Chapter 626 Calling for Calm

Frankly, Vanna thought old man Morris had a point.

Flame, sacred oil, and spices—the three essential elements for performing a divine ritual. While these things could be "expediently" substituted in special circumstances, replacing them all with things found in the kitchen was a bit much.

But she decided to try anyway.

After all, first, she had tried it more than once on the Vanishing Sail, and second, she couldn't find any more suitable materials in this "witch's mansion."

"I shouldn't have expected a 'witch' to have things like sacred oil," Vanna sighed, helplessly telling Morris, "Still, I'm usually better prepared."

Morris subconsciously muttered, "I always feel like ever since you successfully performed a ritual with inferior materials on the ship last time, you've never seriously thought about preparing ritual materials properly again..."

Vanna shrugged, raising her hand and pointing out the window, "Then why don't you find a way to buy some from the street for me?"

Morris looked up at the street outside the window, with its swaying shadows of trees, and thought it best to remain silent considering the current chaotic situation in Light Breeze Harbor.

Shirley, who had rushed over to watch the excitement with A Gou in tow, suddenly chimed in, "Why don't you add some ginger and garlic?"

Vanna was baffled, "Why?"

Shirley: "So Luney can cook two dishes after you finish the ritual—I'm hungry."

"...Don't make fun of me!" Vanna finally couldn't maintain her composure. She glared at Shirley, trying to look dignified and serious, "This is a solemn ritual, I'm just forced to act expediently due to the limited conditions..."

Shirley listened without saying anything, but pulled A Gou further away towards the door.

Vanna was confused, "...Why are you standing so far away?"

"I don't understand your 'cleric's' fancy stuff, but reason tells me it's best to stand a little further away now," Shirley waved her hand. "I don't want your blood to splatter on me when you get struck by lightning later."

Vanna: "..."

The Inquisitor tried to calm her mood, deciding to ignore the onlookers by the door. She took a light breath, focusing her attention on constructing the spiritual energy channel in the ritual.

Flames ignited, oil bubbled.

In any case, fire is fire—at any time, the lighting of fire symbolizes the beginning of civilization. It is a symbol, displayed by mortals to the gods. The meaning of this symbol is only one thing—"I am here."

From a long time ago, from when she had just graduated and left the seminary, Vanna had always believed this—the form of the fire doesn't matter, the act of lighting the fire itself is the meaning.

As one of the most outstanding clerics of the younger generation of the Deep Sea Church, this was the only thought of Vanna's that could be considered "not in line with dogma" in the past few years—of course, that was only in the past.

Now her heretical thoughts and deeds were far too numerous.

The gentle sound of waves rang in the ears of this increasingly "heretical" Inquisitor.

She sensed a gaze, a gentle gaze falling on her, then the gaze turned elsewhere, and the "channel" opened before her—at the end of the "channel," Bishop Valentine's voice came.

"Vanna?" The old bishop's voice sounded surprised. "I didn't expect to suddenly receive your call... Wait, what's that smell?"

"That's not important, Archbishop," Vanna composed herself, saying in a serious tone, "I have something to tell you, don't panic..."

"What is it?"

"The Captain will go to the Cathedral to find you in a moment. He wants the construction data of the Vanishing Sail—all of it."

...

Duncan frowned slightly, standing in the ward with Heidi, looking at the young elf lying on the hospital bed.

"This patient was admitted this morning. There are dozens of patients like this—several elven communities have begun to panic, because no one knows who will be the next to fall or disappear," Heidi said in a low voice. "The incident has risen to the level of transcendent pollution. The Church has sent guards to take over those communities, but other than constantly sending elves who show abnormalities here, they can't do much."

Duncan nodded with a solemn expression, then stepped forward, bending down to observe the condition of the young elf on the bed.

The latter's entire body showed a hazy, illusory texture, like a phantom that could dissipate at any moment, barely "lingering" on the hospital bed in the shape of a human.

This was clearly beyond the scope of the previous "sleep sickness," and it was no longer a "symptom" that traditional "medical means" could deal with.

"He is disappearing, leaving our reality in an incomprehensible way—this is no longer a situation that a 'mental physician' can handle. I used some methods in the transcendent realm, but I can only barely keep their minds on 'this side' to delay this 'disappearance' process," Heidi continued behind Duncan. "In a patient with a milder 'symptom,' I tried mind reading, but found that their minds were being gradually 'sucked away' by a...more enormous thing, as if there was a whirlpool dragging these elves from their minds to their bodies, 'away' from the real world."