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In a small alley beside a small square in front of a pure black church with two symmetrical bell towers, Bernadette, wearing a slightly old-fashioned soft hat with a fine black veil hanging down, appeared out of thin air.
Her azure eyes narrowed slightly as she watched Aaron stride into Saint Samuel Cathedral. Even if she were bolder, she wouldn't follow him in at this moment.
Originally, she only wanted to see what this person, who had behaved strangely at her father's memorial exhibition, would do next. After Aaron's figure disappeared into the church, Bernadette stood still for a long time, her figure becoming ethereal and barely visible to the naked eye.
Feeling the disappearance of that gaze, Aaron, who had already entered the church and was sitting on a black wooden chair, pretended to pray and secretly pondered:
"Given Bernadette's personality, she won't give up easily. I'll just teleport away later."
"Meeting Bernadette at my current Sequence 7 level is too risky. If I do meet her, it can't be in my true form; I must maintain a safe distance."
Having made up his mind, Aaron looked up at the bishop preaching on the platform and the Dark Sacred Emblem behind him. He immediately felt a little guilty, quickly sat up straight, performed a standard and complete prayer, then stood up and walked to a nearby offering box, taking out 200 pounds and dropping them in.
The duty bishop, with a smile, nodded and drew a scarlet moon on his chest, praising: "Praise the Evernight Goddess, generous sir. You will surely have a good dream tonight."
Aaron also returned the gesture with piety, deliberately revealing the red moon mark on his wrist. The duty bishop's expression subtly froze, clearly recognizing Aaron. He looked at the unfamiliar attire for a moment with some surprise, then said: "Generous sir, please follow me to the back. Someone will continue to explain the sermon to you."
Aaron followed the bishop to the area behind the prayer hall. Aaron also removed his mask, returning to his original appearance, and secretly decided never to use that previous face again.
The bishop led Aaron to a large door carved with the Dark Sacred Emblem, then turned and saw Aaron had returned to his original appearance. After a slight surprise, he said: "Blessed, Archbishop Anthony is inside."
Aaron nodded slightly, took out a black iron box engraved with strange patterns from his pocket, and pushed the door open.
The air in the room was very oppressive. One of the thirteen archbishops of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, the head of the Backlund Diocese, Saint Anthony Stevenson, was leaning back in a chair in the middle of the room, his face grim, his eyes tightly closed.
Aaron's eyesight was excellent; his pupils narrowed slightly, and he saw a telegram on the desk:
"The renegade Ince Zangwill has appeared in Enmat Harbor. The Red Gloves team suffered 1 death and 3 injuries. Heads of all dioceses are to intensify search efforts."
Hearing the sound, Archbishop Anthony opened his eyes, and an indescribable sense of oppression emerged. Aaron immediately felt an inner tremor, as if his spirituality was dominated by fear, or as if he was facing an unknown existence watching him from the depths of Darkness.
However, this feeling disappeared in an instant. "As expected of a Sequence 3 'Horror Bishop'!" Aaron's breathing became disordered for a moment, and he couldn't help but exclaim in his heart.
Archbishop Anthony's expression softened considerably, and without concealment, he pointed to the telegram on the desk and said: "This is a telegram from the Holy Cathedral, circulated to all dioceses. The Holy Cathedral has dispatched Crestet Cesimir, 'Goddess's Sword,' one of the nine senior deacons of the Nighthawks, to pursue Ince Zangwill."
"This traitor will ultimately pay the price for his blasphemous actions."
Aaron lowered his head slightly, silently responding in his heart:
"It's a pity that Ince Zangwill successfully survived the Church of the Evernight Goddess's hunt for more than two years by using that Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, and then plotted the evil god's offspring incident in Tingen City, taking Mr. Fool's first blood."
"He even fought his way to Chanis Gate in Tingen, stole Saint Selena's ashes, and used them to advance to Sequence 4."
"Although this was due to the Evernight Goddess's transaction with Adam, leading to Ms. Arianna, the head of the Evernight Cloister, who controls part of the hidden authority and is extremely restrained by 0-08's perception, never appearing from beginning to end."
"But the Evernight Goddess and the Church of the Evernight Goddess are not equivalent. Some things only the Evernight Goddess knows, even the Pope and the head of the Evernight Cloister are unaware, such as the transaction with Adam, or George III secretly preparing for the ritual of becoming a god."
Archbishop Anthony didn't mind Aaron's contemplation. After speaking, he no longer mentioned the traitor and turned to Aaron, asking: "Is there something you need this time?"
Aaron reined in his wandering thoughts, looked up, and quickly responded. He naturally wouldn't say it was to avoid someone's tracking, as that would appear too opportunistic, and he indeed had something to discuss with the Archbishop.
Aaron picked up the box in his hand and placed it on the table, informing Archbishop Anthony about the Aurora Order's attempt to accommodate the True Creator's divinity.
He didn't forget to subtly mention the handling method of Qonas Kilgor from MI9, which fueled the fire. Anthony looked at the black box on the table, felt the evil god's divinity contained within, and couldn't help but frown.
With a flick of his finger, Darkness surged out like a tide, engulfing the black box. After becoming part of the tide, it disappeared.
Archbishop Anthony drew a scarlet moon on his chest and praised in a low voice: "The Evernight Goddess will remember your contribution."
Seeing that His Grace the Archbishop had accepted the box, Aaron cleared his throat, revealed the red moon mark on his wrist, and slowly said: "Archbishop Anthony, I wish to use the Evernight Goddess's grace to create a charm that can provide a hidden effect for spirits. I wonder if you can help me?"
Anthony looked at Aaron without asking further. After a moment of silence, he slowly nodded, took out a small piece of black gauze of unknown material, and said: "Ordinary materials cannot bear the power of Concealment. This gauze can be integrated into a spirit, enhancing its strength. You can attach the power of Concealment to this, and once integrated into the spirit, it will be in a hidden state."
After receiving the gauze and chatting for a few moments, Aaron felt it was time to leave. He bid farewell and, upon reaching the corner, put on his mask, deliberately not entering a hidden state, and initiated Spirit World Travel.
On a bell tower not far from Saint Samuel Cathedral, green vines hung down from above, coiling and interweaving to form a hammock. Bernadette sat upon the hammock.
Suddenly, Bernadette's brow subtly lifted. Her spirituality sensed a fluctuation in the Spirit World. As if thinking of something, she was about to raise her right hand, but seeing Saint Samuel Cathedral not far away, she pursed her lips and lowered it again.
The verdant pea vines gradually withered, and Bernadette's figure had long since vanished without a trace.
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Loen, southern Desi Bay, Escoson Port, South Burley Street.
The scarlet moon hung high. Ferran Eddas was covered in wounds. The illusory scales beneath the skin of his left arm had been pierced by a dagger, creating a deep wound that exposed bone.
Ferran had long been accustomed to such pain. Ever since he became a "Folk of Rage" more than two months ago, whenever he got angry, he could unleash attacks far exceeding normal, with greatly enhanced strength, speed, and of course, recovery ability.
Thanks to this, a vicious-looking man lay at Ferran's feet—his prey for the night, a notorious pirate, a Sequence 8 Pugilist.
Ferran gradually calmed the anger brought on by the battle, tied up the unconscious man on the ground, and felt the digestion of the "Folk of Rage" potion, secretly delighted.
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