Once the situation at the Lutz house had finally settled down, George and Kathy decided to call the police.
No matter how strange everything else had been, Father Marcus had died inside their home, so his body couldn’t simply be ignored.
The police arrived surprisingly quickly and removed Marcus’s body after taking statements from everyone present.
What caught Lucifer’s attention was how calmly the officers reacted when George and Kathy described the possession and the supernatural events inside the house.
Instead of dismissing them as hysterical, the police simply asked everyone to remain at the property until another group arrived.
Not long afterward, a black Mercedes van pulled up outside the house.
Several men in dark suits stepped out, and the man leading them approached Lucifer and the others before producing an identification card.
“Good afternoon.
My name is Agent Vinson.”
He held the badge where everyone could see it.
“B.P.R.D.
Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.
I need someone to tell me exactly what happened here.”
Lucifer’s eyebrows rose slightly.
So this world even has an official supernatural organization.
Nobody answered immediately, so Lucifer finally stepped forward.
“I’ll explain.”
Although he didn’t particularly enjoy dealing with government organizations, avoiding them completely would only make him look suspicious.
He described George’s possession, the spirits beneath the house, Reverend Jeremiah Ketcham, and the purification of the trapped souls, while carefully leaving out the part where he had personally killed Father Marcus.
Agent Vinson listened without showing much surprise.
When Lucifer finished, he simply nodded as though he had just completed another routine interview.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
Vinson glanced toward the house before continuing, “Representatives from the Church will deal with the religious side of the aftermath.
Once my people have everyone’s contact information, you’re free to leave.”
Lucifer watched him turn away.
The B.P.R.D.
apparently had some kind of working relationship with the Church.
That wasn’t necessarily good news for him.
After the agents recorded everyone’s phone numbers, Williamson offered Lucifer a ride back into the city.
The director remained visibly excited about the footage they had captured, smiling to himself while driving.
Lucifer kept glancing toward the road.
“Williamson, maybe focus a little more on driving.”
Williamson laughed.
“Relax.
I’m fine.
Where should I drop you?”
Lucifer paused.
“Actually, I don’t know yet.”
Edward had been handling their housing arrangements while Lucifer dealt with the haunting, and Lucifer had no idea whether his friend had finished.
He pulled out his Nokia and called.
Edward answered after a few rings.
“Hey.”
“Did you find us an apartment?”
“Already done.
Valley Village.
845 Burbank Boulevard.”
Lucifer smiled.
“Everything went smoothly?”
“Of course.
I handled the apartment and most of the agency setup this afternoon.”
“Nice work.
I’ll be there soon.”
Lucifer ended the call and gave Williamson the address.
This was exactly why he had made Edward his manager.
If Lucifer had been forced to spend the afternoon comparing leases, filling out paperwork, and arranging furniture, he probably wouldn’t have accomplished half as much.
His thoughts soon returned to Agent Vinson.
The existence of the B.P.R.D.
changed his understanding of this world considerably.
Supernatural incidents weren’t merely isolated secrets hidden from ordinary people; there were organized groups actively handling them behind the scenes, and at least one of those organizations seemed to cooperate with the Church.
Lucifer leaned against the seat.
If the Church starts asking questions about Marcus, this might become troublesome.
For now, however, there was nothing he could do about it.
Williamson eventually stopped outside a small apartment building in Valley Village.
Lucifer opened the door.
“Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem.”
“And don’t forget my copy of the footage.”
Williamson smiled.
“I’ll call you once it’s edited.”
“Good.”
Lucifer watched the car disappear around the corner before entering the building.
Edward had rented an apartment on the sixth floor.
It had two bedrooms and roughly seven hundred fifty square feet of space, which already made it feel much better than the cramped place they had shared in Chicago.
Lucifer knocked, and Edward opened the door a moment later.
“Well?”
Lucifer stepped inside and looked around.
The furniture was simple and the place clearly wasn’t luxurious, but it was clean and comfortable.
“Not bad.”
Edward grinned.
“Way better than Chicago.”
“That isn’t a high standard.”
Lucifer walked farther inside before suddenly remembering something.
“You didn’t sign a long lease, did you?”
“No.
Three months.
Twelve hundred a month.”
Lucifer relaxed.
“Perfect.”
Edward looked at him curiously.
Lucifer smiled with complete confidence.
“This is temporary.
Eventually we’re moving somewhere much better.”
Edward didn’t argue.
He clearly wasn’t convinced yet, but he also knew better than to ruin Lucifer’s mood.
After helping straighten up the apartment for a while, Lucifer finally retreated into his bedroom and closed the door.
Now came the part he had been waiting for.
Lucifer sat on the edge of the bed and opened the Holy Power System.
After the Lutz case, he had accumulated sixty Holiness Points.
“Five ten-draws.”
The familiar golden roulette wheel appeared before him.
Fifty Holiness Points poured into it, leaving him with ten.
The wheel began spinning rapidly.
A moment later, fifty-five streaks of golden light appeared, representing the fifty normal rewards and five guaranteed ten-draw bonuses.
[Obtained: Junior High-Concentration Holy Water ×20.]
[Obtained: Holy Silver Bullets — 10-round pack ×20.]
[Obtained: Basic Stamina Potion ×1.]
[Obtained: Basic Strength Potion ×1.]
[Obtained: Basic Agility Potion ×1.]
[Obtained: Basic Spirit Potion ×1.
Current Spirit has reached the low-tier limit.
Unable to use.]
[Obtained Life Skill: Cooking.
Allows the user to reproduce ordinary dishes after seeing them prepared and learn special System recipes.]
[Obtained Language Ability: French.]
[Obtained Skill: Cleansing Spell — Level 1.
Usable 3 times per day.
Removes ordinary poisons, supernatural disease effects, and low-level curses from the user or a chosen target.]
[Obtained: Copper Chainmail Vest — Excellent Quality.
Protects the upper body against slashing damage.
External appearance may be altered according to the user’s thoughts.]
[Obtained Special Recipe: Savory Pork Liver Pie.
Grants Stamina +1 for 30 minutes after consumption.]
[Obtained Recipe: Demon-Slaying Potion.
Requires Alchemy to learn.]
[Ten-Draw Bonus: Skill Upgrade Scroll ×5.]
Lucifer stared at the long list of rewards.
For a moment, he didn’t know where to begin.
His Holy Silver Bullets had increased by two hundred, bringing the total from forty to 240.
The twenty bottles of Holy Water raised his supply from two to 22, while the five new Skill Upgrade Scrolls combined with the one he had saved earlier for a total of six.
His attention quickly shifted toward the Copper Chainmail Vest.
Lucifer summoned it from System Space.
An ugly copper-colored piece of chainmail appeared in his hands.
He stared at it.
“This thing definitely needs the appearance-changing feature.”
Lucifer pictured something far more suitable for Los Angeles than medieval armor.
“A dark trench coat.”
The chainmail shifted immediately.
Its visible form changed until Lucifer was holding a stylish dark coat, although the protective qualities of the original armor remained intact.
Lucifer put it on and examined himself in the mirror.
“Much better.”
Satisfied, he turned toward the three usable attribute potions.
He drank the Basic Strength Potion first, followed by the Basic Agility Potion and Basic Stamina Potion.
Warm energy spread through his body each time as his permanent attributes increased.
[Strength +1.]
[Current Strength: 8.]
[Agility +1.]
[Current Agility: 9.]
[Stamina +1.]
[Current Stamina: 10.]
Lucifer flexed his hands and moved his shoulders.
The improvement was obvious.
His current permanent attributes were now Strength 8, Agility 9, Stamina 10, and Spirit 15.
The Basic Spirit Potion remained unusable because Spirit had already reached fifteen, the limit for that tier of potion, so Lucifer returned it to System Space.
His attention shifted toward the two recipes.
The Demon-Slaying Potion was immediately rejected because he didn’t possess Alchemy.
There was no point worrying about something he couldn’t learn yet.
The Savory Pork Liver Pie was different.
Lucifer selected the recipe.
Golden light flowed from it and entered his mind.
Detailed instructions immediately became clear, including the ingredients, preparation process, and cooking method.
Lucifer slowly opened his eyes.
“Fresh pork liver, pastry, seasoning…”
He rubbed his stomach.
“I haven’t eaten dinner yet.
Maybe I’ll test this later.”
Finally, Lucifer looked toward the six Skill Upgrade Scrolls sitting inside System Space.
One had come from his earlier ten-draw.
Five more had just arrived.
Six in total.
Judgment had no level attached to its name, but several of his other abilities did.
Lucifer’s eyes gradually brightened.
“What happens if I dump all six into one skill?”
[Chapter Rewards]