Chapter 196: The Rules of the Church
William hesitated only for a moment before accepting this commission.
Just as Faya said, completing the practice of [Holy Eye] required a large number of spirit bodies.
Although William could currently use Holy Arts, if the progress of his "Body" was not improved synchronously, it might leave hidden dangers for the future.
"May the Lord protect you."
After getting an affirmative answer, Faya smiled and bowed.
"With your help, it will definitely go very smoothly this time."
"Uh... we still have to be careful." William raised his hand slightly, but finally held back the urge to cover the other party's mouth.
"Your humility is admirable." Faya said with a look of surprise.
William hurriedly changed the subject to avoid this guy raising any other "Flags."
"When do we leave? I still need to spend some time preparing before heading to the commission location."
Faya nodded: "No problem; the appointment with the local church is in four days."
"But tomorrow we have to go to the Holy Exorcism Hall."
William looked curious, waiting for the other party to continue.
This place belonged to the Exorcism Institute; it was a branch stronghold of the former in various parts of North America, usually garrisoned by some upper-level members of the Exorcism Institute.
After all, churches were uniformly managed by the Vatican, which was inconvenient at certain times.
"Archbishop Megos recently visited Dei Church. He specifically requested to personally meet the Holy Clergy Members who accepted this commission," Faya said.
William understood in his heart.
"After all, it's a job that will be 'televised'; the big leader has to show his face."
So he nodded: "No problem."
After agreeing on the meeting time for the next day, Faya bid farewell to William.
Dei Commercial Street, House of Rest.
William packed the newly made holy artifacts into his cloth bag.
Although this commission looked simple, just a formality.
But this is the world of American Horror! It is normal for any accident to happen.
Therefore, William did not slack off and still made preparations before departure with the highest specifications.
During this period, he also conducted research on the "Demon Heart."
With the experience accumulated in the Exorcism Workshop, looking at this thing again at this time, William quickly discovered anomalies.
"The power on the remains seems to want to break through the seal..."
In his view, there were many power residues on the surface of the [Demon Heart].
They extended towards the outside like tentacles, only blocked by the Holy Power in the seal.
William always thought these were just overflowing evil powers.
But looking at it now, these powers obviously possessed certain activity.
This was fundamentally different from those remain materials.
Although the latter would also avoid William's purification.
But they would not actively escape because the remains material was the basis for their existence.
Once the material was purified or destroyed, the evil aura would also gradually dissipate.
But now the power on the [Demon Heart] seemed to be attracted by something...
"To be safe, better not rush to purify the Source Power inside." William rubbed his chin and thought secretly.
Subsequently, he reinforced several layers of seals outside the wooden jar before putting this material back.
After doing these, William finally had time to review the current panel situation. After this period of accumulation, the progress of various events was as follows:
[Atonement Persuasion]
[Current Progress: Rank 2 (993/1000)]
[Holy Water Eye Cleansing]
[Current Progress: Rank 2 (790/1000)]
[Furnace of Holy Relics]
[Current Progress: Rank 3 (62/1000)]
[Holy Meaning Study]
[Current Progress: Rank 2 (747/1000)]
[St. Aquinas Body Code]
[Current Progress: Rank 2 (650/1000)]
Among them, "Devout Baptism" had been promoted to [Furnace of Holy Relics], so no need to repeat.
And the progress of the remaining items was also about to be achieved.
Now William was clear that these events corresponded to the practice of the "Four Parts of Theology."
For example, [Atonement Persuasion] was the Holy Art of the "Soul Body" stage.
And [Aquinas Body Code] accelerated the strength of the "Skin" stage through Holy Oil.
Only [Furnace of Holy Relics] was relatively special.
This item was not connected to any stage but focused solely on holy artifact production.
But it was almost William's most important ability.
Precisely because of sufficient and high-quality holy artifacts, he could expel evil spirits and demons many times.
The next day.
William sat in front of the holy statue and completed the reading of the Bible.
At the moment of closing the scripture, the Holy Power on his body became more condensed.
For Holy Clergy Members, studying the Bible and its summary classics is the most important way to practice Holy Power.
Holy texts carry consciousness.
Then through the Brand, one can perceive the power of blessing from Heaven.
This is also an important way to build the Spirit Bridge in the "Spirit" part.
Therefore, one must persist from the practice of "Eyes."
If luck is good and one can advance to the Spirit Bridge stage, one can have enough accumulation in the later stage.
After finishing the daily coursework, William took his luggage and went to the square of Dei Church.
Nun Faya had been waiting here for a long time.
After greeting each other, the two left by car.
Southwest of Philadelphia, near Longwood Gardens.
The car stopped by the roadside.
William got out of the car, looking at the magnificent manor in front of him.
It possessed top-class garden design in North America and was also the former site of the wealthy Dupont Family.
Faya raised her head, her breathing obviously a bit rapid.
She adjusted her headscarf with both hands, then tidied her collar and hem in turn, looking quite restrained.
William also lowered his head.
Seeing the herbal juice stained on the cuff, he patted it symbolically.
"Father William, Archbishop Megos has a noble status; please be sure to pay attention to etiquette later." Faya exhorted.
William nodded; he naturally didn't need to be worried about in this regard.
The two soon arrived at the gate of the manor.
After reporting, a man dressed like church personnel walked out from inside.
And William also observed something unusual.
This clergy member only opened the side door, and the opening gap was half of the whole, just enough to accommodate one person to pass through.
Subsequently, on the way to the house, both Faya and that clergy member hid their hands in their sleeves.
Although William was a little curious, he learned to follow suit.
Before long, that clergy member stopped specially and signaled William with his eyes.
Only then did William realize that part of his wrist joint was exposed.
After hiding it well, the man turned around and continued to lead the way.
Then when entering the left door of the house, Faya and that man stepped into the room with their left foot first again.
The interior of the house was luxuriously decorated, with a Black Cross hanging in the center of the entrance.
This was the symbol of the Exorcism Institute, symbolizing death, sin, and repentance.
The Holy Society (Academy) used a pure White Cross.
William just glanced at it and lowered his head again.
Besides that, it was very quiet inside.
Red carpets were laid in the corridor, and curtains with Church symbols hung on the walls on both sides.
The walking Holy Clergy Members all followed the established route; no one transgressed.
Before long, the three came to a prayer room.
"Sincere greetings to our Lord." The clergy member spoke.
His voice was just right, audible to William and Faya, yet not too noisy.
William was amazed inside; such control could not be practiced in a day.
That clergy member took the lead in kneeling on the prayer mat to the left of the main seat.
There was an extra soft cushion aside, but William thought for a moment and chose not to go there.
Seeing this, Faya nodded secretly.
After the clergy member finished praying, it was her turn, and finally William.
This ceremony alone took more than ten minutes.
When William got up, other Holy Clergy Members had already brought water basins and towels.
They divided into two rows, preparing a total of six portions.
"Please cleanse the dust and evil of the outside world, avoiding staining the holy land with filth." The clergy member recited, still without any emotion.
Faya looked serious, seeming to attach great importance to what she was doing.
But William frowned slightly.
"Choosing a former site of the rich as a stronghold, and promoting holiness with cumbersome rules..." He thought secretly.
After washing hands, face, and mouth, they could finally move on.
William thought the ceremony would end here.
Unexpectedly, there was another tightly wrapped nun at the end of the corridor.
The other party took the initiative to step forward to guide Faya, while William continued to follow that male clergy member.
"Father William, see you after changing clothes." Faya curtsied voluntarily.
William was stunned immediately.
"Change... change clothes?"
Before he could think carefully, he had been taken to a bathroom.
Steaming white vapor floated in the air, and hot water had long been prepared in the bathtub on the ground.
"Please take off your coat and complete the body cleansing ceremony." The clergy member said.
A certain word in it made William tighten his crotch; fortunately, this was just the literal meaning.
For him, taking off clothes in front of a man was not difficult.
After all, in his previous life, William often "met frankly" with other men in the bathhouse.
But when the clergy member rolled up his sleeves and walked towards William, the latter really panicked.
"You... what do you want to do!" William instinctively blocked his chest with his clothes.
"The sins of the world are all attached to the skin; they must be cleaned carefully to sweep them clean."
The clergy member said in a tone that allowed no refusal.
"Before assisting you in completing the body cleansing, I cannot let you see His Excellency the Archbishop."
William mentally prepared for fully five minutes before finally nodding.
And this decision caused quite a trauma to his soul.
It was hard to imagine the feeling of a man's hand rubbing hard on his back.
Especially when the other party was not his elder.
But this also made William secretly alert.
With his current body strength, it was difficult to be damaged by external forces.
But the one behind him could actually rub off a layer of dirt (dead skin), which was enough to show the strength of this clergy member.
"Isn't it just taking a bath... I enjoy bathing the most." He repeated this sentence constantly in his heart.
After ending this ceremony, William got up and dressed.
Of course, forget about his battle robe.
The other party prepared a brand new black robe; although the style was mediocre, the fabric was high-grade.
Finally, after tidying up his appearance, William was taken outside a conference hall.
And he saw Faya again.
When seeing the other party, evident surprise flashed in William's eyes.
At this time, Faya stepped on the carpet with bare feet.
She wore a pure white dress, and her jet-black bright long hair draped over her shoulders.
The neckline was very open, revealing Faya's white and tender, clear collarbones.
Even when the other party bowed, William glimpsed a deep valley.
And the faintly visible thigh outline under the skirt made people unconsciously float many reveries in their brains.
But William narrowed his eyes.
Seeming to see his doubts, Faya explained softly:
"His Excellency the Archbishop is the symbol of holiness and light; one must show one's truest side to him."
Ha!
William just nodded and smiled.
The left side of the gate was gently opened, and the two entered one after another.
"Oh, my dear child Faya, so glad to see you come."
A slow voice sounded.
William took the opportunity to look up.
The conference room was paved with luxurious carpets, and an elderly man sat in the center.
He was wearing a purple satin robe embroidered with gold thread.
"Your Excellency Archbishop Megos." Faya's tone revealed excitement.
She walked over quickly, then knelt on the ground, resting her head on Jose's lap.
"You've worked hard."
Jose stroked Faya's hair gently.
The room fell into a brief silence.
William lowered his head and said nothing, pretending not to see everything in front of him.
A moment later.
"Is this the priest who accepted the commission?" Jose's voice sounded again.
"Yes, Your Excellency Archbishop. This is Father William..." Faya introduced William's background.
"So you are acquainted with Your Excellency Joran; please come forward and let me have a look." Jose's tone revealed surprise.
William walked over with steady steps, then raised his head.
This Archbishop Jose was indeed very old; wrinkles and spots on his face squeezed together.
However, the clergy member standing beside him was handsome.
"Worthy of being the person Your Excellency Joran values." Jose nodded with a smile.
But William found a trace of enthusiasm flashing in the other party's eyes.
"You flatter me, Your Excellency Archbishop; I just did my duty." He bowed slightly.
"Oh, please don't be so formal."
As Jose spoke, he pulled Faya's arm up.
"You too, don't work too hard."
Faya said: "Thank you for your understanding."
William narrowed his eyes: "Don't be so formal, huh..."
Subsequently, Faya informed Jose about the two going to the commission location.
The latter also encouraged William verbally.
"The Church carries the Lord's Holy Revelation, resisting the invasion of evil spirits and demons. Any Church item is the manifestation of the Lord's will in the world..."
"You run outside often; it must be harder than us sitting every day..."
"Father William is so young; the Church's philosophy will need you to inherit in the future..."
Facing the "Leadership Talk," William naturally listened sincerely.
Perhaps seeing that Jose was a little tired, the young clergy member aside respectfully asked William to leave.
Only Faya remained.
And the moment before the door behind him closed, William turned his head slightly, just in time to see this scene—
Faya walked to the Archbishop's side, then embraced him in her arms, patting him gently with her hand.
In the next second, the clergy member blocked William's line of sight.
He nodded slightly, and the conference room door closed completely.
About ten minutes later, Faya came out again.
She stretched out her hand, handing out a crucifix.
"This is the holy artifact bestowed upon us by Your Excellency Archbishop Megos."
The Holy Power fluctuation on it was not weak; obviously, it was a 30-year vintage Holy Relic.
regarding such a "Heavy Gift," William just smiled: "Better for you to keep it, Nun Faya."
Besides not lacking holy artifacts, he didn't want to obtain "Help" in this way.
Faya didn't see William's anomaly and nodded with a smile.
"The air tickets to the commission location have been booked by the Church; see you at the gate."
She left with a nun again.
Looking at the other party's back, William remained silent.
The scenes witnessed today made him think of many things.
Besides understanding Joran a little more, there was more disappointment. William did not believe that such a Church could "Save the Human World," although the philosophy they promoted looked yearning.
The subsequent itinerary had no obstructions.
Two days later.
California, Glendale City, Bob Hope Airport.
William and Faya walked out of the terminal.
At this time, the two had returned to their previous attire.
Faya took out a travel map and pointed to a place on it:
"The central area of San Fernando Valley is about a 20-minute drive from the airport; we have to rent a car."
William nodded.
Because he often ran field duties, he quickly settled these matters.
Just as Faya pointed out a route, William drove to the other side.
Facing the nun's puzzled eyes, he said:
"Sorry, before approaching the incident location, I still need to do some investigation."
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