"How is the captain's situation...?"

Hearing this question, "Secret Peeper" Isin Bruni, who had just left Chanis Gate and returned to the ground, subconsciously avoided the expectant eyes of his teammates, showed unbearable expression, and shook his head slightly:

"...Not very optimistic."

George Wood, the "gravedigger" who tried hard to force himself to be cheerful, gradually lost the strength to maintain a smile. The upward arc of his mouth gradually deformed and distorted, as if being dragged downward by some invisible heavy thing, and gradually appeared

He had a funny expression that was both sad and happy.

If in the past, Issing had seen George's abnormal behavior, they would have made some harmless jokes, and eventually turned into a battle between Quint and Quint.

But now, the mood surrounding Ising, George, and even the entire Connacht Nighthawks team is one of loss, depression, concern that captain Mooney Kahn has not yet escaped the risk of losing control, and a deep concern for the future.

Deeply confused.

"They said... a bishop is considering lowering the status of the Nighthawks team in Conant City, blaming us that our actions not only led to the loss of a '2' level' and a '3' level sealed artifact, but even led to the loss of a 'level 2' and a 'level 3' sealed artifact, including the captain

Most of the team members, including the team members, have been spiritually infected by evil pagans, which may cause extremely serious follow-up risks... because they are not sure whether those who have been spiritually affected have really gotten rid of their control and returned to normal."

"This is complete nonsense!" George clenched his fists, "I don't believe they can't arrange ritual magic. Just pray to the goddess, and the goddess will definitely prove it all!"

"...But, George, you can't deny that a few days ago we all thought that the captain had returned to normal. Even Deacon Dario recognized the captain's judgment that he had "liberated himself from mental control", but it only took less than half a day.

, an informant reported that he had discovered unusual behavior in the captain... He ran to a well-known wedding company in the city, and almost negotiated the location and time of the wedding with the account manager there, and also tried to find someone to make assumptions about it.

The fiancée in China has a custom-made wedding dress.”

That is to say, after this incident, Mooney Kahn, who was considered to have returned to normal, was again taken into custody and controlled by the executors dispatched by the church, but this time it was no longer simple isolation and observation.

Mooney was imprisoned underground behind Chanis Gate.

"...Even if we can recover, the captain probably won't be able to continue leading us." Isin lowered his head and said slowly, "Maybe he will be assigned to be an internal guard, or he may be taken to the temple to wait for instructions later.

Unless a miracle happens, the captain can only step down... We should not be much better, maybe, we will be disrupted, split, and transferred to other teams, and then the temple will appoint a new team to take charge of Connor

Special city…”

George fell into silence, and it took him a while to find his voice with difficulty:

"Why us?... No, I mean, why were we the only ones who escaped? If we had also participated in the witch's escort mission, wouldn't the captain have..."

"We also join the escort team? Do you want Buttrick to bear all the pressure these days by himself? He has only been promoted not long ago, and his condition is not good. Do you want us to lose another teammate? George

!Don’t take yourself so seriously, as if nothing would happen if you were here!”

At the end of the sentence, Isin's tone was almost like a roar, but she didn't have the energy to restrain this emotional expression that was not ladylike or graceful enough. Rather, it was precisely because she knew her own powerlessness that she hated the ruthlessness and coldness in front of her so much.

reality.

The dead silence was like a disease spreading indoors, eroding the bodies and minds of the night watchers. No one spoke for a while, until someone knocked lightly on the door of the duty room where they were.

Isin turned his back, tried hard to control the possible hoarseness in his voice, and said loudly:

"Please come in! The door is unlocked here!"

"Excuse me for disturbing you."

The visitor was wearing a black trench coat and white shirt that are common among night watchers, with short golden brown hair, neat and clean, a thin face, thin lips, and the collars of his shirt and trench coat were raised high.

"You are..." George looked up at this strange man, trying hard to find a matching face in his mind.

But when his sight touched those deep dark green pupils, Isin suddenly stood up from his seat.

"Se, Sir Sesima! Why are you here!"

George was startled by his teammates' reaction and quickly stood up subconsciously, while constantly recalling this very familiar name in his mind.

Sesima...wait, senior butler, "Goddess Sword" Crestel Sesima?!

That is a high-sequence powerhouse!

After realizing this fact, the two Nighthawks from Connacht City couldn't help but look at each other, and they saw surprise and a little fear on each other's faces.

"Your Excellency Sesima, is there any new order from the headquarters..."

Isin, who had just returned from Chanis' door before, knew slightly more details than George. At least she knew in her heart that the discussion she was allowed to observe did not include the follow-up treatment of their team and captain Mooney.

But this does not mean that these matters were not decided during the discussions after she left...

"Don't be nervous, come on, let's go down and talk, it's not very convenient here."

Crestel Sesima smiled slightly and gestured in the direction to Chanis Gate with the hand that was not carrying the box.

Seeing this, the two young night watchers had no choice but to suppress their doubts and uneasiness, and followed the senior deacon underground, passing through a secret door. The room was not very big, and there were almost no sundries.

stopped in the room.

"sit down."

"Sword of the Goddess" Your Excellency said this, Isin and George were no longer restrained, and each found a chair to sit down.

As for Crested Sesima, who was wearing a black trench coat and a white shirt, he just placed his suitcase on the only wooden square table in the room, and then casually pulled out a simple round table.

He took the stool and sat across from the two young night watchers.

"The first thing I want to inform you is about the witch you encountered half a month ago...well, that is, the heretic who was nicknamed the 'Mirror Witch' in subsequent reports. Now in the temple

Her danger level has been readjusted. You no longer need to consider the subsequent pursuit. The case involving this witch has been fully taken care of by me and my team.

As for the arrest warrant that has been announced... it will not be withdrawn for the time being, but the headquarters will issue new policies to each Nighthawk team to prevent ordinary Nighthawks from discovering clues but wasting the opportunity by acting rashly."

Your Excellency "Sword of the Goddess" and his team were personally responsible for the hunt for that witch at that time?!

Ising and George looked at each other, feeling a little incredible.

"Well, then our team..." Isin said tentatively.

"The Connacht Nighthawks team has done a great job. You don't need to be criticized harshly."

Crestel Sesima nodded slightly, and her eyes as calm as moonlight and lake water swept across the two haggard-looking Nighthawks.

"The evidence left at the scene and the subsequent investigation showed that the nature of the black magic ceremony that was being held in the 'Greenery and Lady of the Lake' manor was probably to offer sacrifices to a hidden existence and pray for the release of the spirit.

...The 'witch' you encountered may not be the host of the ceremony, or in other words, on the outside, they are members of the witch sect who presided over the ceremony, but their internal essence has been dominated by the gods they believe in..."

"The birth of the evil god?!"

Although both of them have been members of the Nighthawks for many years, such concepts have only appeared in classics. Neither Ising nor George ever thought that they would experience such a terrible thing personally.

"I know you find it unbelievable, but I have received the oracle from the goddess, and you don't need to question the authenticity of this matter."

"No, no... Of course we are not suspicious, it's just... Goddess, please forgive our ignorance and laziness. If we could have prevented those missing cases from happening, wouldn't everything have turned into what it is today..."

George pondered for a while, and instead of falling into the mood of self-blame with his teammates who closed their eyes and began to pray, he found a name from the only knowledge he had about the Witch Cult.

"Is the secret existence that the Witch Sect believes in called the 'Original Witch'?"

Crestel gave the gravedigger a deep look.

"That's right, not to mention the 'Original Witch' herself, even if it is just a newly born spirit carrier, for mid- to low-sequence extraordinary beings, direct visual inspection may cause serious pollution and cause loss of control... You really didn't go crazy on the spot.

I'm very lucky, so don't think about revenge. It's best not to even think about similar thoughts. Also, you mentioned the disappearance case..."

Having said this, he paused for a moment, seeming to be looking for the right words.

Soon, Ising and George knew the reason why the senior deacon behaved like this.

"In addition to the remains of the victims who have been missing in recent days, our team of Nighthawks, Punishers, and Mechanical Hearts have searched for no less than five hundred human corpses in the 'Greenery and Lady of the Lake' manor... I think, you guys

I don’t want to know the specific scene at that time. In short, the earliest death year among the corpses can be determined to be three years ago, when large-scale renovations were carried out before the manor could be built."

Crested said that the three orthodox churches have initially reached a consensus that the deceased in the manor should all be missing persons in recent years.

Moreover, judging from this staggering number, I am afraid that not only the disappearance cases in Connacht City, but also the entire Dixi County may be related to this inhumane sacrifice...

Obviously, the Witch Cult had planned this for a long time. They carefully and secretly manipulated the disappearances in Dixi County. They kept the crime frequency data around the normal error value for several years until the ceremony was approaching and they did not have enough ritual sacrifices.

They hurriedly accelerated the execution of the plan, and the official forces noticed the clues.

"Currently, we are still unable to determine the connection between the missing persons... which is the standard for selecting 'sacrifice' by the Witch Sect." Crestel said with a solemn expression, "The oracle sent down by the goddess revealed that all the keys are

On the number '6'. My personal guess is that the number of dead people involved in that ceremony should be no more than 666 people."

The two Nighthawks fell into silence.

They understood what the "Sword of the Goddess" meant.

Even if the Nighthawks in Connacht successfully solve the disappearance case and rescue the dozen victims, they will be unable to stifle other budding evils in Dexi County. Sooner or later, this bloody and cruel sacrificial birth ceremony will still happen.

occur.

There is no need for them to criticize themselves for things beyond their capabilities.

But……

Both Ising and George knew this was correct, but the realization that this right was wrong undoubtedly made them feel painful.

"——I promise you."

At some point, Crestel Sesima put her hand on the surface of the silver suitcase on the table and opened it.

In the quiet and eerie darkness of the room, with only the pure white holy sword in the box emitting pure light, he solemnly read out his oath.

"I swear to the goddess, I will take responsibility and put an end to this evil."
To be continued...