The farce began quickly, but it ended just as swiftly.
Erin had long gone to the backyard to see what the situation was really like.
As for York, the hands-off manager, he was leisurely sitting in his usual spot, opening a very securely packaged document bag.
He couldn't think of who would send him a package, but after some thought and considering recent events, it had to be either the Warren couple or the Church.
Because only these two were more formal, always in document format.
Everyone else mostly used high-tech methods, either phone calls or emails.
The convenience of societal development is such.
However, two items fell out of the document bag.
It seemed likely that two different people had sent him packages, which Erin had packed together.
"Indeed, it's from the Warren couple and the Church."
York was a bit surprised, yet not so surprised. One was sealed with the church headquarters' wax seal, and the other clearly stated its identity from the beginning.
"The Church's... probably about the bishop matter."
York shook his head, directly skipping over the letter from the Church, and picked up the document bag from the Warren couple.
As mentioned before, given the Warren couple's character, they generally wouldn't disturb him unless there was a matter, and once they did, it meant there was indeed an issue.
"So, there's work again?"
York casually opened the document bag, took out the contents one by one, and his expression revealed a sense of expectation.
The rule that the Warren couple would have something whenever they disturbed him remained unchanged.
However, when he saw everything inside, York raised his eyebrows.
The matter was simple. The Warren couple naturally encountered paranormal events, even if they didn't seek them out, and they came across one.
They indeed encountered a paranormal event, but their request for help wasn't for an exorcism, but rather to prove the fact that a victim was possessed.
"Proof, huh..." York picked up a photo of a young man.
According to the Warren couple, this young man committed a crime and killed someone, stabbing his boss a total of twenty-two times and was sentenced to death by the court.
However, there were significant doubts.
The young man's family had experienced a demonic event and had been successfully exorcised by the Warren couple, who had obtained the exorcism permit at the time.
Under their speculation, the young man in the photo was cursed.
The reason was that the young man could recite the essence of the Bible without changing his expression.
And they found a totem in the layer below the young man's residence.
"No demonic possession, so he could recite the Bible. Discovering the totem means being cursed and controlled, which does make sense..."
York then picked up the photo related to the totem, but this look made his eyebrows furrow.
"Another cult worshiping Satan or demons?"
The totem in the photo was a ram's skull.
Although different from the Satanic cult totem seen in Thailand, there was a similar essence.
The ram's skull totem has many interpretations, but once it involves the supernatural, it generally symbolizes demons.
York squinted his eyes and continued reading.
The last piece of information was Lorraine's explanation. Through her psychic abilities, she discovered a woman performing a ritual at an altar and stopped her actions with her psychic abilities.
"So, she could solve it herself?"
York shook his head, finding the event seemingly not very challenging. Since even Lorraine could achieve this much, it's very likely the person cursing them was indeed weak.
Possibly even weaker than ordinary followers of the Satanic church in Thailand, as those followers could directly use demonic powers, which is much more powerful than cursing someone.
"Probably not even qualified to trigger a random mission."
York mumbled to himself, took out his phone to call Ed, saying he could involve a nearby church in this matter.
But the moment the phone rang, he suddenly thought of his nun's psychic abilities.
"Hm?"
York seemed to think of something, a corner of his mouth twitching up, and before Ed could speak, he took the lead.
"Ed? You still have the totem from the photo, right?"
Ed obviously paused, the sound from the phone somewhat hesitant: "Father York, you've finished reading?"
But the next second, he obediently replied: "Yes, Father, the totem from the photo is still with me."
"Send it over." York's gaze had already settled on Erin in the backyard, busy with her tasks, calmly speaking.
"I can help you find the person who cursed you and also prove that the child in the photo was cursed."
"This is wonderful, Father York." Ed was clearly surprised: "I'll send it to you right away, as long as you can take action, the outcome will definitely change."
Hearing Ed's voice after a long time, York smiled but didn't mention that he didn't plan to take action himself, but rather to give his nun some practice.
In his view, the weak didn't deserve his attention or effort, so it was a win-win to have Erin solve it.
First, it would be training; second, it would let her know some uses of psychic abilities.
Psychic abilities aren't just about communicating with spirits or sensing their presence but have other uses, such as entering someone's mental space or cursing, which are also methods of use.
Powerful psychic abilities can sense everything about a person through various objects and draw them into a created mental space.
Just like demonic powers, like when he mentioned Valak's true name and was drawn into Its mental space.
It also allows influences on reality, like demons and spirits.
This is what psychic abilities can achieve.
Familiarizing with one's psychic abilities is what makes a qualified medium.
"Mm, I'll wait for it."
York didn't say much more and hung up.
The event was so trivial that he couldn't bring himself to act.
After all, a giant wouldn't care about a tiny ant passing by in a corner.
Of course, there was also another reason; the young man in the photo had nothing to do with him. If it were his follower, his attitude would naturally be different.
He casually added the little bit of points accumulated from daily tasks to his spirit.
[Spirit 220 raised to 221]
Listening to the prompt in his ear, York stuffed everything from the Warren couple back into the document bag, then picked up the Church's document bag.
Just as he opened a corner and glanced inside, York put it all away.
"Sure enough, it's a notification for a clerical promotion. They could have just called me, oh right, they don't accept my calls, are they afraid I'll refuse? Or are they afraid of my threats?"
York mused to himself, turning to look back at the church.
This noon was precisely when the faithful were busy with their lives, also his most relaxed time.
It was a concession from the old believers, his insistence, and the time he enchanted his bullets. Those familiar knew his rest time.
The number of faithful scattered across the benches, silently praying, had noticeably decreased.
"In that case, let's give a hand."
York picked up all his belongings and started walking towards the right side alley.
In the holographic image, Erin, John Wick, and Robert were all busy with a major cleanup in the backyard.
Naturally, Frank was working the hardest, with a bucket of water and a mop,enthusiastically mopping the floor...
"It seems he was quite frightened."
York chuckled to himself as he walked through the side alley, soon joining the backyard cleanup crew.
His participation obviously intensified Frank's efforts; York could even hear Frank's heavy breathing.
York was pleased with this, simply staying beside Erin and wiping the windows with a damp cloth.
He had become too lazy over the years.
The dirt accumulated on the windows was thick, requiring considerable effort to remove.
Despite the Church of Pluto seeming small, a major cleanup was undoubtedly a significant undertaking.
Just one three-story annex building could keep them busy for a day, and the Church of Pluto's backyard had two such buildings.
If it were up to him, he would hire someone for the cleaning.
But this was Erin's choice, and since he had handed over all management tasks to Erin, he also had to agree with her decisions and choices.
This was their contribution! Self-reliance!
York glanced down, where John Wick and Robert, clearly divided in their tasks, were handling trash disposal. He then dipped the cloth back into the bucket to rinse off the dirt before resuming his cleaning.
"Erin, don't forget to change out of your nun's habit this afternoon."
His words just fell when Erin, who was cleaning windows next to him, looked towards the priest with a puzzled gaze, not understanding why she would need to change into casual clothes for the afternoon.
"John, I've booked a club for today."
York, while wiping the dirt from the window crevices, casually mentioned, "It's a shooting range. Today, I plan to familiarize you with firearms."
Erin was unaware of this; he had headed straight to Thailand that day without telling her.
"The appointment is around three o'clock…"
York paused his cleaning to look at Erin, who seemed stunned by his words, and said with a smile.
"Erin, the world changes quickly. There's an Eastern saying, 'Having many skills does not weigh one down.' Someday, no, perhaps soon, you might need these skills."
"Just like the incident with the creature possessing a physical form during the Reston case, this is not something the knowledge you learned in the convent can resolve. But when you know how to use a gun, combined with your psychic abilities and holy power, it means you have the capability to confront physical monsters. Offense is the best defense."
With each word, Erin finally snapped back to reality. She stared at the priest's serious expression, remembering the calm words he had said, knowing he meant well for her.
"Okay, Father, I'll do my best." Erin showed a determined look.
York, reminiscing about his time in Romania, complimented her, a rare occurrence.
"This is what my Church of Pluto's deacon nun should be like." York smiled, earning an awkward glance from Erin as she returned to her cleaning task.
"Father York, may I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead."
"What does 'Having many skills does not weigh one down' mean? I kind of understand, but the phrase feels vague to me."
"Having many skills means the more skills you possess, the better. They won't make you feel burdened; on the contrary, they will only benefit you."
After a brief silence, Erin spoke again.
"Father York, I have another question."
"Hm?"
"Is it just Mr. John and me going?"
Erin's voice carried a hint of uncertainty.
"Of course not, I'll be joining too. John is just an ordinary person. This trip to the shooting range is not only for you to get used to firearms but also for me to teach you how to combine firearms with your psychic abilities..."
"Okay, I'll try my best to learn." Erin's voice relaxed instantly.
"..."
Time passed, and before they knew it, it was time for their appointment.
The cleanup work was temporarily paused.
York asked Robert to continue watching over the church, preparing to take John Wick and Erin to the shooting range.
Of course, he hadn't forgotten about Frank.
If just mopping the floor was enough to let this rascal off the hook, it would be too easy for him.
At the very least, he should continue until the major cleanup was finished.
To prevent this rascal from running away, York directly had John Wick bring out his high-tech gadget, a wristwatch-style tracker.
Standing beside the modified Ford Raptor, York stared at Frank, who was sheepishly smiling, and said calmly, "Mr. Frank, you can try to run, but if you're willing to face the consequences of another round..."
He then eyed the watch tightly strapped to his wrist and continued calmly.
"This watch can locate you in real time. If I find you trying to run, I'll do whatever it takes to get you behind bars. This isn't a threat, but a promise."
York noticed Frank's body shiver and couldn't help but pat him on the shoulder.
"You can try to destroy this watch, but it will also alert me, letting me know you're up to no good..."
In Frank's gaze, which seemed to see a demon, York smiled and offered one last piece of advice, "This tracker is hard to destroy by external means, even if you tried to saw it off, it would take a long time, enough for me to catch you back. Remember, Mr. Frank, I keep my word."
After saying this, leaving Frank dumbfounded on the spot, York waved at John Wick and Erin, signaling them to get into the car.
With a hum, as the two silently took their seats, York drove the Ford Raptor away, quickly disappearing from Frank's sight.
"fk!"
It was only after the car had vanished that Frank cursed loudly and flipped the bird in the direction the car had left, but recalling the priest's menacing aura, he dared not act rashly.
With his self-proclaimed clever mind and keen intuition, Frank felt that the terrifying priest could indeed keep his word.
"fk! Utterly unlucky!"
He could only curse while heading towards his home, planning to return to the Church of Pluto the next day to continue cleaning until the major cleanup was over.
What he didn't know was that York had a holographic view with a range of a hundred meters.
His actions were fully visible to York, who had just driven a hundred meters away from him.
"Huh!"
___________________
(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)
If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters
Read Ahead
Patreon.com/INNIT