New Gods of North America

In the interrogation room,

As a "fallen person", Wayne had the honor of witnessing a purification ceremony of the Holy Spirit Church with his own eyes.

The Holy Spirit Church is, after all, a so-called "true church," so the style of the ceremony looks quite normal.

Magic circles, candlesticks, holy water, essential oils, and some extraordinary materials used as "sacrifices".

There are also three exorcist priests standing on the ground, in the magic circle, in the corresponding positions of the holy triangle emblem.

As the exorcist priests praised and prayed,

In Wayne's vision of simple lines, the "lines" that outlined the magic circle gradually became blurred.

Those "little dots" representing the spiritual power contained in the sacrifice gradually gathered above the center of the magic circle.

Finally, when the exorcists all raised their voices in unison,

A golden light as bright as the midday sun suddenly projected down from the void.

Roy Stampler, who was tied to a chair in the center of the magic circle, struggled and groaned at first, and then his eyes began to twitch.

After being "illuminated" by the golden light, the light in the interrogation room returned to normal, and Roy fainted there.

The spiritual power of the extraordinary materials used as sacrifices seemed to have been exhausted.

Throughout the process,

There was no scream - this might have something to do with Roy's mouth being blocked by something.

There is no strange flesh and blood either - if you don't include the extraordinary materials used as "sacrifices\

,"There are even "special effects" that are visible to the naked eye.

It should be considered a positive, healthy and uplifting picture that both adults and children can watch.

On that side,

The exorcist priests chanted scriptures from the Holy Scriptures, dipped leafy green branches in holy water, and splashed it on Roy's body and face, finishing the "purification" work.

Wayne was in the corner over here, secretly asking questions to Tom Hagen and David Mills.

In fact, he was asking Tom Hagen, because David Mills still seemed confused and dissatisfied with the bishop's choice to support Pastor Bazzini.

So Wayne tilted his head and looked directly at Tom Hagen:

"I don't know much about purification rituals. After a 'purification' like this, what specific effects will it have on him?"

Tom Hagen seems to be a casual person, and some of the information he is willing to tell is not difficult to get:

"Purification rituals are also divided into different levels. Some high-level purification rituals are said to be able to directly 'deprive' the status and rank of the fallen, but the mortality rate is slightly higher, and they are usually used as 'weapons' to eliminate high-level fallen people.

"Simple rituals like this are generally used to eliminate the influence of extraordinary abilities exerted on the target by others. Although it can also cause harm to ordinary people or corrupted people, it should be able to gradually recover and heal."

Wayne thought about what David Mills had said before, "I heard that if the other party is not affected by extraordinary abilities, purification may cause irreversible damage to the person's will?"

Tom Hagen shrugged:

"Purification is similar to 'cleansing', targeting the 'impurities' that are easiest to remove. If the target is not affected by other extraordinary powers, then purification will directly act on the target himself. Of course, if the target's mind is not strong enough, it will also be affected by purification. This is a small side effect."

"But organizations like the Church of Light should also be considered in the so-called 'sacred' realm. Will the purification ritual work on them too?" Wayne asked.

"Putting the Holy Spirit and other evil gods in the 'same category' for comparison is heresy in the church."

Tom Hagen glanced at Wayne first, then continued, "But if we only look at it from an academic perspective of mysticism, then the answer is yes. The power of the sacred realm is exclusive. Anything that is not accepted by the Holy Spirit will be purified."

At this time, Roy had begun to wake up.

Pastor Bazini, who was sitting at the main seat at the interrogation table, turned around and signaled. Then the three people here went over obediently to cooperate with the interrogation, sitting on the chairs on the left, right, and in the aisle next to Pastor Bazini.

Wayne chose the most unpopular position, which strictly speaking could not be considered as sitting at the "interrogation table".

But when he looked at Roy at this time, he felt that the other person was almost like a different person.

You can't say "change" either.

If Roy looked like a schizophrenic with a dual personality when he sat in the magic circle before,

At the moment, Roy seemed to have gotten rid of his "bad personality". His eyes were as clear as a student who skipped classes and couldn't even understand the questions on the final exam paper.

The senior clergymen of the church nearby seemed to have rich and mature experience in dealing with this.

First, he asked some routine questions to roughly confirm Roy's current memory, cognition, and logical thinking.

Then the question quickly turned to the case itself.

Pastor Bazini picked up the book found in Roy's residence, which was said to contain "blasphemous" content, and said kindly:

"Roy, do you remember where you got this book?"

Because he is not an inner member of the church, Wayne has never flipped through the book, but if you look at the cover alone, it is not much different from the ordinary version of the "Holy Code".

At this moment, Roy looked like a good kid who hadn't even learned how to lie yet. He was even a little scared:

"I remember, Reverend Bazzini. I found it in an old bookcase in the church."

"Which old bookcase? Where is it?" Pastor Bazini had a blank expression on his face and continued to ask questions.

"It's the bookcase in the side hall for believers to read while waiting. I asked the deacon, and he said I could take it back to my residence and read it slowly." Roy answered with his neck shrunk.

Pastor Bazzini then asked: "Have you discussed the contents of this book with others? Also, when did you begin to discover that you could see the 'sins' of others? When did you discover that you had the ability to 'gain'?"

…

Wayne and the others did not interrupt during the interrogation.

So, during the questioning between Pastor Bazzini and Roy Stampler, the suspect was initially identified as an altar server in the church.

As the name suggests, a deacon is a person who assists in the sacrifice.

According to the classification of the Holy Spirit Church, it is considered a kind of "congregational officer" in a broad sense.

Even the children who lead the way in the choir and during the sermon with the censer of holy oil can be called "altar servers" in a sense.

But if we talk in a narrow sense,

Among the three levels of genuine clergy, namely bishop, priest and deacon, the "chief priests and deacons" are the "deputies" of the priests when they preach, and are also the reserve for the genuine priesthood of "priest".

From the perspective of "eliminating the negative impact of the incident on the church\

,"At this time, the person in question changed from a "low-level clerk" like Roy to a "main priest and assistant priest".

It's not a good thing.

Or to put it bluntly, it has actually gotten worse.

However, as a collaborator in handling the incident, Wayne prefers such a straightforward task with clear goals.

So he followed Pastor Bazzini's instructions, took David Mills with him, and called everyone from the detective agency.

Just went straight to the church.

Hiring people to improve performance, I am more familiar with this business.