Chapter 197: San Fernando Valley
Hearing this idea, surprise flashed in Faya's eyes.
"What information can be investigated outside the commission location?" she thought to herself.
Under normal circumstances, after receiving a commission, Faya and the others would go to the church stronghold at the incident location.
Then, guided by local subordinate clergy members, they would go to the scene to complete the exorcism work.
After all, this was not something that could be completed in a day.
Besides needing to constantly confront and game against evil spirits and demons to recall the stolen souls bit by bit.
Only by arriving at the scene could it be possible to figure out the origin of this evil.
The car left the airport's east entrance, then headed north along Interstate 5.
Faya sat in the passenger seat.
Watching the airport shrink in the rearview mirror, hesitation flashed in her eyes.
"Don't worry, we will arrive at the agreed time." William glanced at her and spoke.
"In that case, let's follow Father William's arrangement." Faya forced a smile.
William sensed the unnaturalness in the other party's expression.
He was alert inside.
But right now, the information he mastered was too little, so he could only observe for a while longer.
The two soon arrived at the Pacoima district.
The population here was sparse, and the place was remote; it was a place most tourists would not choose.
"Father William, is there something special here?" Faya asked curiously.
"Maybe." William replied casually.
He found a gas station, which was considered the place with the most foot traffic nearby.
William picked up a magazine from the rack, then walked to the cashier counter.
The receptionist was a young man with medium-length hair; the name tag on his chest read—Jacob.
Jacob took the magazine, then found an extra dollar bill in his hand, the face value of which far exceeded the price of the magazine.
He raised his head, doubt in his eyes.
"Excuse me, is it convenient to ask some questions?" William smiled.
Jacob's gaze wandered between the two clergy members.
Seeing that the priest in front of him was handsome and the nun aside also had beautiful features, he immediately gave William an "I get you" look.
After stuffing the dollar bill into his chest pocket, Jacob leaned forward and whispered:
"Hey brother! If you're looking for a motel, there's one behind the gas station. I know the owner there; I can get you a room further inside..."
Hearing this, Faya opened her mouth slightly; she looked at William incredulously.
This is the extra investigation you talked about!?
William knew a misunderstanding had occurred and shook his head:
"I want to ask, have there been any large-scale events in San Fernando recently, like gatherings or such?"
Seeing it wasn't what he thought, Jacob shrugged, and his voice returned to normal.
"If you want to see a certain 'Enlightenment Teacher', you're late. The special star meet-and-greet ended last month."
Jacob pointed to the magazine on the table.
William was stunned.
He followed the direction and saw the cover read—"Hot, Real, Zero Distance Experience. Welcome to San Fernando Valley, the Paradise of the Adult Film Industry!"
Faya turned her head to stare closely at William again, her eyes full of suspicion.
William covered his face.
He really didn't expect this place to have such an industry, so he had to organize his language again:
"I mean that kind of large-scale memorial meeting, exhibition, and the like?"
Jacob shook his head: "Only a place like Los Angeles would hold such boring activities."
Los Angeles is just east of San Fernando; the distance between the two cities is very close.
"Then is there any news about luxury villas and manors being sold at a discount recently?" William asked the next question.
Jacob recalled for a moment, still shaking his head: "No, there must be problems with that kind of house; who would buy it if they were normal?"
"Are there any anecdotes appearing around, like a certain item that can grant people's wishes?"
"Mr. Priest, that kind of thing only happens on drugs, in dreams, and in movies."
"Then are there certain organizations soliciting people on the street to spread some ideas?"
"Uh... yes."
"Who? Where?"
"Just you two."
"...This doesn't count."
Faya aside was already confused.
William's questions seemed to have no pattern and were unrelated to the commission.
A guess couldn't help but arise in Faya's heart—He went in such a big circle; he wouldn't still want to take me to the motel in the end, right...
Just as Faya hesitated whether to agree, William spoke:
"Thank you for clarifying; let's go."
Outside the gas station, Faya asked William again.
But the latter just said—It's not time to draw conclusions yet.
Next, they changed course to the south.
Entering Ventura Boulevard from Hollywood Way; this is the most prosperous commercial district in San Fernando Valley.
Perhaps because it is very close to Los Angeles, the street view here is very similar to the former.
Wide streets, low-rise residential buildings.
Driving on the road, William actually had a very familiar feeling.
They stopped in turn at places with large crowds such as shopping malls, cultural streets, and police stations.
Subsequently, William still found people to ask those questions mentioned above.
And the answers obtained were basically consistent.
In this way, he finally put his mind at ease.
Perhaps sensing the change in William's mood, Faya probed: "Can we draw a conclusion now?"
The former nodded.
"Judging from the investigation results, no medium or large-scale evil events will happen in this city recently."
Faya seemed to realize something; she tried to summarize:
"Large exhibitions have many people gathering, which is likely to become a place for evil forces to sacrifice, just like Memorial Day in Philadelphia."
"Items that can grant wishes... many demons will use this to bewitch humans."
"Disorderly spread of ideas... this is very much like the style of Old God believers."
William raised an eyebrow: "Nun Faya, with such awareness, your survival rate in this world will be very high."
Although she didn't quite understand the content about "Survival Rate."
But Faya still understood that William was praising her, so she curtsied.
But she was still a little puzzled: "But what is the connection between discounted villas and evil events?"
"Evil spirits and demons won't choose possession targets based on house prices, unless someone died in the house."
William smiled slightly: "In the existing Church's exorcism commissions, more than 60% of abnormal events start with a family buying such houses."
Surprise flashed in Faya's eyes.
William had another sentence in his heart unsaid—In the world of American Horror, this proportion might reach 90%.
"I never thought from this perspective; I didn't expect you to discover even such details." Faya praised.
She was surprised by William's carefulness.
She also understood why the other party didn't go to the incident location at the beginning.
Once encountering a Memorial Day event again, she and William would likely be in mortal danger.
Faya nodded secretly, deciding to screen all commissions after returning.
At the same time, the suspicion of William in her heart also dissipated a lot.
"If he really invites... to complete the order of His Excellency the Archbishop... maybe I can..."
Just as Faya was pondering, William opened the car door.
"Time is about right; time to go to the commission scene."
San Fernando Valley, South.
William walked backwards on a main street.
There was a mountain in front of him, the famous—Hollywood Hills.
Many wealthy merchants and celebrities lived on the other side of the mountain; William had flown a helicopter over here many times.
Of course, in the game.
"Father William, what are you looking at?" Faya asked curiously.
"Ah, Los Angeles is very familiar; it gives me a feeling of coming home." William sighed with emotion.
"Did you live here before?"
"In a sense, yes."
At the same time, a commotion came from ahead.
The two walked quickly and came to a building.
Gray-white walls, red tile roof, towering bell tower.
This was exactly the meeting place agreed on the commission—St. Charles Church.
But at this time, clergy members were running out from inside.
They looked terrified, kneeling on the ground constantly praying, attracting the attention of many passers-by.
Faya trotted over hurriedly and squatted beside a nun.
William also sized up the church in front of him with [Holy Eye].
"Dark and corrupt aura; this is dead spirits."
William narrowed his eyes.
"Why would these guys gather here?"
St. Charles Church is located in the downtown area, and no murder case has occurred since its construction decades ago.
Plus the aura of Holy Light inside, it should be a place dead spirits avoid.
At this time, Faya returned.
"They said many dead spirits gathered inside and drove all the clergy members out; only an apprentice nun remains inside."
"Specific reason?"
"It's... those comatose people in the commission."
Faya's face was a bit complex.
"Those people's souls are missing; now the physical body is equivalent to an empty shell, which is hard to refuse for dead spirits."
William raised an eyebrow: "No defensive arrangements were made?"
Faya shook her head: "Father Ivan should have been responsible for this matter, but the nun just now said the Father has been killed by dead spirits."
"So arrogant?" William rubbed his chin.
"That apprentice nun is named Erin. She asked others to leave first, but she herself was trapped by dead spirits."
Faya said as she walked towards the church.
"We have to go in and help; maybe that nun knows something."
William said: "I'll make some arrangements around; I'll come in a moment."
Faya hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
After the nun left, William took out tools from his cloth bag.
After setting up restriction magic arrays on the periphery, he walked towards the church.
"The church gate is a bit heavy; it would be bad if I get restricted by force later." William rubbed his chin and pondered.
Immediately after, the clergy members who escaped to the street widened their eyes.
Only hearing a loud bang, the black wooden door collapsed with a crash.
Then a back figure wearing a black robe was revealed.
William went all the way to the rear of the church.
Any gate encountered along the way, as long as the quality was better, would be carefully "Put Down" by him.
Before long, in a courtyard, he saw Nun Faya again.
The other party was vigilant of the surroundings at this time.
But what surprised William the most was Faya's posture.
He saw this nun holding a crucifix in one hand and a pure white long staff in the other.
Looking at the appearance, the long staff was obviously composed of bones.
At the same time William arrived, the scene changed again.
Several dead spirits pounced on Faya, successfully attracting her attention.
And another dead spirit lurked behind the nun, obviously harboring malicious intentions.
Large patches of black emerged on the dead spirit's body; this was a sign of the spirit body being polluted by evil aura.
Once left alone, these dead spirits would soon turn into Evil Spirits (Wraiths).
"No wonder it could cause that kind of anomaly." William thought secretly.
Compared with normal dead spirits, Evil Spirits are more powerful in mental invasion, thought control, etc.
Although these spirit bodies in front of him hadn't completely transformed yet, their strength wouldn't be much worse.
Just as William was about to act, his movement paused.
He saw several pitch-black small holes appear on Faya's neck, and then several sections of bone drilled out from inside.
These bones formed a bone shield, wrapping her head tightly.
In the next second, the dead spirit's attack arrived just in time.
A collision of forces came from the air.
From William's perspective, he could see the dead spirit released some kind of energy, but it was blocked by the Holy Power in those bone shields.
"So this is Bone Manifestation." He marveled inwardly.
These bones were connected by Holy Power.
Every section could be controlled by Faya.
This is the first-stage Holy Art of the Bone stage—Bone Reshaping, able to release one's own bones as weapons.
William quickly thought of a guy who also used bones.
"The Four Parts of Theology are really somewhat special." He thought to himself.
Such an attack method was indeed powerful, but it originated from a holy place like the Church.
A strange feeling surged in William's heart.
Before he could think carefully, Faya was already struggling to support herself.
At this time, in her perspective, she could see many transparent spirit bodies around.
But Faya was not "Eyes Manifestation."
Therefore, capturing the movements of multiple spirit bodies at the same time consumed a lot of mental power.
Plus the occasional mental invasion of dead spirits.
Faya could only maintain a defensive posture temporarily.
She wanted to use the crucifix in her hand.
But those dead spirits were very cunning; they actually cooperated to attack, looking for her flaws.
Seeing William arriving at this moment, Faya's heart lifted.
She hurriedly called for help: "Please help."
At the same time, the dead spirits also discovered William on the steps.
Seeing no power fluctuations around this human, just standing dumbly in place.
Two dead spirits rushed up immediately.
Fluctuations of mental invasion emerged in the air.
At this time, one of the elderly dead spirits paused.
Then it turned to the companion beside it.
That was a female dead spirit, skin whitish and rotten, as if soaked in water.
The latter had already designed the script of "Illusion."
In the next second, power poured into that human's eyes, and a look of pain appeared on the other party's face.
After extreme torture, the rotten dead spirit "Successfully" harvested the human's body.
She opened her eyes with a smile, but saw that human still standing on the steps.
At this time, the other party looked curious, and her companion stood beside him.
The rotten dead spirit frowned; she looked down at herself, only to see it was still that miserable state before death.
At this time, she finally realized that it was the elderly dead spirit who influenced her mind.
The rotten dead spirit looked ferocious, staring at the "Companion" with resentment.
But she was greeted by the other party's attack again.
For a time, two dead spirits fought together.
"So after Evil Assimilation, I can forcibly make dead spirits act according to my will." William marveled inwardly.
In the first encounter just now, he completed the purification of the elderly dead spirit.
If not for worrying about being discovered by Faya, William intended to assimilate the rotten dead spirit as well.
And after several attempts, he had mastered this method proficiently.
Aside, the dead spirits besieging Faya also discovered the anomaly.
Seeing companions turn against each other, these guys immediately rushed nearby.
Just as they intended to dissuade, the rotten dead spirit and the elderly dead spirit changed direction and suddenly launched an attack on other dead spirits.
This accident came suddenly.
Several of them were injured immediately.
After distancing themselves, disbelief floated on the faces of the dead spirits.
Didn't we agree to team up to snatch bodies? Why did you guys turn traitor!
Is this right??
Where is the mutual trust between dead spirits!
But before they could think carefully, several more "Righteous-looking" guys rebelled!
For a time, the siege scene was completely broken.
In just a moment, these dead spirits were all subdued.
Faya looked surprised.
Although she could only see some contours, she perceived the movements of those dead spirits.
"Actually able to assimilate part of the dead spirits and make them attack each other." Faya was secretly startled.
Obviously, William's strength was even stronger than she expected.
William took out a wooden jar and collected the floating spirit bodies into it.
These were all evil remains; they could be used after safety checks.
"Injured?" William packed the things.
Faya smiled slightly: "Fortunately, you arrived in time; otherwise, I would be in trouble."
William sensed the intimacy in the other party's tone.
But he nodded calmly: "Did you find Nun Erin?"
Faya pointed to a room aside.
"Just now when I wanted to go in, I was driven out by part of the dead spirits."
William looked in that direction, seeing the room shrouded in thick deathly aura.
This was obviously the root cause of all anomalies.
But at this time, the room door was sealed by a powerful force.
"Good thing I dis... opened the door." William murmured.
"What did you say?" Faya turned her head.
"Nothing." William hurried forward, then took out a tool for setting up magic arrays.
A moment later.
Bang!
The door was knocked open by violent force.
William retreated a few steps before looking inside.
At this time, the room was in a mess. A nun was floating in the air.
Her clothes were torn in many places, revealing large areas of fair skin.
And more than twenty dead spirits surrounded the nun.
At the same time the door shattered, those dead spirits all turned their heads.
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