America: The Cremator

Chapter 187 S-Rank Mystery, Greedy Demon Mammon!

The dome of the church hall is extremely high, and darkness hangs above it.

Only a few faint candle flames flickered on the surrounding walls.

Su Long's fingers easily lifted a corner of the night sky, revealing two dazzling stars shining before his eyes.

Hannah's breathing became completely erratic.

The girl looked up and her gaze met the huge crucifix.

The stone sculpture's eyes were lowered, filled with unchanging compassion, as it silently watched everything that was happening on the bench below.

"Watch him," Surong commanded in a low voice, his voice echoing faintly under the empty dome.

Under his gaze, Hannah closed her eyes, a little water glistening in the corners.

The moonlight streamed through the towering pointed windows, then was sliced ​​into countless colorful patches by the stained glass.

The dark walnut wood emitted an extremely subtle "creaking" sound.

This sound would normally go unnoticed, but in the deathly silent church, it was amplified infinitely.

Hannah dared not make a sound and could only bite her lower lip tightly.

Her fair back pressed against the chair back, the contrast between her cold skin and her burning body temperature was striking.

The red light cast by the glass window landed right on her collarbone, like a flame spreading downwards as she trembled.

Su Long lowered his head, swallowing her suppressed breath.

In their eyes, everything around them became bizarre and surreal.

The murals on the dome seemed to come alive under the colorful light and shadow, with winged angels hovering in the clouds, scrutinizing the blasphemy below with indifferent eyes.

Surong's gaze passed over Hannah's shoulder and met the enormous Jesus statue.

The texture of the stone appeared incredibly rough under the dim light.

The wounds on the sculpture's ribs and the crown of thorns on its head carried a sense of oppression at this moment. "Su—" Hannah finally couldn't help but cup Su Long's cheeks in her hands and whispered.

The moment the sound was uttered, it was quickly swallowed up by the empty echo in the lobby, turning into ripples.

The moonlight shone on the two of them.

Surong noticed that the two cross-shaped holy marks on Hannah's palms suddenly began to emit a faint red light.

Extremely pure dark red blood seeped from the texture of the skin; it was holy blood containing a high concentration of spirituality.

The air was immediately filled with a strange smell, a mixture of rose fragrance and rust.

The smell quickly spread throughout the enclosed church hall, mingling with the hormonal scent emanating from the pews.

After Su Long's body came into contact with this trace of holy blood, every cell in his body greedily absorbed this power, as if it were a long-awaited rain after a drought.

He could feel his spiritual energy, which had been depleted from overusing his domain, rapidly replenishing itself under the nourishment of the rose fragrance.

This feeling of fullness is far more satisfying than eating any high-calorie food.

Colorful light and shadow swirl on the dome.

The compassionate gaze of the Jesus sculpture seemed to be completely obscured by this rosy mist.

Sulong watched as Hannah's back suddenly tensed into a bow.

She bit down hard on Su Long's shoulder, and tears finally burst forth, sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto the walnut wood chair, leaving a small, dark stain.

The storm has finally subsided.

The church hall fell silent once more.

The only sound was the wind breathing.

The moonlight gradually shifted, and as the painted light and shadow faded from the bench, they returned to the cold marble floor.

Hannah slumped limply on the bench, her whole body soaked in sweat as if she had been pulled out of the water, her black and white nun's habit draped haphazardly around her waist.

She was panting heavily, her eyes unfocused as she stared at the dome.

Surong glanced at Hannah's outstretched hands.

The bleeding from the stigma on his palm had stopped, leaving only two faint red marks, and the scent of roses mixed with rust in the air was gradually dissipating.

"How are you feeling?" Surong casually grabbed Hannah's clothes and threw them at her.

Hannah snapped out of her daze.

She glanced at the statue of Jesus high above, hurriedly straightened her nun's clothes, tidied her disheveled hair, took a few deep breaths, and tried her best to look like a dutiful nun.

"Su, you really need to be more restrained in the future—this is too crazy."

Su Long leaned back on the armrest of the bench, took out a bottle of "Raphael" from his pocket, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip of the crisp liquor.

Having absorbed a portion of the Holy Blood Spirituality emanating from Hannah, he now feels an abundance of power within him, and the feeling of overexertion in his domain has vanished.

The church hall fell silent once more.

Hannah took a few deep breaths and managed to stand up, her legs feeling weak.

She glanced down at the walnut bench, then looked at the ground.

Large water stains remained there, reflecting the moonlight and standing out prominently.

The girl dared not meet Su Long's gaze again. With her head down, she quickly walked to the storeroom at the back of the lobby, changed into a clean nun's habit, and returned quickly carrying a plastic bucket, mop, and rag.

She placed the bucket on the ground and began to carefully wipe the marks on the walnut bench with a rag.

Because it was so intense just now, some water even splashed onto the back of the chair.

As Hannah wiped, she muttered under her breath, "I'm doomed, I'm doomed. If the other nuns or believers see this tomorrow morning, I really won't be able to explain it."

After wiping the bench, she picked up the mop and began cleaning the water stains on the floor.

Su Long sat beside her, watching her meticulously cleaning up the crime scene, and couldn't help but laugh.

"How can you blame me?" Su Long leaned against the armrest, his tone teasing. "Isn't it because you're like a water pump? Just touch the switch and you start gushing water like crazy."

Upon hearing this, Hannah froze in her mopping motion.

She turned her head, and the wolf glared at Su Long. Then she threw down the mop, walked a few steps to Su Long, reached out and pinched the soft flesh of his waist hard.

Su Long's physical abilities are now far beyond those of ordinary people.

Not to mention that he can actively block out this pain, even if he doesn't, under the tempering of the soul-burning pain of the world-destroying fire, this level is a joke to him.

However, to fit the atmosphere, Su Long still gave a perfunctory gasp and exaggeratedly cried out, "Ouch, ouch, ouch!"

Hannah couldn't help but chuckle at his obviously feigned pain.

She released her grip: "You're not allowed to talk nonsense here. This is a sanctuary. If you dare to say anything vulgar again, I'll kick you out."

Su Long raised his hands in surrender: "Fine, I'll shut up."

Hannah turned around and continued cleaning up the water stains on the floor.

After confirming that nothing was missing, she carried the bucket and tools back to the storage room.

When she returned to the lobby, she seemed much more relaxed. She walked over to Su Long and sat down next to him.

The lobby fell silent once again.

Neither of them spoke; the tranquility that followed their intimate encounter carried a comfortable languor.

The moonlight shone quietly on the ground in front of the two of them.

Hannah rested her head on Suron's shoulder, enjoying this rare moment of peace.

Su Long then put his arm around her shoulder, his gaze falling into the void as he brought up the system panel that he hadn't had time to check in the morgue.

XP: 50

Mithril Coins: 1

Soul Crystals: 3

Su Long nodded. The current resources were enough to upgrade another two-star or three-star affix.

Then, he first looked at the new entry he had obtained after the false crow was completely burned.

【The Realm of Stagnation☆】

Category: Blessing.

Description: It can consume mental energy to create a stagnation field in a space with a radius of 1 meters and a height of 3 meters centered on the user, reducing the flow of time in that area by 20% while keeping the user's movement speed unchanged.

Comment: Slow down, everyone!

Su Long was very satisfied with the description of this entry.

The ability to slow down time is one of the most disgusting abilities of the False Crow.

Although it's currently only a one-star entry, and can only affect physical speed, it can't directly drain lifespan or reverse time like the fake crow's true form, but it's already an extremely powerful crowd control skill.

Imagine the scene: when an enemy rushes in front of Sulong, ready to withstand the intense heat of the Flame Mist Realm and engage in close combat, they are suddenly slowed down by this move. That scene would be absolutely spectacular.

Then, Su Long first spent 10 experience points to upgrade it to two stars, and then decisively used the mithril coin he had just obtained and 30 experience points to upgrade it to three stars.

【The Realm of Stagnation☆☆☆】

Category: Blessing.

Description: It can consume mental energy to create a stagnation field in a space with a radius of 5 meters and a height of 9 meters centered on the user, reducing the flow of time in that area by 50% while keeping the user's movement speed unchanged.

Comment: You are not allowed to drag the progress bar!

Su Long looked at the new panel and was even more satisfied.

The delay effect is increased to 50%, and the coverage area is further expanded, which means that any high-speed attack will be ineffective against him.

With his physical burst of power and bullet time combined, the probability of high-speed projectiles hitting him is getting lower and lower.

Then, Su Long glanced at the remaining 10 experience points, pondered for a moment, and added them to his domain.

[Domain: 50 (Zone of Fluctuation)]

[The domain attribute has entered a new stage, gaining the active skill "Domain Shock". It can be used once after each domain is deployed, greatly extending the range of your domain and disrupting the stability of the opponent's domain.]

Su Long nodded. He had already discovered that once all attributes reached 50 points or more, they would grant an active skill, which would continue to upgrade.

The skills granted by this domain attribute are incredibly powerful. After deploying the domain, the opponent is first hit by a stun grenade, and then a portion of the opponent's space is encroached upon.

[Constitution: 60 (Iron Body!)]

Agility: 60 (Starting at zero frames!)

[Spiritual Vision: 60 (Eagle Eyes!)]

[Spirit: 80 (A childlike heart!)]

[Charm: 60 (Charming and dashing!)]

[Domain: 50 (Zone of Volatility!)]

Su Long took one last look at his attributes before closing the system panel.

Su Long turned off the system panel and pulled himself out of his thoughts.

He turned his head and glanced at Hannah, who was leaning on his shoulder.

The girl had her eyes closed and was breathing steadily; she seemed a little sleepy.

Su Long didn't wake her; he just sat quietly.

Time passed by, second by second.

A dozen minutes later.

"Knock, knock, knock."

A knock on the door suddenly broke the deathly silence of the church hall.

The sound came from a door on the side of the lobby, a door that usually serves as a passageway for clergy to enter and exit the internal office area.

Su Long's nerves tensed instantly.

He sat up almost reflexively, his right hand reaching directly for Sirius at his waist.

Hannah was also startled awake by the sudden sound. She looked up, her eyes still somewhat confused.

The two of them turned to look at the side door.

There was a two-second silence outside the door.

Immediately afterwards, a man's voice came through the heavy oak door.

"May I come in?"

The voice was gentle and had a calm quality.

Hearing the voice, Hannah relaxed. She patted Surong's hand, indicating that he didn't need to be nervous.

"It's Bishop Evan," Hannah whispered to Suron.

Then, she stood up, straightened the hem of her clothes, and raised her voice towards the side door, saying, "Please come in."

With a soft creak, the door was pushed open from the outside.

Accompanied by steady footsteps, a man dressed in a bishop's robes walked into the empty church hall.

Su Long sat on the bench, his gaze immediately locking onto the person who had just arrived.

The man looked to be no more than thirty-five years old, with a handsome face, a strong jawline, and a resolute air about him.

He wore a perfectly tailored black bishop's robe with a distinctive white Roman collar and a purple sash with subtle patterns.

Su Long didn't have the habit of shutting down his senses. His spiritual vision immediately caught something unusual about this man.

The other person was wearing a silver necklace around their neck.

The pendant is exquisitely carved, depicting the classic scene of Archangel Michael wielding a sword to defeat the dragon.

This seemingly ordinary necklace, in the perception of the spiritual eye, resembled a small star.

It emitted an extremely intense pure white light, and the pressure contained within that light even caused a slight disturbance in Su Long's domain, which had just calmed down.

Without making a sound, Sulong removed his hand from the handle of the "Sirius" gun.

Judging from the intensity of the aura emanating from this sacred object and the extremely oppressive spiritual fluctuations emanating from the other party, this person is highly likely to be an A-level exorcist.

Su Long leaned back on the bench, secretly sizing up the other person.

In his subconscious, most of the church's high-ranking members were fat-headed, corrupt, and despicable people who relied on deceiving believers to make money, spouting righteousness and morality while secretly engaging in immoral and immoral acts.

For example, there was that fake priest, Samuel, whom I encountered at the Cedar Ridge Community Church.

But the young bishop in front of me completely shattered this stereotype.

He walked with an extremely steady gait, and beneath his well-fitting bishop's robes, one could vaguely see the lines of his taut muscles.

This is definitely not a clerical worker who just talks on the podium, but a real combatant who fights those monsters on the front lines.

When Hannah saw the person who came, she immediately stood up, clasped her hands together in front of her, and was very respectful.

"Bishop Evan," she greeted softly.

The young bishop, called Evan, approached the two.

He didn't put on airs, looking at Hannah with gentle eyes.

"Hannah, you've had a hard night shift." Evan's voice was steady, echoing slightly in the lobby.

"It's my duty," Hannah replied, bowing her head.

Evan nodded, his gaze sweeping across the church hall before returning to Hannah.

"I've only been in Seattle for a short time, and my roots here aren't deep yet." Evan's tone was very frank, and he didn't hide the church's predicament just because he was a bishop.

"Currently, there are some problems with the transfer of funds in the parish. Many accounts need to be re-examined, and some unreasonable expenditures in the past need to be investigated."

He looked at Hannah and continued, "So the authority I can exercise right now is limited—I can only give those of you who are on the front lines working the night shift an extra $1,000 per month."

"Of course, I can assure you that once I have completely streamlined things here, this allowance will continue to increase."

Hannah's eyes lit up when she heard about the $1,000 allowance.

"Thank you for your generosity, Bishop."

Evan waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing.

Then, he turned his gaze to Su Long, who had been sitting on the bench, and his eyes lingered on Su Long for a few seconds.

Su Long could sense that although the other person's gaze was gentle, it carried a scrutinizing quality.

"And who is this?" Evan asked, looking at Hannah.

Hannah immediately introduced, "Bishop, this is my friend. His name is Suron. He just happened to be passing by tonight and stopped by to see me."

Evan nodded slightly, made the sign of the cross on his chest, and then extended his right hand: "May the Lord be with you, Mr. Suron. I am Evan Thorne, one of the bishops of St. James's Cathedral."

Suron stood up, shook the other man's hand, and said in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Bishop Thorne."

After letting go, Evan was about to speak when he suddenly frowned slightly and sniffed.

"Here—" Evan's gaze swept back and forth between Suron and Hannah, a hint of doubt in his voice, "Why does it smell a little strange?"

Su Long's heart skipped a beat.

Although Hannah had just cleaned up the scene, the air circulation in the enclosed church hall was not good.

The extremely intense battle aura, mixed with the scent of Hannah's holy blood seeping out, had not completely dissipated.

To make matters worse, the air was filled with the aroma of hamburgers.

The combination of several flavors created an extremely strange and intriguing atmosphere.

Hannah, who was standing next to her, reacted very quickly.

She immediately bent down and took out the crumpled brown paper bag from the corner of the bench, which had the "13Coins" logo printed on it.

"I'm sorry, Bishop," Hannah said, her voice tinged with panic and apology. "I was so hungry during my night shift that I ate something here—"

She pushed the paper bag forward, trying to use the food as an excuse to cover up the other smells.

Evan glanced at the greasy paper bag, his brow furrowing even more.

He straightened his face, his originally gentle expression turning extremely serious.

"Hannah, food and lust are the two primal desires that most easily lead humans into the devil's trap. They corrupt the will and cause people to lose their reverence for faith."

He pointed to the dome above and the altar in front of him.

"This is a sanctuary. It is a grave taboo to indulge your appetite here. The Lord is watching our every word and deed, and any indulgence will be recorded. Never do such a thing again."

Surong stood to the side, listening to the young bishop's stern lecture, and almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Food and sex.

These two primal desires were completely satisfied by the two of them just now.

Moreover, Evan's words, "The Lord is watching us from above," made Suron look up and glance at the huge crucifix on the altar.

I can definitely see it clearly.

Hannah clearly realized this as well, keeping her head down and not daring to look Evan in the eye, much less Sulong.

"Yes, I know I was wrong, Bishop," Hannah's voice was barely audible. "I promise I will never do it again."

Seeing that she was sincere in admitting her mistake, Evan didn't press the matter further. He sighed, the sternness on his face fading somewhat, and he regained his gentle demeanor.

"Alright, let's leave it at that. Take care of yourself." Evan changed the subject abruptly, getting straight to the point, "The reason I came to see you so late is because I have something important to discuss."

Hannah looked up, her blush not yet completely gone: "What important matter?"

"About your brother," Evan said, looking at her.

Upon hearing the word "brother," Hannah froze.

Her face suddenly turned extremely pale, and her hands unconsciously clenched the hem of her nun's habit.

Suron noticed Hannah's change in mood.

Evan didn't continue immediately. He turned to look at Suron, who was standing to the side.

"Would you mind if your friend listened in?" Evan's tone was polite, but with a hint of questioning pressure. "This matter involves your personal privacy. If it's inconvenient for you, Mr. Suron, you can rest here for a while."

Hannah turned to look at Suron and nodded: "It's alright, Bishop. He's completely trustworthy. There's nothing to hide from him."

Evan looked at Hannah's determined eyes, then at Suron, and nodded.

"Alright. Since you put it that way, then let's listen together." Evan turned around and gestured towards the side door, "This isn't the place to talk. Please come with me."

After saying that, Evan took the first step and walked towards the side door.

Suron glanced at Hannah.

The girl's hands were still tightly gripping her clothes, and her eyes revealed undisguised anxiety.

Surong reached out and grasped Hannah's wrist.

He didn't speak, but simply held her hand, using his body heat to give Hannah a reassuring signal.

Hannah felt the warmth on her wrist, and her tense body relaxed slightly.

The two followed Bishop Evan through the side door and into the interior office area at the back of the church.

Passing through the side door, there is a corridor covered with a dark red carpet.

At the end of the corridor, Evan pushed open a heavy oak door, leading Suron and Hannah into the inner meeting room.

This office isn't as grand as the lobby outside.

The room was small, with dark solid wood wainscoting on the walls and two bookshelves filled with hardcover books against the wall.

In the very center sits a set of black leather sofas and a large coffee table.

The only thing that shows this place is the office of clergy is the half-person-high brass cross in the corner.

Evan walked to the water dispenser, took three disposable paper cups, filled three cups with warm water, and placed them on the coffee table.

"Have a seat." Evan gestured to the sofa and sat down in a single seat first.

Surong sat down next to Hannah on the sofa and took a sip of water from his paper cup.

Evan didn't touch the water glass; he crossed his hands on his knees and looked directly at Hannah.

"Hannah, I know that because of your brother's matter, the church leadership and you had a lot of unpleasantness." Evan's tone was very calm, without any of the airs of a bishop. "In fact, you could say that the relationship was very tense at one point."

Hannah tightened her grip on the paper cup, lowered her head, and didn't reply.

Evan continued, "At least things haven't gotten to the worst point yet."

"Moreover, I have been reviewing the case files, and based on my research over this period, the cause of the incident does not seem to lie entirely with the church."

He paused, then his tone became more candid: "Hannah, I haven't been in the Seattle parish for long, and there are still many old grievances to settle."

"Regarding your brother's case, I've only heard the side of the story from the church's higher-ups. What's written in those files often covers up a lot of the truth."

Evan leaned forward slightly: "I've come to see you today because I want to hear your perspective before we discuss your brother's serious matters. So please tell me the whole story from back then."

After he finished speaking, he turned to look at Suron, who was sitting next to Hannah.

"Your friend doesn't seem to know the inside story either?" Evan looked at Suron, his eyes filled with assessment.

"I see that you two have a close relationship—moreover, Mr. Surong also seems to be a powerful exorcist. This matter involves many things, so perhaps he could look into it."

Su Long raised an eyebrow, not denying it.

He was indeed quite interested in Hannah's brother, whom he had never met. The fact that he could cause headaches for the church's higher-ups and make Hannah so nervous meant that it couldn't possibly be an ordinary case.

Hannah took a deep breath and looked up.

Since the bishop was willing to listen to her, and Sulong was right there beside her, she had nothing to hide.

"My brother and I became orphans because of a car accident." Hannah's voice rang out in the quiet office, tinged with bitterness. "Later, we were adopted by a priest, who became a bishop two years later. From the time we were old enough to understand, we often did odd jobs in the church in exchange for food and lodging."

"The bishop was relatively kind to us, but he gave us one very stern warning."

Hannah looked at Evan: "The crypt of St. James's Cathedral is absolutely off-limits. He said it seals away an extremely terrifying monster. Any living person who gets close will have their soul devoured by it."

Su Long sat up straight.

Is a powerful and eerie entity sealed within the church's basement?

How powerful is it?

"We've always been obedient and never dared to go near that iron door leading to the basement," Hannah said, her tone gradually turning resentful. "Until that night, when Father Virgil was in charge of staying at the church."

Hannah gritted her teeth and spat out the name: "He's a complete scoundrel. On the surface, he's a clergyman, but behind the scenes, he's addicted to gambling. That night, he was so eager to win back his losses at the underground casino that he didn't want to work at all."

"He called my brother over and forced him to clean the corridor outside the basement. Not only that, he also casually tossed the key to the basement to my brother and told him to lock the door after he finished cleaning."

Upon hearing this, Evan frowned deeply.

Entrusting the key to the sealed location to a child is tantamount to dereliction of duty.

"My brother was only fourteen years old at the time, and he didn't dare to offend Father Virgil at all."

Hannah's eyes reddened slightly: "If he didn't do as he was told, Virgil would definitely find an excuse to make things difficult for him, so he had no choice but to take the key and do as he was told."

"And the result?" Su Long asked at the opportune moment.

"And then—" Hannah's voice trembled, "while he was cleaning the hallway, he was bewitched by what was behind that door. By the time I realized something was wrong and rushed over, he had already opened that iron door with his key."

Hannah closed her eyes, unwilling to recall that scene.

"In the basement, he was spotted by that strange creature, forcibly branded, and became its contractor."

""

The office fell into dead silence.

Making a contract with a powerful supernatural entity usually means gaining power, but the consequences of a forced contract with a supernatural entity, like Hannah's brother's, are usually that the contractor does not have enough power to restrain the supernatural entity, thus causing the contractor to be driven by the supernatural entity and resulting in a large number of killings.

"After the incident, Father Virgil, fearing that his dereliction of duty would be exposed, actually turned the tables and reported to the church leadership that my brother had deliberately sneaked into the basement to steal the relics."

Hannah opened her eyes, her gaze filled with hatred. "The church's inquisition immediately issued an execution order, wanting to get rid of my brother."

"I tried my best to stop them." Hannah turned to look at Suron, then at Evan.

"Because I have awakened the Holy Mark, I can use my blood and life to threaten those enforcers."

"Thanks to the old bishop's pleas, they reluctantly postponed the execution, but they still put my brother under house arrest and subjected him to extremely cruel exorcism rituals every day."

"Later, my brother, through his intelligence and under such inhuman torture, managed to get into Yale University."

Hannah's tone held a hint of pride. "Yale University has extremely strong academic barriers and official backing, which limits the church's influence there. He took advantage of his studies to completely break free from the church's control and went to the East Coast."

After hearing these words, Su Long sneered inwardly.

These charlatans in the church are really mostly bad.

The company has chaotic internal management, and when something goes wrong, it blames a child and tries to eliminate everyone.

It's truly remarkable that Hannah has managed to survive in such an environment all these years and even awaken her Stigmata.

If that priest named Virgil were still alive, Suron would absolutely not mind finding an excuse to stuff him into the crematorium and burn him to ashes.

Evan listened quietly without interrupting Hannah's story.

He only let out a long sigh after Hannah finished speaking.

"This is indeed a disgrace to the church." Evan did not cover up his predecessor's mistakes and frankly admitted the problem. "Virgil's dereliction of duty and the brutal handling of the aftermath have forced an innocent child into this abyss."

He looked at Hannah: "I'm so sorry, Hannah. You've endured so much pressure that you shouldn't have had to bear all these years."

""

Hannah shook her head: "It's all in the past. I just hope he can live safely on the East Coast."

Evan was silent for a moment, then picked up the water in front of him and took a sip.

"Hannah, since you witnessed that incident, you should still remember the specific details of the strange creature sealed in the basement, right?"

Evan put down the paper cup, his gaze sharpening. "Its rank, its name, and its status in the underworld."

Hannah's face turned deathly pale. That name, like a forbidden curse, had weighed on her heart for years.

"S-level bizarre".

"One of the seven deadly sins."

"The Greedy Demon Mammon".