Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 889: Newcomers

Roy carefully observed the anomaly for a while before taking out a file from his bosom and reading it meticulously. He had to get ready for the upcoming mission.

"The target is a cult leader, so I must appear desperate and helpless. I have to be eager to listen to her words. I have to appear like I've tried everything else, but it was useless, so I decided to believe in them as a last resort," Roy muttered to himself.

Kneeling in his tent, Roy spent a long time pondering over his new persona. In the end, he placed a broken mirror in front of him and muttered in a somber voice, "I am a veteran soldier, and years of nonstop fighting have left me with severe PTSD.

"I ended up killing my own child during one of my episodes. I did not receive a prison sentence due to my illness, but the non-punishment felt worse than getting punished. I killed my own daughter. I'm... a monster.

"Since then, I've been trapped in an endless cycle of pain and self-blame. My guilt toward my daughter has led me to always carry her favorite wooden toy with me."

Roy's demeanor and eyes began changing; his breathing grew rapid as well as he continued. "By chance, I heard about a new religion claiming that anyone who becomes one of them can have their wishes granted.

"I didn't believe it at first, but when I saw a cancer patient returning home with a rosy complexion, hope was ignited within me. Maybe it's true? Maybe they can bring my daughter back to life?

"I have nothing left to lose, so why not give it a try?"

"I must hurry. If I don't go now, it'll be too late! Mia! I'm willing to do anything to bring you back!" Roy abruptly stood up. He looked agitated as he ripped apart his tent and rushed toward the subway station at full speed.

Roy's demeanor and expression became increasingly refined as he ran. He took out the last of his money to pay for the fare, and he managed to make his way to a remote suburb before nightfall.

Roy found that he wasn't alone at a certain villa's gates.

A cursory glance told him that there were nearly a hundred people before him. Their clothes varied, and they were both rich and poor, but they all shared the same somewhat doubtful expressions.

There were police officers standing nearby, maintaining order with their batons in hand.

"There are so many people here, so are they really going to choose me? I heard they're extremely strict when it comes to selecting members," Roy said, feeling a bit worried.

Soon, the black steel gate leading to the villa was pushed open, and an Asian man walked out of the gate. "Tonight, we have gathered to..."

Wang Sheng stepped forward and separated the elderly leaning on canes and those with severe illnesses from the main group. They were about to go out at sea soon, which meant that they needed both offerings and sailors.

Those useless couldn't be allowed to join them, and Anna was well past the point of accepting garbage at this point.

Those who had been eliminated sprawled out on the ground and cried out, refusing to leave. Wang Sheng had no choice but to have someone drag them away.

The rest held their breaths, afraid that they would get eliminated. The doubtful ones in the crowd felt their worries assuaged by the scene. The church's strict recruitment process had proven that they were completely different from other religions that were willing to accept any Tom, Dick, or Harry.

Anna's disjointed incantations soon reverberated throughout the church, signaling the start of the sacrificial ritual. When the flames in the array turned green, Roy instinctively thought that phosphorus had been added to the fire.

The next moment, however, Roy's assumption was proven incorrect when the flames engulfed someone and reduced them to a pile of ashes in the proverbial blink of an eye.

Regardless of what was added to the fire, there was no way it could reduce an entire human being to ashes in the blink of an eye.

Was their god actually real? Roy's heart began to pound wildly against his chest. He finally had hope of resurrecting his daughter!

The sacrificial ritual was a success. Two people among the crowd were sacrificed, and together with those who had been sacrificed in previous rituals, they numbered twenty.

Anna ended the ritual and was about to leave when she collapsed to the floor with a dull thud.

The nearby followers were stupefied to see Anna convulsing on the floor, and they rushed toward her to help her up.

As soon as they touched Anna, however, a searing pain was transmitted to them, forcing them to let go of her.

Smoke wafted out of Anna's figure, and her clothes were set ablaze.

The same flames from earlier, which had a green tinge that resembled putrescence, pervaded Anna's blood vessels, swiftly spreading throughout her.