The sleepy-eyed Bishop Valentine saw the inquisitor Vanna who rushed to the church in a hurry late at night. The moment he heard the first words spoken by Vanna, the old man came to his senses completely.
"Captain Duncan entered your dream?!" The old bishop looked at Vanna dumbfounded, and even doubted whether he had woken up yet. "That ghost captain took the initiative to find you...just to tell you a location, so that
Are you going to investigate?"
"It's absolutely true - although I also know how incredible it sounds," Fanna nodded vigorously. On the way here, she had guessed that the old bishop would react like this, but she couldn't help it. After all, she
The degree of confusion was no less than that of Valentine, "The chapel in the Sixth Street... I had very little communication with the ghost captain, and this part is the most important information he revealed."
The old bishop was silent for a while. He turned around in silence and looked up at the statue of the Storm Goddess at the end of the church. After an unknown amount of time, he faintly broke the silence: "Fana, do you still remember the cult ceremony you held in the sewer?
Is it contaminated? After that, we carried out remedial purification. Now it seems..."
"I understand what you mean," Fanna took a breath, her expression still calm, "Now it seems that our purification has never been successful, the Homeless Ship is still chasing me, and the ghost captain... has...
His power extends to my dreams."
"Are you still awake now?" Valentine turned around and looked into Vanna's eyes quietly.
"Sober, I tried it on the road. I can completely recite my name and the name of the goddess silently, and recite the contents of the "original book of storms"," Fanna nodded. "Currently, it seems that the pollution is still at a shallow level, and only the ones affected are
My dreams have not yet spread to my physical body, words and deeds in reality.”
"The pollution is at a shallow level, but it cannot be completely eradicated. It is like an irreversible countdown..." Valentine's tone was low, with deep worry in his eyes, "But you are still the judge of Puland City State.
No one can take your place in a short period of time..."
Fanna knew what the old bishop wanted to express.
She has been mentally contaminated by the superior supernatural power. As the judge of the church, her "fortress" has actually been gradually breached, and a fortress that is about to be breached is unreliable, because no one knows that this mental pollution will
To what extent it has developed, no one knows whether Vanna is still Vanna when she wakes up the next morning. She is still loyal to the Storm Goddess, but the next second... no one knows who she is loyal to.
If an ordinary guardian or priest is contaminated by this, the matter will be easily solved. It is very simple to perform a period of confinement and exorcism rituals. Or if there is peace in the city-state, it will be easy to handle. She can temporarily hand over the responsibilities.
Give it to your deputy and go to the deepest part of the church to receive the highest standards of "safety isolation" and "divine purification", but...
Now she, the "Judge", is in an irreplaceable position. Even if she asks for help from the Church of Storms headquarters, this problem cannot be solved in a short time.
"...I can't leave my post." After thinking briefly, Vanna shook her head. She knew that she was posing a problem for the old bishop, but she must continue to perform her duties. "I have a very bad feeling.
We are facing a real, huge crisis. This crisis is not necessarily caused by the Homeless Ship or the Sun Shard. A larger shadow is lurking in the city-state. At this time, I cannot take the responsibility of the Inquisitor
Give it to anyone, even my most trusted lieutenant."
Valentin heard a different kind of seriousness in Vanna's tone, and he immediately frowned slightly: "The crisis beyond the Homeless Ship and the Sun Fragments? Have you discovered anything recently?"
"...I investigated some things in the archives. I should have told you about this matter the next morning, but now it seems that the situation is more complicated than expected, and the urgency needs to be raised," Fanna nodded.
, said with extra seriousness, "I have doubts about the time when the sun fragments appeared in the city-state of Puland, and based on this, I reviewed some data from 1889 and earlier years, and found a large number of low-urgency, but
Weird and dense...records of heretical worship..."
As Vanna spoke, Bishop Valentine finally opened his eyes little by little.
"These materials are lying quietly in our archives?" When Fanna finished her words,
Valentine exclaimed with disbelief, "No one has discovered it all this time? Even the year 1885 that disappeared..."
"No one noticed that our city-state seemed to have been stolen. Some obvious realities just disappeared from everyone's sight," Fanna said in a deep voice, "And this kind of
Disappearance...isn't like something caused by solar debris."
Valentine firmly grasped the scepter in his hand, and his knuckles turned slightly white from the exertion.
"What connection do you think this has with Captain Duncan's message to you in his dream?" he asked suddenly.
"Not sure, but first of all, stealing reality from the city-state is not the ability of the Homeless Ship. Secondly, if this thing is done by the ghost captain, then he has no reason to pollute my dreams anymore and tell me the key clues.
——This is not in line with the rough and chaotic behavior of the captain in the record," Fanna analyzed calmly, "unless...he suddenly changed his temper and turned into a bad devil who made fun of the world, or..."
"or?"
"Maybe he turned into an enthusiastic person who is concerned about the safety of the city-state," Fanna spread her hands, "and came to me to report the danger when she saw it."
"Ahem, this is simply a subspace-level joke," Valentin coughed immediately, and then glared at Vanna, "Don't make such a joke with me when you know that you have already been watched by a superior supernatural being.
This makes me question your mental state."
As he spoke, the old man hammered his chest, straightened out his breath, and then looked into Vanna's eyes with a serious face: "Who else knows about the anomalies found in the archives except you?"
Fanna thought for a while and shook her head: "Only I know, I will check it myself..."
She paused suddenly, as if her mind was stuck, but then she shook her head: "I went to check the files myself."
"That's okay...if there is a conscious black hand behind this matter, then he should not have noticed that the conspiracy has been exposed," Valentin breathed out, and then had to agree with Vanna's statement just now, "You are indeed
You cannot leave your post... You should already have an investigation plan for those files, right?"
"Yes, including coordinated actions with City Hall."
"Starting immediately tomorrow, I will provide you with all assistance," Valentin nodded immediately. "In addition, I will also report to the Pope what happened here. I hope that the Cathedral of Storms can provide us with some assistance..."
As he spoke, the old man thought for a few seconds and then asked: "Can you still pray to the goddess normally now?"
"Yes," Fanna replied immediately, "the connection between me and the goddess has not been affected by that dream."
Valentin frowned: "But the goddess didn't give you any revelation or warning about the mental pollution you suffered?"
"...Yes," Fanna hesitated for a moment, then nodded and admitted, "The goddess did not warn."
Valentin touched his chin, and after a moment of deep thought, he suddenly raised his head and stared into Vanna's eyes: "...During this period, you must return to the church to rest at night, and do not fall asleep outside the church, and you must
Carry the "Book of Storms" with you at all times. Also, if you feel unusually sleepy or exhausted while out and about, you need to go to the church nearest you immediately. Is this possible?"
"can do."
"...Well, I hope you don't think this is some kind of harsh treatment or questioning," the old bishop sighed. Even though Fanna promised firmly, he couldn't help but said, "You can't leave your post now, and Plande
There is no priest with a higher status than you in the city-state who can serve as your supervisor. This is a necessary arrangement to ensure that you can perform your basic duties..."
"Don't worry, of course I understand," Vanna showed a faint smile, and in turn comforted the old bishop in front of her. "I know as well as you what kind of dangerous things we are fighting against. Compared with those who died due to lack of experience and theory,
Seniors, we are extremely lucky to be able to fight under the protection of the rules so far."
After saying this, she paused and continued: "So about the small church in Block 6..."
"We must investigate. No matter what purpose the Ghost Captain found you for, we have to investigate that church," Valentin nodded slowly.
He said, "Moreover... I just recalled a little bit, but I can't remember who the person in charge of that church is. It seems that there is really something going on there."
"Okay, I will personally lead the team there tomorrow."
"Well," Valentin nodded slightly, and then looked at Vanna curiously, "Besides what happened in the chapel, what else did the ghost captain tell you?"
It's okay not to ask this question, but as soon as she asked it, Fanna's expression suddenly became strange.
Valentine: "...why do you have such an expression?"
"He... indeed said something to me, a very unbelievable sentence," Fanna's face was full of hesitation, "I don't know if we should take it seriously..."
"What's wrong with this? The more incredible the content, the more likely it is the key to everything!" Valentine suddenly opened his eyes, "What on earth did he say?"
Fanna hesitated for two seconds, and finally exhaled heavily, with a serious look on her face: "More French fries."
Valentine: "..."
After a moment of silence, the old bishop finally spoke again: "Really?"
"It is absolutely true, as true as my belief in the goddess."
"...Ah, then this is indeed...a bit too incredible..."