North America Gunman Detective

Chapter 1248 - 684: Awakening (Part 2)

The water balloon was slashed upward by Father Bennett, not cut through directly but sent flying into the air, followed by a loud "boom" as it exploded. Water droplets splashed everywhere, covering a large area, enveloping Jimmy and Sergeant Porter along with three other police officers.

Father Bennett once again looked warily at the surface of the lake. The explosion of the water balloon hadn't affected him. Jimmy saw the water droplets falling but there were no energy reactions visible, so it was of no concern. Even if any got on him, it could be cleaned with Holy Water later, which wasn't a major issue.

The lake's surface returned to calm, with the previous violent disturbances seemingly never having happened. The only evidence of the recent battle was the water droplets on everyone and a patch of wet ground by the lakeside.

After a while, Father Bennett put away the cross and, holding the Bible, came over to Jimmy: "Jimmy, let's go back."

Jimmy: "Is it settled?"

Father Bennett shook his head: "No, but it's unlikely to reappear for now."

Jimmy nodded: "Then let's head back first and discuss how to handle this. But we need to address Nia and the others' unconsciousness first."

Father Bennett nodded, and as they were about to leave, Sergeant Porter raised his voice: "Can someone tell me what on earth was that? WTF!"

Father Bennett: "Don't be surprised; there is indeed something unusual here. I think part of your legends might be right."

Sergeant Porter: "What? Are you sure? What's next?"

Father Bennett: "Let's head back first. You three will need to come to the church with us. I think you need to undergo a cleansing as well."

The three officers exchanged looks but ultimately asked no further questions. The group drove back to the hospital, where Sergeant Porter arranged for the hospital to transport the three to St. Mary's Church, but this had to wait until Father Bennett had made arrangements on that end.

In the afternoon, Father Rodney arrived in Newport with two other priests. Having met with Father White before, out of concern for Jimmy and interest in his child, Father White had been gracious enough to request that Rodney bring people over to help solve Jimmy's problem. So after arranging for Bennett to go nearby, he brought along two others.

Father Bennett had already contacted St. Mary's Church. When Father Rodney and his group arrived, Nia and two other detectives were being transferred from the hospital. It's worth noting that the combination of police and church can be quite effective, as the hospital agreed to their request for the three comatose patients already examined by them.

St. Mary's Church was temporarily cordoned off, with tourists and those who came to pray asked to leave. Nia and the other two lay on stretchers in front of the altar. Led by Father Rodney, they conducted a collective exorcism ceremony with Father Bennett and two other priests, joined by priests from the church, surrounding the three.

Jimmy had experienced this kind of exorcism ceremony before. Previously, Father White led a circle of priests in prayer, invoking the Holy Light Power to verify Jimmy's identity and ensure he wasn't an infidel or possessed by a demon. Now, it was to dispel the abnormal energy present in Nia and the others.

Father Rodney, known for being a seasoned exorcist priest, led a ceremony that proved quite effective. Nia was the first to wake up, surprised upon opening her eyes to find herself in a church. She turned her head to see Jimmy sitting on a bench, whispering, "Jimmy."

Jimmy immediately lifted his head and quickly rose to Nia's side, "Nia, how are you feeling?"

Nia: "Completely exhausted, what happened?"

Jimmy: "You three fell unconscious yesterday afternoon. It's been an entire day. What exactly happened?"

Nia: "Help me up."

Jimmy placed an arm around Nia's shoulder, helping her sit up. He could feel her weakness, as she mainly relied on his strength to rise.

Nia looked towards the others: "How are they?"

Jimmy: "Just like you, still unconscious. But you were the first to wake. It's all thanks to Father Rodney and the others. It's them you should thank."

Nia looked at Father Rodney and his companions, who were already standing, "Thank you, Father Rodney, thank you everyone."

Jimmy: "Do you recall what happened to cause the fainting? Did you notice anything before you lost consciousness?"

Nia: "Let me think, my head still hurts."

Jimmy moved behind Nia, using his hands to massage her head and temples. After a moment, Nia said, "After arriving, we contacted the police station and, based on information from three college students, investigated several hotel check-ins, locating their hotel.

At the hotel's front desk, we learned that before leaving, the three inquired in detail about a local legend concerning a Ghost Lake. With the cooperation of police officers, we went to the Ghost Lake, where we found their used tent and personal items by the lakeside.

Since they had been missing for over two months, their tent and belongings were quite damaged. To prevent further deterioration, we had officers take the gear back while I and others continued investigating by the lake.

However, not long after, we heard some eerie sounds. After searching around for a bit, a chilling sensation crept over me, and then I don't remember anything else."

Jimmy: "Did you find anything?"

Nia: "Yes, I recall finding a necklace and a ring near the campsite. Uh, where's my clothing? I sealed them in a plastic bag and put it in my pocket."

Jimmy: "Your clothes are at the hospital. After you fainted, the police who arrived later arranged for you to be taken to the hospital for examination. Your clothes and equipment should still be there. I'll check with Sergeant Porter; they shouldn't be missing."

Nia: "Okay, the necklace and ring are items we found, but from their design, I don't think they belonged to the three students. They need to be examined to confirm."

Jimmy blinked, thought for a moment, and then turned to Sergeant Porter, "Porter, can you have someone bring Nia's clothes and personal items? I need to check them."

Sergeant Porter nodded, signaling the two officers who had come with them to step out and fetch them.

The three found themselves fortunate, as after being splashed by the water balloon explosion, Father Bennett performed a simple purification ceremony for them following Father Rodney's ceremony for Nia and the others, also instructing them to wash their exposed hands and faces with diluted Holy Water.

Originally, Sergeant Porter and his men were not believers, but today's events were overwhelming. Their attitude towards the church's exorcism rituals shifted from indifference to complete belief. After the ceremony and cleansing, they chatted for a while with the local priests, promising to visit the church on their days off, making them potential converts.

Soon, the other two detectives also woke, albeit slightly later than Nia, with similarly faint memories of the event. After speaking with Jimmy and Father Rodney, it was deduced that it was likely the ring that protected Nia to some extent. However, the ring wasn't an offensive exorcism weapon, only able to offer limited protection, and had ultimately been breached.

Finally, Sergeant Porter returned to the church with several bags, "Here are Detective Yang's personal items, please inspect them."

Nia set down her water cup, retrieved a sealed evidence bag from her pocket, "This is the necklace and ring we found."

Jimmy switched to Heart Eye Vision and glanced at them, immediately calling out, "Father Rodney, please come over here."

Father Rodney, who was chatting with local priests, frowned and walked over when he heard Jimmy. "Jimmy, what's up?"

Jimmy handed the transparent evidence bag containing the necklace and ring to Father Rodney: "Father Rodney, take a look at this."

As soon as Rodney touched it, he exclaimed, "OMG," before placing the evidence bag on a nearby table.