Chapter 702: Crow

Chapter 702: The Crow

"They can't get out right now, but if they could, I swear to God I'd strip every single one of them bare, rub them down thoroughly with sea salt, and stuff them head-first, ass-up into a pickling jar!"

Bern stormed off after spitting his last curse, carrying with him a heavy mixture of rage and helplessness.

Karen could well understand the Chief Bishop's feelings; as the supreme head of the York City Archdiocese, he was forced to inherit this shattered pickling jar of a mess without even having directly participated in it.

The contamination had already erupted, and it was a divine corruption of an incredibly high caliber, meaning an uncontrollable source of pollution had just broken out right on his home turf.

Manpower and resources would have to be poured continuously into monitoring and sealing this place, all to handle the myriad problems arising from the contamination source, such as the birth of unique aberrant demons, the corruption of humans and priests, and all manner of bizarre, macabre incidents...

Perhaps in the future, when the Whip of Order squads took on missions near this subterranean cavern, they would have to weigh things carefully in their minds—if the reward wasn't high enough, no one would want to go.

It was like a mayor finding a full-fledged drug-manufacturing syndicate with a complete industrial chain operating right within his jurisdiction; with the series of problems it would trigger, it would be an absolute miracle if local public security remained intact.

Most importantly... no one could be certain that the current level of contamination was the absolute peak; in fact, there was a high probability that its level of corruption would continue to escalate, given the substantial number of elite priests inside.

They were self-mutilating and dying right now, but this was highly unlikely to be the end; having endured the first wave of the purest, most direct contamination, heaven only knew what they would ultimately mutate into.

Furthermore, there were all sorts of high-grade sacred instruments inside, including no fewer than three divine artifacts; steeped in a source of contamination for so long, they would undoubtedly undergo a bizarre aberration.

It was safe to say that if it wasn't handled in time, a larger-scale spread was practically inevitable.

It would grant infinite possibilities and bring about "surprises" beyond imagination, but the trajectory of all these developments would certainly be entirely negative.

Back when Purr was still human, she loved organizing expedition teams to explore all kinds of perilous secret realms, but surely no one wanted to move a hazardous realm right to their doorstep, where opening the front door meant instant terror.

"Sigh..."

Karen sighed and sat down right where he stood.

He propped up his forehead with his right hand, while his left clutched at his own chest.

To outsiders, it appeared as though the Director of the Enforcement Department was merely agonizing over the grim situation before them.

Yet Alfred, standing beside him, knew perfectly well that his master's hunger addiction was still flaring up, resisting his attempts to suppress it.

Fortunately, the sealing array that Bishop Delon and his men had established managed to sever the connection between the cavern and the outside world; the hunger addiction inside Karen lost its "beacon," gradually settling down without triggering a true outbreak.

The last thing Karen wanted in this emergency was to slash himself first with the Scythe of War, only to sit in a wheelchair while directing the complicated aftermath.

"Master, should I go and notify Director Gaspoir now?"

Karen raised his hand. "No, do not send anyone to notify her. Wait for her to come and ask herself."

"Yes, your subordinate understands."

This disastrous incident, as thorny as it could possibly get, had already occurred; since Gaspoir had not yet officially assumed office, she could naturally avoid this tainted platter;

Of course, if she wanted to step forward and take charge of it, that would be her own decision—it would mean she was willing to shoulder the responsibility and solve the problem—whereas if Karen's side sent someone to notify and invite her, it would look as though they were rushing to pass the buck.

"Go and draw up the secrecy protocols. Ensure the garrison and the regional administrative office are both properly coordinated. Furthermore, deploy a portion of our personnel from here to form a lockdown perimeter outside the barrier. No outsiders are permitted, and most importantly, no personnel from foreign churches are to infiltrate and spy on the situation here. If anyone exhibits suspicious or abnormal behavior, you may execute them on the spot."

"But drawing personnel from this spot..."

"There is nothing improper about it." Karen glanced toward the garrison over there. "This place only requires the formation department under Bishop Delon to be responsible. No matter how many men you station here, do you really think they can hold them back once the array shatters?"

"Yes, your subordinate understands."

Just as Alfred turned to carry out the orders, Karen called out to him again:

"Alfred..."

"Yes, I am here."

"Is this the power of a god?"

"Master, your subordinate cannot answer this question for you."

Karen nodded. "Go attend to your duties."

"Yes, Master."

Karen gestured, and Vick walked over.

"Pass down the order: aside from the personnel being deployed outward, those remaining here are to prepare to pitch camp. Remember, make long-term plans for the layout; this camp will likely be put to use for a very long time to come."

"Yes, Director."

Having delivered these two commands, Karen stood up and walked forward to Bishop Delon's side of his own accord.

"Director Karen."

"Bishop Delon."

"Please rest assured, the things inside will not spill out to the exterior for the time being."

"For the time being?"

"Yes, for the time being." Delon licked his somewhat pale lips. "What we have constructed is a static sealing array, but what we are facing is by no means a static problem."

Delon voiced his assessment to Karen, which aligned exactly with what Karen had been thinking.

"Does Director Karen know exactly what happened inside?"

"I do. I can tell you in detail once we return."

"Oh, good." Old Delon felt a bit flattered by the unexpected favor; the answer he had originally anticipated was "it involves confidential matters and cannot be disclosed." As expected, his grandson didn't treat him as an outsider at all.

This feeling was truly wonderful.

Karen continued to ask, "I believe a permanent sealing array will need to be established next. Can we accomplish that relying solely on our archdiocese's strength?"

"We can manage it, and the archdiocese does not lack the various resources, but the array-related departments cannot possibly dedicate all their personnel to this single matter, important though it may be."

"So, we must still wait for the higher-ups to dispatch personnel for support?"

"Yes, exactly. Higher-ranking officials from the relevant departments should form a specialized incident resolution team to come and guide the operation."

"Mm."

"There are some peculiar fluctuations of aura inside, with three being the most powerful... Just now, the Throne of Order granted me feedback. Could you tell me what those are right now? Because I need to make some alterations to the current stage of the seal."

"They are divine artifacts—three of them. The Chessboard of the God of Infatuation, and two notebooks belonging to the subordinate gods of the Church of Principle."

"Notebooks of the Principle's subordinate gods?" Delon's eyes widened. "Karen..."

This time, he omitted the official title.

"Sir?"

"The divine artifacts must be retrieved," Delon said with absolute certainty. "Someone must be sent inside to retrieve these three... no, at the very least, those two notebooks must be brought out. Otherwise, even if we wish to close this place off with a permanent seal, it will be utterly impossible, because as long as those two notebooks remain operational, they will analyze and dismantle the outer seals."

"Send someone inside?"

Karen cast his gaze toward the horrific scene ahead. Heaven knew what kind of even more exaggerated spectacle lay within the laboratory deep inside the subterranean cavern.

A divine contamination source, three divine artifacts, a series of other sacred instruments, and a whole host of corrupted elite priests from both churches... most of the perilous secret realms in this world didn't possess such a high-end configuration, did they?

If one went in, could they truly come out alive?

Even if they did come out alive, how much of that life would still belong to them?

Once infected by the contamination, the rest of one's days would only be countless times more wretched than the worst moments experienced by the two girls of the Pavaro family.

"It must be done," Delon said. "Otherwise, this place will never find peace. The longer it is sealed, the more contamination will accumulate inside. If a breach opens up one day, it won't just be York City's problem; the whole of Wien—no, including the waters surrounding Wien—will be shrouded in contamination."

"This is not for me to arrange. Let us wait for the people from above to arrive," Karen could only reply.

"Karen, you are not allowed to go."

"Hmm?"

"You absolutely must not go."

"Grandfather, what makes you think I would willingly step inside?"

Has my past behavior somehow given you the wrong impression?

"I don't know, but I don't want you going. My daughter died because she was contaminated."

Karen nodded and said nothing more, though his mind began to wonder: Had his mother and father suffered such a severe degree of contamination that even Dis was powerless to save them?

Delon cast another warning glance at Karen, though he received no response.

Yet Delon knew perfectly well that his wife would never allow Karen to do this.

By now, the contaminated Order judges inside the seal had stopped mutilating themselves; they all remained on their knees, dark mist billowing continuously from their bodies, refusing to dissipate, only to flow back into them in a closed loop.

This meant they were not "finished"; it was more as if they were being "cured," and no one knew what kind of reaction approaching them now would trigger.

Old Delon let out a sigh, uttering a local Wien slang phrase that possessed no precise meaning, but in this context, amounted to:

"Ah, what a sin."

...

In the afternoon, the supply convoy arrived. People ate and rested as needed, though the formation masters had it hardest; they could not leave the front lines and had to maintain absolute focus.

Construction materials like cement and bricks were also brought in. Judges, clad in their divine robes, rolled up their sleeves and began erecting structures, while temporary tents were pitched nearby—the work proceeded smoothly on both fronts.

Gaspoel arrived; she had requested to come, and Karen had sent Alfred to fetch her.

Upon reaching the site, she first listened to Karen's report, then nodded to signify that his arrangements were well-made. Issuing no new directives, she sat down beside Karen. Before them stood a small pile of stones encasing a low-grade fire-attribute spirit stone, beneath a small pot of boiling coffee.

"What a headache," Gaspoel said, tapping her temple. "How dare they conduct such a dangerous experiment in a densely populated, traditional missionary district."

Karen replied as he poured the coffee, "I suspect that if it weren't a densely populated area with a higher level of social development, they couldn't have carried out this experiment at all."

Gaspoel took a sip of her coffee. "Then why not choose the Digne Region?"

Karen smiled. This regional director, newly arrived from the Digne Region, was truly impeccable when it came to her professional duties and attitude.

"Because, Director, we are in the York City Region."

"The next time I encounter something like this, I will stop it," Gaspoel said calmly. "You must have known about this experiment for a while, right?"

"The Chief knew as well. So, are you blaming us for not stopping it?"

"I hope that if you ever sit in the Regional Director's chair in the future, you will step forward to stop it. For now, you are not the director, so I have no objection to your choice of silence."

For a moment, Karen did not know how to respond.

Gaspoel sighed. "Yes, yesterday in the car when you mentioned this to me, I told you that since it involved a higher-level department, it wasn't our place to interfere. But the nature of this event is different.

Sigh...

Next time, if there is an incident of a similar nature where the severe consequences can be foreseen, you can trust me. Please tell me, and I will make my own decision."

"Understood."

Karen felt that Gaspoel was not merely offering empty, beautiful words.

"The problem now is how to handle the aftermath."

Just then, Vic walked over and reported, "Director, Minister, the Chief has sent word. The event-handling team has arrived at the administrative building, and the Chief requests the Minister's presence at the handling meeting."

Gaspoel stood up. "I will go too."

At this point, it was meaningless to fret over whether she had officially assumed office.

Vic drove, chauvining Karen and Gaspoel toward the administrative building.

En route, Karen saw three ravens fly up to the car window. After he lowered the glass, the three ravens flew inside, positioning themselves before each of the three passengers.

These were not private ravens sent to individuals; judging by the watermark on the spell parchment, this was a mass broadcast from the Chief Bishop's office.

Normally, if the Chief Bishop wanted to issue a message or notice, he did not need to go to such trouble.

Karen unrolled the parchment, and Byrne's voice echoed from within:

"I am Byrne, Chief Bishop of the York City Region.

The region is currently facing a crisis, and the administration needs to temporarily recruit a group of volunteers to resolve it. Furthermore, the survival rate for these volunteers, from where I stand, is practically zero.

Therefore, let those who are willing to sacrifice their lives to maintain Order in Wien step forward and register with me."

The raven message received by all three was identical.

Vic gave a sigh. "That's remarkably blunt."

Gaspoel said, "Because anyone going to that place will know full well that it's practically impossible to come out alive once they enter. There is no need for deception."

Karen sighed in turn. "It seems the Chief has already conferred with the newly arrived expert panel and understands just how critical the situation is. This recruitment of volunteers was likely the panel's suggestion."

"Yes, it must be so. Specialized personnel will lead the team, but they will certainly require assistants, and those assistants are destined to be the ones sacrificed."

The atmosphere inside the car grew oppressive, but fortunately, they arrived at the administrative building.

The moment Karen and Gaspoel stepped out of the vehicle, an official from the Chief's office who had been waiting there escorted them into the elevator. When they entered the conference room, they found it already packed with people.

Gaspoel took a seat beside Byrne, but there was no spot left for Karen. Apart from the Chief and the Director, the round table was occupied entirely by the experts who had just arrived, including some wearing the robes of Principle. Karen simply pulled up a chair and sat behind them.

The meeting was chaired by an old man with white hair, who instructed someone to brief Gaspoel and Karen on what had just been discussed while gesturing for the meeting to proceed.

Resolving this source of contamination completely in the short term appeared impossible; it was unclear whether the difficulty and cost were too high, or if they simply couldn't bear to wipe it out.

Thus, the agenda focused on how to stably seal the contamination source.

In perfect alignment with what his grandfather had said, the three divine artifacts inside had to be retrieved first.

Ultimately, they still had to send volunteers, a suicide squad... no, a death squad was a more fitting term.

Consequently, the rest of the session was spent debating how to ensure the team could successfully enter and retrieve the artifacts, and how to provide logistical support.

As it stood, the conclusion was to have four "experts" serve as leaders—two from Order and two from Principle—to handle the core work, supplemented by an auxiliary team of about twenty people.

It felt like hiring twenty bodyguards to escort an expert panel through a danger zone.

Once the meeting moved into detailed sub-topics, Karen began to let his mind drift, as there was no longer any need for him to listen closely.

With a delayed wave of realization, he felt a touch of the anger Byrne had displayed at the site earlier. Many of the experts seated here had been aware of the experiment beforehand; in fact, several of them were among its organizers, though they never had to go to the front lines themselves.

During the meeting, three more groups of people entered, all of them expert lords who had just arrived.

Karen spotted a familiar face. Upon entering, a lord originally seated at the round table stood up to offer his seat, but the newcomer declined it. Instead, he made his way intentionally over to Karen's side, patted Karen on the shoulder, and sat down.

"Young man, we meet again."

It was inconvenient to stand and salute now, so Karen simply bowed to him from his chair. "Hello, Teacher."

This was Pilo, who had briefly taught him insights into formations back in the Digne Region.

"Lord Pilo, please come sit over here for the discussion," someone invited.

"Go on with your talks. I'll just take the formation personnel directly to coordinate with the local bishop in charge of formations in a moment," Pilo said, unable to resist complaining. "What a complete mess you people have made!"

Awkward looks appeared on many faces.

Everyone present was well aware that once this incident was dealt with, many of them in attendance would be held accountable. The only reason they continued to sit here and complete the aftermath was because if the subsequent handling failed and the danger was not contained, the punishment awaiting them would be far more terrifying.

"After the meeting is over later, shall we find a place to drink tea?"

"This..."

"No need to worry, the concrete plan hasn't been finalized yet. Once it is, we still have to select personnel, then wait for preparations, and also organize training; it will take at least two or even three days."

"Alright, teacher."

"Mm."

Pilo stopped reminiscing, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes, appearing to doze off yet also seeming to listen intently to the meeting's discussion.

The entire meeting dragged on until late into the night before it finally concluded.

As the meeting adjourned, Karen asked Pilo, "Teacher, do you need to rest now?"

"No rest. Although there's still a fair amount of time, using it to sleep would truly weigh on my conscience. How about this, go and help me notify the bishop in charge of formations for this parish...

This bishop of this parish isn't a part-timer, is he?"

By part-timer, he meant someone who didn't originally come from a background in formations but was in charge of the formation department's work—such a situation of an "outsider leading insiders" was not rare anywhere.

"Bishop Delon is the foremost figure in formations in our York City parish."

"Where is he now?"

"Guarding the front line."

"Then help me notify him. If circumstances permit, have him come over first. I want to hold a small meeting with him and the other few formation masters who came down."

"Alright, when he arrives, I will personally lead him to see you."

"Heheh." Pilo smiled, "I just like your attitude of seeking knowledge and learning."

Pilo had misunderstood; Karen was merely accompanying his own maternal grandfather to the meeting, yet he thought Karen didn't want to miss out on this high-end meeting of formation masters.

"Then I shall leave for a moment, teacher."

"Mm, good, I won't be sleeping tonight."

"Alright, teacher."

Karen rose from his seat and left, first relaying the message to Vick who stood at the door, and Vick immediately went to notify Bishop Delon.

"Hey, Karen." Byrne's voice came over.

Karen proactively walked over and stepped into the elevator together with Chief Bishop Byrne.

The moment the elevator doors closed, Byrne cursed, "The first batch of experts who arrived, every single one of them is a goddamn sinner."

"So that's why they arrived the fastest, is it?" Karen asked.

"Yes, because they have been paying close attention to the progress of the experiment all along."

Karen said, "Davinci's group should use this matter to stir up some waves."

"Of course they will. As believers of Order, yet vainly attempting to 'create a god,' heh. But I'm not speaking up for that bunch of guys who arrived in the first batch in the meeting hall just now; their 'god-creation' wasn't about wanting to create a deity to place upon a sacrificial altar to kneel and worship, but rather wanting to master the power of a deity.

To look at it from another perspective, researching a deity as a tool isn't actually considered a violation of the doctrines of Order, right?"

The elevator began its ascent.

Byrne said, "Now we can only pray that the first mission to enter and retrieve the divine artifact can be successfully completed. If it fails, heh... then in the future I can open an expedition class and charge expedition fees."

"Has the personnel arrangement been finalized?"

"The expert group will provide the experts, four of them."

"Meaning, we have to provide the entire support team?"

"Yes."

"How should the personnel be determined?" Karen asked.

"Didn't you receive the crow I sent you? Among the people I mass-messaged, you should have been included. In fact, one even flew to me, heh."

"You can still laugh."

"Why can't I laugh?" Byrne froze for a moment, then seemed to understand something, "Karen, I believe, and I know, that you are a devout believer of Order. But you must believe even more that in this world, there are many, many more believers of Order who are just like you, or even more devout."

"This, of course I believe."

"Of course you believe?"

The elevator doors opened, and Byrne led Karen toward his Chief Bishop's office. He reached out to grasp the doorknob and said, "Many believers and many priests usually do their own things at their own posts. They will slack off, they will be cautious, they will use connections, they will flatter, they will embezzle, and occasionally, they will even violate the Regulations of Order. But there is a reason why our Holy See of Order could win the confrontation against the Holy See of Light a thousand years ago and become the number one Holy See today."

Byrne used his other finger to point at himself, then pointed at Karen:

"You and I can easily feel lonely. Back when I was immersed in the darkness, this feeling was exceptionally intense. But I have always firmly believed in one thing, a thing that has always given me motivation and hope. Want to know what it is?"

Karen nodded: "Yes."

"When I went down to the meeting, I purposely left my office window open. So let us see, after that mass message of mine went out—an announcement where volunteering means near-certain death—how many proactive sign-ups we can receive from the priests of this parish."

"Creak..."

Byrne threw the office door open,

Inside,

A wild dance of crowded crows.