Wayne’s brow furrowed with a series of question marks, dumbfounded by Mona’s behavior, he confirmed it was no illusion; he was fine, so the problem could only lie with Mona.
Impossible, it couldn’t be that quick.
If clergy could fall so easily, devils would wake laughing from their dreams; there’d be no need for elaborate schemes, just corrupt the nuns by CPU and it’d be done.
From Mona’s initial unyielding stance to now taking the initiative, the great change suggested she had nothing to fear.
Wayne speculated that Mona’s superiors had informed her of the situation, and knowing he was a good person, that was why she...
That’s not right either, good people just get bullied; it’s the bad ones who get to enjoy the honey trap.
Wayne touched the mask on his face, the drastic difference between before and now suggested that Holy See superiors had assigned Mona a task, to find out his true nature, whether he was good or bad.
Fine, fine, fine, this is how you want to play it then!
Wayne glanced at Mona, aware of her plight and not wishing to make things difficult for her, he promised not to make any moves nor to refuse her, letting her complete her task seamlessly.
But let’s be clear, he wouldn’t take responsibility, and he warned Mona not to go too far.
Wayne reached out to touch her silk-clad leg; Mona tensed up. About two minutes passed, the stockings almost pilled, but still, no one made the next move.
The atmosphere was awkward; both were waiting for the other to take the initiative.
After a while, having waited for nothing, Wayne stood up, picked up Mona and threw her on the ground, without mincing words, "Too fat, the third task, slim down to 110 pounds before you can please me."
He straightened his coat and left with long strides, "Remember, not a single item for the alchemy array can be missing. Tomorrow at this time, bring everything and come with me to the third hideout."
"He mentioned the third hideout?"
In St. Paul Cathedral, Gunther flipped through the alchemy book, frowning, "Where are the first and second hideouts?"
Mona wasn’t entirely sure but relayed the message and asked, "Archbishop, are we really going to prepare the materials for him?"
If you don’t deliver the materials, how can we pinpoint the exact location of the portal?
As Gunther continued to peruse the alchemy book, looking for other clues, he seemed to realize something and said to Mona, "You may leave now. You’ll rest in the church tonight; I will gather the materials as soon as possible and you’ll hand them all to him, not one less."
You sound just like the devil, Archbishop!
Do you know each other?
Mona was even more suspicious, suspecting that the so-called Bruce was actually a spy planted by the Holy See within the demon ranks, and that the night she was lured to the devil worshippers’ den was to use her clergy status to win the trust of the devils.
The possibility was high; Bruce made the excuse of not wanting to share and brought her out unscathed from a group of lechers, touching only her butt and legs, and through her, passed the intelligence to the Archbishop.
So Bruce was just foul-mouthed and looked like a devil, but was actually one of their own?
The thought was wishful thinking, Mona wasn’t so sure, being there in person, Bruce really didn’t seem to be acting.
"Archbishop, I want to know..."
"You don’t need to know, just follow the orders, and relay every single word he says to me." Gunther reiterated.
"Uh, Bruce also gave me a third task." Mona said dryly.
"Why didn’t you say it earlier?"
Gunther gave Mona a reproachful look, "What task, what else does he need?"
"He thinks I’m too fat; he told me to slim down to 110 pounds before seducing him."
"Who told you to seduce him?"
Gunther said displeased, "Don’t act on your own; besides, lose weight quickly, down to 110 pounds."
Mona left speechlessly. She wasn’t fat, not at all. Her figure could make devils cry out in envy.
After Mona had left, Gunther extracted about a dozen fragments of paper from the crevices of the alchemy book’s pages, pieced them together, and a simplified map of Lundan’s underground appeared before him.
The first mark was located in East Lundan, near Themes River;
The second mark was in the South District of Lundan, very close to where Mona had been ambushed;
The third location was in the West District, with several more marked with question marks—four, five, and beyond.
"An inverted pentagram... or possibly another magic array..."
Gold light burst from Gunther’s eyes as he gleaned important information, and the foggy terrain before him suddenly became much clearer.
But that alone wasn’t enough; he needed all the portal coordinates to crush the devil’s plot with a stroke of lightning and drive them back to Hell.
"Compared to sending them back to Hell, sealing them might be a better option. We’ve been too passive for too long." Gunther murmured to himself, contemplating the Liberty Mage Alliance.
With only the church’s influence in Lundan, they could at best draw even with the devils that descended upon the human world, for showcasing too much power would inevitably lead to a nerf in the next version.
The Royal Family wouldn’t tolerate a strengthening church, and Gunther had no reason to sacrifice the accumulated fortune; in this case, collaborating with the Liberty Mage Alliance was undoubtedly the better option.
Because of your suppression, the church can’t contend with the devil; Lundan is on the brink of disaster, it’s on you to see what to do!
Gunther put away the paper scraps and started drawing a new map on a fresh sheet of paper, his curiosity about ’Bruce’s’ identity growing.
It was confirmed Bruce was not controlled by the Thousand-Eyed Demon, and that sharing intel was to leverage the church’s power to eliminate it. Mona had also mentioned that the Thousand-Eyed Demon had personally corrupted Bruce’s mind.
Not everyone can resist the devil’s temptation, and not everyone can maintain their self in the presence of a devil; the Mage named Bruce was definitely not that simple.