Luz's footsteps gradually faded away. Inside the magnificent church bathed in warm candlelight, only York remained, seriously completing his daily fixed task, recounting his actions as he always did.
This was the fastest way to succeed that he had found after various explorations.
If he followed conventional prayers like reciting scriptures, it would actually take the longest time; he couldn't learn or manage to be like those devout believers who prayed for hours at a time.
At the same time, he suspected that the Old Man Jesus up there seemed to prefer hearing stories rather than being praised or whatever; perhaps that's how God felt lonely after becoming omnipotent.
Of course, this was all his speculation, but it didn't stop him from completing his tasks until he became invincible... After finishing his account of simple exorcisms today and stopping by on his way, the familiar notification sounded in his ear.
[...]
[Prayer: Daily Prayer (Completed)]
[Reward: +0.5 Points Delivered]
"Amen!"
York opened his eyes, quietly looked at the Jesus Statue in front of him, and made the sign of the cross on his chest.
He liked this about the fixed tasks: as long as the location was a church with a Jesus Statue, he only needed to focus on praying to complete the daily fixed task.
The Church is a massive organization with strongholds like churches all over the world; no matter where he went, as long as he put in the effort, he wouldn't miss these 0.5 attribute points.
"You're probably the only one who says prayers here in the middle of the night."
Just as he finished his daily fixed task, Luz walked out of the dim path, holding some documents in his hand.
York maintained his posture of gazing at the Jesus Statue, his tone unchanged.
"That's why I am more devout than all of you."
"Yes, I think so too," Luz said as he walked over and sat down next to the tall, sturdy priest.
"Devout enough to stab a Cardinal to death in a church, right? York!"
Hearing this, York's expression remained calm, though his mind recalled that night.
"I have a clear conscience."
Also remembering the incident, Luz sighed and handed over the documents in his hand.
"Clearly you had other options, and even if your actions were the most correct at the time, York, you have to consider the views of those old fogies."
York took the documents and smiled indifferently as he flipped through them.
"Why should I care about their views? I'm doing quite well now, aren't I? At worst, I'll just leave the Church."
He spoke so bluntly that Luz's wrinkled old face couldn't help but twitch, but he also felt that what he said made damn good sense and couldn't find a way to argue back.
"Fine, anyway, I'm not one of them; I just want to retire in peace."
York didn't answer, just looked at the documents in front of him. Turning to a new page, his brow furrowed slightly.
"Dead?"
He had intended to go see Falanci Renqi, that Frenchman, but he didn't expect him to be dead. Not just dead, but dead in such a gruesome way.
Luz knew what he meant and cast his gaze on the photo attached to the files—the photo of Falanci Renqi's death.
"Yes, the time of death was the same night The Warrens confirmed the supernatural facts, just as I was about to go over for an exorcism."
York pursed his lips and said nothing, just stared at the photo, staring at the miserable state of Falanci Renqi's death, and silently turned to the next page.
"When I arrived, I didn't sense the presence of an evil Spirit. I thought The Warrens had made a mistake and that Falanci Renqi was just suffering from some kind of mental illness."
"I didn't expect the evil Spirit on him to transfer to The Warrens..."
Luz continued talking while York had already flipped to the next page, but there were no new discoveries.
The rest were all similar to inconsequential investigation reports and assessments of Falanci Renqi's behavior and mental state.
The whole thing might seem like nothing on the surface.
But remembering the ominous aura on Lorraine, he decided that the root of this omen was not that simple. Unfortunately, these pieces of information alone could not trigger a random mission; the conditions for triggering a random mission required knowing more information.
York silently closed the documents.
"Father Luz, have you checked where Falanci Renqi has been?"
The first stage of a supernatural event: the trigger medium and the fuse.
If an ordinary person lives a good life according to their daily routine, generally no supernatural events will occur in their lifetime.
But if there's a sudden change, like going on a trip or moving house to a place they've never been before, then anything is possible.
However, Luz just rubbed his aged hands and said indifferently,
"York, I am old."
York was silent for a moment, remembering how the other party would let others scout the way first when receiving a commission, and also remembering the Church's evaluation of the old man before him.
"Fine, since the person is dead, I won't stay any longer."
With that, York stood up and began to leave with the documents in hand.
Luz didn't move, just straightened his body facing the Jesus Statue.
"York, if you really want to investigate, you might as well first check where Falanci Renqi came from before he arrived here."
York didn't look back, just left a sentence behind.
"I know."
Steady footsteps gradually faded away.
Luz looked up at the Jesus Statue, his gaze calm as he made the sign of the cross on his chest.
"Lord, I sincerely repent for my sins..."
...Bang!
After closing the car door, York glanced at the St. Luz Church, which had fallen back into darkness, stuffed the documents into his backpack, and then looked at the safe annabelle doll and the suitcase medium in the back seat.
After a journey of torture—no, recitation—these sealed evil Spirits might have begun to realize their current situation.
Sensing the weakness of the evil Spirits within, York felt it wasn't enough. He took out his phone again and clicked on the recording software inside.
"Let me play another song for you. This is a good one; it seems to be called the Bible..."
The murmured words fell inside the car, and there was a sudden movement in the back seat. The glass case sealing the annabelle doll suddenly fell from the back seat... York smiled, found the labeled recording file, ignored the small movements in the back, and clicked the play button icon.
The next second, the Bluetooth speaker that had been in the back seat began to make sound.
[For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil]
[And his lips that they speak no guile; let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it]
[...]
"Hmm, sounds good. You're supposed to listen to music while driving..."
Hearing what seemed to be a faint, perhaps hallucinatory scream, York made this remark with emotion. His right hand shifted gears, his right foot pressed the accelerator, and his left hand controlled the steering wheel, driving the car in a certain direction.