general mood here reminds me of the game Sunless Sea for some reason.
I want to play it again, but’s so slow paced. I’m so used to brainrot content farms these days.
Love the settings. Thanks for the chapter !
“An 8-mm bullet blessed by the lord”
May the holy hand grenade blast away all the heretics!
reminds of wh40k but steampunk
Oh my gosh I just adore this setting so much!
Nothing solves a problem like a 8mm bullet.
lol, bullets blessed by the lord