Chapter 1726: Chapter 1726
In the distance, the black metal tower, standing amidst the hazy gray mist and setting sun, rose slowly, the movement visible to the naked eye. Its pace was glacial, but it was undeniably ascending. A cloud of dust billowed up from the ground, and the tower's shadow, cast by the fading light of dusk, stretched ever longer until it pierced the eastern district of Nolan like a greatsword.
From Jenkins's current vantage point, the setting sun and the summer evening's afterglow were directly behind the black tower. But instead of making the metal structure glisten, the sun's light seemed to be devoured by the tower, leaving only a sense of panic and unease in its wake.
Even without his Eye of Reality, Jenkins knew that the already potent black aura of the Cursed Item had now reached a level he had never before encountered. He opened his mouth to say something, but a bitter taste filled it.
It wasn't that Jenkins had bad breath; something was wrong with the air itself.
he warned Magic Miss, Mr. Hood, and Miss Windsor, deftly tucking the cat from his shoulder into his pocket.
"What is that smell?"
Magic Miss had also caught the strange odor in the air.
"It's like oil mixed with water and kitchen scraps, left to fester all summer,"
Though the stench was acrid, it at least wasn't poisonous gas—not if you didn't breathe it in for too long. Still, for the sake of their health, Jenkins advised the servants to take Queen Isabella back inside the mansion. He knew there would be no more aftershocks.
He then had Magic Miss escort Miss Windsor away. Acting as Jenkins Williams, he thanked Mr. Hood and urged him to leave quickly to avoid running into the Church's teams.
Afterward, he remained by the Queen's side to ensure she wouldn't pass away immediately. Only after the Church officials arrived did he have a servant summon the dukes currently in Nolan.
During this time, Jenkins handed over all the information he had gathered about Queen Isabella that day to the Church. He had no intention of concealing the matter; there was no need to. As for how the Church would handle it, Jenkins didn't care to involve himself.
He only knew that he would tell Bishop Parrold that matters concerning the throne needed to be expedited. In the past, for the sake of a peaceful transition of power, Jenkins's progress had been deliberately slow, and he hadn't relied much on the Church's influence. Follow current novels on novelFirｅ.net
But from this day forward, everything had changed. Jenkins saw it with perfect clarity now: he should not place any hope in that old woman. The matter of his succession could be delayed no longer. He had to ascend the throne as soon as possible.
Queen Isabella's use of extraordinary power was different from the contact that the proud Tackwen or Salhir II had with the supernatural. The former had sought to break a curse, while the latter, though acting out of selfish motives, was not directly responsible for the disaster in Ruen or the three demigods from the Tree House. Queen Isabella, however, had explicitly used mystical powers to kill, and had even collaborated with the Tree House, an organization deemed illegal by the Church. While it was true, as she herself had said, that the Church couldn't force her abdication as long as she expressed remorse, Jenkins also believed they would not be so quick to "forgive" her.
In fact, he would not allow the Church to make such a gesture of forgiveness.
Once he confirmed the arrival of the Church's team and the hurriedly approaching dukes, Jenkins left the mansion. Duke Douglas tried to stop him to ask about the situation, but Jenkins paid him no mind.
His face grim, he spoke for a while with Captain Bincy, who was standing guard outside. He learned that the Twelve Orthodox Churches were all too eager to "cherish" this rare opportunity of Queen Isabella's misstep, and the matter would not be resolved easily.
Captain Bincy pointed in its direction:
"My squad is only responsible for the outer perimeter here, so we didn't set out the moment we received your notice. The earthquake had just struck when we left the church. Miss Bevanna saw the tower rising with us. She has likely already rushed over there by now."
Jenkins then headed toward the metal tower with Chocolate. Since the earthquake had only just happened, the mist-shrouded streets were filled with people. Although earthquakes had become frequent in Nolan lately, no one was foolish enough to bet their life against death that their house, having survived the last one, would certainly survive this one too.
The crowds on the street weren't terribly dense, but most were discussing the inexplicably taller black tower. The tower's height was no longer changing, but a single glance at it was enough to feel an inexplicable sense of oppression.
It stood right in the center of Nolan City. Although Jenkins wasn't very familiar with the world's wonders, he would bet that the black tower was now one of the tallest in the world.
The blocks around the civic square were sealed off with even greater force. Even Jenkins had to wait for his identity to be verified before he could enter. This required not only revealing his Soul Emblem as proof of identity but also answering a few questions and signing a confidentiality pact.
Even so, this was considered a simplified procedure. In principle, only Church Enchanters permitted to enter the area for work-related reasons were allowed in; all other personnel were barred. As a semi-clerical antique shop apprentice for the Church, Jenkins, of course, belonged to the "unrelated personnel" category.
Miss Bevanna came to the blockade in person to lead Jenkins into the restricted area. The two of them walked hurriedly along the street toward the tower. Seeing the tense atmosphere and the grim-faced people moving through the gray mist, Jenkins sensed the situation was even more serious than he had imagined.
"Have there been any new discoveries?"
"That tower... all our previous theories were wrong."
Approaching the base of the tower, he saw that its footprint had doubled in size, meaning the cross-section of the part that had emerged from the ground was wider than the section above it.
Besides Miss Bevanna, seven or eight demigods from the Orthodox Churches were present. A quick glance revealed even the Saint Son from the Church of Creation and Machinery. But they had no time to exchange greetings; the man was standing before the tower with his arms crossed, arguing animatedly with two white-haired old men.
"This is the current sketch of the black tower."
Miss Bevanna led Jenkins to where the Keepers of Secrets were stationed. Due to the tower's expanded base, the original tents and temporary shelters had been moved back. The number of Keepers and apprentices under the awnings had also increased.
Hearing Miss Bevanna's voice, Mr. Smith stepped aside, allowing Jenkins to see a large sketch of the tower drawn in pencil on a white sheet of paper on the table, with some simple data scrawled on it.
The uppermost part was the tower that had first risen, its surface bare. Below it was the second part, clearly taller and wider than the first, with some faint engravings on its surface, though they weren't clearly depicted on the paper.
"Before you arrived, a very simple experiment by the Church of Creation and Machinery revealed that the section that first appeared on the surface is completely different in composition and color from the part that has just emerged."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that the tall section that emerged last time wasn't several floors of the tower, but just one. This new part is the second layer of the black tower, counting from the top... Not long ago, a Believer of Lies ventured into the tower. According to his description, there were no stairs inside, and he couldn't see a ceiling at the edge of his vision..."
Jenkins understood now. He turned his head to gaze at the black tower, its top nearly lost to sight, and imagined that this was merely the top two layers. A strange, bone-chilling sensation crept into his heart.
He pressed down on Chocolate's head on his shoulder to keep him still, then hesitantly leaned over to look at the sketch on the table. "So you're saying the internal structure of this tower might be completely different from our current theories? And... since the second layer suddenly pushed out of the ground, does that mean more layers from below will continue to appear in the days to come?"
"That seems to be the case. The Church of Creation and Machinery says it's entirely possible,"
the Keeper of Secrets replied.
"But why? Why would the tower suddenly rise? There must be a reason, right?"
"According to your report, a Believer of Lies killed an Enchanter from the Gear Artisans' Association in the eastern mining district today. Our current theory is that the tower's ascent is related to that."
When Jenkins reported Queen Isabella to the Church earlier, he had used the excuse of running into a Believer of Lies while walking his cat. He claimed the believer had given him a folder of documents before vanishing.
"So what is this tower for? Now that the second layer has emerged, we have more clues. Can't we uncover some new information?"
"It's hard to say. There's been no satisfactory progress so far,"
the Keeper of Secrets said, looking troubled.
"Then what about these patterns? What are the engravings on the outside of the second layer?"
Jenkins pointed to the sketch.
"The patterns on the outside of the black tower aren't fixed; they change slowly,"
the old Keeper of Secrets explained again.
"Only a very small portion is revealed at any one time. When we first discovered the engravings half an hour ago, we even thought they were some kind of unknown ancient script. The engravings change very slowly. I imagine it would take at least a month to see the complete pattern."
"But why is the outside of the first layer blank while the second has engravings?"
The Keeper of Secrets shook his head again.
Seeing this, Jenkins knew he wouldn't get any more answers. He turned with some hesitation to look at the base of the black tower, wondering if he should risk venturing inside again.
The first layer contained bronze statues of the kings of the three great human kingdoms of the material world. He was certain the second layer would hold something different.