Chapter 330 — The Sinner
"The thing inside came from the Holy War Lands. It was tied to some mysterious existence. Once the seal's power activated, whoever used it would inevitably fall into corruption..."
Ambrose recalled the moment he had first received the sacrificial vessel.
At the time, he had indeed been shocked that the "offering" was connected to evil power.
But considering the status of the one who handed it to him, there was no reason for such a figure to toy with him over something like this.
So Ambrose ignored concerns about "reputation" and carried out the ambush exactly as planned.
After all—
as long as no witnesses remained alive, no one would ever know he had anything to do with the evil inside this house.
And the power of the vessel had truly stunned him.
Judging from the energy fluctuations in the room, Ambrose had even believed that a genuine demon had descended.
If not for the holy relic specially prepared for him beforehand, even he might have been corrupted by that evil presence.
Originally, things were supposed to unfold like this:
Gideon would summon evil, lose control from the backlash, and Ambrose would arrive just in time to "stop the disaster."
But the black book in Gideon's possession had completely overturned the situation.
A common background... yet he reversed the entire situation within the Holy War Lands. Even the Holy Bloodline elders failed to obtain that object after exhausting every method... but he got it instead...
Ambrose narrowed his eyes tightly.
Just how many secrets does this guy have?
Meanwhile—
while Ambrose was distracted, nearly all the evil aura in the room had already been drained away.
"Wait!" the Kayako hybrid cried out with difficulty.
"As long as you stop now, I'm willing to obey your commands!"
"...The human beside you should be your ally, right? Yet he used evil power against you. Clearly your church is filled with internal conflict as well..."
The monstrous entity had actually begun trying to persuade Gideon.
"Dammit! These cunning pieces of trash!" Ambrose instantly became wary.
If Gideon truly joined forces with this thing, his situation would become disastrous.
Then he heard Gideon answer calmly:
"Sure. As long as you willingly accept an exorcism ritual, I'll let you go."
The hybrid's expression immediately darkened.
"Even if you win this time, this world will eventually merge with us completely. Your resistance is meaningless..." Its tone turned icy.
Gideon rudely cut it off.
"If you've got time to posture and hide your failure behind threats, you might as well go reflect on yourself properly."
He sounded like a teacher lecturing a student.
The moment those words fell—
the page opened within the black leather book suddenly began glowing entirely.
Then the Kayako hybrid's body started twisting violently, dragged toward the book by an overwhelming force.
"Grrr—!"
Accompanied by frantic bubbling noises, all evil energy in the room vanished completely.
Only a bizarre image remained upon the page.
A seated skeleton.
Judging from its posture, it appeared to be performing some sort of ritual.
Thunk... thunk... clink.
A glass bottle rolled across the floor toward Gideon.
It was the sacrificial vessel from earlier.
But now, there was no trace of evil energy left inside it.
Only a faint remnant of source power remained.
And from the perspective of spiritual rune composition, that power appeared astonishingly pure.
Gideon shifted slightly, allowing the bottle to roll into the corner.
Then he slowly raised his head.
"Now... it's time to settle things between us."
Ambrose's fists trembled faintly.
He had never imagined Gideon could single-handedly deal with an entity of that level.
At the same time, he realized something else—
the Holy Bloodline elders had severely underestimated this priest's strength.
"Hmph. I admit I misjudged you. But you think that means—"
Before he could finish speaking—
three golden rings appeared within Gideon's pupils.
Ambrose's body instantly froze.
Just as he attempted to resist, pale violet streams of energy suddenly appeared around him.
They rapidly condensed into a purple chain that tightly bound his body.
This was the manifestation of the Sin of Desire.
"What?!" Ambrose shouted in disbelief.
"You can actually read the emotions of living humans?!"
According to church records, soul-stage holy arts were divided into four tiers.
The third tier, Messenger of Sin, allowed clergy to distinguish emotions and condense single chains to restrain enemies.
But those chains only worked on spiritual beings—not ordinary humans.
After all, the spiritual rune structure within a living human soul was incomparably complex and constantly shifting.
If a priest became trapped within that structure during analysis, it could easily drive them insane.
Furthermore, those studying holy arts normally required external objects to help condense emotional chains—like John's iron chains.
But the next level—
Emotion Chains—
required one to form chains without relying on any object at all, while also completely deciphering the spiritual rune structure of a living soul.
It was a dual test of both mind and holy power.
Earlier, when Ambrose saw Gideon using emotional chains to restrain the evil spirit, he assumed Gideon had secretly relied on some hidden tool.
But now—
feeling the overwhelming force locking down his body, Ambrose understood there was no chance of victory left.
"Four Marks... monstrous holy power... and even a legendary holy artifact..." he struggled to raise his head, staring viciously at Gideon.
"We both came from lower dioceses. So why is your luck so much better than mine?!"
"It seems you still don't understand," Gideon said calmly.
"The thing binding you isn't me."
"It's your own desire."
"It's a bottomless pit. The more you seek, the more it drags you down."
"The position and strength you already possess are things countless clergy members could never achieve in their entire lives. Yet your eyes only ever look upward."
Ambrose sneered.
"If you don't climb higher, people will drag you down instead. That's the true church! Sooner or later, you'll compromise too!"
"Yeah..." Gideon sighed softly.
"I realized that a long time ago."
"But there are things in this world worth pursuing beyond power and profit."
He stared directly into Ambrose's eyes.
"And if the day ever comes when I'm forced into a corner, I still won't end up like you."
Ambrose only laughed coldly, clearly unconvinced.
"I'll leave you with one sentence," Gideon said indifferently.
"To possess no greed is true strength."
Confusion appeared in Ambrose's eyes.
He clearly did not understand the meaning behind those words.
"So what now?" Ambrose sneered.
"You planning to drag me back to the Vatican as a witness to clear your own name?"
"Your reaction already told me that wouldn't work," Gideon replied.
"Hmph. Correct. And I don't mind telling you this—"
"The moment I made my move earlier, your precious backer Jolan was already placed under investigation by the Cardinal Council. Right now, even he can barely protect himself!"
"And don't think his status can save him. I already told you—"
"If you don't keep climbing upward," Gideon interrupted calmly, "someone will eventually drag you down."
Ambrose frowned lightly, seemingly unable to understand how Gideon could remain so composed.
"Jolan's failure was inevitable," Gideon continued.
"The church has stood for over a thousand years. Its relationships are naturally tangled beyond imagination, especially with groups like the Holy Bloodlines holding enormous resources for generations."
"In that environment, gaining a little authority and immediately trying to force change only threatens the interests of the true powers behind the curtain."
"He believed placing me at the front would eliminate opposition within the Knight Order."
"But in reality, all he did was force those people to act earlier."
"If the church were truly so easy to change, all those wars would never have existed."
Silence fell across the room.
Ambrose stared at Gideon as though looking at a monster.
He had never expected someone to understand the inner workings of the church so thoroughly.
Questions that had troubled him for years suddenly became clear in an instant.
"Who... who are you really...?"
His voice trembled.
He no longer believed this man was merely an ordinary priest from a lower district.
"Just a priest who happened to read a few history books," Gideon answered casually.
Regret flooded Ambrose's heart.
If he had not revealed Jolan's investigation earlier, perhaps there might still have been room to maneuver.
"If you still think I might spare you..." Gideon's voice suddenly turned cold.
"Then you're being naive."
"You... if you don't kill me, I can still serve as a witness..." Ambrose forced himself to say.
But Gideon only looked at him calmly.
The gaze of a man already looking at a corpse.
Then Gideon pulled a black amulet from his bag.
Ambrose immediately felt an ancient, freezing aura.
"What is that...?" Sweat formed across his forehead.
The next second, the amulet released a mysterious power—
and another figure appeared inside the room.
The instant Ambrose saw his face—
his expression turned utterly horrified.
"J-John?!"
"Rather than becoming an unwilling evil spirit," Gideon said while walking past him, "you might as well fulfill your lingering obsession and move on peacefully."
"From this moment onward... he's yours."
John looked at Gideon with a complicated expression before drawing a cross over his chest.
Then he turned and walked toward Ambrose.
"NOOOOO!" Ambrose shouted desperately.
"Gideon! Kill me yourself!"
A muffled sound echoed behind him.
Then the screams stopped completely.
Gideon turned around.
John's soul gradually faded until it vanished entirely from the room.
Only a corpse remained on the floor.
Just as Gideon prepared to approach—
a pentagram formation suddenly appeared beneath Ambrose's body
An enormous surge of evil energy erupted from within.
Gideon immediately backed away while drawing holy relics to defend himself.
But the energy did not spread.
Instead, it transformed into several black ropes that tightly bound Ambrose's corpse.
"AAAAH—!"
A furious roar suddenly shook the room.
Then Ambrose's soul emerged.
His face twisted with hatred as he stared at Gideon.
"I will curse you forever! FOREVER!"
Before he could finish—
the floor suddenly split open beneath him.
Scorching lava burst upward from below as his soul began falling into the abyss.
He struggled frantically, trying to break free.
But then—
more than a dozen pale arms suddenly reached upward from the fissure below.
Their skin was corpse-white, devoid of any trace of life.
Tap... tap...
The hands seized Ambrose's soul one after another—
and violently dragged downward.
SHHK!
Under Gideon's gaze, Ambrose's body and soul were pulled entirely beneath the floor.
Then everything returned to normal.
The cracks vanished.
The room became silent again—
as though nothing had ever happened.
Gideon frowned deeply, the golden rings around his pupils glowing brilliantly.
"It all disappeared..." he murmured.
"The evil aura. The lava. The underground..."
"Could that really have been....Hell?"
The thought surfaced involuntarily in his mind.
Had Ambrose commited so many sins... that even after death, his soul was dragged away for punishment?
But this theory lacked any concrete evidence, and there were currently no other clues to pursue.
Gideon could only set the matter aside for the time being.
Looking at the wreckage scattered throughout the room, he felt a complicated sense of melancholy.
Judging from Ambrose's words this entire operation had clearly been aimed at Jolan.
And as Jolan's most prominent supporter, Gideon was naturally unlikely to escape involvement.
For all he knew, he might already have become a wanted criminal within the Church.
Looks like I'll need to hide my tracks first after leaving here... then investigate things slowly, he thought.
Afterward, Gideon took out several holy relics and performed another purification ritual throughout the house.
Although the Book of the World had already absorbed the mysterious entity's power, there was no guarantee some remnants hadn't been left behind.
Once that was done, he recited passages from the Gospel and offered a prayer for John.
Gideon hadn't known the man for long.
But judging from the way John interacted with Sid and the others, they had clearly trusted one another deeply.
"...Sigh."
Gideon shook his head quietly.
Then his gaze accidentally shifted to the side.
He walked toward the wall.
Only after the golden rings in his eyes lit up did he bend down and pick up the glass bottle from the floor.
Upon closer inspection, the evil aura inside had indeed been completely cleansed.
He then summoned the Book of the World again.
The page that had absorbed Kayako was still glowing faintly.
At that moment, a line of text slowly appeared along the margin:
Insufficient Ancient God power accumulated. Unable to close corresponding Source Channel.
"Ancient God... channel..."
Gideon's brows twitched slightly as several things instantly clicked into place.
"So the Book of the World can extract different forms of power attached to objects..." he murmured while examining the bottle.
"And this purified source energy... is probably the reward given to me by the world's will."
He recalled the mysterious voice that had spoken earlier when he attempted to peer directly into that strange power.
Based on what he knew about Ancient Gods, they belonged to the category of beings that were not meant to be observed directly.
Which meant—
that voice had very likely saved his life.
And with that realization, Gideon began to form a guess regarding the identity of its owner.
Afterward, he walked over to Mia.
At present, the only living people left here were her and the cameraman Simon.
Earlier, both had their minds affected by the Ancient God's power.
After the Kayako hybrid was absorbed, they had fallen unconscious.
But at the very least, they had survived.
Gideon immediately helped Mia sit upright and used a soul-stage holy art to call her consciousness back.
A moment later—
"What... happened to me...?"
Mia held her head, her face pale.
"Your lives are no longer in danger," Gideon said while helping Simon up as well, "but both of you will need a very long recovery period."
Ordinary humans did not recover easily after having their minds touched by beings of that level.
"You..." Mia stared at Gideon, hesitating.
Both of them had witnessed Ambrose betraying and murdering his own companions.
To them, it all felt surreal—
like something out of a movie.
"We... we can testify for you," Mia finally said, forcing herself to gather courage.
"As long as we contact the police and hand over evidence of the murders, along with our statements..."
Gideon smiled faintly and shook his head.
"Miss Mia, the moment supernatural power stepped openly into the public world, the laws of the past already lost much of their meaning."
Mia opened her mouth slightly.
She felt as though she understood... yet also didn't.
"Oh right," Gideon suddenly remembered something.
"Mr. Simon should have recorded everything earlier, correct?"
Even if it might not fully clear his name, possessing evidence of Ambrose's crAmbrose would still serve as an important bargaining chip.
"Simon definitely got it on camera!" Mia immediately turned around.
But Simon was currently sitting cross-legged on the floor in complete silence.
"What's wrong?" Gideon frowned slightly.
The cameraman kept fumbling with the equipment, his hands visibly trembling.
When Gideon and Mia moved closer, they discovered a clear crack running through the main body of the camera—obviously damaged during the chaos earlier.
"Don't tell me..." Mia's breathing suddenly became rapid.
"The footage is all gone?"
Simon weakly covered his face and slowly nodded.
A moment later, he actually began sobbing quietly.
"It's... it's brand new equipment," Mia collapsed onto the floor as well.
"He hadn't even gotten to test half the features yet..."
"Now everything's gone..."
Gideon silently shook his head.
It seemed luck truly wasn't on his side this time.
"At the very least, both of you are still alive," he said.
"But if you don't want trouble finding you later... then from this point onward..."
—
Two days later.
Dey Commercial Street, Philadelphia.
House of Rest.
The area was crowded with clergy members.
"You can't just break in like this! That violates North American property law!" Judy shouted anxiously.
Lorraine hurriedly pulled her daughter back, though her own eyes were equally filled with worry.
At that moment, a squad of clergy marched directly through the entrance of the House of Rest, kicking the doors open and ransacking the interior.
They wore pure white robes embroidered with special insignias.
Clearly, they were not local clergy.
Archbishop Matthew stood off to the side, blocked from interfering.
His expression looked extremely grim.
Then one of the white-robed clergy members stepped forward and addressed the gathered crowd publicly.
"Gideon Black. Guest professor at Dey Theological Seminary. Newly appointed member of the Holy See Clergy Corps Order."
"It has now been confirmed that this clergyman colluded with evil spirits and demons, deliberately murdering fellow team member John Kesen, as well as Ambrose Rossi who arrived later as reinforcement."
"These actions are a severe violation of Church vows and constitute blasphemy against the Lord."
"Therefore, the Vatican Cardinal Council has officially issued an order declaring Gideon Black and all accomplices wanted throughout every Church territory."
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