Secret: The years I served as a foreign aid for the Aurora Club

Chapter 583: Ritual of an Unknown Subject

891
Emlyn's pace became faster and faster, and finally, he dragged the Mandated Punishers towards the Holy Wind Cathedral.

He had no idea what happened after he left in a hurry. After all, his assistant would definitely go to the Harvest Church in half an hour. Holding two Mandated Punishers in his hands, Emlyn stopped suddenly outside the door of the Holy Wind Cathedral and quickly asked the Mandated Punishers he had captured, "Is your archbishop waiting for me too? Where can I find him?"

The aggressive Mandated Punisher was a little dazed, but after hearing Emlyn's words, he immediately reacted: "The Archbishop is very busy! You should go to the waiting area first..."

"More than a dozen people died. Don't take such a big matter so slowly!" Emlyn raised his voice.

Although Emlyn did have to take some responsibility, he now looked more anxious than the Mandated Punishers, and succeeded in confusing the Mandated Punishers who came to question him. Seeing that they were silent, Emlyn raised his leg and was about to walk into the Holy Wind Cathedral.

Coincidentally, just as he entered the cathedral, he was approached by a man with dark blue hair and a serious look.

There was a breeze around the other person, the smell of sea water almost hit his face, and the patterns on his clothes were more intricate and gorgeous. It was obvious that he was a person of high status in the Holy Wind Cathedral.

The two paused for a few seconds. When Emlyn took over the Harvest Church, he did not get the commission from the Thunder Church. The assistant met the people from the Holy Wind Cathedral, but as the Earth Mother's favored one, Emlyn did not need to make friends. The day after receiving the information, an envelope and documents that were more gorgeous and exquisite than the previous reply were delivered to White's door. His parents could not refuse the favor of a god, so they had to contact Emlyn immediately and asked him to come over from his small workshop in the East District.

Therefore, he had not seen the person in front of him, and the person opposite him also looked at Emlyn, wondering why this guy came faster than he thought.

After a moment, Emlyn asked uncertainly:
"Bishop Raydar Valentine?"

The "Deep Blue Priest" in charge of the Holy Wind Cathedral nodded slightly and asked, "Are you Emlyn White from the Harvest Church?... It seems that you already know what happened. The main responsibility for this matter is not you, but you still have to bear part of the responsibility."

He acted more stable than Emlyn thought. The two archbishops met for the first time and were secretly sizing each other up.

Now that he had seen the real owner, Emlyn coughed, put away his impatience and recklessness, lowered his hands like a mature big man, and inadvertently smoothed the wrinkles on the tightly grasped document with his fingers, not knowing that his behavior was a bit funny in the eyes of Redar Valentine, like a child pretending to be an adult. However, Emlyn's strength was worth paying attention to after all. Redar silently refurbished his evaluation of Emlyn a few months ago in his mind, adding the words "need to pay attention" and "great growth".

Radar glanced at his team of Punishers and said, "You go back."

Then he looked at Emlyn and said sideways: "Follow me."

Emlyn immediately had a favorable impression of his capable behavior and relatively rational temper. However, when he thought about the bishop and the Punishers who ordered the attack on the Harvest Church a few months ago, which led to the death of Father Utravsky, Emlyn felt worse.

He had actually thought about similar things several times during this period. The Thunder Church and the Night Church had driven them away, labeling all wild Beyonders and Beyonders from foreign Orthodox Churches who did not have the right to preach as heretics. They were either expelled or arrested, and those who resisted fiercely might even be killed on the spot. Emlyn had to hide for a long time, and no one dared to help him except his parents.

When the Church of Mother Earth moved into Loen, Emlyn saw that the Church of Thunder had withdrawn its wanted order against him and restored Utravsky's reputation. Unfortunately, because this priest who had spent the first half of his life as a great pirate no longer had any living relatives, he was unable to send the compensation.

Emlyn was filled with indescribable complex emotions when he read the announcement that cleared Father Utravsky's name.

After that, he concentrated on being his own archbishop in the Harvest Church, spreading the Mother Goddess faith given to him by the priest, and his life was easy and comfortable. In addition, he did not have to deal with the Thunder Church, and the beast called hatred and anger in his heart slowly subsided in the peace day after day.

but now……

Looking at the profile of Raydar Valentine, Emlyn looked away, his eyes darkening for a moment.

Those past memories and hatred suddenly caught up with him again.

…Even if Father Utravsky was at the end of his strength, he was still a mid-sequence warrior. The deacon who fought with them at the time also consumed a lot of strength. Unless a strong warrior of Sequence 5 or above came after him and launched a powerful attack, it would be impossible for him to be killed so quickly.

Emlyn heard it while he was running away. Because the "Lightning Storm" prayed to the "Fool" to help them escape, someone was going to call the "Archbishop" over... So it was no surprise that they were caught up before they even ran out of the Cherwood area.

So when he died, the white lightning that almost lit up the sky was the work of this "Deep Blue High Priest"?

No…it shouldn’t be Redar Valentine. If there was a demigod following me at that time, how could I, who had just reached Sequence 5, have survived for so long under the pursuit of a demigod? After Utravsky died, the next one should be me…Emlyn has grown up a lot now, and is more aware of his naivety, extremely poor combat experience, and crude way of covering up traces.

If it wasn’t him, then which Sequence 5 Senior Deacon could it be?
Emlyn's eyes swept across the interior decoration of the Holy Wind Cathedral and the Beyonders around him, carrying a hatred that he himself was not aware of.

Raydar felt Emlyn's pace slow down. He was a little puzzled as to why the bishop, who seemed so anxious just now, suddenly became so quiet: "You're not leaving?"

Emlyn didn't say anything. He adjusted his mood, but these thoughts were like a maggot on his tarsal bone that he couldn't forget at all. When he saw Raydar Valentine's face and the holy emblem of the Thunder Church on his body, the anger and helplessness that were still fresh in his mind were like a deeply buried fire that met the air again. It burned his heart, made him dizzy, and made him feel uncomfortable.

What's going on... Emlyn felt a little agitated and responded:
"Just thought of something."

In the end, he barely maintained a businesslike attitude and walked side by side with the other party without feeling happy or sad. Both of them were somewhat wary of each other.

Arriving at an office, Raydar closed the door and stood up to ask directly:
"I won't be polite with you. The murderer has been burned to charcoal in the gas explosion. As the person who communicated the most with him in the days before his death, is he in a normal state? Do you think there are extraordinary factors in this matter?"

This straightforward attitude to solve the problem was exactly what Emlyn needed. He suppressed the wildfire of rejection and malice in his heart and described the other party's condition and performance in the past two days: "...His condition is not abnormal, but he had a physical conflict with someone the day before yesterday, and he seemed very emotional yesterday. Although I can't see the influence of extraordinary factors, I think there is a presence of it."

"I think so too." Radar said, "It should be a more advanced and covert method. I decided to focus on the psychological suggestion of the 'audience', the 'provocative instigation' of hunters and witches, and the 'desire manipulation' of demons. Because in a previous attack on the Beyonders of the Thunder Church, traces of suspected demons also appeared."

It was a "family disgrace" for a Sequence 7 Punisher to be smashed to death by an ordinary person. It was also not a glorious thing that he was beaten to death for failing to buy the old farmer's corn. Raydar would certainly not say it openly and embarrass himself in front of other churches.

"For mental hypnosis and psychological suggestion? You have a point."

"His emotions were unstable. Suicide with extreme emotions would have been in line with some evil rituals. Not to mention that he chose such an extreme method as a gas explosion, which took the lives of many people including himself. This looked even more like a sacrifice..."

"Even though he may not be aware of it..."

Radar nodded, indicating that he had similar considerations:

"Indeed. According to what you said, he should be an ordinary person who knows nothing about extraordinary powers. Although he knows something about them, he has not learned any knowledge of occultism. There may be the influence of extraordinary powers behind this incident. If this is regarded as a sacrifice including himself, the sacrificer himself is already dead. What exactly was his extreme emotion before his death and what was his purpose in doing so?"

purpose?

At this point, Emlyn suddenly thought of something:
"The two times he spoke to me and the one time he got into a dispute with someone else, both times it was about the death of his neighbor."

"According to him, his neighbors were innocent people who were accidentally killed by the Beyonders of the Thunder Church during the chaos in the East District a few days ago, along with his wife and children. So he hopes to get his salary and compensation back. I suspect that this incident may have been the reason why he sneaked into the townhouse and turned on the gas in the empty room, causing the explosion and casualties. He told me that he found the murderer who killed his neighbor."

Radar Valentine's expression didn't change at first, and he even nodded slightly at Emlyn's analysis. But when he heard about the bad news about the Thunder Church, his expression suddenly became gloomy, as if it was the prelude to a thunderstorm.

"That's no reason for him to do evil. Although he died, he destroyed several families and took several lives! Bishop White, are you trying to make excuses for what he did?"

Emlyn's anger also flared up. His chest rose and fell violently. Anger and hatred entangled and burned together. His voice also turned cold.

"You should know clearly whether I am analyzing his motives or making excuses for him. I have come here, am I here with the intention of shirking responsibility?"

"His neighbor's crime was indeed not punishable by death, and he indeed did not receive the compensation and apology he deserved. Is that not something that can be said?"

Raydar observed Emlyn's expression and said, "Your personal emotions are a bit too serious, Bishop White."

"As far as I know, these Feynapotters went to the Harvest Church for worship only in the past week. As for the believers you mentioned, one of them demonstrated against the Thunder Church and participated in activities that obstructed public service and died accidentally while enforcing the law. Another one hated us because of the other's death and finally blew up an apartment building where truly innocent people lived. The extraordinary power may have just brought this process forward."

"Bishop Emlyn White, who defended them, don't you have any selfish motives? Do you hope that the two churches can resolve this matter peacefully, or are you here to bring charges out of selfish motives?"

"you……"

Emlyn's eloquence was still immature. Facing Raydar Valentine's accusation, he was confused for a moment and couldn't find the words to refute. His already bad mood almost exploded.

But considering that this was the interior of the Holy Wind Cathedral, Emlyn silently recited the teachings of the Mother Goddess Church in his heart and forcibly resisted the urge to bare his fangs. He stared at Raydar Valentine with his bright red eyes and said coldly:

"You are seeking justice for your followers and subordinates, and I am also seeking an explanation for my followers."

"I don't think this is a conflict, but you act like you're treating an enemy. It looks like we don't need to talk about this today."

After saying that, Emlyn glared at Raydar Valentine again, turned around, opened the door, and left without looking back.

After he left, a gust of wind blew the door shut, hitting the door frame with a loud noise.

He didn’t want to see the face of the Deep Blue High Priest again, nor did he want to see the face of any Thunderbolt Church Beyonder again. He was worried that if he stayed here any longer, he would get angry and ask the other party - "Did you kill Utravsky?"

How is this going……

Emlyn's hands tightened little by little. He thought he had let go of something, but it was still rooted deep in his heart.

It is like a wounded beast, whose wounds have not healed, but it just sleeps and escapes. After being awakened, it starts to wail again because of the pain.

……

Audrey's right hand paused for a moment, then returned to normal and picked up the personality mask called "Rage".

"This is an indescribable challenge for me." She simply responded to Hermes.

Just like what the other party said, it is difficult for her to use everything she has as a bargaining chip and props, even if she has now gained divinity. She can understand what she wants to do in her heart, take risks for her ideals and patients, and even hurt herself, but she still needs a long time of psychological construction before she can treat others like this. If she really wants to do this as soon as possible, the easiest way is to get a virtual personality, a chance to "hypnotize herself".

After saying that, Audrey put on the cold gray mask on her face.

Almost instantly, she felt that there was a "virtual personality" in her mental island.

This did not come from the outside world, but was the amplification and extremism of a certain cognition of hers:
"They rely on my foundation to make ends meet. Why are they ignoring me and not saying a word?"

"My father made me a director of the foundation just to help me gain reputation before getting married. If he wanted me to do something, he would let me do it. If he didn't want me to do it, he would just let me marry to Intis. Isn't it because of my respect and love for him that he treats me like this?"

"Those workers acted on impulse rather than reason. They had limited education, were easily tempted by small benefits, and had short-sightedness. I clearly wanted to save them, but they gave up fighting for more benefits just because of the small benefits!"

"They deserve pity, but they are really hateful!"

"..."

These thoughts echoed in Audrey's mind, making her almost believe that this was the truth. After all, these were some of the feedback she had received from her previous observations and experiences, and they were not made up out of thin air.

With a glance, Audrey saw herself now from the smooth surface of the long table:

On that cold gray mask, the eyes were wide open and the mouth was wide open, as if it would roar at any time. Looking at it, one could not help but make a similar expression, giving people a feeling that was both grotesque and secretly terrifying.

Hermes smiled, and when she didn't say anything, he waved his hand, causing illusory images of different masks to rise above the table.

As a veteran "audience", Audrey first noticed the differences in their personalities:
The two eyes of "Arrogance" moved upwards and fixed on the forehead, as if only looking at the height and not caring about other things;

Greed is similar to Gluttony, with the mouth stretched to the ears but not open, and the eyes closed.
"Lust" is similar to "Arrogance", except that the eyes are different from those of ordinary people. They sink to the middle of the nose bridge, as if looking at people from below;

The eyes, ears, mouth and nose of the "jealousy" mask are all somewhat crooked, and it has a gloomy temperament;
The "sloth" mask has its eyes tightly shut and its mouth drooping naturally, giving the appearance that the wearer is sleeping.

Audrey was silent for a moment, and after several seconds she spoke in a low voice:

"Is this what 'rage' is?"

Is this something that I can understand in my heart but still can't let go of?
If she had not already gotten rid of the cognitive misunderstandings and seen her own nature through her exchanges with Mr. World, Mr. Hanged Man, Ms. Hermit and others, and had not experienced so many things, she might have been truly affected by the personality created by the "Rage" mask.

As for what the consequences will be after being affected, she is currently unable to judge.

"You've recovered much faster than I thought. It seems you haven't gotten lost in the experience of 'manipulating' others." Hermes said approvingly.

"I've never been this angry. This is a new feeling."

Audrey was silent for a moment. The education she received was always about propriety and tolerance. No matter whether it was accusations, curses, or anything else, a noble lady like her would respond with a smile as if it was nothing serious.

After a few seconds, she responded thoughtfully:
"Mr. Hvin Rambis is also a demigod. Is he also one of the councilors of the Psychological Alchemy Society?"

Hermes' eyes lit up slightly, and he asked in a guiding manner: "Yes, he is indeed here, so who do you think he corresponds to?"

"He...acted a bit arrogant," Audrey recalled.

Hermes clasped his hands on his chest and abdomen and said:
"You can really observe that."

"Only occasionally, some details." Audrey answered with two phrases.

Hermes smiled and shook his head:

"Don't be nervous. I only know Hvin Rambis. His superior is the chairman of the Psychological Alchemist Association. They are all in Loen now and will be your helpers. I occasionally hear the chairman here report to me on the situation of the councilors. He said that Hvin Rambis was more seriously affected by this personality mask than he expected, and he usually disguises himself well."

"Under this premise, arrogance will make him unable to see the road ahead, and will make him look down on Beyonders who are weaker than himself, which often brings great danger. Maybe one day, he will be tripped by a small stone and fall miserably."

Audrey asked carefully:

"These seven personality masks can amplify corresponding cognition and emotions, helping us to be aware of our own problems so that we can solve them in a targeted manner. At the same time, they can also bring certain negative effects and unconsciously change the wearer's personality?"

Hermes nodded slightly:
“In the spiritual realm, it is difficult to have pure, harmless external help. There must be enough internal strength to avoid the corresponding negative effects. If you can recognize this, it means you are on the right path.”

Audrey fell silent. After a few seconds, she nodded and said, "I will pay attention to my heart. I will not give up my ideals and beliefs."

Seeing this, Hermes clapped his hands and said with a smile:

"Well, then, I formally welcome Miss Audrey Hall to join the Dusk Hermits, and Miss Wrath to become the new judge of the Psychological Alchemy Society. Haha, we should have introduced you after everyone is present, but your mission is special, so only an old man like me can welcome you."

"Mr. Arrogant is in charge of the Backlund region of the Kingdom of Loen. He will become your subordinate, but whether to reveal his identity as a member of the Twilight Hermits is up to your own judgment."

Having said that, Hermes looked at Audrey and said:

"You may not know that we are rooted in the groups of psychologists, psychiatrists and related enthusiasts. Our strength is mainly concentrated in big cities, not small towns and villages. Therefore, each commissioner is responsible for a city and the surrounding areas."

"I will tell you these things later in the form of a telepathic email."

After skipping the unimportant introduction of the sphere of influence, Hermes turned his head and said to Audrey:
"Ms. Fury, affected by the war, Backlund's Psychological Alchemy Society has suffered considerable losses. Many members have lost contact, been killed, or forced to join the church, or surrendered to the emperor who has not yet awakened. I will give you the specific list later. You are responsible for determining the whereabouts of those members and reorganizing them."

"In this process, I suggest you not to use your real image and real name, but to create one or more identities to complete these things. Hvin Rambis did not do well in this regard. I think he is indeed a little arrogant."

Audrey nodded slightly and agreed.

Hermes smiled like a true elder:
"There is one more thing, the whereabouts of the giant psychic dragon in East Chester County of Loen Kingdom."

"I was going to gather everyone together to discuss this, but now that you're here, I'll tell you first."

"The dragon worship custom in Hedlak Village has not weakened at all in the past two years. I suspect that the psychic dragon is still influencing the place in some way. Perhaps we can use this to find its whereabouts."

After asking the question, He remembered that the newly joined Miss "Fury" did not have enough understanding of the corresponding situation, so He briefly talked about the previous exploration done by the Psychological Alchemy Society and the death of all members of the subordinate archaeological team.

Audrey had actually participated in some of the previous events, and now that she saw a suitable reason to intervene, she couldn't help but feel excited.

She didn't really want to hunt the psychic dragon, but she hoped to communicate with it and gain more knowledge and secrets of the psychic realm.

Audrey waited for a few more seconds, and seeing that Hermes had no information to add, she said:

"This is about Rune, and I have also heard about the things in this village. I will try to investigate, but I need more detailed information."

TBC
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Balam Empire.

Azik glanced at the church members gathered in the square outside the window, frowned, and turned his attention to the government affairs in front of him.

After a few seconds, he couldn't help but take another look.

What was the high priest doing... Azik watched for a long time and felt that it was different from the previous sacrifices. Finally, he decided to summon a spirit to help him go down to find out what Haitel and these believers were doing.

Prayers to the god of death are currently unanswered, but believers can still hear the sound of the river Styx.

The more spiritual people claimed to have heard unclear and incomprehensible voices coming from the river, which seemed to be calls, or some language they had never seen before. Azik checked the pronunciation and confirmed that it was indeed not any of the current languages. Of course, it was probably a disordered mumbling, or a mixture of multiple languages.

Therefore, the explanation given by Haitel and Azik is: Death is temporarily silent, but the end of life still exists. Although Balam did not experience any confusion because of this, the Church of Death inevitably became chaotic.

However, after a brief period of confusion, High Priest Haitel seemed to have heard something from the sound of the River Styx and began to prepare for the ceremony. He also pondered over writing another honorific name to communicate with the god of death. Azik paid attention to it, but did not take it too seriously.

Just when he was distracted, the spirit had returned. Azik was in spiritual communication with it and heard the message it conveyed.

"... dig a channel for the River Styx in reality... and let the god of death return on a ship made of bones?"

Azik listened and frowned.

He waved his hand to send the spirit away, still looking at the crowd in the square with an uneasy look.

"What kind of ceremony is this..."