The demigod who had lost control had vanished without a trace. In his place stood a strange wooden staff.
Had it worked?
At the sight, Silas immediately stopped the exhausting process of shepherding the soul.
He struck the disobedient soul of the "Death Announcer" with a brutal illusory lash. As it wailed in agony, he dragged it back and imprisoned it within his inner fields.
Then he studied the staff warily.
It radiated a dense, unnatural presence that seemed to faintly match the aura of the Life School of Thought demigod from moments earlier.
Had the demigod turned into a Beyonder item after dying?
Silas quickly formed a theory.
The out-of-control body, his Profane Words, and the blood moon overhead had somehow interacted. Together, they had produced a strange effect that caused the demigod's corpse to fuse with his supernatural characteristics, transforming him into this peculiar staff.
Either way, Silas had finally defeated him.
With the vessel destroyed, the entity that had been watching through the demigod's body had also been forced away. Only the blood-red moonlight remained, slowly fading until it returned to its usual crimson hue.
There was definitely something wrong with this "Primordial Moon" and the so-called "Mother Goddess"... Perhaps I can ask the Snake of Mercury about them.
He should have finished developing and been born by now.
With that thought, Silas approached the wooden staff. Still cautious, he made no attempt to touch it with his bare hands. Instead, he formed a box from shadows and used it to lift the staff.
Not bad. He had gained a Sequence 4 Beyonder item.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Hurried footsteps approached. Once they realized the battle was over, the Red Gloves rushed back to the scene one after another.
"Lord Ishmael, you defeated him?!"
Soest, who was leading the group, sounded utterly astonished.
That had been an out-of-control demigod. Under normal circumstances, something like that would have been considered a major disaster.
"Yes. He's dead. He turned into this wooden staff."
Silas snapped out of his thoughts. He was now an official Beyonder, so he could no longer take whatever he pleased. The staff would have to be handed over to the church.
"How bad is it? Did we lose anyone?"
"Two of our team members were badly injured..." Soest recovered from his shock, and sorrow gradually spread across his face. "I'm afraid there's no saving them..."
As if confirming his words, anguished cries drifted out from the ruined apartment building.
"Keep a close eye on that staff."
Silas glanced at him, then hurried toward the apartment where the wounded had been taken.
He soon found the two injured Red Gloves. They had been cut in half by the demigod's blade of blood. Although they were still alive, death was only moments away.
The rest of the team surrounded them, grief written across every face.
They had fought side by side for years, forging deep bonds with one another. Seeing their comrades in such a condition had devastated them.
A shadow suddenly fell over the group.
Silas calmly stepped between them. Under everyone's stunned gaze, he pressed his hands against the mangled wounds of the two dying men.
In the next instant, flesh reconnected, organs repaired themselves, bones fused back together, and skin closed over the wounds. The two severed bodies became whole once more.
Everyone stared in stunned silence.
"Gah..."
One of the Red Gloves, who had been crying moments earlier, choked on his own breath. A strange noise caught in his throat.
"I thought their injuries would be worse."
Silas spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.
"Take them back. Give them plenty of food and let them rest for a few days. They'll be fine."
"Yes, sir..."
The surrounding team members answered in a daze.
"One more thing. Their spirits have suffered some trauma."
Silas reached down and pulled open the two men's eyelids, as though checking their condition.
"To be safe, report this to the Archbishop when you return. Have a member of the clergy perform the proper rites and cleanse them of any lingering spiritual contamination."
"Understood."
Soest hurried over, carefully carrying the black box that contained the staff.
"As for cleaning up the aftermath," Silas said as he stood and took the box from him, "dealing with the authorities, erasing the residents' memories, repairing the building... I don't need to explain how any of that works, do I?"
As one of the church's senior officials, such tedious matters were naturally beneath his attention.
The greatest threat had already been dealt with, and he intended to bring the item back with him. He had prevented a major disaster and recovered a rare Beyonder item in the process. That should count as a significant contribution.
"Lord Ishmael!"
Leonard suddenly called out from the crowd.
"What should we do with him?"
He pointed toward Emlyn, who looked visibly nervous.
The Moon?
Silas considered the matter for a moment before answering.
"Take him back and lock him up with the other vampires. No one is to release him until we've completed a full investigation into what happened here."
Emlyn's expression immediately collapsed.
He was going to be locked inside a church again!
Last time, it had been a church of the Earth Mother Goddess. This time, it was the Evernight Goddess's church. Memories of his previous ordeal came rushing back, draining the color from his face.
And the day after tomorrow was Monday...
A troubling thought occurred to him. Was he really going to attend the Tarot Club gathering from beneath the Evernight Goddess's church?
What if the Goddess came into conflict with Mister Fool?
...
North District, beneath St. Samuel's Church.
"What a disaster."
Archbishop Anthony sighed.
"Fanatics worshiping an evil god, vampires conducting secret operations, and an out-of-control demigod..."
"Still, everything worked out fairly well," Silas replied with a smile. "None of the team members died. At worst, they'll need some time to recover."
He placed the staff on the table.
"This is what the demigod became after he died. It's already been tainted by the evil god's aura. Its abilities are unknown, and we have no idea what negative effects it might have."
The unnatural, thriving malice of the blood moon was especially prominent on the wooden staff. Silas remained cautious and had made no attempt to use it.
"Yes, I can sense how dangerous it is," Anthony said. "It would be best to offer this item to the Goddess as a sacrifice. It will be recorded as your contribution to the church."
A contribution. That wasn't bad at all.
Silas nodded.
There was no reason to delay. He performed the ritual directly on the table and quickly sacrificed the item.
"There's still one loose end from this incident that I need to handle. Please excuse me."
He rose, bowed politely to Anthony, and left the room.
It was Monday, and the afternoon was fast approaching. Silas planned to return to his home in the North District and prepare for the Tarot Club gathering.
"Lord Ishmael."
Soest had been waiting outside the office. He quickly hurried over to catch up with Silas. Perhaps because of the power Silas had displayed during the earlier battle, Soest now treated him with obvious respect.
"The vampires are demanding to be released. We've already completed the investigation, so there's no reason to keep holding them."
Right. I almost forgot about them.
Silas thought for a moment before replying.
"Set bail at two thousand pounds each. Once the money has been collected, turn it over to the church."
Those vampires had lived for a very long time, so they were almost certainly wealthy.
Whether filling the church's coffers with their money could also be counted as a contribution was anyone's guess.