At the end of St. Matthew's Church, Merlin leaned against a chair and listened to the old priest's story.

He was originally just to find peace of mind before the decisive battle.

But after arguing with Father Paul, Merlin gained some gains.

Of course, it was just a pure spiritual gain, and it did not have much substantial help to the war he was about to start.

But Merlin decided to sit for a while.

He felt that at this time, it seemed like there was no harm in chatting with a wise old man.

Some life experiences, some chattering and some thought remission will always be beneficial to a tired soul.

"You must have heard old guys like me talk a lot about Pearl Harbor."

Father Paul put his hands on his legs and said to Merlin:

“All kinds of stories…”

"Yes, I've heard it."

At this moment, Merlin remembered Steve Rogers, who was still missing.

While he was chatting with the captain, the young old man liked to tell stories from World War II.

Moreover, Old Stan also likes to say these, and these veterans all like to tell stories about war.

Merlin smiled and said:

"And it's a story told by some veterans from the first perspective."

"Actually, it's all bragging..."

Paul, an old priest who also experienced that era, waved his hand indifferently, and said:

"What we are now acting is like after hearing about Pearl Harbor, we all jumped up at that moment, rolled up our sleeves, and angrily planned to settle the accounts with the Axis."

“But what about it actually?”

The priest shook his head, a trace of memories flashed in his eyes, and he whispered:

"Oh, in the words of the young people today, we were scared, really."

"Rumors are flying everywhere. There was no decent army in this country at that time. We lay on the bed and covered our heads with a sheet, thinking that the next second would be the end of the world."

"The people at that time were like you, Merlin."

The priest patted his heart and said:

"At that time, I was like you, and my heart was filled with fear of uncertain future."

"Uh, it's actually different."

Merlin frowned and explained:

"What do you think about my situation... After all, it's related to the whole world, with more than 7 billion people. If I choose the wrong one, you will be done..."

"But, okay, actually, it's the same."

"Fear is fear, it's no different."

Merlin snapped his fingers and looked at the priest beside him and said:

"And what, what did you do?"

"And then, we were so anxious that we heard President Roosevelt's speech on the radio."

The priest breathed a sigh of relief, he said:

"It was a national speech, his voice was firm and powerful, like a gust of wind, taking away our fear and turning it into the enthusiasm of fighting."

"It was him who helped us win that war, really, not those planes, tanks or warships... it was a leader who helped us win it."

Father Paul looked at Merlin, and the old man said seriously:

"Whether you call it anger or strength, you must understand that after you overcome fear, it will be used by you. The power that bursts out from the heart is very powerful, and it can overturn the whole world for you."

"The only way to overcome fear is to face it."

"Um."

Merlin nodded and said:

"A friend of mine always likes to say these things, and he told me that strength is always after fear..."

"No, no!"

Father Paul shook his head and said to Merlin:

"Strength is one thing, Merlin, but I'm not about strength, but the leader."

"I will also pay attention to the superheroes who have been growing like mushrooms after a rain over the years, but I don't like them."

The priest frowned and said to Merlin:

"I think they are like a group of kids, just like what you said just now, they care a lot about what others think of them. Maybe I can't keep up with the times, maybe I have too old ideas."

"But Merlin, in my opinion, is not enough to be a hero to run fast or have strong strength."

The priest said:

"You have to have the ability to become the light that dispels fear when the darkness envelops the world, like a lighthouse that allows people in the dark to see the direction they are moving forward... Have you ever heard of Captain America?"

"Believe it or not..."

The priest’s question made Merlin laugh, and he said to the priest:

"I'm very familiar with him."

"Really?"

The priest looked at Merlin in surprise and said:

"Okay, it seems that I still underestimate you. In short, the reason why Captain America became a household name in that era was not because of his strength..."

"Can he fight against the entire Nacui alone? He can't do it."

"But people worship him crazily, because when everyone will be afraid, he will be the first to rush into the battlefield, and courage and courage will run wildly behind him."

"He is the light we need!"

The priest smiled and said to Merlin:

"You say you always feel guilty, or in your words, sin, which, in my opinion, may mean that you still have unfinished missions waiting for you to complete."

"If you really face such a difficult choice, Merlin, then now is the time for you to be that beam of light..."

"Believe in yourself, you can become light!"

"Uh, this sentence sounds weird."

Merlin rubbed his forehead and said to Father Paul:

"The last question, you also saw the wanted order, right? Father, those people said I was a bad guy, they said I cruelly killed a good guy, I don't want to deceive you, I did kill him."

Merlin said:

"But not because I'm cruel, but because he deserves to die!"

"Do you believe me?"

"I believe it."

The priest smiled gently, he stood up and patted Merlin on the shoulder, and he said:

"Mr. Gideon has also donated money to the church. Although I have never seen him, I have heard of some of his actions. He is of high status and power. Everyone will say good things about him. But if I have to choose between you and him, I believe it..."

"Then I choose to believe in you."

The priest said:

"It's not just because you're a friend, Merlin."

"It's more because I have seen you helping those children in the orphanage countless times...even if you just look at them from a distance, the tenderness in your eyes cannot deceive people."

"A person who is so gentle to children cannot be a bad person..."

"As for what they say to you, I can answer you like this."

Father Paul coughed lightly, and he said to Merlin like a hymn:

"We cannot stop eating, we cannot stop wearing clothes, we also have our own thoughts and worries."

"We occasionally lose our temper, and even do things that ordinary people think are bad. When they see this, they will say, we are not heroes..."

The priest smiled and he continued:

"Let me quote Hegel's words..."

"There is no hero in the eyes of the slave!"

"But that's not a hero, not a hero, just because a slave is just a slave."

"Ba,ba,ba"

Merlin, sitting on the chair, reached out and patted his palms, as if cheering for the priest.

He also stood up, patted his arm, and he said to the priest:

"When the warrior died, the first thing the flies discovered was his shortcomings and scars."

"They buzzing names, they think they are proud, and they think they are more heroic than the dead warriors. Because they have no scars, no scars, no stains or blood."

Merlin whispered a poem that suddenly appeared in his mind.

It was like responding to the priest's encouragement for him.

He said:

"But the warriors are dead and no longer come to wave them away, so the flies scream more happily and more self-righteous and immortal."

"Indeed, no one has discovered the shortcomings of flies..."

"However, warriors with shortcomings are warriors after all, and perfect flies are just flies after all..." (ps1)

Merlin smiled, and he looked at the priest in front of him, and he said:

"Thank you, Paul."

"When I stepped into this church, I was full of complaints, hatred and myths, but now I can finally step onto the battlefield in peace."

"Oh, by the way, there's one last thing."

Merlin seemed to remember something, and he untied a string of exquisite bracelets from his wrist and handed them to the priest.

The latter was taken in his hand and found that the bracelet was exquisite and unique.

It was a chain like crystal, with a cross made of red crystal in the bracelet.

It is different from the cross placed in the church, the thing looks like a miniature shrinkage of a weapon.

This thing just looks like a work of art.

Merlin said to the priest:

"This is something that one of my very important friends stores here. I can't just take it to the battlefield, so I'll store it here with you. Please help me keep it."

"Yes, yes."

The priest put away the bracelet and said to Merlin:

"I'll wait for you to come back to pick it up."

"Maybe you'll be disappointed."

Merlin said frankly:

"Maybe I will never be able to come back, but it doesn't matter, there will always be someone to get it."

Merlin glanced at the front of the church, and Sister Maggie, who had originally prayed in front of the statue, had quietly left at some point.

Merlin shook his head, and he turned around and walked out of the church gate.

Just after he took a few steps, Father Paul suddenly called him.

“Merlin…”

"Um?"

Merlin turned around and looked at the priest in surprise.

The priest seemed to want to ask some questions, but when the words came to his mouth, his expression changed a few times, but he still didn't ask.

He smiled and said to Merlin:

"I wish you all the best, and I will pray for you in the church."

"Yeah, thank you."

Merlin walked forward a few steps, and he stopped again, then turned around and said to the priest:

"I probably guess what you want to ask, Father."

He pointed to the sky and said:

"Yes, they all exist, including the one you believe in..."

"And they probably won't be assholes as the gods I've met, they're not quite the same as those guys."

"Maybe they will treat the world more gentle and kindly."

A sly smile appeared on Merlin's face and he said to Father Paul:

"Don't worry, he won't punish you for going to Josie's bar every week to play billiards and bets with others..."

"If he had a little sensibility, he would know that you are the best and best in the world... Well, shepherd, that's what you call yourself, right?"

"Don't say these things in the church!"

The priest scolded him with some dissatisfaction:

"Although you have no faith, you should at least be humble..."

"Speaking of this, do you confirm that you don't need to baptize you? The Lord really exists, maybe..."

"No, Father."

Merlin walked over the priest and looked at the icon in front of the church, and said:

"I want to believe him, at this moment..."

"But unfortunately, he couldn't help."

After saying that, Merlin waved to the priest and took a step forward.

In the priest's gaze, Merlin's figure swirled in the twisted light and disappeared in the next moment.

This magical scene made the priest subconsciously make a cross on his chest.

He did realize Merlin's specialness a long time ago, but he never pointed out this. He actually didn't care who Merlin was and what kind of power he had.

As long as you can confirm that Merlin is a kind person, that's enough.

Father Paul walked to the statue with the scriptures in his arms. He lowered his head, recited the scriptures silently, and began to pray.

After several minutes, the priest opened his eyes and ended with Amen as the prayer, and he picked up from his hand the red crystal cross that Merlin had placed there.

I don’t know if it’s an illusion. Under the lights of the church, Father Paul always felt that there were some fine marks on the surface of the crystal cross.

It's like someone uses a very clever technique to leave some special symbols on the surface of this work of art.

But the priest didn't care about these details.

He put away the crystal cross, then returned to the icon and began to pray again.

This time, he was praying for Merlin.

He still doesn't know what Merlin is going to do, but he can guess.

That should be very dangerous, something that 99% of people in this world will not do.

Whenever a disaster occurs, there will always be someone’s first thought, “I should stand up.”

well...

May this friend come back safely.

ps1:

This poem was written by Mr. Lu Xun.

That's right, it's the Mr. Lu Xun who said, "If you don't know who said this sentence, then you can say it was me."
Chapter completed!