Boom!
A massive explosion thundered through the Saint Kata Monastery, which had been silent for who knows how long.
Another delightful scene unfolded.
The roofs adjacent to the main building were all blown away, and thick smoke rose, swirling above the castle complex.
To avoid being affected, Hili quietly controlled the helicopter to rise a bit higher.
He thought it was about enough, but then he saw the priest take out another warhead and insert it into the rocket launcher.
"Father Yorkes, are you still continuing?"
"Mhm."
York was indifferent and continued his rhythm; he wanted this place to no longer be shrouded in darkness, he wanted the people inside—or all existences—to see the light.
Compared to armor-piercing warheads meant for penetrating defenses, thermobaric warheads were even more effective at destroying buildings.
After all, the lethality of a thermobaric warhead mainly relies on a powerful shockwave, especially in enclosed spaces where the shockwaves repeatedly overlap and strike the structure, making it a lethal weapon for urban warfare against fortifications and bunkers.
That was one of the main reasons why he brought armor-piercing and thermobaric warheads.
He had originally planned to blow open the roof of the Saint Kata Monastery and then drop the final Holy Bomb into the hole to finish it off.
Of course, things had changed slightly now.
He wasn't some selfless saint, but he wasn't cold-hearted either. Within his capabilities, he still wanted to try, such as saving these poor nuns, setting them free, and letting them return to the embrace of the God in their hearts.
Recalling the images Novice Sister Irene had seen, a cold light flashed in York's eyes.
Since the other side had responded, he had to respond in kind.
If this demon transformed into a nun dared to be so arrogant, then he dared to save!
The trigger was pulled.
Exhaust fumes erupted in the rear cabin with a soft 'poof' as the thermobaric warhead sliced through the air, hurtling toward the massive hole that had already been blasted out.
Tracing a standard parabola, it crashed fiercely into the hole and slammed into the building.
The next second.
A roar even more deafening than before rang out.
The entire space seemed to tremble.
The thermobaric warhead seemed to explode with a light more dazzling than sunlight. Accompanied by a fire that drowned out everything else, a mist of fire, rubble, and bricks erupted from every gap in the main building and the adjacent low-rise structures.
An even more violent shockwave rippled outward in a circle.
The shockwave was so strong that the HH-60W helicopter suddenly lurched. This startled Hili, who had been mentally prepared, and he hurried to stabilize the HH-60W's wobble.
Looking at the main building complex, which had been turned into a mess by a single ordinary man-portable thermobaric warhead, he subconsciously swallowed some non-existent saliva. Then he looked at the priest, and before he could even think about why the warhead was so powerful, he asked.
"Father Yorkes, does the Church allow you to do this?"
Listening to the still-rumbling second explosion, York didn't care at all.
"This place is no longer holy; there is no need to preserve it."
With that, York looked at the now-cleared building complex, put away the RPG-7, glanced back at the silent and sensible Novice Nun who hadn't stopped him, and said to Hili.
"Hili, can we go down?"
Hili glanced at the roofless main building and licked his lips.
"We can!"
"Then let's go down. I didn't blast such a huge hole for nothing."
"Alright, Father."
With the priest's word, Hili understood and began maneuvering the HH-60W down toward the massive, smoking hole in the main building.
Hum... under his superb piloting skills, the HH-60W passed smoothly through the hole and landed.
The main building had the same layout as a church, but the three rocket warheads with double buffs had blasted everything away, leaving nothing but ruins.
Vroom!
The helicopter landed steadily on a patch of open ground that hadn't been covered by rubble or debris.
York stared at everything before him and silently stepped out of the helicopter, treading on land that no outsider had ever visited.
In his perception, the seemingly ordinary space harbored a dark corruption capable of affecting the human mind.
Of course, under the baptism of Holy Light and the clearing of the area, the dark haze that could influence human sanity had mostly dissipated.
"As expected of a 40-point major job. Just this thick dark haze alone could instantly corrupt a human's sanity. No wonder the Frenchmen were infected..."
Thinking of the Frenchmen's nonsensical video, York felt something and looked back at a deep, dark path to the right that wasn't blocked by any obstacles.
Even though the roof was gone and sunlight was falling down, the darkness in this path seemed to swallow the light. In contrast, it became even darker, evoking fear and a floating sensation as if one's feet weren't on solid ground.
It was like the feeling an ordinary person gets standing on solid ground and looking down into a bottomless well at their feet.
The interior made him feel a hint of oppression.
"This should be it." York's face was calm as he turned toward the helicopter.
At this moment.
Hili had already gotten out voluntarily, while only Novice Sister Irene was still slowly unbuckling her seatbelt and moving toward where he had just been sitting.
Seeing this, York simply reached out and, under her startled gaze, lifted her down in one go, saying as he did so.
"If you see any more images, remember to tell me immediately."
Ailin found her footing, recalled the previous images and the scene of the priest's bombardment, and nodded seriously.
"I will, Father Yorkes."
"Good."
York smiled encouragingly, reached into the helicopter, pulled out all the backpacks from the rear cabin, dropped them on the ground, and began to gear up.
"Hili, come here!"
Hearing this, Hili, who had been observing, immediately hurried over.
York picked up one of the backpacks and tossed it to him.
"Equip yourself."
Hili caught it quickly, understandingly squatted down, and unzipped the backpack.
When the zipper was fully opened, even though the environment and atmosphere were off, Hili still surprisingly recited the data related to the firearms inside. He then picked up the SHAK-12 and checked it with a familiar click-clack.
No matter the time or what one faced, sufficient firepower was always a good thing to settle the mind.
Beside him, York also opened another backpack. When the contents were revealed, Hili couldn't help but glance over and let out a weird cry.
"An MK14 rotary grenade launcher?"
York didn't speak, letting Hili talk while he silently equipped himself. As he took out the grenade launcher, he also slung a bandolier containing thirty 40x51mm grenades over his shoulder.
Then he opened the last backpack, revealing the forty Holy Hand Grenades inside, across two bandoliers in total.
One grenade weighed about 280 grams, which meant one bandolier of grenades weighed about eleven pounds.
York then looked at the bewildered Ailin, who didn't know what to do, and handed one of the bandoliers to her.
"Yours."
Ailin was stunned. Looking at the grenade bandolier right in front of her, she became even more confused, but she didn't refuse, only whispering.
"Father Yorkes, I don't know how to use these."
"It's fine, as long as I know how!"
Regardless of her reaction or thoughts, York hung it directly on her shoulder. He slung the other grenade bandolier over his other shoulder and shouldered the backpack containing the Holy Bomb.
Finally, he moved around vigorously. Feeling no significant obstruction, York looked at the dark path to the right, picked up the MK14 rotary grenade launcher, and said calmly.
"Follow me! We're exorcising evil!"