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Purgatory, Part Two

12/8/2020

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From the diary of one Sister Agatha, dated 3 March 2006

Today we began a week of work at St. Anthony RCC in Bessemer, Pennsylvania. Delightful country, I expect to find much peace walking the grounds. While we were doing our morning prayers, a priest came in with a woman, the latter waiting with obvious curiosity as the former took time in the confessional. She and her outfit looked foreign, and showed much more skin than I should expect from a parishioner. I attempted to greet her, but she was rather terse and I couldn’t help but notice she was armed with two swords. I kindly asked if she felt it appropriate to bring such things into a church, and she stated it was more appropriate than leaving them alone somewhere. She did quickly catch on that we were talking in hushed tones, but for the short time before she realized it she was certainly a distraction to the gathered faithful. She began to ask me about the candles and the icons, but before we got very far into that discussion the priest returned and thanked me for keeping her busy. The two of them went aside, where he prayed the rosary and she waited, somewhat impatiently, for him to finish. They talked briefly about getting back to work, and finding a path. I made a point to pray for her soul and the will of the priest once they left, and thanked Mother Mary for guiding a priest to someone so clearly in need of one.

​The rest of the day was spent in the vestry, where we completed some painting on behalf of the church. Sister Salome told a fascinating local legend about a Protestant church that had gone evil some decades ago. Sister Margaret said that it sounded unbelievable, on the grounds that any Protestant church should hardly have need to succumb to more evil than being Protestant, and we had a good laugh about that.

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Broken Tablets, Part One

5/4/2020

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Livejournal post scraped from archives
Dated 23:18:47 Pacific Time, 18 december 2004

I saw the damnedest thing today.

I was hiding out in that shack I've been working on, out on the beach there, when I saw two people just come walking up out of the water! One was a man, wearing a priest robe thing, with like the white patch on the collar and stuff, and he spoke in a German accent. The other was a woman, looked and sounded Indian, like India Indian not like the tribe nearby, right, and she had swords. And that was already weird enough, since I never saw them go into the water and it's gotta be freezing in there right now, which I thought was why the priest looked so mad but then he started talking about how they could have just taken a plane and she was like "you said we couldn't take a plane" and he was like "I said we couldn't take a plane until we got you some identification" as if they just, , like, swam here from somewhere? That would require a fucking plane?

Anyway, so as they were walking they were talking about Henry and Tad Zeeo and some object they found? And how they needed to meet them? And I stayed hidden, you know, just in case, but I swear you guys, she stopped at one point and looked right at me and reached for her sword, and he was like "we don't have time," and they just moved on.

So anyway I think I'm gonna stay clear of that beach for a little while.

First comment
dated 23:21:04 pacific time, 18 december 2004

Oh yeah Kyle, should we be taking this as seriously as that sharkman you saw last year?

reply to first comment
​dated 23:22:38 pacific time, 18 december 2004

hahaha oh man, how much did he make us smoke before telling us that one?

post deleted at 23:25:09 pacific time, 18 december 2004

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Legion Epilogue

3/16/2020

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Excerpt from Debriefing meeting with Fr. Benedict de Monte, 16 October 1997. Translated from German.

C. Ratz: There is also the matter of the late bishop. Available evidence suggests he was burned to death, in similar fashion as the captured priest. I suppose the best explanation is that this Barzai got to him before we could.
Fr. de Monte: It does appear that way. There was a great deal of rage directed at him from members of the cult. It seems they believe he was facilitating a number of indiscretions, which the Barzai used in his recruitment methods.
C. Ratz: Hmm. I must admit we had been looking into those accusations a bit, ourselves. They do not appear entirely unfounded.
Fr. de Monte: I do not assume this is a matter where I should push for more information.
C. Ratz: Correct. Finally, there is this matter of a...therapy organization?
Fr. de Monte: Dr. Harris is a skilled psychiatrist, and one who is aware of the forces arrayed against us. She seeks to help the victims of the cult and other supernatural threats, and I felt this goal was both noble and in line with our own purposes. I did not, however, devote any more funding than I already had under my control.
C. Ratz: We will have to consider this at greater length, but I see no reason we could not help her, at least a little. I have also approved your request to focus on research and take some initiative with future missions based on the information you find. Do you have any further questions or information for me?
Fr. de Monte: No, sir, it's all in my report.
C. Ratz: Very well. But before you go, I would like to commend you on your work.
Fr. de Monte: In sparing their lives?
C. Ratz: It shows you have matured during your time away, and I appreciate it. I also meant something else.
Fr. de Monte: Sir?
C. Ratz: There were two cups of coffee in the bishop's office, de Monte. I was given a full description of the scene, and a copy of your intended schedule.
Fr. de Monte: Sir, I-
C. Ratz: I sent you there to protect the flock. Thank you for your hard work in this matter.
Fr. de Monte: Of course.
C. Ratz:​ Dismissed.
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Legion, Part One

8/26/2019

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15 August 1997

​"Father Genovese and I tracked down the cult, like we were asked. We thought we had been careful, but somehow, they...I don't know how they found us, but as we entered the building, I just remember everything going black.

I woke up with a splitting headache and quickly realized I was bound. We were in a damp basement, poorly lit, and Genovese was only barely starting to wake up. He looked...God, he looked terrible. Cuts and bruises, a black eye, his clothes were torn. I don't know what happened to him. I just hope he took some of them down before they got him.

Before I could ask him what he knew, a young man stepped into the light. He had a strange blotch, a large discolored area, on the left side of his face. And his eyes...they were slit, like a snake's. The room felt colder and darker with him in it, and I felt myself shudder as he drew close.

He called himself the Barzai. He seemed to think he had already encountered the Church, once before, and was amused that we were still interested in him. But he promised me it didn't matter. I tried demanding to know what was going on, where we were, what his plans were, but he had no interest in explaining much to me.

'You're going to be a message,' he finally explained. 'I was born in fire your precious church brought to me,' he said, with a sneer. He sounded disgusted at the very thought of us, Cardinal. It was...it was sinister, hateful. He told me, 'You will be a message. You will go to your church, so blind to the real needs of this world, to the bondage they endure and spread. You will show them what they are, and you will tell them their end.' I asked what he meant, but he just turned and looked at Genovese, who was trying to look at him. I could tell he could barely open his eyes.

This Barzai, he just...he just waved his hand, he just looked at Genovese and waved his hand and suddenly Genovese was on fire. The screams. Oh God, the screaming, the sound of him burning, I...


'The last thing you ever see,' he said, 'will be the last thing your church ever knows.' Then he turned to the darkness, and I cried out, I don't know what I thought it would do, but I tried desperately to offer Genovese some kind of comfort, some kind of help, but he wasn't...

'Take his eyes,' he said, and I turned and saw two men emerge with knives."


At this point, witness breaks down sobbing. Cardinal decided he had enough and ended interview.

I set the transcript down and looked across the desk at the Cardinal. His face betrayed nothing.

"It's the kid. I saw this kid, in North Carolina," I said.

"I remember your report, de Monte."

"This...this priest. Is he--"

"Short of a miracle, he will never see again. I don't know whether or not he will ever be mentally prepared to return to duty, but if so, it will be some time." He steepled his fingers on the desk and leaned forward. "Look, Benedict. After what you did, burning down that island, we had a lot of backpedaling and a lot of work to do to keep it from becoming an incident. We recognized that your report showed them to be a greater concern than we expected, but we thought we could take a more...nuanced approach."

"You were wrong."

"Let's not get prideful, Father." I nodded.

"Sorry."

"But you're right. Whatever this cult is, it's too much of a risk to send another mission like this one." He tapped the folder from which he had pulled the transcript. "It is now officially your duty to find, assess, and eliminate this threat." He slid the folder over to me. "I expect you to return, and I expect you to bring me results. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," I said, taking the folder and standing. He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

​"Godspeed."
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The Fall, Part Four

4/29/2019

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1 july 1989

​RECORDS TAKEN FROM THE DEBRIEFING OF FATHER BENEDICT DE MONTE AT THE CLOSE OF HIS INITIAL INVESTIGATION IN NORTH AMERICA

A yellowed page bearing a circular stain and the second torn in half. The first reads as follows. C. Ratz: This was the Frozen Pines Inn, yes? The site of the first incident? Fr. de Monte: It was. C. Ratz: Please explain. Fr. de Monte: We underestimated their resources. They were more aware of me than I had realized, and were able to track me to the hotel. I was awakened at three o'clock by the sense of someone in my room. I opened my eyes in time to see a figure lifting an axe to bring down on my head. I dove to the side and the lack of resistance when the axe met the mattress and fell to the floor threw their balance off and gave me an opening. I could see they had a host of spiritual forces working on their soul, so I dodged their flailing arm to get behind them, grab their forehead and ball my fist against their lower back, and began the rite. C. Ratz: When you say you could see the spirits, that was not something we taught you, was it? Fr. de Monte: No, sir. That was one of my...gifts. C. Ratz: I have warned you to be careful who hears about these. Fr. de Monte: I cannot well turn it off, and is anyone likely to read this record? C. Ratz: This case has grown more complicated. But please, continue. Page 6.
Another yellowed page that reads as follows. Fr. de Monte: Of course, Father. The spirits oppressing that soul began to fall away, but the final few held tight, and I soon found myself holding the soul of a young man, filled with so much hate.  I offered him a chance at repentance, reminded him that the things he had chosen to serve were trying to drag his soul to Hell with them, from which neither he nor they would return. He...refused, vehemently. Together, they went into the pit, and then his body fell. Then the door opened. Here the page is torn off, leaving most words unrecognizable except
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The Fall, Part Three

4/22/2019

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1 July 1989

Records Taken From The Debriefing Of Father Benedict De Monte At The Close Of His Initial Investigation In North America

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The Fall, Part Two

4/15/2019

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1 July 1989

Records taken from the debriefing of Father Benedict de Monte at the close of his initial investigation in North America

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Charcoal sketch
Facsimile of image from section 2A: the chamber door.
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Facsimile of image from section 3A: the altar.
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The Fall, Part One

4/8/2019

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28 June 1989

transcript of phone call between Father Benedict de Monte and an unknown receiver in Italy. Translated from Latin.

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    Picture
    Image courtesy of Picrew by Makowwka.

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    Evidence compiled for use during the trial of Father Benedict de Monte.

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  • Home
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