Lord, where are you?

Backlund, North Borough, St. Samuel Cathedral Basement.

"Wake up, everyone! We have a new mission."

Soest walked into the Lounge and announced to the team.

"Well..."

A sigh immediately came from among the crowd, the voice filled with exhaustion.

"Captain, can't we get a little more rest?" one team member said with a pained expression. "We've been working for days on end."

The war in the Northern Continent has escalated further. At this moment, Loen is facing invasions from three major powers: Feysac, Intis, and Feynapotter. The situation is extremely tense. Most of the Church of Evernight's fighting force has been deployed to the front lines, and the remaining Nighthawks are forced to take on even more tasks than before.

As "Sleepless, they require very little sleep, yet mental fatigue still accumulates.

I'm sorry everyone.

Soest said helplessly, "But this matter concerns the Aurora Order... You should all know how insane this organization is. If we let them run rampant, Backlund will face a great Catastrophe."

In the corner of the Lounge, Leonard heard these words and immediately looked up.

"Captain Soest, are you sure it's the Aurora Order?" he asked loudly.

"There's no mistake, it was a 'Oracle' named Mr. R who replaced Mr. A and Mr. X in Backlund and re-established the organization and underground gatherings."

Soest explained, "We've been monitoring him and noticed that his recent behavior has been somewhat unusual."

"Abnormal?"

"Yes, this Mr. R hasn't held any underground meetings for a while. Meanwhile, he's been gathering a large number of followers in his own stronghold."

Captain Soest's eyes were serious. "We have reason to suspect they're preparing some kind of evil Ritual... Alright, everyone, pay attention! This operation will be led by Her Your Excellency 'Goddess's Sword,' and we must protect the peace of Backlund!"

With his encouragement, everyone finally rallied and followed him out of the Lounge.

Leonard mingled with the crowd, ascending the stairs to the empty church corridor. It was afternoon, and the sunlight slanted in, illuminating the Goddess's Sacred Emblem on the specially made glass windows of the corridor.

"Praise the Goddess..."

Many people who witnessed this scene Consciousness offered prayers, tapping their chests to form the shape of Crimson Moon.

Leonard joined in the prayer, but felt a little heavy-hearted.

The Evernight Goddess has not responded to them for a long time. Even though Loen is in a life-or-death crisis, the Goddess they worship remains silent, and even the Cathedral rarely receives any divine pronouncements from her... This is another reason for the low morale of the Nighthawks.

At the end of the corridor, one of the Church's Senior Deacon, "Goddess's Sword" Crestet Cesimir, was already waiting. He carried a silver briefcase, his collar pulled up high, obscuring the lower half of his face, and his dark green eyes were as deep as a lake at night.

Let's go.

He addressed the crowd.

Several unmarked black carriages were traveling through the streets of the Cherwood Borough.

Leonard looked out the car window at the scenery.

He saw that the once bustling streets had become desolate. Shops were closing one after another; restaurants, watch shops, butcher shops... fewer and fewer Door Opening for business, and the prices posted in the shop windows made people shake their heads.

The street was deserted, except for the place where relief food was distributed, where long lines formed. Many gentlemen and ladies covered their faces with their coat collars or scarves to hide their last shred of self-respect.

With the situation so dire, it's no wonder some people are contemplating turning to evil gods...

My Goddess... how much longer will this go on...?

Oh right, this Aurora Order. I'll remember to tell Luther through Mr. Fool later and see if he's interested... Leonard thought to himself.

Just then, the carriage slowly slowed down and stopped in a small alley. Two blocks away from them stood a detached villa. According to reliable intelligence, that was the headquarters of "Mr. R," the new Oracle of the Aurora Order.

Leonard and his teammates got out of the car, dressed in black and wearing black hats, disappearing into the shadows of the alley, with only their bright red gloves visible.

"The police have blocked the roads. I order you to split into three groups and surround the villa. Soest, you lead the Group One, take 1-32, and start moving when you see my signal. Then the Group Two..."

Crestet gave the tasks concisely and efficiently.

The group, all elites of the Red Gloves, carried out his orders without hesitation, quickly setting out and scattering in all directions.

"Thump thump thump..."

Leonard hid in a blind spot of the building, rapidly approaching the target villa.

He eyed the villa warily, noticing its doors and windows were tightly shut, with only the front door ajar, revealing a deep darkness within. A faint, lingering smell wafted through his nostrils; he frowned, then quickly realized—it was the smell of blood.

"Your Excellency Cecimir!"

Leonard whispered a reminder.

"Hmm." Crestet nodded slightly. He didn't move, and a transparent Spirit Body flew out from under his collar and silently entered the villa. Then, as if he had seen something unbelievable, his Green Eyes suddenly narrowed.

"Everyone... assemble immediately."

"Crestet said in a deep voice."

"But Your Excellency Cecimir, wouldn't gathering now expose us? There are still enemies from the Aurora Order among them..."

One of the team members asked, puzzled.

"It's gone."

Crestet interrupted him coldly, and strode straight toward the villa.

Seeing this, the group in Red Gloves, though puzzled, had no choice but to follow in his footsteps.

"Evil..."

The closer you get to the villa, the stronger the stench of blood becomes, making you feel nauseous.

When Crestet pushed open the door, the scene inside came into view.

Please remember the only official website address for this novel: www. deqixs. org. This is the only website for this novel; other websites may be discontinued at any time.

Upon seeing the situation inside, Leonard's eyes widened immediately. He finally understood why the "Goddess's Sword" had said there were no enemies.

Corpses, corpses, and more corpses.

Men, women, the elderly, children, the poor, middle-class citizens, office workers, dockworkers, prostitutes... they may have had different names and classes in life, but at this moment, they are all just piles of lifeless flesh.

The stench of blood soaked the carpet and splattered on the walls, painting the entire villa with a terrifying hue.

Faced with this scene, everyone fell into an eerie silence. They carefully avoided the bloodstains on the floor and entered the living room to check everything.

"No signs of attack... did they commit suicide?"

Leonard saw that the corpses had died in horrific ways. Some had stabbed themselves in the throat with scissors, some had simply cut open their bellies with knives, letting their internal organs spill out, and some had strangled themselves with their hands until their faces turned purple and red, until they were strangled to death, without letting go.

But what was more horrifying than their deaths was their expressions before they died.

Despair, Distortion, fear, helplessness—a vivid and raw array of emotions piled up on their faces, like children abandoned by their parents, or lost souls trapped in a desperate situation, having lost their way...

They looked to be in immense pain, as if death was not a punishment for them, but rather a relief!

"What the hell is this..." muttered a man in Red Gloves, looking at several corpses piled up together.

Their fingers were all broken, and many words were left on the floor beneath them. The words Frenzy and Distortion, stained with bright red color, as if they had been dug out by these people with their fingers.

It was written on the floor:

Lord!

"Merciful Lord, please save us!"

"Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord..."

"The Creator of everything..."

They were a jumbled and illogical description, consisting of nothing but the Honorific Name and Sacred Emblem of the True Creator and a constant call to Him.

"These believers have all gone mad... a mass suicide..."

Leonard was a little startled, his body tense, and he muttered to himself, "Or is this some kind of Ritual?"

He suppressed his nausea and carefully Record everything before him, planning to contact Luther later and have this expert on the "Secrets Suppliant" Pathway interpret it.

Beyond the living room was the bedroom, where Leonard met Crestet Cesimir. The Senior Deacon of the Church stood in the doorway of the master bedroom, gazing intently at the scene inside.

"Your Excellency Cecimir?"

Leonard stepped forward and followed his gaze inside.

He saw that the bedroom was stained with a large amount of red, as if a blood rain had fallen. On the bed in the center of the bedroom lay a hideous and Distortion corpse.

"Mr. R?"

Based on the previously provided information, Leonard immediately identified the corpse by its facial features.

His handsome face was filled with despair and fear, frozen into an ugly mask. He dug open his head, pulling out his ears, cochlea, and other parts, scattering them all over the bed.

On the wall beside his bed, stained with his own blood, he wrote this cryptic sentence:

"Lord, where are you? I can't feel you anymore..."