The "smoke" that briefly touched me dissipated.

However, more smoke continued to escape from the Storm Cathedral, drifting and gathering and dispersing, like a dark cloud, invisibly gathering over Purland, and gradually covering half of the city-state.

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

The gray-white fog gave him a feeling...... It's as if a huge creature loses its form, and its soul rises in the reality dimension, turning into this form without restraint, and it is as if a thing behind the reality dimension is gradually releasing its own perception, using the fog as a tentacle to "feel" the outline of the real world.

The second sensation was especially evident when he touched the smoke.

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

“…… It's nothing. Duncan blinked and whispered.

Obviously, Nina couldn't see the smoke – neither Shirley and Alice next to her, nor the ordinary people gathered inside and outside the docks.

But can anyone on the Cathedral of the Storm see? Can she see the Pope, who sits in the cathedral and is regarded as the earthly spokesperson of the "Goddess of the Storm", Gemona?

Duncan watched silently at the majestic "ark" that was almost as large as the entire harbor area, as it slowed down at the edge of the Plain, and watched as its side mechanisms slowly deformed, as if some kind of limb had grown out of a long mechanical bridge, and joined the pier in the harbor.

And the amorphous and invisible smoke has expanded significantly in the process.

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

……

Following the ritual, after a cannon salute and vocal music were played in the port of Purand to welcome him, the Cathedral of the Storm released a long mechanical bridge to complete the connection between the Ark of Pilgrimage and the city-state, followed by a second melodious and solemn whistle from the Ark.

The huge steam valve swirled open, and the pressure relief pipes and whistles throughout the pilgrimage ark were activated at the same moment, and streams of white air erupted from the walls and spires of the church, reaching into the sky with the sound of whistles.

The bell tower on the ark of the church rang at the same time.

Vanna took a deep breath - standing in such a solemn scene, even as an inquisitor, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous at the moment.

After a few more moments, she saw some colorful flags appear on the edge of the ark of the church, and then a group of knights cathars in special armor appeared on the long mechanical bridge, and they rode along the mechanical bridge in steam walkers to the docks, and one of them went straight out to the high priests.

"Bishop Valentine, Inquisitor Vanna, the glory of the Lord of the Storm is with you."

The Commander of the Guardian Knight bowed his head—his entire body was covered in armor made of black alloy, and the structure of the pressurized pipes and steam valves could be seen throughout his breastplate and armguards, and a thick steel mask obscured the knight's true face, and Vanna could only see a faint red glow in his goggles, and hear his voice hissing mixed with air.

Steam is the breath of God, steel is the bridge between man and God, and under the veil, the neighing of the air in the words carries the sanctity of preaching.

"The glory of the Lord of the Storm is with you." Vanna lowered her head and said with Bishop Valentine next to her.

"His Majesty invites you two to take the boat," the Commander of the Knights of the Cathar said to the hissing of the airstream, "and the others please wait a moment. ”

Vanna looked up in surprise, then subconsciously looked at Bishop Valentine, only to see that the latter also looked confused.

Is this part of the ritual part there?

"This is the Pope's temporary arrangement," seeing the confusion of the two high-ranking priests in front of him, the Commander of the Guardian Knights explained, "She has something she wants to know from you. ”

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

Fanna next to her also reacted immediately, bowing her head to show obedience to the order.

"Please wait a moment for the priests and city-state officials—you can also go and rest for a while," the Guardian Commander looked at Dante and the others again, nodded slightly, and said, "Don't worry, it won't be too long." ”

Vanna and Bishop Valentine stepped onto the mechanical bridge to the Cathedral of the Storm, the imposing cathedral that grew closer and closer in her sight, and at the same time exuded an increasingly moving, even slightly suffocating aura.

Just as she approached it, Vana felt her heart pound.

Bishop Valentine on the side noticed the hesitation in Vanna's steps, and the old man shook his head slightly: "Relax, this is not the first time you have seen His Majesty the Pope. ”

“…… Well, I understand. ”

Led by a team of Guardian Knights, Vanna and Valentine crossed the long bridge, across the connecting deck that was almost as wide as the dock square, and were finally ushered into a massive elevator.

Vana thought the lift would take her somewhere on the upper level of the church ark, but inside she felt the whole car sink all the way.

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

The door to the lift opened.

The voice of the Celestial Protector came from the side: "Please move forward on your own - His Majesty the Pope is waiting for you in front." ”

Vanna walked out of the elevator with Valentine, a little confused, and heard the fence gate behind her slam shut with a grinding sound, and then the two looked ahead, only to see a place that was almost completely shrouded in darkness.

I could only dimly see a figure in a fancy costume standing in the middle of the extremely dimly lit room.

Vana hesitated and stepped forward.

And as she took a step, the slight pop of the flame suddenly broke the silence in the dim space.

Bang bang, in a few successive slight explosions, several braziers were lit one after another, and the light of the fire suddenly dispelled the darkness near the elevator, allowing Vanna to see Pope Helena standing not far away, and at the same time made her shocked to find that the scale of this space was far more extensive than she had imagined-

Even though there were several braziers, the space in the distance was still shrouded in darkness, and Vanna couldn't see where the end of this "room" was, she could only see the gray-black, slightly rough ground stretching out in front of her eyes, all the way to the end of the darkness, and at the edge of the brazier's light, she could vaguely see some huge "pillars", and there were many criss-crossing shadows connected between those pillars, which looked ...... Like the piping system at the bottom of the church ark, it could also be a supporting structure.

This is the bottom of the Ark of Pilgrimage?

Why did the Pope host himself and Bishop Valentine here?

Vanna's mind was filled with doubts for a moment, but before she could speak, she heard a gentle and majestic voice coming from the front: "Here you are—Saint Valentine, and Saint Vanna." Welcome to the Ark. ”

"Your Majesty," Vanna quickly gathered the doubts in her heart, straightened her expression and saluted with Bishop Valentine, after the salute she raised her eyes slightly, and said cautiously, "You summoned us, are ......"

Helena didn't wait for Vana to finish, but suddenly came up with a somewhat inexplicable question: "Do you know what this place is?" ”

"Here...... Isn't it the Cathedral of the Storm? Valentine looked up and blinked a little confusedly, "The bottom of the Storm Cathedral?" ”

"This is indeed directly below the Cathedral of the Storm, but structurally speaking, it is no longer the main body of the cathedral," Helena smiled, and her smile seemed to hide some deep meaning in the light of several braziers, "You are standing on the bottom level of the Ark of Pilgrimage, the 'belly' of this giant beast. ”

She looked up, her gaze slowly wandering between Vanna and Valentine.

"This is under the watchful eye of the Storm Lord, and at the same time the closest place to the deep sea, where the blessings of the Lord and the judgments of the Lord coexist."

Helena's gaze stopped, but she didn't look at Vana or Valentine.

It was as if she was speaking to the void in the darkness:

"Is it difficult to continue to perform one's duties after the faith has been shaken?"

The expression on Vanna's face instantly stiffened.

The same is true of Valentine next to him.

An unbearable atmosphere of oppression pervades this vast, dimly lit space.

After some time, Vanna was finally the first to react, and she took a deep breath: "My faith ......"

"I didn't ask you about your faith," Helena shook her head, "and I asked, after your faith has been shaken, has it become more difficult for you to continue to fulfill your duties than before?" ”

Vana was stunned for a moment, as if she didn't realize the deep meaning of the pope's words, but Bishop Valentine next to her was stunned for a moment, and the old bishop immediately spoke: "I have fulfilled my duties as always, protecting the city-state and guiding the believers from my heart......"

"Very well, Saint Valentine, I am touched by your steadfastness—you should continue to fulfill your duty as a patron of the city-state of Purland until the end.

"Saint Vanna, I also see your confusion, and in view of your actual situation, I am compelled to announce the temporary suspension of your position as Inquisitor of Purland.

"This decision is effective immediately."

Helena spoke quickly, and before Vana and Valentine could react, she was finished.

The two saints looked at each other.

Valentine: "......? ”

Vanna: "......? ”

(End of chapter)