People are scared in America, my uncle is Dante

Chapter 199 Apostles

"You're too late."

Suren glanced at the black cat on her lap, her tone indifferent.

He suspected that the woman must have been watching the show from the shadows.

"Being late is a lady's privilege."

The black cat rested its chin on its two front paws.

"Besides, didn't you solve it yourself? What a capable young man."

"What exactly is that old man?"

Suren recalled the feeling of fighting Cronin.

The other party was neither a demon nor some kind of mutant fused with a demon.

The most outrageous thing is that this old guy actually lived for so long, and even the later rulers were just puppets he pushed to the forefront.

"Since you did such a great job this time, I'll give you a free lesson."

"That old guy you met is an apostle."

"apostle?"

Suren frowned slightly.

This wasn't the first time he'd heard the word.

He had heard Nailhead mention it before, when he was below that mental hospital.

"That's right, they are not demons, nor were they born looking like this."

The black cat continued, "Their current form is a result of their transformation after abandoning their human identity."

"Who can transform a human into this kind of monster?"

"Surren asked."

If it's just a simple demonic possession, or a human being twisted into a low-level demon, all it takes is for him to personally experience the aura of a demon.

But what if you were to transform a human into a demon while preserving their original mindset?

This kind of method is perhaps only something that a being at the level of a hell lord could do.

But this doesn't make any sense.

Cronin's strength, or rather, his oppressive aura, was already nearly on par with the Lord of Hell.

An entity capable of transforming ordinary humans and directly granting them this power —

Lord of Hell?

Or is it something even higher up?

Bayonetta remained silent for a moment, seemingly unwilling to discuss the topic further.

"I don't know that; I'm still investigating."

The black cat yawned and said dismissively, "How about I have a contest?"

"Whoever uncovers the truth first must unconditionally agree to anything the other does, how about that?"

Suren curled his lip; nine out of ten bets end in defeat.

These four words are perfectly embodied in my Uncle Dante.

I'm sure I won't fall into someone's trap.

"What an insensitive person."

Seeing that he didn't react, the black cat flicked its tail with some boredom and continued the previous topic.

"As far as I know, the requirements to become an apostle are extremely stringent."

"Only ordinary people who have been driven to the brink of despair by reality, whose faith, pride, pursuits, and even the only spiritual pillar for survival have been completely crushed, are likely to be selected."

The black cat's voice was calm: "For example, the fat apostle I caught in Maine before."

"In his most desperate moments, he faced the fear of starving to death and being tormented by illness."

"Moreover, they face the humiliation of having their life's wealth taken away by their competitors."

"For someone who values ​​money more than life itself, that moment was when he completely broke down."

"Only in such moments of complete mental collapse and extreme thirst for power will those beings hidden beyond dimensions extend an olive branch to them, bestowing upon them power and so-called rebirth."

Upon hearing this, Suren couldn't help but interrupt and ask, "Does obtaining this power come without paying a price?"

He didn't believe there was such a thing as a free lunch, let alone such a tremendous opportunity.

"Of course."

The black cat's tone held a hint of sarcasm. "They follow the principle of equivalent exchange. And it must be a transaction by humans..."

A transaction that is personally agreed to and offered up.

"The other party will ask them to sacrifice the last bit of humanity they have left, or their deepest bond in this world."

As the black cat spoke, he mentioned the fat man again, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes: "Before becoming an apostle, that fat man and his wife started from scratch, but they lost everything due to a failed investment and were burdened with huge debts."

Having tasted a life of extravagance and debauchery, he simply could not bear to return to the slums. He could only gamble and lose more and more, sinking deeper and deeper into poverty. If it weren't for his wife, who stayed by his side and worked three jobs every day to support him, he would have starved to death long ago.

The black cat sneered and retorted, "But what was the result?"

"When that voice echoed in his mind, promising him absolute wealth and the power to never be plundered again, he did not hesitate to sacrifice his wife, who had supported him."

"This act of actively severing the deepest emotional ties is actually a way of handing over a pledge of allegiance to the other party, proving that one has completely abandoned one's humanity as a human being and has completely compromised with greed and desire."

After listening, Suren seemed to be deep in thought.

On the surface, this is supposed to be an equal exchange, but it's really just a trick to manipulate people's hearts.

What they crave is not necessarily the offerings themselves, but rather to be high above, looking down on everything, and enjoying humanity's despair.

The process of completely distorting and abandoning what one cherishes and believes.

No wonder Bayonetta always looked mocking and disdainful when she mentioned these apostles.

Such behavior, driven by desire and selling out one's humanity, truly deserves only contempt.

It seems that when Cronin was declared brain dead after his car accident, he also experienced a kind of despair that he could not bear.

It could be the decline of the family, or it could be an extreme fear of death.

Later, his despair was discovered by this mysterious being, which ultimately led him to become the apostle he is today.

I just don't know what he sacrificed to gain this family and power back then.

As night faded, a faint light appeared on the horizon.

The black sedan drove into the community and slowly stopped in front of the building of the Extraordinary Affairs Bureau.

Hearing the commotion outside, the wooden door was pushed open from the inside.

Director Arthur, accompanied by Anjou, quickly came out to greet them.

The old man's eyes were bloodshot, and he held a freshly lit cigarette between his fingers.

"Mr. Suren, leave the rest of the cleanup to us."

Chief Arthur approached the car, his tense expression finally relaxing somewhat.

He stood on tiptoe and looked into the car: "I wonder what Liz is like—"

Suren ignored the extra respect in the other person's tone.

He pushed open the car door, grabbed the still unconscious Liz, and tossed her to Anjou.

"This car, and everything inside, is yours for the taking."

Suren pointed to the car behind her, "Find a way to dispose of it yourself, consider it payment for doing my job."

Anjou helped Liz up and peeked through the half-open car window.

His Adam's apple bobbed, his eyes widened, and he looked utterly incredulous.

In the back seat, oil paintings and various medieval porcelains that only appear in museums were piled up like worthless trash.

"Fuck————"

Anjou couldn't help but gasp, her arm supporting Liz trembling slightly.

Noticing Anjou's unusual behavior, Chief Arthur stepped forward and glanced into the car.

The old man immediately gasped, but his composure was much better than that of the young Anqiong, and he quickly suppressed his excitement.

The Extraordinary Agency's funding has been cut off for so many years. If it weren't for Mr. Rodin occasionally throwing them some work to help, everyone would have to work odd jobs to make ends meet.

And now this truckload of stuff—

As long as they can find a way to monetize it, it will definitely be enough for these marginalized people to live a decent life for the rest of their lives!

"this----"

Chief Arthur swallowed hard. "Mr. Suren, this is far too much, we—"

"Keep it."

Suren interrupted his refusal, "Take it and exchange it for some money. Keep it to buy some decent equipment. Don't let Charlie use that broken screen anymore."

"Oh right, I'll go buy some breakfast too, I'm a little hungry."

Arthur took a deep breath and didn't refuse anymore.

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