Deep Sea Embers

The icon of the storm goddess Gemona stands quietly in the cathedral, as majestic, mysterious and silent as ever.

That veil seemed to cover not only the face of the goddess, but also some kind of connection between the world and the gods. For the first time, Vanna discovered that she actually had no idea at all, or even what kind of god she worshiped. The presence.

She has always believed in everything about storms and the deep sea as a matter of course. She has never thought about this issue like she does today, and has never considered analyzing the relationship between gods and herself from a questioning perspective.

Suddenly, Fanna woke up from her brief meditation, feeling her heart pounding and a layer of cold sweat breaking out on her back.

Thoughts breed heresy, but God cannot spy on them.

She couldn't believe that those almost deviant thoughts just now came from her own mind - she began to question the "behavior" of the gods, which was almost the same as heresy.

However, the next second, she felt the gentle sound of waves ringing in her ears, and the goddess' gaze and comfort emerged as usual, further alleviating the pain accumulated in her body and soothing her spirit.

Even in this great church, even if such wavering thoughts appeared in her thoughts, the goddess remained the same as always... Is it because God is also ignorant, or is it because the Lord doesn't care?

"...You really don't need to rest?" Valentin's voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting Vanna's distraction again. The old man looked at the young judge next to him with some worry. He remembered Zhong Fanna has never been in such a state of continuous daze in front of the goddess, "You seem to be in a trance... Physical injuries are easy to heal, but mental fatigue is troublesome."

"I..." Fanna looked a little hesitant, "Maybe I am really a little tired."

"Then go and rest, and leave the follow-up matters to me," Valentine said immediately, and then quickly added before the other party wanted to say anything else, "I just received news that Mr. Dante is safe. Returning to the mansion, I think... your family needs you very much at this time, and you also need your family. "

"Uncle..." Fanna was startled for a moment. The scene when she said goodbye to her uncle appeared in her mind. A strange feeling touched her mind, which finally made her give up her last insistence. "Okay, then I'll leave first. This is the place. It’s up to you.”

"Go in peace," Valentine nodded slightly, "May the storm protect you."

"...May the storm protect you." Vanna said softly.

A dark gray steam car drove out of the church square, passed through the blocked intersection in the central area, and first headed in the direction of the consul's residence.

Fanna was sitting in the passenger seat of the car, and the driver was Heidi, who had just finished being questioned in the church.

"Thank you, I have to trouble you to give me a ride," Fanna said softly to her friend as she backed away looking at the scenery outside the car window, "You could have left earlier."

"You don't have to be so polite with me," Heidi held the steering wheel and said casually while observing the road conditions, "And I couldn't get there early. The young monk asked me a lot of questions and finally let me smoke for a long time. Incense is a necessary 'safety measure' - it's almost evening after all the work."

Fanna looked out the window and saw the city-state guards and defenders patrolling the roads. There were frightened citizens walking quickly through the streets, and some people who looked like they had just come out of the shelter were looking for passers-by to ask about the situation. You can see the police officer holding a loudspeaker standing at the intersection, informing the nearby people of the latest situation - the content is nothing more than that the city-state has been invaded by strange phenomena, the danger has been eliminated, and the level 3 martial law will be entered tonight.

Purande seemed to be recovering from a serious illness, and the order in the city-state was still chaotic. But even in such a chaotic and tense scene, Vanna still felt an indescribable feeling of joy and... warmth.

Fear and tension are proof of living. Only those who have survived the disaster are qualified to be anxious at this moment - and the rising sun the next day will be the best relief for Plande.

"Are you okay? You look so low-spirited." Even though Heidi was driving, she noticed Vanna's fatigue and daze at the moment. "This is the first time I've seen you so low-energy since I was a child - I thought you were It's forged from a piece of steel."

"...if I told you that when the rain of fire fell, I killed the entire city-state by myself, would you believe it?" Fanna glanced at her friend. In fact, after leaving with Heidi, her spirit became... He has gradually relaxed, "I'm almost exhausted."

"Believe it, of course I believe it. After all, it's you. I believe you even if you say you came back from the subspace." Heidi's expression didn't even change after hearing the other party's words. She nodded matter-of-factly, and then suddenly He looked Fanna up and down and said, "No wonder you are so vain..."

Fanna felt awkward because of the other person's eyes looking up and down: "You... have weird eyes."

"I just had an idea suddenly," Heidi said seriously, "Do you want to go to the Marriage Help Center now?"

"……Why?"

"It's not easy for you to be so weak. Maybe there are people you can't beat now. This doesn't violate your second oath back then - you will use all your strength in any battle." Heidi's train of thought seemed to have completely Fang Fei didn't even care about Fan Na's increasingly distorted expression, "Otherwise, after you go home and take a nap, you will be invincible, and the Marriage Help Center will have to send people to the hospital every now and then..."

Fanna clenched her fists slightly.

The sound of the air bursting silenced Heidi for a moment.

After two seconds of silence, Heidi muttered again: "If you don't like it, you won't be happy. You have threatened me since I was a child, and you even let me eat my lunch..."

The car then became quiet, and after a few seconds of silence, Fanna suddenly spoke softly: "Thank you, I feel much calmer."

"That's right, after all, I am the best psychiatrist in Pland - and you really need to be in good condition to face Mr. Dent," Heidi smiled as if her plan was successful, and then the car drove by her. He stopped smoothly under his control, "You're home, my invincible knight lady - cheer up, all of us came back alive today."

I saved my life...

Heidi just said it casually, but Vanna somehow thought of a saying often said by followers of the Death Cult——

Survival is not a birthright, but an item whose price has been paid in advance.

Fanna lowered her eyelids, took a breath, thanked and said goodbye to her friend, then got out of the car and walked toward her home not far away.

Heidi watched Vanna's leaving figure quietly in the car. After a while, she started the car, turned around, and drove towards her home.

Is your father safe now? If he is safe, then... what is he doing now?

…

There was lightning and thunder outside the cabin, a storm suddenly rose, and the strong wind whipped up huge waves that slapped against the towering side of the Lost Home. Under the deep and dark sea, it seemed that some indescribable monster had been angered and released into the world. With overwhelming malice.

Through the portholes, you can see the giant wrapped in blazing flames standing on the bow of the ship, the flaming chains extending into the sea, and a behemoth with a large number of tentacles and a size almost as big as the Lost Home is going crazy under the water. Rolling, it kept pushing its tentacles with countless fangs and eyes out of the sea and climbed up the side of the ship, as if it wanted to break free from the chains or expel the Homeless Ship from this sea area.

In the cabin, the light with whale oil as the main fuel was bright, but it could not dispel the tension and fear. Shirley had already hugged Agou and shivered into a ball, listening to the movements outside with a horrified look on her face. Agou stretched his neck to avoid it. While being strangled, he confirmed with Alice: "You, you, you...are you sure that the boat...the captain is fishing?!"

"That's right," Alice nodded with determination and indifference, her expression a bit like "You city-state people are just making a fuss", "Fishing is the captain's biggest hobby!"

"I finally understand why you have the same reaction every time you talk about Mr. Duncan's fish..." Shirley finally realized what was going on, and said to Agou with a sad face, "I... If I had known better when I ate it, …”

Before she finished speaking, Morris, who had his eyes closed across the table, suddenly opened his eyes. The old man looked at the girl opposite with a horrified expression: "Have you... eaten the fish caught by Mr. Duncan... um, 'fish'?" '?"

"How did I know!" Shirley was about to cry. As she spoke, she turned to look at Nina, "You... you never told me that this is how your uncle got his fish back..."

"I don't know either," Nina shook her head. The expression on her face was not as exaggerated as the others, but seemed a little... excited. She stuck her head at the table and looked at the deck through the porthole. The sight, and those tentacles rushing out of the water did not make her feel scared, but made her feel more novel, "You guys tell me... how did those things turn into fish in the end?"

To be fair, Nina's current behavior is actually no different from when she was in the city-state. She is as cheerful, lively and sunny as ever, but this kind of behavior is normal in a peaceful city-state. "Fishing scene" would still be a bit scary if it was like this, and it was under such circumstances that Shirley seemed to finally discover Nina's incredible side: "...You two uncles and nephews are so scary, really... "

Nina scratched her hair, her expression a bit baffling: "Really? I think it's okay..."

While talking, Alice suddenly stood up and walked out.

Shirley suddenly became a little nervous: "Ah, what are you going to do?"

"Go and prepare for dinner," Alice said matter-of-factly, "The captain has almost finished the big fish."

Alice left, leaving several "visitors" who had gotten on the ship by accident, looking at each other in the cabin.

"I...I want to go home..." Shirley hugged Agou hard, looking like she was about to cry.

The red light in Agou's bloody eyes flickered: "You are about to strangle me..."

Morris suddenly sighed.

Nina saw this and asked quickly: "Teacher, why are you sighing?"

"I think I can write a book when I go back," Morris thought for a moment and spread his hands. "I'm just worried that my daughter will think I have a mental problem..."

Nina: "...?"