Chapter 60: [Him]

[The next morning, the rain gradually slowed down and turned into a bright sunny day. The priest's body was found as expected. The nuns hurriedly called the police in a panic and screamed... On the way, they also found you resting in the kitchen.]

[The police arrived soon, and you were arrested as expected. After all, your clothes were covered in blood. Even the children said that the last thing they saw was you leaving with the priest... and you didn't want to explain anything, so you just dealt with the police casually—you didn't like them, and you didn't know why, but you just didn't like them, just like you hated the priest, there was no reason for it.]

['Maybe I had a grudge in my previous life, so I came here to seek revenge on them in this life?' You thought half-jokingly, but you quickly discarded this inexplicable idea, because if it was really revenge, then the priest's body would not be so "neat," and you should not have waited until this time to take action.]

[But those are not important anymore; you don't care anyway.]

[But... there are still people who care, such as the chief of the police station.]

[He keenly sensed that something was wrong with the case, or rather, something was wrong with the priest himself... But he had no evidence, his colleagues dissuaded him, and the priest had a good reputation in the outside world. For all these reasons, he did not thoroughly investigate the priest.]

[But now... when he wanted to investigate the cause of death of the priest and the church, he encountered considerable resistance. This made him realize that there must be deeper reasons behind this case. Therefore, he began to delay your case and planned to ask you for more details.]

[This interrupted the originally planned, smooth and fast "trial process," which made some people a little annoyed.]

[More importantly, there is another more important person involved in this case — Father Enrique of the church.]

[Father Enrique arrived here almost the day after the incident. He seemed very hurried. He even canceled his originally scheduled schedule just to get here... Even when others asked, his reply was very strange — "I have found the person I should look for. He instructed me to come here, meet the destined person, and show him the way."]

[Those words that sounded a bit weird were recognized and supported by the church itself. For a while, everyone could do nothing about him and could only let him get involved in the case... After all, a priest with a good reputation died in this case, so it was only right for the church to get involved.]

[But surprisingly, Father Enrique is not concerned about the dead priest, but you, who are considered a suspect.]

[He asked to see you almost the next moment after arriving, and acted quite warm and familiar when he saw you, and kept muttering "I'm sorry I'm late, child walking on the road, God sent me to guide you... Unfortunately, I'm still a little late, causing your hands to be stained with sinful blood. I hope you can accept my help so that I can make up for my mistakes"... and other words, which made you feel a little confused for a while.]

[But you can feel that he really wants to help you, and you also feel that you can trust him, so you don't refuse his help.]

[After getting your consent, Father Enrique also began to help you seriously... He found the police chief who wanted to investigate the church and discussed investigating the matter behind this case together. The two of them hit it off and began to use their respective connections to investigate the more detailed events behind this case.]

[It didn't take long for them to find out that this church might be helping some people engage in the "child trafficking" industry, and Father Enrique quickly investigated and found out that the main person in charge of this church was the priest, and even the nuns were involved, and even further produced evidence to prove this point.]

[As soon as the news came out, public opinion was in an uproar. No one had expected that a priest with such a good reputation would actually do such dirty things in private. Even the church itself became a fig leaf for the sin. Moreover, according to investigations, the priest is likely to have had a habit of "abusing children." The scars left on the bodies of many "bad kids" can prove this, which makes people even more angry.]

[More importantly, the police here were completely unaware of this, which made everyone wonder if there was some deeper problem here.]

[The chief of the police station was also very cooperative. He apologized as soon as the news came out and said that he would thoroughly investigate the case and vowed to find the real culprit behind it. Coupled with the help of Father Enrique and public opinion, some people began to panic and started to deal with this issue urgently... The current public opinion is very unfavorable to them, and they must first calm this matter down.]

[At this time, no one paid attention to your problem, or most people expressed understanding and sympathy. After all, most people believed that you were tortured by the priest, so you took the opportunity to kill the person who tortured you... Most people did not think there was anything wrong with this and even thought you were right.]

[But... there is another question: how did you achieve a "killing blow"?]

[Although you could say that you did it unintentionally, how could a child kill someone so calmly? And kill him with one strike? Later on, we found cuts on the priest's limbs, which means that you intentionally made the priest lose his ability to resist and even knew exactly what to do.]

[These unchildlike behaviors make your problems more obvious.]

[Father Enrique noticed this and even discovered that it was "those guys" who wanted to use you to make a fuss to divert people's attention and guide public opinion in the direction they wanted, so he decided to solve your problem first.]

[A verdict came quickly. Considering your young age, the problems with the priest and the church, and Father Enrique's request... after considering a variety of reasons, you were found "guilty."]

[This is understandable. After all, you did kill someone. Even if the victim and the environment you were in had major problems, you still took someone's life. And judging from the traces... you were very purposeful and even very skilled.]

[However, the spread of your case will be restricted to minimize the impact of the case on you, and you will need to be observed for a period of time to confirm whether you will cause harm to society in the future.]

[Father Enrique took on the task of observing and educating you, or rather, this was his original purpose.]

[Perhaps considering that you have lived here for a while, you should still have friends in the church, and Father Enrique needs to continue to pay attention to the unfinished case, he decided to stay in the church here and promised the outside world that he would change this church tainted by sin.]

You are back in the church.

[But this time it's completely different. The one who is in charge of taking care of you is Father Enrique, a real, loving priest.]

[You watched him treat the children with a gentle yet slightly strict attitude, watched him worry about the children's food, watched him run back and forth between the church's chores and the pursuit of the unfinished case. You could really feel his kind heart... He really took care of these children very seriously.]

[In addition, he would regularly help people in the community deal with trivial matters, listen to their troubles, and try his best to help them solve their problems. He even kept the cemetery clean, even if no one would come to worship... In addition to the fixed prayer time every day, Father Enrique was busy almost every day, either helping people or on his way to help people.]

[You suddenly understand why he has such a good reputation, and why people are willing to respect him.]

[You also want to be a person like him, a "good person," a real "priest" who can help others.]

[But... you are a "bad kid" who has killed people. Can you really become a "good person" like him?]

[You feel confused and worried, so you ask Father Enrique with trepidation.]

["Of course you can," Father Enrique responded to you. "He will forgive your sins, and… it is my and our fault that your hands are stained with the blood of sin. Come, follow me, follow Him, and embark on the path you should take, toward the end you expect."]

[Father Enrique's words are a little strange, and you are a little confused, but... you can hear that he is encouraging you and believes that you can become a "good person" and a real "priest."]

[You got his recognition, which made you happy, and he seemed happy too.]

[So, under the recommendation of Father Enrique, you became a "young priest," learning from him and doing atonement... Well, in the eyes of outsiders, it was you who became a priest and started to atone under the inspiration of Father Enrique. After all, you killed someone. Although the person who died was full of sins, you still bore a sin, didn't you?]

[So, Father Enrique began to have a little follower around him, and you began to help him with some things, such as handling church chores, receiving people who came to visit and pray, and taking care of other children.]

[You imitate Father Enrique's way of dealing with people, learn his friendly attitude towards others, and walk on the path of helping others. You believe more and more that this is what a real "priest" should do.]

[Under the guidance and education of Father Enrique, you have a growing respect for "Him," or "God."]

["He" is merciful because it was "He" who guided Father Enrique to help you—Father Enrique said so.]

["He" loves people because it was "He" who told Father Enrique that there were children suffering here and needed his help—this is what Father Enrique said.]

[As time goes by, you love and respect Him more and more. Under the influence of Father Enrique, you become more and more devout to Him.]

["He" will guide you, bring you mercy and love, and the sins of the world will be forgiven and cleansed—you believe this.]

[One day, you received a gold-plated cross pendant from Father Enrique. When you held it, you felt a faint warmth, as if it was not made of cold metal but... a real, special item belonging to the "clergy."]

[This is what you deserve, and it is also what "He" gave you—Father Enrique said.]

[You hold it tightly in your palm, and somehow, you seem to have established a connection with some special "existence."]

[You can vaguely see "Him" shrouded in light. In addition, you can also see several strange figures beside "Him."]

[One is a sword of fire, the sword body is covered in flames, the hilt is in the shape of a cross, there are pendants on both sides, like a scale, there are two rings on the top, white on the outside, golden and red on the inside, and there are six wings behind it, which is surprising.]

[The second is a wind-wrapped snake staff. The invisible breeze is dyed with a verdant color. The dangerous snake seems docile at this moment. There is a gentle and warm breath coming from it. One can even clearly feel the care coming from it. There are also two rings on it, white on the outside and green on the inside. There are also six wings behind it.]

[The third one is a harp wrapped with starlight and thunder. It occasionally turns into a key shape, which is surprising. It also has two rings, one purple and one white, and six wings behind it.]

[The fourth is a butterfly that is pierced and bound. Its dangerous aura is frightening. A steel needle pierces its chest and an iron chain binds its body. Even its ring is different from the others. It hovers behind it, and the steel needle sticks out of the ring and pierces it. Its wings are also butterfly wings, so its existence itself seems out of place.]

[The fifth one is a blurry gray fog, and you can vaguely see a constantly changing human shape. Its wings are black, with a strange feeling, blurry and unreal. Even its ring is unique, made of white clouds and mist, staying behind its head.]

[In addition, there are two places that seem to be "empty," as if the "existence" there has left.]

[Finally, your sight is fixed on the left side of "Him," the obvious empty space.]

[You subconsciously feel that there should be another "existence" there. It should be a horn with six pure white wings, two rings, one white and one blue, on its head, and surrounded by azure water.]

[But soon, you withdrew your gaze and bowed your head devoutly because you felt "His" gaze.]

["■■■…" You vaguely heard what "He" said, but unfortunately, it was a language you didn't know.]

[Finally, He shook his head, as if sighing about something, and then you returned to reality in a trance.]

[You told Father Enrique what you saw and heard, and Father Enrique was not surprised by what you perceived. He just told you that it was "God" and that you were the child that "God" cared about, so you were able to see "Him."]

[Thanks to this, you become more pious, and you believe that "He" will spread love throughout the world and bring happiness to people.]