Abyss Train

Chapter 830 Ordinary Love ⑥ · Clergy

[Part ①: The Evil Beast of Hercules]
I believe this all has something to do with St. Stephen's Cathedral.

This ancient building, which was built in 1147, experienced two fires and was transformed into a Gothic-style church.

Margaret and Ilan are both doctors, and they are also volunteers in the church.

Since we didn't have much money, Margaret and I had planned to use the church as the venue for our wedding.

If it weren't for all this.
In the study, I found a document on invocations for ritual magic, which was what Miss Elayne had used to entertain me.

It's called "The Hidden Corner of Hercules" and it's a niche book written in old Icelandic.

If you ask why I can understand it? Because ancient Icelandic is also a European-Indian language, a branch of North Germanic. I can speak Finnish, German, English, and a little Danish - I can recognize these words.

This storybook introduces a mysterious society that uses force to maintain its social structure, the Hercules Church, whose members use a kind of insect to gain incredible witchcraft power. And the insect will select the right people, develop their potential, and make them gain the power of immortality.

This power is afraid of sunlight, but can live underground.

The underground world is located at the bottom of a deep pit of an extinct volcano near Reykjavik, Iceland, and there are some human settlements.

The Hercules cult lies deeper and farther underground in the mountains.

In addition to the artistic paintings and graphic introductions to the sect, the book also explains in detail how to pray and summon spiritual beings - when I saw these things, I just found them ridiculous.

But just now, a deformed monster almost ate me, and Margaret was half dead. I had to re-examine these strange spells.

"The Hidden Corner of Hercules" focuses on the process of trials, which is used to select the most suitable seeds of power and absorb these people into the cult, making them new members of the church.

The host of the ceremony took Margaret as a sacrifice, divided it into 16 small pieces, and sent them to 16 different people in Neusiedl County and the city. Peanuts and walnuts were also invited.

After receiving the blood sacrifice, these invited people became insane and possessed, and could no longer control themselves, which aroused their deep dependence or love for Margaret, and they would involuntarily start killing each other.

The one who was left in the end was Hercules, the new Hercules and the new member selected by the order.

Ms. Yilan was obviously unwilling to participate in this ritual. She seemed to know the hidden truth and had already set up an ambush at home.

——Walnut and Peanut became her watchdogs, and this transformation ritual seems to be related to another book.

From page thirty-six of Galahad's Magic and Witchcraft, there is a whole set of detailed descriptions of the Shambler.

"When we need to conduct some dangerous chemical experiments or psychic attempts related to magic, we can't get started right away."

"At this time, our partners from the spirit world may be able to help us. This ritual can turn dead bodies into living things, such as the more common zombies. They can help stir containers, deliver medicines in dangerous environments, and conduct various experiments on psychic compounds."

"The Shambler was born. We don't need a complete corpse. It might be too difficult to maintain. A hand or an arm, with enough deodorant and good preservation, will make the situation much better."

When I finished reading these incomprehensible magic instructions, I just felt like I was living in a movie story.

Had Margaret been made into a shambler by some evil sorcerer? Her body had become a blood sacrifice for a sinister ritual by a mysterious cult, to induce us to kill each other.

The monster that Miss Yilan left at home is more powerful than the walking dead of ordinary humans - just want to use bullets to deal with it? That's too difficult.
It is over 150 centimeters tall and over 500 centimeters long. Considering its weight, it is impossible to kill it without a shotgun.

If it hadn't been so stupid and clumsy, and its body had not been pierced by the spikes in the fence, and it had bled to death, I really don't know how to deal with it.

How many people did Yilan kill with peanuts and walnuts? Judging from the blood and flesh of this monster, at least seven or eight of the invitees died here.
I looked at the picture on the wall.

——Although I don’t know how Yilan got the list of invitees, at least she did a detailed investigation.

In the apartment building opposite the train station, three German brothers from Madrid who were often taken care of by Margaret, these three college students have died. Turned into dog food.

The landlord of the apartment also died. Margaret and I often visited her with gifts. She almost treated us as her own children. She had six unfilial children and grandchildren who were waiting for her to die and inherit the property.

The resident of No. EP·M36 Krim Street, a ticket seller at the train station and a classmate of Margaret in yoga class, died.

A Volkswagen salesman, Margaret's ex-boyfriend, who had no contact for nine years, also received Margaret's body and was dead.

The cleaner from Bayer's pest control line came to the apartment every two months to do pest control work. He was not familiar with Margaret, but perhaps he had a crush on my fiancée. He also died. The yellow plaid fabric I saw in the body of that deformed monster was the clothes of this employee.

There were also two retired elderly people from the city hospital, a couple, who disliked the loneliness of the nursing home and planned to stay in the hospital for a few months. Margaret sent them to live in an apartment. They often had things to talk about and liked watching American football games. Margaret would occasionally accompany them to do gardening - they died.

There were nine people in total, plus the two portions of walnuts and peanuts.

Wait a minute, I'll double-check.

I found the gift photo of the apartment building and nervously opened it. It was almost unbelievable——

——It was indeed two pieces, Margaret's head was originally split in two.
Her body was a horrible sight, like a plate of human flesh cake, a little gift for Halloween pranks. Walnuts and peanuts were divided into half, and then they were slowly pieced together later.

Then add walnuts and peanuts, and Tom and Naomi.

There were thirteen invitees in total, plus Ilan and I. The fifteen offerings should be in this room, and most of them fell into Miss Ilan's hands.

Where is the last one?

I searched through the desk and there should be one last invitee, Roger Fogen from the City Fire Department. This young man had once been an intern at the City Hospital and had been taught by Margaret for a period of time. He was only twenty-one years old.

In his photos, he looks vibrant, very young and strong.

His eyes were like two clear and flawless sapphires. After the trial training at the hospital, he went to work in the fire department and appeared at Margaret and I's gatherings more than once.

This young man is very honest and also works for a government agency. He has a strong attachment to Margaret, his older sister. He lost his mother at a young age - his father was an alcoholic. He needs this kind of warmth but cannot force it. Perhaps it would be better to be friends. He is afraid that one day he will have no friends at all.

I don't want to fight to the death with Roger, he is so young and a little hero of the city fire department. But this damn curse seems to be impossible to remove. It doesn't let anyone go, except me.
I don't have those weird hunger pangs, nor do I lose my mind with this morbid possessiveness.

So the question is, where are the rest of Margaret's body parts? Have they been eaten by these crazy and demented people?

I went back to the freezer again and found a thigh in the refrigerated area.

Going down to the basement, we found part of the frozen, dried body and another arm in another large freezer.

In the small bedroom in the attic, a movie projection room, I found part of Margaret's spine on the bed. It seemed that Miss Ilan had gone crazy - she didn't dare to put Margaret together, for fear that Margaret would leave her after she regained her ability to move.

It took me almost three hours, until dawn, to find all these things.

Back on the first floor, I pieced the body together. All fourteen parts were put together. My naked fiancée was barely able to stand up. She still had one leg, but one hand was missing.

She took a few deep breaths.

——I was so nervous that I could hardly breathe. I started crying again. I didn’t know how to face all this.

"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!" Hot air gradually came out of Margaret's mouth. She limped to the cloakroom, found Ms. Yilan's skirt, and put it on casually. Then she skipped to the bedroom on the first floor and borrowed underwear from Miss Yilan.

[Part②·Ceremony]
When she came back, she finally remembered me - the way she looked at me was as if she was looking at a puppy that fell into the water. Her eyes finally misted over, as if she recognized me and her head became a little smarter.

"Sam!"

I held her for what seemed like a century.

"Sam! Sam Sam!"

This is the lover I am familiar with, the most important person in my life, the one I cannot live without.

I remember how hard she pressed on my back. For more than two thousand days and nights, we hugged almost every day.

"Oh my God." Margaret's hair gradually returned to its wine red color. It was originally like dry straw. "You are almost turning into an old man."

The old man was actually talking about the Schnauzer, a small dog with dirty hair that always looks fierce to everyone.

Maybe I didn't shave, the past few days have left me no time to take care of myself. I don't know what to say -

——I just want to hug her tightly.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

She had no right leg to support her body, and her calves and soles below the knees were empty. The same was true for her other arm, which seemed to have been cut in half by a sharp knife, starting from the middle of the upper arm, and no blood flowed out of the bright red muscle texture.

This was really weird, but I could feel her heartbeat, the bloodshot in her eyes was quickly fading, and her breathing, which originally had a turbid and muddy smell, was slowly returning to normal.

That was her body odor. I knew she had a little bit of Germanic body odor and often used perfume to deodorize it. This meant that her metabolism had returned to normal and she seemed to be really alive.

"What happened, honey?"

I have so many questions, so many questions.

"I don't know!" Margaret spread out one hand. If she had two hands, she would probably be scratching her head frantically. "I don't know, my dear! You last month..."

I was not in a hurry. I found two bottles of mineral water from the refrigerator and asked Margaret to tell the story slowly.

"I found my death certificate in the hospital? Why?"

Margaret had difficulty unscrewing the bottle cap and didn't ask me for help. She just twisted the cap with her teeth naturally, then drank more than half of the bottle of water in one gulp. She seemed to have regained some strength. She was thirty years old and no longer a little girl.

"Yes! You were killed by a log that fell from the train, Sam!"

When I heard this fact, I could hardly think——

——If I die, who am I now?

I was on my way to deliver a letter and was crushed into eight pieces by a train? Then why am I still alive?

Am I a zombie, too? A shambling monster?
Margaret is a witch? She is.
"I felt like I couldn't breathe." Margaret interrupted my thoughts: "When I found you in the hospital that day, I felt like the sky was falling, Sam"

“It took me all day to come to terms with it, but I couldn’t.”

Margaret pursed her lips in grievance and shook her non-existent hand.

"Back on the path beside the lake, I saw the little boy selling flowers in the sunset—"

"——You used to leave work early on Fridays and always take care of his business."

"Give me a flower? Buy one for me?"

As Margaret spoke of this, her tears began to flow more and more.

"It seems that he also knew about the car accident. He saw me coming alone and didn't ask where Mr. Sam went."

"I can't accept it. I always feel like you're still by my side."

"The flower boy saw me walking to the lake alone, and he followed me, and he started crying, and I started crying too, Sam."

"It seems that I am getting married next month, and this is how I prepare - but no matter how much I prepare, it seems that I can't beat God's will."

Margaret continued:

"——I went back to the church to continue volunteering, and Yilan joined me."

"In the evening, after the choir dispersed, everyone was very sad. Father Kevin came over and asked about you."

Kevin Richard, a clergyman of St. Stephen's Cathedral and Margaret's guide, is in charge of all volunteers.

"I told Mr. Kevin the whole story. He asked me to try again and gave me a bottle of holy water." Margaret recalled these things, her eyes gradually lost. "I found the funeral home of the hospital and stole your body, Sam."

"It's a pity that there are one or two bones missing. It's in the soft spot on the back of your left chest."

"I sprinkled holy water on you and you seemed to be in pain."

“But he finally survived.”

"I was terrified because you were screaming and screaming."

Margaret described how she kept raising her arms and gesturing, with worry in her eyes.

"I wanted to find some light source in the house. It was too dark in the woodland. I took out the kerosene lamp and the flashlight, but you disappeared."

"I went to find Kevin at St. Stephen's Cathedral. The old man told me that an evil spirit is attached to you and that an exorcism ceremony is needed. Once you complete the ceremony, you will be able to come back to life."

“I promised him, and then I don’t remember anything.”

Margaret said in a daze:

"——In the darkness, I seemed to feel that something was approaching me."

"I can move my arms and I can almost see the box."

"My legs and feet, my limbs, seem to be out of control."

"Where are they? Where have they been sent? Why can my skin feel different temperatures? Have I been torn apart?"

"My diamond ring is going to be taken off?"

"At this moment, I touched your hand, Sam"

(End of this chapter)