Shadow of the Beautiful World

That night, at 9 o'clock.

Merlin's car stopped at the entrance of the orphanage. He bought some new clothes for Eric, and at the begging of the children, he bought pizza for the children in the orphanage.

The security guard who had already confirmed Merlin's identity did not stop them this time. He helped Merlin bring several stacked pizzas into the yard. The children who were supposed to be resting immediately panicked when they saw Eric's brother bring back the delicious food. They shouted together again. It also alarmed Father Paul who was praying.

Sorry, Father.

Merlin apologized and said to Father Paul:

I just wanted to do something good and it's wrong to interrupt your prayers.

It's all right, it's all right, Mr. Merlin.

Father Paul waved to Merlin with a peaceful expression. He looked back at the smiling children who were sharing the pizza. He smiled and said to Merlin:

The Lord guides us to do good deeds. This is a good deed that should not be reprimanded. Just next time, you can come during the day. The children are still young and eat too much at night, which is not good for their stomachs.

You are a truly good man, and the Lord will bless you.

The priest's words made Merlin show a slightly difficult smile.

If the Lord of this priest really exists, Merlin hopes that the omnipotent God will help him get rid of the dark power existing in his body.

But it's impossible to think about it. From the moment he started wandering, he knew that these matters could only be resolved by himself.

I will not disturb you to continue your prayers, Father, I will take Eric's things to his room.

Merlin bid farewell to the kind priest, carrying Eric's box and some things he bought, and led by Eric, to the children's room.

The St. Agnes Orphanage covers a large area, and the children here have enough housing, and even 2-4 people can be guaranteed to live in a room, just like the dormitory of the boarding school. The nuns also supervise the daily life of the children. At their request, the children here pay attention to hygiene and are very polite.

By the way, Eric, where is little Ada?

After helping Eric pack his things, Merlin left him some money and was about to leave. Before leaving, he pretended to be curious and asked:

You always say that child is cute, and I want to see it too.

Oh, Ada is probably asleep now, she should be in the nuns' room, there is a cradle there.

Eric said to Merlin while eating pizza:

But the nuns are praying, and you may not see her.

Well, that's a pity.

Merlin shrugged, waved goodbye to Eric, turned and walked out of the house.

But at the moment when he walked down the stairs, Merlin spread his perception of darkness. After making sure that there was no one around, he moved his fingers, and the shadow covered his body, making him disappear on the stairs in an instant.

The super serum not only strengthened Merlin's body, but also gave him stronger control over magic power. Now he can not only take the initiative to transform into black mist, but also use the shadow cloak more delicately.

Merlin secretly tested it at the Secret Service Academy. In a dark environment, his shadow cloak can even hide the temperature emitted by his body.

In other words, even the infrared observer can no longer capture his figure.

Unfortunately, the detection of sound waves and light, such as sonar or lasers, can still lock his position through the shadows.

Merlin walked in the shadows, he didn't disturb anyone, and soon came to the nuns' room. The nuns prayed in church and the doors of the house were locked, but that didn't bother Merlin.

He took out a special lockpicking tool from his wallet, and it only took a few seconds to open the door.

He walked into the room step by step and saw the cradle in front of him. Sure enough, as Eric said, the child in the cradle was very good. Her face was pink and round, and she looked really cute, like a doll.

Merlin stood beside the cradle, he took off his rimless glasses, and then turned on his spirit vision.

In his eyes, the weak soul of the baby in the cradle was also reflected. Merlin carefully observed the child's soul. After a while, he put on his glasses again, and left the house as quietly as when he came.

The child is not possessed by a demon, nor does he have the power of darkness. It seems that I am thinking too much.

The uneasiness in Merlin's heart was finally eliminated.

In fact, when he heard Eric say that little Ada was plagued by bad luck, he thought of himself. He was worried that the child's body had the same magical power as his, but now, she didn't find anything, which made him Merlin breathed a sigh of relief.

But the moment he walked out of the orphanage, he heard some other voices in his keen perception of darkness.

It was Father Paul, who seemed to be arguing with some nuns.

Maggie did not make a mistake and was expelled, or deviated from the Lord's teachings. She is still kind and sincere. Father, I beg you, please save Maggie! She is in a very bad situation now.

A nun begged, but Father Paul, who was always gentle, gave his answer indifferently.

Maggie broke her vow, child. In faith and love, she made her own choice. This path was chosen by herself. I have persuaded her, and I am more eager than any of you to see to Maggie back in the arms of the Lord, but she failed me.

Maggie gave birth, Father! Maggie lives in pain every day, she is depressed. She confesses to the cross every day at home, Father! Please, give her another chance.

Nuns can't have children.

Father Paul said stubbornly:

That is not allowed by the Lord, and it is also a wrong behavior! Maggie is only 19 years old this year, that Jack, killed her!

Although the priest repeatedly refused, the nuns were still begging.

Father, please don't think of Maggie as a nun, but as someone who needs help. She is in a really bad situation now. I went to see her. She even tried to commit suicide to redeem her past mistakes.

Okay, then I'll go take a look with you.

In the end, they seemed to convince the priest, and just as the priest was leading the nuns out of the church, he saw Merlin leaning against the car. Merlin looked at Father Paul and the nuns behind him, and said:

It seems that you have encountered a difficult matter, Father, do you need help?

Thank you, Merlin, but this is a matter inside St. Matthew's Church

The priest politely rejected Merlin. He didn't seem to want Merlin to participate in this matter, and Merlin didn't force him. He pointed to the car behind him:

It's already night, and the law and order in Hell's Kitchen is terrible. At least, I can give you a ride.

—

It's here, thank you, Merlin.

Merlin parked the car on the side of the road, Father Paul took off his seat belt, and thanked Merlin again. In the darkness, he led the nuns to a nearby apartment building.

Merlin sat in the car and lit a cigarette. On the way here just now, Merlin had already heard the whole story from the chattering young nuns.

Next to the St. Agnes Orphanage, there is a convent with many sincere believers, and some young girls are assigned here to become nuns after graduating from missionary schools. On weekdays, they will be responsible for cleaning the church, occasionally preaching, and helping Father Paul organize the believers' gatherings every Sunday, etc.

And in the monastery, there is a young nun named Maggie, a lively and somewhat rebellious girl.

She would often sneak out of the convent with other nuns to play around.

But one year ago, the rebellious Sister Maggie met a boxer named Jack, and she didn't know if she was dazzled by love. In short, one night, Sister Maggie left without saying goodbye and moved in to live with Jack.

Father Paul was very angry. He tried several times to bring Maggie back to the monastery, but he was stopped by the domineering Jack.

But just the other day, a good friend of Sister Maggie went to visit her and found out that Sister Maggie was in a bad situation.

In 1992, the research on postpartum depression had been fruitful, but for people of faith, or had faith, postpartum depression was easily misunderstood by them. That kind of instinctive depression will aggravate their inner self-blame, and even push them to the brink of suicide.

And Sister Maggie, who just gave birth, is in such a bad state.

Her friend couldn't bear to see Maggie suffer like this, so she begged Father Paul to take Maggie back to the monastery.

That's the whole story of the matter.

It's your own fault.

Merlin was smoking in the car, and he opened the window to let the smoke out.

Merlin showed no pity for what happened to Sister Maggie, just like the undersea man Vico once told him, everyone has to bear the consequences of their own choices. From Merlin's point of view, Maggie is a girl who has gone astray and should be punished, but she is indeed lucky to have a group of friends who have been helping her.

What are you doing in my house? Get out!

Just when Merlin finished smoking and started the car to leave, he suddenly heard loud and angry shouts from the apartment, mixed with the sound of smashing things, which made Merlin stop driving.

After thinking about it, he opened the car door and walked into the apartment.

At this time, in the apartment, the boxer Jack, who came back after hearing the news, bumped into the priest and nun who were going to take his wife away. The grumpy guy didn't listen to the priest's explanation at all, he grabbed the priest's collar and started beating him.

Poor Father Paul had already been punched in the face. He had always been convincing with reason, but now that he met this tyrannical guy, he couldn't make any more sense.

But the priest still stood in front of the terrified nuns, and he couldn't let Jack hurt them.

Seeing that Jack was about to punch the priest a second time, the terrified nuns couldn't help screaming. At the moment the fist fell, a hand stretched out from behind firmly caught the fist and freed the priest from the shackles of the boxer.

Snapped

Merlin who rushed into the room waved his hand, and pushed the angry boxer back a few steps.

He glanced back at the priest whose nose was bleeding, and said:

Father, take the nun away. I'll talk to him.

and who are you?

Jack glared at Merlin angrily. In all fairness, this boxer does have a handsome appearance. Coupled with his occupation, he added a lot of masculinity, no wonder he was so charming that the little nun would rather abandon her faith and live with him to have children.

But at this time, Sister Maggie's mental state was obviously abnormal, her eyes were dull, and she was indifferent to everything in front of her. Her newborn son was crying heartbreakingly in the cradle next to the bed, but she still couldn't get her attention.

Seeing Sister Maggie being picked up by several other nuns and helped out of the room, Merlin turned his head and looked at Boxer with even more contempt in his eyes.

Merlin catches Jack as he tries to get past him and stop the nuns. His fingers clenched, like iron pliers, on Jack's wrist, and he said to Jack:

Ms. Maggie is clearly suffering with you, Jack, let her go where she belongs.

Asshole! That's my wife!

Jack threw a punch, hitting Merlin's cheek, but with a twist of Merlin's wrist, the violent boxer was slammed to the ground.

It really shouldn't be bullying an ordinary person with the power of super serum, so Merlin took a few steps back, blocked the door, and said to Jack who got up from the ground:

Is she really your wife? Have you ever registered your marriage with her? Where's the ring on your finger? Don't lie to me! Jack, you just treat her like your own! I should call the police and arrest you! Throw the bastard into jail!

Nonsense! I love her and she loves me! You bastards deserve hell!

Jack roared and rushed forward again, this time Merlin didn't dodge any more, he dodged Jack's fist, and then slapped Jack on the face. The boxer was dizzy from the heavy blow. He took a step back and sat down on the ground, half of his face was swollen.

If you really love her, why would Ms. Maggie ask her friends to take her back?

Merlin squatted down, stretched out his hand, and pressed Jack against the corner with one hand, he said:

Obviously, she doesn't feel happy being here. Jack, I don't know if you're a good guy or a bad guy, but if you really think you love her, please don't act like a jerk, okay ?

Jack struggled, he glared at Merlin:

Maggie is just sick, and as soon as she gets well, everything will be fine. Let me go!

Merlin stared at Jack, who shook his head and stood up.

Jack got up from the ground, but he didn't attack Merlin again. Instead, he walked to the bed and carefully picked up his crying son.

In this room, the child's crying gradually subsided.

Looking at the figure of Jack gently holding the child, Merlin suddenly felt that maybe the man in front of him was not as hateful as those nuns said.

After several minutes, Jack put the sleeping baby back in the cradle.

He looked at his room in a daze, then lowered his head, and began to tidy up the messy house silently.

Merlin was standing at the door, looking at this man who seemed to have accepted all the facts, after more than ten seconds, Merlin said:

Father Paul is a good man, you shouldn't have hurt him.

Oh, in my eyes, he is just a villain who forcibly took my wife away!

Jack gritted his teeth and said:

My child lost his mother, and it's all your fault!

No, he didn't lose his mother.

Merlin looked at the baby in the cradle and said:

If you really love Ms. Maggie, maybe after she recovers, you can persuade her to come back. Propose to her in a dignified manner, instead of using romance to deceive the little girl.

Of course I would! You don't need to teach me!

Jack held the broom fiercely, and he said to Merlin:

I don't want to see you anymore, get out!

Merlin turned around and was about to leave. Before leaving, he said something mysteriously:

Your baby is lovely, Jack. What's his name?

Jack didn't want to pay attention to the big villain Merlin. But in the end, this lonely man sat on the edge of the bed, looked down at his son, his eyes were full of pain and tenderness, and he whispered:

Matt.

I named him Matt.

Matt Murdoch.