Inner Destroyer

　These words were rather harsh. For a moment, the auditorium was filled with the whispers of the church leaders.

　"Ever since the exorcism of Anne Frank during the Federal Republic of Germany, the church has been very secretive about such cases. However, demons don't just appear out of thin air."

　Father Amos continued, without hesitation,

　"Since ancient times, a large number of demonic crimes have existed for a long time. In the past decade, data has proven that the number of demonic cases has not decreased but increased. It is clearly increasing! The injuries and disappearances caused by demonic and witchcraft incidents around the world are enough to be compared to car accidents. It's just that the church is unwilling to

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　"I intend to face it——"

　Few people notice that about one in every three to four thousand people dies in a traffic accident.

　The proportion of supernatural Slaanesh cases in this absurd world in recent years is about the same, slightly lower than car accidents, and most of them do not leave any corpses, so they are more difficult to verify.

　But then again, although car accidents do kill a lot of people in every world, it's hard to say whether people really take them seriously in real life.

　In any case, what the old exorcist said was indeed unpleasant to the ear.

　The leader of the Holy Lance Knights sighed.

　Then, another voice interrupted at this moment and spoke.

　"Father Amos, my people have been fighting for the church for over 800 years."

　Her voice was even more arrogant and cold than that of the Holy Lance Knight Commander, and it made the entire venue tremble slightly. For it was not a human voice, but a dragon's roar.

　"Don't you think our people's efforts have been fruitless?"

　Everyone knows that the Grand Duke of Romania is a descendant of the ancient dragon.

　Holding a white parasol and wearing a lavender evening dress, Duchess Ramina Dracula may appear to be just a beautiful young girl, but her dragon-like voice alone is enough to shake the earth.

　Because she is also the strongest.

　Descendant of the dragon, bride of the dragon.

　Both she and her husband, Duke Dracula, can be ranked in the top half of the list of top-tier powerful men, and both are the mainstays of the Roman Catholic Church in Eastern Europe, capable of defeating thousands of enemies.

　Strong.

　This word made the old priest couldn't help but sigh quietly in his heart.

　"Duchess, I have never doubted the contributions of the Saints' Shadows to the Church. Your blood is also the seed of the Church... But people are trapped in despair and pain, and this is far from enough."

　He tried his best to argue.

　But one mouth cannot defeat many.

　"The root cause of people's despair and suffering is probably not the devil, but the reality of poverty."

　The Minister of the Department of Doctrine, Martin Nguyen Van Nhan, who had remained silent before, finally spoke at this time.

　"Brother Gabriel, since you've spoken of people's suffering, you should also know that people often turn to demons and witchcraft because the church fails to help them on a practical level. Do you acknowledge this?"

　"I do not deny it, my Lord."

　"Did you know that the Holy See mentioned in this year's encyclical that poverty is more terrible than the devil?"

　"Yes."

　"Do you know the reason?"

　The Minister of Doctrine asked coldly.

　"Because - 'Demons only send people to hell after they die, but poverty and social injustice make people feel like they are in hell while they are alive.'"

　The old exorcist drily repeated what His Holiness the Pope had just said this year.

　"exactly."

　Minister Ruan closed the folder on the table and said seriously,

　"Data from the past two years proves that since 'Rep Master' joined the International Exorcist Association, he has single-handedly completed 70% of the association's exorcism work."

　"You, your apprentice Sister Elaine, and those circus members you brought in from all over the world are simply parasites on the church's finances."

　“I propose that the funding of the International Association of Exorcists be gradually reduced and that this funding be invested in the Church’s support for the poor and the voiceless.”

　"As for Mr. Qi Xing, we can hire him at a higher salary anyway. It's much cheaper than maintaining a useless international organization."

　If you only look at the data, this is true. After all, no matter how much Qi Xing spends, his expenses can never match the astronomical amount of funds required to operate an international organization each year. Besides, Qi Xing doesn't spend much at all.

　"Since Brother Gabriel believes that the Church's past policies are merely indicators, not fundamental solutions, we should try a method that addresses both the symptoms and the root cause. The most important way to prevent people from turning to the devil is to change their real lives. After all, if people find themselves living in hell, even the kindest people will inevitably turn to the devil."

　"but--"

　"brother."

　Another archbishop, Cardinal Ricardo, the president of the Supreme Court of the Holy See, also took the opportunity to interject.

　"For decades you've been preaching about 'building an army to resist the invasion of demons.' But it seems your army isn't very useful."

　"The circus you paid for, assembled from around the world, let a second-rate parapsychologist and a terrorist sneak into the Vatican's underground treasury as if they were visiting a friend and steal the spearhead containing the fragment of the Holy Lance. The Church doesn't allocate so much money to you every year to hire people to perform acrobatics."

　The security of the Vatican's important relic treasury and library has been entrusted to the "Association" in recent years. The theft of the Holy Lance naturally requires the responsibility of the "Association's" leader and founder, Father Amos. It's only natural.

　"I'm afraid I'll have to defend Father Amos in this matter, Lord High Judge."

　At this time, Duchess Remina grinned and joked,

　"Father Amos did promise to raise an army—but he didn't promise that the army would win!"

　噗

　These words were a bit vicious, and even many of the old cardinals with stern faces around could not help laughing out loud.

　They sat in their seats, each listing Father Amos's shortcomings.

　You don't have a law degree.

　You have not held church office.

　You even

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　Not a bishop.

　He was able to climb to the position of cardinal only thanks to the favor of the Pope himself.

　This time, the organization you set up has caused such a big mess, and it has proved how useless you are. It is even worse to just hire an expert from outside.

　For the sake of everyone, why don't you just retire on your own initiative?

　Father Amos, surrounded by a group of colleagues and criticized like a target, couldn't help feeling a little desolate.

　In fact, politics is like this, very ugly, and no matter which political system, ruling body, or bureaucratic organization... it is often like this when it becomes bigger.

　But don't get me wrong. As Qi Xing had said before, the good guys in this world are mostly "good people." They're still mostly good people, with good intentions and actions.

　However, everyone has their own goodness, and the stronger one is, the more likely they are to act for the good they define.

　The Knights of the Holy Lance and the Grand Duke of the Dragon are not human, each with their own ancient heritage. They all fight evil and do good in their own way, following their own love and justice.

　Minister Ruan, a modern man in the modern church, also has his own views: the most important way to prevent people from falling into darkness is to change their real lives, rather than just beating the demons and monsters born from evil thoughts.

　Is this a wrong view? Not necessarily. But how to actually implement it is another matter.

　Strong! Strong!

　It was an easy word to say. Everyone present was powerful to some degree; at least not a single one was weak.

　But how should one do things to be considered a truly strong person?

　Just as Archdeacon Dominic was about to speak—suddenly, everyone heard a dull low sound coming from the distance.

　Instantly, the ground trembled slightly, and a subtle resonance resonated beneath people's feet, as if the very air itself was trembling.

　A few seconds later, a roar suddenly erupted, deep and heavy, rolling across the sky like thunder, shaking people's chests and making their eardrums buzz.

　Although the source itself has not been seen, the power and aura are enough to make people shudder.

　A moment later, the back door of the chapel suddenly opened with a bang. A deacon walked in, ran quickly to the Archdeacon, and whispered a report to him.

　The report's contents immediately shocked the Vice-Pontiff: "Huh?"

　"You said that 'Rip Master' blew up Castel Sant'Angelo?!"

　030: The storm is coming

　A few hours before the questioning session.

　——Of course Qi Xing had no idea at this time that Father Amos had been dragged to a meeting by the higher-ups to get into trouble.

　After all, Father Amos didn't tell Qi Xing about this.

　After all, Qi Xing is just his friend, not his son.

　In fact, Father Amos never even thought of asking Qi Xing for help.

　This story tells us how important it is to keep in touch with friends, share our difficulties and pour out our sorrows.

　So Qi Xing didn't think too much about it during the day. He rested in the villa to recuperate, and then headed to Castel Sant'Angelo that night to research.

　Why not go during the day? This is actually a tacit understanding in the supernatural community. Demons, ghosts, and superhumans generally live a life of day and night, only coming out at night to work. Furthermore, Castel Sant'Angelo is a tourist attraction and museum during the day, but only becomes suitable for visiting professionals after closing time at night.

　Therefore, the supernatural world is also commonly referred to as the "dark world." Demons, ghosts, and other non-human creatures, while not necessarily afraid of the sun or necessarily nocturnal, nonetheless share this habit and are known as "nightborn."

　Today, when the sun was about to set, Qi Xing and Elaine arrived at Castel Sant'Angelo together.

　Castel Sant'Angelo is one of Rome's oldest structures, situated on the banks of the Tiber River near the Vatican. Long ago, the castle served as a fortress to protect Rome from the Gothic barbarians and later as a state prison. It wasn't until the 14th century that it was converted into a papal palace.

　Today, Castel Sant'Angelo has become a museum that displays the ancient pope's bedroom and tells the story of Rome's rough fate over the centuries.

　However, few people know that beneath the seemingly glamorous museum of Castel Sant'Angelo lies a top-secret Vatican library, which houses many of the most important ancient sacred relics of the Roman Catholic Church.

　The uniformed security guards at the museum entrance looked ordinary, but Qi Xing recognized them instantly. They only appeared ordinary, their stance seemingly relaxed. In reality, their postures were composed, their eye contact was impeccable, and they maintained a full awareness of their surroundings.

　Their pistols were cleverly hidden under their tactical vests, their cuffs concealed tiny steel wires or hidden blades, and some even had spare weapons hidden in their leather boots.

　And when they saw Qi Xing, they immediately screamed as if they had seen a big star: "Look, it's 'Rip Man'!"

　Sometimes Qi Xing really wanted to beat these people to death... but that was too much, especially since they themselves didn't think there was anything wrong with what they said.

　So Qi Xing just walked over with a smile and knocked each of them on the head in an instant, making them scream.

　These are the witch hunter teams of the "Association".

　Not to mention comparing themselves to peerless masters like Qi Xing, they couldn't even defeat Elaine in a one-on-one fight. But if they gathered together, used the best equipment and coordinated their tactics, and were in the right environment, they could potentially fight against top-tier masters.

　In theory, yes.

　As for why that third-rate Professor Vanstra could

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　He passed through their security as if he was visiting a friend's house and sneaked into the underground treasury of the Holy See. This was obviously done by relying on the power of silver coins and Samael's tricks.

　Who can stop the Creator of the universe from playing tricks?

　The witch hunters couldn't even see Samael, who was hiding in Qi Xing's shadow.

　"Mr. Qi, Sister Elaine."

　The security captain greeted Qi Xing,

　"What brings you here?"

　"We're going to the underground library to look up some information." Elaine, always meticulous in her work, deftly took out the permit the priest had given her. "One night should be enough. We'll leave before dawn."

　The security guards at the "Association" certainly didn't bother Qi Xing and his friends any more. They immediately registered them and let them in.

　But just before Qi Xing and the others were about to go down to the underground library, the security captain couldn't help but ask a question: "Mr. Qi, are you aware that the Chairman was summoned to a meeting for questioning today? I don't think anything will happen to the Chairman, right?"

　This question immediately made the whole situation a little awkward.

　"Questioning?" Qi Xing immediately frowned. "What's that silly old man hiding again?"

　Elaine, however, understood the internal politics of the Vatican better than Qi Xing. Instantly, she understood the reason behind the priest's words last night, and her heart sank.

　"Amos should be alright, right?" Qi Xing noticed her expression and said casually, "He's the chief exorcist, and it wasn't him who asked me to do anything. The silver coins are with me too, so the Vatican should be the one to trouble me."