"Good evening, sir."
The lean man nodded slightly and said, "I am a pastor of the Storm Church. May I ask if you spoke with Miss Hana today?"
Lex nodded, confirming, and thought to himself, 'Hana really did seek help from the Storm Church. This is good; such matters should be handled by the Church.'
"Alright, please come with me to the Church. Bishop Millet from Bansi Port has arrived and is waiting for all contact persons."
"Wait, wait." Lex instinctively agreed, then retorted, "What contact persons? Why do I have to go to the Church?"
The pastor of the Storm Church said with a hint of impatience, "If you spoke with Miss Hana and discussed her adventure, then you should have already been 'infected'."
"Asking you to come to the Church is both to leverage your strength and to give you a chance to save yourselves."
Lex said in astonishment, "What infection? What self-salvation? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Check your body. You should have something resembling mold spots on you. That is proof of infection."
The Storm pastor said with a serious expression, "Please take this matter seriously. This afternoon, one contact person's condition worsened, and he is now bedridden. If a solution isn't found, he will die within one to two days."
When Lex heard the words 'mold spots,' his heart sank. He quickly checked his arm and indeed found a mold spot on the palm of his right hand.
"How could this be?"
The Storm pastor glanced at the Bartender next to him, "Thank you for leading the way. You may leave now."
The Bartender quickly agreed, not daring to linger, and ran off in a flash.
The pastor continued, "This afternoon, on a ship departing Damir Port, someone fainted with a high fever, and strange, mold-like spots were found on his body. Then, Miss Hana came to the Church for help, and the unconscious person was also sent to the Church. After confirmation, this person had previously been in contact with Miss Hana and, during their conversation, learned the story of that underground temple."
"Our Church in Damir Port could not resolve this matter, so we notified the Bishop of the Bansi Port diocese. Bishop Millet arrived in Damir Port in the evening after receiving the news."
"We have already found other Adventurers and hunters who had interactions with Miss Hana, and strange mold spots have also appeared on their bodies. Bishop Millet believes this might be a curse, and this curse is 'contagious'."
The Storm pastor said in a deep voice, "The medium of infection is Miss Hana's 'story'. As long as one hears that story, they will be targeted."
"So, are you coming or not?"
Lex clutched his forehead. He had not intended to get involved, but he had fallen into it anyway. He nodded and said, "Please wait a moment; I'll grab some things and then I'll go with you."
"I'll wait for you downstairs." The pastor glanced at him and left the room.
Lex summoned the 'spirit world treasure chest', deposited his briefcase containing pounds and the 'staff of resentment', and took out ''Devil May Cry'' from the chest. This was because he considered that to resolve the curse, he might have to go to that so-called underground temple, where he might encounter undead, especially since Hana had mentioned three coffins there!
The Storm Church in Damir Port was not far from the inn. The Church was small, indicating that the Storm Church did not have many forces stationed there, which explained why the local pastor had to seek help from the Church in Bansi Port after receiving Hana.
Upon entering the Church, he saw a Bearded Man holding a rifle, shouting at Hana, "It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, how would we have encountered such bad luck!"
"That's why I always say, women should stay at home obediently and not go out to Sea for adventures. You never bring anything good!"
"Put down the gun!"
A figure stepped between Bearded Man and Hana. It was a middle-aged man, dressed in a deep blue bishop's robe embroidered with the Storm symbol. Lightning seemed to flash in his light brown eyes, causing Bearded Man to involuntarily lower his head.
'That must be the Bishop of the Bansi Port diocese,' Lex thought, and, carrying ''Devil May Cry'', walked to the side and sat down on an empty pew.
Bearded Man eventually lowered his gun, and then Bishop Millet said, "You are being unfair to Miss Hana. She did not know that the story she told would become a medium for a curse."
"Besides, the curse has already taken effect. Even if you kill her, will you be saved?"
"We should do the right thing now. We should go to that temple, destroy the culprit spreading the curse, and only then can we thoroughly solve the problems on your bodies!"
The pastor who brought Lex came to Bishop Millet's side and pointed at Lex. The Bishop nodded and then said, "We have found the last contact person. Now, I hope you can assist us."
"Unfortunately, the only force we can currently deploy is a team of 'Enforcers'. If we were to seek help from other dioceses, support would not arrive within one or two days."
"Therefore, I need to borrow your strength. Now, please, Miss Hana, lead us to that underground temple. Those willing to help, follow along."
With that, Bishop Millet nodded to the Miss behind him, and the girl with two pigtails walked past everyone with her head down, leaving the Church with Bishop Millet.
"To act at night, this doesn't seem like a good idea." Though he said this, Lex still stood up and, carrying ''Devil May Cry'', walked out of the Church.
He noticed that Bishop Millet was carrying a rustic, dark brown staff. It had faint golden patterns that were not very clear. This item made Lex feel uncomfortable; he instinctively wanted to stay away from it.
'That must be a magical item or a sealed artifact,' he thought.
After leaving the Church, people gradually joined them. They were members of the 'Enforcers' team, six of them, all with different appearances, but all looking very capable and fierce.
Bishop Millet beckoned, and a man with thick lips and dark skin walked to his side.
"Roldor, you will use '2-04'."
The thick-lipped man named Roldor looked at the Bishop. A smile flashed in Bishop Millet's light brown eyes: "It's alright, I don't need it."
Roldor grunted and took the dark brown staff. Only up close could one see that the end of the staff had a metal knob with markings from 0 to 3.
Information about this sealed artifact naturally appeared in Roldor's mind, something he needed to remember at all times.
"Number: 004."
"Name: Hidden Blade Staff."
"Danger Rank: '2', Dangerous. Use cautiously and sparingly. Only for operations with three or more people, or by Deacons and Diocesan Bishops."
"Confidentiality Rank: Bishop, Team Captain, and above."