Chapter 1841: Chapter 1841

"Contact the Church. I can't say for sure whether 'The Priest is Dead' is more dangerous or if this tobacco is, but since it's already happened, we'll have to let the Church send reinforcements. Our squad is definitely not enough."

Jenkins used a triangular paper talisman to inform the Church of the situation. Soon, the demigod Nicholas Trauss, who was supposed to be in the Evergreen Forest, arrived with his men. This gentleman was originally stationed in the southern diocese of Cheslan, but now that entire region had been consumed by fire. Even after the situation in Nolan was resolved, he probably wouldn't be able to go back.

The team from the Evergreen Forest was tasked with handling the aftermath of the tobacco and the gatekeeper, as well as searching the vicinity for other possible tobacco trades. Jenkins and Captain Bincy, however, continued their search for "the Priest." Their job remained unchanged.

With the warehouse district of the "grid" taken over by the other team, Jenkins's group found their workload significantly reduced. Next, he and Captain Bincy led their men to visit the ships moored at the docks, one by one.

The group boarded the vessels posing as Nolan police. Since Jenkins's face had appeared in the newspapers multiple times, he and two other squad members stood guard at the foot of the gangway while Captain Bincy led the others to search the ship.

It was incredibly dull work, especially since Jenkins knew perfectly well there was no black aura in this area. So, aside from chatting with his companions, he entertained himself by teasing Chocolate.

Chocolate didn't mind Jenkins's affection. When Jenkins wanted to scratch its chin, the cat would obediently stretch out its head.

A thin layer of fog blanketed the docks, and the light of the twin moons shimmered on the sea's surface. Combined with the sound of the waves and the cool night breeze, it should have been a warm, tranquil evening. But the sound of an explosion from the direction of the warehouses, followed by the glow of fire, completely shattered the peace.

"Our mission is to find 'the Priest.' Unless the enemy charges right at us, don't pay any attention to what's happening over there." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novelFirｅ.net

Despite saying that, Jenkins's eyes remained fixed on that direction. The Church's Scribes were not far from the site of the explosion, and at its epicenter was an exquisite little gadget glowing with a yellow aura, held by a level four Enchanter he didn't recognize. Even without going over, Jenkins could guess what had happened. It seemed there was more than one warehouse hiding tobacco, and the Church might have just stumbled upon a major lead this time.

The matter of the tobacco hadn't actually ended with the downfall of the Perfume Appreciation Committee. Both the origin of the tobacco and its lasting effects remained a mystery to the Church. The investigation had revealed that the committee were not the inventors of the tobacco; they had received support from the Tree House.

And while Jenkins had interrupted the committee's attempt in Bel Diran to use the mental energy of ordinary people who had smoked the tobacco to release a nightmare, the accumulated mental energy still existed. As long as there was a single person in the world who had smoked the tobacco and would eventually fall asleep, that mass of mental energy would continue to grow.

It was a completely uncontrollable situation. Neither the Church nor Jenkins could deal with that power, and they didn't even know what it was being gathered for.

With these thoughts in mind, Jenkins glanced to his left. The area assigned to him and Captain Bincy's team was only a small part of the long, narrow dock district. On the beach farther to the west, a thick fog completely concealed the gear giant.

Jenkins had worried more than once about what the spatial anomalies appearing in Nolan might signify. But there was no evidence to suggest they were man-made, nor were there any records of similar occurrences in past epochs. The Church believed it to be a characteristic of this epoch's cataclysm and was actively guarding against an invasion of Nolan from the blazing fires of the south through these spatial rifts.

Jenkins had a vague feeling that things weren't that simple, but...

He suddenly narrowed his eyes. On the eastern beach, a humanoid creature with a black aura was approaching, and it had already entered the area he and Captain Bincy were responsible for.

The thing didn't get close to the docks, instead heading west toward the warehouses. Its speed wasn't particularly fast, roughly equivalent to an average adult human's sprint.

"If this isn't some Cursed Item other than the Priest having an unlucky night out on the town, then my bad luck must be acting up again."

He thought to himself, then raised his hand and pointed.

"Something just ran past over there."

His companions immediately looked, but of course, they saw nothing.

"I felt it. The power of a Cursed Item. That feeling of being out of sync with the world, I'm absolutely sure of it."

He said to his "colleagues," who were also dressed in police uniforms.

"I'll go after it first. Don't get too close to me. If we end up fighting and it manages to control you, the situation could get ugly."

This was the engagement plan they had agreed upon back at the church.

"I'll inform the captain. Saint Williamette, you can rest assured and do what you must. We will surround it from the perimeter and make sure that thing doesn't get away."

With that, Jenkins took off, disappearing into the night.

In truth, he was deliberately shaking off the Church members. The figure with the black aura was actually chasing someone else, and it was someone Jenkins knew. The only person he knew who would be running around the docks this late at night and just happen to run into him could only be Mr. Hood.

Soon, the pursuer and the pursued entered the area filled with warehouses. Mr. Hood had seen the explosion from a distance, which was why he had veered in this direction. Whoever was setting off explosions in the middle of the night couldn't be good people, so Mr. Hood felt no guilt about leading the thing chasing him their way.

He clutched his right arm, which seemed to droop uncontrollably, with his left hand and hurriedly turned left at the upcoming alley, ducking into the narrow path between two warehouses. He was anxious about who he might encounter, but he also knew that if he didn't get help soon, he would either die from the power in his right arm going out of control or be dragged away by the thing chasing him to worship some unknown, godforsaken evil entity.

Except for a few loading docks that operated at night, most of the dock area was unlit. Due to the influence of his right arm, Mr. Hood's vision was already blurring. He had only taken a few steps down the narrow path when he faintly saw a person standing in front of him. He wanted to call for help, but his sixth sense warned him that turning back immediately was the right choice.

Standing before Mr. Hood, as if waiting for him, was the very priest who had been chasing him. The tall, thin, white-haired middle-aged man watched Mr. Hood impassively in the darkness. He wore a pair of round-lensed glasses and held a thick black book in his right hand. A chain connected the bottom right corner of the book to his wrist, disappearing into his sleeve.

Recognizing what it was, Mr. Hood immediately averted his gaze. After his unfortunate encounter with the priest, it was a spell cast from that book that had made his injured right arm so much worse.

He backed away slowly, step by step, his eyes fixed on the shadows on the ground to prevent any mental problems from prolonged staring. Mr. Hood was now immensely grateful that he hadn't let Candle Mr remove the tulip seed from his arm the last time they met, or he would have been dead by now.

He held his breath, knowing there was no escape this time. It felt as if every nerve in his body was coiled, ready to counter an enemy attack. His mind was so intensely focused that he thought he could even hear a faint cat's meow behind him.

In this life-or-death moment, he felt the barrier to the next level, something he hadn't touched in a long time.

"If I can survive this, I can advance."

He thought to himself, his mind going blank as the spirit within his body flowed with unusual smoothness, as if preparing for one last desperate struggle.

Mr. Hood believed his concentration was at a level he had never before achieved in his life. And so, when a hand landed on his shoulder from behind, he was certain that the feeling of his heart stopping in shock was also a first.

The voice behind him belonged to a stranger. Wary of a sudden attack from "the Priest," Mr. Hood didn't dare turn around. The man behind him seemed to understand the situation and continued in a damnably low voice:

"I'm Candle Mr, the one with the white cat. We last met at the inn where Horas Luther died. We first met in late autumn last year, which would be the latter half of this month. Speaking of which, in a week or two, we'll have known each other for a full year."

Mr. Hood could no longer hold his breath. He gasped for air, a mixture of terror, anger, and dawning clarity in his mind.

"Candle Mr? I'm truly... glad."

He didn't express his complicated feelings, instead reminding the man as he spoke:

"Standing before us is..."

"I know what it is. You should leave. I'll handle this."

His voice was very steady.

"No, how could I? How could I leave you with something so dangerous?"

"I came out tonight specifically for it. You can think of it as me accepting a mission. Once I deal with this thing, I'll get a reward from the one who issued it."

The issuer of the mission was, of course, the Church, and if he had to name a specific person, it would be Miss Bevanna. So, what Jenkins said was indeed his current situation. As for the reward, an "increase in reputation with the Twelve Orthodox Churches" and ensuring that the "Nolan region's stability" remained unchanged were quite valuable things to Jenkins.