Chapter 54: New Abilities
Hawkins National Laboratory.
Basement Level 3.
Many researchers in white coats lay on the ground.
They were new staff sent to investigate the Upside Down incident.
Samael stood in front of a wall.
There was a huge crack here, which was previously the entrance to the Upside Down.
But it had been completely closed.
Samael gently stroked the crack with his hand and chanted a mantra:
"Aperiam hanc portam." (Open this door.)
Immediately after, a large amount of jet-black viscous liquid gushed out of the crack.
The surrounding wall was quickly corroded, and the crack grew larger.
With the eruption of the black liquid, a flickering red light shot out from inside, and the floating ash appeared again.
The gate to the Upside Down was opened once more.
Samael stepped into it.
On the ground at the entrance, there were several charred corpses of Demogorgons.
He just glanced at them and paid no more attention.
Extending from here into the depths of the Upside Down, there was an extremely long scorched trail.
At the end of the trail, a large number of vines were burned, and even some "houses" were not spared.
It was as if this place had experienced some kind of disaster.
Samael raised his head; he smelled something that didn't exist in this world.
"There is also a residue of pure Holy Power here. It should be in that direction."
After a few flashes of movement, he appeared in the room where Will was saved.
"Only a hatching nest..." Samael was a bit disappointed.
At the same time, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, and a huge figure appeared briefly.
Samael raised an eyebrow and looked out the window.
Grrr... grrr...
In the gap of his turning head, a low roar suddenly sounded at the door.
A Demogorgon appeared in the corridor and pounced on Samael instantly.
Bang.
The wall was smashed, and a figure flew out from inside.
But when the dust settled, it was Samael holding the Demogorgon's neck with one hand.
"These trash can't kill me."
He exerted force with his hand, and the sound of breaking bones followed.
"It seems that the previous fire didn't burn enough."
This sentence seemed to anger the black shadow in the distance.
A rustling sound suddenly surrounded Samael.
Immediately after, from the dense forest, the sewers, and the skylights.
Various monsters surged out.
They bit each other, and a large amount of flesh and bone mixture soon appeared on the ground.
A giant flesh monster gradually took shape.
"Now this looks like something."
Samael raised the corners of his mouth and immediately chanted a passage of obscure and difficult language.
Then, he took off his black glove. A slit opened in his palm, looking like an eye.
A large amount of jet-black liquid gushed out from it, dripping onto the ground continuously.
...
Before long.
Samael took out the black phone again.
After a short ring, the call was connected.
"The 'Leg' part has been obtained," he said.
"Very good. If you meet any suitable children, please bring them back as well."
Samael shook his head upon hearing this:
"There are traces of many high-age holy artifacts in the town. Perhaps this place has a deep relationship with the Church. You understand, we can't be known for the time being."
"Oh? Is that so?" The voice on the other end said with interest. "In that case, you decide."
Samael then hung up the phone.
He glanced at his side; the giant flesh monster was now completely covered in black liquid.
And the huge phantom in the distance was moving constantly toward Samael.
But he didn't even spare it a glance.
In the next second.
Samael's whole body turned into a pool of jet-black liquid, and along with the monster corpse beside him, seeped into the soil at a speed visible to the naked eye.
...
Philadelphia, West District.
Community Church.
William closed the Bible, completing today's spiritual practice coursework.
Some time had passed since returning from Hawkins, and nothing major happened during this period.
Therefore, William focused on theological cultivation.
At this time, the progress of various abilities and events was as follows—
[Psychological Counseling]
[Current Progress: Tier 1 (95/100)]
...
[Cleansing Sight]
[Current Progress: Tier 1 (704/1000)]
...
[Devout Baptism]
[Current Progress: Tier 2 (325/1000)]
...
[Sacred Meaning Study] (Evolved from Scripture Reading)
[Current Progress: Tier 2 (16/1000)]
...
[Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius]
[Current Progress: Tier 1 (32/100)]
Among them, [Scripture Reading] and [Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius] had successfully leveled up.
William also unlocked new abilities.
First was—
[Sacred Meaning Study]
[Unlocked Ability: Spiritual Perception. Due to your long-term study of the true meaning of the Bible, your Holy Power growth rate is three times the original.]
According to William's research, the original [Focus] ability hadn't disappeared; he could still resist the mental interference of evil spirits.
On top of this, [Spiritual Perception] was added.
Judging from the brief description, this was an ability that aided in Holy Power cultivation.
The difficulty of cultivation needs no further elaboration.
Now William could clearly perceive it.
Making holy artifacts, chanting exorcism scriptures, and a series of other rituals all required consuming Holy Power.
The more powerful the ritual, the more Holy Power it consumed.
Therefore, William could appreciate the importance of [Spiritual Perception] even more; this would undoubtedly greatly improve his spiritual practice efficiency.
And the other one—
[Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius]
[Unlocked Ability: Sacred Step. You can perform short-distance rapid movement, consuming some Holy Power in the process.]
When William saw the description, he couldn't believe it.
He immediately went to the open space outside the church to experiment.
When he teleported from a distance to the church door instantly, William almost jumped with excitement.
This was a god-tier skill for escaping!
In the future, outside the three layers of protective circles, he had another layer of guarantee.
And even if he encountered some jump scares typical of American horror stories, he would have time to react.
Although William never gave the opponent a chance to jump scare him.
He was very satisfied with this ability.
He had also checked Church classics, but there were very few descriptions of extraordinary abilities inside.
Only a few medieval exorcism records contained bits and pieces.
But such books were generally regarded as Church history readings, and no one took them seriously.
Besides this ability, due to long-term application of high-quality holy oil, the qualitative changes in William's body were also accumulating constantly.
But this item didn't appear in text.
William just felt stronger, jumped higher, and reacted faster.
It was developing a bit toward the non-human side.
William got up and went to the reception room.
"Emma, go get that..."
He stopped halfway through his sentence, looking at the empty church and shaking his head.
"I'm really not used to this girl being gone."
The day after returning from Hawkins, Emma contacted David and asked to go back.
During the period, William tried to keep her several times.
"I won't be your tool person anymore," Emma said.
And during this time, she also discovered something.
Compared to the crimes she committed, the things this priest came into contact with were even more incredible.
And the other party tried his best to avoid the limelight in public.
Therefore, Emma wasn't worried at all that he would snitch.
So, on a sunny afternoon.
Emma ran excitedly to David.
Beautiful dresses, clean environment, food without the smell of blood.
The beautiful life was finally back.
David was also excited; his daughter finally acted like a human!
To thank William, David left another generous reward.
Although a bit reluctant, William still gave Emma a basic exorcism book before parting.
He wrote it himself.
It contained common countermeasures for encountering evil spirits and demons.
With this book, Emma should be able to perform some simple exorcisms.
It could be considered completing the deal with her.
...
Seeing the tool person run away, William could only pack up his things.
Today was the congregation activity day; he had to go to the community to provide family condolence services.
At the same time.
Community street intersection.
A lady got out of a car, accompanied by a man.
She looked worried and held the man's arm.
"Bret, do you think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill?"
The man named Bret kissed the woman's forehead upon hearing this.
"No, Rebecca, I believe you!"
Only then did Rebecca smile.
But then she remembered the scene from a few days ago—
In the darkness, a figure with strange limbs stood in the door frame, but disappeared when the light was turned on.
Thinking of her younger brother who was afraid to go home, and her mother's worsening mental illness.
All this made Rebecca worry endlessly.
She took a flyer out of her pocket, which contained slogans about Church protection and blessings.
"I hope this works."
☆☆☆
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