Gods of supreme power dwelled within the foundations of this world, watching its workings with gazes that transcended time and space. Devout believers whose spiritual power was devoted to the gods could, to a certain extent, glimpse the course of the Real World's future or changes occurring in some unknown corner of the world through their hidden connection to the divine.
Such glimpses were not bound by time or space, and they carried the risk of being eroded by Subspace. Yet for devout believers with unwavering wills, this dangerous but powerful force was their greatest reliance when protecting that fragile light of civilization amid the endless ocean.
For several days now, the devout Inquisitor had been seeing a similar vision.
Half-awake and half-asleep, she saw the boundless ocean dyed black. Then, a thunderous roar came from the depths of the sea. The ocean split in two, revealing a terrifying chasm that reached all the way to the seabed. A colossal ship wreathed in flames rose from the ocean floor, slowly ascending through the air like an airship. Behind it followed an invisible giant covered in starlight, striding step by step toward Pland City-State.
In all of Inquisitor Vana's life so far, such vast and terrifying "omens" had appeared only twice before.
The first time had been during her childhood. She woke from a nightmare overflowing with blood, then lost her parents in an attack by cultists, leaving behind the scar on her face that would follow her for life.
The second time had been four years ago. In a dream, she saw a dark Sun rise from beneath the city-state, which led to the destruction of the largest Sun God Cult stronghold that had infiltrated the city-state. Even now, the lingering agents of those cultists remained hidden throughout Pland's vast, intricate, ancient tunnel system, engaging in meaningless struggles with the Church's guardians.
This was the third time. She had seen a ship return from the deep sea and bring an indescribable giant into this world.
She had lied to the priest before her—the omen she had seen was actually extremely clear, so clear that even she, an Inquisitor, had been unable to sleep for days.
The priest looked at the calm pale gray eyes of the woman before him. After hesitating for a long while, he finally spoke. "But when you prayed to the Goddess, it seems you received no bad response?"
"...The Goddess will not necessarily warn us of every danger. Sometimes, hardship itself is a test," Vana said calmly. "Never mind that. Has there been any news from the Explorer's Association?"
The priest immediately nodded. "The Association's contact just sent word. The holy relic kept at the Association headquarters detected that ship in the southwestern waters, but the telegraph equipment aboard seems to have malfunctioned. It cannot be contacted at present. All we can confirm is that it is approaching Pland's coastal waters at a normal speed and heading."
"...It disappeared from the holy relic's detection for a time, then appeared out of nowhere in another stretch of sea far from its planned route. It cannot currently be contacted and is sailing straight toward the city-state... Furthermore, before contact was lost, it was escorting an anomalous object." The Inquisitor's brows gradually furrowed. Her instincts, honed through years of dealing with strange things, stirred with alarm. "I remember that ship was called the White Oak, wasn't it?"
"Yes, the White Oak. Its captain is Lawrence Creed, a member of the Explorer's Association and an experienced captain. Due to the special nature of its cargo, the ship reported to the Church before departing Lensa City-State," the priest said as he recalled the details. "Oh, and the accompanying priest aboard is a registered cleric of the Deep Sea Church."
"A fellow member of the Church... I hope the situation is not too bad." Vana's tone was grave. "In any case, something is wrong with that ship. The route from Lensa to Pland lies entirely within the 'safe zone' controlled by the Explorer's Association, yet that ship vanished from the holy relic's detection... I suspect the White Oak may have briefly left the Real World, perhaps even... gone somewhere it should not have.
"Notify the port guardians. Once the White Oak enters the harbor, keep watch on that ship immediately. Until all inspections are complete, no person or object may leave it. Has the security force responded?"
"Please rest assured. Your uncle... Your Excellency the Consul has ordered the constables to secure the area around the port and raised the port's alert level. From now until the alert is lifted, all ships entering and leaving Pland will temporarily dock at the backup port on the west side."
"Good—Uncle has always been a cautious man." The tense expression on Vana's face finally relaxed a little. "As long as he does not let those ordinary people in the security force get involved in this matter."
The priest looked at Vana's pale gray eyes and carefully chose his words before speaking. "Do you think... that ship has already been 'contaminated'?"
"We cannot be sure yet, but even when ships that briefly leave the Real World eventually return, they are rarely completely normal. Perhaps certain objects aboard have unknowingly mutated into 'anomalies.' Perhaps it is a mental illness buried deep within the crew's hearts. There may even be extra sailors, or a captain who has been replaced... It is never wrong to exercise the utmost vigilance toward a sea vessel that has displayed abnormal phenomena."
"Ah... Let us hope the ship and her crew are all safe." The priest could not help placing a hand across his chest as he invoked the Goddess of Storms. "May the Goddess of Storms protect those brave people who challenge the sea."
"May they all be safe," Vana said as she lowered her eyelids and softly offered the same blessing. Then, as though reminding the priest before her, she added, "But if they are unfortunately not 'safe,' we must be prepared as well."
"Yes, I understand."
Vana nodded, but just as she was about to turn her attention back to the city district outside the window, hurried footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the stairs.
The next moment, a guardian wearing a black uniform trimmed in silver, with an emblem of waves and a dagger on his chest, hurried up from the stairwell.
"Your Excellency the Inquisitor!" The young guardian caught his breath twice, then urgently said, "We found a Sun God-worshipping cult ritual site in the sewers, and we've captured a group of cultists!"
Vana's expression immediately turned grave. "Those cultists who worship the dark Sun? Wait, you said you found a ritual site... not a hiding place? They dared hold another ritual?!"
"Yes, it was a site used for ritual ceremonies. We found evidence of sacrificial rites," the guardian said quickly. "And in a cavern not far from the ritual site, we found a large number of victims—most of them had had their hearts sacrificed. But... something is not right at the ritual site."
Vana saw the absurdity and confusion mixed on the guardian's face. She picked up the heavy greatsword blessed by the Goddess of Storms from beside her and swiftly headed for the stairs as she slung it across her back. "Lead the way. I will go to the scene myself."
"Yes!"
The heavy blessed greatsword struck her metal shoulder armor with a crisp clang. Urgent footsteps crossed the long stairways inside the Grand Clock Tower. Vana arrived at the small square before the tower and saw several guardian squad members already gathered there, awaiting orders. Two steam walkers stood at the edge of the square, their spider-like mechanical bodies constantly producing clattering sounds.
Vana did not stop. She merely gave the guardians a gesture to set off, then walked straight toward one of the walkers. This enormous machine, as large as two two-wheeled carriages, resembled a mechanical spider crouched on the ground. Wheels for gliding over level ground and steel hooks for dealing with special terrain were installed along the edges of its iron jointed limbs. On either side of the upper shell were firing cabins fitted with rotary muskets.
Purely technological creations found it difficult to exert sufficient influence on "anomalies" or "visions," but overwhelming firepower could eliminate the heretical cultists hiding behind them and controlling the anomalies. Of course, this thing could not show much of its power in the sewers, but it was quite useful for blocking exits.
A barrage of holy 8-millimeter bullets could send a large group of fleeing heretics to serve their master in Subspace in the blink of an eye.
The gray-haired, gray-eyed Inquisitor leaped directly onto the walker's shell, standing steadily in the night with her longsword on her back. Two other guardians skillfully climbed into the firing cabins on either side of the shell. Then, amid a series of hissing sounds as cylinders and compressed pipes pressurized and released pressure, white steam burst from the walker's limb joints. The enormous mechanical spider rose, leaped onto the nearest main road in a single step, and sped toward the nearest sewer entrance in gliding mode.
It was time to recommend another book. Its title was Into the Unscientific, a scholarly black-tech novel. It had been recommended several times and was still going strong. It was now at 1.4 million characters and nearing ten thousand subscriptions, so interested readers could check it out.
Before you continue