novelraw Chapter 921: To Vinnelag
Chapter 921: To Vinnelag
He had failed.
The Great Old One’s attack on Midnight had been repelled. It sounded incredible, but the University of Claire, with whom the Merchant kept in contact, had informed Lu Li that the newspapers had failed to mention the Deep God was already gravely wounded when it arrived. Its blood had spilled all the way from the World's Spine Mountains to Midnight, and every anomaly along the path had followed the trail in a frenzy.
After asking about the direction the Deep God had taken, Lu Li calmly studied the map.
Had He betrayed him?
It was clearly connected to whatever had happened to Him beyond the World's Spine Mountains, but the entire event was shrouded in a black fog of mystery, unknown to anyone.
And if one were to follow the Deep God's path... it led straight to Vinnelag.
Would this be His next target after the failed assault on Midnight?
“Ophelia, you, Prusius, and the cultists will remain at Sea Gaze Cliff.”
Lu Li left the spot beneath Enni’s tree and headed for the shelter.
Whether Vinnelag managed to kill the invading enemy or the Deep God conquered Vinnelag, neither outcome would be good.Ophelia and Prusius vehemently objected, their slow, deliberate speech sounding like the discordant strumming of an instrument. Then, faced with Lu Li’s silent resolve, they changed their tune, demanding he take them with him.
“You don’t have to follow me.”
Lu Li slid open a desk drawer and retrieved the Spirit Gun resting quietly inside.
Dean Rolens from the University of Claire had gone to great lengths to find him an identical desk.
“You won’t... let us... go, which means... you know... the danger, right?”
“The Deep God knows us too! We have a better chance of awakening His memories together!”
Ophelia and Prusius spoke insistently.
“I witnessed the fall of another Great Old One. He had only recently been reborn, His strength not yet recovered, and He used King's City Allen as a trap to lure thousands of evil spirits and spirits of defilement, turning them into nourishment for His recuperation.”
“And then He vanished, erased by a gaze from beyond the starry sky.”
“The power of an Evil God might be hard to quantify, but the Great Old Ones are different. They are not strong because they are ancient; they are ancient because they are strong.”
Ophelia understood the meaning behind Lu Li’s words and held her ground.
“If you dare to go... so will I.”
“Me too!”
Lu Li said no more. He meticulously wiped down the Spirit Gun, with its slightly parted rosebud, loaded it, and slipped it into its holster.
Though against the Deep God, it was like fighting a fully armed military with a wooden stick.
Ophelia and Prusius would accompany Lu Li, while the cultists of the Church of Shadows, unable to defy a direct order, would remain at Sea Gaze Cliff to protect Enni.
As for allies, with the Deep God as the potential enemy, numbers were meaningless, so Lu Li didn’t contact anyone else.
He wrote a letter warning of the Deep God’s possible attack on Vinnelag and entrusted it to the Merchant, Antoni, for delivery to Mayor Matteus. Within the hour, they were on their way, boarding the Andrea, which was anchored near the lighthouse reef, and setting a course for Vinnelag at full speed.
Hopefully, it wasn’t too late.
...
The thin sheet of paper slipped slowly from a weakened hand.
His assistant, Valendo, picked up the paper that had fallen to the carpet. As he handed it back, Mayor Matteus whispered.
“You can read it.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Valendo read the brief but heavy contents of the letter.
“The Deep God... is that the Great Old One that attacked Midnight yesterday?!”
Valendo had the same reaction as the mayor; the paper slipped from his fingers.
Matteus caught the falling sheet and said with conflicted emotions, “We have to get this information out.”
“But the Inquisition Guard is right outside the door. This will prove we’re still corresponding with Mr. Lu Li.”
“There’s no other way.”
Matteus lifted his head, his gaze falling on the door from behind his tumbling chestnut hair.
“Open the door.”
Just as Matteus had expected, the Inquisition Guard, upon learning of his continued contact with Lu Li, reacted by disrespectfully ransacking the mayor’s office, searching for letters and an eyeball.
Thud!
Suddenly, Valendo, who stood nearby, took a heavy blow to the stomach. He coughed, spitting out a saliva-covered eyeball.
A pair of stiff boots strode past, crushing the eyeball underfoot before coming to a halt in front of the desk.
“Mr. Mayor, please cooperate with our investigation.”
Mayor Matteus pushed the sheet of paper toward the captain.
“The Deep God that attacked Midnight is heading for Vinnelag. This city could be His next target. Inform the people outside to prepare for an attack from a Great Old One and evacuate the citizens west by rail.”
“The Deep God? Is that what the fallen exorcist told you? You still believe his deceptive words...”
“You’re ignoring the lives of hundreds of thousands of Vinnelag’s citizens,” Matteus said flatly.
“You are too deeply corrupted, Mr. Mayor.” The captain was disappointed by Matteus’s choice.
“You are under our supervision, Mr. Mayor. It is our duty to prevent the citizens from leaving the safety of this city and to stop that fallen exorcist from carrying out his conspiracy.”
“To hell with your conspiracy!” The mayor, having lost his temper, roared furiously, pressing his forehead against the captain’s. “With your pathetic, laughable persistence, you protect nothing but your own rotten, filthy depravity!”
Valendo, wiping the corner of his mouth, also stood and spoke up, “We are not Midnight. Only warships and soldiers can fight. We must evacuate the civilians first and prepare the troops.”
The captain ignored Valendo, his eyes fixed on Matteus, who was still just inches away. “Say what you will. I will report this to Bishop Ussa.”
“...Fine. He’s smarter than you. He’ll know what to do, and he’ll remember that he is a citizen of Vinnelag.”
Under Mayor Matteus’s impassive gaze, the captain led his subordinates, who had finished their search, out of the trashed office.
The commotion was replaced by silence.
Valendo wiped his mess from the carpet and, clutching his stomach, leaned back against the desk.
“Mr. Mayor, what if Bishop Ussa is on his side?”
“That Bishop Ussa took his post seven years ago. Five years ago, His Holiness the Pope retired due to illness, and all affairs were handed over to him... He has ambition. Whatever his goal may be, he can’t abandon the people here.”
Perhaps the situation wasn’t so dire. If Midnight could defeat Him, then a Great Old One arriving with a crippled body could perhaps be defeated by them as well.
The weak have no right to build cities in this world.
“Mr. Lu Li said he might come. Maybe the situation isn’t so...”
Valendo suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Frowning, he asked, “Is the Inquisition using the eyeball to lure the Merchant and deceive Mr. Lu Li?”
“The Inquisition isn’t that devious.”
Despite all their conflicts, Mayor Matteus didn’t believe they would stoop so low.
The next morning, as Mayor Matteus and his assistant Valendo sat idly under house arrest in the office, a faint commotion drifted up from the street outside.
Matteus turned to the window, his eyes reflecting the panicked citizens on the street below and a rising shadow in the distance.
“Oh, God...”
The seawater, blotting out the sky, rose like a curtain, forming a colossal wave hundreds of meters high that surged toward the city. Matteus, forgetting that all the eyeballs had been confiscated, mumbled incoherently.
“It’s too late... It’s too late... Tell Mr. Lu Li... there’s no need to hurry...”