Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 183 - 182: Even If We Go Down to Hell

Chapter 183: Chapter 182: Even If We Go Down to Hell

Passing through the door behind the altar, the Priest nodded at the choir members he encountered and even exchanged a few friendly words with them, smiling from time to time, until he led Brian and Yang Yi out of the church, through the graveyard behind it, and onto a patch of grass.

The Priest finally came to a stop, and then he whirled around abruptly.

At the moment the Priest turned, the kindly, benevolent Priest was gone, replaced by one whose face was now etched with cold frostiness.

With a grave expression, the Priest took off his black clerical robe and untied the white Roman collar around his neck, neatly placing the robe on a bench next to him.

Having done all this, the Priest looked up to the sky and took a deep breath, then he said in a deep voice, "The church is a holy place, you!"

Suddenly, the Priest exploded with rage, pointing at Brian and bellowing, "You son of a bitch! How dare you come here, to my church! You damn traitor, Judas! You’re supposed to suffer in hell forever without reprieve, fuck you! You bitch-faced bastard, you still dare to smile at me! I should kill you, you useless fuck..."

A string of profanities poured out of the Priest’s mouth, and Brian stood still, listening solemnly as the Priest cursed him.

After finishing his tirade and having to take a deep breath, the Priest suddenly lunged at Brian.

After the swearing came the beating.

The Priest’s fist made contact with Brian’s face, and Brian showed no intention of fighting back. The Priest then landed another punch in Brian’s stomach, followed by a vicious kick that sent Brian flying.

"No!"

Yang Yi stretched out his hand and shouted, but he immediately remembered what Brian had said to him over breakfast and hesitantly withdrew his hand.

Brian fell to the ground. Using his hands to prop himself up, he struggled to stand, just as the Priest moved forward and kicked him in the face.

Brian rolled on the ground a couple of times, then lay there, his hands propping up his shaking head, as he struggled slowly to his feet.

When the Priest was about to kick him in the stomach again, Brian finally shouted, "Wait!"

The Priest halted his kick, but his chest was heaving violently, seething with rage.

"Wait, wait..."

Brian managed to stand up straight. Gasping for air, he turned and spat blood to the side, then he reached for his waist, and swiftly pulled out a shiny handgun.

With the gun in hand, panting and looking at the Priest, Brian touched his chest, then let out a breath and said, "Stop hitting, use this."

Turning the gun around, Brian offered the handle to the Priest and said while catching his breath, "Let’s end this, use this!"

The Priest grabbed the handgun in one swift motion, then with gritted teeth, he racked the slide with a click and aimed the gun at Brian’s head.

The Priest looked like he really meant to shoot.

"Die!"

The Priest did shoot, repeatedly pulling the trigger.

Yang Yi was terrified out of his wits, screaming, "Don’t!"

The Priest’s face twisted in ferocity as he continued to shoot, with Brian standing right in front of him, not moving an inch.

After emptying the seven bullets in the magazine, the bullets whizzed past Brian, but he remained standing there, his expression unchanged.

Even as the smoking gun remained pointed at Brian, it was clear that Brian was unharmed.

Still gasping for breath, the Priest suddenly heard a low voice: "I’m sorry."

With a violent motion, the Priest smashed the gun against Brian’s chest and then pointed at him, yelling, "Get lost!"

Brian nodded, then sighed and said softly to the Priest, "I’m sorry, take care."

As Brian turned to leave, people who had heard the gunshots came running over and stood at a distance, peering in their direction.

The Priest called out loudly, "It’s okay, I was testing the gun. Sorry for scaring you. Don’t come over, give me some space, thank you."

While speaking, the Priest struggled to mask his emotions. Though the people who came to check were puzzled, they withdrew anyway.

After the Priest sent the people away, Brian gestured with his head to Yang Yi, said nothing, and walked away with his head down toward the edge of the lawn.

"Stop right there!"

The Priest looked even angrier as he snapped, "You just show up like this and then leave like this?"

Brian turned around and whispered to the Priest, "Paul, I came to say I’m sorry. I’ve been living in hell all these years. If you kill me, I won’t be content, but I will be relieved."

The Priest thundered, "What have you done? Whether you’re alive or dead, every day, every minute, every second for you is hell! That’s what you deserve, God won’t forgive you either. You’re just out of prison, but you’ll never be able to leave hell, never! Never!"

Brian nodded, saying, "I know."

After finishing his sentence lightly, Brian continued to walk forward with his head down.

The Priest’s expression was strange, he seemed very confused, very agitated, and it looked like he was very sad.

Very, very sad.

Yang Yi didn’t know what to make of this, but after hesitating for a moment, he finally quickened his pace to catch up with Brian.

But after a few steps, Brian stopped again and then half-turned to look at the Priest.

"Paul."

The Priest glanced at Brian and asked in a low voice, "What now?"

"I wasn’t going to mention it, but suddenly I feel it’s better to ask you. I’m going to do something. Since you don’t want to kill me, would you be willing to help me?"

The Priest took a long breath, then closed his eyes, and said with a quivering voice, "In life and in death, even to hell... "

"Yes, even to hell."

The Priest opened his eyes and then looking at Brian, he said, "I thought I’d never see you again. I hate you, hate you so much I can’t bear to think about you, because you were the person I respected most. Boss, I don’t understand, why did you do it? Why?"

Brian was silent for a moment before he responded in a low voice, "Love and deception."

The Priest’s voice trembled, "You destroyed yourself and ruined us. Boss, you abandoned us! It was you who abandoned us, the ones who said we’d go to hell together!"

Brian shook his head, "I betrayed my country, but I didn’t abandon you. I know what I’ve done, and I don’t expect your forgiveness. I just have a score to settle, and then, I want to know if you’ll join me."

The Priest took another long breath, then looked at Brian and said in a deep voice, "How many times did you save me?"

"I can’t remember. Saving each other is inevitable; how could anyone keep that straight?"

"Four times, it was four times."

The Priest held up four fingers, then said with a look of sorrow, "I’ve thought countless times about what I’d do if I saw you again. Whether to blow your brains out with one shot or to rescue you from prison without hesitation. My decision was the former, but I can’t bring myself to blow your brains out. I really thought I could do it."

Brian was silent for a moment, then he said softly, "I’m sorry."

The Priest took a light breath with a wry smile and then, in an utterly resigned tone, said to Brian, "Since I can’t send you to hell personally, I might as well follow you to hell. You’re right, we have a score to settle with someone, not for you, but also for myself. So, I’ll go with you, and whoever put us through hell, we’ll send them to hell."

Yang Yi, who had been a bystander the whole time, almost bit his tongue. This twist was too abrupt, and it was a bit too melodramatic.

They were about to fight and kill each other just a moment ago, so how come, in the blink of an eye, the Priest who seemed to hate Brian enough to want him dead was now willing to go with him?

Just a few words, and this Priest is ready to put aside past grievances and fight alongside Brian?

What’s going on?

It doesn’t make sense, it’s illogical.

Just then, Brian approached the Priest, and then he opened his arms.

They embraced each other.

The two men hugged.

Although the hug was brief.

Patting heavily on the Priest’s shoulder, Brian said in a grave tone, "Thank you for not giving up on me."

The Priest gave a bitter smile and said, "I don’t owe this country anything. This country owes me a lot, and you, Boss, I owe you four lives. I paid you back once when you were a traitor, and again for the misery you caused me. Now, I still owe you two lives."