Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

The initial passage goes almost all the way down. The stairs and constantly winding corridors make it look like a strange maze with only one way street. It seems to lead to the mountainside or even the bottom of the mountain. It is difficult to tell whether this place is based on a huge existing cavity or such a space is forcibly dug out in the solid mountain.

The journey seemed unusually smooth. There were no guards or enemies in the one-way corridor formed by the columns and walkways. There were only warm, ever-burning lights swaying slowly, casting long and narrow shadows for the three people. It seemed that there was more than one road here. In order to ensure that they had a good understanding of this underground area and to ensure that they would not miss any place, the three people also explored several other branches in silence. It seemed that these branches existed to distinguish between pedestrian passages and freight passages, but no one could determine the truth.

Until a certain moment, the passage began to flatten, which was like a sign of entering another area. Just as the three people had expected, after passing through an unclosed iron door and a road surrounded by columns, they came to a prototype hall that might be an underground square. Judging from the traces on the ground, there used to be benches for resting here, as well as some other furniture or facilities, but they were dismantled when they were abandoned and moved to an unknown place.

Warehouses, dungeons, and sealed object storage facilities... these places have almost been cleared out, with only those frames that are difficult to remove remaining, as if to introduce to later generations what they once were used for and how they were valued by the clergy. The classical iron railings in the dungeons, the stone shelves in the warehouses, and the iron doors in the sealed object storage facilities, even if they no longer have the charm of the past, are enough to leave a deep impression.

Until finally, they finally arrived at the place they had been looking for.

The journey was not tortuous, not dangerous, and not long. The travelers stopped in front of the deepest room.

Chapter 47 Day 3: Final Junction

Surprisingly, there really is no one here.

They had originally thought that they would have to spend some time trying to break through the defenses, thinking about how to bypass the guards without being discovered, or figuring out how to knock the gatekeeper out without leaving any evidence. However, until they reached the end of the underground, Lunicia and her group did not encounter any obstacles. There were only empty and silent corridors and this maze-like hall.

It's really surprising, why does this happen?

Lunicia was not in a hurry to push open the last door. She first bent down carefully, put her ear to the crack of the door, held her breath, and listened quietly. Only when she was sure that there was no sound inside, did she gently push the door open and peek inside through the crack. Of course, there was no one inside, only the brightly lit hall.

"Really, no one?"

"Well……"

Ella looked equally confused; this didn't make sense anyway.

"Not only are there no people, there are no things either..."

This place looked like an abandoned altar, just like the abandoned warehouse and dungeon before. There might have been a variety of furnishings and ritual objects inside, used as a formal ritual site, but as the underground area was abandoned, this altar that was too far from the ground was also forgotten.

The chairs were removed and the statues were moved. Perhaps even most of the clergy did not know that in the past, believers of Alexandria would gather here in the belly of the mountain to pray to their gods.

This place was completely different from what Lunixia had imagined. She had thought it would be a heavily guarded and well-arranged ceremony site, but it looked like a place where a grand ceremony could be held, except that the ground was cleaned without a speck of dust. This made Lunixia doubt her previous judgment. Perhaps this was not the key location of the incident, and the ceremony was actually held in the cathedral above?

"So... could it be a mistake?"

Lunicia couldn't help but voice her opinion, attracting the attention of Ella and Ashethelyn.

"It may not be, and it may not be."

“Yes or no, no is not yes.”

"Don't repeat what I said in a different way. In short, Lady Luna, it is actually impossible to prove whether the ceremony site is here or up there."

"Indeed."

“So it’s actually pretty simple to do.”

"How to do?"

"Set a trap here, and when something goes wrong, detonate the explosives to blow up the entire temple. This way, no matter whether the ritual site is above or below, it will be destroyed."

"…I can't do this, right?"

"I can't do that."

Let's not discuss the problem of the bearing capacity of the Cathedral of Alexandria. If the group really intends to do this, they will probably be discovered before tonight, and then there will be nothing to say. In short, blowing up the entire Cathedral of Alexandria is a method that is impossible to do. Even if it is really possible, Lunisia will definitely not do it. Even the real cultists are not so bold.

"…So, what should we do?"

Lunicia had a worried look on her face, and it seemed that she had no idea what the solution was.

"In fact, we don't even have to tear down the entire cathedral." Ashlee floated in the air and continued slowly, "As long as we can mess up this ceremony site, it will be fine."

Lunicia tilted her head: "Hmm?"

"To put it simply, it means planting bombs."

"Hey."

"Although a bomb that is too big is easy to be discovered in advance, if the power is just enough to mess up this place, the possibility of being discovered will be greatly reduced. After all, this place is idle and still far from the ground."

"Even so..."

"There may be guards at that time, and traps may be laid along the way. If you remember the locations, it can reduce a lot of pressure. Rituals often require ritual vessels and a well-arranged altar as assistance. There are no preparations here now, which only means that the preparations required for the ceremony are not complicated, not that they are completely unnecessary. If the ceremony site can be destroyed, the ceremony itself will be difficult to complete."

"Um……"

I have to admit that what Ashlee said does make sense.

No matter who will perform the ceremony in the Cathedral of Alexandria at that time, they will undoubtedly have many concerns: they cannot hold the ceremony publicly, and they don’t even want their actions to be known by others. Their ceremony has serious consequences, and perhaps their ceremony also has strict time requirements... Once the ceremony tomorrow night is disrupted and exposed by Lunicia and her group, it is very likely that the only chance to complete it will be lost. This is Lunicia’s advantage.

She knew about this matter that should not be known to others, but the person who hosted this matter did not know that his plan had been exposed.

As for why they didn't just find a way to make the matter public, it was simply because of insufficient intelligence. Just saying vaguely that "something big will happen in the Cathedral of Alexandria on the third night" was meaningless to ordinary citizens, and it would be tantamount to alerting the enemy to the open and secret struggles among those who knew about it. Who knew what conditions were needed to complete the ceremony? Could they make preparations in another place? This directly exposed Lunisia's own advantage in intelligence, and it might not necessarily achieve the desired effect, which was completely uneconomical.

"But setting up a trap under the cathedral is not too..."

"Anyway, even if Luna doesn't do this, this place will still be demolished in the end."

Well, that's true. No matter what, the enemy will be more ruthless than us.

"So what if the ceremony site isn't actually here, but up there?"

"That way it won't be a big problem."

Ella took over the topic and said, "Since the other party does not want to be exposed, and the ceremony venue is chosen inside the Alexandria Cathedral, we can choose to avoid direct conflict at that time. After confirming the situation, we can immediately make some big noise and let everyone in the city know about it... If the scene becomes chaotic, it will be more beneficial to Lady Luna. It is impossible to do this underground."

"Okay, fine, let's set a trap!" Lunicia looked like she had completely given up on herself, "Let's dig!"

……

Let’s sort out what to do next.

The second day ended and the third day began. So it was time to think about what to do next, wasn't it? After all, there were less than 24 hours left, and the passing of every second was like the gray sand in an hourglass, slowly flowing down.

Hide underground? This doesn't sound like a good idea. Of course, you can destroy the ceremony site built underground at the first time, but what if you are actually above? What if you need to get out after destroying the ceremony? You can't let anyone on your side die in the process, otherwise it will be tantamount to wasting all your efforts. If you are surrounded from the beginning, it will be too difficult. Why bother yourself?

The ceremony ended at midnight, and Lunixia and her group certainly couldn't wait until then to set off. If they did, they might be destroyed right after they stepped out of the door, and dying in such a situation would be too stupid. They spent the second night with a good rest and preparations, and then had a nutritious breakfast to prepare for the third day. In the following time, Lunixia and her group chose to arrange a retreat and observe the movements of the temple.

"There seem to be more people today than yesterday."

"There was a performance yesterday."

"Performing... an opera?"

"'Sitzberg', from morning till late at night." Ashlee, who was in charge of collecting intelligence in the library, knew more about what was happening outside than Ella and Lunicia. "Since we already know it's an opera, it proves that it happened 'last time'."

"Yes... I remember the lead actress' name was Colette..."

From time to time, she opened the cover of her pocket watch and used the rotation of the hands to pass the time. Even though she chatted with Asheselyn from time to time, Lunicia still couldn't suppress the anxiety and uneasiness that surged in her heart from time to time. The results of her training as a paladin allowed her to calm her mind and not be greatly affected by these negative emotions, but she couldn't eradicate them. Her warmth was prepared for others. Facing this kind of event, she didn't even know what the outcome would be, and she herself didn't have the confidence.

Looking at Lunicia like this, Ashlee couldn't help but reach out and rub her head.

To this, Lunesia could only respond with a puzzled look on her face.

In fact, it is not always so idle and boring.

In the afternoon, or almost at dusk, Ella Hepper, who was monitoring the temple in another place, also rushed to join them. She seemed to have discovered something. The other side seemed to be gathering troops. The camouflage was very good, and at first glance it was impossible to distinguish them from ordinary tourists. What Ella did was just to reverse the process from the result, so she could barely find that something was wrong.

But just when the three of them met up, something unexpected happened, or rather, some disturbing phenomena were discovered - the armed police seemed to have received some notice, and they gathered in batches towards the northeast of the city in vehicles. A team of well-equipped knights also poured out of the Alexandria Cathedral and left in the same direction under the leadership of a priest.

The place was not unfamiliar to Lunisia and her group. "Northeast District" was an ominous name that had been lingering in that area since ancient times. However, after a long time, there was no other movement. It seemed that nothing unexpected had happened. I didn't know whether this was good news or bad news.

The most important thing is that the scheduled time has come and can't be delayed any further.

"Let's go."

After taking a deep breath, both her mood and heartbeat returned to normal with the flow of blood. Tension, uneasiness, and confusion all dissipated like morning dew. The weight of the giant sword and the sound of armor seemed to bring her back to a familiar state, in order to respond to the teachings she had received and to practice the path she had vowed to.

"As you wish, Luna."

"Will you buy the plane ticket after you solve it? I hope I won't be wanted for this."

"If we are wanted, there is nothing we can do. We can then find a way to cross the mountains and return to Zerhar..."

What kind of problems will they encounter? In fact, they don't think they will really encounter any problems now, at least they shouldn't run into any legendary masters. Although it is impossible to estimate the risks and difficulties of monitoring a legend, in reality, as a powerful person who can easily destroy a country, their movements are almost impossible to be unknown, and every pair of eyes will try to watch them to avoid "unnecessary accidents".

They didn't think that the organizer of the ceremony or anything else would risk being discovered by allowing a legendary figure to participate for an act that didn't seem to be exposed.

Besides, the most important thing is to destroy the ceremony, rather than to deal with a powerful enemy or seize a treasure, so the difficulty is relatively not that high - after all, they have made preparations in advance. The next thing to do is to sneak to the vicinity of the ceremony venue and then use pre-prepared traps to mess up the ceremony site, so that the task can probably be completed.

It seems that after darkness once again covered the sky, the area around the cathedral became much quieter: yesterday's opera performance made people tired, and tomorrow's celebration ceremony forced people to rest as soon as possible to restore their spirits, so the citizens chose to return home early. Or perhaps, is there some other reason, something else that makes people stay away from the streets and choose their own houses that are more familiar and make people feel more at ease?

This is unknown.

She exhaled white air and gestured in the mist condensed in the air to confirm that there was no one at the gate of the cathedral. This was similar to what she knew at the beginning, or it could be said that it was "exactly the same". At first glance, there was no change at all. I am back again. Maybe I should say so at this time, but Lunicia chose to remain silent to avoid being heard by unnecessary people and turning into an unnecessary situation.

Similarly, every door of the church was closed and locked from the inside, as if it was temporarily closed to visitors.

This was not a problem for the group of people who were well prepared. Ella had already tampered with one of the more remote side doors. With just a few slight fiddlings, the locked door opened.

There was no one inside.

There were only neatly arranged empty seats in the huge main hall. On the altar, which was guarded by the stepped seats, there was no priest waiting for visitors. Only the warm and bright candlelight flickered, telling the silent history. It was very quiet here, as quiet as the underground area yesterday, spacious, silent, and empty.

Something will definitely happen next. This is not based on intuition, but a known necessity. Since there is nothing here, the underground must be bustling with activity far different from before.

It was like going back to the past, back to the beginning of Muirand.

Chapter 48 Day 3: The Strongest Enemy

"——Na——"

——What are you talking about?

"----grown ups--"

——Is there anyone saying something? In my ear, or somewhere else?

——No, why is it so noisy? It should be night now... late at night... time to sleep, right?

——I feel dizzy. Why is it so noisy? My head hurts... I feel dizzy...

——Ah, I’m so sleepy. I really want to sleep…

——I can't see anything even when I open my eyes, just a vast expanse of white... So it's better to just close them, right?

"——Luna-sama!!!"

A familiar voice, familiar words, and that familiar feeling of anxiety. The owner of that voice seemed to be "Ella Hepper". She was calling her own name, as if to stop her eyes from gradually closing.

"Well……!"

what happened?

It was as if her memory had been interrupted from a certain moment. When she came to her senses, she was already like this now. Why was the buzzing sound filling her ears, why was her right eye blurry, why could she see blood everywhere, why was she in so much pain and so weak? There were so many questions that it was difficult for Lunicia, who had barely regained consciousness, to sort them out. She could only endure the severe pain in her chest and start breathing again instinctively.

The tinnitus seemed to cover up everything she could hear, everything she should hear, and it seemed that the only voice in the world was the voice of the girl Ella. What happened? What happened? Her consciousness quickly turned back, and her memory stretched forward. The woman named Lunicia was now trying her best to think about what had happened before.

The time is late at night, and the location is... the underground area of ​​the Alexandria Cathedral.

Yes, let’s recall from the very beginning.

After nightfall, they kept hiding while searching for the entrance to the underground. No matter who the enemy was, they were quite cautious. They seemed to have used magic to hide the entrance before entering. However, for the experienced group, this method did not make much sense, and they also had an experienced magician on their side. In a short while, they found the way to the underground area again.

At the beginning... probably, I didn’t meet anyone.

However, from that moment on, I could feel that this place was different from the night before. The smell of dust and mildew had decreased a lot, and the smell of living things... people was much stronger than before. Even without the dust, I could see many footprints on the ground. It seemed that they no longer needed to hide their whereabouts, at least tonight.

And then...what happened...?

Yes, it seemed very abrupt. It started from the moment they entered a corner and saw each other... the battle began.

I remember that I didn't intend to kill him from the beginning. He might not be a completely untreatable person. He was also a human being... right? Unlike ghouls or beasts, he could talk to them and even reach a reconciliation. But he didn't seem to think so. I didn't know whether they had reached a consensus on a certain wish, or whether they were simply obeying the orders of their master and leader.

Those guards, who were dressed like soldiers and wearing uniform armor, and some of them were even professionals, had no intention of holding back from the beginning - they were serious and focused, and planned to kill the three people directly.

It seems that killing people here is not something they need to worry about. Faced with such a situation, Lunixia herself no longer has the possibility of holding back, so she directly drew the sword from her back, the white giant sword called "The Avenger". As for her companions, the two named Ella and... Asheselin, they don't need to worry at all. As long as Lunixia acquiesces, they will not have any burden on killing.

And then...what happened next?

Perhaps in a one-on-one challenge, those soldiers would not be a match for the three of them. It didn't matter if there were a little more of them. The mechanical puppets of the "Iron Leviathan" turned into a pile of iron tombstones under the advantage of numbers. However, they were scattered all over the corridor leading to the underground, and it seemed that their numbers, combat power, and willpower were a little beyond the original estimate.

How many times has this happened?

Like this, he used the blade to swipe away the incoming weapon, dodged sideways, and swung the blade at that moment - the armor and the body were cut in half at the same moment, and the warm blood poured all over himself. He couldn't remember how many times he had done this, and how many times he had let the enemy's blood flow all over his body. When he came to his senses, the silver-white armor had been dyed dark red, and the long black hair was stained with blood, as if the color had always been like this. Only the huge sword in his hand, that heavy and sharp thing, was still white, still pure, as if it would never become filthy because of killing.

Or maybe——it was an existence that was supposed to kill everything.

It was agitated, it was beating like a living thing, like a heartbeat - was it stimulated by the external blood? Or was it because of something else? I didn't know. At this moment, the girl named Lunicia had a blank mind, and the only thing left was the instinct to swing the sword and kill.

He advanced downwards, advancing deeper and deeper. He had no idea how long he had walked, or how many people he had killed. He seemed to have forgotten the existence of his companions. After all, they had not spoken, and they were probably unable to concentrate on other things. The remains of limbs and blood, organs and pieces of flesh, and scattered corpses increased as he went deeper. They almost covered the entire road under this ancient temple of the gods, like a red carpet made of flowing blood.