Vanna and Valentine were both stunned by this sudden change. Pope Helena's "judgment" was not so much a solemn religious ruling as it was a deliberate effort for a result - the result had already been decided, and the conversation just now was just a procedure.
Such a hasty "ruling" was of course difficult for Judge Vanna to accept, and even Valentine next to her could not accept it. They said in unison: "Your Holiness..."
"That's enough, that's enough. There's nothing wrong with that. Life always has its ups and downs, just like storms are always the most unpredictable," Helena waved her hand, interrupting Vanna and Valentine. "And don't fall into despair easily, Saint Vanna - relinquishing your duties as an inquisitor is not necessarily a punishment. It's just that you are not suitable for this job for the time being. Perhaps... the storm has other favors for you?"
Fanna was startled when she heard this, and seemed to have vaguely heard some deep meaning in Helena's tone. However, just as she was about to ask something, she saw the Pope in front of her shaking his head at her.
"Let's stop here for now. There are still some things that I need to see with my own eyes before I can make a decision," Helena said calmly, "Prande... I haven't set foot on this land in person for many years."
She paused here.
"You guys go back to the upper deck first. The elevator is ready. I will finish a prayer here. It won't take long. We will meet on the upper deck."
Before they could react, Vanna and Valentine were "driven" back into the elevator. It was not until the elevator reached the top and the two of them left the car and walked into the corridor leading to the upper deck that Valentine broke the silence with a low voice: "Vanna, how do you feel now?"
He really couldn't think of a better way to break the awkwardness.
Vanna stopped.
Valentine stepped aside.
"Are you serious about taking these two steps back?"
"I'm afraid you're serious."
"You can even tell a joke. It seems that you also realize the unusualness of this matter," Vanna shook her head and whispered, "To be honest, my initial reaction was disbelief and difficulty in accepting it. This hasty and sloppy 'ruling' was more like a bad joke and should not come from the mouth of Her Holiness. But just now I recalled the details of Her Holiness' words, and I always feel that... she seems to have a deeper meaning."
As she spoke, she exhaled softly, "I think I should wait patiently, waiting for what His Holiness the Pope said, 'the storm will favor me in other ways.'"
"You are indeed calmer and more rational than ordinary people. If something like this happens to you, most people probably won't be able to think as calmly as you do," Valentine took another step forward, speaking as he walked. "But compared to this, I am more concerned about something else right now."
Vanna frowned: "Another thing?"
"To dismiss an Inquisitor, a new Inquisitor must take over. And important positions like the City-State Inquisitor must be 'tested' and appointed by the Pope himself. You should be very familiar with this process," Valentine said slowly. "But His Holiness did not mention this at all... This should have been a 'necessary matter' announced at the same time as the appointment was dismissed, or even in advance."
Vanna frowned subconsciously but did not speak for a moment. Valentine continued, "Also, she chose to announce your dismissal in a secret room that no one knew about. According to church law, the secrets taught by the Pope in the secret room cannot be passed on to others. No matter what the secret is, this is a kind of 'safe code'."
Fanna had to admit that her young self did not have as thorough an understanding of the Storm Code as senior priests like Bishop Valentine, and she did not think of these key points for a moment!
"You mean..."
"No one will know about your dismissal," Valentine looked into Vanna's eyes calmly, "and no new inquisitor will take over your position."
Vanna was stunned and frowned slightly: "Then how can I continue to perform my duties in Plande?"
"I don't know," Valentine said softly. He raised his head and looked at the corridor exit in front of him. After thinking for a moment, he continued, "But I suspect that you may not need to continue to perform your duties in Plande soon."
※※※
In the vast space, Pope Helena stood quietly in the dim firelight. After an unknown amount of time, she raised her head and looked into the darkness in the distance.
This is the very bottom of the Pilgrimage Ark, an area that ordinary people rarely have the opportunity to come into contact with, and even have no way of understanding at all. She calls this place "the belly of the beast." In a sense, this statement is actually not wrong at all.
Helena took a step forward, walked past the burning braziers, and came to a place that had not been illuminated by the fire before.
Clusters of flames spread with her footsteps, gradually illuminating the entire dim space and reflecting things that had not been illuminated before.
There are intricate venous structures on the ground, huge tumors or nerve nodules hanging from the high dome, nerve cords and vascular struts hanging from the dome, and huge pale supports that look like a skeleton.
These things that were originally hidden in the darkness appeared before Helena's eyes as the fire spread.
She finally stopped in front of a huge "pillar".
This is a pillar made up of a large number of complex structures that are coiled and stacked. Its surface is uneven and mottled, and a large number of nerves and vascular systems are entangled like reliefs. Deep in those nervous systems, you can vaguely see complex metal wires and silver-gleaming needles, as if they were spreading down from the upper layer.
At the top of this pillar, on the dim dome, one can see an even denser number of hanging organs. The surface of those organs is covered with grooves, and they look like... a brain.
Helena stared at the pillar for a long time, then reached out and slowly stroked the grooves formed by nerve fibers.
"The Academy of Truth... What incredible technology," she exclaimed softly, "Who would have thought that the dead Leviathan could be 'resurrected' in this way..."
As soon as she finished speaking, a low squirming sound suddenly came from the pillar, and then a hoarse, old voice sounded from an unknown structure: "First of all, I have never been dead from the beginning. Secondly, I don’t think I am 'alive' now - using life and death to describe Leviathan is a very imprecise way of speaking, little girl."
"…I thought you were sleeping."
"I did sleep most of the time, but today you prayed to Queen Gemona very solemnly and brought outsiders to this place. I felt that I should be awake no matter what."
The corners of Helena's mouth seemed to twitch: "...Do you feel satisfied with the scene you saw?"
"I just think you're being unkind," the hoarse, old voice came again, "She's doing a great job, isn't she? No judge in the major city-states has ever been better than her in comprehensive evaluation, and you fired her straight away. Don't even mention the reason of wavering faith... We all know that as long as she can continue to perform her duties, this reason is the least important."
"This is the arrangement of the Storm Lord." Helena said lightly.
The hoarse and old voice was obviously stunned for a moment before speaking: "...Oh, then I have no problem."
Helena shook her head helplessly: "I thought you would at least ask."
However, this time, the hoarse old voice did not respond at all.
He fell asleep.
※※※
On the boundless ocean, the iron battleship Sea Mist was sailing through the waves, and as the battleship gradually "recovered" and its power was fully opened, the thin layer of ice fog reappeared around the ship and small pieces of floating ice continued to form on the nearby sea surface.
Tirian came to the bow and looked out at the open sea ahead.
For some reason, he always felt vaguely uneasy.
At first, he thought it was the aftereffect of "the injury caused by his father", the accumulated pressure from seeing his father several times near the coast of Plande and in the city of Plande. However, as the Sea Mist moved further and further away from Plande, this uneasiness not only did not diminish, but became even stronger.
This even made him gradually feel a little irritated.
It seemed like something was about to happen, or...had already happened, and this thing was very likely related to me.
He trusted his intuition as a supernatural being in this regard.
Tirian took a deep breath, put his hand on the railing in front of him, frowned and thought.
At this moment, as if to confirm this growing uneasiness, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from behind.
Tirian turned around suddenly and saw that it was First Mate Aiden walking towards him.
The usually calm first mate's face was now full of nervousness.
Tirian frowned immediately. "What happened?"
"Just now, the chapel received a psychic message from the home port. Something happened in the sea near Frost."
"Near Frost?" Tirian felt his heart skip a beat and asked, "What's going on?"
"...an ancient diving device suddenly appeared near the Frost Sea," Aiden couldn't help but take a breath when he said this, "It's 'Submersible No. 3' - the eighth one."