Chapter 30 Chaotic

The huge and heavy machine spider folded its long limbs into its torso and used the wheels attached to the limbs to glide along the road. Fanna the Judge stood steadily on top of the machine. The slightly cold and fishy sea breeze made her brain a little clearer.

The cultists who worshipped the Sun God were a severe problem for modern civilization, and, unfortunately, there was more than one such serious problem.

Ill intentions were directed toward the mortal world from the subspace all the time, and there would always be humans who tried to obtain such evil powers. In the struggle between ancient gods and humans, twisted items from old civilizations, tabooed heirs, and contaminated decays hid in the deepest parts of the city-states, waiting for their time to destroy the order and structure of human society.

Out of all the threats, the cultists of the Sun God had proved to trouble those who protected the City-state of Pland the most.

Not only were they cultists, but also a product of the lost history of the old world. Compared to most blinded cultists, those who worshiped the Dark Sun were more dangerous as they were tied down by a certain “faith.” Despite the fanaticism and twisted beliefs of the complicated lower-level members, those who led the cult had a “core belief” that had never been changed for the past thousands of years.

The belief was expanded from the “Beginning of Order” that was formed under the old sun. Not only was a system formed out of it, but also a “True Solar Calendar” that was not accepted by modern civilization. They deeply believed that they were the descendants of the lost civilization and would do anything to revive the glorious old civilization.

As a judge of the Deep Sea Church, Fanna wasn’t interested in the heresy of the cult. However, she knew that it was through the existence of such heresy that the cult of the Sun God could become stronger and more united than other cults. The cult was able to survive despite the countless attacks from the church, and they continued to grow in the shadow of the city-states.

Yet, Fanna was still surprised that the cult managed to revive its base in Pland after being defeated.

After an all-out attack four years ago, the Sun God cult’s structure in Pland was destroyed. The recent reports stated that the cultists had moved their core members to the nearer city-states like the City-state of Lunsar and the City-state of Mough, and even to city-states that were further away from Pland. Those who remained in Pland were stubborn people who didn’t have the status to move to other states.

These cultists hid in the sewer, escaping the hunting of the guards through their understanding of the sewer and the twisted blessings of the Dark Sun. Their numbers had decreased in the past four years, and all that they could do now was struggle to survive.

However, their numbers suddenly increased to the point where they would risk exposing themselves by performing sacrificial rituals. She could not understand where they gained their confidence from.

“Could it be.. that something big is going to happen?” Fanna thought to herself. “That it’s a big enough reason for them to risk destroying themselves to draw the Dark Sun’s attention to Pland?”

The vibration and noise from the engine and the slight smoky smell from the leak of the steam-engine pipes stopped Fanna from thinking of something unnecessary. She raised her head to look into the sky.

The “Wound of the World” hung high up in the sky. The dim white light gently lit the tops of the uneven houses, chimneys, and towers in the City-state of Pland. The squad was now moving across the edge of the industrial area where the huge pipes connected to steam engines stood so tall that they looked like the blood veins of giants that pierced through the sky.

Fanna briefly thought of the past—the terrifying night that she would never forget. It was a night filled with the stench of blood. Her uncle carried her out of the fire. On the streets were people acting like corpses after getting caught up in a large-scale illusion, and corpses of different shapes and sizes. She and her uncle escaped through the pipelines of the factory, where the stench of blood and chemicals almost made her puke.

The sudden vibration from the spider-like machine pulled Fanna back from her memory.

They had finally reached the end of the flat road and had arrived at the abandoned area at the edge of the city. The road was uneven, and they had to stop traveling on wheels. The long limbs of the machines were extended, and they started to run past the rough terrain.

Not long after that, the squad arrived at the entrance of an abandoned sewer.

Another eight-man squad was already waiting for them there. They had already locked the area down to prevent unauthorized citizens from entering.

Fanna greeted her subordinates and followed them into the deeper part of the sewer.

Past the long and dirty paved path that led to a tomb, Fanna finally arrived at the gathering area of the cult. Many guardian warriors had gathered there, and priests from the church were performing the cleansing ritual.

A temporary ritual altar was set up in the middle of the hall. The wooden altar seemed to have been burned. On top of the altar was the blasphemy totem that the Sun God cultists had built. The totem had been burned as well, but its basic structure remained intact.

Around the altar were more than a few dozen cultists with their hands tied. Most of them were trembling, while a few were mumbling their cursed prayers.

However, since the ritual was interrupted, the Wind Goddess had already noticed the situation, and their prayers would never reach their god.

SW

Not far from the altar was a cave where the bodies of the sacrificed could be found. The victims who had met a terrifying fate were placed on top of linens decorated with rune drawings. The undertaker, who had rushed to the scene, was now checking the condition of every dead body.

A few priests from the church were walking around the altar as they gently shook the bronze chains in their hands. White smoke was coming out of the incense cauldrons tied to the end of the chains. As soon as the smoke contacted the floor around the altar, it would be dyed in an ominous black shade before more white smoke would take the contaminated black shade away. The aura of the Black Sun that remained at the scene was slowly being cleansed by repeating that process.

“Madam Judge! Over here! This is where we realized something was wrong!” The young guardian pointed at the few corpses by the altar. “Please watch where you are stepping The floor is kind of dirty.”

Fanna walked past the corpses and frowned when she noticed the condition of one of the corpses.

It was the corpse of a cultist who wore a golden mask. She didn’t even need to ask to know that he used to be the cult priest who was in charge of the sacrificial ritual.

On the chest of the cult priest’s corpse was a scary-looking hole.

“What happened to him?” Fanna asked. “Did he sacrifice himself in the heat of the ritual? I’ve never heard of such a rule in the cult of the Black Sun.”

“This is what’s weird. He didn’t sacrifice himself.” The guardian who led Fanna there shook his head with a slightly weird expression. “According to the cultists who are still alive.. their ’emissary’ was sacrificed by one of the sacrifices..”

“Sacrificed by one of the victims?” Fanna raised a brow. “What kind of absurdity is that?”

“It does sound crazy.” The guardian sighed. “The truth is that most of those who were still alive were already half-mental when we arrived.”

“Half-mental?”

“Yes. It was clear that something very wrong had occurred during the sacrificial ritual. Most of them went crazy, and some even started to kill their own. It’s as if the others were.. ‘monsters’ that had been possessed in their eyes. That’s also why the sheriff patrolling around was able to notice them as they ran out of the sewer like maniacs.. When we arrived, only a few of them were still calm enough to answer our questions, and they said that the victim had sacrificed their emissary.”

“Went crazy? Killing their own? Possessed?” Fanna’s expression turned serious immediately. “Did you guys check and see if they were contaminated by the Black Sun?”

“We didn’t find any evidence that they were contaminated. It’s more as if they went crazy on their own. It’s as if their spirits were broken by something,” the guardian replied and pointed at a young lady in a black robe who walked back and forth between the cultists. “Miss Heidi has arrived as well and has confirmed that they weren’t contaminated by the Black Sun. We have no choice but to rely on hypnotism for this.”