"No, I need to write my book, I’m not going anywhere," Chris insisted on staying in the hotel to organize her outline, fearing another mishap if she left.
By the time Wayne had finished his investigation, her outline was also nearly done, and she was just in time to help identify any problems.
Seeing her startled-bird demeanor, Wayne couldn’t help but chuckle with delight, patting his bottom, "Come on, there’s a Cathedral Church nearby that’s giving out eggs; let’s go have a look."
Mona nodded, packing up the files on the table and putting them into her personal space.
The Cathedral Church was located in Ford Town on the outskirts of Durin City, with convenient transportation between the two places, a car trip of less than half an hour.
Wayne decided to start his search from there because it was close.
Mona was driving again, and Wayne, sitting in the passenger seat, was doodling on the map, connecting various cult distribution points suspected of being linked to the Earth Core Evil Cult to see if they could find traces of a large-scale sacrificial magic array.
Hexagram, pentagram, Crucifix Star, Triangle Star...
He tried each one in turn and detected no related traces.
"These cults collectively surfaced after declaring war, and rather than saying it’s a coincidence, I prefer to believe they have organizational planning behind them, belonging to a substantial and not-insignificant organization," Wayne said, looking down at the map.
"Boss, do you suspect there’s something to do with devils?"
Wayne gave Mona a look, "Mona, you’re too concerned about devils; you attribute everything to them, which isn’t good."
He continued, "Organizational planning doesn’t necessarily mean devils; it could be a local noble’s money-making scheme or an offshoot of the local Holy See struggling against Windsor’s Life Alliance forces."
Wayne analyzed every possibility one by one, finally frowning, "The operation of giving away eggs is too similar to the Earth Core Cult. If it’s indeed their doing, it means the return of Evil Gods from The Void to the Mortal World... and not just one..."
There are generally two types of Evil Gods: mages who have fallen into The Void, and devils from Hell.
There’s not much to say about Hell’s devils; it’s difficult for them to enter the Mortal World unless it’s a special case, and they’re unlikely to manifest.
Mages who fall into The Void are usually Legendary Mages, like the Void Lord Marshall. Golden Mages don’t yet qualify for corruption, their strength is too weak; they are dazed the moment they see the Gate of Truth and have no chance to learn The Void’s advanced knowledge.
In fact, even Legendary Mages can’t stay in The Void for too long.
Because they desire progress too much, the more they learn, the more they realize they don’t know, succumbing to the temptation of knowledge and becoming addicted to The Void, eventually going mad and merging into one with it.
Very few Legendary Mages manage to regain their sanity after madness and return peacefully from The Void.
Moreover, if they’ve already regained their sense of self, it means they’ve successfully attained life evolution in The Void; returning to the Mortal World is of little significance.
"Perhaps for faith, or more likely for sacrifice..."
"An organized, large-scale return, collectively scavenging faith, then sacrificing a multitude of lives in one breath..."
At this thought, Wayne felt a chill, shaking his head, "If it’s true, they’re no different from devils, even if they aren’t devils themselves."
"Boss, what do you plan to do?"
"First we investigate clearly. If it’s nobles’ money-making scams, we’ll expose them publicly, leave it to the Queen to handle, and if the Queen can’t, contact the local Heavenly Father’s Court. There aren’t enough ornaments on the streetlamps, and nobles go well with them."
Wayne said, "If it’s the Legendary Mages from The Void, it’s even simpler, just find them and kill them off."
The plan was simple and crude, no need for much thought, just Fist Power was enough.
Half an hour later, the black sedan arrived in Ford Town.
Ford Town wasn’t near the freeway; its streets were narrow and winding, with most of the roads paved with bluestone bricks. Houses were neatly arranged on both sides of the street, their walls covered with moss.
Peaceful and serene, it had the exquisite touch of an oil painting.
Like most towns, the center of Ford Town was an old church, with a towering spire and a huge square in front of the church.
Wayne looked out the window, letting his thoughts drift, seeking traces of thought contaminated by the Star Beast.
Mona slowed the car down as they passed shops lining the street, the church at the end of the road drawing closer.
Soon, several white-robed figures blocked the way; they were followers of the Cathedral Church, each carrying a basket of eggs, tapping on the window to hand Wayne a booklet, asking if he was interested in joining.
Get a basket of eggs if you convert, and if not, that’s alright too; as children of the Cathedral Lord, it’s proper to love and help each other—take a couple of eggs as a gesture.
"I’ll take four eggs for starters, my wife and I are here to enjoy nature, might as well do something with our time, and if the eggs are good, we’ll consider converting," Wayne said, taking the booklet and four eggs.
Rolling up the window, he told Mona to take a drive around Ford Town. Flipping through the booklet, the doctrine was almost identical to that of the Heavenly Father’s Court, with limited modifications, to the point of seeming outright copied.
"Now, this is interesting. How can the Holy See be so dominant and still tolerate this?"
Wayne’s eyebrow rose, increasingly suspecting these new sects were a ploy of the Heavenly Father’s Court, to be used against the Life Alliance and the Darkness, Death churches when they grew powerful enough.
Mona frowned slightly but said nothing.
Wayne played with the egg in his hand; externally and internally, it was no different from an ordinary egg. With the means of a Mage, it was nearly impossible to tell the difference.
But Wayne wasn’t just any Mage; whether it was a real egg, he’d know after a taste.
A thread of thought entered the egg, speaking the true essence of life.
Soon, the egg shook slightly, and Little Octopus emerged from the shell, waving tentacles that shimmered like a starfish.