Chapter 62 – The Stalker
"Did Sister Sasha happen to overhear that conversation?" Gideon Black asked, watching Renia carefully.
She shook her head. "No, we weren't even at her door yet. She couldn't have heard."
Gideon frowned.
Not the answer he had hoped for. Still, given what he now knew, there was no doubt—Sasha would have been drawn to something as strange as whispers from the forest.
And with no other leads to follow, this was the only trail worth chasing.
After jotting down Hank Bayek's address, he left the church.
All the while, Sadie had been keeping a discreet eye on him.
Now, seeing the priest depart, she quietly followed at a distance.
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The Bishop's Chamber
In a well-kept room, a crimson-patterned rug stretched across the floor. White candles flickered faintly along the walls.
Behind a heavy blackwood desk, Bishop Julius pressed his fingers hard against his temples.
Before him lay a letter, bearing the seal of the Vatican's Sacramental and Relics Division.
Somehow, word had leaked. The higher authorities already knew that Saint Jehovah Church had lost a sacred relic.
The letter demanded a full explanation within a week—or Julius himself would be summoned to Rome for trial.
For now, he had stalled with excuses and smothered the news inside the parish. But if it came to that… losing his position would be the least of his troubles.
He could be condemned for dereliction of duty, and sent to the Place of Torment.
That abyssal prison, buried hundreds of meters underground, was said to be a place abandoned by the sun—where the guilty endured both physical and spiritual agony in eternal penance.
No one ever returned.
Julius squeezed his brow, his breathing heavy.
From a drawer, he retrieved a small wooden box. Inside had once rested a key—the key to the vault where the relics were kept.
He had safeguarded it in secret for years.
But after the revelation of the Divine Word, he had intended to pass the relic to Sasha. Once, he had even shown it to her—hoping she would understand that he had already paved her true path.
But that ungrateful daughter… had stolen it.
The realization had sent his blood pressure soaring.
He had already reached out to neighboring parishes, but none had heard of Sasha.
Publicly, he had also combed through reports of supernatural disturbances. Nothing local stood out except the cult ritual at the recent exhibition.
Further afield there were the "missing children cases," the "severed limb murders," and a small western town called Hawkins, rumored to have opened a gateway to another realm.
But all those places were far too distant. Sasha was unlikely to have gone so far.
Sigh… let's hope the girl has enough sense to use that relic to protect herself, Julius thought.
He picked up the phone, ready to call in more favors within the Church's network.
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Outskirts of the City
Several kilometers from Saint Jehovah Church, Gideon stepped out of a cab, paid his fare, and shut the door behind him.
This was the city's edge. The highway here led straight into the neighboring state.
Small processing plants dotted the roadside—factories producing fertilizer, equipment, and raw materials for the city.
Gideon scanned his surroundings, then picked a direction and set off.
A minute later, another car pulled over nearby.
Sadie tossed a few bills at the driver and hurried after him.
At first, she kept up with his stride.
But soon, the priest's pace quickened. Faster and faster, until she was forced into a near run.
Then he turned a corner—
—and was gone.
"What? Impossible!"
Sadie yanked off her hat and wiped the sweat from her brow, panting hard.
She was known as one of the most promising young demon hunters in the West.
She did not lose her prey.
Sadie stood frozen, staring at the empty street. For the first time, she felt at a loss.
The next second, something heavy slammed down on her back.
She gasped as she was forced face-first toward the ground.
She tried to twist free, but the strength pressing her down was overwhelming—impossible to resist.
Her cheek hit the dirt with a thud.
"Pfft—ugh!" She spat out dust and lifted her head, eyes blazing as she finally saw who had struck.
"You bastard! What the hell are you doing!?"
Gideon said nothing. Instead, he calmly reached down, hands moving across her body.
"You—pervert!" she snapped, struggling.
A moment later, her weapons clattered to the ground, tossed aside.
The priest finally spoke, voice flat, almost mocking:
"For a lady to hurl such foul words at a virtuous priest… how very impolite."
"Virtuous?" Sadie barked a laugh, still pinned. "Is tying a woman to the ground and tugging at her belt the act of a righteous man?"
Gideon stroked his chin, as if giving the accusation genuine thought.
"…Hmm. Fair point."
Then, without warning, he dragged her across the pavement to a shallow pit nearby—a storage hollow filled with raw fertilizer. The stench rising from it was unbearable.
He shoved her face close to the edge, so near the filth that she could feel the heat of it against her skin.
"Then let's skip the pretense. Tell me—why are you following me?"
"You—!"
Sadie tried to retort, but the reeking fumes hit her lungs like a wall. She clamped her mouth shut, choking, her face turning red.
"Didn't expect you to be so stubborn," Gideon remarked with a faint smile. "Impressive."
At that moment, Sadie could have killed him a hundred times over. To pin her here, forcing her face mere centimeters from a reeking cesspit, demanding she speak into the stench…
What kind of interrogation was this!?
Her body trembled. She knew she was at her limit.
Finally, she made a desperate choice. She inhaled a trace of the foul air and croaked, "Move me—first!"
Only then did Gideon slowly drag her back.
"—Hah… hah…" She gulped greedily at the fresher air, though the stench still lingered thick around her.
"You expect me to answer you while staring into a dung pit!?" she snapped, voice hoarse.
"Oh? My apologies," Gideon said mildly, as if the thought had just now occurred to him.
"You…!" Sadie's teeth ground together.
"Enough chatter." Gideon lifted the discarded weapons in his hand. "You have one minute to explain your purpose. If not…"
He gestured at the pit.
"I'll toss these in first. Then you can wash your hair in what's left."
Sadie's fists clenched so tight her knuckles turned white. This man—this supposed priest—how could the Church ever ordain someone like him!?
Her cheeks burned hot with humiliation. She had never endured treatment like this.
"Fine!" She spat the word and, after a cold huff, finally revealed the truth.
"I thought you'd found a lead. So I followed you to confirm it."
But Gideon's expression didn't ease. Instead, he grabbed her by the hair and dangled her head over the pit again—this time so close that the tips of her strands hovered just a centimeter above some foul, sticky residue.
"A demon hunter interested in the Church's sacred oil? Do you expect me to believe that?"
Sadie's heart lurched. Her hair—one inch closer and it would be ruined forever.
"Wait! I'll talk!" she blurted out, eyes wide.
Gideon didn't loosen his grip.
So, fighting down the nausea, she spoke quickly:
"Every ten years, a spell ritual is renewed. Only with that vial of sacred oil can the evil seal be reforged. Without it—"
Her voice cracked with urgency.
"—this world will be in danger!"
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