Chapter 276

Chapter 276: Swift Judgment

The wisp of “smoke” that had briefly brushed against him faded away.

Yet more of the smoke kept leaking out from the Storm Cathedral. It drifted in the air, gathering and scattering, like a dark cloud drawing together above Pland. Its range grew wider and wider, until it slowly spread over half the city-state.

Duncan still felt a trace of cold on his fingertips. He frowned slightly and looked up at the sky over the city, his mind full of questions.

Those gray-white mists gave him a strange feeling… as if some giant being had lost its body, and its soul had risen within the Mortal Realm, turning into this unbound form. At the same time, it felt as if something behind the Mortal Realm was slowly releasing its own perception, using the fog as tentacles to “feel” the outline of the Mortal Realm.

That second feeling had been especially strong when he touched that strand of smoke.

“Uncle Duncan?” Nina’s voice suddenly came from beside him, cutting off Duncan’s wild thoughts. “Why are you holding your hand out like that?”

“…It’s nothing.” Duncan blinked and spoke softly.

Obviously, Nina could not see the smoke. Shirley and Alice beside her could not see it either, and neither could the ordinary people gathered in and around the docks.

But could the people on the Storm Cathedral see it? Could that woman on the Cathedral, the Pope who sat in command there and was seen as the earthly messenger of the Storm Goddess Gamona, see it?

Duncan quietly cast his gaze toward the vast “ark”, almost as large as the entire Harbor district. He watched it slow at the edge of Pland. He watched as the mechanisms along its side slowly shifted, as if growing limbs, extending a long mechanical bridge that reached out to connect with the piers of the Harbor.

During this process, that shapeless and invisible smoke clearly spread even further.

Duncan did not sense any hostility from the mist, nor did he feel that it was dangerous, so for the moment he did nothing.

…

According to the rites, after salutes were fired and music was played in the Harbor of Pland to show welcome, the Storm Cathedral extended the long mechanical bridge, completing the connection between the Pilgrimage Ark and the city-state. Then a second long, solemn blast of the whistle sounded from the ark.

Huge steam valves turned open. All across the Pilgrimage Ark, relief pipes and whistle devices activated at the same time. Jets of white vapor burst from the ramparts and spires of the Cathedral, shooting into the sky along with the whistle.

The bells of the city-state and the bell tower on the Cathedral ark rang together.

Vanna took a deep breath. Standing in such a solemn, awe-inspiring place, even as an Inquisitor she could not help feeling a little nervous.

After another moment, she saw colorful flags appear along the edge of the Cathedral ark. Right after that, a squad of church knights in special armor appeared on the long mechanical bridge. They rode Steam Walkers along the bridge to the dock. One of them stepped out of the line and came straight to the high-ranking priests.

“Bishop Valentine, Inquisitor Vanna. May the glory of the Lord of Storms be with you.”

The knight commander lowered his head. His whole body was covered in black alloy armor. Pressure pipes and steam valves ran across his breastplate and vambraces. A thick steel mask hid the knight’s real face. Vanna could only see the faint red glow in his goggles and hear the hiss of air mixed into his voice.

Steam was the breath of the god, and steel was the bridge between mortals and god. Behind the faceplate, the hiss in his words carried a sacred tone of preaching.

“May the glory of the Lord of Storms be with you.” Vanna lowered her head and spoke together with Bishop Valentine beside her.

“Her Eminence the Pope invites the two of you aboard the ark,” the knight commander said, his words wrapped in hissing air. “The others, please wait here for a while.”

Vanna looked up in surprise, then instinctively turned to Bishop Valentine, only to see the same puzzled look on his face.

Was this part of the formal rites?

“This is a temporary arrangement by the Pope,” the knight commander explained, seeing the confusion on the two high-ranking priests. “She has some things she wishes to ask you.”

“As Your Eminence commands.” Bishop Valentine quickly smoothed the doubt from his features and bowed his head respectfully.

Vanna also came back to her senses and lowered her head to show she accepted the order.

“Please, priests and city officials, wait a moment. You may also go to the side and rest a little,” the knight commander said, nodding slightly to Dante and the others. “Do not worry. It will not take long.”

Vanna and Bishop Valentine stepped onto the mechanical bridge leading to the Storm Cathedral. The grand Cathedral loomed closer and closer in her sight. At the same time, it gave off an even stronger, almost suffocating aura of majesty.

Just walking toward it made Vanna feel her heart start to pound.

Noticing the hesitation in her steps, Bishop Valentine shook his head lightly. “Relax. This is not your first time seeing Her Eminence the Pope.”

“…Yes. I understand.”

Led by a squad of church knights, Vanna and Valentine crossed the long bridge and walked over the connection deck, which was almost as wide as a dock square. At last they were brought into a huge shaft lift.

Vanna had thought the shaft lift would take her to some place on the upper levels of the Cathedral ark. But inside, she felt the entire car sinking instead.

The descent went on for a long time, long enough that Vanna could not help wondering if the shaft lift went straight down into the sea. Only then did the squeaking of the cables suddenly stop.

The door of the shaft lift opened.

A church knight’s voice came from beside them: “Please walk forward on your own. Her Eminence the Pope is waiting for you ahead.”

Still a little dazed, Vanna followed Valentine out of the shaft lift. Behind them, the metal gate slammed shut with a scraping sound. The two of them looked forward and saw a place almost completely covered in darkness.

They could only vaguely make out a richly dressed figure standing in the very dim middle of the room.

Vanna hesitated for a moment, then took a step forward.

As she stepped out, the soft pop of igniting flames suddenly broke the silence in the dark space.

Pop, pop, pop. Several small bursts sounded in a row as braziers were lit one after another. The firelight instantly drove away the darkness around the shaft lift, letting Vanna clearly see Pope Helena standing not far away. It also showed her, in shock, that this place was far larger than she had imagined.

Even with several braziers burning, the distant space was still drowned in shadow. Vanna could not see where this “room” ended. She could only see the gray-black, slightly rough floor stretching out before her, all the way into the dark. At the edge of the firelight, she could faintly make out huge “pillars”, with many crisscrossing shadows between them. They looked like the pipe system at the bottom of the Cathedral ark, or perhaps its support structures.

Was this the lowest hold of the Pilgrimage Ark?

Why would the Pope choose to receive her and Bishop Valentine down here?

Questions rose in Vanna’s heart, but before she could speak, a gentle yet authoritative voice came from ahead: “You have come, Saint Valentine, and Saint Vanna. Welcome aboard the ark.”

“Your Eminence the Pope.” Vanna quickly put away the doubts in her heart. After fixing her expression, she saluted together with Bishop Valentine. When the salute was over, she lifted her gaze slightly and asked carefully: “You summoned us here because…”

But Helena did not let Vanna finish. Instead, she suddenly asked a strange question: “Do you know what this place is?”

“Is this… not the Storm Cathedral?” Valentine raised his head and blinked in confusion. “The lower part of the Storm Cathedral?”

“We are indeed directly beneath the Storm Cathedral, but in strict structural terms, this area is no longer part of the Cathedral itself.” Helena smiled. In the light of several braziers, there seemed to be a deeper meaning hidden in that smile. “You are standing on the lowest level of the Pilgrimage Ark, in the ‘belly’ of this giant beast.”

She lifted her head, her gaze slowly moving between Vanna and Valentine.

“Here we stand under the gaze of the Lord of Storms, and also at the place closest to the Deep Sea. The Lord’s blessing and the Lord’s judgment coexist here.”

Helena’s gaze came to a stop, but she was not looking at Vanna or Valentine.

It was as if she was speaking to the empty darkness.

“After one’s faith wavers, is it very hard to keep fulfilling one’s duties?”

The expression on Vanna’s face froze at once.

Valentine’s did as well.

An almost unbearable tension filled this wide, dim space.

After an unknown time, Vanna was the first to react. She took a deep breath. “My faith…”

“I did not ask about your faith.” Helena shook her head. “I asked whether, after your faith wavered, it has become harder than before for you to continue carrying out your duties.”

Vanna was stunned for a moment, as if she had not yet grasped the deeper meaning in the Pope’s words. Beside her, Bishop Valentine looked suddenly enlightened after a brief shock. The old bishop spoke at once: “I have carried out my duties as always. Protecting the city-state and guiding the believers all come from my own heart…”

“Good, Saint Valentine. Your steadfastness moves me. You shall continue to carry out your duties as Protector of the city-state of Pland until the end.

“Saint Vanna, I have also seen your confusion. In light of your actual situation, I must announce the temporary suspension of your office as Inquisitor of Pland.

“This decision takes effect immediately.”

Helena spoke so fast that she finished before Vanna and Valentine could react.

The two Saints on the spot stared at each other.

Valentine: “…?”

Vanna: “…?”