Suddenly, Wood stopped in his tracks!
Amidst the charred remains, there was a small, relatively intact patch of vibrant color—it was a cabinet coated in red lacquer, one corner crushed by a Cross statue, with a fragment of the collapsed ceiling pressing down atop the Cross.
Wood took a deep breath, slowly approached the cabinet, carefully tapped on the cabinet door.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Is there anyone outside?
A weak, childish voice from the Boy drifted out from inside the cabinet: "Save me! Save me! I don't want to die!"
Wood felt a surge of ecstasy in his heart. Just as he was about to reach out to clear the surroundings, Little Anubis suddenly lunged forward and bit down on Wood's sleeve.
Papa! Watch out!
“??”
Wood was surprised.
Little Anubis shook his head and continued to explain—
[High temperatures, a completely enclosed environment, the pressure of heavy objects on top—to not lose consciousness under such conditions and react immediately to a few light knocks on the cabinet door, not to mention this sudden fire—I suspect someone used the fire and Arthur to set a trap for Papa.]
(Little Anubis's suspicions are indeed well-founded.. but..)
Wood thought for a moment and said to Little Anubis, "Go outside and bring everyone in! We need to help! It will be difficult for me to move that large rock on top by myself!"
Papa—
Act now!
Wood urged Little Anubis.
Inside the cabinet, the child let out a faint cry once more.
Uncle.. can I really be saved? Uncle..
Don't worry, you'll be in a safe place very soon.. Uncle will stay here with you..
..
..
Half an hour later—
With the help of a crane, the collapsed ceiling of the Church was removed, the red-painted Cabinet was revealed to the light of day.
Wood rushed forward to open the cabinet, but Father Matthew stepped ahead, holding a Cross, stopped him with extreme solemnity: "Please leave the next steps to us."
Having finished speaking, the Priest knelt on one knee, clutching the Cross in his hands as he recited an exorcism, while the Nuns followed along, clutching their rosaries as they recited in unison.
Wood watched this pious and eerie scene, a strong sense of unease welling up in his heart.
(What does this mean! They suspect Arthur..)
[—If they suspect Arthur is possessed by a Demon and do not want to keep him, Papa will take Arthur directly to Master in the name of Exorcism, once things have settled down, he will arrange suitable foster parents for Arthur through old man Jason.]
Little Anubis rubbed against Wood's calf to comfort him.
Having heard Little Anubis's comfort, Wood gradually formed an idea in his heart. At that moment, Jason from the Special Events Investigation Department finally arrived, with a semi-transparent Benjamin following behind him.
..
The simple and Divine Morning Prayer concluded, the cabinet door slowly creaked open, the dying Boy slid out weakly.
Father Matthew was about to sprinkle Holy Water on the Boy to determine his identity when Jason, having learned the circumstances from Wood, strode quickly to his side: "If you have suspicions about this child, you can hand him over to us to handle—in the Non-natural Events Field, we are absolute professionals."
But—
Trust us, okay?
Jason reached out and carefully picked up the Boy, who was only clinging to life. "Arthur, Uncle will take you to the Hospital."
Th-thank you..
The Boy answered weakly, his eyes catching a glimpse of Wood and Benjamin standing behind Jason. His parched, cracked lips parted, letting out a broken cry: "Ben.. Ben.. is it you? Ben.."
“Ben?”
The Priest and the Matrons all had their expressions change drastically.
Yes, Ben is here..
Jason carried Arthur to Benjamin and said softly, "He has always been here; we can all see him."
Really?
Tears streamed from Arthur's eyes.
Under the watchful eyes of the people from the Special Events Investigation Department, who all possessed the ability of Spiritual Vision, Benjamin used his translucent hands to tightly grasp Arthur's small hand: "Yes, it's me, I'm here.. I will stay with you, always with you.. neither Angel nor Demon can ever separate us.."
“Ben..”
Having received the promise, Arthur called out softly and closed his eyes in relief.
..
..
When he emerged from the hospital under the jurisdiction of the Special Events Investigation Department where Arthur had been placed, it was already midnight. Suddenly remembering that he was supposed to return to the Museum for his night shift, Wood rushed toward—
Boss?
Looking at Master, who had suddenly appeared before him, Wood froze for a moment, then asked with concern, "Boss, you and Gabriel.. is the battle over? Are you injured?"
No, not at all.
The man reached out, gently stroking Wood's hair before finally resting his hand on his shoulder. "As for Arthur—"
He is safe for now. Benjamin, Little Anubis, the Investigation Department Staff are all by his side. Father Matthew and the Matrons of the Convent suspect that Arthur has been possessed by a Demon, so I took the opportunity to have Boss Jason take him away under the guise of an exorcism. Once this is over, we will find a suitable foster family for Arthur.
In other words, Montbanes V and Wife won't be able to have contact with Arthur in the short term?
Of course.
Wood blurted out, "Montbanes V and Wife have already been placed on the hospital's restricted visitation list!"
This is indeed a good thing. As long as Montbanes V and Wife are prohibited from approaching Arthur, Arthur will be absolutely safe, the Stone Demon will also.. Wood, do you realize how special you are?
I..
A slight sense of vanity welled up in Wood's heart as he feigned, "I have never been anyone special, but you, Boss—"
Wood's voice suddenly caught in his throat.
He saw that the Boss's shadow on the ground had a protrusion on his back, as if something resembling wings was curled up against his back.
Boss, your shadow—
My shadow?
“Master” lowered his head and glanced at his shadow: “Oh, the battle with Gabriel was too intense, causing my power to leak out, I haven't fully reclaimed it to this day.”
Then.. Boss, which Fallen Angel is your true identity?
Wood asked tentatively.
I, of course, am—
[I've finally caught you!]
Gabriel's voice suddenly rang out.
Immediately after, an Archangel, as solemn and cold as a marble statue, appeared beside Wood and Master. In an instant, the air became scorching hot as if it had plunged into Hell, filled with the indescribable scent unique to burnt meat.
W-what happened?
Wood looked around in terror, only to find that he had unknowingly fallen into a horrific environment that closely resembled a burning apocalypse following a nuclear explosion—there were ruins and corpses everywhere, the sky was a startling blood-red.
Welcome to Hell!
"Master" smiled, revealing his true demon form.
-----------------------
Author's Note: In the next chapter, the Boss comes to the rescue~
Yesterday, I obtained a very old Japanese-style Western fantasy short story titled "Demon Grand Ritual" (serialized in June magazine in 1982) from some friends and relatives. Translated into Chinese, it is approximately ten thousand words long. It tells the tale of a tyrant who worships the Dark Demon God and the twisted love and hate of the Dark Demon God disguised as a Bard. The ending is a sea of corpses and blood, with cities consumed by flames; the overall atmosphere is secretive, dark, bewitchingly eerie (the true composure of an old artist).
Thanks to readers "Gu De Mao Nai", "Captain", "Gu Lu Gu Lu", "Shi Yi", "Ruo Yue Liang Mei Lai", "＿Lan Wu＿", "Bu Hao Kao Du Jiu Jin Chang Da Gong", "Yuan Zhong Ren De Yi Yu Zhong Li", "Yang Yi Fei ing.", "Fat Mermaid", "Lei Zhuang.", "Li Yu", "Lan Mei Xiao Yang", "a", "Yun Shen Jian Qiu", "Half City of Sand", "Min", "Er Jiao", "Ha Pi Jiu", "Ri Yue Tao San Huan", "Irrigation Nutrient Solution"
Chapter 26 Gabriel and Gargoyle (13)
You.. you actually transformed into the Boss to trick me!
Wood was furious, his eyes blazing with rage as he shouted at the Archangel, "Gabriel! You are an Archangel! The Demon is right in front of you, why don't you draw your Holy Sword!"
Because—
Because we are on the same side.
The Demon raised his hand, pausing the Hellfire burning across his entire body—his facial features were almost exactly the same as Gabriel's.
This.. this is..
Wood was stunned.
The Demon spread his arms and explained politely yet coldly, "Humans always like to assume that Angels and Demons are natural enemies—that Demons tempt humans to sin and Angels guide humans toward goodness. However—Angels and Demons are actually perfect partners who have been cooperating for thousands of years."
Perfect partners..
Wood gasped, looking toward Archangel Gabriel: "Is what this demon, this demon saying, true?"
[He, He..]
Whether you admit it or not, both Angels and Demons are servants of God—God brought Demons down to the Mortal Realm and Hell to let the people of the world experience suffering and evil, thereby distinguishing which of them can ascend to Heaven and which must descend to Hell, then sent down Angels to 'eliminate' Demons, to take the souls worthy of Heaven up to Heaven, to instill faith in those who are still hesitating, leading them to walk into the Church to seek God's protection—
I have no interest in the true relationship between Angels and Demons!
Wood sharply interrupted the Demon's sophistry, emphasizing, "Right now, I only want to know one thing!"
What do you want to know?
What do I have to do to get out of here!