Ashes Of Deep Sea

Chapter 146 - 150: The Secret in the Underground Sanctuary

Chapter 146: Chapter 150: The Secret in the Underground Sanctuary

“Do you wish to pray to the goddess?”

To be honest, Duncan’s instinctive reaction at that moment was that there was something wrong with Gomona, the Storm Goddess—it was this seemingly protective deity’s dangerous other side that cast a terrifying shadow deep within the City-State, and the occasional distorted appearance of the statue was evidence of that.

But the next second, another doubt arose: if there really was something wrong with Gomona, why were the other churches around the city normal?

He had indeed seen other Deep Sea Churches before—there was a community church near the antique shop, and there was one next to that ocean museum as well. Even though he hadn’t entered to investigate thoroughly, he had lingered nearby, and the aura those churches emitted… was clearly different from the eerie church in front of him.

He had also encountered other clergy, including entry-level priests and guardians, as well as Judges like Fenna, who resided at the pinnacle of the City-State. All these people who served the Storm Goddess day and night seemed completely normal, even more resolute and clearheaded than most.

He ignored the nun and looked up at the statue.

After the fleeting glimpse just moments ago, the eerie crack in the statue’s head had not reappeared. Even in another aspect overlaid within the church, the statue was merely blackened by smoke, as if that crack had sensed something and actively hidden itself away.

Duncan frowned.

This church’s peculiarity was clearly an exception. Thus, if it wasn’t the Storm Goddess who was at fault… the scene he had just witnessed could possibly be explained as some force using this church as a node, attempting to erode reality.

But what exactly was it?

The form of that crack bore no relation to the Sun God and didn’t remind him of a Sun Shard either. If anything… the dim shadows surging within the fracture made him think of the chaos outside the hull of the “Homeloss.”

“Do you wish to pray to the goddess?”

The nun’s voice came again. She showed neither impatience nor urgency but seemed to repeat the question again and again like a triggered keyword whenever Duncan and Sherry stood beside the statue.

Sherry seemed a bit at a loss, instinctively looking towards Duncan, who finally responded calmly, staring at the nun: “Are you praying to your goddess?”

This should have been a straightforward question, to which any normal believer would have responded affirmatively, but the nun’s reaction made Sherry’s eyes widen.

“I… don’t know,” the nun said calmly, shaking her head as if she saw no issue with her response, “I am just praying, He asked me to pray here.”

Duncan immediately frowned, “Who is ‘He’?”

“The Supreme Being.” The nun smiled.

Yet, the gentle smile from the nun sent a chill through Sherry.

“I do not pray to any deity,” Duncan stated flatly, subtly pulling Sherry back a half step away from the prayer stand, “including your goddess.”

“Oh, that’s a pity,” the nun sighed softly, then bowed her head again, no longer paying any attention to Duncan and Sherry.

Duncan stared at the shifting ash in human form for a few seconds, making sure it truly was no longer paying him any mind, then turned to walk elsewhere.

The small chapel was limited in size, with virtually nowhere to hide; apart from the main hall where the statue was enshrined, there were only a few rooms connected to it and a basement.

Duncan first led Sherry to check the surrounding rooms, finding nothing of particular importance. Lastly, they found a staircase leading down to the basement at the end of a corridor outside the main hall.

“Are we really going down there?” Sherry looked uneasily at the dark staircase before her, instinctively glancing back towards the main hall, “Could that weird nun suddenly come killing our way?”

“That ‘nun’ is clearly trapped in the main hall and cannot stray too far from the statue,” Duncan shook his head. “But if she really comes at us… we’ll have no choice but to take action. After all, with that posture… it’s hard to say she’s still a living human.”

Swallowing nervously, Sherry’s courage was usually vast, but however bold, this was her first time stirring trouble in a Deep Sea Church chapel. A deep-seated nervous reverence accumulated over years caused her heart to thump wildly.

But she knew she better not refuse—she had some sense of which was more dangerous, a nun transformed from a commoner or a shadow from the Subspace.

At that moment, Duncan suddenly spoke again, startling Sherry just as she had made up her mind, “By the way, summon Ah Dog.”

Sherry’s eyes widened in an instant, “What?! Summon Ah Dog? In the Storm Goddess’s church?!”

“This place might no longer be the Storm Goddess’s church,” Duncan shook his head, “It’s hard to say what is dominating here now—go ahead and summon Ah Dog. Look, even I am standing here in this ‘church,’ could a Profound Demon be more out of place than me?”

Thinking about it, Sherry felt there was some reason in his words, but mainly because she dared not disagree, she had no choice but to honestly raise her arm and summon Ah Dog into the real world.

Black fiery flames and swirling smoke surged upward, and the gigantic Abyssal Hound appeared in front of Duncan in an instant.

Just as the summoning finished, Ah Dog professionally sprawled right under Duncan’s feet, its skeletal tail wagging like a five-speed electric fan, “Greetings to you, great Dun…”

“Alright, save the formalities,” Duncan waved his hand to cut him off before he could finish. He already had an annoying goat head bothering him and truly did not want another similar-style dog added to the mix, “You must have already felt that there’s something off with this church. Take a look with your own eyes—next, I might need your ‘keen sight.'”

Ah Dog promptly got up from the ground, turned its head to survey the surrounding corridors, and the staircase leading down to the basement, its hollow scarlet eye sockets flickering with light.

“This is a truly sinister place…” the Abyssal Hound’s voice was hoarse and deep, “It’s dizzying to look at…”

After pausing, as though making further judgments, it slightly turned its head to Duncan and said, “It’s somewhat similar to the situation in that abandoned factory we visited before, but it’s even more distorted here. This distortion has nearly reached the threshold that the real world can withstand… Yes, it seems we have indeed found a crucial ‘point’ on this veil.”

“The distortion has nearly reached the threshold of the real world, no wonder I can observe it directly,” Duncan nodded knowingly, his gaze then fell on the stairs ahead, “The entire church has been checked, what remains… should only be this basement. According to the structure of most Deep Sea Churches, the area ahead should be what is referred to as the ‘Underground Sanctuary.'”

“I’m starting to get excited,” Ah Dog wagged its ugly head, the chains on its neck clattering, “This is the first time in my life that I’m legitimately entering the forbidden grounds of the Deep Sea Church… I’ve never seen what it’s like down there!”

Sherry gave Ah Dog a strange look, “Can you not act like some pervert getting ready to sneak into a women’s restroom?”

Ah Dog: “…”

Duncan ignored the dysfunctional duo, having already passed Ah Dog and walked down the steps, arriving at the great doors leading to the Underground Sanctuary.

As a small community church, the so-called “Underground Sanctuary” was merely a spacious basement, and the door to the Underground Sanctuary was a sturdy oak door, reinforced and blessed with steel frames and holy runes.

Duncan placed his hand on the door, giving it a light push, and found it unlocked. However, when he pushed harder, he felt some resistance as if something was blocking the door from the other side.

“There’s something behind the door.” Duncan stepped back slightly, observing the dark oak door in front of him.

Somehow, when he arrived at the doorway to the Underground Sanctuary, the eerie “superimposition” scene had receded, and all he could see was this sole door.

It seemed that the “two branches” overlapping in the church had converged here, leaving only the sole “reality.”

“Shall we break the door?” Sherry had followed him up, already lifting the chain in her hands, her expression eager to try it out, while Ah Dog also readied itself—specifically by grabbing its head with its paws, assuming the form of a morning star.

“…It might destroy evidence,” Duncan stopped Sherry, who was ready to use her traditional skills of swinging the dog. He placed his hand on the rune-covered door, a tiny flame sparked between his fingers, which quickly traveled along the etched grooves on the door, “Theoretically, this door should belong to Transcendent items, so…”

In the next second, the once-blessed sanctuary door turned into fuel for the spiritual fire, burning fiercely with a pale green light, loyally following the ‘master’s’ command.

It burned itself out.

And as the door vanished in ash and smoke, the object that had been blocking it from the other side also appeared before Duncan and the others, collapsing to the ground with a thud.

It was a nun in a black robe, covered in wounds, still holding a longsword in her hand, still glaring angrily at something in the darkness even in death.

Sherry saw the face clearly, a chill rising from the bottom of her heart.

“Is that… the nun we saw earlier?!”

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