Chapter 206: William's Choice
William didn't rush to answer, but observed his surroundings first.
"The connection with the body is still there; this should be some kind of conscious level projection."
He tried moving his limbs and found he could move freely within a certain range.
Then William stared at Maura not far away: "Hey, can you communicate independently?"
Maura didn't respond.
William rubbed his chin: "Could it be because of those chains?"
He could feel spirit body fluctuations from the other party, which meant Maura's soul still existed.
But after using [Atonement Persuasion], there was no reaction.
"Now, state your choice."
Maura spoke again.
William narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the faint blue chain on her body.
"I know you can hear my voice."
He specially emphasized the word "you."
"The judgment of this matter cannot be concluded with just two simple choices."
"I understand your pain... The deal with the demon caused more children to be harmed, and trusting others easily caused your daughter to die unjustly in torment."
"Relatives, lovers, neighbors... they put all kinds of locks on you, and no one cared about your feelings."
Accompanied by William's voice, the "Chain of Pain" on Maura's body began to tremble slightly.
"Perhaps you always had a question in your heart—Am I really a bad person?"
"But now I can answer you—No."
With a crack, cracks appeared on the faint blue chain.
"Ignorant beliefs, cruel rituals, established rules... these are just tools created by humans for their own interests."
"This is the inherent lock of the era, not any single person's mistake. When everyone acts according to these rules, order is born."
"This is indeed very important, although in most cases order erases the desires of 'humans'."
"And you are the 'anomaly' who jumped out of the era."
"Throughout history, such people appear every once in a while; they are incompatible with others, even hard to coexist with."
"Such people often lose their lives, but looking at the long river of time, their figures are in every wave of history."
"You are the pioneers pushing human growth."
As soon as the voice fell, the chain belonging to "Pain" began to shatter.
"Those guys who blamed you just saw something called 'Freedom' in you, a treasure they lost a long time ago."
"They selfishly extracted benefits from you and even used your sympathy."
"But even so, they will still not face any judgment. You rightfully should hate those people."
"But your character is equally admirable."
"You used your soul as a bargaining chip to exchange the right to 'Live' for those children. This is your pity and kindness; you shouldn't bear those subsequent 'evil consequences'."
At this time, other chains on Maura's body also began to shatter.
Surging energy rippled on her spirit body.
William spoke with a calm face: "Therefore, my choice is—Worth It."
In the next second, the void space was completely illuminated.
Maura's soul became more and more dazzling, and her limbs gradually condensed.
Before long, she opened her eyes.
"Is what I did really worth it?"
She floated in front of William, indistinguishable from a real person at this time.
The latter nodded: "We cannot, and should not, punish ourselves with the mistakes of others."
"...Not punish ourselves with the mistakes of others."
She chewed on this sentence and spoke with bright eyes: "Is this also a Church classic?"
William hesitated for a moment and shook his head: "They are no different from those people."
Surprise flashed in Maura's eyes.
She looked at William seriously and said with a light chuckle: "You seem a bit different from those clergy members."
William also responded with a smile.
Then Maura said again: "My soul has been trapped here for many years. Are you willing to give me a different ending?"
William crossed himself on his chest, but his mouth said: "At your service, my lady."
Maura's eyes were full of smiles, and she gently took William's hand.
In the next moment, a pure white light submerged the two.
When he opened his eyes again, an old wooden house was in front of him.
"Maura, where did you run off to again?"
The familiar voice rang in his ear again.
William turned his head and saw a girl with a beautiful face.
She held fresh flowers in her dress, walking carefully into the yard.
"Don't mess with these things; your brother doesn't like them."
Seeing a pair of hands about to strike, they were stopped by someone.
"You... who are you?"
Seeing the clergy member's robe, Maura's mother Jennifer immediately put on a smiling face.
"I heard someone committed the sin of 'Stupidity', so I came to take a look." William smiled slightly.
Jennifer's face changed drastically: "Sorry, Your Excellency Priest. This is all because I didn't teach Maura well. Hurry and apologize to Your Excellency Priest."
Fear flashed in Maura's eyes, and she looked a bit at a loss.
But who would have thought this priest spoke again: "The person I'm talking about is you."
Jennifer was instantly stunned on the spot.
She wiped her hands on her clothes, saying tremblingly: "Your Excellency Priest, what did I do wrong."
William was expressionless: "You are exploited by ignorant rules; this is excusable."
"But you have no love for your own daughter at all, just to find some pathetic 'Desire for Control' in Maura."
Jennifer's eyes flickered: "But... this is for her own good. Only in this way can she become a qualified wi..."
"Put away these high-sounding excuses."
William interrupted the other party rudely.
"If you had abundant wealth and a formidable status, no one would judge you by this."
"This is caused by the 'Rules' of the era."
"Similarly, your mother didn't achieve it either. So the set of things you believe in is nothing more than to cover up your own failure."
"No... that's not it." Jennifer blushed red from being told off.
Aside, Maura looked at this priest with bright eyes.
For the first time in her life, she felt the feeling called "Being Understood."
"From now on, treat Maura the same as her brother; otherwise, I don't mind sending you mother and son to the gallows."
Jennifer lay on the ground, trembling all over.
"I will keep your teachings in mind."
The scene changed again.
William stood at the edge of a grassy field.
"No amount of words is better than applying pressure with the Church's identity..." He shook his head helplessly.
At this time, noise came from ahead.
He looked in the direction and saw many people gathered outside a monastery.
"May the Lord bless this new couple. Now, the Initiation Rite begins."
A priest recited the ceremony procedures.
Soon someone brought an apron and a wooden doll.
Maura's flower crown was about to be taken off.
Suddenly someone shouted from the side: "Wait."
The priest on the stage immediately frowned: "Their union is blessed by the Lord; who dares to object?"
Everyone also turned their heads in surprise, curious about the identity of the newcomer.
But then everyone was stunned.
They saw a young priest in a black robe walk onto the stage, standing in front of Father Urr.
The latter was the only preacher near the village, and also the Church's spokesperson here.
"Brother Priest, what is the meaning of this?"
Urr looked surprised, not understanding why there would be other clergy members here.
But William ignored the other party completely, instead facing the audience and speaking:
"Taking on endless housework and fulfilling reproductive responsibilities, this is considered a qualified wife."
"Since the standard for a 'Good Wife' is so simple, after they meet the above standards, can they go out and have trysts with other men?"
As soon as these words fell, exclamations erupted below.
These remarks were simply too bold and presumptuous, let alone coming from the mouth of a priest.
"Brother Priest! Please watch your language!" Urr's voice turned cold.
William turned his head upon hearing this: "Oh? Am I wrong?"
"Fornicating with others destroys the happiness of other people's families; this is a depraved act like a demon, of course, it doesn't count," Urr said.
"If that's the case, then years of labor will also bring disease and pain; wouldn't that also destroy family happiness?" William retorted.
Urr said: "This is a symbol of beauty and character, a talent bestowed upon us by the Lord."
William snorted coldly: "Then why don't you go work? Don't you have this talent?"
"In that case, what qualifications do you have to represent the Lord?"
"You! You..." Urr was instantly speechless.
William continued: "Also, you actually use killing a chicken to prove a man's courage, hehe..."
He sneered.
"This is just bullying a 'Chicken' that can't fight back. Why not go hunt a pack of wild wolves? Is it because you can't?"
These words equally enraged every man present.
After all, they had all completed that ritual when they got married.
Urr shouted coldly: "Enough! I think you are an impostor posing as a clergy member; you will pay the price for your offensive behavior!"
Regardless of this person's background, Urr didn't plan to let the other party continue to make trouble.
But William raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Impostor?"
He took out a token from his body.
"This is the 'Holy Clergy Member' certificate issued by the Vatican, and this."
William took out another silver badge.
"This is the selection token for the Holy See Priest Order. By the way, you wouldn't be unaware of this department, would you? Have you participated in the Spiritual Awakening? How many Brands have you obtained?"
Facing a series of questions, cold sweat flowed down Urr's forehead.
He looked incredulous.
This guy in front of him actually came from the Vatican? How is this possible!
And Holy Clergy Member, that is a certification only given to priests who have obtained supernatural abilities.
Spiritual Awakening... this was a ceremony Urr dreamed of participating in.
But he was judged "without any talent" decades ago; otherwise, why would he come to this broken place to be a missionary?
The other party could clearly understand the Church's situation, obviously his background was very unusual.
For a moment, Urr's spirit suffered a tremendous stimulation.
Seeing the other party not speaking, it was now William's turn to look cold.
"The Church stipulates that any uncertified personnel must cooperate with the exorcism work of Holy Clergy Members."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Can I consider that you are questioning me in public?"
With a thud, Urr immediately knelt on the ground.
"Respected Excellency, please forgive me! I absolutely did not mean that."
Urr's heart had long fallen to the bottom.
The other party suddenly brought up "Exorcism"; this was obviously intending to pin a "Trumped-up" charge on him.
The hierarchy within the Church was strict; lower-level personnel were just consumables that could be replenished at any time.
Only certified "Holy Clergy Members" were considered to have truly gained a firm foothold.
And opposing a superior had only one end—the gallows.
Below the stage.
Seeing this scene, the group of villagers had long opened their mouths in shock.
They couldn't imagine that the "Big Shot" who was usually high and mighty would be as humble as a dog at this moment.
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