However, more smoke is still escaping from the Storm Cathedral, drifting, gathering and dispersing, like a dark cloud, gathering invisibly over Plande, and its coverage area is getting larger and larger, gradually spreading all over
He conquered half of the city.
There was still a bit of cold touch on Duncan's fingertips. He frowned slightly and looked at the sky above the city, filled with doubts.
Those gray-white fog gave him a feeling... as if a huge creature had lost its body, and its soul rose up in the real dimension, turning into this appearance without restraint, and it seemed like a creature in reality.
The things behind the dimensions are gradually releasing their own perceptions, using the fog as tentacles to "feel" the outline of the real world.
The second feeling was especially obvious when he touched the smoke.
"Uncle Duncan?" Nina's voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting Duncan's random thoughts, "What are you doing with your hands?"
"...Nothing." Duncan blinked and said softly.
Obviously, Nina couldn't see the smoke - neither could Shirley and Alice next to her, nor could the ordinary people gathered inside and outside the pier.
But can the people on the Storm Cathedral see it? Can the female pope who sits in the cathedral and is regarded as the spokesperson of "Storm Goddess Gmorna" in the world, see it?
Duncan quietly stared at the magnificent "Ark" that was almost as huge as the entire port area, watching it slow down at the edge of Pland, watching its side mechanism slowly deforming, extending out as if growing some kind of limbs.
A long mechanical bridge was built and connected with the trestle on the port.
And the amorphous and invisible smoke expanded significantly in the process.
Duncan did not feel any hostility from the fog, nor did he perceive any danger, so he took no action for the time being.
…
Following the ceremonial requirements, after firing salutes and playing vocal music to show welcome at Puland Port, the Storm Cathedral released a long mechanical bridge to complete the connection between the Pilgrimage Ark and the city-state. Subsequently, the message came from the Ark.
There was a second melodious and solemn whistle.
The huge steam valve rotated open, and the pressure relief pipes and whistle devices in various parts of the Pilgrimage Ark were activated at the same time. Streams of white air spurted out from the walls and spires of the church, and went straight into the sky amidst the sound of the whistle.
The bell towers on the city-state and church arks rang at the same time.
Fanna took a deep breath - standing in such a solemn scene, even as a judge, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous at the moment.
After a while, she saw some colorful flags appearing on the edge of the church ark, and then a group of guardian knights wearing special armor appeared on the long mechanical bridge. They were riding steam walkers.
, walked along the mechanical bridge to the dock, and one of them went straight out of the queue and came to a group of senior priests.
"Bishop Valentine, Judge Vanna, the glory of the Storm Lord is with you."
The Skitarii Knight commander lowered his head - his whole body was covered with armor made of black alloy. The structures of pressurized pipes and steam valves could be seen on his breastplate and arm guards, which were covered by a thick steel mask.
Uncovering the knight's true face, Vanna could only see the slight red light in his goggles and hear the hissing sound of air currents in his voice.
Steam is the breath of God, and steel is the bridge between man and God. Under the visor, the air flow in the words carries the sanctity of preaching.
"The glory of the Storm Lord is with you." Vanna lowered her head and said together with Bishop Valentine next to her.
"His Majesty the Pope invites you two to board the ark," the commander of the Guardian Knights said amid the hiss of air currents. "Others, please wait a moment."
Vanna raised her head in surprise, and then subconsciously looked at Bishop Valentine, only to see the latter also looking confused.
Is this part of the ceremony?
"This is a temporary arrangement by the Pope," seeing the confusion of the two high-ranking priests in front of him, the Guardian Knight Commander explained, "She has something she wants to know from you."
"Follow Your Majesty's arrangements." Bishop Valentine immediately calmed down the confusion in his expression, lowered his head and said respectfully.
Fanna next to her also immediately reacted and lowered her head to show her obedience to the order.
"Priests and city-state officials, please wait for a moment - you can also go aside and take a rest," the Guardian Knight Commander looked at Dante and others again, nodded slightly and said, "Don't worry, you won't have to wait too long."
Vanna and Bishop Valentine stepped onto the mechanical bridge leading to the Cathedral of Storms - the majestic cathedral was getting closer and closer in her sight, and at the same time, it also exuded an increasingly breathtaking and even shocking atmosphere.
The majestic aura makes people feel slightly suffocated.
Just by getting closer to it, Fanna felt her heart start to beat fast.
Bishop Valentine on the side noticed the hesitation in Vanna's steps. The old man shook his head gently: "Relax, this is not the first time you have seen His Majesty the Pope."
"……Yes, I know."
Under the guidance of a team of guardian knights, Vanna and Valentine crossed the long bridge, walked through the connecting deck that was almost as wide as the dock square, and were finally taken into a huge elevator.
Vanna thought the elevator would take her somewhere on the upper level of the church ark, but she felt the entire car sinking all the way inside.
The car's sinking process lasted for a long time. It was so long that Fanna couldn't help but begin to suspect that the elevator was going to go straight to the sea. The creaking sound of the steel cable running in her ears suddenly stopped.
The lift door opens.
The voice of the Guardian Knight came from the side: "Please move forward - His Majesty the Pope is waiting for you in front."
Fanna followed Valentin out of the elevator in a daze. She heard the fence door at the back slam shut with a friction sound. Then the two of them looked forward, and what they saw was a place almost completely shrouded in darkness.
in the place.
I could only vaguely see a figure in rich clothes standing in the middle of an extremely dark room.
Fanna hesitated for a moment and took a step forward.
And as she took steps, the slight explosion when the flame was lit suddenly broke the silence in this dim space.
Bang bang bang, with several continuous slight explosions, several braziers were lit one after another. The fire suddenly dispelled the darkness near the elevator, allowing Vanna to see clearly Pope Helena who was standing not far away. At the same time,
She was also shocked to find that the scale of this space was far wider than she imagined——
Even with the illumination of several fire pots, the space in the distance was still shrouded in darkness. Fanna couldn't see where the end of this "room" was. She could only see the gray-black, slightly rough ground.
The vision continues to extend all the way to the end of the darkness, and at the edge of the brazier's light, some huge "pillars" can be vaguely seen, and there are many criss-crossing shadows connected between those pillars, which look like...
The piping system at the bottom of the church ark may also be a support structure.
Is this the bottom of the Pilgrimage Ark?
Why did the Pope receive himself and Bishop Valentine here?
Vanna had doubts in her heart for a moment, but before she could speak, she heard a gentle and majestic voice coming from the front: "You are here - Saint Valentine, and Saint Vanna.
Welcome to the Ark."
"His Majesty the Pope," Vanna quickly suppressed her doubts, straightened her expression, and saluted with Bishop Valentine. After the ceremony, she slightly raised her gaze and spoke cautiously, "You summoned us here because...
"
Helena did not wait for Fanna to finish speaking, but suddenly asked a somewhat inexplicable question: "Do you know where this place is?"
"Isn't this...the Cathedral of Storms?" Valentine raised his head and blinked in confusion, "The bottom of the Cathedral of Storms?"
"This is indeed directly under the Cathedral of Storms, but strictly speaking, this place has been separated from the main body of the cathedral." Helena showed a smile. Under the reflection of several fire pots, her smile seemed to hide a hidden meaning.
With some profound meaning, "You are standing at the lowest level of the Pilgrimage Ark, in the 'belly' of this giant beast."
She raised her head and her eyes slowly wandered between Vanna and Valentine.
"Here is under the watchful eye of the Lord of Storms, and it is also the place closest to the deep sea. The Lord's blessing and the Lord's judgment coexist here."
Helena's eyes stopped, but she neither looked at Vanna nor Valentin.
She seemed to be speaking to the void in the darkness:
"Is it difficult to continue to perform your duties after your faith is shaken?"
The expression on Fanna's face instantly stiffened.
The same goes for Valentine next to him.
An unbearable depressive atmosphere filled this vast and dark space.
After an unknown amount of time, Fanna finally reacted first. She took a deep breath: "My faith..."
"I didn't ask about your faith," Helena shook her head. "I asked, after your faith is shaken, is it more difficult for you to continue to perform your duties than before?"
Vanna was stunned for a moment, as if she didn't realize the profound meaning of the Pope's words. Bishop Valentine next to her suddenly realized after a brief moment of astonishment. The old bishop immediately spoke: "I perform my duties as always, protecting the city and guiding the believers.
From my heart..."
"Very well, Saint Valentine, I am moved by your determination - you should continue to perform your duties as the protector of the city-state of Purnd until the end.
"Saint Fanna, I also see your confusion. In view of your actual situation, I have to announce the temporary suspension of your duties as the judge of Pland.
"This decision takes effect immediately."
Helena spoke very fast, and she finished speaking before Vanna and Valentin could react.