Chapter 231: Demon Trapping Room and Mall Premiere
St. Peter's Cathedral, Bishop's Courtyard.
"Your performance this time was very outstanding; you did not disgrace the duties of Holy Clergy Members."
Archbishop Matthew Ortega sat properly behind the desk and nodded slightly.
Wilton made a cross on his chest.
"The Vatican has already sent a telegram, inviting the leaders who participated in this commission to report on their duties, so I will be leaving this evening."
He smiled slightly: "It's a great honor to work with Nun Betty; you have taught an outstanding student."
Betty hurriedly bent her knees and spoke: "You overpraise me."
Matthew handed over a letter: "She still needs to learn a lot... By the way, please trouble yourself to take this letter to Archbishop Isaac and give him my regards."
Wilton took it respectfully: "I will strictly follow your instructions. Then I will go back and pack my things first."
"May the Lord protect you."
After speaking, he walked towards the door.
When passing by William sitting aside, Wilton's footsteps didn't pause at all.
A moment later.
"William, quickly check if he's far away!" Matthew lowered his voice.
William was a bit puzzled upon hearing this but still got up and took a look at the door.
"He's already out of the Bishop's Courtyard." He turned his head and said.
Hearing this, Matthew instantly breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately took off his luxurious robes and even took out a bottle of wine from under the desk.
"These guys from Rome are really rigid, insisting on taking rituals so seriously; they can't even be drunk as wine."
He shook the wine bottle as he spoke: "Do you two want a glass?"
Betty covered her face: "Archbishop Matthew, it's only 10 AM now, and..."
And there's another person here! You have to mind your image!
She shouted inwardly.
But Archbishop Matthew had already downed a glass, revealing a satisfied expression.
William touched his nose.
As an ordinary priest, witnessing the Archbishop's "Commandment-breaking" posture was really not a good thing, so he immediately wanted to take his leave.
"What's the rush!"
Matthew waved his hand.
"You haven't taken the reward issued from above yet."
He pulled open a drawer and took out an envelope as he spoke.
"Take a look."
After handing the item to William, Matthew took the opportunity to drink another glass.
After opening it, there was only one item inside.
"This is..."
William looked at a copper badge in his hand, engraved with an olive branch pattern.
"A free pass to the Demon Trapping Room at Dei Seminary." Matthew held his wine glass and said.
William raised his eyebrows.
The Demon Trapping Room was a place specially used to store "Unprocessed Evil."
Almost all parish-level and above churches would set up such a place.
Holy Clergy Members would encounter evil during the process of completing commissions, most of which would be purified.
But a small number of monsters and evil spirits with dense evil would be contained, and after processing, they would become evil remains for Holy Clergy Members to practice Theology.
The processed safe materials would be stored in the Exorcism Workshop.
And before that, those evils would first go to the Demon Trapping Room, and at this time, they were also in a "Living" state.
Therefore, this was also a very dangerous place.
But because a lot of evil would be lost during the processing, the Source Power of the evil materials was the purest when in the Demon Trapping Room.
So practicing the Four Parts of Theology here was much faster than outside.
At the same time, due to storing evil spirits and demons all year round, the evil aura inside was also very massive, making it the best place to practice Skin Holy Arts.
Many Holy Clergy Members yearned to enter it, but this place could only be used by priests of Bishop level.
Therefore, for William, this was absolutely an over-spec reward.
"I know you were the one who solved the commission this time, but regarding political matters..." Matthew shook his head helplessly.
"Forget it, what's the point of talking about these boring things. Anyway, I won't let you work for nothing."
Matthew patted William's shoulder.
"By the way, according to your current theological progress, you can go there to practice three times a month," he added.
Betty aside also revealed an envious look.
Even she, the most talented Holy Clergy Member at St. Peter's Seminary, had only been there once.
"Your profound love leaves me unable to repay."
William made a cross on his chest: "May the Lord protect you."
With the Church's style, it was unlikely they would give him such a reward.
Therefore, there must have been Archbishop Matthew's mediation in this.
So William's thanks were indeed from the heart.
"Who loves you!"
Unexpectedly, Matthew immediately frowned and retorted: "I'm not some weird Bishop!"
William: ???
Betty hurriedly smiled and said: "Archbishop, you've drunk too much."
Matthew waved his hand.
"By the way, regarding Joran, do you know where he went?"
William narrowed his eyes, not understanding the other party's intention in asking this, and could only reply.
"Reporting to Your Excellency, I do not know Archbishop Joran's whereabouts."
"Since he left, Dei Church has been lacking management, but recently I heard a new Bishop arrived, yet I have never seen him."
"If Archbishop Matthew knows that Excellency, please inform us of his whereabouts, so we can also report our work in time."
"Cough cough..." Hearing this, Matthew choked on his wine and hurriedly sat up straight.
"Asking you about Joran's whereabouts, why are you bringing this up!"
He pretended to be serious: "The temporary Archbishop of Dei Church is me, just because... because of busy affairs, I didn't have time to go over."
But the wine glass in Matthew's hand had no persuasive power.
William put on a look of sudden realization: "So that's how it is, you've worked too hard."
He successfully changed the subject.
Betty aside almost couldn't hold back her laughter.
She knew William definitely did it on purpose, but if Archbishop Matthew was willing to go to Dei Church, maybe he could drink less wine.
"This... I'll be going over there to work in a while." Matthew wiped his mouth.
"Mentioning Joran is because he specially instructed—that nothing happened to him, told you not to worry, and to continue participating in the subsequent selection normally."
William understood in his heart; it was exactly as he guessed earlier.
Surprise flashed in Betty's eyes.
"So Father William is also going to participate in the selection. With his strength, maybe we'll be grouped in one team." She felt a little secret joy inside.
"Regarding his whereabouts, do you want to know?" Matthew's tone was full of temptation.
Seeing the other party keep gripping the wine bottle, William instantly understood.
"The Archbishop's whereabouts shouldn't be the concern of a Holy Clergy Member of my level."
"I see Archbishop Matthew is busy with affairs, and in a few days you are going to Dei Church to work. I will prepare some office supplies in advance by then."
As he spoke, he specially walked up to the wine bottle and jotted down the label on it with a pen.
Betty covered her face; it seemed making the Archbishop quit drinking would be very hard to achieve.
Matthew's eyes lit up: "You guy! You're quite smart!"
He nodded in satisfaction, then didn't beat around the bush anymore.
"Joran accepted the Vatican Pope's order to head to some ruins to investigate."
"Ruins?"
"That place was related to the Holy War a thousand years ago. Many holy relics were left behind there, even that space itself too."
Surprise flashed in William's eyes: "Is the recent frequent transfer of Holy Clergy Members also because of this?"
"Your brain works fast, but I can't go into specific details."
William nodded: "Thank you for informing me."
From Matthew's words, this place was very likely in an alternate dimension.
William sighed inwardly; he had been constantly bumping into matters concerning dimensions recently.
After saying goodbye to the two, he embarked on the journey back.
Although the commission this time encountered some risks, the gains were equally high.
Now, for [Messenger of Sins] to gain progress, it must successfully trigger the speaker's emotions.
At the same time, William also discovered another rule: only emotions triggered face-to-face would be counted.
In the second layer of the dream, he had tried to influence the rest of the people through a part of the "Residents" in the square, but ultimately the emotional changes of the latter were not reflected on the panel.
However, increasing by over 200 points at once, he was already very satisfied.
Thinking of this, William took out that copper badge again.
"Using the Demon Trapping Room should be able to improve the practice progress of Eyes and Skin," he thought inwardly.
"Right now unusual things are increasing, and later there is the Priest Order selection to participate in; still have to raise my strength as high as possible."
William decided to take a few more commissions after going back.
Kingdom Shopping Center.
This is one of the few cultural and commercial districts in Philadelphia. Many film and television works have held their premieres here.
Today the shopping center was unusually lively; long queues had already formed here before the doors opened.
By the time William passed by, there was even a brief traffic jam here.
He had to get out of the car and walk.
"Why didn't I just jump across the rooftops..." William covered his head.
He looked around; people were holding cheering items.
The logo on them read "Magical Poop Poop"; it looked like a movie.
William guessed this should be the cause of the traffic jam.
"Speaking of which, I seem to have heard Judy mention it..."
He shook his head, really unable to muster up any interest in these things, only wanting to quickly go back and have a frontal showdown with evil spirits.
At the same time, at the waiting area entrance of the premiere stage.
"Grande! Grande!"
Many young boys and girls gathered here. They shouted excitedly, their phones pointing at the entrance all along, all waiting for a celebrity—Grande Alina.
Currently the most popular and capable singer in North America.
Her sweet appearance and powerful singing skills had won her many fans.
And today was even the public screening of the first movie she acted in. The production crew and management team had built up momentum early on, which was why today's scene was so explosive.
A moment later, a figure indeed appeared at the entrance.
But disappointment flashed in everyone's eyes.
"Oh~ God, so many people actually came."
Pleasant surprise flashed on Braun Scott's face.
As Grande's manager, everything today was pushed by him from the earliest.
This not only concerned Grande stepping into a new industry but was also another important achievement in Braun's managing career.
He revealed his signature smile, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly thirty degrees; it was said this could best show approachability.
This was something Braun personally learned from a psychology expert.
"Are you all here waiting for Grande?" He looked at everyone.
"Yes!"
Hearing Grande's name, the fans present still responded excitedly.
"She knows you are here, and she's also very happy inside."
Braun's tone then shifted.
"But for the public screening, Grande hasn't rested well for several days."
"So in order to let her meet you in a better state, the 'Backstage Fan Meet-and-Greet' this time might have to be canceled."
A burst of disappointed voices instantly rang out around.
"I am very sorry." Braun's eyes revealed sincerity.
"In order not to make you sad, Grande specially ordered some of her favorite cookies for you. Hope you like them."
He clapped his hands after speaking, and then staff members immediately walked out carrying bags, distributing them to the fans respectively.
"Oh! That's awesome! Grande, you're so nice!"
"Rest well, we will support you forever!"
Everyone shouted towards the entrance.
Seeing this, Braun signaled to a corner aside.
Photographers had been arranged there in advance, and they accurately captured this "Heartwarming" scene.
This was also Braun's little trick; using some inexpensive cookies, he could mold a "Down-to-earth" news story.
He hadn't used these tricks in a long time.
Grande was indeed a dedicated and sincere singer, very rare in Braun's career.
Every commercial performance, she would personally meet and interact with the fans.
But because of a certain recent incident, Grande suffered a huge blow.
Thinking of these, Braun also sighed inwardly.
He had found multiple psychiatrists for Grande.
But the final diagnosis was not optimistic; Grande might be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD.
She kept claiming she saw someone with a terrifying smiling face.
But everyone, including Braun, hadn't found this guy Grande was talking about.
Originally Braun wanted to give Grande some more rest time.
But now her career was just ushering in a rising period; not only was her schedule full, but some announcements even preferred to wait longer, explicitly requesting Grande's appearance.
Under these circumstances, Braun could only push Grande forward from behind.
"Give them some brand sponsor small gifts later." Braun instructed a staff member.
Then he bade farewell to the fans and returned to the staff passage.
"Grande, I have already greeted your fans for you. Have you memorized your speech for later?"
Braun shouted in the dressing room.
But no one answered.
He frowned and started looking around.
Before long, he realized a serious problem—Grande was missing.
Near Kingdom Shopping Center.
A petite figure squeezed through the street against the crowd.
This person wore a dark gray hoodie, the large hood completely concealing her face.
It wasn't until she reached a place with few people that the figure dared to reveal her face.
Under the hood was an exquisite and cute face. Golden long hair, big almond eyes, a small and high nose bridge, and full lips all looked very alluring.
Coupled with slightly baby-fat cheeks, she looked full of girlish charm.
But today's Grande didn't have the usual agility in her eyes, leaving only exhaustion and hard-to-eliminate fear.
She kept looking around, seeming to be guarding against something.
A moment later she came to an alley, where someone had long been waiting.
"Are you Robert's friend?"
Grande looked at the tall figure in front of her, specially squeezing out a thicker voice.
The person opposite didn't answer but stared at Grande for quite a while.
This gaze made her somewhat uneasy, but thinking of the things she encountered, she forcefully suppressed her trembling hands.
"Hehe, you are the one wanting sedatives?" The man replied.
"Correct, how much."
"Since you are Robert's friend, I can naturally give you a discount on the price."
The man stretched out one hand: "2000 bucks a bottle."
"What!" Grande exclaimed, forgetting to cover her voice for a moment.
"It's only 500 bucks at most in pharmacies." She questioned.
It wasn't that she didn't have enough money, just that she didn't like being slaughtered like this.
"Hehe, since that's the case, why don't you go buy it at the pharmacy?"
Grande was instantly speechless. As a celebrity like her, naturally, she couldn't frequent such places.
Otherwise, rumors would occupy the top of major media outlets the next day.
Thinking of this, Grande gritted her teeth: "Deal."
She took out a few rolls of bucks from her pocket; this was instructed by Robert in advance—these drug dealers liked collecting money this way.
"Hehe, this is your medicine."
A white bottle quickly appeared in Grande's hand.
Just as she was about to turn and leave, her wrist was grabbed forcefully.
"What are you doing!" Grande was startled inwardly.
"You haven't paid the fee for freedom yet, Ms. Grande Alina." The man's gaze revealed greed.
"I am your loyal fan, you know."
Seeing the man's hand reaching for her body, despair flashed in Grande's eyes.
At this time, a sigh suddenly rang out behind them.
"Bro, what era is this, still playing this alleyway bullying women trick."
Both the man and Grande looked towards the sound.
They saw the person at the alley entrance wearing a black priest's robe, with a silver cross necklace worn on his chest.
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you