The night was deepening, and the creation of the cold world was already hanging high in the night sky, and the whole city-state fell silent under the pale glow.

On the second floor of the Downtown antique store, Duncan stood in front of a small window at the end of the hallway, quietly looking out the window at the silent street, the undulating roofs in the cold glow, and the pipes and valves that crossed the city on the roofs.

In another distant vision, he could see the Lost Homeland crossing the undulating expanse of the sea, making its way north on a night voyage, chasing the Sea Mist's direction.

Here, he watched the entire city-state, using his ubiquitous "perception" to scan every corner of Prand.

He raised his gaze slightly and saw that the invisible "mist" was still floating over the city.

The "soul" smoke released by the Cathedral of the Storm stopped expanding after dark, and now it was about the size of three-quarters of the city of Plain, and now it was like a veil of slowly wabbling in the night sky, like ......

Take a stroll in the night sky.

Duncan withdrew his gaze to the sky and focused on the vast shadow at the edge of the city-state.

That's where the Cathedral of the Storm is moored.

The huge pilgrimage ark clinged to the southeast harbor of Prand like a dark cloud, and in Duncan's perception, he could clearly feel the outline of the massive entity, but he could not penetrate the prying eyes into the interior of the cathedral.

The interior of the cathedral seemed to him like an empty and dark black hole.

Ordinary ships docked in the harbor could not stop him from perceiving - within close enough distance of Prand, nothing could escape his "touch", but now the cathedral is clearly an exception.

Is this due to the "protection" of the goddess Gemona? Or is it the special protection technology of the Deep Sea Church?

Duncan was a little curious about this, but he didn't take any excessive action, although he did think about whether he could break the protection of the Storm Cathedral by burning it directly with green fire, but he only thought about it for a moment - after all, there is no need to do this kind of thing to set fire to people's houses in order to satisfy his curiosity.

At this moment, Duncan's heart suddenly moved, and he quickly retracted his perception of the Storm Cathedral, and looked up in the direction of Uptown.

He looked thoughtfully at the hill that rose above all around, at the church of Pland that stood in the night.

……

High up in the Plain Cathedral, in a well-lit lounge, Pope Helena lit a ceremonial candle mixed with spices, and placed the candlestick in front of a full-length mirror in the corner, before turning her head slightly to look at Vanna, who had been standing beside her for a long time.

"I heard that the first time you saw 'him' in a dream, your first reaction was a suicide jump - what did you think at the time?"

There was a slight embarrassment on Vanna's face: "At that time...... Didn't think much of it. ”

"When you say 'don't think much,' it's usually 'nothing at all,'" Helena laughed, "and that's good, good warriors tend to act faster than they think, which is very useful in the fight against heresy - after all, 'thinking' itself can easily become a loophole for us." ”

“…… But I'm only glad that my recklessness didn't lead to any consequences," Vana sighed helplessly, "In hindsight, he didn't seem to care about my 'offense' at all." ”

"He doesn't care, they don't care," Helena sighed softly, "the higher beings care about something bigger, more long-term...... The good news is that they care about our survival in some way. ”

Vana didn't respond for a while, and Helena looked at the "inquisitor" who was no longer a judge with a smile: "Vanna, you should have a lot of questions to ask." ”

"I want to know...... What you have done for me," Vana hesitated for a moment, but then spoke, "I am a little overwhelmed by the fact that you have secretly dismissed me as inquisitor and have not arranged for a new city-state guardian. ”

Helena listened calmly, without the slightest hint of surprise on her face, and after Vana finished speaking, the pope, who seemed to be very young, just smiled and turned his head to look out the window.

Through the window sashes inlaid with wrought iron patterns, you can see the peaceful and tranquil streets of the city-state illuminated by a large number of gas lamps.

"It's a quiet night, Vanna," said the Pope, "and you think the Guardians of the Night Patrol today will report on a few incidents of Otherworldly Pollution or Evil Incursions?" ”

Vanna was stunned for a moment, and then spoke a little hesitantly: "...... I'm not sure, the city-state is indeed safer these days, and there are no incidents reported, but ......"

"Zero," the Pope interrupted her, "tonight's events are zero, like yesterday, the day before yesterday, and tomorrow will be the same. ”

Vanna opened her mouth.

"You've obviously noticed this, but you haven't dared to draw conclusions, have you?" Helena laughed, "A city that is no longer dangerous at night, even in the temporary darkness after the gas lamp is extinguished, there are no more shadows, and the brightest pearl of the infinite sea is now worthy of its name." ”

Vanna finally reacted: "You mean ......"

"Vision-Purand," Helena nodded slightly, "within this large vision, there doesn't seem to be any otherworldly 'pollution' other than 'Vision-Plain' itself. ”

"Is this your observation?"

"Do you think I'm here just to be 'respected' by the citizens in the streets and to be greeted by the priests and officials in the cathedral?" Helena looked at Vana with a smirk, "I have my own way of observing and judging the changes taking place in this city-state. ”

Vanna's mouth was open, she seemed to have countless things to say, but suddenly she didn't know where to start, and her mind was filled with a mess of thoughts, and she only felt that what was happening was once again beyond her own worldview, so that she couldn't find a way to continue the topic with the logic of the past, and it didn't take long for her to come up with a sentence: "So...... Plant doesn't need an Inquisitor now? ”

"I'm not sure," Helena's answer surprised Vanna, and the Pope shook his head, obviously unsure, "because it never happened, but at least one thing is certain, as long as the nature of the vision-Poland remains the same, then you really don't need to work as before, and the duties of the city-state guardians will change greatly." ”

At this point, Helena paused, then pondered and added, "But even so, the city-state still needs the protection of its guardians - I can only be sure for the vision - there will be no 'transcendent pollution in the natural state' within Purland, but the threat we have to fight is not only natural phenomena, heretics, ancient children, evil creations, and those fanatics who actively want to destroy the order of civilization will not be separated by the vision of Purander."

"But there's one thing that's not wrong overall: Poland has become safer."

Helena paused, her gaze calmly into Vanna's eyes, and after a few seconds, she continued in a soft voice, "Vanna, we are on a very new path, and no city-state, no church, has ever faced such a situation.

"On the other hand, our world ...... There seems to be some disturbing changes taking place, whether it's the 'glitch' of Vision 001 or the activities of the Lost Country, which are upsetting the fragile balance that has been maintained by the city-states for thousands of years, and in this case, the goddess has only sent down a very limited revelation...... I can only act under this limited revelation.

"Vanna, you have a great talent, and this talent should be sent to ...... A more valuable place. Plant is in the safest state right now, but I guess you're not a person who indulges in comfort, right? ”

Hearing the Pope's words, Fanna immediately subconsciously straightened up: "I am ready to sacrifice everything for faith and justice at any time!" ”

"Sacrifice everything?"

"Of course, sacrifice everything!"

"Do you have no hesitation in doing anything?"

"As long as it is the will of the goddess!"

"Including going to the Lost Country?"

"Including the removal of ......"

Vanna subconsciously said loudly, but as soon as she popped out a few words, she was stuck on the spot, and she almost couldn't hold her breath, and after two seconds, she looked at the Pope in front of her in a daze: "You just ...... Say what? ”

"As I said, there are many disturbing changes going on in our world, and of all these changes, at least the Lost Country is the only one that shows the possibility of communication and good intentions," Helena said solemnly, "We need to establish a stable line of communication with the owner of the Lost Land, preferably with some official character, you can think of yourself as an envoy or as a 'hostage' - of course I personally recommend that you use the first statement, but it's up to you what you think." ”

Vana listened dumbfounded, and it wasn't until the Pope finished speaking that she finally found a chance to speak: "But ...... Can...... But is that reasonable? Go to the Lost Country...... Is that the concept I understand? Is this possible?! ”

Helena quietly looked at the young "judge" who was a little at a loss, she had expected this reaction, and after a long time, she said with a smile: "Reasonable." ”

(End of chapter)