Warrior Nun

Yes!

Ava?

Goddamn it.

The goddamn shower just tried to kill me.

What? I suppose you enjoy getting blasted by, like,

a thousand jets of ice-cold water?

Well, I don't know what magical land you're from

where the showers are the perfect temperature from go,

but, um, you gotta give this one a minute to heat up.

He's into me.

He busted in like he was gonna slay a dragon to save me.

Let me set it up for you.

And he saved me from drowning.

- And from that demon I hallucinated. -

Oh, goddamn it.

There's a pattern here, and it's Ava being pathetic.

So, it has ambient lighting, mood music, steam therapy.

He's not into me. He's just being nice.

Yeah.

Basically, everything you never knew you needed in a shower.

I should tell him I can walk through walls.

So what if I can't swim or use a shower?

I rose from the fucking dead.

Why is this so complicated?

Oh, fuck. That was out loud.

It's cool. I mean, You can roll with my preset if you want.

Roll with his presets?

Wait, is he flirting with me?

But I gotta warn you. It's intense.

Oh, definitely flirting.

Your body mod is badass. Where'd you have it done?

My body what?

The scar on your back?

Oh. That was from a car accident.

I probably have a bunch of scars from it.

Can we just leave it at that?

Yeah, of course.

Sorry. I thought... It's just that it's a perfect circle, so...

Wait. What? That's just bizarre.

So, uh, breakfast?

- Yeah, sure. - Yeah? Nice. Cool. Um...

Why did...

Now they knew we were coming.

Why else would there be mercenaries waiting for us?

That has never happened before.

What's changed?

It's no wonder we couldn't single her out.

The chiringuitos were packed with girls just like her last night.

She'll be easier to spot during the day.

We need to keep canvassing.

We need more eyes.

I'll check in with the parishes.

Someone must have seen her.

We'll find her.

She's out there somewhere.

So are the mercs that killed Shannon.

And every second you spend on that dead girl

is another second that they walk free.

Tell me you were able to piece the shrapnel back together.

The heat from the blast warped the fragments beyond my ability.

So you were off chasing conspiracy theories

instead of helping the rest of us find the Halo?

You just can't stop drooling over that thing, can you?

You've been clamoring for the Halo your whole life,

you can wait a little longer.

Sure, why not?

It's not like the fate of the world hangs on it. Oh, wait...

You're just pissed 'cause you were screwed out of your legacy.

Could we please not use that language in church?

Legacy?

Let's focus on the crisis at hand, please.

You're right, Mary.

I am here because my family has contributed six Halo-Bearers

over three centuries.

But I earned my spot as Next in Line.

I train longer and harder than anyone else,

which you'd know if you ever bothered to show up for combat skills.

Baby girl, I have two shotguns.

When you have two shotguns, you don't need combat skills.

Until we get the Halo back, the entire Order is vulnerable.

Maybe try caring about something other than yourself.

Enough.

That was unfair.

Was it, though?

She doesn't belong here.

She never did.

Special treatment again.

Vows aren't the only way to express dedication.

She's no less committed to the Order than you are.

She should be committed.

Mary, I know you're suffering.

We all are.

I promise, as soon as the Halo is secured,

we'll give the altercation at the docks due diligence.

It wasn't just an altercation, Father.

It was an ambush.

No one packs custom armor-piercing rounds like this for basic security work.

They knew we were coming.

They were ready.

And if we don't figure out who hired them

- and neutralize them, we're gonna have... -

We need to go.

Now.

Whoever did this is gonna pay.

Whoever did this wasn't human.

Demons can't cut off heads or slice into people.

Wraith demons can't.

But I think this may have been a Tarask.

From the ancient texts?

Yes.

Unlike the wraith demons,

a Tarask can take corporeal form in our world,

which means it can do physical damage.

Fatal damage.

A higher-order demon hasn't been seen in over a century.

The Halo must have been exposed for too long.

Or it senses the weakness of the Bearer.

What does it want?

To claim the Halo for Hell.

And now that it's caught the scent, it won't stop searching,

killing anyone in its way.

All the more reason the Halo needs to be borne by someone who's ready.

I'll pull every manuscript that references the Tarask.

See what strategies have worked in the past.

Go.

Do what you need to do for Shannon.

We have to find Ava before the Tarask does.

It's been lost from the Church...

since the Third Crusade.

I suspected we'd find it here.

Boy, it must be... almost six kilos.

Our biggest find to date, Kristian.

No question.

Whoever you're paying off...

worth every penny.

According to accounts from 1532 and 1749,

Tarasks can only appear in our mortal realm in short bursts.

They seem to be tethered to Hell.

- That's good news. - You'd think.

But the Tarask inevitably tracks down the Halo-Bearer despite that limitation.

Any luck finding a way to slay it?

Every entry I can find on the subject arrives at the same conclusion.

Only the combination of Halo-Bearer and Divinium Sword can destroy it.

Father?

If the Tarask gets the Halo...

and takes it to Hell...

what will happen?

Hell will rise up.

Heaven will fall.

Not a good day for humanity.

- Your Eminence. - Sister.

Father Vincent.

When I left word with your office, I didn't realize you were in the area.

I'm in town on other business, fortunately.

For a thousand years,

the Halo remained in the safety of this Order.

How did our greatest weapon against evil end up in a non-believer?

Our surgeon made the best of an impossible situation.

There's no precedent for something like this.

No contingency plan.

An oversight we need to address.

However, the Halo is our sole focus until it's back in the fold.

Of course. I'm working on it.

I expected nothing less.

Let me know how I can help.

I take it Mother Superion filled you in on the ambush at the dock...

and Sister Shannon.

Yes.

It would appear someone is taking an interest in Divinium.

The timing is unfortunate.

Something I should know?

Perhaps when your plate isn't so full.

Sister Lilith is Next in Line.

Is she prepared?

- Fully. - Good.

Her family has supported the Church steadfastly since the First Crusade.

Her leadership conveys a foundation of duty and dependability,

something the Order is in acute need of today.

Keep me updated on your progress, and I will keep the powers that be

from feeling like they need to take matters out of your hands.

Thank you.

Father Vincent...

if Sister Lilith doesn't have the Halo come morning,

I'm not sure how long I'll be able to cover for you.