After going out, they found that Gran Faro was even more deserted than when they first arrived.
However, considering that The Inquisition, as official Iberia personnel, had just engaged in fierce combat with Abyssal Cultists in this city yesterday, there were still many places in the city contaminated with not fully cleaned seaborn trace.
After the Inquisitors, accompanied by the Retribution Army, officially garrisoned this seaside town, they had gathered and supervised everyone in the city. After all, in the current situation here, if you threw a stone, half the people it hit would be cultists of the Abyssal Church, and two-thirds of the remaining half would also be informed parties.
Currently, the only people walking on the streets, besides official Iberia personnel, were the Rhodes Island Operators who had come to provide support.
Since there were no people on the road, they didn't linger too long and quickly arrived at the small courtyard where the Sunset Fading band was located.
As they reached the entrance, Alty opened the door. "Good morning, little ones… Is there anything you need?"
Although she was speaking to everyone, her gaze was fixed on Kanna. Yesterday, their band member DAN had been secretly escorting them in the sea and personally witnessed the Fools Ship falling into a Seaborn trap, and then all the Seaborn being cleared away by a sky full of lightning.
Upon returning, DAN did not conceal this matter, so everyone in the band also knew how terrifying this little one, Kanna, was.
"We're here to listen to songs! I remember Amiya bought all three albums of Sunset Fading, and they were even signed limited editions. Everyone at Rhodes Island loves your songs. We were busy dealing with those guys in the sea before, so we didn't have time. Now that the monsters in the sea have entered The Great Silence, everyone has free time! Oh, by the way, sister, Kaltsit said you came to the seaside for material this time, so do you have any new songs?"
Kanna had no ill feelings towards a "band" like Sunset Fading, composed of colossal beasts, as they were all neutral or even leaning towards good, and their music was very pleasant. In fact, she was quite looking forward to their new songs.
The members of Sunset Blazes exchanged glances, unable to reconcile the image of this girl, who had been as curious as a child for the past year, with the top-tier expert DAN had described—one who descended like a thunder god upon the sea, clearing out countless high-level Seaborn.
"Originally, we had the idea of coming to the seaside for inspiration, but as you can see, Gran Faro is nothing but conflict, despair, and decay. There's no good inspiration in a place like this. How about some older songs?" Alty shook her head, a look of regret on her face.
"Of course, no problem! But there are so many of us, won't we disturb you?" Ifrit, behind them, heard that she could listen to music from such a close distance and immediately jumped out, exclaiming excitedly.
Alty smiled and picked up her bass. "We, Sunset Blazes, can perform anywhere. Even with so many people in Siesta back then, it couldn't affect the music, let alone you few youngsters…"
Kanna raised a brand new camera in her hand (the one used on the Fools Ship had been given to Kaltsit; as for why she had a new one... of course, it was a top-tier, six-realm universal camera bought from the system, branded "Edison's Love").
"You don't mind if I record, do you?"
"Of course, but please make us look pretty!" Lead singer Aya gave a thumbs-up, then stood at the front of the band. As the music began, in this small town, scarred and battered after a recent "war," beautiful songs emanated from the small courtyard. It seemed out of place with the grim atmosphere outside, but anyone fortunate enough to pass by would involuntarily slow their steps, savoring the beauty in the music.
In the church on the other side, after obtaining Carmen's permission, Kaltsit played Kanna's recording from the Fool's Ship.
When Carmen saw that familiar and imposing figure, even he, who had long considered himself as strong as a rock, couldn't help but tear up. As a man of the old era, he was still marveling at Alfonso's familiar and youthful appearance, while Alfonso's body, eroded by the Seaborn, had already stunned the remaining Inquisitors.
As the organization within Iberia, and indeed the entire continent of Terra (besides Aegir), that understood the Seaborn and the Abyssal Church the most, they had witnessed countless people irreversibly transform from humans into "Seaborn" before their eyes after accidentally consuming Seaborn flesh.
But they had never imagined that someone could, solely by their own will, resist Seaborn erosion for nearly sixty years.
Even a Grand Inquisitor like Dario, upon seeing Alfonso, despite his terrifying appearance, still firmly asserting his Iberian identity, couldn't help but wonder if he himself could have endured so long in the face of the unknown and the Seaborn on the vast ocean. The answer, naturally, was no.
When Alfonso referred to the Seaborn beside him as Garcia, it caused another gasp of surprise. The Inquisitors attending the meeting had mostly seen the introduction to the Fool's Ship, and they naturally recognized the First Mate, one of the core crew members. If Alfonso resisting the Seaborn invasion with his spirit had already shocked them, Garcia retaining an consciousness unique to "humans" even after being fully transformed into a Seaborn shocked them even more.
Several Inquisitors studying the Seaborn all stated that this was a path they had never conceived. After witnessing countless comrades turn into enemies due to infection, they suddenly realized that this infection was not entirely invincible; a strong will still had the potential to allow people to resist the mental erosion from the Seaborn.
Then, Kaltsit solemnly handed Alfonso's logbook to Carmen. Caressing the book in his hands, Carmen sighed. He was all too familiar with this book, as it was the gift he had given Alfonso when the Fool's Ship made its last departure.
He hadn't expected the book to return to his hands sixty years later, carrying the other party's "legacy."
After Kaltsit presented these precious documents, sixty years removed from Iberia, before the Inquisitors, seeing the shocked expressions of The Inquisition, Kaltsit knew that after this, Rhodes Island's influence in Iberia would rise several notches.
Finally, after reviewing the documents for an entire morning, the Inquisitors concluded that the valuable information Rhodes Island brought back from the Fool's Ship could not only greatly compensate for the Aegir technology lost by Iberia after The Great Silence, but also contained records of several crew members fighting the Seaborn at sea from different perspectives. These records were equally precious to Iberia, which would have to deal with the Seaborn for many more years, because they represented experience gained through the blood of their predecessors.
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