"In the beginning, the Lord was born in chaos."
Silas stood behind a simple altar, softly chanting a scripture he had fabricated.
"He is the origin of the world and the conclusion of all things. He represents everything, yet He is the only one."
Below the platform, nearly a hundred lambs stared wide-eyed, looking up curiously.
They didn't display any devout expressions due to the prayers Silas was reciting.
They were currently maintaining order, partly because gang members on the perimeter were watching, and partly out of gratitude to Silas for providing food and shelter.
Really not cooperating...
Well, I made up this scripture myself. I don't even believe it.
Silas thought to himself while preaching.
Might as well call out M and use psychological suggestion to change their attitudes. Would this shortcut method even work?
He continued reciting, gradually his attention wandered, yet his mouth kept opening and closing, continuing to recite the prayers:
"The Lord loves all people.
Whoever seeks to save their life, whether in body or soul, will lose their life.
Whoever loses their life for the Lord's sake will save their life..."
That's strange, did I write this too?
Silas felt somewhat confused, but with so many people watching, he couldn't stop to check.
"Whoever is ashamed of the Lord and the Lord's teachings, when the Lord's glory descends, the Lord will also be ashamed of that person."
As if following instinct, he uttered ancient prayers from his mouth.
A benevolent gaze came from above, as if crossing through primordial ages, casting an approving glance at him.
Silas gradually grew joyful.
In his hallucination, he saw a red-haired, golden-eyed woman moving through the crowd, her gentle, melodious voice praising the Lord's goodness along with him.
Yes, how great the Lord is!
Glory to the Lord, rewards and punishments belong to the Lord, who will bring salvation to all!
The crowd quieted down, their expressions becoming devout.
The blood-robed preacher before them emanated a sacred aura, noble and pure.
It was as if he drew out the purest emotions from the depths of their hearts, making them feel beauty and hope...
"The Lord's glory shall return once more to the earth..."
Silas prayed passionately.
In his hallucination, he saw the red-haired, golden-eyed M gradually approaching, and then...
"Psychic Piercing!"
That figure said.
"Boom!"
It was as if a red-hot iron rod had been violently thrust into his brain. Intense pain stimulated his nerves, instantly jolting him awake.
"Ugh..."
Silas clutched his head, letting out a muffled groan of pain. The scripture in his hands also fell onto the altar.
What's happening?
Amidst the lingering pain, he looked up in confusion and alarm to see M looking at him with a serious expression.
"What were you just doing?"
She asked.
What was I doing? Praying, praying to the Lord...
Silas suddenly realized the abnormality and froze.
His state just now was clearly wrong!
What Lord? Wasn't that something he had randomly made up?
Why had he been so passionately praising the Lord, almost as if such a deity actually existed!
Moreover, while praying just now, he had indeed felt some great existence.
It was a peculiar feeling, as if the other party's gaze had crossed through time, looking from primordial ages to here. His will was...
"Pfft!"
Silas used his hand as a blade and violently stabbed it into his other arm.
With the spurting blood and stimulation of pain, he successfully stopped his recollection.
Too terrifying...
He thought with lingering fear.
Could it be that my prayers coincidentally connected with some terrible existence, so much so that I was noticed by them while preaching? Could such a coincidence really happen?
Or perhaps, because the prayers contained "Lord," they automatically connected with the True Creator?
Or maybe it was because his mental state was low, making him prone to madness during such rituals...
Multiple speculations swirled in Silas's mind, but whether he guessed correctly or not, he reached the same conclusion: he couldn't preach like this anymore.
He picked up the fallen scripture, resisting his curiosity to avoid reading the text on it again.
Looking down, the crowd below was still immersed in the previous atmosphere, appearing somewhat disappointed that he had suddenly stopped.
"Please continue."
Someone below pleaded.
"Yes, we want to hear more of the Lord's teachings..."
People spoke one after another.
Good grief, the impact is that significant? Just a few prayers made them act strange...
Silas raised his guard several notches and cleared his throat, saying, "Let's eat first. Today's menu has meat. But quantities are limited, so you'll need to queue."
Meat?
The people who had been savoring the scripture suddenly fell silent, then rushed outside in a scramble, instantly losing interest in the deity Silas had been talking about.
Yes, listening to the Lord's teachings for half a day might be spiritually satisfying, but it still wasn't as practical as getting full and eating something good.
Silas showed a bitter smile, watching the crowd surge forward like an actual flock of sheep in chaos. He could only go down to maintain order.
He could feel that the potion within him had digested a bit more.
---
Jorwood District, Minsk Street.
Two people walked side by side down the street, one young, one old. One was properly dressed, the other somewhat slovenly.
"Mr. Levi, where should we start investigating?"
Kons carefully asked his senior beside him.
(/n: Kons if thats his name idk)
The latter merely yawned widely and reached up to scratch his hair.
"Just look around."
Levi said in a casual tone.
"If the Machinery Hivemind couldn't find any leads, we certainly won't either.
Just go through the motions for the major, go back and write a report to fulfill the assignment."
He looked like he had absolutely no intention of investigating seriously.
"Mr. Levi, is this really okay?"
Kons couldn't help asking.
"If we don't investigate, the culprit will remain at large."
As a newcomer, he wanted to achieve something.
Although he had initially been somewhat afraid when he heard he would be facing that terrifying [Blood Reverend], at least he had a powerful organization backing him, which gave him confidence.
Levi glanced at him sideways.
"Do you think the major assigned this to us because he has high expectations of our abilities?"
"Uh..."
Kons froze.
He was a newcomer, and this Mr. Levi often slacked off at work at MI9.
Indeed, having them take action didn't seem like a good choice by the major.
"But our people were killed."
Kons couldn't help saying again.
"Have you thought about why our people were at Capim's mansion?" Levi asked calmly. "
And it wasn't just one person, but a Sequence 6, a Sequence 7, and two Sequence 8s. That scale is far too extravagant, don't you think?"
"..."
Kons didn't know what to say.
Actually, he found it strange too.
Although the major had told them it was to investigate Capim, Capim was just an ordinary person. Did it really require so many people?
Unless there was more to the story.