With that in mind, Wayne pulled out the Alchemy Book from his embrace.
The evil ritual from Hell involved stitching together six hundred and sixty-six corpses into a magical being, and since all the bodies were related to the faith of Hell, upon successful completion of the ritual, the stitched monstrous corpse would possess terrifying abilities to communicate between the human world and Hell.
Wayne remembered that the Thousand-Eyed Demon had asked for sixty-six bodies, ten times less than what was mentioned in the Alchemy Book, so the effects were bound to be significantly diminished after the ritual’s completion.
"What exactly is that guy scheming?"
Wayne was completely puzzled, he knew very little about Hell, and decided to seek help from a professional.
Gazing at the Holy See’s nun nearly wrecked by his own hands, Wayne hesitated for a moment. Since she was almost fully corrupted, he might as well push her a bit further.
Everything was for justice!
Wayne helped Mona up, his hands on her shoulders, and pushed his new abilities to the limit as he whispered, "Look into my eyes!"
As Mona was in a dazed state, whispers reached her ears, and she instinctively looked over to see a colossal magical eye floating in an endless darkness.
That demonic eye was filled with boundless desire, strange, mysterious, and utterly evil, and it had an irresistible magical power.
Wayne linked his thoughts with Mona’s, brutishly prying open her mental defenses, then intensified his ability to manipulate the human heart to the extreme, attempting to plant his voice into Mona’s mind.
Mona’s resistance was fierce, determined to go down fighting, Wayne failed eight consecutive times but finally succeeded on the ninth attempt at thought implantation.
After the deed was done, both collapsed to the ground.
Mona was completely drained of energy, struggling to move even a finger, and Wayne wasn’t much better off, feeling dizzy and empty, he said with difficulty, "I never expected the first woman who could deceive me nine times would be you, such a great sacrifice, you better not let me down."
Half an hour later, Mona slowly regained consciousness, ignoring the dismal ceiling above she spoke hoarsely, "Devil, what have you done to me?"
I’m offering you a chance for promotion and a pay raise, do your job well, and you’ll be responsible for relaying information to the Church.
"Watch your tone, I am your master now," Wayne said coldly.
"Dream on, I’d rather die!"
The power granted by the Thousand-Eyed Demon was quite mediocre, so ill-fitted that even with Wayne exhausting all his strength, Mona still retained her own will.
However, Wayne’s voice pierced straight into the soul, and her will couldn’t control her actions. Whenever Wayne spoke, her will became a sidelined observer, her body moving like a puppet according to the commands.
Wayne internally remarked on the difficulty, sneering as he said, "You can commit suicide if you wish, I respect your choice and won’t interfere. After all, without you, I have other options. That one named Nancy isn’t as willful as you are."
Mona suddenly sat up, lunging fiercely towards Wayne, her mouth aiming for his throat.
Wayne’s eyes narrowed slightly, and in an instant, Mona’s strength was drained, her bite light and ineffective on his shoulder.
Mona rolled over to the side, seeing no future but despair.
"That’s really bothersome!"
Wayne wiped off the saliva from his neck with disgust. Veronica hadn’t even bitten him. Thinking that his words didn’t match his persona, he corrected himself, "Not bad, but wrong location, next time remember to bite somewhere else."
Speaking too much leads to errors; Wayne didn’t bother to converse further with Mona, "As your master, I command you not to commit suicide and not to tell anyone about your current condition."
Mona glared at Wayne hatefully, wanting to see the ugly face beneath the mask.
Wayne didn’t care, feeling very good about himself. She was just a Vest System, to be thrown into the sewer after use; if Mona sought revenge, she was welcome to check the Themes River for clarification.
He continued, "I have a task for you. Find out how many people in Lundan are involved in the Hell faith, where they all reside, and report back to me when you have identified sixty-six of them."
"Won’t you find them yourself?" Mona shot back defiantly.
"Don’t talk like that. Look at it this way, I am helping the Heavenly Father’s Court. After I find them, I’ll kill them all..."
Wayne tossed the Alchemy Book: "You come from the Heavenly Father’s Court, so you should be able to understand this Alchemy Book. Perform well, and your master, I, won’t let you down afterward."
Mona picked up the Alchemy Book, and the more she read, the more terrified she became, trembling, she said, "You want to open the Gates of Hell in Lundan, it won’t be possible, I won’t help you, not even if I die."
As she spoke, she abruptly closed her eyes, her white magic robe emitting a burst of Holy Light.
It was probably some suicidal act like self-detonation, but due to the command Wayne had implanted in advance, the spell was interrupted directly, and she suffered mental backlash, her face ghostly pale and bloodless.
Mona fell to her knees, gasping for air heavily.
Wayne, walking with a devil’s stride, approached her unhurriedly, lifting her falling hair and gently caressing her face: "Remember, I am your master, without you, I can still find someone else. Think about it, since a member of the clergy is destined to become a pawn of the devil, why shouldn’t it be you?"
"After all, you’re so kind!"
Should good people become playthings of devils?
Mona glared at Wayne fiercely, swearing to make him pay.
"Go ahead, do a good job, and once it’s done, I’ll grant you your freedom. But if you fail..."
Wayne breathed in her ear, narrating a few tricks taught by the Thousand-Eyed Demon: "You wouldn’t want to turn into a whore, tossed out at the church door in your holy Magic Robe, would you?"
Mona clenched her teeth tightly, her body trembling incessantly with anger.
"Tomorrow night, no, tonight at eleven, I’ll come to your place. Have the list ready. Remember, you only have one chance. There are plenty of others who will do the job if you don’t."
With a grand gesture, Wayne waved his hand, opening a teleportation gate and throwing Mona out.
He looked at the empty ancient square and began to set up the Alchemy Array. Ten seconds later, he stopped.
Nothing else; he had no materials!
Wayne’s eyes widened in disbelief. Devils do business without any cost, never spending a dime, yet they expected him, a mere underling, to foot the bill.
How different is this shameless act of getting something for nothing from the vilest of capitalists?
"Not to mention, there’s a difference; at least capitalists can be aboveboard, while devils simply can’t!"
Wayne bitterly complained, resolute that he wouldn’t pay out of his own pocket. It was just exploitation, after all. Anyone could do that. Let Mona prepare all the spell materials tomorrow night.
The cold moon was icy, the foggy streets shrouded in dark haziness.
Mona stumbled along, leaning on the wall, completely drained and extremely weak. She gazed blankly at the familiar streets, not knowing what to do upon reaching St. Paul Cathedral.
She even doubted whether she should go to the Cathedral at all.
She was under a gag order, unable to reveal the truth of her control. Going to St. Paul Cathedral now would be like leading the devil inside.
Just then, the white Magic Robe on Mona glowed, and the Crucifix pattern on her back pulsed softly.
Ten minutes later, four mages from the Holy See dressed in the same attire arrived and immediately treated the weakened Mona.
The warm Holy Light seeped into her body, and Mona’s complexion improved significantly.
"Nancy has explained the situation to us. The captain is waiting for you. The situation is grave, and now is not the time to rest."
Mona smiled bitterly and shook her head. She didn’t mind working overtime; she was just unclear on what to say when she saw the captain.
Mona belonged to the Holy See’s Tactical Squad, similar to the Scalpel Organization of the Naturalism Church. Originally, she was part of the Knight Order guarding St. Paul Cathedral, a group totaling two hundred, each a battle-hardened warrior.
When the Heavenly Father’s Court faced suppression in Windsor, the Knight Order was disbanded, and its elite reformed into the current nameless Tactical Squad.
The captain, Artley, was a powerful Golden Mage, nominally the strongest force of the Holy See in Windsor. He was brave and strategic, with glorious achievements, preserving the last dignity of the Holy See.
Mona knew that she was clueless, and definitely could not hide from the captain’s discerning eyes. In that case...
Yes, as long as the captain noticed something amiss, albeit I cannot speak, it would still count as successfully conveying the intelligence.
Joy appeared on Mona’s face as she hastened with her teammates into the Cathedral to meet Captain Artley in an office.
The captain was an old man with white hair and beard, broad-shouldered and burly, emanating authority with a face that brought both oppression and a strong sense of security to Mona.
"Mona, I’ve heard you encountered an ambush by Hell’s heretics. They used Blood Magic. Have you found out anything?"
Mona remained silent, her eyes tightly shut, her expression struggling hard.
She tried to convey information through this method, signaling that she was compromised and no longer trustworthy.
Thanks to the Heavenly Father’s care, the devil had not completely controlled her, or else she would have been utterly powerless.
After asking a few more questions and seeing Mona’s struggle, Artley nodded gently and said softly, "Good child, you’ve worked hard. Stay put here; I will ask the Archbishop for help. He has a way to make you talk."
"Don’t worry, with us here, no one can hurt you."