New Gods of North America.

Chapter 619 Relationship
As the saying goes, "The layman sees the spectacle, the expert sees the details."

Although Wayne had gained a general understanding of the mythology of the Southern New World through the "Introduction to Archaeology and Artifact Research" course at the academy, it was clearly written from the perspective of ordinary people and was not the same as the practical knowledge in the Extraordinary World.

After a brief encounter, even though the guy who self-destructed in the cabin had become a withered, festering corpse that wasn't quite completely dried out, without leaving a single last word, Inessa and Lina quickly identified each other based on their respective knowledge and extraordinary experiences.

On the carriage back to the workshop, the three partners were exchanging information as usual. In a sense, Inessa was an "old friend in a foreign land" with the Tranquility Cult, and she had a particularly wealth of information:

"In the original Aztec mythology, Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god, was one of the four creator gods, second only to the first god, and held a very high position. In their mythological era, he once held the position of sun god and became the ruler of the world, before being defeated and abdicated during the transition between two 'Old Ages of Destruction'."

"However, in their mythology, the original god and several creator gods were immortal. Therefore, even though they lost their dominant position, they could still transform and be reborn in their own divine realm, and project different incarnations into the present world. This is one of the reasons why the feathered serpent god has multiple forms even in the Southern New World."

"The 'Koyatl' worshipped by the Tranquil Church is quite different from the original feathered serpent god worship. The myths and related texts brought back to the Old World by the Francois were incomplete. After being translated into different languages, and due to errors and human deletions during the spread of the myths, they are basically completely different from the original beliefs."

“You can think of ‘Koyatl’ as one of the projections of ‘Quetzal Koyatl’, or you can think of the former as the transformation and rebirth of the latter, or you can even think that the two are completely unrelated and simply have similar appearances, all of which are fine. The Hunter Association does not delve into the details of these myths, but only distinguishes between ‘harmful’ and ‘harmless’ in reality.”

At this point, Inessa turned to Wayne, who was slumped in his seat, and asked, "Did you notice what that person said before the curse broke out?"

Wayne nodded slightly: "I heard it. But it wasn't Windsor, and it didn't seem to be Irish either?"

“Yes,” Inessa nodded in confirmation, “that is a prayer or incantation circulating in the Tranquility Cult, used to ask ‘Koyatar’ for blessings and attention. It is also one of the reasons why countless scholars cannot be certain whether ‘Koyatar’ is related to Aztec mythology.”

"In terms of its transmission, the phrase was first heard by the Franks from the local priests. After being recorded in Frankish, it was transliterated into Frankish in the Old World. Finally, it was transmitted to Windsor and transliterated again, gradually giving birth to the prototype of the Tranquility sect in the form of esoteric Buddhism."

"After verification by professional scholars, that sentence no longer actually belongs to any language. Whether written or read, it is completely different from the original version. Yet, this seemingly imagined prayer can indeed trigger extraordinary effects related to 'Koyatl,' which many extraordinary scholars find incomprehensible."

This actually works...?
If the original "Quetzalcoatl" sounds like a respectable and dignified deity, then the "Coatl" of the Tranquility Cult seems a bit too casual... They dare to join in the fun just because someone randomly calls out his name; they're not picky at all.

Wayne quickly understood the Hunter Association's mindset back then, and followed suit, no longer delving into the matter further. He chose to give up on the treatment and instead focused on a more practical level: "Was that guy considered very powerful within the Tranquil Church?"

"His own rank is estimated to be at the 4th or 5th level, and he seems to have quite a lot of practical experience, so he should be considered a good one. The reason why his final curse burst was so powerful is because he activated the magic circle that had been set up in the cabin in advance, and borrowed a lot of extra extraordinary power."

"However, in many hidden organizations, the internal status of believers is not entirely tied to their personal rank and combat ability. Instead, they place more emphasis on the closeness of their connection with the deity they worship."

At this point, Inessa glanced at Lina subconsciously before continuing, "Since he was able to attract the projection of 'Koyatl,' he couldn't possibly be a low-level believer. He likely has his own team. Or, to put it more seriously, he might just be a member of a high-level team, responsible for establishing a 'new parish' in the New World."

I understand. They're probably what's called "middle management" or "core elites."
If we compare them side-by-side within the detective agency, they'd probably be in the top tier of the arena, like Connor and Damon McCready.

Hmm... Compared to that, Connor might not even be able to beat them. Although there might be factors like extraordinary abilities countering their strength or the opponent calling in an evil god to cheat, the opponent might not even be the leader of the team. Looking at it this way, the detective agency doesn't seem to have the upper hand right now...

Lina, on the other hand, remained relaxed, seemingly possessing a natural dominance over those below her in the food chain:
"Don't worry, those people from the Tranquility Cult are only good at arranging rituals and planning sacrifices. They might not be that strong in a real fight. If you're worried about casualties among the agents, you can help me lure those people away. I'm not afraid of their curses—I should at least be able to escape."

Wayne pondered for a moment. "I have a question. If both 'Koyatl' and 'The Wise Sage' appeared at the same time, which one would the Church usually attack first?"

"Um……"

Inessa and Lina both fell into thought at the same time, with the latter quickly answering first, "They should attack 'Koyatl' first."

Then Inessa nodded in agreement: "Although they are in different realms, 'Koyatl' can only be considered a minor deity in the realm of 'death,' and its followers are concentrated in the Tranquility Cult."

"While the 'wise sage' may not be as high-ranking as the 'holy spirit,' he is still widely recognized as a representative deity who can almost monopolize an entire field. If he were to truly descend, the response strategy of most organizations would probably be to quickly evacuate and call for reinforcements from headquarters."

Damn it? !
Wayne's gaze towards Lina instantly filled with awe, as if he were looking at a member of the royal family of Windsor.
It doesn't matter how many people she can beat, but if she really calls for help, who knows what kind of heavenly soldiers and generals she might attract: "Hmm... Lina, you haven't suffered any grievances while you've been with our detective agency, have you?"

Lina saw through Wayne's little scheme at a glance. "You're overreacting a bit... For someone of my rank to truly bring down a sage, I couldn't do it even if I sacrificed my own blood."

“Well…” Wayne tentatively raised his fist and blew on it as he did so.

Lina put her hands on her hips, and Peter the Spider climbed onto her shoulder. "If no one from the Cathedral were here tonight, I'd dare to fight that guy one-on-one. Do you?"

"I dare," Wayne replied without hesitation.

Although his body would also be contaminated by those "short lines," he could absorb them, at worst causing him to have a bloated stomach. But that guy couldn't stop bullets, so he had no chance to let the feathered serpent get close enough to bite him.

I can make thirty mistakes (that's all the bullets I have), and he probably won't be able to withstand more than a few shots. The advantage is mine.

"You two, stop fooling around."

Inessa brought the topic back, "Unfortunately, the magic circle in the cabin was damaged along with the curse, otherwise we could have directly confirmed the specific ritual they were planning. However, judging from the size of the magic circle and the types of relics left behind, I think the scope of this ritual should be quite large, and there are likely more magic circle locations in the dock area."

Wayne, now burdened with debt, was also suffering from a painfully bloated stomach: "Let everyone get some rest tonight, and we'll continue our investigation tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)