Bab 287: Chapter 287: The School
"A priest? A priest that only existed in ancient times?"
Diana stared at the doorway, at the Pedro brothers conversing with her husband, a thick layer of scorn appearing on her face as if remembering something.
United in skepticism, farm owner Antonio shared her sentiment.
Staring at the Pedro brothers, he harbored only disbelief.
Thus, he echoed a common sentiment: "The church is gone, Pedro."
Antonio's eyes pierced with sharpness; he didn't want to be fooled by swindlers, which would be utterly foolish.
"So, how could there be a priest? If you said a pastor, I might have believed a bit," Antonio said with a sardonic smile.
"Do you think I'm stupid? Or easy to bully? To actually bring a fraudster here."
Saying so, Antonio glanced at the crowd, patting Pedro as if to pressure him into doing something real instead of bringing fraudsters.
Of course, it was just as well that Rack had come.
This was the only reason he hadn't exploded in anger immediately.
Unexpectedly to him, the Pedro brothers were adamant in shaking their heads, denying his accusations.
"Antonio, this is no fraudster!"
Pedro, especially, had a deeper understanding.
All because of that snap of the fingers, he suddenly felt awakened, acutely aware of his prior abnormality.
The emotions of an old hunter shouldn't be so volatile, as stability and patience are a hunter's most important virtues. Without them, one is unlikely to catch any prey.
He prided himself on this aspect.
"Father York saved my life," Pedro stated earnestly.
He looked at the frowning Antonio, continuing seriously.
"I seemed to have been infected; something was wrong with me."
Antonio instinctively looked towards the most unfamiliar man, his pupils shifting, then turned to Jimmy.
He saw Jimmy nod seriously: "Pedro's right. I've experienced it too. This is different from the fraudsters of the past."
Then, Jimmy added a statement that shocked him.
"Do you know where Mirta has been these past years? She became a Purifier, with official documentation. Rack vouched for her. She returned recently wanting to rest.
And now, this Purifier is willing to assist Father York. The church in town has become Father York's Pluto Church."
Hearing this barrage of information, Antonio's mental scales tipped in favor of belief.
"Let's go! Let's see for ourselves!"
Saying so, Antonio moved through the gap between the brothers.
"I only believe what I see with my own eyes, otherwise..."
Antonio left his sentence hanging, but Pedro and Jimmy exchanged glances, both relieved, carrying their shotguns and following behind Antonio.
As they drew closer, Antonio's skepticism shifted more toward belief, feeling the imposing aura of the unfamiliar man intensify with proximity.
Strong yet subtle, as a large farm owner, one thought surfaced in his mind.
High above, all beings are as lowly as dogs.
But perhaps it was an illusion, Antonio felt it was just a confidence capable of commanding all before him.
Approaching the man, Antonio suddenly found himself much calmer and more compliant.
He didn't even realize his attitude was changing.
"Hello, Father York, I'm Antonio, the owner of this farm. Thank you for your assistance. What can I do for you?"
Antonio extended his hand towards York, even adopting a subservient posture, a sudden change that took everyone by surprise.
York smiled, knowingly withdrawing the faint spiritual force he had intentionally released.
Then, looking at Antonio's extended hand, York also reached out for a handshake.
"Mr. Antonio? I need you to gather all the people living on this farm."
A thought crossed Antonio's mind.
"This is to check for evil spirits, to cut off the corrupted one's limbs," York explained.
"Also, for everyone's safety."
Antonio's face showed earnestness: "Alright! I'll gather them now."
Saying so, Antonio began directing the Pedro brothers.
"Pedro! Call everyone!"
Pedro immediately nodded, heading towards a small house adjacent to the main one.
"This farm is so vast, so I've set up a loudspeaker system here. Just a call, and everyone can hear it."
Antonio explained.
"I've buried many loudspeakers across the farm."
Like the village broadcast? York naturally thought of this, having come from a rural area himself, so he wasn't particularly surprised.
Watching Pedro enter the small house, York surveyed the surroundings.
He noticed a pregnant woman, Antonio's wife, suddenly appearing at the main door, stealthily watching him.
"No problem."
York sensed briefly as Pedro's voice followed, instructing everyone to gather at Antonio's house.
Soon, York saw some farmhands appear within a hundred-meter radius in the 3D map.
But something was off.
York instinctively frowned, sensing an evil aura from these people.
This frown was immediately noticed by Mirta, who had been observing.
"Do you see a problem, Father York?" she asked.
With that, everyone's gaze turned towards them.
"Prepare yourselves," York chose not to conceal the issue, even making himself appear very mysterious.
"They've all been infected."
Everyone was startled, reactions varying from Antonio's frowning to Rack's excitement and Ryan's hesitation.
Only Mirta and Jimmy remained relatively calm.
"Mirta, it seems the corrupted one knows we're here," York said, looking towards Pedro coming out of the small house, smiling.
Mirta pursed her lips.
Then, York turned to Antonio: "Call your wife; I'm worried about your safety if you don't follow. Your farm has become an infected zone for the corrupted one, both animals and humans can be considered its limbs."
Joking aside, York would not leave such a potential major patron here, nor would he watch him die.
This serious tone left Antonio with no choice but to hurry towards his wife, still peeking from the doorway.
"What should we do, Father York?" Rack asked eagerly, not hearing any instructions for himself.
"Do nothing," York replied seriously with a smile: "Just watch, Chief Rack. Exorcism is the duty of my church."
The message was clear.
Rack glanced at the priest, wanting to retort, but under the priest's gaze, he ultimately backed down.
"Alright, Father."
York narrowed his eyes, unconcerned. To rapidly develop the church, it was necessary to divide duties with secular powers, each to their own responsibilities.
Pedro rushed over, informed by his brother of everything, his face growing serious.
And Antonio, supporting his wife, also came over.
Everything was ready.
All eyes naturally turned to the priest, now the de facto leader.
York glanced at the 3D map, noting the farmhands had now approached within fifty meters.
"Father York, they're coming," Mirta reminded.
Fifty meters, visible to the naked eye in the open space, figures loomed.
"Never mind them, get in the car and head to Uriel's house to see," York instructed, and everyone began to move, Antonio and his wife obediently getting into the Pedro brothers' pickup truck.
As they got into the vehicle, York, sitting in the passenger seat, looked at the approaching, seemingly normal group of farmhands, calmly saying.
"Mirta, in cases like this infected area, you might try this method."
Caught off-guard as she was about to start the vehicle, Mirta was taken aback.
"This method not only confirms the infected evil spirits but also reduces those staying near the corrupted one, lowering the risk of infection," York stated calmly.
"Because then the corrupted one has no evil spirits to protect it."
Before Mirta could ponder further, York chuckled and said:
"Let's go. We have four wheels, they only have two legs; we'll be faster in the end."
True to his word, there are choices and changes in everything, like opposing directions.
Gathering people was indeed to identify the evil spirits and gauge the strength of the corrupted one's infection.
But it was also to lure away everything the corrupted one could infect.
Buzzing! As the farmhands became visible, three vehicles started simultaneously, ignoring them as they headed towards Uriel's house, the location of the corrupted one.
This was clearly unexpected by the crowd or the corrupted one; the farmhands' previously lively expressions stiffened, frozen in place as they watched.
But the next second, their gazes turned fierce, running towards the moving vehicles like zombies.
No shouting, no screams, just a silent collective charge towards the departing vehicles.
Even as the vehicles moved further away, the group kept chasing until the speed and distance between them grew...
The entire scene was eerily chilling, instilling a sense of fear.
Everyone in the vehicles saw this spectacle.
Especially Antonio and his wife, Diana, who were quite startled.
The abnormality of the farmhands was all too apparent.
Whether infected by the corrupted one or not, it was clear there was a serious problem with everyone on the farm.
"Pedro, Jimmy! Thanks," Antonio said from the back seat, comforting his wife while speaking sincerely.
Beyond his sincerity, Antonio felt somewhat fortunate.
If not for this sudden turn of events, he might still be in the dark.
He recalled Pedro's earlier suspicion about being infected. If not for this change, then only he and his wife Diana would be normal on the farm, with everyone else infected by the corrupted one...
At this thought, Antonio shivered, feeling thoroughly chilled.
Diana looked up, gripping her husband's hand silently.
Pedro, seemingly arriving at the same conclusion while driving, followed Father York's pickup truck closely, also breathing a sigh of relief.
"Don't thank me, Antonio, you should thank Father York. If not for him..."
Antonio took a deep breath, easing the fear in his heart, understanding Pedro's meaning.
"Yes." Antonio gripped his still-trembling wife's right hand.
"I will apologize to Father York for my earlier behavior, I definitely will."
Saying so, hope flickered in Antonio's eyes.
"Has the church really been revived?"
This statement quieted the car.
No one could answer.
And the one who could, Father York, sat steadily in the passenger seat, glancing at a lone house appearing on the 3D map.
Only two people were in the house, an elderly, wrinkled man and a child.
"Mirta, the corrupted one has been moved," York observed, looking at the child fiddling with a revolver in the 3D map.
Mirta was stunned, not knowing how the priest knew the corrupted one had been moved.
But she had no choice but to believe.
"Father York, what should we do next?"
"The devil is like a seed; it needs more fresh blood to flourish," York recalled the markings on the map, which besides the farm and town, included a school, incidentally the closest location.
"Nothing is more delicious than children; it's smart and won't miss the school."
Now, York finally understood a trait of the corrupted one; it really acted like a virus, not bypassing any place, not breaking off, not infecting from afar, but slowly spreading, missing nothing from start to finish.
And if it reached the school, the next step would be the town.
"Truly greedy," York thought.
Mirta instantly understood, her expression turning cold.
"Let's head to the school then, speed up, don't worry about the evil spirits here; they have no cars, we can still make it in time," York said, as his telekinesis stirred.
"As long as people aren't dead, as long as we crush the source, these infected evil spirits can still be saved."
"Yes, Father York," Mirta replied, pressing the gas pedal hard.
The car sped past the hundred meters, ignoring the side road's cabin, moving quickly past.
This left the following Pedro brothers and the police car behind somewhat confused.
"What's going on? Weren't we going to Uriel's house?"
Pedro and Ryan drove past Uriel's cabin, following Mirta.
Everyone peered through the car windows at the cabin, seeing no one.
It was just a fleeting glimpse as they passed by.
Unknown to them, Maria and her child Alex in the cabin were pinned down by an unknown force, unable to move.
Despite their ferocious faces, they still couldn't break free from the telekinetic control...
Until Mirta's car quickly entered a small path, driving straight ahead.
Everyone then realized where they were headed: "The school! We're heading towards the school!"
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