Ashes Of Deep Sea-Chapter 367 - 371 Abnormal Aura
Chapter 367: Chapter 371: Abnormal Aura
Chapter 367: Chapter 371: Abnormal Aura
Agatha had reached the streets, where the biting wind swept across the open spaces between buildings and hit her face head-on, bringing her fully to her senses.
Yet in her mind lingered a series of questions that had nearly shaken her worldview and reshaped her cognition—
“Doesn’t the Frost Church award bonuses to proactive citizens who report heretic leads?”
“You’ve never used a bank account? Does your church normally avoid contact with everyday life?”
“You couldn’t tell that was a bank account number?”
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Agatha had never imagined that her biggest lapse in composure when dealing with a Transcendent being would be under these circumstances.
Moreover, she firmly believed that Bishop Ivan from the great cathedral and the cryptographers and diviners still devotedly researching “arcane numbers” there would react much the same as she did.
Footsteps approached from the side; several subordinates who had remained near the building in a sheltered spot to stand by walked over. One of the black-clad guards noticed the bewildered look on Agatha’s face and immediately showed some concern, “Are you alright? Inside that house…”
Agatha raised her hand to interrupt her subordinate. She turned to glance back, then, carrying her cane, slowly walked towards a steam car not far away, meanwhile beginning to speak, “Do not disturb the residents of this room. Inform the church in this district to have the guardians stay away—The Silent Sanctum will directly take over the outreach and communication with this place.”
“Yes, Gatekeeper,” replied the black-clad guard, promptly bowing to accept the order, but then couldn’t help asking, “Do you… need to rest for a bit?”
Agatha paused mid-step and sighed, “Ah… if possible, I would seek psychological counseling at the nearest church or consult with a well-known psychiatrist…”
The subordinate was taken aback, “Ah?”
“Never mind, I don’t need rest,” Agatha waved dismissively, “let’s head back to the great cathedral; we need to start our search of the City-State’s underground as soon as possible.”
…
“The church people have left,” Maurice stood by the window, observing the activity on the street outside, and after seeing a grey-blue steam car drive past the intersection, he turned to Duncan, “I thought they would at least leave a few ‘eyes’ behind.”
“The Gatekeeper’s position in the Death Church is equivalent to a Deep Sea Judge in the Deep Sea Church; she must uphold her promise—if she said she won’t disturb us, then naturally there won’t be any sneaky moves,” Fenna said from the side, “Moreover, she knows those ‘little moves’ are meaningless.”
Duncan looked up at Fenna, “I thought you might want to chat more with the Gatekeeper; after all, you’re fellow practitioners.”
“…I really can’t think of anything to discuss,” Fenna shook her head, “My identity is a bit awkward. Whether as a Deep Sea Judge or a member of the Homeloss, it’s only troublesome to try and establish communication with the Frost Church at a time like this.”
Duncan hummed in acknowledgment without saying much more, but Nina suddenly broke the silence with curiosity, “That ‘Gatekeeper’ sister seemed quite excited when she left, like she had some plan… What is this search plan she mentioned? Uncle, do you have any ideas?”
Fenna and Maurice looked at Duncan simultaneously, who, after a brief contemplation, nodded slightly.
Although he was initially puzzled, by now he’d pieced together what was happening—Agatha’s reaction revealed one thing: after fruitless searches of the City-State’s main areas, the Frost Church’s attention apparently turned to the dark underground world.
The Second Waterway.
In the past, constrained by high costs and practical implementation difficulties, the Frost authorities had allowed the Second Waterway, a remnant of the Queen’s era, to lie dormant deep beneath the City-State, at most conducting some symbolic purification and blocking in the upper levels connected to the waterway. But now it seemed… they could no longer consider the matter of cost.
Duncan lifted his head, speaking to Fenna, “Go to Nemo’s pub again this afternoon, remind him that the church might soon take action against the Second Waterway, and to have him and his ‘colleagues’ be on the lookout.”
The Second Waterway was vast, and the part controlled by Nemo and his “colleagues” was actually just a small fraction of the entire sewer system. This small part was very concealed and deliberately hidden and blocked off, theoretically escaping the authorities’ and church’s notice, but no one knew how determined the church would be this time, so it was better to offer a warning.
“Additionally, the situation on Dagger Island is also very concerning,” Duncan continued after a moment of thought, “The disappearance of that island was clearly not normal, and I fear more incidents may occur—Maurice, pay close attention to various messages in town lately, especially the districts near the eastern port, to see if there’s any unusual gossip around.”
Maurice nodded, “Understood.”
“I’ll have to remind Duncan to keep an eye on the changes in that sea area…”
Duncan stroked his chin, muttering to himself thoughtfully, while also contemplating whether he had missed anything. Just then, he suddenly saw Sherry sidle up from the side.
Stealthily, with a sneaky demeanor.
“What is it?” Duncan casually asked upon noticing her behavior.
“It’s not me, it’s Agatha,” Sherry quickly waved her hand, then lifted her arm—a pitch-black chain appeared out of thin air as Abyssal Hound, who had previously hidden hastily due to the gatekeeper’s appearance, emerged before Duncan, “Agatha says there’s something he needs to report to you…”
“A situation?” Duncan frowned, looking at the cowering Abyssal Hound, “What situation?”
Agatha wagged his ugly head and carefully looked up in the direction of the doorway before speaking, “I don’t know if I’m mistaken, but that gatekeeper named Agatha… I always feel there’s a familiar presence about her…”
Suddenly, the surroundings fell quiet, and Duncan’s gaze turned serious, “A familiar presence? What do you mean? Profound Demons?”
“No, not Profound Demons,” Agatha immediately shook his head, “I can’t explain it clearly. As you know, my memory from before receiving ‘the Heart’ is somewhat blurry, but that presence… it somewhat reminds me of The Saint, yes, the atmosphere I felt when I was around The Saint.”
Upon hearing Agatha’s statement, everyone exchanged glances, and Duncan immediately spoke with a grave tone, “Why didn’t you mention this earlier?”
“I didn’t dare to show myself just now!” Abyssal Hound shrugged, “After all, she was a gatekeeper—and of course, she’s no match for you, but right now Frost is conducting a city-wide hunt for Heretics and Profound Demons. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to explain myself if I appeared and that it would ultimately delay your matters…”
Agatha’s explanation had some merit, and Duncan didn’t delve further. However, the situation reported was evidently beyond everyone’s expectations.
Frost’s gatekeeper, Agatha… how could she have The Saint’s presence?!
“Could it be… Has that gatekeeper fallen? Or been contaminated?” Morris asked with a grave expression, “But her behavior seems perfectly normal, and nothing seemed amiss in her words or actions…”
“Perhaps she doesn’t even know?” Sherry interjected cautiously, “Isn’t it said that cognitive contamination is the hardest to detect, especially for the person themselves?”
Duncan didn’t respond, only looking up at Fenna.
“She doesn’t seem to be fallen or contaminated, and it’s clear she’s not some ‘imitation’,” Fenna spoke slowly with furrowed brows, carefully recalling the various details of Agatha just now, “and I didn’t feel any abnormal presence on her at all—Agatha, are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
“I already said, I’m not sure myself,” Abyssal Hound spoke, sounding particularly uneasy, “There’s just a very, very faint trace that made me think of the Mysterious Deep Sea… that might not even be emanating from her. Right, didn’t she say she recently captured some Heretics? Although they’re not important figures, it’d be normal to pick up some traces from the Mysterious Deep Sea if she’s been dealing with them every day…”
Duncan was still frowning.
Although Abyssal Hound’s explanation seemed plausible, he had a gut feeling that things weren’t that simple—would a professional priestess, a City-State “gatekeeper,” forget to purify herself after interrogating Heretics? Would she allow herself to walk around exuding the Heretics’ presence?
Fenna stepped forward, “Should we bring that ‘gatekeeper’ back to ask her about the situation, or should we take initiative to find her?”
“Neither. If she truly runs the risk of falling or establishing contact with profound forces, any direct contact might spook her,” Duncan shook his head, at the same time glancing in the direction Agatha had left, “I’ll be secretly monitoring this matter. Don’t interact with her.”
Secret monitoring?
Fenna paused, about to inquire about what Duncan meant by “secretly monitoring”, but then she seemed to recall something—an inkling of memory surfaced in her mind, and she instantly understood what he meant.
“Have you… already left a mark on her?”
“She has already seen me.”
Duncan nodded gently, and in his other realm of perception, at a location some distance from here, a small green flame flickered lightly.
That was precisely the direction in which Agatha had departed.
