The church's gray spire separates the red sun above.
The closer you get to the building, the clearer the bells ring in your ears. The long cry in the dream spans time and space and falls on every pitted and faded stone brick. The echo gently smoothed away the dust in the shadows, and in the silence there was the sigh of the wind, the rustling of the leaves, the creak of the barrel and the distant laughter of the nun. His soul trembled and swayed like a fallen leaf, and he could almost hear the glass rustling in the cold wind. Knox and the tower became a fantasy in the night, and Uriel thought wakefulness was coming. To his surprise, he didn't feel lucky.
The marble sculpture pours spring water from the bottle, and the skirt of the goddess is soaked in the shallow pool. When Newell massacred in Four Leaf City, Uriel had seen a collapsed fountain and pool water mixed with blood, and even personally allowed the soul of a priest to rest in peace. He slowed down unconsciously, turned around the pillars of the arch, and saw the sacred stone carvings inside the church:
"We cannot slander the faults of noble people"
He only saw this sentence.
"What are you doing?" The bells in the apprentice's ears disappeared, replaced by Gunther's question. He retreated into the shadows, as if the strange behavior before was not his own fault. “I’ve wanted to come to church for a long time,” Uriel told Button.
The voice was silent for a moment, changed its direction, and sounded behind him: "Me too." The piety in the words seemed to come from the heart.
Uriel felt that the smile on his face must be very obvious.
"Don't forget, Mr. Gunther, my profession originates from Gaia. No one can lie to me."
"Aren't you an astrologer?"
"My mentor is Bai Zhizhi."
Gunther fell silent again, seeming to digest the information. "Exposing lies often leads to no truth." Finally, he commented, "Please remember, young brothers, there is no trust between demons. Lies are our protection and cannot be given up easily."
"I understand." Uriel said, "It's like you call yourself an air elementalist."
The air twisted a bit, showing no sign of his teasing. A few minutes ago, Gunther's disguise really shocked Uriel——
"I can hide from the guards," Gunther explained before Agatha could question it. "My profession is 'Air Elementalist', and I successfully changed my profession recently."
Uriel had not heard of this mysterious profession, and he prayed that Agatha had not either. This is not something worth paying attention to. No one knows all the mysterious professions... But if the detective lady really knows about this profession that does not exist, then the lie will be naked and meaningless.
Goddess willing, Agatha didn't have any unexpected reaction. "I am a 'gardener', and I am responsible for the real-time communication of the operation." The detective said. Her mysterious occupation is inclined to communication. This occupation is derived from the ability of the magical plant pansy, which is common even in the Four-leaf Territory.
The plan then proceeds as usual. They were quickly divided into three groups: Wittek guarded the foundation of divine magic, Agatha controlled the battlefield situation, and Uriel and Gunther searched for the truth. The detective asked them to find as many clues as possible. When she said this, her gray eyes flashed with an unmistakable and determined light.
"You still have to be careful." Wittek warned uneasily. Although the Button Worker has little trust in the female patrol officer, he does want to know the secret behind the banquet assassination. Of course, Uriel was dubious about such vague remarks, but he couldn't ask in front of Agatha...
…Maybe I don’t want to know. Panic and doubt dragged him into the mire, so he was uncharacteristically even more silent than Gunther. The detective lady kept emphasizing their purpose, probably because she saw the apprentice's obsession. But the truth? Maybe it exists. Now Uriel was standing in front of the church, suddenly finding that his mood was gradually becoming calmer.
The air vibrated and spoke: "The church holds many secrets. Which one are we looking for?"
"The one Father Fielding participated in." Uriel had a clear goal. "The clergy of the Gaia Church each perform their own duties. The bishop uses the region as the place to spread the message, and the priest is in charge of the church. There will be almost no contact between them. "If the church in the inner and outer world remains unchanged.
"That's why we came to church." Gunther thought he understood.
"Bowman died here," Uriel said. "Although Hobson did not admit the details of his murder, we can speculate on the circumstances at the time."
"He only said that he wanted Bowman to see the goddess." Gunther said that the situation on the night of the murder was quite credible. "But I really didn't expect that he would take... the body and hang it in the church. It's nothing if one or two gangsters die, but he shouldn't provoke the church. I warned him."
"Yes." In this world of mystery and magic, Gaia's church has become strange. People's fear of God may also have changed. "Demons should stay as far away from the church as possible." He couldn't help but think of the bloody seven-pointed star on Joey's shoulder armor.
What worried him had always been the choice between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Astronomical Laboratory. As a result, Witek Shazo made this hesitation worth mentioning. Uriel knew that Chloe was no longer a mysterious holy place to him - which was why he couldn't give the Sheriff a good look when he first learned this fact. However, apart from the rationality, Witek can be said to have saved his life... The fire trial is held every year, but he cannot take leave every year. If I want to get over it once and for all, I have to get out of here.
Last night, Joey tried to improve my actual combat level, Uriel thought to himself, but after the fire trial, what he wants to bring to me will be death.
"Are you thinking about the devil?" Feng said to him.
“As soon as you step into the church,” Uriel said, “you don’t stop thinking about life and death.”
"Me too."
"Mr. Gunther, the trip to the church is not necessary for you." Uriel had left the pool behind. He walked silently, and the light of divine magic shone under his feet. "It is said that before the massacre at Venevoise, the Cross Knights of the Church of Gaia were the main force in hunting demons."
"There are things that are very necessary to me. Even if they seem to you to be of no concern at all."
"You doubt that Hobson killed Bowman?"
Silence lingered around him for a moment. "Yes, kid." Gunther's voice wandered forward. "The killer knew our whereabouts so well that Hobson was so scared that he hid in the Sheriff's Department. I have never seen such an enemy."
In fact, he could see that Agatha was also shaken by the idea that Hobson had killed Bowman. In any case, once the evidence of a gambler's crime is confirmed, he cannot leave the Sheriff's Department intact. At such a chaotic and tense moment, Uriel couldn't imagine any clues he had missed.
"In a sense, the unknown killer is more of a threat than the demon hunter... but that's not the only reason. Someone asked me to send you a message while avoiding the detective's eyes."
"Mr. Whittaker?"
"There is no one else," Gunther replied. "I have joined his order."
"It's certainly not an easy decision."
"But it's not as difficult as you think. As soon as he proposed it, I agreed." The air vibrated, "I got a chance to change my identity, and I can cash it in soon."
It's totally like that bald guy's style, why can't he not be so reckless? "In terms of character, he can really be called a qualified peace officer." The apprentice said sarcastically. "Then what does our honest and innocent Mr. Sheriff want to tell me?"
"Xia Zuo is now my companion, more reliable than Hobson." Gunther reminded him. "Your description is not appropriate. He may not be very sharp, and his behavior may not be normal at times...but as a spy, Officer Witek is cautious enough."
Uriel nodded solemnly, and then expressed disbelief. "What did he say?"
"About associations." This time the voice came from behind again, "How much do you know?"
"The secret organization of the Nameless Ones. They hide in every corner of the world, waiting for opportunities to cause terrible turmoil." He paused for a few seconds, "To be honest, I don't think this evaluation is objective."
"I'm glad you put yourself in perspective," Gunther muttered. "There are many associations, but only a few are famous among them. Have you heard of 'Starless Night'?"
"Not a good name for an astrologer," the apprentice commented.
"How about changing to another one, 'The End of Mystery'?"
The altar of Kamaria flashed before my eyes. Stay calm, he told himself. "This is the first time I have heard of this name." Uriel replied restrainedly, as if he had thought carefully. But actually, he wanted to scream the first time he heard the word. The most powerful secret society! He suspected that he had been in its shadow.
"There is power in the shadows." Gunther's voice began to drift. "Although we are born as demons, we will never be slaughtered by others. The entire land of order rejects us. Only brothers and sisters can be trusted." He suddenly appeared, just a yard or so in front of Uriel. A hot and uneasy feeling lingered on the buttoner's face.
Uriel held his breath. "Wittek wants me to join you?"
"I think so too. That's where people like us belong, it's our hometown."
"Hometown?" Uriel heard himself asking the other party, "Isn't your hometown Motog?"
"Now it's Eastman. You know I'm not talking about the birthplace of this body, Uriel, I'm talking about the soul." Gunther stepped forward and tried to hold his shoulders. The apprentice subconsciously avoided it.
"But you don't even understand it!" He shook his head. "That's ridiculous. Goddess, this is terrible!"
"Yes, this is a terrible organization, unimaginable... people gathering together in secret to create a new order. There is no place for us in Knox: the nameless, the demons, the fallen sinners... this is a hell. Guy. Ya! Even Gaia has abandoned us, we have no god to trust in hell. But it doesn't matter, we still have each other." He stared at the apprentice. "I am a member of the Mysterious End."
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