Within the Church, there are actually many different branches. For example, Catholicism has the Franciscan Order, the Dominican Order, the Benedictine Order, the Augustinian Order, the Cluniac Order, and so on.
This is actually similar to different schools within Taoism like those from Dragon Tiger Mountain, Wudang Mountain, or Maoshan. They all believe in the same God, but there are slight differences in their methods of practice and interpretations of doctrine.
In this regard, the different branches of Christianity are even more loosely organized.
Originally, the Holy Ascetic Order, to which Isabella belonged, was a small branch that emphasized rigorous self-discipline. Her daily diet consisted of only plain water and bread, without even butter or jam.
Being in such good shape despite that was truly a rare gift.
(Please do not imitate.)
Perhaps because she wasn't in a good mood, the usually steadfast ascetic also tried alcohol for the first time under the persuasion of Madison and Maria. Unsurprisingly, she was knocked out after just one sip, even more dramatically than Needy before.
Isabella's sleep was extremely restless. It felt like there was a constant earthquake in her dreams.
In a daze, Isabella opened her eyes and saw a three-story tower stacked on top of each other, shaking constantly in front of her.
This scene shocked the black-clad nun so much that she forgot to close her eyes.
But soon, Isabella closed her eyes. She forced herself to clear her mind and pretended to still be asleep.
Unfortunately, those sounds kept drilling into Isabella's ears and automatically generated images in her brain.
The end of the World Qualification Tournament also meant that Roy's personal issues in New York were resolved. All that was left was the FEA hearing.
The FEA headquarters was surprisingly efficient this time. The official hearing began on the third day after the World Qualification Tournament ended.
Not only were representatives from the FEA and members of the Witch Council present at the hearing, but also representatives sent by the White House, demonstrating the federal government's serious attention to the Boston Incident.
No one knew that Ophelia had been captured by Elizabeth, so everyone was uncertain about the outcome of this hearing. Madison, Zoe, and Maria had made a lot of preparations.
As it turned out, Mortel directly surrendered at the hearing.
Ophelia had indeed left a portion of her power within Mortel's body, but after she herself was captured by Elizabeth, her connection to that power was completely severed.
As a result, Mortel successfully suppressed that part of Ophelia's power and regained her self-awareness.
However, this also led to Mortel's body being completely drained, giving everyone the feeling that she didn't have much time left.
At this point, the entire Boston Incident had caused heavy losses to the old guard of the Witch Coven, and the witches' power was in a state of decline, lacking strong new members.
Coupled with the absence of a Supreme Witch, the Witch Coven became very passive.
The White House representative took the opportunity to demand that the Witch Coven accept the management of the federal government, a request that the council members naturally couldn't accept.
However, the FEA representative demanded that the Witch Coven must take responsibility for the Boston Incident, either by capturing the culprit or by directly providing compensation.
Where could the Witch Coven find Ophelia?
Even if Mortel risked her life to try and predict Ophelia's location, she probably wouldn't be able to.
So, the only option left for the Witch Coven was to provide compensation.
The problem was, where would the money come from?
In the past, the Witch Coven had many sponsors, but now that they saw signs of the Coven's decline, the sponsors had all withdrawn their investments.
The council simply couldn't come up with that much money to compensate the federal government.
Helplessly, the council could only agree to the White House's request to install Commissioner Smith within the Witch Coven, which also meant that the Witch Coven officially lost its autonomy.
The council had no other choice; otherwise, even the witch school would not be able to continue operating.
Without the witch school, it would mean the Witch Coven would be completely uprooted.
After the hearing, the few young witches from the Apocalypse Club all felt very heavy-hearted. They realized for the first time what it meant to live in a world where the strong prey on the weak.
If the Witch Coven still had a powerful Supreme Witch, the federal government definitely wouldn't dare to make things so difficult for them.
This planted the seeds of becoming powerful witches in the hearts of Madison and Maria.
"Damn it! I must become stronger and become the next Supreme Witch, and then shove that agreement right into the mouth of the one in the White House!"
Madison directly stated her attitude, and Maria agreed with her idea.
"Me too! The way those people in the White House act is just disgusting!"
"Then you guys need to study hard from now on and learn more magic."
Roy looked at Madison. This little girl had quite the big talk now; he just didn't know how long she could maintain this attitude.
"Humph! You just wait and see, Roy! I will definitely make the name of the Apocalypse Club resound throughout the world!"
"I feel like the odds of that happening are probably not as high as you winning an Oscar!"
Roy couldn't help but retort.
Zoe, who was beside them, didn't have as much ambition as Madison. After all, her witch talent was already half as good.
"I wonder how Carrie is doing now? I'm a little worried about her!"
Zoe already knew that neither Ophelia nor the FEA had caught Carrie. The girl seemed to have vanished without a trace.
Madison patted Zoe on the shoulder.
"Don't worry! As long as Carrie is still alive, we will definitely find her! She's probably hiding because the FEA has put out a warrant for her arrest!"
The FEA had officially listed Carrie as a fugitive, but Madison and the others knew that Carrie had become like that to cover their escape, so they still considered her a comrade.
"Maybe after Professor Mortel recovers, we can ask her to predict Carrie's location?"
Emma glanced at Mortel in the distance. The woman looked like she had aged twenty years and seemed to be on her last legs.
This made the young witches feel even heavier-hearted.
Mortel was already the most powerful witch left among their generation. If she died too, the Witch Coven would really only have the dregs left.
At this moment, Roy pulled Emma aside to chat privately.
"Emma, do you want to come back to Waterfall Town with me? The Witch Coven is too busy taking care of themselves right now; they definitely won't have time to worry about you."
Emma hesitated for a long time before answering Roy.
"Brother Roy, I want to stay at the witch school to learn magic."
Emma's answer didn't surprise Roy. Her previous attitude had already given him a general idea.
"Alright then. You have Madison, Zoe, and Maria to take care of you at the witch school, so nothing should happen. But don't forget what you promised me before."
Roy respected Emma's choice. Since she had the talent for witchcraft, forcing her to stay by his side as an ordinary person wouldn't make sense.
Emma nodded solemnly.
"I will, Brother Roy!"
After chatting with Emma, Mortel Snow found Roy.
Mortel was very surprised the first time she saw Roy because she felt like he was a mist, someone she had never encountered before.
However, Mortel quickly came back to her senses and expressed her gratitude to Roy.
"Mr. Black, I've already heard the whole story from Zoe. I'm very grateful to you for protecting Zoe and the others!"
Madison, Maria, and Carrie were the most talented young witches in the recent classes at the witch school and were the hope for the Witch Coven's future resurgence.
Now that Carrie was missing, if Madison and Maria were also lost, then the Witch Coven would really be finished.
"Ms. Snow, it's what I should do. Madison and Maria also protected my cousin Emma."
Roy looked at the trembling Mortel and felt that this witch might really not have much time left.
Seemingly seeing Roy's thoughts, Mortel gave a bitter smile.
"Mr. Black, you've probably already seen my condition, haven't you? So, there's something I want to ask of you."
"Please speak."
"I have already seen my future. Within a year, the flame of my life will be extinguished. At that time, the Witch Coven will completely lose its power. Mr. Black, I hope you can protect Madison and Maria at a critical moment."
It seemed that Mortel believed the future of the Witch Coven lay in Madison and Maria, just like she and Fiona in their day.
"Ms. Snow, you can rest assured about this. I won't let anything happen to Madison, Zoe, and Maria."
"Then I can rest easy! Thank you very much, Mr. Black."
Mortel bowed deeply to Roy and was about to leave when she heard Roy call out to her.
"Ms. Snow, I have something here that might be able to help the Witch Coven."
Roy handed a black leather book to Mortel.
""Baron Samedi"?"
"This is the book that Marie Laveau has been looking for. Maybe you can make some deals with the Voodoo practitioners."
This book was useless in Roy's hands, so he might as well do the Witch Coven a favor.
"Thank you again, Mr. Black!"
Roy's stats as of now:
Roy Black
Nephilim
Strength: 52
Agility: 46
Constitution: 60
Memory: 47
Spirit: 55
Willpower: 54
Abilities: Mike Tyson's Boxing Skills, Bob Munden's Shooting Skills, Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin's Charisma, Sawyer Family Chainsaw Usage Skills, Key of Solomon, Thievery, Fear Domain, Trap Master, Desire Domain, Nightmare, Eye of Judgment, Touch of Darkness, Eye of Truth, Defiler, Assassin's Heart, Expert Water Sports Skills, Frenzy, Soul Doppelganger, Selina Kyle's Athletic Skills, Death Gaze
Items: Smith & Wesson M625 Revolver, Smith & Wesson M629 Ivory Edition Revolver, Ghostface Mask, Used Yellow Chevrolet Camaro, Chainsaw Sword, Cursed Twin Daggers, Mason's Digital Camcorder, Hair of the Cursed, Remington M870, Perfect Blood, Fragment of Original Sin (Lust), Fragment of Original Sin (Greed), Hound Ring, Needy's Black-Framed Glasses