Chapter 260: Laura

Although each spell he named only required 0.5 magical power and thus had only 0.5 the force, the energy and damage produced by the combination of different magical elements far exceeded his expectations.

So, it wasn't too surprising that the backyard, which had just been cleaned up in preparation for Halloween, was left in a mess.

Renovation was inevitable.

For the day, he mostly followed Eileen's lead.

Not that he was afraid, but since he was responsible for the mess, and Eileen had to clean it up, adding another task to her list—renovating the entire backyard.

It was quite an embarrassing situation, after all, he still had some dignity.

Rather than that, he took the responsibility upon himself.

The Pluto Church, already lit by candlelight.

Eileen blinked, her hands clasped together naturally in front of her, standing elegantly and politely, expressing her confusion.

"I remember someone who works in construction."

York smiled, "You weren't here when he came, so it's normal that you don't recognize him."

Hearing this, Eileen didn't do anything extra, just nodded, "Okay, Father."

Essentially, the most important job of a nun is to assist the priest or with missionary work.

"Mhm."

York kept his smile, waving his hand, "It's getting late, let's clean up and head back."

Eileen nodded again and left to finish her last task.

Seeing this, York turned to look at John Wick, sitting on the bench.

Somehow, this guy has recently become more and more fond of praying.

Especially at night.

Dressed in a pitch-black church uniform, he had a very special air about him.

It was as if a killer had earnestly reformed and was sincerely repenting for his sins.

In any case, this guy was busy all day.

Cleaning, accompanying Eileen, and even providing some help to the elderly believers.

Always with that cold killer's expression.

Noticing York's gaze and sensing it with his killer's intuition, John slowly opened his eyes, and York smiled.

"John, you've worked hard today."

John Wick nodded slightly in acknowledgment and closed his eyes again, his prayer not yet finished.

"Cool guy."

Seeing this, York shook his head and straightened up, casually taking out his phone to scroll through a chat group.

He found the person he mentioned to Eileen.

"Ron seems to have gotten married and moved to the city for his wife. I wonder how he's doing now."

York thought of the young man who always came to repair the church.

The Pluto Church, being old, naturally had parts that were dilapidated and in need of repair.

And the first person he found when he took over the Pluto Church was Ron.

From start to finish, it was all Ron.

So, York decided to let Ron handle the renovation.

It felt somewhat fated since it was the same person from beginning to end.

Of course, it wasn't just for that reason. It was nice to occasionally support an old acquaintance's business; otherwise, he would have gone for a big company.

York also felt he had a bit of a quirk, disliking grandiosity or extravagance, preferring a simple, peaceful life.

"Also, it's about saving money. Ron's craftsmanship is not bad, just don't know if he's available..."

Without much thought, York clicked on Ron's account in the chat group to leave him a private message.

"Ron, this is Father York. Congratulations on your marriage. I was wondering if you're still working in construction. The backyard of the Pluto Church needs renovation, and I hope you can come and take a look if you're available..."

York didn't say much more, trusting that Ron was still working in construction.

"Done!"

York put away his phone, glanced at John Wick still in prayer, and then prepared to leave with Eileen.

...

"Sleep now, I'm here."

In a small town, in a building.

In the room, a young man, weary yet tender and concerned, looked at his wife on the bed, pulling the thin blanket up to her chin and gently stroking her forehead.

However, the woman kept her eyes on her man.

"Ron..."

Her tone was uneasy and scared.

"I'll be here watching over you," Ron soothed, caressing his wife's forehead gently.

"You won't have any more troubles, trust me, Laura."

Laura, named as such, kept her gaze on Ron, not blinking, knowing why her husband would say this, as she hadn't slept for two days and nights.

"Sleep now, I need to sort out work from these past few days."

Ron smiled reassuringly.

"So, I'll sit right beside you."

Hearing this, Laura looked at her husband silently and slowly closed her eyes.

Seeing this, Ron watched for a long time before sighing and moving to the desk and chair by the bed.

His wife, Laura, seemed to have some mental issues, becoming extremely sensitive and emotionally volatile, swinging between irritability and depression.

The most severe issue was her hallucinations.

According to her, she saw people who didn't exist in reality.

"A severely burned man?"

Ron sighed, unable to understand how a perfectly healthy person could suddenly change so drastically.

He couldn't help but look back at his wife on the bed.

Hallucinations were one thing, but she would also go out into the forest by the house in the middle of the night, strip naked, and dance alone as if led by someone.

Ron pulled out a chair at the desk and sat down, picking up some papers.

He had moved to this small town for his wife's sake, seeking a quiet and comfortable environment, but now her condition seemed to be worsening.

Looking at the information on the papers, Ron's expression became serious.

He had taken his wife to see doctors.

The diagnosis was schizophrenia.

He believed in the diagnosis, but despite treatment, his wife's condition had only worsened, with hallucinations becoming more frequent, even when he was by her side.

This worried and pained him.

"I can't stand it."

Ron rubbed his temples in pain. Most of his work was in the city, and moving here meant giving up his job.

Just then, his phone vibrated on the desk, drawing his attention.

Ron, without much thought, put down the papers and picked it up, expecting work-related messages or perhaps spam.

But to his surprise, it was a private message from Father York.

Ron, seeing the message on the lock screen, was momentarily transported back to memories of the priest he was especially grateful for.

The renovation of the grand Pluto Church was a big job.

And back then, he was just a small construction company owner and worker.

But this priest, impressive at first glance, chose him among many, the least noticeable and accomplished...

"Father York."

Recalling the priest's appearance and demeanor, and then the stories of exorcism in the chat group, Ron instinctively looked back at his wife on the bed,

As if realizing something, he quickly unlocked the screen and opened the private message.

Soon, he finished reading the priest's message.

"Backyard renovation?"

Ron recalled the scale and appearance of the church's backyard, took a deep breath, and began to reply.

If medical treatment had no effect on his wife's condition, which was worsening, could it be something else? Was she possessed by a demon or

 tainted by some evil entity?

He had to try! Although he hadn't seen any actual supernatural occurrences or anything strange, it was all his wife who saw them.

...

"Father York, this is Ron. Thank you for your blessings..."

"Yes, I'm still working in construction. If you need renovation, I think I can help..."

At the same moment, York, planning to spend the night documenting the effects of various elemental combinations, received Ron's reply.

"Should I invite his wife to come and see?"

York, without hesitation, put down his phone and picked up a pen and paper, starting to write down the effects of elemental combinations he had yet to try on the notebook before him.

As some believers occasionally brought their families over.

Just like Mrs. Hardy brought Officer Beck.

Mrs. Camille brought her family, and so on. There were too many, he didn't give it much thought.

The sound of the pen scratching on paper echoed in his ears as York wrote down his ideas and the magical combinations he had experimented with.

Water plus light, probably a Water Barrier, forming a solid crystalline barrier to block enemy attacks.

Earth plus wind might create a sandstorm, reducing enemies' visibility and mobility.

Earth plus water is the key to a mudslide, likely forming a massive mudslide that could engulf enemies or block roads, serving as an area-of-effect skill...

Until the next morning, when he saw through the three-dimensional diagram that Eileen had prepared breakfast and then left, he stopped recording.

"So much to experiment with..."

Despite not sleeping all night, York, still as fresh as ever thanks to the effects of his life value, shook his head at the dense notes he had recorded.

With all these combinations, he was truly a master of magic.

"I don't know why, but I always feel a sense of emptiness, probably because it was too easy to obtain."

Thinking back on the efforts he made for magic, York sighed and headed to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, he changed into a new robe and sat at his usual spot at the dining table, starting another day as usual.

The life of ordinary people is cyclical, with little change, the only differences being in the surrounding events.

York stepped out from the believers' group chat, checked some news, finished his breakfast, and then got up to clean up everything.

Eileen cooked, and he cleaned, a clear division of labor, although he only cleaned his own utensils.

"It seems the authorities have put a lot of effort into it. The fog incident was classified as a natural disaster, with no news of monsters, even though there were pictures, but they were dismissed as rumors."

York marveled.

"Amazing."

Even so, York felt the American authorities did a good job.

Setting a prohibitive line between two different worlds was absolutely the right thing to do.

Once the supernatural and paranormal became known to the general populace, not to mention the general panic, those with very liberal ideas, driven by freedom, curiosity, or thrill-seeking, might engage in very dangerous actions and behaviors.

Severely affecting society, or just the people and environment around them, one of these would inevitably be impacted.

Like the previous Reed Apartments incident, where a child's curiosity indirectly led to the death of his family and innocent tenants.

From what he knew, some novices, knowing a bit about summoning or possessing some books, often summoned something...

For such people, he would discipline them every time he saw them, giving them a good lesson.

"Even the Level 7 incident in Thailand was covered up by the Thai authorities with some high-profile events..."

Thinking about these irrelevant matters, York walked into the garage.

He then drove out of the garage and headed to the Pluto Church to begin his day's work.

Performing his priestly duties, by noon, he finally saw Ron's wife.

But she was different from what he had imagined.

In his eyes, Ron's wife looked like a sick person.

Pale, with no hint of color on her face, eyes sunken, and a vacant gaze.

He also saw the hidden fatigue in Ron.

This was not the look of a happy marriage.

Seeing the woman, who looked like a helpless puppy hiding in Ron's arm, under his gaze, York silently frowned.

"Father York." Noticing his wife's withdrawal and fear, Ron patted her reassuringly and said to the tall priest with a bitter smile.

"This is my wife, Laura..."

Introduction to the group, brothers, if you want to join, just join. (Nervous, what if it's awkward? I'm really scared of the silence...)

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