Deep Sea Embers

Chapter 210 “Rain of Fire”

This seemingly illogical and confused cry was the only description Heidi could think of at the moment – she couldn’t understand what she was seeing or what was happening. All she knew was that flames were literally raining down from the sky!

Everything happened without warning. One second it’s still raining water; the next the water had turned into droplets of fire, immersing the entire city in a hellscape of red! It didn’t matter if it was the trees, houses, towers, or churches. Everything had turned red. Worst of all, deafening explosions are blowing up across various points on the island. The whole place had turned into a war zone, shaking like its being pummeled by artillery shells.

It’s a true apocalypse that has draped over reality.

Heidi nearly crumbled to the ground at the horrific sight. Thankfully, the sound of the church bells had begun to ring nonstop then, bringing some semblance of sanity back to those fortunate enough to hear it.

That’s the reality barrier at work. Through the powers of the goddess brought forward by this melodious chime, the pouring flames couldn’t penetrate the church’s protection when they touched the cathedral. Unfortunately, it also meant the various chapels are now effectively isolated islands within this hellscape, each becoming its own anchor point for the grand barrier.

“The enemy has attacked… Destroy all the targets that try to get close to the bell tower!” Bishop Valentine broke the frightening silence and returned the doctor to her senses.

Heidi swung her head and was about to ask something when another explosive bang interrupted her vocals. It came from the square, and the noise was not friendly at all.

She ran to the window and peered out, seeing what she feared the most. The assembled defenders were desperately firing their guns off at the enemy, with the spiderwalkers and tanks unleashing the full might of Pland’s army.

The enemies came in the form of wriggling humanoid ashes. They were truly an endless horde, crawling and squirming out from under the barrage of bullets and shells.

Heidi reflexively shuddered. She could see the agonizing roars and screams from those things. They may take a humanoid form, but make no mistake, the doctor knows full well they’re nothing more than mindless beasts at this point. Furthermore, there’s only one reason they’re attacking the cathedral: to destroy the stabilizing eye within the bell tower in the back. Once that falls, the other spell matrixes in the smaller chapels would also fail, effectively destroying Pland in one blow!

The warriors all knew this, the citizens knew this, and the clerics knew this more than everyone. They did not hesitate to fight the enemy with everything they had in this battle: bullets, bolts of holy light, and any weapon the abled citizen could find. They threw everything at these monsters, including their own body as a human wall!

This world was a cruel one. From childhood to adulthood, the system has ingrained into its people that if you want to live, you must fight for it. Nothing in this world came without a cost; here was the price. If they want to live, they cannot fall less the entire reality comes falling down over their heads and be replaced by this burning hell.

So, with guns blazing and swords slashing, the warriors of mortal kind brought their full might upon the darkness. It didn’t matter to them if the swarming horde was endless. They would fight, even if it meant dying today.

No one gives up in this world!

“Hold the bell tower!” Valentine’s roared with mighty authority that echoed across the entire city-state. “As long as the spell eye remains ringing, they cannot twist our reality! Faithful ones, the time has come to show your strength! FIGHT! HOLD THE LINE AT ALL COSTS!!!”

Heidi watched the huge chaos that ensued from numerous points outside the main cathedral. Most of the forces had already gathered here, but many survivors still managed to escape the initial wave from the monsters. It didn’t matter if they had no training or fighting experience; if the person could swing a club or metal rod, they came and fought.

“Is there anything I can help with?” After seeing how desperate everyone was fighting, the doc quickly approached the head bishop and asked.

“Go reassure the young and elderly inside. We need to avoid a breakdown in order within the main cathedral,” Valentine said in a deep voice, “and then wait with them for the storm to end.”

As Heidi immediately nodded at the order, Valentine instead raised his head and peered upwards at the sky like he was staring off into the distance. Sure enough, the entire city’s situation was now reflected in his eyes from a bird’s eye view.

Everything had ignited into flames with countless dead strewn across the streets. Through his eyes, he could also see the chapels across the entire city, each sheltering as many helpless citizens that managed to escape in time before the initial slaughter. They’re also feverishly fighting to fend off the evil that has descended upon them, but likewise, the enemy is also as feverish in their attacks. It would just be a matter of time before those anchor points fall if nothing was done.

Eventually, Valentine’s sight locked onto a set of dark shadows hiding in the rear of the biggest horde attacking the main cathedral. These were no normal heretics, that much he was certain.

The minions of the sun heirs?!

Valentine’s expression changed for the worst. In the face of this devastating disaster, he suddenly remembered a small matter that had supposedly been resolved long ago and was almost forgotten.

He jerked and swung his head to a high-ranking priest next to himself: “Are those Suntists still in the underground sanctuary?!”

“Suntists?” The high-level priest didn’t catch on and took a second to react, “Ah, yes, they are still detained in the underground sanctuary. There is a whole brigade of guardians watching them. They can’t escape…”

“They never wanted to escape from the start!” Valentine said quickly, “They wanted to be locked up in the church from the very start!”

“What…” The high-ranking priest’s eyes widened instantly, and then, before his words could finish, a dull loud bang suddenly rocked the entire cathedral.

It was like some giant beast had awakened in the underground sanctuary.

Like Valentine, several priests in the cathedral who had experienced the Suntist crisis four years ago had also connected the dots through this noise.

Back then, hundreds of Suntists had gathered in their foul den and summoned a brief and terrifying force through a massive blood ritual. It’s a fake sun that nearly brought catastrophe to the city.

But before they could succeed, their plot was discovered by Vanna, who had just become the new inquisitor, and vanquished their plot.

“It was a test…” The high-ranking priest muttered to himself with great shock.

……

A sea of fire rose, bells chimed, sirens whistled, and countless ash monsters emerged from all directions, rampaging across the earthly world.

Vanna has experienced many dangerous and sinister battles in her times. She had faced cultists, taboo monsters created by their foul deeds, and even out-of-control ghostly demons and crazy Enders, but no battle could compare to this purgatory at this moment.

She was no longer facing a battlefield but a sudden apocalypse.

In other words, the end has already come, an end that has been postponed by the curtain until today.

But she was still alive, carving a bloody path through the sea of fire. It’s a hard struggle, but it won’t be long before she arrives at the main cathedral.

Every breath brought a burning pain, and her physical exhaustion was almost to the point where an ordinary person would be crushed several times. Worst of all, the armor on Vanna’s body had also been severely damaged, and her body’s recovery could no longer keep up with the speed of the damage, leaving her injuries to get worse little by little.

But the young inquisitor still kept moving forward.

The cathedral’s bells are still ringing, indicating that Bishop Valentine’s defenses have not yet been breached – perhaps the defenders are unaware of this plot to pollute history, but they are always prepared for all intrigues and battles.

Since the battle for the cathedral continues, she has no right to give up. Furthermore, the lady wasn’t just mindlessly hacking and slashing at everything that moved.

She noticed that Bishop Valentine had initiated reality stabilization measures, showing that he also sensed part of the truth. So at least this part of the response was fine, and as long as the bell tower did not fail, the heretical plot to overshadow the “true history” with a “pseudo-history” would not succeed.

They need to interrupt the coverage and strip the source of this pollution. Only by doing so would the destruction be halted and the city saved. All in all, it’s not too late to do something.

As if cheering herself up, Vanna tried not to think about the possibility of the church branches being lost or the mysterious and terrible Captain Duncan lurking in wait for herself. In her mind, she only wanted to destroy the obstacles blocking her path, which she did so by mechanically stepping forward and slashing down the monster that got in her way.

But suddenly, she stopped at an intersection not far from the cathedral.

A dark-gray car had tipped over on the side of the road. Several bodies were thrown out of the vehicle, but only one had caught her attention – the one still inside the vehicle.

Vanna instantly recognized the car and the bloodied arm that’s showing through the cracked window.

It was her uncle, Dante Wayne.