Chapter 346: Countering Every Move
"Recently, evil incidents across the globe have erupted like a geyser. Countless innocent civilians have been harmed," Parolin stated.
"As for the reason behind this, the Church has received a revelation from the Lord's prophecy: this is the signal preceding the invasion of the 72 Pillar Demon Gods' legion."
"This point was already mentioned in the invitation letters sent to everyone. I believe our colleagues in the various exorcism organizations have also sensed it."
Everyone's gaze instantly converged on a specific area of the council hall—the designated seating for exorcists.
"The Knights Templar indeed encountered some monsters in western Virginia," Hawkwood spoke up at this moment.
"They took control of that forest and built many sacrificial stone altars there."
"But we did not find sufficient evidence to prove that those creatures belong to the Demon God's legion."
Parolin replied, "Knight Hawkwood has just pointed out their most significant characteristic."
"Ordinary evil spirits can only affect a small area, and as long as an exorcist is present, they can be purified. But Demon God soldiers are monsters that have acquired a portion of demonic power; they possess a stronger sense of autonomy. Whether you are in a city or the suburbs, once such a monster exists nearby, the area you are in is highly likely to become a descent point for a Demon God. Your lovers, parents, children, friends... they will all become food for the monsters. The attack on the Holy Land not long ago, the Philadelphia Anniversary incident, and the serial killer cases in some remote areas of North America—these tragedies are the best proof!"
As soon as his voice fell, a wave of gasps echoed from the audience.
Aside from the exorcism factions and the high-ranking North American officials, it was the first time most of the public had heard this news.
Prior to this, the term "72 Pillar Demon Gods" was merely something that existed in mythology for them.
And imagining the people around them being harmed by monsters caused many to instantly reveal expressions of despair.
Seeing this scene, Claire, sitting in a corner, frowned.
"This guy really is trying to manufacture panic..."
"It is recorded in the Bible that the Lord created the world in six days. Therefore, every North American citizen should receive the Lord's blessing." Parolin drew a cross on his chest.
"In order to counter the impending disaster of the Demon God's legion, the Lord will send down seven divine artifacts to fight the evil."
"The Church intends to place one of these artifacts in North America to protect the safety of the people here."
Having said this, a cheer instantly erupted from the audience below.
"A divine artifact... is it something like a legendary holy sword?" Pence looked at Hawkwood and asked softly.
A legendary holy sword was something every knight dreamed of. It was said that only someone possessing true chivalry could wield one.
The latter shook his head: "Perhaps."
"Hiss... to think the Church would be so generous!"
Secretary Underwood smiled and stood up: "The Church's mercy commands our admiration. North America will definitely utilize the divine artifact properly to ensure no citizen's life is threatened."
"I was just about to clarify this point." Parolin glanced at him, then looked down at the cameras.
"The divine artifact is a gift from the Lord. Therefore, only Holy Clergy Members can activate its true power. But currently, the Church's forces are stretched thin, and we are often only able to arrive at the scene after an evil incident has occurred. By then, many civilians have already been harmed. This is our failing. Therefore, to prevent this situation, the Church wishes to engage in deeper cooperation with North America."
Underwood's eyes flickered: "Oh? I wonder what kind of cooperation you are referring to..."
"Integrating Holy Clergy Members into the North American national defense system," Parolin said, looking at the Secretary before him.
"North America possesses powerful information monitoring capabilities, while the Church has the means to destroy evil spirits. By combining the two, we can discover hidden evils in time and nip the danger in the bud before the public suffers loss of life and property."
"It begins," Gail narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Hehe..." Underwood chuckled lightly.
"The 'monitoring capabilities' you just mentioned? North America has never possessed such a thing. We have always maintained public order through a robust police system."
"As for integrating Holy Clergy Members into the national defense system... I don't quite understand what you mean."
"Hehe, there's no need to worry," Parolin said.
"Holy Clergy Members will only be responsible for incidents related to evil; everything else will still be handled by you."
"However, for the former type of cases, we might require your high-level cooperation—acting according to the Church's plans regarding resource allocation and specific operations."
A silence fell over the hall.
Underwood lowered his eyes.
Setting aside whether such a proposal could even be passed, if the Church were truly allowed to participate, they could do many things in the name of fighting "evil." This would undoubtedly implicate the interests of various factions.
Such "power" could only be held by North America itself, so this precedent absolutely could not be set!
Seeing the Secretary remain silent, Parolin was not surprised. This was exactly why he insisted on holding this meeting publicly.
"There is a statistic that you might not be fully aware of, Mr. Secretary," he spoke again.
"Over the past three months, the Church has handled over 3,000 commissions in total, with more than 90% of them related to evil existences. And this is just in one region of North America. In the aforementioned incidents, the safety of over 1,000 civilians was protected, including quite a few police officers from various areas. You can verify this by checking the files at local police stations, Mr. Secretary. It can be said that over the past period, the safety of the North American people has been silently guarded by the Church."
Hearing this, many agents affiliated with national defense and security departments, including Claire, wore hostile expressions.
This was undoubtedly a complete denial of the results of their hard work.
Underwood clearly understood the purpose of this statement, yet he found it difficult to refute.
After all, when it came to handling evil incidents, the North American government had always relied on the Church.
"Of course, this also includes the efforts of other exorcism organizations," Parolin smiled as he looked at the audience.
"What I want to say is that evil spirits and demons are cunning and treacherous. It is very difficult for the public to handle them on their own. Therefore, timely rescue by exorcists is extremely important!"
"Well said!"
"It truly makes sense!"
"..."
Quite a few voices of agreement rang out from below.
"Mr. Secretary, what do you think?"
A row of cameras along the wall immediately focused on Underwood.
"Claire, halt the meeting immediately and get the Secretary off the stage!" the Chief of Staff's voice crackled in her earpiece.
If Underwood showed any sign of "hesitation," it would damage the North American government's credibility among the public.
Just as Claire prepared to stand up, she heard the Secretary speak.
"Cardinal Parolin, regarding the matter you just mentioned about it being very difficult for the public to handle evil, I have a somewhat different perspective."
"Oh? Please, enlighten me."
"Evil existences are indeed dangerous, but they are not unpreventable." Underwood smiled and looked at the audience.
"Most cases share a common characteristic: the evil spirits involved typically reside in old, long-standing houses, most frequently luxury residences."
"The former owners of these houses met unfortunate deaths for various reasons. Their souls did not receive blessings, so they are bound to the last place they stayed while alive. Over long periods of time, they eventually transform into harmful evil spirits."
"And many victims, coveting the low selling price of these houses, ultimately trigger the tragedies."
Underwood recalled the conclusions from the paper.
"...Therefore, as long as one doesn't get greedy for a small bargain, one can avoid the vast majority of evil existences."
"Of course, regarding this point, we will subsequently improve the review mechanism for house sales to prevent such dangerous properties from entering the market."
The last sentence was added on the spot.
Hearing this, Claire, who had just half-risen from her seat, slowly sat back down.
Opposite him.
Parolin narrowed his eyes slightly. He had no idea how the other party obtained this information.
But looking at the aggregate of the Church's internal commissions, this phenomenon was indeed widespread.
"Besides that." Underwood stepped to the front of the stage, his tone quite solemn.
"Curiosity is also a major cause of casualties. In many instances, the evil spirits did not act proactively but were forced to attack due to external influences..."
"...When in a dangerous environment, splitting up is exactly what evil spirits want to see."
"...When facing an evil existence, do not harbor even a shred of false hope or pity. Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself and one's friends."
"..."
Underwood listed many precautions in a row, citing actual case studies after each point.
And the feasibility of these points was incredibly high. Many attendees present who had encountered evil existences expressed their agreement.
This turned what was supposed to be an Exorcism Council discussing affairs into a popularization of safety knowledge.
Beside him, Parolin's face turned dark. If this continued, what he intended to do would be ruined.
Therefore, he immediately stepped forward: "I didn't expect the Secretary to be so experienced in exorcism."
"It is merely my duty," Underwood smiled.
"Even so, the actual purification of evil spirits still relies on exorcists to accomplish," Parolin said.
"In the past year alone, the Church lost dozens of Holy Clergy Members for this cause, among them even a Bishop."
At this time, a reporter below suddenly raised his hand.
"Please speak!" Parolin immediately signaled him.
"Hello, Your Eminence. Regarding the death of the Bishop you just mentioned..." the reporter glanced at the notebook in his hand.
"Are you referring to Bishop Hans Hermann, who died during the Philadelphia Anniversary incident?"
"Yes," Parolin nodded.
"But there is information stating that this Bishop had long used his position to control the distribution of exorcism commissions, assigning the low-difficulty tasks to his own people. Before the incident occurred, he even colluded with a cult organization, selling the children from an orphanage within his jurisdiction to them..."
As soon as these words were spoken, an uproar erupted.
This was a shocking, massive scandal!
Many Holy Clergy Members on the stage underwent a change in expression.
"This is absolutely a rumor!" Parolin's tone was stern.
"Where did you hear this information? Insulting Church personnel is not only against the law, it is also a blasphemy against the Lord!"
The reporter held up his phone: "My email."
"Just now, I received a mass-sent anonymous email. The attached documents record Bishop Hans's detailed actions during the Anniversary incident."
At this time, another female reporter stood up: "I received it too!"
Her voice immediately drew many gazes.
"The author of the documents I received is a historian. She mentioned that her sister was taken in by a Church-affiliated orphanage called 'Ireland House.' But that place was actually running a human trafficking business, specifically taking in unmarried pregnant girls and forcing them to do heavy labor. Not long ago, local police found the remains of over 600 children in the orphanage's septic tank..."
This was undoubtedly another bombshell piece of news!
"I also received an anonymous email! A Vatican Cardinal had improper relationships with multiple boys!" Soon, another person stood up.
For a moment, all the reporters present began checking their emails, and indeed, several more discovered similar messages.
Claire stared blankly at this scene, then suddenly remembered something.
Not long ago, that Mr. William had asked her for the email addresses of these reporters, which wasn't a difficult task for her.
"So it was him..." Claire instantly felt much more at ease.
On the other side.
Underwood looked at Parolin with a face full of concern: "Look... this..."
At this moment, Parolin's face was livid: "To dare smear the Church like this based solely on an anonymous email... is the Secretary just going to stand by and watch!"
"You are right. The Church's reputation should not suffer such insults," Underwood said, looking toward the audience below.
"Everyone, this is not the time for reporters' questions. Next, we still need to discuss the invasion of the Demon God's legion. Please, everyone, wait outside for now. Guards!"
Shortly after the order was given, numerous police officers rushed in from outside the Memorial Hall and "invited" the group of reporters out.
A moment later, the venue finally fell quiet.
Now, aside from a few core members of the North American government, only the members of the various exorcism organizations remained.
"Mr. Secretary, you should know that everything they just said was nothing but slander." Parolin scrutinized the people in the hall, trying to guess the instigator behind those documents.
"I believe you. However, for now, let's get back to business." Underwood smiled faintly.
"Regarding the matter of Holy Clergy Members joining the national defense system, I cannot decide this on my own. How about you first explain how to bring about the descent of the divine artifact? I will report these matters together when the time comes."
Parolin understood the situation clearly inwardly, so he said, "The divine artifact is different from ordinary holy artifacts. It will only appear in the human realm if a summoning ritual is initiated."
"Oh? What exactly does the ritual require?"
"First, a location for the Divine Descent must be chosen. And during the summoning ritual, fifty volunteers must stay inside."
"Volunteers?" Underwood's eyes showed confusion. "Shouldn't the Holy Clergy Members be the ones initiating the ritual?"
"Of course, the ritual must be initiated by us." Parolin's expression remained calm.
"But the divine artifact is extraordinary after all. Only the aura of ordinary humans can guide it to the human realm."
"However, there's no need to worry, Mr. Secretary. These volunteers will not face life-threatening danger. It's just that during the activation of the ritual, a portion of their life force will be consumed. Approximately ten years of lifespan."
"What!"
As soon as his voice fell, everyone in the hall, except for the Church members, wore expressions of utter disbelief.
"Ten years..." Underwood finally revealed a solemn expression.
"Cardinal Parolin, do you know what you are saying!"