Chapter 156: "The Year That Disappeared"

Chapter 156 "The Year That Disappeared"

The old man's tone was flat in the same manner as someone telling a story. The fact that he's also a character in it was a mere coincidence.

"Sorry, it's easy to talk too much when you're old," the old priest apologized with a smile at Vanna. "Do you have friends from the other churches too?

"...... I have a good friend who is a member of the Truth Academy," Vanna thought for a moment, "but she doesn't tell me much about the teachings of Lahem, the god of wisdom."

"Oh, a believer in the god of wisdom... This is normal. Their creeds usually require a university degree or higher to understand. Sometimes they even need to pass an advanced mathematics test as well." The old priest nodded his head as a matter of course, "In contrast, it is the followers of death who are easier to deal with—after all, everyone has to die eventually one day."

Speaking of this, the old archivist paused and eyed the neatly arranged files behind Vanna: "Your Excellency, mind telling me what you are looking for?"

Vanna suddenly grew hesitant.

She didn't know whether telling the old priest the details was a good idea or not. The erased fire could potentially be a point of great danger to all of them. Alarming the secret entity wouldn't help anyone, especially those who learn the truth without being prepared.

But after a brief hesitation, she decided to reveal something.

This was the deepest part of the church, the sanctuary of the storm goddess. This priest may be old and unfit for battle, but she has no doubt that his determination as a warrior of the light remains true.

"I'm looking for a file. Actually, calling it a file is inaccurate because I don't know if it exists in the first place." Vanna began to slowly explain her reasoning, "Strictly speaking, it's a clue that happened in June of 1889, probably pointing to a great fire, but the information has been erased."

"A great fire of 1889?" The old priest pondered, "I don't remember any fires..."

He stopped abruptly and gave Vanna a thoughtful look.

"So, the erased material also includes our memories, right?"

"Likely yes," Vanna nodded solemnly. "Aside from my own awareness, I don't have anything else to prove the fire's existence, nor do I know who's manipulating things behind the background. This is all based on my own suspicion."

She suddenly felt a little embarrassed. As an inquisitor, she was used to questioning and investigating cases, but the situation was completely different this time. Not only did she not know who or what's the target, but she also didn't even have enough to confirm whether it was a ghost or the living. Furthermore, she launched this entire investigation based solely on her own whim, which was very different from her usual rational style.

However, the other party in front only nodded calmly in acknowledgment: "Your faith and character are evident in itself, Your Excellency."

After saying that, the old priest quickly limped over to a column between the nearby bookshelves. Then, tapping several specific bulges on the pillar with his mechanical prosthetic hand, a low rumble of pistons and cogs came from beneath the floor.

The doors to the archive promptly swung closed while many shelves started to interchange in various ways to make space for the pillars of runes from below. During this mechanical transformation, the subtle sound of the waves echoed softly in Vanna's mind, a sign that the barrier had been activated.

"...... There is no need to be so alarmed," Vanna was a little confused by the old priest's actions, "I'm only conducting a preliminary investigation..."

"Past experience tells me that there is no 'preliminary' investigation of a great threat," the old priest said as he limped towards Vanna. Then raising his mechanical brass hand to point at the records, "And I believe what we are facing is worthy of my security measures. Something that can interfere with the cognition of an entire city isn't just some small variable."

"...... But your hasty blockade of the archive may cause concern to many."

"No, it won't. The archives are randomly rearranged several times a month. This is to keep the sacred blessings from being corrupted." The old priest guffawed like a hearty old man with those jagged teethes of his, "Don't let these old texts stay quiet for too long. That's the rule, remember?"

"Then I have no more objection."

"You have checked many reports just now, and judging by your expression, you must have discovered something, right?" The old priest nodded, "I can help."

"Mhmm, I found some records about 'heretic worship'. Although it is not directly related to the incident I want to investigate, and the records themselves are scattered, I believe it's not so simple," Vanna said frankly. "Those heretics had a common characteristic: they all happened in the first half of 1889. Then when the factory leak occurred in the sixth block, they all came to an abrupt halt...."

The old priest listened carefully to Vanna's description and then found the corresponding archival materials under the guidance of the other party.

"That's it!" Vanna pointed to the documents that were dug up, "The sacrificial rituals that should be invalid, the substantial mental damage, and the small-scale madness, are all real acts of heresy worship. The closing reports all look normal too.... But I keep getting this sensation that the investigation wasn't done properly...."

"For a case of this scale, capturing and trying those involved is already tantamount to an investigation. But you are right. When several similar incidents are compounded together in such a short period, then it's no longer a coincidence." The old priest frown at the documents, "All of the individuals who held a sacrifice were 'inexplicably bewitched', but the source of the temptation could not be identified...."

He muttered and suddenly raised his head like he had just caught onto something crucial.

"Your Excellency, you only examined the archives of 1889, didn't you?"

"Yes," Vanna nodded and immediately caught on as well, "You mean..."

"The incident you are concerned about did happen in 1889, but have you ever wondered if these strange cases may not necessarily start in 1889?" The old priest quickly acted on his suspicion without waiting, "The earlier records are here. You can read them all from the bottom to the top three rows."

Vanna immediately went to the indicated shelf and examined the record files.

Moments later, both of them found similar records of heresy worship in the documents they examined.

1888, 1887, and even backward until 1886.

"There's also a case report here... The sacrifice that took place in the port area. Here too, it's only two months apart from the last!"

Vanna quickly flipped through the pages in hand, her heart pounding from the excitement and thrill of discovering something crucial. However, it's precisely then that she noticed the old priest next to herself acting weird by staring up at a bookshelf.

"Did you find anything?" Vanna frowned and asked with a hint of unease.

"There is no record of 1885," the old priest murmured, "it should be here, in this row, after 1884... But after 1884, it directly goes to 1886..."

......

"Let's stop here," Duncan said as he glanced back in the direction of the freaky church, "there should be no more to investigate here, so you can go home."

They stayed in that chapel for far too long. If they want to make another breakthrough in the case, they must search for outside help since none of them could break the time-space distortion.

"I... can I really go home?" Shirley nervously eyed Duncan, her tone apprehensive and unsure.

"Of course, I have never restricted your freedom to leave," Duncan smiled and ruffled the other's hair. Although Shirley was about the same age as Nina, the girl's too petite and thin, so he couldn't help but treat her as a little kid. "Today's investigation is over. You can go home."

Shirley subconsciously turned her head to look in the direction of home, only to pause after taking two steps forward, "Then... will we continue to investigate in the future?"

"That's a given. This matter is far from over." Duncan raised an eyebrow, "What? Are you reluctant to leave?"

"Ah, no, no, no!" Shirley quickly waved her hand in denial, "I just... the next time we investigate..."

"I will find a way to contact you, or you can take the initiative and come to me." Duncan smiled again and rubbed Shirley's head some more, "And not just to investigate, you can also call for help if you encounter other difficulties."

Shirley blinked, thinking it was odd to nod reflexively at the offer. Then, as she was about to turn and leave, the girl suddenly threw out one last question: "So... what is your next plan?"

"Me?" Duncan was stunned as he mused over the question, "I'm going to buy a bike in the afternoon."

Now it's Shirley's turn to be stunned: "Huhhh?"

"Buy a bike," Duncan earnestly repeated, "I've promised Nina before. It's been a few days already so I better hurry if I want to keep my promise. Something wrong?"

Shirley dropped her mouth for the longest time before blurting out a reply: "D-Dog thought you would do something like invading the subspace or something...."

But before the conversation could go further, a burst of black flame suddenly materialized into the air and shouted next to the girl: "I didn't say that!!"

The next second, the black flame went poof again without giving them a chance to retort. Apparently, Dog was so afraid that he would be seen that he didn't even dare to pop his head out.

Duncan: "...."

Unable to hold back the inner laugh anymore, the man decides to play along: "Okay, okay, this one here is going off to buy a bicycle for his niece within subspace. Let's leave it at that."