No. 66, 6th Street, Town of Ivo.
Second floor.
A brunette girl sat on the sofa, staring blankly at a notebook on the table. Drawn on it was a portrait of a middle-aged man wearing glasses.
After a mont, she sighed softly, picked up the notebook, and walked over to her packed luggage.
"Which heartless bastard hurt our beautiful Ms. Dana?"
A sweet voice suddenly rang out from the doorway, and a figure with a graceful silhouette walked in.
Dana Polk hurriedly shoved the notebook into her backpack before turning around.
"Jules, what nonsense are you talking about!" She brushed her hair back, her eyes darting away evasively.
The girl called Jules had long blonde hair.
She flashed a mischievous smile, and while her friend wasn't paying attention, lunged at the backpack and pulled the notebook out.
"To make our nerd yearn for him so much... could it be that this Professor is incredibly good in bed?"
"Jules!" Dana gave her friend a light shove.
"Alright! You should forget about a guy like this as soon as possible!" Jules Louden suddenly ripped the portrait out of the notebook, tore it into pieces, and tossed them into the trash can.
"No!" Dana hurriedly picked the pieces of paper out of the trash, frantically trying to piece them back together. "I don't bla him for this."
"After sleeping with his student... he breaks up over email." Jules rolled her eyes. "Why even bother with soone like that."
Her tone then shifted.
"You need to look forward! There are plenty of cute, young guys at school! Who knows, you might just et one on this trip."
"If you're talking about Holden..." Dana shook her head helplessly.
"I don't want to enter a new relationship right now. You and Curt should really stop trying to play matchmaker."
"Then who do you want us to match you with!" A male voice suddenly rang out from the doorway, followed by a football flying in.
The two girls jumped in fright and quickly dodged to the sides.
The football sailed right out the open window.
Just as it was about to smash into a passing car, a hand steadily caught it.
Inside the second floor.
"Oops!"
A tall young man walked in. He had deep blue eyes and a well-proportioned, athletic build.
"Curt! What if you hit soone doing that?" Jules put her hands on her hips.
"Then they can only bla their subpar catching skills." Curt Vaughan flashed a charming smile, then jogged over to the window.
The annoyance that had just flared up in Jules dissipated mostly upon seeing his handso face.
But the next mont, she noticed her boyfriend standing motionless by the window.
"What's wrong?"
Jules and Dana both leaned in curiously.
They saw a young man standing ramrod straight below, wearing a black priest's cassock, holding up the football Curt had just thrown down.
"Is that Holden?" Dana looked curious.
Hearing this, Curt shrugged: "Well, he'd have to change into sportswear and dye his skin black first."
"Hey! Be polite!" Hearing this, both girls swatted Curt.
Jules then asked: "I don't think any of us are religious, right?"
Curt and Dana both shook their heads.
"Then maybe he's just passing by," Jules said, nudging Dana with her elbow.
"But this priest looks pretty cute."
Dana imdiately rolled her eyes at her.
At this mont, the priest below suddenly took a step back and threw the ball in his hand.
With a soft whoosh, the football flew perfectly through the window and landed right in Curt's palm.
Curt felt a trendous force transmit through his palm, forcing him to take several steps back before he could stabilize himself.
"Wow! This guy's got an arm." He raised an eyebrow.
As the captain of the school football team, he hadn't encountered soone this strong in a long ti. A competitive spirit instantly welled up inside him.
Curt rolled up his sleeves, licked his lips, and returned to the window.
Just as he raised the ball, he saw the priest below point at the window, then at his own lower half.
Dana imdiately let out a shriek, realizing she wasn't wearing any pants.
Because the windowsill was low, her smooth, shapely thighs were fully exposed, with only a pair of small gray panties covering her bottom. This had already drawn the stares of quite a few passersby.
After Dana vanished from the window, the priest instantly beca the target of many resentful glares.
The priest paid them no mind, instead walking toward the front door right below the window.
Whoosh—
Upstairs, Curt frowned: "What does this guy want."
A mont later.
"You're saying... Holden isn't coming?"
Jules looked surprised, staring at the priest nad William before her.
"Yes. He ca to last night and said he was going to study Latin with a certain lady." William smiled faintly.
"Why didn't I know about this." Curt crossed his arms and stepped close to William, stopping only inches away.
"Furthermore, I never expected Holden to have a priest for a friend."
William shrugged: "We t when we were ten. We used to..."
With the capabilities of the North Arican officials, they had long since thoroughly investigated Holden's background, so William was well-prepared.
"He knew that abandoning his bros for a girl wasn't very loyal, so..."
William suddenly paused mid-sentence, looking Curt up and down.
"You've got a great physique. You must have spent a lot of ti on it."
Hearing this, Curt was montarily stunned.
Initially seeing the other party scrutinizing him disrespectfully, he was just about to issue a warning.
But the following sentence made the corners of his mouth curl up involuntarily. He found himself rather enjoying the attention.
"Oh, yeah. After all, I am the captain of the school football team. Our opponents are very strong..." Curt rolled his shoulders, pretending to sound profound.
"That explains it," William smiled faintly.
He then looked at the blonde beauty next to him.
"And this must be Jules. I heard from Holden that Curt has a very beautiful girlfriend."
"Ah, really?" Jules looked delighted, subconsciously touching her hair.
Hearing this, Curt also smiled and wrapped an arm around Jules.
"But who is this..." William looked at Dana with curiosity.
"Dana Polk, my best friend!" Jules introduced enthusiastically.
She then lowered her voice: "Curt and I were planning to set her up with Holden!"
"Jules!" Dana shoved her friend playfully in mock anger.
"Then I really shouldn't have agreed to that kid's request!" William looked apologetic.
"He said backing out of the trip at the last minute would be very rude, so he begged to take his place. Should I go call him back right now?"
Hearing this, Dana hurriedly waved her hands: "No need! Since he's busy, let him be."
"Looks like another girl beat you to the punch." Curt shrugged. "Holden is my best receiver. I knew he'd be popular."
"Hmph! A man who doesn't keep his promises isn't worth it anyway," Jules snorted coldly.
She then looked William up and down again.
"A gentlemanly boy like you is much more charming. Why don't you keep Dana company this ti!"
"Jules!" Dana secretly pinched her friend. "He's a priest!"
Curt also asked curiously: "Shouldn't you guys be very busy? Do you actually get holidays?"
"Well about that..." William rubbed his nose.
"I only put on these clothes not long ago. As long as the Lord is in my heart, I can cultivate anywhere..."
He stamred out a few excuses before finally letting out a sigh.
"Alright, I admit it! Reading the Bible was too boring, so I sneaked out to have so fun!"
"I knew it!" Curt laughed heartily and clapped William on the shoulder. "Welco to our trip!"
The two girls also smiled and agreed.
Just like that, William successfully bluffed his way in.
Temporary Base of the Paranormal Special Operations Group.
The elite agents monitoring the situation, including Claire, were full of admiration.
"Now that is professionalism!" she pointed at the screen. "You all need to learn from this. Stop relying solely on brute force coercion and blackmail."
"Understood, Director Claire!"
Shortly after.
Curt parked a white RV in front of the house, and William soon walked out carrying his luggage.
The two girls followed closely behind. Jules even deliberately gave Dana a push, causing the latter to nearly crash into William.
William naturally noticed these little gestures, but he had no ti to pay attention to them.
Upon arriving at the house, he had conducted a ticulous sweep of the surrounding environnt.
Although Claire had ntioned earlier that the Church truly hadn't intervened, William still conducted an on-site inspection, confirming it once again from an exorcist's perspective.
"It seems the Church must have made their more important arrangents at the cabin in the woods," William narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking to himself.
The RV drove all the way to the edge of town, where they picked up the final "volunteer," Marty Mikalski.
"I'm really looking forward to this trip. You know, with phones, satellites... all these electronic devices constantly popping up." Marty placed a pile of "tobacco" onto a rolling paper.
"Every one of us lives under surveillance. This society is dood sooner or later!"
He lit the "cigarette" and took a deep drag, his eyes instantly turning glazed.
"Who knows, those guys might be watching us right now!"
Hearing this, William glanced at a corner of the RV, where a micro-cara was pointed directly at them.
He pondered for a mont before suddenly speaking up: "Where are we going right now?"
"Teleman Road," Curt answered. "There's a tunnel there. The cabin my cousin bought is in the dense forest past the tunnel."
"Dense forest? Sounds like a remote place."
"You could call it desolate," Curt sounded excited. "Quiet, undisturbed, and there's even a small lake. It's practically a resort!"
"And a classic set for a horror movie massacre..." William remarked inwardly.
But outwardly, he said: "Since that's the case, we'd better buy so more backup supplies."
"Gas, food, and plenty of water are extrely important for outdoor living."
At this ti, Dana spoke up: "We already bought so. We're only staying for two days; it's just enough."
William shook his head: "Just enough won't do."
"After all, that place is very remote. If we have to stay a few extra days, whether by choice or by force, survival will beco our biggest challenge."
He spoke with profound earnestness.
"Therefore, when you have a choice, you must make the most ample preparations."
As soon as he finished speaking, the RV fell silent.
The group all looked at William with surprise.
"Wow! I like this guy!" Marty blew a smoke ring.
"If the world ever ends, I'm definitely choosing to bunk with you!"
He imdiately added another sentence.
"For the record, this is purely out of admiration. It has nothing to do with sexual orientation!"
"Father William makes sense." Dana looked at Curt. "Why don't we go buy so more?"
"Sure." Curt shrugged. "My cousin said there's a gas station along the way. I was planning to stop there and buy so more gas anyway."
"A gas station might not have a great selection of supplies. It's better to grab more delicious food in town," William said as he took out a card.
"Anyway, Holden's treating us this ti. Do you guys really want to save money for him?"
Hearing this, the group looked at each other.
Screech—
Curt slamd on the brakes and spun the steering wheel, and the group cheered as they drove toward the town's supermarket.
At the sa ti.
Old God Ruins, Secret Underground Base.
Cardinal Parolin had arrived here long ago, waiting for the ritual to begin.
Opposite him sat many people in tailored suits. They were the observers sent by the North Arican governnt, led by none other than Secretary Underwood from the previous D.C. council.
But at this mont, the Secretary's face was livid.
"Cardinal Parolin, this is different from what we agreed upon!" he said, trying to calm his breathing.
"The reason we agreed to provide volunteers is because you guaranteed that the holy artifacts they used would only draw a small amount of blood."
His fingers gripped the armrests tightly.
"Why has it changed to drawing half their blood now!"
Parolin smiled faintly and raised a hand to placate him: "I understand your anger, Mr. Secretary. Previously, only a small amount was indeed required."
"But the situation regarding the evil existences changes by the minute..."
He sighed as he spoke.
"A few days ago, we received a prophecy. Evil auras have already enveloped the human realm. The original power of the ritual is insufficient to summon the divine artifact. This is why we were forced to make a last-minute change."
"This is also the reason I initially hoped for more sacrifices." Parolin shook his head.
"But it's too late to say this now. Once the ritual preparations are complete, it cannot be stopped. So those few individuals will have to endure a bit more hardship."
Underwood remained silent, glaring dead at Parolin.
The other party's words actually shifted the bla for the change onto North Arica.
Yet he found it hard to refute.
After all, North Arica didn't possess any ability to prophesy the future. For a long ti, they couldn't even manage to purify evil.
It was only because of that gentleman's involvent that the situation had improved slightly.
Therefore, the Church could naturally say whatever they pleased.
Even if Underwood suspected that the other party intended to draw half the volunteers' blood from the very beginning, he couldn't produce any evidence right now.
But if he actually agreed to this, he would have no way to explain it to the public or the Presidential Office later.
After pondering for a mont, Underwood looked up: "Since that's the case, preparing so blood bags for the volunteers should be fine, right?"
Without waiting for Parolin to speak, he continued.
"Previously, because the required volu was small, and Your Eminence ntioned that certain parts of the ritual must use the fresh blood of living people, I didn't question it further..."
"But now, since those holy artifacts require a massive amount of blood to activate, we'll substitute them with blood bags first. When the specific ritual occurs, the volunteers can use their own blood."
Hearing this, Parolin fell into thought.
He knew this was the other party's bottom line. If he refused... North Arica would highly likely walk out right now.
So, he nodded.
"With the Secretary caring so much for the citizens, how could the Church refuse?" he smiled faintly.
Parolin's tone then shifted.
"However, the blood bags cannot be given directly to the five sacrifices. Otherwise, if they learn the inside story, the ritual will fail."
After saying this, he glanced to his side. A young man wearing a white robe with a golden cross imdiately stepped forward.
"Your Eminence, there is a gas station on the way to the ritual site. We have our people stationed there."
"Then I leave this matter to you, Kalvis," Parolin nodded.
The white-robed young man quickly took his leave.
Shortly after, a cooler of fresh blood bags kept on ice was delivered to a certain gas station.
Along with the cooler ca a ssage— Hide it well, preferably where it won't be found.
A few hours later, a white RV pulled over by the side of the road.
An empty soda can was tossed out.
"Hey! Everyone, this is the gas station I ntioned earlier." Curt clapped his hands and pointed across the street.
Reviews
All reviews (0)