Leprechaun Pickup

"The little goblin Pika, all dirty, ran out of the field, blew the horn."

"He wears a white hat, has pointy ears and a big nose. He is a lunatic, short man who can't tell left from right and a cripple."

"Run around with the sack on your back, and don't see it in the dark."

"One eye throws away the big head, two eyes throw away the small mouth, three eyes, four eyes, five eyes, six eyes, the bleeding sack laughs."

Santo hummed a strange ballad. The lively tune and the bloody words together revealed a chilling coldness. The high-ceilinged building with high windows attracted spotlights from all directions, making the church restaurant bright and brilliant.

The two of them sat in a partition separated by a screen. On the table were simple white bread, mead and bacon. The silver-haired young man sat opposite them, facing this strange nursery rhyme, and seemed to be really concentrating on listening to the story.

"This is a popular song in Corian City recently. We suspect it is related to pollutants."

The priest stopped humming, took a sip of the mead in the cup, and began to talk about the details.

"The first missing person was a bakery worker who disappeared on his way home from get off work. People living nearby said they heard the song at night."

"The second missing person was a farmer who disappeared on his way home with his child. The child said that the Leprechaun pickup truck took his father away."

"The third missing person was a businessman. She opened a clothing store and went to the outskirts of the city at night to purchase goods. A neighbor reported the situation to the security police three days after the store was closed. In her store, we found a piece of paper with the ballad written on it."

“Why is this determined to be related to pollutants?”

"Unlike Bloodline, Pollutants have their own operating mechanism and can only work through a certain medium. For example, the [Leprechaun P.E.K.A.], we suspect its mechanism lies in this legend."

Santo explained: "The level of contaminants is the same as that of bloodline people. Level D and above requires alert. In addition, there is another level of contaminants: [Out of Control]."

"Even if the out-of-control contaminants are only E-level, they still need high-level bloodlines to subdue them. Because out-of-control contaminants mean that they have already developed consciousness, which is extremely, extremely, extremely dangerous. There are many types of contaminants, and even now we haven't recorded them all, but as long as they are out-of-control contaminants, they must all be sealed!"

The three repeated words were enough to express the speaker's caution. Mason suddenly remembered the portal, which was even smarter than some ordinary people. When Rambo saw the portal for the first time, he also showed something strange.

"Have there been any uncontrolled contamination that has been recorded but not contained?"

Santo said without reservation, "Of course, if you are interested, you can go to the library to read it later. The church has a wealth of knowledge on this subject."

At this point, Mason couldn't help but think of something else. This matter was quite sensitive, and he hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking: "Can humans give awareness to pollutants?"

"So you have already investigated the [craftsman]?"

Santo was somewhat surprised at his in-depth understanding and gave a detailed explanation.

"The out-of-control pollution comes from the deep pollution of the black fog. As long as the pollution reaches a certain concentration, everything may be given activity. But for humans, unless we mutate, we can't be exposed to that level of pollution. So [Craftsmen] have been studying how to create living pollutants--"

"By using humans."

This is not a one-time process. Through countless attempts, [craftsmen] discovered that humans are the best carriers of pollution.

Both the black fog and the monsters welcome this kind of exchange. So they abandon their human dignity and use their own kind to create artificial pollutants. No matter how the church chases them, they always escape in incredible ways, leaving only a mess on the ground. As the highest priest of the church, Santo has witnessed countless tragedies caused by them, so he speaks with real feelings.

“[Artisans] are a bunch of lunatics. They are born to create pollutants. They call themselves craftsmen and artists, but they are actually just a bunch of executioners! Every time they create pollutants, many people lose their lives. The scene is extremely cruel. Just hearing their names means another disaster is about to happen.”

Santo's voice dropped, and a hint of anger appeared in his eyes. The style of this organization sounded very familiar, and Mason couldn't help but associate it with something.

"Did they create a contaminant called the Weeping Daughter?"

“A batch.”

Santo corrected him: "The [Craftsmen] cannot cooperate with the Mechanical City like we do. They get the equipment to detect pollution, so they make these substitutes. Every time we raid, we can find many [Weeping Daughters]. Its production process is not complicated, but it is very cruel."

This sounds like a cunning and cruel organization. If Orelius were allowed to go in and take a look, he might become a member of the Craftsmen the next day and break through from the inside. After all, his blood alone allowed the Weeping Girl to survive, so the Craftsmen would definitely be happy to have him join.

Unfortunately, it was Canaan who received the mission this time, and he was not suitable to go into battle himself. Mason thought about it and after finding no problem, he made an excuse that he had to go to Corian City in the next few days and asked Santo to leave to prepare things. After the priest left respectfully, the young man locked the door and lay down on the bed.

It was a bit bold to switch consciousness here, but the power of God should not be as high as the world tree. He couldn't stay here for a long time and ignore other places, right? Mason closed his eyes and let his consciousness chase the darkness. The silver-haired young man lay quietly on the bed with his eyes closed. He didn't know that countless translucent threads suddenly flowed in from the outside, as if looking for something, almost drowning him in the surging golden color.

But the capture was in vain, they could not catch the ethereal and indifferent breath. After a while, the threads fell to the floor and retreated as quietly as they came.

In the desolate and desolate circular ruins, Mason stood in front of the World Tree. The newly born young tree was bathed in the starlight, with luxuriant branches and leaves, and flourishing. After he joined the two forces, the World Tree obviously grew some new leaves.

The branches and leaves of the flesh-and-blood half-tree are full of blood vessels, like the pulsating internal organs of a living thing, while the leaves of the normal half-tree are green and clean as if washed with water, showing vigorous vitality.

"In the era before the Dark Mist, the gods wrote their names on the leaves of the World Tree... What kind of leaves were they?"

Mason touched the leaves one by one, and there was not much difference in the touch. After thinking it over, he still didn't dare to write directly.

If something goes wrong with the golden finger while writing, he would have nowhere to cry. With the Pope's encyclopedia, it would be better to ask for clarification later.

After figuring this out, Mason stopped forcing himself and began to try to complete the main purpose of this trip. He sent out his spirit as Canaan and connected with those echoing voices. When connecting with those voices in Ya'an City, Mason gathered his thoughts and imagined turning them into reality.

The sound is turned into a thread, connecting the people who prayed and Canaan. When it becomes a physical object, it is the faith that connects God and people.

Mason used all his energy to capture those formless sounds. In a place he couldn't see, the silver-haired young man lying on the bed released a large amount of gentle energy, which combined with the distant sounds and gradually condensed into strands of silk.

These threads were extremely fuzzy and transparent, like spider silk that would break when the wind blew. Mason tried to pluck these threads and vaguely sensed the various emotions coming from the other end.

Canaan's appearance in Ya'an was too short, and even if he left some impression, it was not enough to be called faith. If the whole city of Ya'an truly believed in Canaan, he could establish a solid thread like the Lord of All Things and His believers.

But if he did that, Count Yan would probably be the first to rush over and beat him. Mason wisely gave up the idea of ​​continuing to fiddle with the silk thread, and the transparent thread stayed in place and did not disappear.

"The kingdom of heaven comes from the combination of other people's beliefs and one's own abilities, but because of the blessing, Canaan has had this ability from the beginning. Could this be the origin of the curse?"

Looking at the two vests at hand, curses and blessings are interrelated. In front of the statue of the Lord of All Things, Mason did not detect any strange aura. If the church really has a way to solve the curse...

Mason's eyes lit up when he thought of this possibility. He could not wait to leave the Land of Stars and checked the main body's condition. His parents had not returned yet, and the task he set for the main body was daily rehabilitation. This mechanical task did not take much thought, just like a muscle reaction, as long as there was this thought, it would be repeated. The remaining thoughts were divided into two halves, and one third was stuffed into Orelius' body to deal with the contact sent by the Noble Association.

Mason didn't intend to let Oleus leave Ya'an City and go to a strange place. His goal was not high, he just wanted to find information about the sphere in his body. Count Ya'an was both an acquaintance and a high-level bloodline, so he could be said to be the best target. After communication and exchanges, Count Ya'an also agreed to be his guide in the association and deal with most of the troubles for him. The conditions were also very simple: just help deal with some problems in the earl's territory.

Mason was busy all night long, and finally got everything done, so he could focus all his attention on Canaan.

The next morning, the young man woke up in his bed in the sanctuary. The flowing golden ocean filled his vision, and Mason almost thought he was wrapped in a cocoon, but then he realized that it was the golden threads.

But when he sat up, the young man keenly sensed something was wrong. He tried to raise his hand, and several almost transparent silver-white threads rolled down his fingertips. It took Mason a while to recognize that this was the thread of faith that he had condensed last night. The two threads of different colors were clearly distinguished and did not interfere with each other. The golden threads revealed a kind of magnanimity of the queen, and the few silver threads seemed pitiful and helpless.

Mason: “…”

He had to bow his head when he was under someone's roof. He still had things to do today, so he stood up and opened the door. The guard who had been guarding the door all night immediately saluted and asked in a very careful manner, "Do you have any instructions, Master Shenzi?"

"I want to go to the library."

The silver-haired young man's voice was cool and his eyes slid past him.

"I told Priest Santo yesterday that you will lead the way for this mission."