Chapter 155 — Different Motives
Seeing everyone's strange expressions, Caroline finally realized she had said something wrong.
She hurried to the monitors, patted one of the operators on the shoulder, and whispered reassuringly:
"Don't worry! As long as you didn't talk bad about him, His Grace won't trouble you."
The operator gave a bitter smile and nodded.
"…Weren't you just telling them how strong my detection abilities are?"
Jolan's eye twitched.
And why did you completely ignore my original question?!
He complained silently.
Caroline blinked, as if remembering belatedly.
"Right! Archbishop Jolan, only people from six of the nominated churches have arrived so far."
She raised six fingers and began listing one by one:
"From St. Peter's—Sister Bettice. She's very pretty, but always keeps a super dignified posture. Probably the type who cares a lot about her image.
From Trinity Church—Father Fenn Downs. He keeps pressing his Bible against walls… likely a really gloomy personality…
From Freemasons' Church—Father Charles Shaw. He's run to the restroom ten times with a jar of holy oil. His arms look like buttered chicken…"
Operators around them immediately perked up their ears.
"…Stop."
Seeing Caroline drift further and further into nonsense, Jolan dragged her out of the surveillance room.
---
In a Different Room:
"This… is what you gathered?"
Jolan looked at the stack of papers on the table.
Caroline nodded firmly.
"You said we needed to understand these people to judge who deserves the nomination.
A person's thoughts affect their behavior.
These little things in daily life never lie!"
Jolan opened his mouth… then closed it.
In a strange way, she wasn't wrong.
He could only sigh internally.
As a member of the Holy Court, almost no one dared speak to him casually.
Caroline happened to be one of the rare exceptions.
This girl came from the Medici family—one of the ancient lineages from the Holy Land, still highly influential in the Vatican.
Before this assignment, a Medici cardinal personally asked Jolan to take her along.
Her training was to include field exorcism and interpersonal experience.
For that reason, she had even been temporarily admitted to the Exorcist Corps.
Jolan had no room to refuse.
Members of the Corps were required to complete at least one "Calamity-level" mission per year.
Caroline's participation technically met the requirement.
"Do these second-generation church nobles seriously never just stay home and enjoy luxury like normal people…?"
Jolan grumbled inwardly.
Even so, he didn't blame Caroline herself—only the entrenched malfunctioning system of the Church.
After exhaling deeply, he picked up the documents and dismissed her.
Ever since receiving that young man's note, Jolan had conducted a full investigation into Hans Hermann.
And the result?
As expected—Hans was rotten to the core.
He used money and favors to bribe high-ranking clergy, and even maintained secret contact with cults.
In Jolan's mind, the man had long been sentenced to hanging.
But attacking a bishop outright could provoke factional conflict.
He needed the perfect opportunity.
However, that wasn't the biggest concern.
This entire mission—his official assignment—
he still hadn't completed.
From Arizona to Ambrose Town, the organization known as "Wings of Vengeance" had always stayed a step ahead.
Every time Jolan arrived, they were already gone.
Still, he had gained valuable information.
Through cross-analysis of multiple cases and documents from the Vatican, he determined one thing:
They were constructing a vessel—preparing a body for "Descent."
Children's hearts, the arms of young adults, remnants of monsters—
all of these were components meant to become part of the so-called "Angel"
From current clues, the cult had run into major obstacles in the "child" category.
After the last disappearance case, child protection across North America had been drastically tightened.
Communities formed volunteer patrols; every night, people checked their neighborhoods.
And during the Saint Jehovah Cathedral incident, Jolan had also discovered a critical clue from Sister Sasha.
According to her account, when those two brothers attacked her, they muttered things like
"we need clergy" and "operations."
Combined with Sasha's experience, Jolan formed a chilling hypothesis—
Some part of the "descent vessel" required the body parts of a clergyman.
Given the scale those heretics needed, countless clergy might be slaughtered.
Jolan's eyes turned cold.
This was a direct provocation against the Church—
one he would never allow.
And this year's Remembrance Day was the perfect opportunity for them.
Not only clergy from many churches were attending,
but numerous children had also been gathered—
Including those brought by Hans:
a large group of disabled or orphaned children.
Jolan narrowed his eyes.
Parentless, physically impaired—
Even if such children vanished, the public outcry would be far smaller than if ordinary children went missing.
To "Wings of Vengeance,"
they were ideal sacrifices.
"No way… could the two factions be cooperating?"
---
Backstage — Another Side of the Ceremony
"Justin! These sleeves look awful!"
Jake flapped the empty cloth sleeves of his costume.
With no arm to fill them, they just drooped absurdly.
"Hey, look at mine!"
Justin pointed proudly at his pant leg, neatly tied at the knee.
"I'll help you!"
Seeing Jake's distress, the hopping boy bounced over.
Just as he reached him, someone shouted:
"Bishop Hermann is here!"
The children immediately rushed toward the entrance.
"Dan, you look handsome today!"
"Lady Adeline, please allow me to help you with your hood."
Hans smiled warmly as he greeted each child.
"Sister Heidi, thank you for taking care of the kids.
I'm truly looking forward to your performance."
Heidi beamed.
"Bishop Hermann, it's our honor that you're here."
"Oh, don't say that.
It's my honor."
Hans waved modestly.
"By the way, is Mira here? A friend of mine said he wants to adopt her."
"Really?! That's wonderful! I'll go get her!"
"No need," Hans raised a hand.
"I'll tell her this good news after the performance."
Because he had already spotted the girl silently sitting in the corner.
"Is Mr. Juan here?"
"This way, Bishop."
---
Inside the Dressing Room
"When the children go onstage, I'll take that girl away."
Hans's expression lost all its earlier warmth.
Juan, however, brought up another matter:
"I still can't reach Samail."
"Maybe he got too excited killing people," Hans replied casually.
"You know how he is."
"I know you two don't get along," Juan narrowed his eyes,
"but he wouldn't just vanish."
"You're saying…"
"Relax. I'm not suspecting you."
Juan's dark gaze turned thoughtful.
"Maybe the Church already noticed the Warren couple incident.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have escaped danger repeatedly."
Hans frowned.
"You mean… the Church deliberately lured us out?"
"It's only a guess," Juan muttered.
"We'll know once Samail returns."
"Any news from the 'Angel' faction?"
Hans sneered.
"Already confirmed. They plan to perform a sanctified sacrifice right here at the ceremony."
Juan's brows lifted.
"The children?"
Hans nodded.
"My people found goat blood and marigold petals under the stage."
"That's the ritual material for Blood-Cursing Magic—
It makes the victim's blood boil, forcing their organs into peak vitality at the cost of their lives."
He clicked his tongue in twisted admiration.
"Looks like the Angel faction is collecting live offerings."
Hans sighed dramatically.
"The process is extremely painful…
Such a shame.
I won't get to see the expressions of those children."
He licked his lips.
"That would've been the most beautiful performance."