Chapter 150 The Secret in the Underground Sanctum

"Would you like to pray to the goddess?"

To be honest, at that moment, Duncan's instinctive reaction was that there was something wrong with the Storm Goddess Gomona—that this god, who was supposed to protect humanity, had a sinister side, which led to the terrifying shadows hidden deep within the city-state, and the distorted appearance of the statue was evidence of this.

But the next second, he had another suspicion: if the Storm Goddess Gomona really had a problem, then why were the other churches in the city all normal?

He had seen the appearance of other Deep Sea Churches—there was a community church near the antique shop, and there was also a church next to the Ocean Museum. Even if he hadn't gone in to carefully investigate, he had lingered nearby, and the aura released by those churches... was obviously different from the eerie church in front of him.

He had also come into contact with other clergy, including the most basic priests and guardians, as well as inquisitors like Vanna who were at the top of the city-state, and these people who served the Storm Goddess day and night were all normal, even more steadfast and clear-minded than most people.

He ignored the nun and looked up at the statue.

After the fleeting glimpse just now, the eerie crack in the statue's head never appeared again. Even in the other appearance superimposed on the church, the statue was only blackened by smoke, as if the crack had sensed something and actively hid itself.

Duncan frowned.

The strangeness of this church was obviously a special case, so if the problem wasn't with the Storm Goddess... what he had just seen could perhaps be explained as some kind of force trying to erode reality using this church as a node.

But what exactly was that thing?

The shape of the crack didn't seem to have anything to do with the Sun God, nor did it remind anyone of the Sun Shards. If he had to say... the dark shadows surging in the crack reminded him of the chaos outside the bottom of the Vanishing Sail.

"Would you like to pray to the goddess?"

The nun's voice came again. She was neither impatient nor urging, but simply repeated the question over and over again as if triggered by some keyword, starting when Duncan and Shirley stood next to the statue.

Shirley looked a little at a loss. She instinctively looked at Duncan, who finally responded. He calmly stared at the nun: "Are you praying to your goddess?"

This should be an unambiguous question. Any normal believer would give a clear and affirmative answer at this time, but the nun's reaction made Shirley's eyes widen.

"I... don't know," the nun shook her head calmly, seemingly not thinking there was anything wrong with her response. "I'm just praying. He told me to pray here."

Duncan immediately frowned: "Who is He?"

"A great being," the nun smiled.

Shirley felt a chill in the nun's gentle smile.

"I don't pray to any gods," Duncan said lightly. He inconspicuously pulled Shirley back half a step, away from the altar. "Including the goddess you speak of."

"Oh, that's a pity," the nun sighed softly, then lowered her head again, ignoring Duncan and Shirley.

Duncan stared at the wriggling humanoid ashes for a few seconds, confirming that the ashes were no longer paying attention to him, and then turned to walk elsewhere.

The small church was limited in size, with almost no areas that could be hidden. Besides the main hall where the statue was enshrined, there were only a few rooms connected to the main hall and a basement.

Duncan first took Shirley to check all the surrounding rooms, but found nothing worth noting. Finally, they found the stairs leading to the basement at the end of a corridor outside the main hall.

"Are we really going down?" Looking at the dark stairs in front of her, Shirley was obviously a little uneasy. She subconsciously glanced back at the main hall. "Will that weird nun suddenly come over and kill us?"

"That 'nun' is obviously trapped in the main hall and can't leave the statue too far," Duncan shook his head. "But if she really comes over... then we can only take action. After all, in that state... it's hard to say she's still a living human."

Shirley swallowed. She was usually very brave, but even with all that courage, this was her first time running into a Deep Sea Church to cause trouble. A long-accumulated sense of tension and awe made her heart beat faster.

But she knew that she had better not refuse—she had some idea which was more dangerous, a nun who had mutated from a mortal or a shadow from subspace.

At this time, Duncan suddenly said something again, causing Shirley's determination to falter again: "By the way, summon A'gou."

Shirley's eyes widened instantly: "Ah?! Summon A'gou? In the Storm Goddess's church?!"

"This is probably no longer the Storm Goddess's church," Duncan shook his head. "It's hard to say what exactly is taking over here—don't worry, summon A'gou. Look, even I'm standing in this 'church.' Can a Netherworld Demon be more inappropriate than me?"

Shirley thought for a moment and felt that what he said made sense. Of course, the main reason was that she didn't dare to disagree if it didn't make sense, so she had to honestly raise her arm and summon A'gou to the real world.

Black flames and swirling smoke rose up, and the massive Netherworld Hound appeared in front of Duncan in an instant.

As soon as the summoning process ended, A'gou skillfully lay down directly at Duncan's feet, its skeletal tail swinging like a five-speed electric fan: "Greetings to you, great Dun..."

"Alright, you don't have to do this every time," Duncan waved his hand to interrupt before the other party finished speaking. He already had a noisy goat head to worry about and really didn't want another dog with a similar style by his side. "You should have already sensed the strangeness of this church. Now see it with your own eyes—next, I may need your 'eyesight.'"

A'gou nimbly got up from the ground, turned its head to look at the surrounding corridors and the stairs leading to the basement at the end of the corridor, and the hollow scarlet eyes flickered.

"This is really an evil place..." the Netherworld Hound's voice was hoarse and low. "It's dizzying to look at..."

After saying that, it paused, seemingly making a further judgment, and then slightly turned its head to say to Duncan: "It's a bit similar to the situation in that abandoned factory before, but even more distorted. This distortion is probably approaching the threshold that the real world can bear... That's right, it seems we really found a key 'point' on this veil."

"The distortion is approaching the threshold of the real world... No wonder I can directly observe it too," Duncan nodded knowingly, and his gaze fell on the stairs in front of him. "The entire church has been checked, and the only thing left... should be this basement. According to the structure of most Deep Sea Churches, the area ahead should be called the 'Underground Sanctum.'"

"I'm starting to get excited," A'gou shook its ugly head, the chains on its neck clattering. "This is the first time in my life I've openly broken into the forbidden area of a Deep Sea Church... I haven't seen what it looks like down there yet!"

Shirley immediately gave A'gou a strange look: "You t/

It seemed that the "two branches" superimposed on the church had converged here, leaving only the only "reality."

"Should we smash the door open?" Shirley came up from behind. She had already picked up the chain in her hand, her face eager to try. A'gou on the side was also ready—specifically, it hugged its head with its paws, turning itself into a meteor hammer shape.

"…It might destroy the clues," Duncan stopped the dog-swinging girl who was preparing to use her traditional skill. He put one hand on the rune-covered door, and a small flame ignited from between his fingers, quickly traveling along the lines and grooves on the door. "In theory, this door should be a transcendent item, so…"

The next second, the once-blessed sanctum door turned into kindling for the spirit fire. Accompanied by a faint green light, it burned rapidly, faithfully executing the "master's" orders.

It burned itself out.

And as the door turned to ashes, the thing leaning against the door on the other side also appeared in front of Duncan and the others, falling to the ground with a thud.

It was a nun wearing a black robe—scarred and still holding a long sword in her hand, even in death, she was still glaring at something in the darkness.

Shirley saw the other party's face clearly, and a chill rose from the bottom of her heart.

"It's... the nun we saw just now?!"

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