Fabio, a Senior Deacon of the Mandated Punishers, and Ikanser Bernard, a Senior Deacon of the Machinery Hivemind, both looked at the Red Gloves captain after hearing Leonard speak.
Leonard, with his handsome looks and poet's air, continued, "It just occurred to me that if the Devil seeking advancement is using that previous Demon as cover, then this must be the most cunning Devil we've ever encountered."
"Think about it. A Beyonder like that must be meticulous. How could he possibly leave such obvious clues at the scene?"
The others paused, feeling that he had a point.
If that really was the case, then every conjecture they had made so far might be exactly what the murderer wanted the investigators to think.
At this point, Leonard spread his hands and continued, "The only thing we can be certain of now is that the murderer needs to kill two more people to fulfill the requirements of his advancement ritual. I suggest that, starting today, we ask the churches' Privy Bishops to activate the emergency protocol and personally protect the believers around their churches."
The churches had an emergency protocol under which local Saints, after requesting assistance from their gods, could use the power of faith "stored" within their churches to protect the surrounding areas.
At the same time, within those areas, the Saints could gain certain authorities approaching those of Angels. For example, if the murderer struck near a church again, they would detect it immediately and appear beside him at tremendous speed.
However, once this mechanism was activated, the Sealed Artifacts within the church would have to be sealed anew. Apart from helping the gods stabilize their states, some of the "power of faith" also helped Official Beyonders suppress Sealed Artifacts.
If the "power of faith" used to suppress Sealed