Leila sprinted all the way, quickly reaching the main hall of the church.
The already messy hall was now in chaos.
The chandelier, which had been in disrepair for years, had fallen from the ceiling and shattered into two pieces.
Dust shaken loose by the loud crash danced wildly in the air, and the fragile stained-glass window that had been teetering on the edge had now shattered into colorful fragments scattered on the floor.
With each step she took, Sister Leila’s expression grew darker.
By the time she reached the front door, her face was completely black.
She didn’t even have the heart to push the door open.
She turned sideways and delivered a flying kick straight at the door.
Boom!
In a tremor rivaling the earlier explosion, the heavy door was kicked open with force.
Sister Leila stepped out of the church.
“Who is it?”
Even though she didn’t shout, the overwhelming anger in her voice was unmistakable.
In response, a round ball flew straight toward her face.
Leila quickly slapped it away with her palm.
The ball exploded in midair, producing no intense flames but instead colorful smoke.
“What the heck…”
Leila looked puzzled in the direction the ball had come from.
About a dozen people were standing sparsely there, apparently citizens from the Lower City District.
Seeing Leila emerge from the church, the red-haired young man at the front gestured to those around him.
The citizens fumbled in their pockets for a moment, pulled out some cloth, unfolded it, and raised it above their heads.
“Expel the heretical cult!!!”
“Return peace to our community!!!”
Leila stood frozen in place.
Seeing that the banners on both sides were unfurled, the man nodded in satisfaction.
He then cleared his throat twice, took out a megaphone from his waist, and began to shout.
“Expel the suspicious cult!”
“Expel the suspicious cult!!!”
“Return peace to our community!”
“Return peace to our community!!!”
Every time the man shouted, the people behind him echoed loudly.
The voices surged wave after wave, causing residents from all directions to stick their heads out of their homes and shops, curiously checking on the commotion.
Of course, they didn’t stop their hands either.
Colorful paint balls and rotten vegetable leaves rained down like a storm, even including freshly made “ammunition” from the trash heap behind them.
Honestly, Leila’s faith in the God of Teluoken was unwavering.
Whether bullets or grenades obstructed her path of preaching, she was fearless.
But this stinking “ammunition” was not within the protection of the God of Teluoken.
Surely the divine Lord in heaven would forgive her for running away.
“Ew, that stinks!”
Leila screamed as she dodged through the rain of projectiles.
Surprisingly, neither the paint balls aimed at her body nor the splashing sewage touched her at all.
The red-haired young man at the front watched Leila weaving through the garbage rain and cursed under his breath: “This chick is pretty good at dodging… Hey! Throw faster!”
He loudly directed his companions to increase the density of attacks, personally joining in by grabbing a handful of paint balls.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Leila was still painfully muttering to herself: ‘Article Five of the Cult of Teluoken… do not harm others… unless they insult the Lord, insult the Creed of Iron and Fire… O Lord! Forgive your follower for being so cowardly… No, this is a temporary retreat and defense! It is to better spread the Returning Light of the Lord!’
Leila turned around and fled toward the church.
“Good opportunity.”
The red-haired young man wound up his arm and threw a fastball straight at the back of the nun’s head.
At that moment, the church door conveniently opened.
It was Bres, who had come out to check on the situation.
“What’s going on outside? Sister Leila—”
Coming out of the church that was dark despite the daytime, Bres was still dazzled by the strong noon sunlight.
A colorful paint ball hit him right on the bridge of his nose.
The paint ball exploded at close range, turning into a brilliant firework.
“Sir, are you okay?”
Leila panicked and helped Bres, who had fallen to his knees.
Qiao Anni, who had been behind Bres and couldn’t see the outside situation, also came closer.
Seeing that they had hit a regular person who wasn’t a clergy member, the protesters gradually stopped, waiting for the red-haired leader’s next instruction.
Bres wiped his face with difficulty.
Fortunately, the unknown liquid hadn’t gotten into his eyes—then he turned and saw Qiao Anni trying hard to suppress a laugh.
“I’m sorry…”
“…”
“But you really… pfft hahaha!”
In the end, Qiao Anni couldn’t hold it in, because Bres’s face looked exactly like he had just spent a whole day at a tomato festival from his previous life in some country.
Thump!
“I was wrong.”
Ignoring Qiao Anni, who crouched down while holding her head—clearly faking pain—Bres took the handkerchief handed by Sister Leila, wiped the paint off his face, and then approached the protesting crowd at the bottom of the steps.
“I’m very sorry, sir. I accidentally hit you.”
The red-haired young man’s apology was clearly insincere, lacking any sincerity.
Bres suppressed the anger inside him and asked, “What are you people doing here? Can’t you talk things out properly?”
“As you can see.”
The red-haired young man pointed at the banners behind him—they were now held lower than before.
“We’re protesting.”
“Protesting about what?”
“Protesting against that woman! And that cult!”
The red-haired young man pointed indignantly at Sister Leila, who looked quite hurt.
“What did they do to you?”
“She’s been posting weird flyers everywhere! Grabbing people off the street to join her cult! And every night, there’s constant banging from that church, keeping us awake!”
“N-no!”
Leila’s face turned red.
“I work in a soundproofed room!”
Although Bres wanted to ask what “work” meant, he set that aside for now.
Bres stared at Leila: “Sister Leila.”
“Yes?”
“Somehow I feel like this is actually your fault.”
“How can you say that?”
Leila looked even more aggrieved.
“I only posted flyers in legal and compliant spots! I only bring people in after multiple confirmations! And the noise—I checked it with a noise meter! It wasn’t over the limit!”
“Bull…”
Soon both sides were arguing again, giving Bres a headache.
Both sides had their own versions.
What was this called?
Rashomon?
Continuing to argue here would lead nowhere.
“Alright, alright, how about we call it a day for now?”
Bres tried to be the peacemaker.
“Are you a community representative or something? We can schedule a meeting another day to discuss this. There must be some misunderstanding…”
Upon hearing the words “community representative,” the red-haired young man’s expression changed repeatedly.
“Why are you always taking her side?”
The red-haired young man suddenly turned the accusation toward Bres.
“Are you part of the cult too?”
“What? You?!”
Bres felt his heart pounding with anger.
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