Chapter 278

Chapter 278: .

The veil of night was sinking deeper, and the cold World’s Wound already hung high in the night sky. Under its pale glow, the entire city-state fell into silence.

On the second floor of the antique shop in the Lower City, Duncan stood at the small window at the end of the hallway. He quietly looked out at the silent street, at the uneven rooftops under the cold light, and at the pipes and valves that crossed the district above those roofs.

In another, distant sight, he could see the Vanished crossing the rolling waves of the Boundless Sea. The ship was sailing north through the night, chasing in the direction where the Sea Mist had gone.

Here in Pland, he extended his gaze over the entire city-state. Using that omnipresent sense, he scanned every corner of Pland.

He lifted his eyes a little and saw that the invisible “mists” were still floating above the city.

Those soul-like “smokes” released by the great storm Cathedral had stopped expanding after nightfall. Now they barely covered three quarters of Pland. They rose and fell slowly in the night sky like a thin veil, as if they were…

Taking a leisurely walk through the night sky.

Duncan withdrew his gaze from the sky and turned his attention to that enormous mass of Shadows at the edge of the city-state.

That was where the great storm Cathedral lay anchored.

The enormous Pilgrimage Ark clung to Pland’s southeastern Harbor like a dark cloud. In Duncan’s senses he could clearly feel the outline of this huge body, but he could not push his probing gaze into the interior of that great Cathedral.

For him, the inside of that great Cathedral was like an empty, dark black hole.

The ordinary ships moored in the Harbor could not block his senses at all. Within a range close enough to Pland, nothing could escape this kind of “touch” from him. Yet this great Cathedral was clearly an exception.

Was it because of Goddess Gamona’s “protection”? Or because of some special shielding used by the Deep Sea Church?

Duncan was a little curious, but he did not take any excessive action. He had indeed considered just blasting it once with the green flame to see if he could break the storm Cathedral’s defenses, but he only thought about it. After all, they had no grudges between them. There was no need to set fire to someone’s house just to satisfy his curiosity.

At that moment, Duncan suddenly felt something. He quickly withdrew his senses from the storm Cathedral and lifted his head to look toward the Upper City.

He gazed thoughtfully at the hills that rose above the surrounding terrain and at Pland Cathedral standing in the night.

…

High in Pland Cathedral, a lounge was brightly lit. Pope Helena lit ritual candles mixed with spices and set the candlestick before a full-length mirror in the corner. Then she tilted her head slightly and looked at Vanna, who had been standing at her side for a long time.

“I heard that the first time you saw ‘him’ in a dream, your first reaction was to leap at him with a full-force jumping slash. What were you thinking at the time?”

A hint of embarrassment appeared on Vanna’s face as she said: “At the time… I didn’t really think about it.”

“When you say ‘I didn’t really think about it,’ it usually means ‘I didn’t think at all,’” Helena said with a smile. “That is actually good. Excellent Warriors usually let action move faster than thought. It is very useful when fighting Heretics and Malevolent Spirits—after all, ‘thinking’ itself can easily become our weakness.”

“…But I only feel lucky that my reckless move didn’t cause any consequences,” Vanna sighed helplessly. “Looking back, he didn’t seem to care about my ‘offense’ at all.”

“He doesn’t care. None of Them care,” Helena said softly. “Higher Beings care about broader, longer things… The good news is, our survival is at least included somewhere in what They care about.”

For a moment Vanna did not respond. Helena looked at this “Inquisitor” who was no longer an Inquisitor, smiling faintly, and said: “Vanna, you must have many questions you want to ask.”

“I want to know… what arrangements you have for me,” Vanna hesitated, then finally spoke. “You secretly removed me from my position as Inquisitor and still have not appointed a new guardian for the city-state. I feel a bit at a loss. I don’t know how I’m supposed to carry out my duty next.”

Helena listened calmly, without the slightest surprise on her face. When Vanna finished, the Pope, who still looked rather young, just smiled and turned to glance out the window.

Through the window framed with wrought-iron patterns, the city streets lit by countless gas lamps looked peaceful and calm.

“It is a very quiet night, Vanna,” the Pope said. “How many incidents of supernatural corruption or eldritch intrusion do you think tonight’s patrolling Guardians will report?”

Vanna froze for a moment, then spoke hesitantly: “…I’m not sure. The city-state really has been relatively safe these days, with hardly any incident reports, but…”

“Zero,” the Pope interrupted. “Tonight there will be zero incidents—just like yesterday, the day before yesterday, and tomorrow as well.”

Vanna opened her mouth.

“You have obviously noticed it too, but you still don’t dare draw a conclusion, do you?” Helena smiled and said: “A city whose nights are no longer dangerous. Even in the temporary darkness after the gas lamps go out, no Shadows grow anymore. The brightest pearl on the Boundless Sea has finally lived up to its name.”

Vanna finally began to catch up: “You mean…”

“Vision-Pland,” Helena nodded lightly. “Inside this large Vision, it seems there are no supernatural corruption phenomena other than Vision-Pland itself.”

“This is your conclusion from observation?”

“Did you think I came here only to let the citizens ‘pay their respects’ on the streets, and to accept greetings from priests and Officials in the great Cathedral?” Helena looked at Vanna with a half-smile. “I have my own ways of observing and judging the changes happening in this city-state.”

Vanna stood there with her mouth slightly open. It felt as if she had countless things to say, yet she suddenly did not know where to start. Messy, tangled thoughts filled her head. She only felt that what was happening once again went beyond her worldview, so much that her old logic could not even find a way to continue the conversation. After who knew how long, she finally blurted out: “So… Pland doesn’t need an Inquisitor anymore?”

“I’m not sure,” Helena said, surprising Vanna. The Pope shook her head, clearly uncertain herself. “This kind of thing has truly never happened before. But at least one point is clear: as long as the nature of Vision-Pland does not change, you really no longer need to work the way you used in the past. The duties of the city-state Guardians will also change greatly.”

Helena paused here, then went on, thinking as she spoke: “Even so, the city-state still needs the protection of Guardians. For now I can only be sure that inside Vision-Pland there will be no ‘naturally occurring supernatural corruption.’ But the threats we face are not limited to natural phenomena. Heretic elements, ancient Spawn, evil creations, those madmen who actively want to destroy the order of civilization will not stay quiet just because Pland has turned into a Vision.

“But overall, one thing is certain: Pland has become much safer.”

Helena stopped. Her gaze stayed calm as she met Vanna’s eyes, and after a few seconds she spoke again in a gentle voice: “Vanna, we are walking a very new path. No city-state and no Church has ever faced a situation like this.

“On the other hand, our world itself… seems to be undergoing some unsettling changes. Whether it is the ‘malfunction’ of Vision 001 or the movements of the Vanished, both are breaking the fragile balance that the city-states have maintained for thousands of years. In such a situation, the Goddess has given only very limited revelation… I can only act within this limited revelation.

“Vanna, you have great talent, and that talent should be placed in… somewhere more valuable. Pland is now in its safest state, but I don’t think you are someone who likes to sink into comfort, are you?”

Hearing the Pope’s words, Vanna instinctively straightened her back at once: “I am always ready to sacrifice everything for faith and justice!”

“Sacrifice everything?”

“Of course, everything!”

“And you would do anything without hesitation?”

“As long as it is the Goddess’s will!”

“Including going aboard the Vanished?”

“Including…”

Vanna started to answer loudly on instinct, but she choked after just a few words and almost lost her breath. Two seconds later she stared wide-eyed at the Pope before her and said: “What did you… just say, Your Eminence?”

“I said that our world is undergoing many disturbing changes, and among all these changes, the Vanished is at least the only one that has shown the possibility of communication and a tendency toward goodwill,” Helena said solemnly. “We need to establish a stable channel of communication with the master of the Vanished, and it is best if it has some official nature. You can consider yourself an Envoy, or you can see yourself as a ‘hostage’—personally I suggest you use the first description, but how you think about it is up to you.”

Vanna listened, dumbfounded. Only when the Pope finished did she finally find a chance to speak: “B-but… is that even reasonable? Going onto the Vanished… Is that what I think it means? Is that even possible?!”

Helena quietly watched the young, flustered “Inquisitor,” as if she had long expected this reaction. After a while she smiled and said: “It is reasonable.”