— Night —
At night, the question of the anomaly kept Daniel awake. It bothered him so much that he couldn't shake it from his thoughts. Looking at Koyuki sleeping peacefully beside him, Daniel kissed her forehead, got out of bed, and left the bedroom.
Unbeknownst to him, Koyuki was still awake. She had stirred at Daniel's movement and noticed he was restless and preoccupied. Concerned, she discreetly followed him, noticing he had only put on a long coat over his pajamas and left the house.
She grabbed a coat from the hanger by the door and followed him outside, observing that he seemed to be heading towards the gazebo beside their house.
But when she reached the gazebo, she found it empty. The garden was deserted, and she couldn't sense any magic. If Daniel had used flight magic to jump from the roof, she would have felt the mana surge at this short distance.
Alarmed, Koyuki ran to the railing overlooking the street below, but she saw nothing amiss. Still worried, she panicked and pulled out her phone to call Envy.
But before she could, she felt a gentle touch from behind. Her alarm bells rang, and she quickly turned, her hand blazing with spiritual fire as she channeled her Orochi power, the divine spark of calamity covering her hand. She was about to strike whoever dared touch her, but stopped short.
"Danny!" Koyuki shouted in surprise, her hand halting inches from her beloved's face. That slap, coated in the power of calamity thunder, might have killed him if he hadn't been on guard.
"Oh? Now you want to kill me?" Daniel teased, noticing the halted attack.
Koyuki used her other hand to playfully slap his shoulder. "Don't do that again! You idiot, I almost killed you! Give a warning before hugging me from behind!" she admonished, dispersing the destructive energy from her hand.
"Sorry... But why are you here? Worried about me?" he asked with a teasing smile.
"Of course, you dummy. I'm worried about you. You seem troubled today. Did Envy say something that's got you thinking so much?" Koyuki asked, her voice full of concern. She knew how paranoid Daniel is, it's not good for his mental health for overthinking things too much.
"Yeah, something like that, but you don't need to worry. I've thought it through," Daniel reassured her, leading her back inside to resume their sleep.
— A moment ago —
Within the card shop, Daniel sought answers or at least hints and clues for clarification from the Keeper.
"Oh! How may I help you, Mr. Emberweave?" the Keeper asked, looking up from his book and tea. He then glanced at the counter screen, which showed Daniel's current point balance of 27.
"Err... Mr. Emberweave, I don't believe you can purchase anything with that amount of points," the Keeper said, turning back to Daniel, slightly confused as to why he was visiting without enough points to buy anything.
"Ah, I'm here because I wanted to ask you something," Daniel clarified.
"I see. Please ask, and I'll try to help you clarify things as much as I can," the Keeper offered.
Picture: A priest in white robe with kind and benevolent air standing amongst the believers.
Rarity: Rare
Type: Creature - Human Priest
Mana Cost: 2 Light, 2 Non-element
Description:
Pay 1 Light and 1 Non element Tap: Opponent can choose whether to pay 3 mana or let this card controller draw a card.
Pay 2 Light and 1 Non element Tap: Gain control of target opponent creature until "Benevolence Orator" was untap. At the start of each turn, The controller of "Benevolence Orator" can choose whether to let "Benevolence Orator" untap or not.
Power: 2
Toughness: 3
Flavor text: The source of all believer respect, He can even change the heart of the most stubborn atheist.
—
Initially, Daniel was unsure how to utilize Richard's abilities, lacking a clear understanding of his own ability at that time. He told Richard to find ways to make the best use of his talents.
After Daniel's confrontation with Grand Paladin Christopher Ward, Richard recognized the Vatican as a potential threat to his lord. He decided to infiltrate the Vatican as a mediator.
He secretly contributed to the Astral Corporation and provided valuable suggestions to both the current Pope Faction and the Secret Exterminator Unit. His efforts are the sole reason why the Vatican remains relatively calm towards Daniel and even holds some goodwill for him.
But today, something was amiss. In the morning, Father Richard received numerous reports from the Vatican patrol unit overseeing the Vatican and the nearby city, indicating a surge in vengeful spirit activity. These spirits were appearing in unexpected places, like a newly built diner with no history of death.
Some spirits were even seen walking the streets like ordinary people. Fortunately, these spirits are averse to being seen and don't reveal themselves to the general public. However, strange phenomena like poltergeists and unusual accidents are becoming more frequent, with 80% of these cases attributed to vengeful spirits.
The most alarming case was the one Nicholas was assigned to investigate. Reports from France described numerous banshees emerging from their forest dwellings to attack a ranger station in a park.
Overall, it seems vengeful spirits are ignoring the rules that confine them to their haunted locations and are venturing out to cause trouble.
Richard received another call, reporting yet another attack by a vengeful spirit. According to his records, this marked the 37th case. The Secret Exterminator Unit was stretched thin, with all available manpower assigned to various incidents reported within the past three hours.
Richard compared the note in his hand, detailing the number of teams dispatched so far, to the remaining armaments he had checked yesterday. Setting aside his work, he took the note to the Secret Exterminator Unit armory. He needed to confirm whether their weapons would last until the end of the week, as it had been a while since they had replenished their stock.