A few days later!
Queens, St. Paul's Community Church.
A black audi a8 slowly drove into the street, then parked on the roadside opposite the church.
Hawk, after pulling the handbrake, looked at the church across the street through the passenger window but did not choose to get out of the car.
Because today was Saturday.
Some believers from the nearby community would come to St. Paul's Church on this day and pray together under the guidance of Father John.
At his core, Hawk did not believe in God.
Especially when God's skin color was different from what he imagined, he believed even less.
But... he respected other people's beliefs. Even if he didn't respect Father John's priesthood, he still respected the beliefs of ordinary people in the community.
After all, ordinary people were innocent.
However, Hawk arrived just in time.
After he waited in the car for a while, the church's group prayer was almost over, and community residents began to leave the church one after another.
Hawk also got out of the car at this time.
Some old residents living nearby warmly greeted Hawk when they saw him.
Hawk responded with a smile.
After all, before he was twelve, he had always been a member of the St. Paul's Church choir, and he had appeared in the baptisms and weddings of nearby residents.
The old residents were not surprised by Hawk's arrival.
Because even after he turned twelve, Hawk would still come here about once a month, sometimes even attending services with the residents.
If asked, Hawk understood gratitude.
If asked again, Hawk was campaigning for himself in advance.
By the time Hawk had smiled and greeted all the residents who were walking out of the church, and stepped inside, the miscellaneous people in the church had already left.
Looking from afar.
Father John, with graying hair and dressed in his priestly attire, looked up at the statue of Jesus in the church, holding a wooden cross in his hand, sitting quietly in the first row.
Hawk walked over and naturally sat down next to Father John, his gaze also directed towards the statue of Jesus in the church.
After a while.
Father John, holding the wooden cross, looked intently at the statue of Jesus, his faint voice carrying a hint of inquiry.
"So... it was our past that created your past."
"Yes."
Hawk, sitting beside him, leaning back in his chair, also smiled as he looked at the statue of Jesus.
"Father John, I have something I'm curious about. Can you help me understand?"
"...Of course."
"You saw the current me twenty years ago, so when you saw me grown up, did you never think of killing me?"
It should be known that Father John had come to this church after he and his sister Anya were four years old, although at that time he and his sister Anya had also left the church.
But... the part-time job in the choir was found for him by Father John. Perhaps it wasn't obvious at five or six years old, but what about seven or eight, or eleven or twelve?
Hawk didn't believe that Father John, upon seeing him at eleven years old, wouldn't recognize that he was the culprit who had plucked his bird feathers, preventing him from ever returning to Heaven and even communicating with Heaven.
The reason he didn't kill Father John back then, but merely threw him into a trash can, was very simple.
That was his past.
Even if he killed him, it would only create another branch of time and wouldn't truly change anything.
But Father John... he was truly a person living in the past. For Father John, he had the opportunity and the ability to kill Hawk.
Because at that time, Hawk, also due to Father John's recommendation, had joined the choir and trusted Father John quite a bit.
Father John listened to Hawk's question, withdrew his gaze from the statue of Jesus, and looked sideways at Hawk.
His expression was still the loving and peaceful one Hawk remembered.
"Does it matter?"
"Before you grew up, I thought I could lead you to the Lord's seat."
"And indeed, that was the case."
"Your faith is very devout, more devout than anyone in the choir."
"Every exam, you were at the top."
"Every scripture, you could recite by heart."
"My mission was to change your destiny, to let you grow up in the Lord's light from a young age."
"The Lord wanted you to convert, and you did convert. I had no reason to kill you."
Father John spoke with a loving and ethereal tone, then shook his head with a smile, changed the subject, and looked back at the statue of Jesus.
"Do you know how old you were when I realized I hadn't changed your destiny?"
"I don't know."
"When you were twelve."
"To be precise, it was on the day of your and Anya's birthday, when Anya was rushed to the hospital due to a heart condition, and you were devoutly praying at the emergency room door."
"You said this at the time."
"Almighty Lord, Buddha of all Buddhas, Jade Emperor, Odin above, God King Zeus... please show your divine power and save my sister."
"It was then that I knew your destiny had not been changed by us."
"You prompted the Lord to want to change the future through the past, but we merely created your past."
"..."
As Father John spoke, Hawk's thoughts drifted back to his twelfth birthday.
His sister was seriously ill.
At the emergency room door, he clasped his hands together, praying to all the Gods and Buddhas in the sky.
It was well known.
Believing in God was just for money; after all, he knew from a young age that once he and his sister turned eighteen, they would be kicked out of the welfare system. He had to save money from a young age so that he and his sister wouldn't end up completely homeless and become vagrants.
Here, once you became a vagrant, your lifespan would start counting down.
In short.
Believing in God was to make Father John believe he was truly devout, but when his sister was seriously ill, his true faith came online.
Which was pragmatic faith.
The result... Hawk's thoughts spun, recalling the scene of Father John also being by his side when he prayed at the emergency room door that year. He smiled, and also met Father John's gaze sideways.
"Since you knew, why didn't you try to kill me?"
"You had the chance then."
"You know, I trusted you the most back then. With a glass of juice that had something extra, you could have killed me without anyone knowing."
But Father John did not choose to kill him.
Father John listened to Hawk's words and nodded with a smile.
"Yes, at that time, I could indeed kill you."
"But you didn't."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Perhaps..."
Father John met Hawk's gaze, his smile still loving, and opened his hands, which had been clutching the wooden cross.
Hawk's gaze shifted downwards.
Upon seeing it.
As Father John's palm flattened, a faint dark aura appeared, and then a cross, completely condensed from darkness, appeared in his palm.
But... this was not a cross.
Instead, it was an inverted cross.
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
Father John's words were faint.
"My faith, in fact, was not as unshakeable as I imagined."
"Once an Angel loses his wings, he can never return to Heaven."
"Moreover, after living on Earth for so many years, I am no longer the Angel Apollyon, but the human John."
"My divinity has gradually been replaced by humanity, and my thoughts are no different from those of humans."
"Everyone is afraid of death."
"But I am even more afraid."
"So..."
Father John rubbed the dark inverted cross in his left palm, which was currently providing him with energy, and then looked at Hawk: "Samael helped me."
Samael?
Hawk heard this, and a light flashed in his mind.
"Lucifer?"
"Yes."
Father John nodded, looking at Hawk: "The Lord lost an Archangel because of Samael's departure, and you are the second Samael the Lord hopes for."
Hawk frowned.
"Is Lucifer also in this Universe?"
"No."
Father John shook his head: "But Samael's power is of the same origin as Heaven, which is why I was able to borrow Samael's power to survive until now. However, I should also be leaving."
Hawk smiled, looking at Father John: "I haven't decided whether to kill you yet, Father John."
Father John shook his head.
"Even if you don't kill me, I have to go."
"Where to?"
"To Samael."
Father John's face showed a hint of a helpless smile: "Samael said he wanted to take a vacation for a while and asked me to manage Hell for him for a period. I agreed, but I knew you would come looking for me, so I made an agreement with Samael that once you came for me, I would go to him."
Hawk heard this, his thoughts turning.
Lucifer.
Vacation?
Where would he vacation, Los Angeles? And then, instead of being the King of Hell, he'd go investigate cases with a female detective?
Speaking of which—
This was a DC Universe thing, wasn't it?
Hawk thought to himself, then came back to his senses, looking at Father John who was rising from his seat.
With a whoosh.
Four black wings unfolded behind Father John.
But they were black.
Pure black ones.
Father John's expression was still loving and smiling as he met Hawk's gaze.
"You can choose to kill me now, or let me go."
"Heh."
Hawk looked at Father John, thought for a moment, and shook his head with a smile: "You didn't kill me when I was twelve, and now, I won't kill you either."
As he spoke.
Hawk also rose from his seat, hands in his pockets, looking at Father John, whose expression was loving and who seemed more like God than that black God. A slight smile appeared on his face.
"Have a good journey, Father."
"Thank you."
Father John heard Hawk's farewell, his expression seemingly relieved. After saying thank you, he slowly closed his eyes.
The next moment.
Black Fire enveloped his entire body. In just a blink of an eye, Father John, covered in black Fire, seemed to twist into a black dot, and then, with a whoosh, disappeared from Hawk's sight.
By the time the black dot vanished.
Father John had also disappeared.
Hawk stood with his hands in his pockets, looking at the statue of Jesus.
Just then.
His phone rang.
Sharon's.
"Hawk, Amy Crowley has been located."
"..." (End of chapter)
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