Chapter 23: Church is but a Cult

She woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning. She got up, unlocked her window, and looked out to the suburbs. There was a woman walking her dog and a man in a suit waiting at the nearby bus station.

Aine got dressed and looked at the clock on her wall. She wore a purple dress that she found in her closet. It struck 8 o'clock. Aine slowly unlocked her door and opened it very finely, making no creaks. She snuck out of her room and looked down on the first floor. Ms. Loi was dusting the house, and Mr. Loi was nowhere to be seen. The television could be heard, however. It seems like someone is watching TV.

Someone was at the door, however, and their voice sounded familiar. Mr. Loi could be heard talking to him, and Ms. Loi put down her duster and walked towards the door to greet the man.

Aine could barely discern the conversation, but she was able to hear this much.

"Mr. Juan, it's a pleasure," said Mr. Loi.

"Pleasure is all mine. But I am here to check on Aine," said Juan.

"Aine? Oh right, we told you a couple days ago that Aine woke up," answered Mr. Loi.

"I'm glad she was able to recover; she was one of my favorite... person who attended church. She was very... expressive, so I thought I'd pay her a visit," said Juan.

"Of course, but I'm afraid Aine is not on speaking terms with anyone right now," said Ms. Loi.

"She has amnesia, and she acts like a completely different person," said Mr. Loi.

"I see... Well, that's very unfortunate. If she's not on speaking terms, then I don't think she's willing to pray with me," said Juan.

"I believe not, sorry," answered Ms. Loi.

A ringtone could be heard. "Well, I am terribly busy, so I'm going to take my leave. Do attend church tomorrow; I still would like to meet her," said Juan. Juan said his goodbyes and continued to talk to himself as he left the house. Aine quickly ran into her room and looked out the window. Juan was walking into his car while talking on the phone. He quickly drove off.

Tomorrow is the day the church will be filled with the brainwashed; it's her chance to take Deimos by surprise and retire his plan of world dominance. Aine pretended to have just woken up and left her room slowly. Aine was still convinced that her parents were working with Deimos; why else would he be talking to them?

Ms. Loi saw Aine walking down the stairs.

"Good morning. Would you like breakfast?" offered Ms. Loi.

"Sure... You didn't poison the food last night; why would you start poisoning it now?" said Aine.

Aine sat at the dining table and waited for her food. She stayed vigilant and watched every one of Mr. and Mrs. Loi's movements. Mr. Loi then left the house; he said he was going to go to work. "That work might as well be as a drug dealer, judging by how suspicious he's acting," Aine thought.

A bowl topped-off with rice and chicken with a black-colored sauce was then placed before Aine. It smelled glorious, and Aine's mouth began to water. She was still suspicious of Ms. Loi, but the food was just too enticing. She began digging in, and she was satisfied.

Aine wanted to hurry back to her room and lock herself in again; however, there was something she had to confirm with Ms. Loi regarding Deimos and the church.

"So... How well do you know Juan?" asked Aine skeptically.

"Well, you might not remember, but we've been attending his service for the last 11 years or so," answered Ms. Loi.

"What's a service? Does it have something to do with that church?" asked Aine.

"Yes, it is when he tells us the word of the Lord to all us Christians every Sunday," answered Ms. Loi.

"So, that's what that is," Aine thought. "If they've been attending Deimos' service for the past 11 years, that means that they're already too far gone."

"Why do you ask, Aine?" asked Ms. Loi.

"Oh, nothing; you just seemed really close," said Aine.

Aine realized something, tomorrow is Sunday. If she could attend the service, then... there's a window of opportunity to end Deimos' reign. But, from what she knows of how services work, Deimos will be in front of probably a hundred people. She also assumes that there is no way Deimos will be left unguarded. This wouldn't be an issue if she still had her magic, but without it, she can't make a clean kill.

Aine must find a way to seclude Deimos and assassinate him. Unfortunately, she doesn't yet understand this world enough to devise a working plan.

"Can I go to service tomorrow?" asked Aine.

"O-Of course," said Ms. Loi, absolutely surprised. "We'll all go together."

Aine thinks that's enough talking with the enemy for today. Without saying another word, Aine went back upstairs to her room. As she closed the door, Ms. Loi looked at Aine from downstairs.

"Please, Lord, give me back my daughter," prayed Ms. Loi. As she prayed, the television in the living room that was left on changed to the weather forecast. "And tomorrow on Sunday, we will expect heavy rains in the morning up to mid-day, where it will be unfortunately cloudy for the rest of the day," said the reporter.

Ms. Loi walked to the living room. "God, that man can be so irresponsible sometimes, leaving the TV on just like that," muttered Ms. Loi in an annoyed tone. Ms. Loi took the remote and turned the TV off.

The hours passed as Aine sunk herself into the books in her room. She read and read until she eventually got rather famished. Before she decided to go downstairs again to get food, something caught her attention. There was something under her pillow. It was pink, so she decided to investigate it. The book had no title, had a hard plastic cover, and had a three-digit code lock to prevent it from opening.

"What the hell is this?" said Aine as she picked up the book and inspected its pink cover. Aine decided to pay no mind to it. "If it's locked, then it's locked for a reason," Aine thought. She couldn't be bothered, so she decided to just go downstairs and get some food to eat.

The day went on with no more events. Night fell on this dystopian world. Aine was in her room eating her dinner while writing all her plans on a few pieces of paper. The paper had complete text and diagrams for all her plans of attack. Some of the plans are incredibly bizarre; there's one that involves her tying herself with a rope around her waist, dangling from the ceiling, and dropping rocks on Deimos.

Unfortunately, she doesn't have enough information about the church. She might not be able to attack tomorrow. She might as well use that opportunity to walk around the church and see if there are any questionable architectural designs that she can exploit.

Aine continued to eat her dinner as someone was knocking on her room door. It was Aine's mother, probably there to collect the dishes.

"Aine? Are you finished?" asked Ms. Loi.

"Not yet," answered Aine.

Aine noticed that Ms. Loi seems to know a lot about Juan's church. I mean, she has been attending it for 11 years now; maybe there could be some information to be had from Ms. Loi.

"Church, yeah?" said Aine, trying to start a conversation.

"Yes, church... What about it?" responded Ms. Loi awkwardly before she closed the room door.

"What is it like? Describe me the interior," said Aine.

"The interior? Well, it's a large open space with a stage in front. There's a bell right over the main entrance and a backdoor from behind the stage where all the worship-leaders go and prepare," answered Ms. Loi.

Something came to Aine at that moment. "That sounds awfully familiar," she thought. She already knew what the main building looked like, but she had no idea it had a bell or a backroom.

"Is the back room a corridor?" Asked Aine.

"Probably; I've never been back there, but I wouldn't be surprised if they had a corridor back there to link up the other rooms," answered Ms. Loi.

"Could it be...?" she thought. "That weird corridor I found under the mountain?" She couldn't know for certain until she saw it with her own eyes. Aine recalled her memories from back then, "That's right, that place was also called a church. There was a sign right outside of it too, and weird ruins around it," Aine thought.

"It seems he was using that place under the mountain," Aine said to herself.

"What was that?" said Ms. Loi.

"Nothing that concerns you! Here, take this," said Aine crudely as she handed Ms. Loi the plate she just ate from.

Ms. Loi took the plate; her face shows a slight expression of anger, maybe from Aine's incredibly disrespectful demeanor. "She'll thank me later for saving this world," Aine thought.

As the city began to sleep for the night, Aine continued to devise her plan. Now, she was in the living room watching recordings of Juan's past services in that church. Mr. Loi was graciously kind enough to show Aine the recording from the internet.

Aine continued to watch the recording late into the night. Mr. and Mrs. Loi were thinking that Aine was just that interested in the church. "Maybe some of the memories from the church stayed with her even through the amnesia," Mr. Loi thought. "Her actions are more crude, but her heart seems to be in the right place," thought Ms. Loi.

"Just don't stay up too late," said Mr. Loi. Aine didn't respond and just continued to watch the replays while taking notes. They just left Aine be and went to bed. Aine eventually went to bed at about 11 p.m.

It's a stormy Sunday morning, and the family got up early. The service begins at 9. Ms. Loi told Aine to wear something respectful, so Aine picked the nicest dress she could find. It was a white dress with flower patterns. Aine also wore a pair of black flat shoes. Ms. Loi helped Aine with the make-up. The make-up wasn't anything special; it was light and gave off youthful energy.

At 8.20 am, the family left the house for the church in the center of the city. Aine didn't forget to bring the papers she wrote last night. Aine folded and hid the papers inside her little purse, along with a kitchen knife just in case. The knife was quite thin; it was mostly used for cutting fruits. It slipped perfectly into her purse.

The morning, however, was far from peaceful. The sky turned dark from the clouds, and it continued to storm as Aine and her family headed for the church. An announcement could be heard from a speaker on top of a pole on the sidewalk, issuing a flood warning in the area.

The car stopped in front of a junction, and the light on the other side of the road glowed red. Aine can't help but feel that this place seems familiar; she feels like she's seen this sidewalk before. A skyscraper on her left was broken; its placement reminded her of something. She looked to the right of the car, and sure enough, there was a sign over a tunnel heading down that said "Subway."

"That broken building... did it fall at any point?" Aine asked out loud.

"Oh? You remember? Yeah, that building was built by a no-good architect. Blew up his own building, and it almost collapsed toward the road," answered Mr. Loi.

Aine's suspicions were confirmed; this is the same road she saw when she was under the mountains. Aine reasoned, "That indicates that that building was the one that was slanted by 45 degrees." Aine's heart sank as she realized that Deimos might have done something to that building if it appeared like that even under the mountain.

After a while, the light turned green, and the car continued forward. The church was right there; Aine could recognize it from its exterior. The front of the church was incredibly crowded with parked cars. Politely-dressed people could be seen using umbrellas and walking towards the church.

"Woah, what a storm this is," said Mr. Loi.

"Thankfully, we packed an umbrella," said Ms. Loi.

Ms. Loi took out the collapsible umbrella from under her seat while Mr. Loi found a parking spot. Ms. Loi got out of the car and came towards the back to pick Aine up. Aine got up and huddled under the umbrella with Ms. Loi, while Mr. Loi took another umbrella and got out shortly after.

And like that, Aine was in front of the church. The same sign from back under the mountain was here too; it still said "Church." The same building with the same bell on top, "This truly is Deimos' hideout," Aine thought. Aine's resolve grew stronger. "I'm going home; wait for me," she said to herself.

They entered the church, and there was a guard in front who helped with all the attendant's umbrellas. The guards didn't even check Aine's purse, so she was able to take the knife with no problem. Aine walked into the church; a large open space greeted her with a stage in front.

"Let's take our seats," said Ms. Loi.

Before Aine could take a seat, another girl, about the same age as Aine, came towards her. She had a surprised look on her face.

"You... came back?" She said to Aine.

"Uhh... Who are you?" Asked Aine, confused.

"You got out; why did you come back here?" she said.

"Got out? What do you mean?" Aine said, now even more confused.

Ms. Loi saw Aine conversing with the girl and came to greet her.

"Aine? Do you know this girl?" Asked Ms. Loi.

"N-No, I don't," answered Aine.

"I'm sorry if she doesn't recognize you. Aine has amnesia, you see," said Ms. Loi.

"Amnesia? Then why is she back here?" The girl said.

"She's here to worship God, of course. Now if you would excuse us," answered Ms. Loi as she left with Aine.

The girl could be seen mumbling under her breath, "You barely got out the first time. Is your brain that hardwired to his dick?" She mumbled before eventually sighing in disappointment and leaving.

Aine sat down next to Mr. and Mrs. Loi and waited for the service to begin. While they were praying and opening their hearts to God, she went over her notes one more time. "I have to wait for the service to end and then kill him backstage," Aine thought. Aine put the notes back in her purse, and the service began.

The choir sang the glory of God, and all Aine could think was what utter bullshit this was. "Pretending to worship a false god so you can better your disguise? Pathetic," Aine thought. The worship leader began lifting everyone's spirits-everyone but Aine, who can imagine how brainwashed these motherfuckers are. Aine also noticed that all the members of the choir were young girls.

"Brainwashing humans so you can get them to worship a false god? This church really is but a cult," Aine thought. Aine looked towards Mr. and Ms. Loi to see them singing along. "Looks like the cult is growing," Aine thought.

The singing ended, and everyone united in prayer as Juan walked on stage. "There he is," Aine thought. Aine can't help but feel a little nervous; this plan was incredibly risky, after all. As the prayer ended and Juan opened his eyes to greet the attendants, Juan's eyes immediately locked on to Aine for a split second. "He knows," Aine thought.

The service continued as planned, with Juan spouting nonsense about God and the audience fawning over his seemingly perfect demeanor. The service ended shortly after, and everyone was united in prayer again. But before that, Aine excused herself.

"I need to go to the bathroom," Aine said.

"Okay, come back soon," Mr. Loi answered.

Aine left her seat, and using the darkness and everyone closing their eyes to her advantage, she was able to walk towards the backroom door without a hitch. People thought she was a member of the staff, so no one went to stop her.

As she opened the door to the backrooms, a familiar corridor was before her. It was the twisted corridor from before, but now it is not distorted. The walls were fine, and there were no issues with the lighting. Aine walked down the corridor, and sure enough, that door was also there.

She opened the door. There was no tombstone there, so she decided to hide there for the time being. There were mops and cleaning equipment inside that closet. Aine was incredibly nervous, but she knows what must be done. Footsteps could be heard from outside.

"Where did Aine go?" said a familiar voice. It was Juan right outside of this door.

"That bitch snuck away, and I was just about to welcome her," said Deimos.

"I swear she was right there," said a girl's voice.

"I know you're not lying, but find her, will ya?" Ordered Juan aggressively.

The girl quickly ran out and slammed the backroom doors. Juan continued walking down the corridor, not noticing Aine. Aine gently opened the door and snuck out. Juan could be heard going deeper down the corridor, so Aine decided to sneakily follow him.

Meanwhile, Aine's parents were getting worried. They couldn't find her anywhere.

"I've checked the toilet; she's not there," said Ms. Loi.

"And she broke her phone too, right? That means we can't contact her," Mr. Loi said in a panic.

Aine was currently sneakily pursuing Juan. Juan was in a room talking to a few staff members who were counting the offerings they had accumulated. Aine was hiding right next to the door of the room, with only a few chairs preventing her from being seen if anyone were to pass through the door.

Aine could barely discern the conversation. It was between Juan and a young-sounding girl.

"Aine? She's back?" Asked the girl, surprised.

"Yes, she's your best friend, isn't she not?" Said Juan.

"Yes... but, as I thought you said, she had amnesia," said the girl.

"That may be so, but it seems like the brainwashing remains," said Juan.

The conversation can't be discerned anymore, so Aine decided to back off for now and try to return to the closet. She wants to be able to pounce on Juan. Trouble arose as someone was standing in her way. The girl was looking straight at Aine.

"Aine?" said the girl.

"Shit!" Aine said as she began to run in the other direction.

"Aine?! Don't run!" The girl shouted.

Juan heard the scream and saw Aine rush through the corridor. Juan smiled deviously as he also began chasing Aine. Aine ran as far as she could go. Aine burst through a door that led to a staircase. Aine looked back to see Juan pursuing her.

"Oh, fucking hell," Aine said under her breath as she began to climb up the stairs. Aine climbed up the stories and ended up on the top floor of the church, almost at the same level as the bell that hung proudly over the church.

Being on the top floor, Aine could hear the loud banging of rainwater on the roof and the loud claps of thunder. Aine tried to think of an escape plan as fast as possible. With the staircase now out of the question since Juan is blocking it, Aine needed an alternative exit.

"Come out, Aine. I just want to talk," Juan said. No response. The top floor was nothing but a large open space that was used for storage. Boxes were everywhere and provided cover for Aine to hide.

"Let me ask you a question," Aine said. Juan was surprised. The nature of the room made Aine's voice echo, so Juan couldn't determine where it was coming from.

"Go on," Juan said, playing along.

"That building outside, did you have anything to do with it?" Aine asked.

"Oh? You remember that? Hahaha, good," answered Juan sinisterly.

"Answer the question, Deimos; did you have anything to do with it?" Asked Aine more demandingly.

Juan snickered.

"Well... I may or may not have had something to do with it. Let's just say I gave them an... explosive gift... Hahahahaha," said Juan cynically.

"Explosive...? A bomb?!" Aine shouted in shock.

"Hahahaha, you would be correct. You saw it, or, should I say, you did see it. You were right there on the scene," Juan said.

Aine doesn't recall her being there.

"All I needed to do was... brainwash a good Christian girl and get her to plant the bombs for me. And just like that, I act all sympathetic and unaware of the situation. All I had to do at that point was donate them a bunch of money that I got from the church, and I was immediately worshiped as some kind of angel. Hahahaha, crazy, isn't it? They shower me with praise, and what I did was donate the money they fucking gave me. Sure, I killed a couple people in the process, but hey, who the fuck cares anyway?" Juan said.

Aine was at a loss for words after what Juan had just said.

"You know what the best part was? The girl I used to plant the bomb was the daughter of the architect who built the building. I also told her to blame her own dad if she were even to get interrogated. So, that stupid architect who's been up my ass for years is now in fuck-off nowhere. In jail, where that scum belongs," said Juan as he continued to laugh pridefully.

"You Bitch!" Shouted Aine. Aine saw an exit to the roof; it was a trapdoor. Aine went all-in and ran towards the trapdoor. She quickly burst it open and headed out into the rain. Juan followed Aine to the roof. They were now on the roof of the church, with the bell now at the same level as them.

The roof was shaped in a gable style. Its slopes were slippery from the rain, and the winds made it harder to balance on. There was a bit of a platform where the two slopes peaked. It was very tiny and hard to balance on. Aine stood on the platform with the bell spire behind her and Juan in front of her, also on the platform.

"I must say, you were one of my favorites, Aine," Juan said. The rain continued to pour on the earth. The dark sky, similar to the one of the other world, was only interrupted by the occasional lightning strike. Both of them were soaking wet.

"I remember the day you first volunteered to help the church; you were only 10. So easy to influence..." reminisced Juan.

"T-That never happened!" Retaliated Aine.

"You were so easily swooned. You trusted me so much that you even told me when you had your first period. And that's when I strike! Oh God~! Your pussy was so tight and vigorous, you almost killed me! Hahahaha," said Juan sinisterly.

Aine was at a loss for words.

"T-That's not true!" Aine retaliated.

"Who are you trying to convince?" shouted Juan as he began to laugh maniacally. Aine stayed quiet, as she just didn't know how to respond.

"You were such a fun one to play with. While everyone else tried to fight me, you just obeyed! Anytime I told you to wear a skimpy outfit, you obeyed with no form of retaliation," said Juan pridefully.

Aine began stepping back slowly, and Juan stepped forward slowly, following her pace. Aine was getting closer and closer to the bell behind her.

"So, please, Aine. If you didn't retaliate, that means you enjoyed my dick. I'm sure even in the coma, you were still dreaming about getting raped, correct?" Asked Juan.

"D-Dream?" Aine said as she began to piece together the events of the other world.

"You were dreaming about it, huh? About getting publicly shamed and getting fucked in public. You liked it that much, right?" Continued Juan.

"Was it all a dream?" Aine thought to herself. "Was it all in my head?"

"But it doesn't have to be some dream... I can show you a world of pleasure. And in return, I'll make you a queen," said Juan with a repugnant smile on his face.

Aine continued to move backwards slowly. Now closer to the bell than ever. "W-What happened to me?" Aine asked, almost on the verge of tears.

"Well, it was a most unfortunate day. We were having sex as usual, but a burglar broke into the church. He was a convicted criminal, and the police had been pursuing him for a while. He thought he could hide in the church, but he then saw me fucking you in that corridor backstage, and the police were going to pass by soon. So, I did what I must; I pushed you into a closet with gay abandon and got my act together. You hit your head on the broom and fell into a coma. I then stripped you of all your clothing and threw it on the floor," Juan said.

"When the police came, I pretended that the burglar was the one who raped you. I pursued him with the police and came out on top as the hero of that story. It was quite unfortunate that I had to lose my favorite wife in the process," Juan said.

Aine froze in place; she couldn't even imagine what he had done to her. She still had her purse with her but didn't dare reach into it. A girl then poked her head out of the trapdoor to the roof. Juan immediately saw her.

"Emily, tell her a story," said Juan.

"A story? Which story?" Emily replied.

"The aftermath of Aine's admission to the hospital," Juan said in a monotone voice.

The girl got up to the roof and stopped in between Aine and Juan. The girl looked no older than 15 years old.

"After your admission to the hospital, Mr. Juan was really mad both at the burglar and himself. He told the police he wanted the burglar charged with assaulting a minor and have him locked up even longer than ever before. Unfortunately, you just turned 18, so the minor argument didn't hold up in court, but he was still charged with assault," said the girl.

"Mr. Juan, unsatisfied with the result, decided he would have sex with all of us. He fucked us to death, breaking us mentally and even killing a few of us. He was mad, and he didn't want to lose you," continued the girl.

"That's right, I didn't want to lose you. I truly regretted my actions that day," Juan said. Juan placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. The girl turned around and nodded.

"I will show you how much I love you, Aine, by fucking her to death. Emily has always been a close second to you, but no more. You are all I need," Juan said on the verge of tears.

Juan took out his dick and just slid it in from under Emily's dress. They began having sex on the roof of the church, in the middle of a storm. With no foreplay, Juan caused fatal damage to Emily's vagina. After the initial scream from Emily upon insertion, she turned lifeless.

"She's dead now, but I will keep going for you, Aine! She's still warm!" shouted Juan maniacally.

Aine, traumatized by what she had just seen, mustered up all the courage she had left to reach into her purse and grab the knife. Her hand was still in the purse as Juan climaxed and pumped his sperm into Emily's lifeless body. As Juan let go of the body, Emily's body rolled off the side of the church roof and fell to the ground.

Aine took out her knife and hit her hand behind her body. Juan was adjusting his pants and looked at Aine.

"So? You saw that! What will it be? Please, come back to me!" Begged Juan.

"...You're just a no-good priest who's using your religion as a way to capture unsuspecting girls. You brainwash them and play the hero. You kill people, you rape kids, all for your own self interest," shouted Aine in retaliation.

"So?! This world is a dirty one anyway! No God would want to save this world! And yet these dumb Christians still pray every day like there's a God up there. Even though it makes NO LOGICAL SENSE! These idiots need to be punished!" Shouted Juan.

"Christianity? Don't come with me with that bullshit! That motherfucker is going to come back to earth one day and wipe us all out anyway! So, why do we even bother worshiping a potential genocider? To be spared? Bullshit! He'll wipe this world clean! He'll replace us with his own cult members! So what wrong am I using his retarded religion for my own self-benefit?" Asked Juan violently.

Juan's lost his marbles.

"And just because I act a little bit holy, they shower me with money. Money that I use for buying luxury items like jewelry and shit! God, this world is so EASY TO FOOL!!! Bunch of gullible idiots!" Continued Juan.

"You monster!" Shouted Aine as she threw the knife at Juan. The knife stuck perfectly to Juan's skull. Blood began to leak from his temple.

"In the end, I-I will be seen as the hero," said Juan as his body became weak and he fell down from the roof of the church. The bell behind Aine rang. It sounded heavenly and ethereal, reminding Aine of her friends in the other world.

The rain continued to rage on as Aine reminisced about that sunless world. People could be heard screaming from the ground; perhaps they had found Juan's dead body.

Aine began to cry. Those tears could not be told apart from the rainwater soaking her face.

"Daegal! Abaddon! You hear me out there?" Aine shouted as she cried.

"I did it! I avenged you!" She continued to scream.

"Now, please... Rest in peace, both of you," Aine said as her tears began to overwhelm her.

Sirens blared from the ground. The colorless city was tinted with the colors coming off the police lights. People could be heard rushing up the stairs and passing through the trapdoor.

"The murderer is probably on the roof! The trapdoor is open!" A police officer shouted at his men. A police officer came onto the slippery roof with his guns out, ready to fire. He was soaking wet almost immediately.

"Officer? Is anyone there?" Said another police officer through the walkie talkie. The officer on the roof looked around. He replied, "Sir, there's no one here."

"What?" said a confused officer through the walkie talkie. The soaked officer went back inside the church. Meanwhile, on the ground, the paramedics announced Priest Juan's death. In the midst of the crowd, a panicked voice could be heard.

"Officer, has anyone seen my daughter?" said Ms. Loi.

"Your daughter?" said the officer, confused.

"She's been missing for an hour now; please help!" Pleaded Ms. Loi.

"Okay, I'll inform my colleagues; please wait here," said the officer.

The storm continues to rage, refusing to wane for anyone.

"Dead body!" Shouted an officer from the bushes around the church, pulling out a body. The body was quickly given to paramedics. The corpse had short purple hair and was short in stature. A ripped dress covered what's left of her, one pair of flat shoes were missing, and a purse landed in close proximity to her. Bags under her eyes, signifying recently fallen tears.

But a smile decorated her face. A sense of happiness could be felt emanating from her lifeless eyes. Her mother was crying on her corpse; now she was truly gone for good.

"Breaking News everybody! Beloved priest Juan has been unfortunately murdered by what seems to be a teenager. The teenager in question, unfortunately, committed suicide at the scene of the crime. Furthermore, a third body had been found at the scene; we still do not know what role this person played, but police are investigating this predicament."

"It is truly saddening to see such a great and selfless man murdered in the hands of evil. Priest Juan was a man who could do no wrong. He was the man who helped reduce the damage caused by the bombing of a nearby firm. Truly, what kind of despicable human is capable of murdering a man equivalent to an angel?"

"As the mayor of this fine city, I wish to hold a parade for the late Juan. He was a man whose kindness knew no bounds. As for the person who murdered this man, I will ensure that everyone involved in this case is punished appropriately."

"The death of Juan proves one thing."

"What would that be?"

"Justice has failed on this day."