The church in the town was small, with a row of benches that could only seat 80 people at most. A priest in a white robe stood with his back to the door, chanting in a low voice. Carved into the stone wall directly in front was a picture of an angel descending.
The angel has six wings on her back, burning like flames. Her eyes are slightly closed, tears seem to be flowing, and her expression is compassionate. This is the image of the water angel Israphael.
Luo Xier and his group knocked on the door and walked into the church.
"Hello, are you the pastor here?" Edward took off his hat and bowed.
"Hello, it's me." The pastor turned around. His face looked a little haggard and he looked quite old.
"Greetings, respected Light Keeper. My wife and I traveled here and love the environment. However, she suddenly had a nightmare yesterday and saw an unbelievable scene. She has been in a bad mood all day."
"So I would like you to preside over a calming and blessing ceremony. Do you think it's okay?" Edward said so, one of his hands still clasped with Margaret's, comforting his lover.
The pastor looked up at the four people, and after a few seconds, nodded slightly.
"I understand your request, but such a ceremony is quite costly..." He paused.
"I understand. Angels also need apples and bread even on earth. This is a small token of my appreciation. I'm willing to donate it to the church."
Edward took out two extraordinary gold coins from his pocket. In the dim church, the two gold coins emitted a unique brilliance.
"Thank you for your piety, which allows the light to travel on earth." The pastor nodded slightly, then asked the four people to sit in the church for a while while he went to prepare the materials and personnel.
More than ten minutes later, another priest and a nun also came into the church, and now there were three clergymen in the church.
The nun first brought clean water for Margaret to wash her face and hands, and then asked her to stand in front of the angel relief.
Then the two priests lit two incense sticks and placed them next to Margaret, and a soothing fragrance spread.
The church's doors and windows had long been closed, and only the afternoon sun shone through the stained glass windows and fell on the floor inside the church.
The church became extremely quiet.
The nun chanted the names of the three Seraphim and then sprinkled drops of dew.
Under the influence of supernatural power, these dewdrops dispersed into tiny particles and then burned, making everyone in the church feel refreshed, awakened, and relaxed.
Then it was the old priest's job. Holding a small scepter, he raised a circular magic circle on the ground, and then enveloped Margaret inside it. The magic power in it operated according to the ritual, allowing consciousness and soul to gradually settle.
This was followed by five minutes of chanting and comforting.
When everything was over, the old pastor's forehead was slightly sweaty.
Edward expressed his gratitude and helped Margaret up from the ground.
"As expected of you, the priest of the Holy Land..." followed by a wave of compliments.
They chatted for a while before saying goodbye and leaving.
After they walked out of the church and returned to the hotel, they gathered in a room again to discuss.
"The priest's technique and the ritual process were correct. The only flaw was the number of people involved. Normally, this mid-level calming and blessing ritual would be best performed by five people working together to cast the spell and preside over it," commented the 'makeup artist'.
"Indeed, I casually asked about it before leaving, and the old pastor said that there were only a few people in their church. This is different from the church's custom."
"A town-level church must have at least two priests, one nun, and two guard knights to qualify. In reality, considering emergencies and backups, the optimal configuration is generally a trio of priests, young, middle-aged, and old."
However, when I left, I only saw one knight at the church door. When I asked the townspeople, they said it had been like this for a long time and there was only one knight guarding it.
"There's a small problem, but I'm not sure yet. What about the 'Puppet Master'? Have you found anything?"
"Yes, these four people, including the knight at the door, have all been contaminated by the Chaos Phantom." Luo Xier said the shocking news in clear and calm words.
"How is that possible?"
The makeup artist covered her open mouth in disbelief. She had just undergone the ceremony and felt that the priest's spirit was very pious.
"Oh, it seems we finally found the right person, hehe."
'Red Hat' was much calmer. He did not ask the girl how she knew it. This was a secret among the other team members, but since the higher-ups specially sent this new member here, it must mean that she has a special talent in detection.
"Are we going to arrest them now?" Loran Hill sat on the chair holding the puppet, looking at the three people in front of him curiously.
"Not yet. Let's observe and see if they have contacted anyone else. Also, find out why Pastor Matthew disappeared a few days ago. Was he silenced by them?"
"Now it's time to finally start working." 'Black Bull' picked up the kettle on the table, drank it down in big gulps, and his expression relaxed.
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Over the next two days, the men learned in detail from the townspeople about the pastor and others in the church, and secretly observed to see if these people had any contact with anyone else.
"It is said that Pastor Matthew disappeared half a month ago. He and Jinna were childhood sweethearts."
"What's interesting is that Jinna also died some time ago. It's said that she was attacked by a monster in the mountains. When others found her, only her mutilated body was left."
"Where did the death take place?"
"It's a remote mountain village more than 20 miles away from here. Matthew and Jinna grew up there."
"Looks like I have to go somewhere." Red Hat sighed.
So the four of them agreed that night that the Makeup Artist and Black Bull would remain in the hotel to continue monitoring the church from afar, while the Red Hat and the Puppet Master would take advantage of the night to head directly to the village, aiming to return before dark the next afternoon to decide their next move.
"Take this." Red Hat placed a prism-like pendant into Luo Xier's hand. It was light yellow in color and felt somewhat hard.
"If you encounter danger or trouble, break it and others will be able to sense it. At the same time, other people also have one in their hands. If it breaks, you will also be able to roughly know it."
"Okay, but aren't we going to act together?"
"Yes, but the situation is ever-changing. You never know what accidents might happen. If I die and inform you, you should run away quickly." The 'Red Hat' showed a mocking smile.
Loran Hill blinked and looked at the captain of the team. His strength was not weak, so would he also express such emotion?
"Okay, I understand."
Luo Xier thought about it, tied the crystal-like prism with a thin rope, tied it behind her wrist, and then covered it with her long sleeves.
Seeing the girl's obedient and cautious appearance, the others smiled with satisfaction.
What a reassuring child.
To be honest, what they fear most are those arrogant and irrational members. Sometimes you can't say that the other person is bad, but it's just very annoying.
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