Secret: The undead do not die in the fire

Chapter 320 Surrender

Sunday, early morning.

Senator Macht took his wife and daughter and went to St. Samuel's Church in a carriage early in the morning.

When he entered the large prayer hall, the spacious hall was already full of believers who came to attend the Mass. Congressman Macht was no longer surprised by this scene. He walked quietly in the aisle separating the left and right seats and saw Mr. Dawn Dantes sitting slightly to the back.

Congressman Macht smiled at Dwayne Dantes, then found an empty seat in the middle area and sat down with his wife and daughter.

On the one hand, this is Saint Samuel's Church, the headquarters of the Church of Night in Backlund. The believers of Night naturally want to be closer to Saint Samuel's Church, which leads to almost all residents in the North District being believers of the Church of Night.

On the other hand, the Church of Night does not have many festivals. The most important one is the Winter Festival, followed by the High Mass at the full moon, also called the Moon Mass, and then the normal mass and prayers every Sunday - Sunday and night are both symbols of the Goddess of Night.

Therefore, every Sunday, a large number of believers would go to church to attend mass. This was not just a special case for St. Samuel's Church. It was the same for the entire Backlund and even the entire Loen Kingdom. Almost every church had an endless stream of believers going there to pray.

Of course, because many believers are not wealthy and may not be able to rest on Sundays, and ordinary daytimes are extremely busy, the churches of all major churches will remain open until the early morning, and even night churches will organize high masses in the evening to give most believers the opportunity to pray and confess.

In front of the altar, Bishop Elektra, who was in charge of this mass, held the Book of Revelation of the Night and began to give a simple sermon:

“They were naked, without clothes or food, and without shelter in the cold.”

“They were drenched by the heavy rain, and because there was no shelter, they clung to the rock.”

"They are mothers whose children have been taken away from them, they are orphans who have lost hope, they are poor people who have been forced to leave the right path."

"The night did not give up on them and gave them favor."

The believers all closed their eyes and prayed, clasped their hands together and placed them in front of their mouths and noses, praying earnestly, devoutly and attentively.

The echoes overlapped, and the sounds were audible. Their eyes were dark, but their souls seemed to be cleansed.

Only Hazel Macht, who was sitting next to her parents, was extremely anxious and could not calm down and pray at all. Compared with those devout believers, although Hazel also closed her eyes, Bishop Elektra, who was standing on the altar, could see her abnormality at a glance.

When this session came to an end, the priests took water and bread and distributed them to Mori Macht and others.

Although the food distributed by the Church of Night was "simple" compared to their usual breakfast, no devout believer would complain about it and they enjoyed it.

After the mass, men and women reached into their inner pockets and took out their wallets.

They lined up spontaneously and walked all the way to the altar. Under the kind and compassionate expression of Bishop Elektra, they walked diagonally to the donation box, tapped four times clockwise on their chests to draw a scarlet moon, and then cast donations of different amounts one after another.

At the same time, a priest opened the door of the confessional next door so that believers in need could go to the confessional after completing their donations.

Congressman Macht and his family were also in line, and when it was their turn, the Macht couple each put a gold pound into the donation box.

The Church of the Night does not have any mandatory requirements for believers to donate. After listening to the sermon, believers can go to the donation box to express their feelings, or just get up and leave. All choices are the believers' choice. Bishops and pastors will not turn their eyes on believers because of the different donation amounts or because they do not donate.

Of course, in general believers will take the initiative to donate, but the amount is different.

The common people were not well-off and usually only donated a few pennies each time.

The middle class, if their financial situation is slightly better, will donate three to five soles each time.

The truly wealthy and aristocratic people calculated their money in gold pounds, but most of the time it would not exceed 100 pounds.

Although Congressman Macht's family belonged to this group, they could not afford a donation of 100 pounds a week, as this would mean they would need to spend pounds a year.

The amount of 1 pound each time is just right, neither too much nor too little.

Because this meant a fixed annual contribution of £52, which was enough to pay the annual salary of three maids.

Moreover, Congressman Macht's family consists of three people, and the total donations from the three of them are enough to rent a nice villa in the North District.

But something unexpected happened.

When the Machts finished their donation and it was Hazel's turn, the girl, with her lips tightly pursed, took out 100 pounds from her wallet and put it into the donation box all at once.

Morry Macht and his wife, Mrs. Liana, looked at their daughter in surprise. It was not because the amount she donated was too large. It was her own pocket money that she had saved. It was her freedom to decide how to use the money. They would not ask the reason.

What really surprised them was why their daughter did this?

After completing the donation, Hazel did not leave immediately. Instead, she looked up at Bishop Elektra and whispered:
"Your Excellency, I need to confess."

Congressman Macht's expression became somewhat serious, and he obviously realized that something might have happened to his daughter.

Bishop Elektra remained calm and said with a smile:
"You can go to the confessional and ask the bishop inside for help, or you can wait a moment and I can listen to what you have to say."

Hazel whispered a thank you and without wasting any time, she stood up and walked to the side to wait quietly.

Madam Liana subconsciously wanted to step forward and understand Hazel's troubles. As a mother, she had the responsibility and obligation to solve these troubles for her daughter. But before she could act, Senator Macht grabbed her arm. He said nothing, but shook his head gently at his wife.

Mrs. Liana, MP Macht did not stop, but just glanced at her daughter and left the church with her wife.

Hazel looked at her parents in the distance and couldn't help but feel relieved. She was worried about how to face her parents and how to explain to them. What happened to her was too bizarre and would cause them a lot of trouble.

I waited for a few minutes until all the worshippers left the church.

Another bishop came to Bishop Elektra to take over and prepare to hold mass for the second group of believers to arrive.

Bishop Elektra, who had completed the horizontal cross, walked straight to Hazel and said softly:

"follow me."

Hazel nodded silently and followed Bishop Elektra quietly.

Bishop Elektra glanced at the girl beside him. He didn't think Hazel would suddenly do something that required her to repent, and given the identities of her parents, Bishop Elektra felt that he needed to take her parents' image into consideration a little.

Therefore, instead of going directly to the confessional, he took her out of the large prayer hall through the side passage and went around to the library not far from the spiral staircase.

There were large bookshelves filled with various classics related to the Church of the Goddess of Night, and tables and chairs on both sides for priests and bishops to study and preach to believers.

Bishop Elektra chose a table and sat down. The girl, who was worried, pursed her lips and sat opposite Bishop Elektra with some trepidation.

Bishop Elektra said with a calming smile and a mellow voice:

"What do you want to say? The goddess looks after every one of her believers."

"I……"

Hazel opened her mouth, but suddenly found it difficult to speak. Bishop Elektra did not urge her, but smiled and comforted her:
"It's okay, just treat it as a chat between friends. Um, did you have a nightmare?"

He had just seen this girl in Congressman Macht's villa last night. At that time, she was still as arrogant as usual, and looked down on those of her peers, thinking that they were too young, too shallow, and not capable enough.

But just one day had passed, and this proud girl had changed into someone else. She became like a frightened rabbit, alert and fearful of everything around her, as if something was following her and could hurt her at any time.

Based on reasonable speculation, Bishop Elektra believed that Hazel was most likely to have had a nightmare last night - of course, it might not be a pure nightmare, but the influence of some extraordinary power.

Hazel hesitated for a long time, and said nervously:

"I am guilty. I am an extraordinary person."

Bishop Elektra smiled and nodded, motioning for Hazel to continue.

Hazel felt a little relieved and said softly:
"It was a demigod who guided me to become an extraordinary person and enter the mysterious world."

Bishop Elektra's smile faded slightly, and he became a little serious.

He often visited Hazel's home, so of course he could not fail to notice that this girl was already a Beyonder. But he just thought that she or her parents secretly collected potion formulas and Beyonder materials, which was not uncommon in Loen's upper class.

So generally speaking, the church turns a blind eye to this situation.

Bishop Elektra visits Senator Macht's family regularly to ensure their safety, and also to ensure that there is no risk of the Beyonders hired by Hazel and Senator Macht getting out of control.

As long as the sequence is not high and there is no risk of getting out of control, the church will only register it and will not deal with it immediately.

But if Hazel's promotion was related to a demigod, that would be a different matter. The damage a low-sequence Beyonder could cause was completely different from that of a demigod!

Senator Macht asked:

"Do you know which path that demigod is from?"

Seeing Bishop Elektra's serious expression, Hazel couldn't help but feel a little nervous:

"I don't know. I've only seen her in my dreams and never in real life."

Bishop Elektra was not surprised by this answer and asked:

"Which route did you take?"

"Thief, I am now a Sequence 8 fraudster." Hazel did not dare to hide it. Since she had decided to confess, she had to be honest to the end, otherwise the things she concealed would only become hidden dangers.

"Thief's Path? Parasite?"

Bishop Elektra looked at Hazel deeply, and a reassuring smile reappeared on his face, and he said gently:

"Ms. Hazel, you may continue."

Perhaps because she finally spoke out the secret that was buried deep in her heart, Hazel felt much more relaxed. She sorted out her feelings and said after a few seconds:

"That demigod guided me to become a Beyonder, and then gave me a mission to dig a passage in a nearby sewer. Well, she didn't tell me what was inside, but only said that there was a powerful magical item inside."

"This process lasted for a long time until last night, when I went to the sewer to dig again. But just as I was about to take action, the man I met last night... Viscount Black suddenly appeared. He stopped me from taking action and asked me to come to the Church of Evernight today to confess everything that happened to me to the bishop."

"Lord Black?"

When Bishop Elektra heard the name, she looked at Hazel in surprise, but her expression was much more relaxed. If it was really the Lord of the Favor who did it himself, it would rule out the possibility that the parasite was parasitic on Hazel.

Bishop Elektra hesitated for two seconds, not knowing how to deal with the situation.

Theoretically speaking, since Hazel was involved with a demigod suspected of being a "parasite", she must be dealt with seriously. But she happened to be related to His Excellency the Favored One, and it was at His Excellency the Favored One's request that she surrendered to the Church of Night, so it would not be good if the punishment was too harsh.

Seeing that Bishop Elektra remained silent for a long time, Hazel felt uneasy again and could not help asking:

"Your Excellency, he, Viscount Black, told me that as long as I confess to you, you will let me join the Nighthawks and teach me what role-playing is. Is this true?"

Bishop Elektra looked up at Hazel, having already made up his mind, and smiled:

"Of course, but we must first ensure that this incident will not leave any hidden dangers."

He paused and then said:

"You may not know that the demigods of the 'Thief' path are called 'Parasites'. The demigods of this path can hide themselves by parasitizing other people's bodies. They often claim that they have lost their bodies and can only coexist with your spirit. They can only rely on you and cannot hurt you. Then they give you knowledge, formulas and various benefits, hoping that you will become stronger and help them rebuild their bodies or take revenge."

"In reality, the Beyonders that are parasitized will only become their nutrients, thereby prolonging their lives and states."

The more Hazel listened, the more frightened she became. So the demigod who taught her was the parasite?
The purpose of her training herself is to be a parasite?
Hazel's voice trembled a little:

"I, I've been parasitized?"

Bishop Elektra consoled him:

"It's highly unlikely."

Although it was a consolation, Bishop Elektra felt that the possibility was great.

After all, if Hazel was really parasitized, how could she come to the Church of Evernight to surrender? Wouldn't that be a trap? Moreover, since the Favored One personally took action and gave clear instructions, it meant that the demigod had most likely been killed.

Hazel was asked to come to the church just to ask them to help with the final work.

Of course, necessary confirmation still needs to be done.

Bishop Elektra suddenly stood up and said soothingly:

"I'm sorry, Miss Hazel, please go with them for a checkup to make sure the parasite is not inside your body."

"them?"

Hazel turned around subconsciously and saw a young man with black hair, green eyes and outstanding looks standing there. She didn't know when he appeared.

And she had also met the other person, also at the dinner last night.

She remembered the other person's name was Leonard Mitchell.

(End of this chapter)