Ark Undead

After a shudder, the elevator, like a fishhook, slowly sank into the dark water.

350. The Church and Scripture

"Since the Great Tranquility, Iberia has been unable to escape its former glory."

Kal'tsit walked across the land of Iberia, accompanied by an old man with gray hair and slightly cloudy eyes.

"It's like a patient infected with Oripathy, a chronic disease. Although you won't die immediately from a temporary infection, it will follow you forever, becoming an inescapable pain."

The old man and Kal'tsit spoke in hushed tones, seemingly not wanting to disturb the other residents of the town.

His very presence was enough to cause a commotion.

"Such changes are irreversible. Since the golden age disappeared, decline has been inevitable."

He spoke in a low voice, as if chatting with an old friend, his tone very calm, yet one could feel the sorrow behind his words.

"People abandoned their ideals and instead raised their swords against their companions, wary of potential traitors among them."

"The church has also transformed from a guardian into a judge. If it weren't for the influence of old-fashioned ideas, the church would probably be seen as a villain in people's eyes today."

Kal'tsit glanced at the old man.

People around him would instinctively avoid the elderly man when they saw him.

Because of the sword and fire at his waist, and the hand cannon beside the fire.

"Perhaps it already is."

The old man sighed.

“Those who avoid the flames are avoiding themselves. Even if this flame, which is called the judgment flame, does not reveal its power, no one is willing to face their own heart in front of it.”

Should we confront our own inner selves?

Kal'tsit suddenly thought of someone, someone who could sit in front of a fire for a long time, even for days and nights if there was nothing else to do, just staring at the campfire.

"Therefore, your visit at this time is truly a great surprise to me."

The two reached a fork in the road, and the old man stopped and turned to look at Kal'tsit.

"At this crucial time, Victoria is in turmoil, and news from Laterano is coming from various messengers, preparing to convene a conference of all nations. Even Minos has already begun to establish their means of communication with the outside world, holding the Undead Games. Yet, Lady Kal'tsit, you still have the leisure to want to visit Iberia."

The old man couldn't quite understand Kal'tsit's behavior, but he still welcomed her arrival very warmly.

"Is there something that attracts you? Or has your endless lifespan reached the age where you can hear the mission that this land has given you?"

Kal'tsit ignored the old man's joke; she disregarded his words.

Instead, he looked at the flames at the old man's waist.

"The situation in Iberia is not optimistic."

This was the first sentence she uttered during her conversation with the old man.

"Yes, of course. I know."

The old man turned around and looked at the street he had walked through. People were packing up their things, and the shops that had been hawking their wares were quickly closing their doors.

They seemed to be hiding from something; wherever the old man passed, silence descended. People retreated into their homes, fleeing the darkness that they perceived was approaching.

"The ocean's echo grows ever more melodious, as if it is bringing the turmoil of the seabed to the surface. Our old friends are about to return, but in the very form they least wanted to be."

The old man subconsciously touched the lantern at his waist.

"Perhaps we should also add those monsters, those unkillable and inextinguishable creatures."

Of course, Kal'tsit came to Iberia not to tell riddles to the old man.

The two of them knew something about each other's situations, so Kal'tsit didn't need to come and chat with him.

How many coastal towns are there in Iberia?

Kal'tsit said it casually.

"How many of them still maintain ties with the church today?"

"You've already noticed."

The old man looked sharply at Kal'tsit.

"Has anyone spoken with you? Was it another Grand Inquisitor?"

"No, the church's defenses are impenetrable; at least for now, I can't find a place to infiltrate it."

Kal'tsit spoke her mind.

“You are a bunch of madmen who would burn everything for the sake of so-called cleanliness and virtue, just like another friend of mine.”

The old man seemed pleased to hear Kal'tsit say that.

He squeezed out a few laughs from his dry throat, laughing heartily.

"To hear such praise from Ms. Kal'tsit, my trip was not entirely fruitless."

"While this is not a compliment, your idea may indeed be the best remedy for the crisis."

Kal'tsit couldn't help but glance at the lantern at the old man's waist once again.

To be honest, she would never have paid so much attention to this lantern before.

But since making contact with someone, she has become increasingly concerned about anything related to fire in Terra today.

What exactly was that flame? Even she couldn't resist the longing rising from the depths of her heart.

That desire to give everything for it is definitely not one's true feeling.

But the flames didn't seem to be some kind of evil entity; they were pure and flawless, and just standing there made people dizzy.

"Hunters have come ashore."

"Kal'tsit said."

"They came to hunt, and they also fled. Their homeland called to them, its voice keeping them awake at night."

“And then there are old friends from their hometown chasing after them, wanting to reunite with them and become part of the large group.”

The old man remained calm upon hearing the news.

He already knew about this news.

“The Church in Iberia has made arrangements. Even if they are not perfect, every judge is prepared to throw himself into the flames.”

This includes him.

“I know you’ve always been like this. Decades have passed, centuries have passed, and nothing has changed.”

Kal'tsit nodded.

"But this is not a danger you can contend with, Lady Carmen."

“What is the danger, Ms. Kal'tsit?”

The elderly judge, known as Carmen, raised his dim eyes and looked at the young woman standing beside him.

"Do you mean the hunters who are being chased by their homeland, or those who are chasing their homeland?"

Kal'tsit looked at Carmen and said nothing more.

She no longer needed to speak; Carmen had not given up on Iberia's resistance.

After the great silence, everyone in the know had a vague premonition.

The secrets buried deep in the sea are about to surface.

Conversely, the dangers and horrors that accompany these secrets will also peek out from among people.

The Church in Iberia had been preparing for this for fifty years, and the old man before me had also been waiting for it for fifty years.

He will not give up his struggle, nor will he give up his fight against the sea, until everything is settled.

As for the deep-sea hunters that Kal'tsit mentioned, in the eyes of the Inquisitor, they might be powerful, but they were definitely not invincible.

With their swords, fire at their waists, and guns in their hands, they can fight against giant beasts and protect the peace of Iberia.

Even though Iberia is now silent, they remain as the last light.

For the sake of Iberian purity and virtue.

But they didn't see it with their own eyes.

Kal'tsit thought of the undead again.

It was he who gave Kal'tsit a long-lost sense of urgency.

If even such a powerful being was not his original form, then how incomparable were the enemies he faced back then, those legendary creations?

Kal'tsit couldn't convince herself to stay calm on the ship until she could settle her mind.

"You said we haven't seen the truth."

Carmen averted his gaze and addressed Kal'tsit with a respectful title.

"Where is the truth? Can it be illuminated by the light of the flame? And is the shadow it casts complete?"

Kal'tsit lowered her eyes.

Carmen was still willing to communicate with her because Carmen was still rational and had not let the infinite decline of Iberia after the Great Tranquility cloud her burning heart.

"I do not know."

Since Kal'tsit interacted with the undead, her manner of speaking has become much more pleasant.

"However, that kind of ending is not what the church desires to see, nor is it your destiny."

"I can only glimpse it through the cracks of history. The threat hidden in the depths of the ocean is no less than the impact that Originium has brought us."

“Mr. Carmen, you can hear the echoes from the seabed, but you can’t see them.”

Carmen stared into Kal'tsit's eyes for a long time.

He seemed to want to see the color of Kal'tsit's soul through this window that was supposedly the window of the soul.

But all I could see were her eyes, and my own reflection in them.

His eyes showed him as he was on the verge of death, but a flame still burned in his heart.