In the night aboard a passenger ship sailing the Conquest Sea, Vania was awakened from her recent slumber by noisy disturbances and a distant humming sound. Frowning, she sat up in bed and let out a deep yawn.
“Ugh... What’s happening outside? Why is it so noisy...?”
Mumbling softly, Vania rubbed her eyes, stood up, and lit the gas lamp fixed on the wall. As she peered out the window, she was surprised to find a thick fog outside, obscuring her view completely.
“What’s going on? Why is there suddenly such dense fog? It wasn’t foggy when I fell asleep…”
Puzzled, she glanced at the clock on the wall, confirming she had only slept about half an hour.
“Half an hour... Can such heavy fog appear so quickly? And what about those sounds outside? Did something happen?”
An uneasiness rose within her as she decided to step outside and check the situation. After casually throwing on her nun’s outer robe, she opened the door to the hallway. She hadn’t walked far before being stopped by a crew member who spoke to her in Ivengardian.
“Miss nun, we are experiencing complicated sea conditions. We’re resolving the issue right now. Please return to your cabin and avoid moving around.”
“Complicated sea conditions… I understand…”
Vania nodded in comprehension. Since she had studied a bit of Ivengardian prior to her pilgrimage, she could roughly understand the sailor’s instructions. Obediently, she returned to her cabin and closed the door.Inside, Vania didn’t go back to sleep. Instead, she sat quietly on her bed, anxiously waiting for the so-called “complicated sea conditions” to pass.
After some time, she heard the noise outside gradually subside and noticed the fog begin to thin. Feeling relieved, she thought, “Seems like it really was just complicated sea conditions. Everything should be fine now.”
Just as she was about to remove her outer garment and return to sleep, another disturbance came from outside—this time mingled with faint cries of pain, startling her once more.
“Is this also part of handling complicated sea conditions?”
Hearing someone’s painful cries outside, Vania’s calm vanished. After a moment of hesitation, she chose to investigate again. When she stepped into the corridor, she saw other passengers similarly anxious to understand the situation, heading toward the deck. However, crew members blocked their path, speaking reassuringly.
“Passengers, please return to your cabins. The ship is experiencing unexpected conditions, but we’re handling it. It’s not very dangerous, so please remain calm.”
Passengers slowly dispersed back to their cabins after reassurance. Vania lingered briefly, observing carefully. Clenching and unclenching her fists slightly, she too chose to return to her cabin.
Back inside her cabin, Vania’s expression turned grave.
As a Black Earth-rank Lantern Beyonder, Vania possessed enhanced night vision. Even in darkness, she had caught glimpses others hadn’t.
When crew members had blocked her path earlier, behind them stood unfamiliar men, shirtless and armed, standing over unconscious sailors. She had clearly seen the crew members’ panicked expressions.
Realizing her ship had experienced a hostile takeover, Vania struggled to suppress the urge to intervene immediately and instead began formulating a strategy.
“Sailors down, unfamiliar invaders, crew being threatened... Our ship has probably been hijacked. Maybe I can alert the escort fleet…”
She quickly turned her gaze toward the dark ocean outside the window, attempting to spot the fleet. Her heart sank upon realizing no fleet lights were visible anywhere.
“Gone… completely gone? Where are the other ships? Where’s the escort fleet? Why can’t I see them?”
Realizing the severity of the situation, Vania’s anxiety grew.
Due to her recent numerous encounters with danger, Vania remained composed. Calming herself, she pulled out her scripture, placed it on the table, closed her eyes briefly in prayer, then opened it and began writing.
“The situation is quite strange and complex. I’ll inform Miss Dorothea first and hear her thoughts... I hate disturbing her at this late hour…”
…
Meanwhile, another ship sailed alone through the same dark sea. In one of its cabins, Dorothy, who had been asleep for some time, suddenly opened her eyes. Sitting up quickly, she yawned and rubbed her forehead.
“This is… Vania’s prayer, requesting communication? At this late hour… something serious must’ve happened.”
Although puzzled, Dorothy acted without hesitation, rising from bed, lighting the wall lamp, and sitting at the desk.
Dressed in her sleepwear, Dorothea retrieved the Literary Sea Logbook from her magic box. Upon flipping to Vania’s communication page, she found new words had appeared. Vania had carefully detailed her current situation, asking Dorothy’s advice on handling these hijackers.
Dorothy frowned deeply after reading Vania’s account. She had not expected such boldness—someone daring to hijack the church’s ships.
“Based on Vania’s description, her ship was mysteriously seized. Unknown invaders have incapacitated sailors, threatened crew members, and ordered passengers confined to cabins. Such actions clearly indicate piracy. But who would dare target the church’s pilgrimage fleet?”
Dorothea pondered, already having some suspicions.
“Heavy fog... shirtless men... sudden invaders from the sea... These elements point strongly toward Abyssal Church’s Hydromancers. Would they really dare attack a church fleet? If it’s them, what’s their motive? Gathering sacrifices for Haimohois?”
“But I have the Deep Blue Heart. Without it, they can’t hold rituals. Besides, why specifically attack a church ship for sacrifices? Are there other Tide Path Beyonders besides the Abyssal Church on these seas?”
Dorothea considered possibilities, but lacking sufficient information, she quickly shifted focus to advising Vania on her next steps.
“Given my distance from Vania, directly helping her is challenging. She must be cautious.”
“If these hijackers can produce heavy fog, separating the fleet, their Beyonders must be high-ranked, possibly one or more White Ash rank individuals. If they truly are Tide Path Beyonders with home-field advantage, Vania can’t win. She absolutely cannot engage them directly. Instead, she should gather intelligence carefully. The core problem now is insufficient information…”
“Unfortunately, I’m not physically present on those ships; otherwise, intelligence gathering would be much easier.”
Dorothea thought analytically and picked up her pen, beginning to carefully write down her advice in the Literary Sea Logbook, instructing Vania on how to best respond to her current predicament.
In short, Dorothy instructed Vania not to act rashly, avoid conflicts, and cooperate with the intruders for now, aiming first to gather as much intelligence as possible.
Additionally, since Dorothy was concerned that Vania might face difficulties in effectively gathering intelligence due to language barriers, she suggested transmitting her linguistic knowledge to Vania through Aka, enabling Vania to gain basic proficiency in Ivengardian, Cassatian, and other main languages of nearby countries.
Dorothy was typically cautious about taking action without sufficient reconnaissance. However, since her physical presence at the scene was impossible this time, the task of reconnaissance became significantly more challenging, relying solely on Vania’s improvisation.
...
“Don’t act rashly, cooperate with them, and gather intelligence first?”
Sitting in her cabin, Vania pondered Dorothy’s reply, realizing that she currently lacked suitable means for effective reconnaissance.
“It seems… I can only follow Dorothy’s advice for now—not provoking conflicts and observing how the situation unfolds…”
“But I didn’t expect Miss Dorothea would actively offer her linguistic knowledge… I’m truly grateful. If I can’t understand what they’re saying, it would be impossible to effectively gather intelligence... Miss Dorothea’s knowledge is unbelievably vast. To know several languages at such a young age, and to give them out just like that…”
Vania silently contemplated this, deciding to abandon her previous intention of directly taking action, opting instead to wait and see how things developed.
...
As time ticked by, even though the night grew deeper, Vania didn’t sleep. She was anxiously considering how she could actively investigate the hijackers when suddenly she heard movements and noises outside her cabin. The sounds gradually grew louder and closer, eventually stopping at her cabin door, followed by knocking.
Swallowing nervously, Vania stood up and opened the door, finding a visibly uneasy sailor standing outside, who addressed her:
"Um… Excuse me, Sister, do you know how to treat wounds? I mean, like applying medication, diagnosing injuries, and bandaging..."
Hearing the sailor’s words, Vania paused briefly, then nodded in response.
"Yes, I know how to treat wounds. I’ve done medical care before."
"That’s great. Please follow me, Sister, we need you."
The sailor spoke, and Vania nodded again, following him out. As she followed the sailor down the corridor, Vania quietly prayed to Aka, reconnecting with Dorothy. Dorothy, who had stayed awake waiting for updates, promptly gained access to Vania’s senses, beginning to monitor the situation remotely.
Following the sailor, Vania arrived at a relatively large cabin where she saw numerous injured church sailors. Some were lying on the floor, others leaning against sofas or walls, their faces pale, expressions pained. Some were unconscious, while others groaned softly. Many wounds were hastily bandaged, obviously not by professional hands.
Apart from the injured sailors, there were several crew members and three shirtless men whose bodies were soaked, with muscular builds and resolute gazes. Each bore a distinctive inverted-triangle tree tattoo on their arms, and one had his hand wrapped in bloodstained bandages. The sailors and injured crew visibly feared these men.
"Sister… please help treat these people. Some of them seem seriously wounded."
"Alright, I’ll do my best."
Vania immediately began treating the wounded sailors using the ship’s medical supplies. Observing through Vania’s perspective, Dorothy began analyzing the scene.
“Those three must be the hijackers. Given the current situation, the ship has clearly been fully seized. The sailors’ injuries likely resulted from fighting these men.”
“To defeat so many sailors with so few attackers, these individuals must be Beyonders of considerable strength. I must tread carefully. If they’re truly Water Elementalists, provoking a conflict under these conditions would be disastrous.”
“However, these hijackers surprisingly have standards. Instead of neglecting the injured sailors, they deliberately sought out medical personnel among the passengers to treat them. This isn’t typical cultist behavior at all. The Abyssal Church would have either turned these wounded sailors into midnight snacks or tossed them to the fish. Their approach really doesn’t fit the Abyssal Church’s ruthless style.”
Dorothy felt somewhat puzzled. Initially suspecting the Abyssal Church, she now reconsidered this assumption after observing the hijackers’ actions.
While Dorothy analyzed the situation, Vania focused entirely on treatment. Methodically tending to each sailor, she aimed to stabilize them, determined not to let innocent lives slip away under her watch.
While treating, Vania noticed a critically wounded sailor lying nearly unconscious on the floor. Recognizing the urgency, she swiftly activated her supernatural ability to stabilize the dangerously wounded man.
Just as she completed stabilizing the sailor’s condition, a voice spoke up behind her—speaking Ivengardian, heavily accented and not entirely fluent.
"You’re… a Lantern Beyonder? I’ve heard they have abilities to heal others. Female clergy wearing white…"
Turning around, Vania saw the leader among the three hijackers addressing her with a curious look in his eyes.
"Yes, I am a Healing Prayer Priest following the Path of the Holy Mother. Thank you for allowing these unfortunate souls a chance to receive treatment."
Facing Bahoda’s inquiry, Vania replied earnestly. Bahoda responded:
"Every life deserves respect. Even though we’ve fought each other, they pose no threat now, and we won’t meaninglessly deprive them of life. Moreover, the more of you alive, the more useful it is to us, servant of Radiance."
Hearing Bahoda’s words, Vania felt slightly surprised, sensing there might be room for communication. She responded hopefully.
"Indeed, life deserves respect… We should treat each living being with compassion and equality, as the Holy Mother teaches me… I’m glad you share similar thoughts."
However, unexpectedly, Bahoda sneered coldly and retorted.
"Treat everyone with compassion? Ha… How nice it sounds. You people of Radiance have never treated anyone with fairness or compassion! You’ve always been overbearing. Those who don’t follow your god or accept your scriptures face oppression or even brutal slaughter! You cannot tolerate even the slightest difference. You act like pirates, forcing your beliefs and killing innocents! You have no right to speak about respecting life or compassion!"
Bahoda spoke harshly, anger evident in his expression, startling Vania, who was initially hoping for peaceful dialogue. Meanwhile, observing remotely, Dorothy thoughtfully rubbed her chin, seemingly realizing something significant.
"Dissenters to Radiance’s missionary activities, huh? Interesting indeed…"