Chapter 235: Grande's Concert
"This is the phone inquiry record of the 300 audiences that day."
Gordon placed a stack of papers on the table.
"According to the questions limited by Father William, we made an astonishing discovery."
"All interviewees stated that a bizarre thing happened in the past two days—frequently seeing people around them revealing exaggerated smiles."
"At the same time, according to inquiries with their families, these interviewees almost simultaneously began a 'drawing' behavior."
"Most of them previously even hated drawing, and the content of the drawings was all a twisted smiling face."
"Finally, these 300 interviewees, without exception, all bought tickets to singer Grande Alina's concert, which will be held in three days."
As soon as his voice fell, the elite police officers below, including Chief Bowen, looked serious.
In investigating cases, any coincidence could be the key to cracking the case.
And right now, with so many coincidences gathered together, even rookie cops could realize there was a problem.
Everyone unanimously looked at the priest in the corner, their eyes full of awe and admiration.
Everyone understood one thing in their hearts—this was a true professional.
Especially Chief Bowen.
Although he was unwilling to believe it inwardly, the facts before his eyes forced him to admit that his previous stubbornness was ridiculously wrong.
Thinking of this, he took the initiative to stand up.
"Father William, what is your plan next? The Philadelphia Police Department will fully cooperate with your actions."
The rest of the police officers also stood up together.
This not only concerned their own futures but also giving the people of North America an explanation.
Gordon flexed his sturdy arms and secretly gave William a thumbs up.
Judy's heart beat fast; it was her first time seeing such a scene.
William smiled slightly: "Thank you for everyone's trust. Exorcism is originally within the scope of my duties."
"When it's really time to act, I will naturally need the police department's help, but right now there is still one thing to do."
Dei Commercial Street, House of Rest.
When William and Judy returned to the entrance, a commercial vehicle was already parked there, and several burly bodyguards were keeping watch around.
Grande was still wearing that gray hoodie, curled up at the entrance of the shop.
Braun beside her looked around from time to time, speaking anxiously to Grande.
The reason William came back was exactly because of these people.
Previously at the police station, he originally wanted to proactively look for Grande.
After all, the clues regarding the "Smile Curse" all converged on her.
Through the police department's internal system, William easily got this singer's contact information.
But when he called, he found out Grande had gone out, and the place she went was actually Dei Church.
After getting the clue of Grande at the psychiatric hospital, William had already searched for this celebrity.
Although the other party's public image wore makeup, he still recognized her by her bone structure—the other party was exactly that young girl in the alley last time.
Thus, William also understood Grande's purpose for going to Dei Church.
"Grande, this is a public place, it won't do if you are photographed like this!"
"Sorry... I understand, but I only feel a bit better leaning against the door of this shop..."
Listening to the argument ahead, William proactively spoke up.
"We meet again."
Seeing an outsider arrive, the surrounding bodyguards immediately surrounded him, and Braun also looked vigilant.
Only the girl on the ground looked excited.
Grande passed behind the bodyguards, ran up to William, and spoke in an urgent tone: "Mr. Priest, you can help me, right?"
William looked her up and down.
Exhausted demeanor, slightly messy appearance, and the hard-to-conceal fear in her eyes.
Grande obviously suffered a lot recently.
At the same time, William also found residual evil aura on her.
"Let's go inside first."
Inside the shop.
"Ever since Skye's incident, I've been encountering weird things..."
Grande poured out all her encounters.
It turned out she and Skye were good friends in private. On the day the other party committed suicide, Grande was also at the concert scene.
"Grande, I understand your inner pain, but I have already communicated with the security and the property management of your house."
Braun shook his head helplessly.
"Whether it's passers-by or surveillance footage, no one found those people you mentioned 'with bizarre smiling faces'."
"I understand you want to find comfort, but after we leave here, we must go to the psychiatrist."
"The concert is in three days. Rehearsals, ticketing, cooperation with sponsors... you really don't have much time."
"Recently because we postponed too many times, some sponsors have expressed dissatisfaction, demanding that you must attend the next one..."
Grande covered her head in a breakdown.
"Why won't you believe me, I really saw it! I am not mentally ill, nor do I have psychological problems!"
William listened quietly aside.
This was exactly the most terrifying part of the Smile Entity.
It only existed in the brain of the affected person, making them lose the trust of family and friends step by step, and finally, when in despair and complete mental breakdown, taking over their soul.
Fortunately, this time William was here.
"Ms. Grande, I believe you."
The argument in the air suddenly stopped.
Grande raised her head, tears still remaining on that cute face.
"Mr. Priest, I know churches always have some 'tasks'. In order for Grande to successfully complete the concert, I am willing to accept a certain degree of alternative condolences."
Braun looked vigilant, his tone indisputable.
"But only limited to this. After the performance is over, Grande will undergo professional psychotherapy, do you understand?"
Grande was a star he had cultivated single-handedly.
Besides himself, Braun would not allow anyone to influence her thoughts.
But William bypassed the other party directly.
"Ms. Grande, your symptoms are not an isolated case. All the audiences of the concert that day have shown similar situations."
Before Braun tried to argue, William spoke first.
"This is not baseless speculation. The Philadelphia Police Department has been investigating this matter, and not long ago they have obtained substantive evidence."
"This symptom can blur the boundaries between reality and hallucination, making it hard to distinguish, suffering constant mental torture."
"To be able to hold on until now, presumably you have suffered a lot."
A tear slipped from the corner of Grande's eye.
This was the first time these days she felt warmth in her heart.
All her worries were spoken out, all her thoughts were understood.
At this moment, Grande saw "Reality" clearly.
She threw herself into William's arms, hugging the latter tightly.
Besides this, Grande didn't know how to express her inner excitement.
Seeing this, Braun almost couldn't catch his breath.
Originally he still wanted to refute the other party, but this priest's words inside and out were all "Facts, Evidence."
This time Braun had no way to speak instead.
"A priest should act like a priest!" he roared inwardly.
Grande wiped her eyes: "Mr. Priest, how can I get rid of these symptoms?"
William looked thoughtful.
Judging from previous clues, the Smile Entity obviously planned to replicate the suicide scene through the concert, thereby expanding the spread of the curse.
And the drawing matter also made him realize that the evil spirit was very likely changing the curse's transmission method.
Once ordinary paintings possess mental influence...
What if they are put on media platforms?
Such a development is terrifying to think about.
So William quickly had an idea.
"The concert still needs to be held as scheduled." He looked at Grande. "When you appear on stage, that is the time the curse will be removed."
Grande looked bewildered, but out of trust in the priest, she nodded seriously.
Braun aside looked delighted; as long as it didn't delay the concert, he could accept this priest's "Temporary Intervention."
"By the way, when you were waiting outside the door just now, did you still see the smiling weirdo?" William suddenly asked.
From the first time he met the other party in the alley, to later in the hospital.
He had already come face to face with the evil spirit more than once.
But strangely, there was no trace of the other party within a one-kilometer radius nearby.
Grande was stunned upon hearing this, and then realized she hadn't encountered anything weird for a while.
"It seems that since coming to this shop, I felt much more at ease..." she truthfully explained her situation.
William rubbed his chin.
"If it's not that the evil spirit's hiding ability is super strong, then there is only one possibility—the other party is afraid of the magic array I arranged."
At the same time, on a rooftop 5 kilometers away from Dei Commercial Street.
A pitch-black shadow "gazed" in the direction of the shop.
After seeing a priest wearing a black robe walk out from inside, the shadow instantly disappeared from the spot.
When it appeared again, it had already reached ten kilometers away.
Three days later.
New York, Madison Square Garden.
This is the "Holy Land" in the hearts of many famous singers.
Being able to hold a sold-out concert here is the most powerful proof of "Influence."
Today, there happened to be such a concert here.
As the most popular singer among young boys and girls right now, Grande's concert tickets sold out 8 minutes after going on sale.
Plus the operations of the behind-the-scenes management team, fans had long looked forward to this musical feast.
Although Grande had rarely appeared recently.
But her good friend's passing and negative news didn't defeat her.
Tonight, she will dedicate her works on stage and commemorate Skye's departure together with tens of thousands of people.
A large number of fans gathered outside the venue, and multiple TV stations were interviewing at the entrance.
Backstage.
Judy looked curiously at the environment here.
The Warren couple aside arranged the holy artifacts in specific positions according to William's request.
Because this time involved many people, he specifically invited this exorcist couple to help.
And around the square, there were over 1,000 police officers hidden in the crowd.
Chief Bowen also personally came to the scene.
He looked at both sides and placed a holy statue in the bushes.
"Chief, according to the priest's request, the arrangements in the South and North districts have been completed." Gordon spoke with a standard reporting posture.
"Keep your voice down!" Chief Bowen looked nervous.
He pressed Gordon down, lowering his voice: "I told you not to address me by my title outside! What if we are discovered."
Gordon's mouth twitched.
"Our enemy is an evil spirit..." he thought inwardly.
But the other party was a superior after all, so Sheriff Gordon could only put on a look of a "Vigilant Pedestrian."
"Is there any result from Father William's side?"
Chief Bowen asked.
"Suddenly adding a security check at the concert entrance, do you know how much pressure I had to bear!"
For this, not only did the Philadelphia Police Department turn out in full force, but they also contacted the local police brothers in New York for help.
If it weren't for Bowen having some connections higher up, he really might not have been able to complete the priest's request.
Gordon nodded upon hearing this: "That hidden danger has been eliminated; now we just wait for the concert to start."
Bowen breathed a sigh of relief.
"I really shouldn't have talked so big back then," he thought to himself.
Time soon reached the evening.
The venue lights dimmed, and the audience seats were full of cheering lights.
People quietly waited for Grande's appearance.
After a dazzling display of lights flashed in the air, Grande appeared on the stage.
Deafening cheers instantly rang out at the scene.
Grande tied her hair in a high ponytail and specially wore an outfit printed with butterfly patterns.
Previously, Skye also wore similar clothes at the death concert.
This was a special arrangement made by the management team, aimed exactly at echoing "Breaking the cocoon and rebirth."
William covered his face watching from offstage.
The American people seem to inherently have a talent for seeking death; every "Brilliant" idea can accurately step on the "Unwritten rules" of American Horror.
He shook his head, observing the surrounding situation.
Over the past few days, William and Grande were almost inseparable, and during this period, he hadn't found any trace of the evil spirit once.
He secretly guessed that the evil spirit this time should be like him, relatively cautious.
But since the other party had done so much to achieve its goal, it was impossible to suddenly give up when close to completion.
Therefore, William specifically built this "Stage" for the other party.
The first half of the concert passed quickly, and the atmosphere at the scene grew increasingly high.
Seeing the liveliness in front of them, the police officers offstage couldn't help but have a doubt—could it be the evil spirit wouldn't appear?
Right at this moment, the singing on the stage abruptly stopped.
Grande collapsed on the ground, looking terrified at the "Herself" in front of her.
She quickly realized she was hallucinating again, so she hurriedly turned her head to look for William's figure offstage.
But an even more bizarre thing followed.
The audiences were all motionless, everyone revealing a bizarre smile on their faces.
This scene was not a hallucination.
Because the police officers lurking in the crowd also saw this picture.
"Ch... Chief, I'm not dreaming, right." Gordon patted the person beside him.
But the next moment a sharp pain came from his arm, and he exclaimed.
"Sh... shouldn't be a dream." Bowen gulped, withdrawing his hand from Gordon's arm.
Gordon was just about to speak when William's voice came from the walkie-talkie.
"Sheriff, you can evacuate now."
"Okay... be careful yourself." Gordon immediately replied.
He turned his head but found the Chief's figure was already at the exit.
"Hey! Chief Bowen, wait for me!"
Gordon hurriedly caught up.
At the same time, the rest of the police officers also evacuated according to plan.
The Warrens also took Judy outside the venue first.
William put down the walkie-talkie, walking along the pitch-black backstage passage until he reached a small door.
He turned the door handle, going up the stairs behind it step by step.
When he stepped onto the last step, dazzling lights shone on his face.
Grande was on the ground not far away, constantly shaking her head and backing away.
William slowly walked towards the center of the stage.
The large screens on both sides also reflected his face.
But the venue was extremely quiet.
To an onlooker, the audiences at this moment were all smiling and staring at that priest.
But what William saw was another scene.
He saw a huge monster floating in the mid-air of the venue.
It had no skin on the surface; the bones and muscle textures underneath could be seen clearly.
The lower half of the monster was connected to Grande's shadow, seemingly drilling out from there.
Obviously, this was the true body of the Smile Entity.
At this time, the evil spirit was slowly approaching Grande, and the young girl's mind was also on the verge of breakdown.
But the evil spirit suddenly stopped moving forward, "Looking" behind Grande.
William smiled slightly: "Finally willing to come out, you are even uglier than I imagined."
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