Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 663 Was the ritual fake?
Zoe and Gaia stood there, stunned.

The seawater from the Sea of ​​Ignorance that flowed into the mortal world should have been a disaster, but it didn't travel far before being absorbed by Beatrice.

Almost all of the high-ranking members of the Candlelight Church present were wiped out, while the monks of the Mechanical Sanctuary suffered relatively few casualties. They were now gathered on both sides of the cannon muzzle, somewhat confused as to whether they should point their guns at their Pope.

Many people turned to look at Hela, the Grand Chancellor, but Hela had kept her head down and hadn't spoken since Beatrice's appearance, until now when she slowly raised her head.

Hela glanced at the believers around her, took a deep breath, turned up the loudspeaker volume, and stepped forward:
"If Your Majesty An"

Suddenly, Hela's voice stopped.

Her mechanical pupils rotated slightly, dilated a little, and then she slowly lowered her head.

A huge hole appeared in her chest.

The surrounding believers were stunned. After a while, they reacted, turned around, and raised their guns.

Behind them, where there should have been the church wall, the wall suddenly twisted and shattered like glass under everyone's gaze. The real wall was further behind, and what stood in front of them was...
The investigators were densely packed together, dressed in neat robes.

"Varied"

"Fire!"

The monks of the Mechanical Church then realized that these investigators were also carrying muskets, which might not be as effective as the firearms of the Mechanical Sanctuary, but at this distance, there was no difference.

The bullets grazed the church, leaving a crimson glow that somehow gave it a sacred appearance.

The monks of the Mechanical Sanctuary roared in retaliation. Their bodies were mostly made of steel, which was more reliable than flesh and blood and should be able to withstand more attacks.

The bullets that were heading towards the other side all stopped in front of these people.

"They're all [Investigators]?!"

"How can it be!"

"Didn't they go to the City of Dreams?"

"Hold on! Hold the line!!"

The sounds of explosions, bullets piercing flesh, and steel clashing, along with wails of agony, together formed a hymn of praise.

The monks of the Mechanical Sanctuary fell one after another. They were indeed very strong, able to fight against superhumans head-on with their mortal bodies, but there were simply too many [Investigators] on the other side.

The investigators were clearly well-prepared, each carrying more than one musket, all of which were loaded.

Soon, Beatrice was the only one left standing in the entire church.

The Candlelight Society's investigators didn't deliberately let her go, nor did the Empire's muskets have the accuracy; instead, the bullets aimed at her were all swallowed by the Sea of ​​Ignorance.

She looked down at the corpses around her, her expression gradually becoming blank, then slowly raised her head and looked at the investigators.

"You...didn't go to the City of Dreams?" she murmured to herself. "But I signed all your paperwork, the whole process, including food, lodging, and carriages, was perfect. Did you lie to me?"

“You flatter me, Your Majesty.” A young priest bowed, a hint of sarcasm on his face. “It is all true, of course. It has been adjudicated and approved by the Council of the Keepers of the Secrets. It’s all proper procedure. It’s just that we returned ahead of schedule.”

"So...you had already planned to target the Mechanical Sanctuary?"

"Under the protection of candlelight, where did we strike? It was clearly the Mechanical Temple that suddenly attacked us. Look, we've lost quite a few people."

He spoke without hesitation, his tone tinged with regret and grievance, yet the smile on his face remained unchanged. "So that's how it is, so that's how it is. You actually noticed the unusual activity of the Mechanical Sanctuary, but you suppressed it and didn't report it to your superiors, deliberately pretending not to know, and just left Rhine, only to return here after they were almost all dead. Did you think the Keepers of the Secrets wouldn't see through it?"

"So what? Your Holiness, you became Pope not because you are powerful enough, but because you are the only choice, and so are we."

The man's tone finally wavered slightly, and his voice held a hint of anger.

"These high-ranking members of the church control the entire Candlelight Vigil. We ordinary investigators can only be sent to our deaths. So many people have died in the North, yet we have gained nothing, but they still don't care, simply because it wasn't their own lives that were sacrificed!"

The man glanced at the corpses on the ground: "Now they're dead here too. It's fair."

Beatrice's eyes darted around, and she subtly stepped back. The spot where Zoe and Gaia had just been was now empty, and a large hole had appeared in the pipe.

As long as she completes the ritual, then even if she cannot defeat him by force, it will be possible.
"Your Majesty, you're not still trying to stall for time, are you?"

Beatrice paused in her steps.

"To be honest, we were quite surprised that you were able to take control of the Mechanical Sanctuary, but to ascend to the level of a [Named One] is truly remarkable."

The man suddenly smiled.

"The Candlelight Vigil has never had a path to becoming a [Named Person]. Although I don't know where you found this method, but..."

"The existence of the [named person] is always innate, you couldn't possibly be unaware of that, could you?"

Beatrice was completely stunned.

“You’re stalling for time, but aren’t we too? The filth in these corridors of truth is a troublesome thing, and it would be great if you could help us resolve it, but it seems it’s almost over.”

Beatrice looked around in alarm. Her rate of absorbing seawater had gradually slowed down, but she was still the same as before.

"Impossible, impossible! According to the ritual, I should have already completed my ascension! Why am I still like this?!"

"Your Majesty, let me give you a little hint: everything you've been absorbing is highly polluted, and after absorbing so much, your ritual should be coming to an end soon, shouldn't it?"

Beatrice paused for a moment, staring at the still-rushing seawater, despair welling in her eyes.

So much seawater, so much pollution, is enough to completely erode her ten times over.

The man opposite her was right; her ritual was about to end, but there was no sign of it reaching its climax.

so.
She gently closed her eyes.

Beatrice's will had completely crumbled, and she began to hallucinate, but she no longer tried to control it.

This time, she really intends to give up.

Everything before my eyes began to distort, the corpses inside the church gradually disappeared, and it started to rain without me even noticing.

Beatrice recognized the rain; she saw it every time she woke up from a nightmare.

That was the night the Empress was assassinated, when she fled the palace, enduring hallucinations and a headache.

Instinct told her to escape, and she did just that. But when she escaped the palace, she was met with a dense horde of Papal troops.

(End of this chapter)