CRACKLE! POP! Thick smoke billowed, flames shooting in all directions. After a while, the Cannons, blasted sky-high by the massive explosion, plunged into the sea in twisted shapes with a series of PLOPS. The fragile human remains and ship debris, already burned beyond recognition, mingled with the pitch-black smoke and ash. A gust of wind scattered them across the entire Long-range Fleet. This obliterated every visible and tangible piece of physical evidence of the crime. An intense, acrid stench immediately followed, instantly filling everyone's nostrils. It gave them an even more visceral understanding of the explosion's horrific intensity. Only a few splintered, charred sections of the ship's bottom remained at the site. Thanks to the wood's natural buoyancy, they continued to burn fiercely even as they slowly sank.
"You're saying this was a signal flare... misfire?"
Behind the [Sun Crown Priest], on the Church Warship, a group of Reformist Clerics and Judgment Knights stared dumbfounded for a long time. Their faces, usually more machine-like than human with their cold, hard expressions, couldn't help but collectively lose composure. Some Knights even gestured wildly, desperately trying to connect the still-raging fire dragon before them with a tiny "signal flare." They undeniably failed.
The melee, ranged, and support trio, serving as reinforcements, were also among them. Brendan, the [Armed Priest] from the "Holy Armed Forces Cathedral," gripped his Gun Sword tightly, his grey pupils gradually losing focus as he said,
"A signal flare? If that was a signal flare, then what is the purpose of my existence, or that of the Holy Armed Forces Cathedral?
"Signal flare! Signal flare!
"I would trade all my accumulated equipment for such a signal flare; I would consecrate it as a Sacred Artifact on the Cathedral's altar!"
The Holy Armed Forces Cathedral was said to have been built to commemorate the Knights' Western Expeditions of old. Its Holy Altar displayed a vast array of weapons of every kind: Knight's armor, lances, cruciform swords, Crossbows... Among them were Sacred Relics from the Old Continent's many wars, items that had once influenced the course of world history, alongside the most potent gunpowder formulas known today. This particular Sect staunchly believed that weapons were created to uphold the Creator's dominion over the world. To them, more meant stronger, and bigger meant beautiful; they fanatically pursued all manner of high-powered weaponry. Yet today, their long-held devoutness was nearly shattered by a mere "signal flare." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveIꜰire.net
Nearby, Herman, the [Doppler Swordsman] shouldering a greatsword, mumbled a strange verse seemingly plucked from thin air, "I do not believe fish have only a seven-second memory; I do not believe day and night are inverted, or that black and white are indistinguishable."
His companions were accustomed to his manner of speaking. Though he often rambled as if drunk, his meaning was usually clear enough. His reasoning seemed meticulous and flawless, yet he would never believe, not even on his deathbed, that a signal flare initiated this. Unfortunately, the effect of the [You're Not the Murderer] attribute was undeniable; no amount of argument could link those murder weapons to the true culprit.
The young Nun, her face full of Mercy, refrained this time from her usual unsettling, mad pronouncements. Instead, she earnestly prayed for the deceased,
"The Creator is my shepherd; I shall not want.
"He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters.
"He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me..."
The Nun's class was Third Order [Glorious Sacrifice], specializing in restorative, enhancing, and specialized prayers. Whether the deceased still needed her prayers or not, her words brought great comfort to the onlookers. The usually stern Judgment Knights and Priests from the Tribunal aboard the ship found their impression of this Nun greatly improved. Although her usual words and actions seemed somewhat at odds with traditional interpretations of doctrine, she was proving to be very reliable when it mattered most.
After finishing her prayer, the Nun looked at her fellow believers, sighed with profound compassion, and said,
"Their corpses were scattered everywhere after death; it's truly tragic. Not even I can send them to Heaven.
"Such a pity, so pitiful, so lamentable."
Hearing this, all the Knights felt a pang of shared sorrow. After all, Church doctrine strictly forbids the "mutilation of the Corpse." Typically, when the Church's Tribunal declared someone a heretic, the punishment involved mutilation of the Corpse. This included additional punishments such as deliberately decapitating the heretic after death or burning the Corpse. Similarly, if a believer committed suicide, it was a severe violation of Church doctrine. In such cases, even if the suicide's Corpse was intact, the Church would mutilate a part of it as a punishment and a warning to other believers. According to Mysticism, a person's soul is intimately linked to their physical body; after death, the soul reflects the state of the Corpse. Damaging the physical body within seven days of death is, to some extent, harming the soul. Most crucially, if a soul is not whole after death—regardless of whether its Divinity or Beastliness is more prominent—it cannot ascend to Heaven.
Seeing the Judgment Knights nodding in agreement, the Nun continued, "The Religious Tribunal always charges to the front lines, battling all sorts of Heresy, Evil Spirits, and Bizarre entities—who among us can guarantee they'll return home whole every time?"