novelraw Chapter 112: The Church's Intervention
Chapter 112: The Church's Intervention
"Explain this to me. What do you mean the bishop went to kill someone? A bishop, killing someone?" Angus, who had just landed, was utterly baffled by these words.
Half an hour earlier, just after Eugene had left with his men, Father Angus Bennett arrived in the city accompanied by members of the Vatican Tribunal of the Holy Office.
The Angel, the Saint, and the briefly revived Lincoln had all spoken of the crisis descending upon this world once more. This allowed the Vatican and Golden Hair to reach an immediate agreement, approving Angus's plan to re-establish the Church's order.
The core of this plan was to execute a comprehensive reinforcement of all of America through Carolyn's role as the proxy of the Precept.
They clearly understood that if a true Supernatural Crisis descended upon this world, the military and modern weapons would be entirely incapable of protecting them.
After all, whether it was the "Vaporization" of the Demon Remus, the powerful strength of the Blood Ancestor Vlad III, or the terrifying might of those Divine Agents, all of it rendered their highly vaunted military forces seemingly useless.
Therefore, the only remaining power capable of protecting them was Transcendence.
For the sake of their own safety, they agreed to this plan, with Miami chosen as their first pilot city.
Angus came here personally to assess whether the Clergy were qualified, so that when Carolyn arrived in the future, she would have suitable subjects to impart the Precept.
If this endeavor proved successful and got on the right track, he intended to hand this responsibility over to the man he declared a "Saint"—George Stacey.After all, no matter who judged the Clergy, they might be suspected of harboring selfish motives. But not George, for he was a Saint validated by the Archangel Michael, a truly selfless man.
To question him would be to question the judgment of that Omnipotent Archangel, the Angel of Battle, the King of Holy Wars, the most powerful Archangel of all!
Through the descriptions of Jeff and the others, they had also heard of Michael's terrifying might. The Demon Baphomet was already considered an Infernal Overlord, and some legends even referred to him as Satan.
Yet even so, Michael dared to tear open the rift between heaven and earth, charging straight into Hell to carry out his judgment!
Unfortunately, they had no news from Hell and did not know the outcome of that battle.
Angus's intentions were clear. As long as he set things in motion, George could use this opportunity to completely purge the Catholic Church across America, establishing a solid foundation for the Church in this nation.
But Angus never imagined that the very first city they chose would start off so unfavorably!
The Archdiocese of Miami was one of the most important archdioceses of the Catholic Church in all of America. Its status was comparable to Luo City and New York, and each was overseen by a cardinal who handled specific affairs.
To ensure the local cardinal didn't misread the situation, Pope Mario deliberately promoted Angus to Special Cardinal, bestowing the Red Robes upon him. He also transferred the resident cardinal away in advance, guaranteeing that Angus would wield supreme authority the moment he touched down.
"Cardinal Bennett, you might not have a very clear picture of the crisis in our land!" The Deacon of St. Mary's Cathedral in Miami stood before him and explained, "The people here are brutal. If we do not respond to them with equal brutality, we simply cannot survive here!"
The Deacon spoke with utmost sincerity, even going out of his way to clarify, "At least five people attack the Church every day, and hundreds of shootings happen around the premises every year. This is something we must do!"
Hearing this, the members of the Vatican Tribunal of the Holy Office actually nodded subconsciously, finding reason in his words.
Only Angus remained entirely unmoved. This rigid, earnest Priest was not a man to be dismissed with a casual excuse.
A white light flashed from the Cross on his chest, illuminating the Deacon. "What you say does make a lot of sense, but you are telling Lies, Deacon!"
A liar, naturally, had to be punished—let alone one who dared to lie right to his face!
Angus had learned the application of the Stigmata from Leon. Though he could not brand himself with the Stigmata, channeling its power through the Holy Light was entirely feasible.
His hands danced rapidly through the air, and a special Prayer was slowly chanted from his lips:
"O Eternal Lord!
"May Your light, refined like pure silver seven times over,
"Pierce through the dark domains of my heart;
"Search my depths for any treacherous schemes to harm others!
"Test my steps to see if I walk a crooked path!
"I pray You use the staff of truth to divide the righteous from the wicked,
"Letting the innocent stand like lilies in the morning light,
"And exposing the vile like poisonous weeds to the scorching sun!
"O Holy Spirit Fire,
"Incinerate the web of lies,
"And establish Your righteousness as an eternal monument!
"Amen!" The Iris Stigmata slowly materialized in mid-air, unfurling its pristine white brilliance. This profound sight moved many within the Church to slowly fall to their knees and begin their prayers.
This display, practically a "Divine Miracle," was the greatest deterrent Angus could manifest, and it represented the absolute pinnacle of the power he could currently wield.
The moment the light cascaded down, terror pounded in the hearts of many, instilling an overwhelming urge to flee!
Like a horde of Dark Creatures, they could neither look directly into the radiance nor dare to face the Holy Light.
"Ah!" Starting with the Deacon, many of the Church's personnel were blanketed by the radiance of the Iris before they even had a chance to move. They clutched their heads and wailed in agony right in front of Angus and his retinue.
Some did not even have the time to scream before they collapsed, clutching their skulls as they began to silently writhe and thrash in torment.
The Holy Spirit Fire was far from the painless Flame of Retribution. Rather, it was a terrifying blaze that amplified suffering to its absolute peak. With every passing second, it inflicted Incineration upon their very nerves, forcing them to constantly endure an almost indescribably excruciating agony!
Back then, Gabriel's flames were meant to send those people to Hell as quickly as possible, so the fire carried no pain, only divine punishment.
But Angus's purpose was different. His intention was to make those guilty of minor Sins repent so they could continue serving the Church—much like the ones currently wailing in pain.
As for the grievous sinners—who accounted for fully half of the Church's population, including these Clergymen, Priests, Bishops, Deacons, and Monks—they would be subjected to a prolonged period of torment under the Incineration of the Holy Spirit Fire.
"Take the rest back to the Religious Tribunal! They are no longer fit to be Servants of the Lord, leading the Lambs!" Angus's words pronounced their final judgment.
The Deacon who had answered the question just moments ago was prominently among their ranks.
The sheer Corruption and Depravity within this Church was Shocking to Behold for Angus. Half of the congregation was outright unfit to serve as core members, and among the remaining half, the number of truly pure individuals was pitifully scarce. This grim reality left him in low spirits.
However, he did not let this deter him. After ordering the members of the Religious Tribunal to begin their work, he picked up his Bible and followed the direction the Deacon had just indicated, marching straight toward Bishop Eugene's location.
On his chest, the Cross flickered faintly with white light. He could sense that "evil" was festering in that direction!
...
This entire spectacle, of course, fell right into Bai Yang's line of sight. "Not bad. The Wish Power within the Cross is already merging with the ambient Wish Power outside. I can even see it intertwining with the divine fire!"
Beside him, Alvin cradled that cluster of flames and nodded gently. "Yes, Crown. The Wish Power residing within these special items is being guided by the divine fire, transitioning them into true Holy Relics of the Church!"
"You may have forged a batch of Faith Energy Artifacts. If Jehovah were to truly be born, these would become his Companion Artifacts!"
Bai Yang was in full agreement. No object existed in pure isolation; everything was fundamentally interconnected.
As he steadily completed the prerequisites to solidify the Godhood, all the elements he had utilized to reinforce this fabricated history and this Deity would inevitably be influenced by the Wish Power throughout the transformation.
Without Transcendence, Wish Power would merely be Wish Power—entirely devoid of any practical use.
But now that Transcendence existed, the Wish Power could harness the strength of the Divinity of Lies to continuously Turn False into True and Materialize Illusions.
Since Bai Yang had no way to directly control this portion of the Wish Power anyway, he devised a workaround. Through this specialized method, he would enact a Subtle Transformation, seamlessly assimilating it into his overarching plan.
It was not just this Cross. The crystal on Carolyn's chest, Leon's Knight's Emblem, the Family Parchment Scroll, George's holy sword... the list went on. Bai Yang had instilled all these items with highly specific Missions and concepts.
This detail was of absolute importance, for Wish Power itself was an incredibly volatile attribute. If he did not assign them definitive structures, there was no telling what grotesque monstrosities humanity's erratic imaginations might twist these Wish Power artifacts into!
SCP anomalies, Cthulhu mythos horrors... such bizarre entities might very well be willed into existence!
"Perfect timing. Let's see just how vast the gap is between Angus, who wields only Wish Power, and the wizard I molded using two points of God Power."
Bai Yang remarked casually as he happily continued to watch the show!