Old days, dice and investigator's manual

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Finn said without turning around. "Something like this showing up here, do you think it's just dropping by?"

"If it had any intention to attack, it would have pounced on us long ago," Isaac said.

Finn frowned, seeing the vengeful spirit's entire body already crammed into the doorway, though it didn't seem particularly hostile, more like approaching on instinct: "But we can't just waste time with it, are we going to give it a hug? If we don't act now, it'll be too late!"

Isaac knew Finn was in a hurry, but his own thoughts were gradually taking shape.

Carlo's so-called check uses a certain standard to determine whether one has "encountered a vengeful spirit." The condition of carrying a relic of the Golden Bough Church lowers the threshold, meaning it is easier to trigger negative events. In other words, the relics of the Golden Bough Church not only fail to provide protection, but can actually become a trigger for vengeful spirits.

But what's the reason?

Given that this building belongs to the Amorton family, who were judged to be heretics, the vengeful spirit before us, however it may have been formed, is very likely a symbol of Lord Amorton and his wife and children who were purified in the past.

In the narrative of the Blackthorn Church, the "purification" inflicted on them back then was naturally considered well-deserved by the Amorton family. However, those past rumors did not mention what the Amorton family's faith actually was.

Now, considering the condition Carlo mentioned, the answer should be obvious:

The Amorton family were members of the Golden Bough Church.

Today, as Grand Duke Ogilvy's rule over the entire Westerlands grows stronger, the influence of the Church of the Golden Bough is also gradually expanding. The other churches that were once its enemies have had to keep a low profile and submit to the glory of the Golden Bough, including the Church of Blackthorn in Palmer.

The incident of "purifying" Lord Armorton's family was a complex issue for the Blackthorn Church. They couldn't whitewash it too much, lest it provoke the displeasure of the Golden Bough Church, nor could they admit their mistakes, lest it damage the Blackthorn Church's local prestige. That's why the Armorton Mansion became a mess, and no one was willing to get involved.

Thinking of this, Isaac said, "I have a way to deal with it; perhaps we don't need to resort to violence."

Finn was taken aback, then turned to look at him: "This is a vengeful spirit, not some drunken street thug! You think you can reason with it?"

Give me some time.

Finn gritted his teeth: "Fine, hurry up. If anything goes wrong, I won't die with you."

Isaac said no more, took a deep breath, took a step forward, and recalled the books he had once read.

Edward's study contained many books about faiths from various places, including a collection of prayers from the Golden Bough Church. Although he had never actually read them, he still had some impression of the contents.

The vengeful spirit's enormous body slowly approached him, its empty gazes fixed on him.

Isaac steadied himself and began to recite:

"Glory Goddess Vicania, you guide lost souls through the valleys with your golden branches, cleansing the wounds of the world..."

This is a requiem prayer from the Church of the Golden Bough, used in funeral rites to ask the goddess to guide the deceased to rest in peace. Isaac tried to keep his voice steady while focusing on the vengeful spirit before him.

When Isaac read the third paragraph, the vengeful spirits trembled slightly, and the expressions on their faces began to change, gradually shifting from bewilderment to pain, sorrow, and a longing for liberation.

It worked! Isaac breathed a sigh of relief and continued chanting.

When the fourth section was halfway through, the vengeful spirit's enormous body knelt down, several arms clasped together in front of its chest, fingers interlaced in a prayerful gesture, and several faces spoke at the same time, uttering indistinct and intermittent sounds. The voices of men, women, young and old mingled together, and although they were uneven, it was still possible to vaguely discern that they were reciting Vicania's prayer along with Isaac.

"...May your light shine upon this land, may your mercy comfort every wandering soul of the dead..."

"Wow..." Finn was stunned.

The vengeful spirit remained kneeling, and Isaac was unsure of his next move. He had expected his prayers to dissipate or drive it away, but in the current situation, while the spirit posed no threat, it showed no intention of leaving, as if it were waiting for something.

He stopped chanting, and the vengeful spirits stopped as well. Their faces showed an almost devout expectation, their arms were clasped together in front of their chests, and their eyes were fixed on him, but they did not move any closer.

Isaac was helpless against this vengeful spirit with such a good attitude, so he could only continue to recall the scriptures of the Golden Bough Church.

During funeral rites, after the prayers are recited, there is a step where a sacred object is bestowed upon the deceased. This usually involves placing a consecrated coin, symbolizing that the soul is guided by the goddess to the divine realm. Without this sacred object, the soul of the deceased cannot find true peace.

He certainly didn't have any consecrated coins; the only relic he possessed that could be considered related to the Golden Bough Church was the holy silver bullet in his revolver.

Isaac opened the magazine and poured out one of the six holy silver bullets. The moment the vengeful spirit saw the bullet, its entire body trembled violently, its expression a mixture of awe and longing. It slowly crawled forward two steps on its knees, its palms facing upwards, as if to receive the bullet.

A moment of hesitation crossed Isaac's mind. Holy silver had a natural killing power against these kinds of spiritual beings. Would handing the bullet over to the vengeful spirit cause it harm instead?

But seeing the expectation and trust in the vengeful spirit's eyes, he hesitated for a moment, then gently placed the bullet into the vengeful spirit's clasped hands.

The moment the bullet touched the vengeful spirit's palm, a charred mark appeared on its hand. But it did not flinch; instead, it gripped the bullet tightly in its palm. The corners of its mouths turned up, its eyes curved, and tears slid down its cheeks.

Isaac took a half step back. The vengeful spirit held the bullet, slowly lowered its head, its lips moved, and its body began to become more transparent, like smoke being blown away by the wind and gradually dissolving, until only a wisp of light dust remained to drift away and then disappear.

The corridor fell silent again, as if everything that had just happened was an illusion, except that Isaac was indeed missing a bullet.

Finn let out a long breath and sheathed his sword. "I thought I was going to die here tonight... What were you just reading?"

"The requiem of the Golden Bough Church," Isaac said.

"Wait, are you a priest of the Golden Bough?" Finn looked at Isaac suspiciously.

He wasn't unfamiliar with the rituals performed by clergy to exorcise vengeful spirits, but he hadn't expected Isaac to be in this position.

"Uh, um," Isaac replied, using a tacit answer to avoid giving a direct response.

Finn stared at Isaac for a few seconds, then suddenly looked enlightened, as if he had "guessed" something: "Hiss... I see, impressive, impressive."

Isaac: "...?"

No, what have you imagined this time?

However, now that Fein had come up with an explanation, Isaac breathed a sigh of relief, at least he didn't have to explain whether he was a follower of the Golden Bough or not.

After all, only the prayers of clergy can have this kind of inspiring effect... and so it should be.