Chapter 333: The True Conspiracy
"Apologize?" Frey sneered. "Save these cliché tests. You can ask what you want to know, but I can't guarantee I'll tell you the truth."
But a moment later, he saw William still staring at him calmly.
"Are you serious? Sticking your neck out for these ordinary people?" Frey's expression turned bizarre.
As soon as the words left his mouth, a deep purple chain materialized on his body.
"Ugh!!" Frey was instantly immobilized.
"Do you think you're nobler than others?" William leaned in and asked.
Frey opened his mouth, but ultimately chose to avoid his gaze.
"Heh," William smiled faintly. "In the world of normal people, your condition is called a cognitive disorder. Since that's the case..."
Saying this, he dragged the two unconscious Holy Clergy Members over to Frey.
Then, under the shocked gazes of the few people present, he pulled their pants halfway down, perfectly exposing their bare buttocks.
"You! What are you trying to do!" Seeing two half-naked men suddenly placed in front of him, Frey frantically tried to scoot backward.
William walked over and crouched beside him, pointing his finger. "If you refuse to apologize to the three ladies, I will shove your face into the asses of these two gentlemen."
"To let you properly experience the scent of normal human beings."
At these words, the muscles on the two unconscious priests' rear ends visibly clenched.
The three ladies present couldn't help but frown, a certain image surfacing in their minds.
Frey, meanwhile, held his breath, wearing an expression akin to severe constipation.
"It seems you've chosen the asses." William shrugged, standing up and grabbing him by the hair.
Seeing the "black holes" in front of him getting closer and closer, Frey could no longer maintain his composure.
"Wait! I apologize! Stop!"
But William did not stop his movement.
"Stop it! I'm willing to do anything! Anything!!"
After screaming those words, Frey immediately clamped his mouth shut.
At this point, he was merely centimeters away from his subordinates' rear ends; he could even clearly see the peach fuzz on them.
"So you were this sincere all along. Why didn't you say so earlier." Only then did William yank Frey back up.
"Phew..." The latter let out a long sigh of relief.
"First, this lady." William forced Frey to his knees in front of Lorraine. "I remember you using this mother's child to threaten her just now..."
"I... I'm sorry!" Frey immediately buried his head low. "I sincerely apologize for my behavior..."
Lorraine was a bit flustered and couldn't help but look at William.
The latter gave her a reassuring look.
"Next is this young lady." William dragged Frey over to Judy. "You actually dared to strike a child."
Judy's eyes sparkled, her heart pounding; the previous suffocation she felt was entirely swept away.
"I'm sorry..." Frey lowered his head again. "You can hit me to vent your anger."
Judy immediately rolled up her sleeves.
"Trying to instigate a child to use violence?" William promptly delivered another punch to Frey's face. "I'll do the honors."
The latter instantly felt his vision blur, and the nosebleed that had just stopped began to flow once more.
Seeing this scene, Judy could only resentfully halt her hand in mid-air.
William nodded slightly at Lorraine, then dragged Frey in front of Flora.
At this moment, the chains on the latter had already been removed.
"You should leave quickly. Even though this man isn't a member of the Priest Order, he's still an envoy from the Vatican. If others find out..." Worry flashed in Flora's eyes.
Hearing this, Frey remained silent, secretly observing William's reaction.
"The rumors you spread about me and this lady regarding the commissions are simply outrageous..." William merely smiled at her faintly, then looked down.
"If something like this happened to you, could you handle it calmly?"
Frey didn't offer a single word of sophistry, immediately lowering his head: "I was wrong!"
"I always thought the Holy Clergy Members of the Vatican were devout believers. I didn't expect..." Flora frowned, finding it revolting to even cast a glance at the man.
Frey wanted to say something, but after turning to look at William, he shut his mouth again.
But the next moment, a heavy blow landed on his neck.
"You! Why did you hit me again? I didn't even say anything." Anger flashed in his eyes.
But immediately after, he was met with another punch.
This time, Frey's vision went black, and he instantly collapsed to the floor.
"Pretty resilient." William withdrew his hand.
Subsequently, he ensured the two bare-bottomed priests were knocked out cold before approaching the three ladies.
"I've already dealt with the people who knew you were brought to the seminary. Archbishop Matthew will arrange for your departure shortly." William looked at Lorraine and her daughter.
"From today onward, do not mention anything about me again, otherwise it will bring you danger."
Hearing this, Lorraine's brows knitted tightly together: "Father William..."
"William!" Judy grabbed his arm. "Then what about you? Can we go to the police?"
William patted Judy's hair: "Master the exorcism knowledge I taught you as soon as possible. The safety manual isn't just for evil spirits; it applies to wicked people as well."
Hearing this, Judy's eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"Sister Flora, you've been in close contact with me. It's unlikely they will let you off, so you probably won't be able to be a nun anymore."
"Even without this incident, I didn't want to stay any longer," Flora smiled bitterly.
"Ever since Wynn died, Dei Seminary has left me with nothing but pain."
William sighed inwardly.
"Archbishop Matthew will also arrange for you to go to a safe place. You'll depart today."
"What about you..." Judy suddenly spoke up. "Will we ever have the chance to see you again?"
The other two ladies also looked at William upon hearing this.
William smiled slightly: "We will."
Archbishop's Office.
Matthew sat blankly in his chair; the area around him was completely empty.
"You aren't mourning for me, are you? I'm not dead yet."
A voice suddenly echoed from behind a nearby pillar.
Matthew instantly stood up, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "You're here..."
"I'll leave the Warrens and Sister Flora in your care. They've been in contact with me numerous times. Even if we can stall things this time, it's highly likely others will pick up on this clue in the future," William stepped out from the shadows and said.
"Rest assured. Even if it costs me my life, I won't let them be taken away," Matthew's tone was grave.
"You need to save your life to protect the faculty and students of the seminary." William smiled faintly and tossed over a bottle of holy wine.
Hearing this, Matthew felt a sharp pang in his heart, and his entire body trembled.
But William, seemingly oblivious, walked straight to his side.
"Although such methods are indeed insidious, you are a deeply experienced Archbishop after all. How could you be stumped by a simple word game?"
He was referring to the fact that the "scope of protection only included students, not teachers."
"I... I'm sorry to you." Matthew's voice was low, and he didn't even dare to lift his head.
"There is no need for you to feel guilty over the consequences caused by wicked people," William patted his shoulder.
"If a good person is condemned because they were forced to do something against their will, then the justice humanity believes in is nothing but a joke."
"The choice you faced had no right or wrong, no 'better' option. It was simply the result of the collapse of the Church's order."
"Among all possible futures, your choice preserved a vital force to resist evil and uphold justice."
"You bore this responsibility with your own soul."
Drip... Drip...
A few droplets of water fell onto the desk; Archbishop Matthew had already shed tears.
"William... your noble magnanimity shames me. You are the one who truly practices the Lord's mercy."
William's gaze grew thoughtful: "The Lord, huh... From now on, there probably won't be one anymore."
Then he frowned and pushed Matthew away.
"Please keep your snot away from my clothes..."
A moment later.
Matthew wiped his aged face and asked, "Where do you plan to go next?"
William shook his head: "I haven't decided yet. By the way, what exactly happened to Jolan?"
The former's gaze turned solemn upon hearing this.
Through the Archbishop's recounting, William finally understood what had transpired.
Consistent with his guesses, Jolan had acted too radically after becoming a Candidate Cardinal, directly touching upon the interests of certain Holy Clans.
This forced the latter to make their move prematurely.
And in the Land of the Holy War, that demon named Valac became the perfect excuse.
As the "blade" Jolan swung at the Holy Clans, William naturally couldn't escape their targeting either.
"A few days ago, a familiar Bishop told me they sent Jolan to the Place of Suffering. Accompanying him was a Priest Order member named Innocent..."
"It's actually there..." William frowned.
Jolan was probably going to suffer quite a bit there, but with that chatterbox teammate around, he presumably wouldn't be too lonely.
But this indicated another thing—the Church didn't plan to kill Jolan for now.
"Is there any way to rescue him?" William asked again.
"It's very difficult." Matthew shook his head. "Incredibly powerful Holy Clergy Members are stationed there. He'll likely spend the rest of his life there..."
Following that, William inquired about the others.
Among them, Caroline and Hugh had been imprisoned, but according to Matthew, the Medici family behind them planned to leverage their connections.
Since the Land of the Holy War, the performance of the two had changed the minds of some elders in the family.
Coupled with their unexpected acquaintance with Shiloj David, the Medicis were highly likely to groom Hugh anew as the official heir.
And William's other acquaintance, Haggai Isaac.
Due to his unique abilities and the Isaac family's status as "Prophets" in the Vatican, he was merely placed under house arrest and faced no life-threatening danger.
"Your other two teammates were actually released," Matthew's tone was puzzled.
"Hmph... this way the Church can appear 'fair and just', not wronging a single innocent person," William sneered.
Presumably, they would also deliberately distort the circumstances surrounding Kerson's death, causing Sid and Calvin to resent William even more.
That way, even if someone tried to prove the whole affair was amiss, it would ultimately be very difficult to convince these two core members.
"The Church... is no longer the Church it used to be." Matthew sighed.
"Perhaps the Church never changed at all; it's just exposing its true colors once again," William smiled faintly.
The former opened his mouth but ultimately remained silent.
"I must go. I leave the rest in your hands."
"Rest assured, I won't let your friends get hurt." Matthew's tone grew serious again.
"May the Lord..." He raised his hand, but then lowered it.
"I wish you all the best in your future endeavors."
"Thank you."
Outskirts of West Philadelphia, in a patch of woods.
Thud!
William tossed Frey onto the ground. The latter's eyes were tightly shut, still unconscious.
Not long ago, he had snuck near the West District Church, which had also been seized by the Church's forces.
The neighborhood was littered with notices about William, propagandizing his "danger" to the greatest possible extent.
Although some of his past regular customers expressed doubts, such voices were quickly suppressed.
Splash—
William splashed a bottle of low-vintage Holy Water on him.
Frey frowned and quickly opened his eyes.
"Where is this..." He looked around, his eyes full of vigilance. "What do you want to do."
William stared at him: "Naturally, to gather some information about the Church's current attitude toward me."
Frey's eyes flickered: "I can tell you, as long as you change locations."
"Heh... afraid of dying?" William sneered. "But no."
Frey narrowed his eyes: "Since that's the case, then kill me."
William stepped in front of the man: "It seems you really don't know much about me. I never said I was asking for your permission."
"You... what are you trying to do now!" Frey's gaze was uneasy, trying to force himself to mentally prepare.
But the next moment, two surges of powerful Holy Power penetrated his eyes.
Immediately after, a cloud of purple aura enveloped the Vatican envoy's head, and his expression began to turn vacant.
"It seems it worked." William nodded inwardly.
Just now, utilizing the "Sin of Emotion" on Frey, he had cast "Salvation Persuasion" upon him.
This way, he could converse directly with the deepest part of the other party's soul.
This was also possible because Frey's theological training wasn't particularly robust; if it had been someone like Kalvis, it might have failed.
"When we were at Dei Seminary, was that the first time you saw what I looked like?" The moment William spoke, he asked the question he had been curious about earlier.
A moment later.
"Yes," Frey's voice was somewhat mechanical.
William raised an eyebrow at this: "Doesn't the Church have a photo of me?"
"The higher-ups only announced the crimes committed by William, but I heard around... that this was to use the opportunity to crack down on some lower-level Holy Clergy Members who oppose the Holy Clans..."
"So that's how it is..." William's eyes narrowed slightly.
He had always been curious as to why the Church was making such a huge fuss.
After all, the most important target, Jolan, was already under control, and William didn't have anything that would make the Church covetous—at least, on the surface.
Only now did William understand; this was all a method used by the Church, or rather the Holy Clans, to eliminate dissidents.
And he merely happened to become the justification for them to make their move.
"What a well-calculated scheme." William sneered.
Looking at it this way, the Church should currently be busy dealing with the lower-level dioceses. As long as he kept his whereabouts hidden, the Church naturally wouldn't expend manpower to hunt him down.
"No... I can't think like that." William quickly shook his head.
"After all, the rewards on the wanted poster are real. There will definitely be powerful individuals who will try to claim them. Furthermore, once the Holy Clans finish dividing up the spoils, they will definitely free up their hands to eliminate this problem of mine."
"It seems I have to create some trouble for the Church as well..."
Thinking of this, William took a compact video camera out of his bag.
It was a model recommended by Simon earlier. Ever since the trip to the haunted house, William realized that video was also a means of resistance.
"Mr. Frey, now let's talk about some of the hidden, dark deeds you've done in the past..." He pressed the record button.
A moment later.
"You... you... you actually!" Frey stared in shock at the footage on the camera, his voice trembling.
"Does Your Excellency wish to live, or would you prefer I release these things to the public?" William's tone was calm.
"Or perhaps... you are willing to expose the Church's ugliness under your real name."
At this moment, he was just like a demon enchanting human hearts.
☆☆☆
-> 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