Long-term salvation

Hearing this, Ling's heart sank. He gritted his teeth slightly and replied amidst the clearly audible sound of the helicopter rotors:

"You can ask him yourself."

"Is that so... Then die, Perseus, and that damned monster nun."

After saying this, Adler suddenly pushed the boy forward and tried to escape through the window in the room.

Time seemed to have stopped at this moment.

Ling subconsciously lunged forward, kicked the grenade away, turned around, hugged the boy and squatted down - the grenade exploded at the window, and gray-black smoke wrapped in metal fragments suddenly expanded in the corridor, knocking Ling and the boy in his arms to stagger. The reverberating explosions made their ears bleed.

Agent Perseus spat out blood, and he felt like his internal organs were screaming.

Adler fled backwards, feeling the endless power in his body, almost wanting to sing out loud - the wall was suddenly smashed open, and that monster nun actually smashed the wall with one punch, descending here like an angel of judgment!

The dust from the grenade explosion blew in from one side and was immediately torn apart by the strong wind, bringing the most real fear.

"You damn monster!" Adler screamed like a little girl, "Don't come near me!!"

"Shut up, you're the monster!"

Mika said coldly. She crushed the dagger that Adler was stabbing at her with and twisted his arm. Amidst screams of pain, the girl suddenly grabbed the CIA agent's body.

The angel slams the monster down onto his knees!

Adler's eyes widened suddenly as the reinforced alloy spine cracked. He recalled that he had been injured in the same way a long time ago... Why was it his back again?! Did these people learn this from Bane from Arkham?!

However, the darkness that spread from the edge of his vision quickly swallowed Adler's consciousness, leaving only a last vague thought:

Angel's...halo and wings?

+ + + + + + + + +

"..."

When Ling Youyou woke up, he turned around and saw "Perseus", the old man who founded this organization, sitting beside his bed with a caring and gentle smile on his face.

"You're awake, Ling."

"I……"

"It was Miss Weihua who pulled you out of the residential building. She originally wanted to carry that damn NATO dog, but the Poles reacted quickly, so she had to give up... She and the boy are both fine."

"Really?" Ling took a few deep breaths and said helplessly, "I shouldn't have let my emotions get the better of me. If it were me in the past, I would definitely have prioritized killing those CIA agents."

"It seems that we have been deeply influenced by the savior - this is a good thing." The old man patted Ling's shoulder, his expression becoming softer. "Don't forget, we are warriors who save the world now. Be smart, young man, and don't lose face!"

A smile appeared on Ling's face.

"Alright, get some rest," Perseus stood up. "When you wake up, I can tell you about Rhodes's time in the monastery... Oh, and guess who he took to the Vatican?"

"?"

"Hahaha, I'm really looking forward to the expressions on those old Catholic men's faces!"

Chapter 407: The Abyss of Hell: The Monastery

The leaden sky hung low, the clouds slowly rolling like dough being kneaded by invisible fingers, a sickly gray-blue hue visible at the edges. At this moment, the world seemed to be swelling, as if about to give birth to a torrential downpour; even the air felt thick and heavy.

No rain has fallen yet, but a cold wind is blowing.

Dusk has arrived and evil spirits are everywhere.

An old bus lurched to a stop, and passengers filed out, standing by the roadside, gazing at the monastery nestled in the desolate wilderness. Besides the two leading figures, the most eye-catching were the twelve priests in hooded windbreakers, carrying the same wide, long backpacks, like coffins.

"The tides of the otherworld are rising here, and the veil of reality has been weakened... This is not good news."

Rhodes, who was wearing a suit, straightened his tie and turned to Father Anderson beside him and said:

"Don't alert the enemy, Father. I don't want you to rush into the monastery with your musket and kill everyone."

"You mean... we still need to investigate?" Father Anderson whispered. He stood half a step behind Rhodes, his attitude respectful but not flattering. "I thought I could just come here and deal with those demons."

"What if demons continue to possess innocent people in the building? What if this isn't a case of demonic possession at all, but simply a disaster from the otherworld? The latter scenario would be more complicated and require greater caution."

Rhode spoke calmly, raising his voice slightly so the Covenant Knights behind him could hear him. After gazing at the monastery dotted in the fields not far away, Rhode took a step forward and said as he walked:

"In many cases, the events you encounter aren't caused by religious demonic possession or cult contamination. Furthermore, the intensity of disasters in the other world is often strongly correlated with the death toll. Therefore, we must exercise caution in using violence before clarifying the situation. Furthermore, we need to try to rescue the innocent first. If we fail, there's no need to blame ourselves; it's not a sin. Simply do your best."

As he spoke, Rhode's gaze swept across the barren soil at his feet. Not only through his all-seeing eye mask, but even he himself could sense the strangeness of the surrounding land. An ancient evil was spreading and growing within it, but just standing there, he couldn't discern what strange creatures were within the monastery.

Therefore, it is still necessary to go into the monastery, walk among the sinners, discern the truth, and exercise judgment - killing also depends on the situation, especially when facing a strange cult.

Otherwise, even killing those cult members might cause the situation to get out of control and completely fulfill their wishes.

"I'll keep your teachings in mind."

Father Anderson noticed Rhodes's gaze, but he just glanced at it casually and said no more - the darkness here was so thick that it almost turned into substance, and even the dullest person could detect the abnormality - compared to his colleagues who were holding the Bible in their hands or buried in the sea of ​​documents and books, the priest trusted more in the power brought by his faith and the gun and sword in his hand.

"Don't be so serious, Father," Rhodes smiled and put his arm around the reserved Father Anderson's shoulders. The latter's face suddenly showed an expression of ascension, as if he was about to ascend to heaven. "We have been together for quite a while. There is no need to be so distant. Can't we be friends?"

"This... this is too presumptuous."

"You're too rigid, Father. Just tell me whatever you want to say." Rhode laughed, dispelling the tension and restraint of the young knights behind him. "Can I really blow your head off with one punch or knock you into a Dreadnought?"

A Dreadnought? Is this some special unit under the Son's command?

Father Anderson didn't think so much. Apart from his extraordinary fighting ability and extreme hatred for the enemies of mankind and heretics, he was just a poor priest. Obviously, he didn't have any spare money or the energy to engage in a hobby like board game chess pieces - these things were not cheap!

But since the Holy Son has said so... Father Anderson pondered for a few seconds and asked in a low voice:

"What are you going to do with those angels and demons after this?"

"...If you dare to think that again, I will punish you!"

"No, no, no, I absolutely did not say that. It's just... my Lord... if you had children with them, how would we Christians cope?"

Father Anderson stammered, his hands hanging down, his face filled with the worry of a middle-aged father. The priest couldn't imagine what it would be like if the demon god Baal and the child of the Son of God one day approached him with their hands outstretched, smiling... just like the children in the orphanage he ran, calling him "Father Anderson, hug!" or something like that. How the hell could he even imagine that?!

What is more desperate than the past and the present is the future.

Father Anderson thought so.

Of course, if you can hug the Son of God and the children of angels, that is another matter... It is simply a great honor!

Even the Covenant Knights following behind couldn't help but get a little agitated. They looked at each other, and then began to discuss the matter in a low voice on the communication channel.

"I say... forget it."

After hearing what Father Anderson said, Rhodes' eyes twitched slightly. He covered his face with his hands helplessly and sighed deeply. He ignored Father Anderson who was lost in thought and continued to walk towards the monastery.

Perhaps due to the topic just discussed, the thirteen people, excluding Rhode, walked with a lighter step and wore more smiles on their faces. While the first group of Covenant Knights bore the guilt of the Holy Trinity Organization, the second group of young people undergoing selection did not have such a burden and were more lively on a daily basis.

"I really hope that when I go to the Vatican in a few days, those old men in pointy hats won't ask me all those weird questions."

Muttering softly, Rhode gathered his chaotic thoughts and slowly approached the monastery. He looked up at the ancient building that had stood on the plains of Eastern Europe for eight hundred years. The building itself was slowly dying, yet it was bound by the power of darkness, like a struggling hangman.

In the remaining Baroque relief above the main entrance, the angel's face has long been etched into blurred patches by wind and rain, making it impossible to tell which angel is depicted. In the cracks in the walls of the towers on both sides, you can still see the countless cast iron crosses inserted into them.

Thus, rusty water condensed from the humid air meandered down the wall bricks, forming ochre-red gullies on the muddy ground, like the corrupted blood oozing from the festering wounds of the monastery.

This extremely disrespectful scene made the faces of the priests and knights gloomy, but they still restrained their anger and watched Rhodes step forward and knock on the door of the monastery.

The sound of the copper ring knocking on the wooden door was low and dull, but it was soon drowned out by the creaking sound of the door hinges turning.

A man in dark brown monk's robes opened the door. He was a little confused when he first saw Rhodes, but when he saw the ferocious-looking Father Anderson and the knights behind him, his doubts immediately turned into fear and surprise.

"Who the hell are you?"

"We've received your exorcism application from the Vatican," Rhodes said, shrugging. He reached out and pulled Father Anderson over with a smile. "This is the leading priest, Father Anderson. The others are just young trainee priests observing... I'm just an insignificant figure. You can think of me as a guide, someone to point the way."

Little people? Observation?

The abbot of the monastery, named Andre, leaned forward a little. He cast a suspicious glance at the young Pillar Men, who exuded a cold aura and seemed to be emitting waves of onomatopoeia "gogogogogogogogogo". He swallowed and said:

"We...we are just a nursing home, and we are just doing our best to exorcise demons."

"The Vatican needs to keep records because the success of the exorcism depends entirely on God's will. Now please move aside, Abbot Andre. Are you going to shut me out?"

Rhodes said calmly, without any threat in his words, but Father Anderson behind him showed a ferocious smile.

“…Please, please come in.”

Chapter 408: Exorcism Ritual (3.5K)

The news of the appearance of fourteen outsiders quickly spread throughout the monastery, causing doubt, hesitation and uneasy whispers to shuttle back and forth among the nearly forty monks, and a hint of ruthlessness rose in the depths of their eyes.

Fortunately, the outsiders seemed to be well-behaved, not saying anything out of turn or wandering around. Aside from the two leading figures, the rest of the group, six in number, stayed in their assigned rooms.

"The exorcism ceremony was originally scheduled for six in the morning... That's when the demon is at its weakest," said Dean Andre, as he showed Rhodes and Father Anderson around the monastery. "But now that you've arrived, I'm sure with the help of more official priests, we can proceed with the ceremony faster."

"..."

Rhodes raised his head and glanced across the ceiling of the monastery corridor, only to see surging shadows.

"So, how about we perform the ceremony right after dinner tonight?"

Dean Andre said this, casting a cautious glance at Father Anderson beside him. Father Anderson returned his gaze with the look he gave to a dead man—a look that was intensely passionate but then turned cold, a look that was insane but then turned calm. Such a terrifying look made Dean Andre swallow hard. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a trembling hand and stammered, repeating:

"W-What do you think? Dinner starts in half an hour."

"Ah? Oh, of course, this is all your land after all, Dean. But, may I ask how many people will be participating?"

Rhode said casually, running his hand along the monastery wall, carefully examining the dust on his fingertips, then half-crouching to observe the dark red candles lining the corridor walls. These candles were either extinguished or lit, thus assuming the function of lighting.

"Of course! Um... I mean, the vast majority of monks will participate."

This action caught the eyes of Dean Andre, who sneered and left quickly, then grabbed a monk and whispered a few words in his ear.

Retracting his gaze from the departing figures, Father Anderson exhaled slowly. His hands trembled a few times, and the knuckles of his fingers wrapped in white gloves made crisp sounds, as if some rusty gears were biting each other, eager to crush flesh and blood.

"These damned heretics... these apostates!" Father Anderson's teeth clashed, and he roared like a lion. "That's right, that's right! Every one of them is drenched in evil. This isn't a sin committed in the heat of the moment, but rather the wickedness accumulated over the years!"

"Calm down, Father. There are many people in the monastery. We can't let these guys get desperate and cause trouble. What's more important is to find the location of the rift in the other world."

Reaching out and pressing the priest's shoulder, Rhodes said seriously:

"Now, have the knights prepare themselves. When the time comes, put on your gear and head directly to the ceremony site. I intend to take them to observe any possible possessed beings, or perhaps to witness the ugliness of these clowns as a warning to themselves. As for you, Father Anderson, I need you to investigate the location of the rift in the other world and rescue any other survivors... although I have no hope of that happening."

Rhode said this as he continued down the corridor, reigniting every extinguished candle he passed. However, the shadows cast by the flickering flames merged with the surrounding darkness, seemingly swallowing up the walkers completely. Only a few words remained, echoing in the cold corridor:

"Also, tell them not to attend dinner and just eat in their rooms. Remember what you told me? Many women have gone missing in this area, and there's a monastic tradition of eating raw flesh here... Cannibalism is an unforgivable sin."

Upon hearing this, Father Anderson's eyes widened, his body trembling slightly with rage. But in the end, he regained control of his emotions and turned to walk towards the room where the knights were.

In fact, the moment Rhodes saw Dean Andre, the all-seeing eye mask had already marked out the scum's information, such as "Satan worship", "cult leader", "cannibal" and so on.

At the same time, some fragmented memories that emerged in Rhodes' mind also told him that this group of people were still waiting for a baby who was branded decades ago - the latter should have grown up now, and perhaps one day in the future he would be abducted by these evil cult monks to perform a ritual to summon the devil.

However, the sudden arrival of Rhodes and his companions had obviously disrupted their plan, forcing them to quickly send the outsiders away while keeping their own little secret... At this moment, the monks from the monastery who kept appearing to stop Rhodes from wandering around were the best proof of this.

Rhodes did not force it. He just wrote down the general terrain of the monastery and turned back. There were no valuable clues in the monastery building on the ground, so... it was indeed underground.

After dinner, a portly monk named Peter came over to tell Rhode and his group, "The exorcism ceremony is ready and will begin immediately." Before leaving, he cautiously glanced at the Covenant Knights who were about to open their backpacks, and was immediately driven away by Father Anderson's murderous gaze.

After a few minutes, the knights dressed neatly and followed Rhodes to the ceremony venue.

There were monks following them along the way, but before they could even scream, they had already been knocked unconscious and tied up by the knights, ready to be slowly processed after the incident was over - Aperture Technology and Atlas Corporation were in great need of materials for human experiments, especially those related to this cult.

So, when Abbot Andre of the monastery put on his red robe and prepared to use a little trick to trick these idiots from the Vatican away... he, everyone present, and all the heretics who betrayed Christ saw a scene that they would never forget:

The Covenant Knights, wearing mechanical exoskeletons, were marching into the hall in neat rows, holding shields, carrying guns on their backs, and with long swords at their waists.

The silver-haired young man who called himself "the little man" walked in front of everyone, his azure eyes exuding unparalleled majesty - no one dared to look him in the eye, and some even shrank subconsciously when they were stared at by those eyes, as if they were holding a purse full of thirty silver coins in their hands!

“Those who are with the Lamb, the called, the chosen, the faithful, will prevail (Revelation 17:14),” the knights chanted in unison, drawing their swords and pressing the tips to the ground. “In the name of God, in the name of Christ, we are invincible!”

The rows of candles in the hall were swaying because of the arrival of the knights, reflecting dazzling light on the bright sword blades, as if dispelling the darkness lingering in this place in an instant.

What is this? A new age crusade?!

The monks in the monastery felt suffocated. Some of them had already collapsed to the ground, but more of them were still standing there, tightening their facial muscles, as if they had received someone's assurance.

Silence spread in the air, penetrated into the lungs of those with ulterior motives, and pulled out the fear in their hearts.

"Let the exorcism ceremony begin now," Rhodes said calmly. He stood among the twelve knights, as if enveloped in iron wings. "Dean Andre, I will observe carefully and provide assistance as appropriate."

"... Bring up the possessed woman, and let us take this poor lamb out of this sea of ​​suffering."