Lloyd panted in exhaustion as he grabbed his left shoulder. The combined power of Dudley, Arios, Noel, and him managed to defeat the demonized Ernest. However, Lloyd knew this wasn't the end.

"AAAAAAHHH!"

The demonized Ernest roared. It raised his two arms, and in a flash, the situation two months ago came into Lloyd's mind.

"It's coming! Watch out!" Lloyd warned everyone for precisely a second before it slammed its arm to the ground. All of them safely jumped back and avoided the spikes coming from the ground. He might have caught off-guard in the Sun Fort, but not now!

Arios slashed the spiky hands coming out of the ground, followed by shots from Noel and Dudley to render them inert.

Its last resort failing, the demonized Ernest roared again.

"AHHHHHH!"

However, unlike before, this one wasn't full of rage. This one was... filled with pain and regret.

Lloyd's mind immediately recalled what happened to Joachim. "No!"

"I-Is he melting?!" Noel muttered as she observed what was happening in front of her. The demon's body was surrounded by red light, and it shrunk in size slowly but surely.

"This matches what was written in the report on Joachim's death!" Dudley mentioned. After he was defeated, Joachim made one last resort attack. When it failed, the demonized Joachim began to regain its mind. If the same pattern was here again...

"AAAAAAH..."

"NO... NOOOOOO!"

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE... I DON'T WANT TO DIEEEE!"

Lloyd grimaced each time Ernest shouted in pain.

"How pitiful," Arios closed his eyes.

Even so, Lloyd was reminded of his failure to bring Joachim to justice. If what happened to Joachim would happen to Ernest here, then soon Ernest's body would turn to dust as he ultimately died in agony.

Gripping his tonfas, Lloyd made up his mind.

"Lloyd?!" Noel shouted in surprise once Lloyd made his move to approach the demonized Ernest's body.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Dudley asked with a click of his tongue.

But Lloyd ignored all of them and paid his full attention to Ernest.

"Pull yourself together, Ernest! You can't give up here! Don't lose yourself to it!"

"AHHH... UGHHH?"

Even if Ernest continued thrashing around, Lloyd didn't waver.

"There's no way you ingested as much red Gnosis as Joachim! There's still hope! Don't give up now!" Lloyd continued encouraging the demonized Ernest to get a grip back on reality.

"AHHH... GAHHHH..."

"Lloyd..."

"Bannings, you..." Noel and Dudley's tone got softer once he probably realized what Lloyd was trying to do.

"WH-WHY?" It shouted in confusion

"AFTER ALL I'VE DONE TO YOU... WHY ARE YOU...?"

"That doesn't matter right now," Lloyd cut him off. "Yes, you're a criminal, but that's no reason to let you die down here. And besides, I refuse to put Elie and Speaker MacDowell through the pain of your death. So please, Fight through this!"

This was the only thing Lloyd could do. Joachim chose to die for his belief, but Ernest did not want to die. He had to do his best to support Ernest!

"ELIE... SPEAKER MACDOWELL... FORGIVE ME. HOW COULD I...?"

And yet, when the situation was almost resolved, the demon's body shrunk further into dust.

"GAH... AHHHHHHH!"

Lloyd gritted his teeth in frustration. Would the end be the same? Was there nothing he could do to salvage the situation and let Ernest be tried by the judicial system?

"Is there anything we can do?" Noel, sympathizing with Ernest's plight, also wanted to help.

"I'm not sure. This isn't exactly my area of expertise!" Dudley shouted in frustration.

"True..." Arios' calm demeanor spread to everyone. "But it would seem the real expert has arrived just in time."

"What?"

"'Oh, Aidios, who art in heaven. With thy light, guide home this lost lamb who was drawn to evil.'"

Suddenly, two white rings of light circled around Demon Ernest, halting its fade.

Lloyd turned his attention to the entrance, where a dignified voice was singing... no, it wasn't a song, but a verse from the holy book!

"Church scripture?" It seemed that Noel came to the same conclusion that he did.

The figure citing the verse came into their view. It was a spiky green-haired man in a priest's robe. In his hand was a crossbow, but there was no arrow. Lloyd relaxed a little, seeing that the newcomer probably used it to kill the demon on the way here instead of intending to hurt Ernest.

"Who are you?" Dudley asked the man but was ignored in favor of the demonized Ernest.

"Sorry. Kinda running short on time. Treatment first, introductions later. Mind if I take it from here?"

Startled at being addressed by the green-haired priest, Lloyd could only shake his head. "N-No, not at all."

The priest nodded before turning to Demon Ernest, still wailing in pain.

"Almost at your limit, huh? I'm impressed you've held out this long. This should help."

The priest then started chanting more verses from the holy scripture. His body started shining with light. "'Blue seal of mine, shining from the abyss.'"

Behind him, a white triangular pattern formed as the priest opened his eyes.

"'Clear the miasma and light this lost lamb's way home to salvation!'"

Everybody gasped in amazement as even brighter light engulfed Demon Ernest until they needed to close their eyes. When it was safe to open his eyes, Lloyd saw the unconscious body of Ernest lying down on the ground.

"Ernest!" Lloyd immediately came closer and checked his condition. Pulse was okay. Breathing was normal. Lloyd let out a sigh of relief. "He's okay."

"Phew... And not a second too soon," the priest also did the same. "He's gotta be out of commission for several days at the least."

Lloyd nodded. "Thank you. That's great to hear."

"What a relief..." Noel let out a smile.

"J-Just hold on here. Who exactly are you?! I can tell that you're a priest, but what are you doing in a place like this?" Dudley questioned the priest. Well, with how paranoid Dudley was even to fellow police like the SSS...

Lloyd could only laugh sheepishly when the priest turned to Arios. "What's the deal, Arios? You didn't bother to tell 'em about me?"

"You said you weren't sure if you would make it in time. Given your position, I decided to keep your involvement secret until necessary," Arios replied with a shake of his head.

"So that's how you played it," the priest smiled. "Man, you haven't changed a bit. Still the same thoughtful guy as ever!"

"I could say the same to you. Thank you. It was nice to have the backup."

Now that Lloyd took a detailed look at the priest, something tickled inside his mind. Green hair was not rare, but a green-haired priest...

When you have a distinct description, most likely, the first person you met with the same description is the person described.

Juna once told him that was part of why she suspected Harold to be Renne's father. Lloyd still couldn't understand why Juna said that, but... 'Green-haired priest' was distinct enough, he might as well try it.

"Excuse me, are you Father Kevin Graham?"

"Oh, you've heard of me?" Kevin turned to him and questioned back.

Lloyd smiled. "Estelle told me a lot about you."

"Oh, you must be Lloyd Bannings. Well, same to you. Estelle also told me a lot about you."

The two shook hands with smiles on their face. Kevin then turned towards Noel and Dudley.

"Well, I think I still need to introduce myself, anyway. My name is Kevin Graham, a member of the Septian Church's Gralsritter. Arios called me in to lend you guys a hand. Pleased to meet'cha," Kevin greeted with a playful salute.

"I see... A knight of the Septian Church's Congregation for the Sacraments," Dudley nodded to himself. It seemed that he had heard of the secret knight order of the church. Lloyd himself only knew about it when Estelle regaled her adventure through Liberl to fight against the secret society, Ouroboros.

"Gralsritter and...congregation for the what?" On the other hand, Noel didn't know anything about it.

Lloyd and Kevin spent the time on their way back to Altair talking with Kevin about his own perspective on the Orbal Shutdown Phenomenon, with Arios, Noel, and Dudley chiming in between. He thought that Juna would love to hear more about the Orbal Shutdown Phenomenon, especially from a new perspective.

The hours passed, and they were now ready to return to Crossbell. Lloyd and Noel would go by train, while Arios and Dudley would wait for the official CPD car to detain the two escapees appropriately.

"Alright. As agreed, we'll trust you to escort those two back, Dudley," Lloyd said once the car arrived.

"Right. We have it under control," Dudley nodded before turning to Kevin. "Father Kevin. Allow me to express my gratitude. But I would have preferred it if you had contacted us beforehand."

Even with a new acquaintance, Dudley was still Dudley, huh?

Kevin sighed. "You and me both, buddy. The thing is, us Gralsritter aren't exactly welcome in Crossbell."

"Why is that?" Noel asked in confusion.

"I take it that we have the head of Crossbell Cathedral, Archbishop Eralda, to thank for that," Dudley revealed.

"Oh, right. Sister Marble mentioned something before about the Gralsritter being experts in Thaumaturgy," Lloyd chimed in

"Yep. That's one of the things we do," Kevin nodded before expanding. "Long story short, stuff happened, and now the archbishop sorta hates our guts. He prohibited the Gralsritter from setting foot in Crossbell, like, ever again."

"Archbishop Eralda... I met him once. He didn't exactly strike me as friendly. Strict is more like it," now Noel grasped why Gralsritter was not well-known inside Crossbell.

Kevin chuckled.

"There's strict, and then there's Eralda. He's one of a kind, that man. Then again, given the stuff we do, I can't blame him. It's no wonder a saint like him would hate us."

Lloyd frowned. "Stuff you do?"

"I've heard cases involving artifact retrieval can turn ugly fast. Regardless... You really helped us out back there, Kevin. Thank you once again," Arios changed the topic.

"Haha. Didn't I owe you one, anyway, Arios? Truth be told, I wish I could tag along to see what's going on with this cult stuff. Well, I don't want to get on the archbishop's bad side, so gimme a ring if you learn anything new, m'kay?" Kevin winked at Arios.

"Sure. I'll contact you through the guild if I come across anything." Arios then turned towards him and Noel. "Lloyd. Sergeant Major Seeker. You two did excellent work."

"I dunno. I don't feel like I was particularly useful, if I'm being honest," Noel said sheepishly.

Lloyd frowned at Noel's self-depreciation. "Not true, Sergeant Major. You were a huge help."

He then sighed.

"If anything, I feel like I'm the one who let us down. I should have been able to follow through and make the arrest without relying on outside help."

Even the SSS arrest of Joachim was helped by Estelle, Joshua, and Juna as moral support.

"Don't be so conceited," Dudley scoffed. "You knew from the beginning that this was an arrest by the Special Support Section in name only. Regardless, would you really call what you did worthless?"

Before Lloyd could reply, Dudley continued his tirade. "Humility is well and good, but objective self-assessment and situational awareness are essential for a senior detective. You may have only been acting with the First Division for training, but you should still take that to heart."

He finished with a harrumph.

Lloyd smiled at hearing Dudley's rough encouragement. "Dudley..."

"Haha. He struggles with handing out compliments, doesn't he?"

"Just say he did a good job already."

Both Noel and Arios caught what Dudley was trying to do and teased him.

"Oh, shut up," Dudley denied to everyone's laughter. "Anyway, Bannings. With this, your First Division training is now complete. Take what you've learned here and use it as you move forward with the SSS."

"I will. Thanks for everything," Lloyd nodded, acknowledging his words.

The two then went away with the car, leaving Noel and Lloyd with Kevin in front of Altair station.

"Aren't you two a lucky pair? Even if they are in different professions, ain't it still nice to have two role models like that to look up to?" Kevin mentioned when the car was out of their sight.

"It absolutely is," Lloyd answered without embarrassment.

"Agreed. Chief Sergei as well," Noel joined him.

"So, now what? You two gonna take the train back to Crossbell?"

Lloyd nodded at Kevin's question. "Yeah. What about you, Father Kevin? Crossbell is only one station from here. We'd love to have you visit so we can give you the thanks you deserve."

Juna would probably be happy to meet another person involved with the Orbal Shutdown Phenomenon.

However, Kevin politely rejected the offer. "I appreciate the offer, but there's someone I have to meet after this. Truth be told, I wouldn't mind getting my grubby mitts on more info about the cult..."

Lloyd's mind recalled the sight he saw inside the Sun Fort.

"Is the church looking into it, too?" Noel queried, but Kevin shook his head.

"Not exactly. The last time we officially involved ourselves with them was during that incident four years ago," Kevin revealed.

"Wouldn't that be after the suppression operation carried out by the coalition of the Bracer Guild, police forces, and national armies?" Lloyd asked for further clarification. This was new info for him.

"Yes. The church had to bust down a lodge that had slipped through the cracks," Kevin said with a frown. He then leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Just between you and me... that lodge was said to be the worst. The rituals they were conducting there make the human experiments here in Altair look like child's play in comparison."

"Is that so?" Lloyd bit his lip. Even more despicable than what they had just seen... Unbelievable. And people like Joachim were involved with those sorts of things.

"Disgusting. They were the lowest of the low," Noel grumbled with abhor.

"Arios bailed me out back then. Since I still owed him big time, this worked out pretty well," Kevin continued.

"I'd say so. Thanks to you, we were able to take the fugitive alive. You have our gratitude. We couldn't have done it without you," Lloyd conveyed his gratitude again.

"Nah," Kevin shook his head with a smile. "It's just like Specs said. It's 'cause of you he survived."

Lloyd blinked.

"Because of me? How?" He asked back with confusion.

"When things were at their worst, your words got through to him. If not for that, I probably wouldn't have been able to do anything," Kevin revealed to him.

"You think so?"

"Yes, I'm sure of it!" Noel suddenly exclaimed from the side. "It was thanks to you that he could regain himself, Lloyd."

"Sergeant Major..."

"Haha... I guess Estelle was right about you and the Special Support Section. If we ever get the chance, I'd love to hear more about the cult case. It should be settled, but you never know what else could pop up."

Somehow, those words felt like a premonition. Especially because Juna had made lots of predictions. Red Constellation... The third-party involved with KeA... Part of the SSS's temporary disbandment was because they knew Juna's words might come true. The four of them tried their best to prepare themselves for the future.

"True," Lloyd said, unconsciously more serious than he intended. "I guess this is goodbye for now."

If Kevin heard the undertone, then he didn't show it in his face.

"It was nice meeting you!" Noel chimed in cheerily.

"Right back at ya!"

The two of them then entered the train station to go home.

Once Lloyd and Noel entered the train station, Kevin sat down on one of the benches.

"So that's Lloyd, huh? Interesting."

It didn't escape his notice how Lloyd changed his expression when he mentioned 'what else could pop up.' Did he know about what could happen in Crossbell?

"If he knew, the odds look like they'll be stacked against them this time."

"Kevin."

The man looked up when he heard a familiar voice calling him. It was Ries with a paper bag on her chest. Pleasant smells wafted through the air and reached his nose.

"Aren't you late? And what's with the bag?"

"That little stand over there sells Altair's specialty: roasted chestnuts. Fresh from the oven and exquisitely sweetened. They're delicious," Ries answered, popping one into her mouth.

Kevin smiled, seeing his squire enjoying herself. Never change, Ries.

"Speaking of... I just talked with the Crossbellans, who called me here. One of them might know the gravity of the situation that could occur. Are you going to be okay on your own? I could tag along, y'know?" Kevin spilled his worries. No matter what, Ries was his precious person.

However, Ries only shook her head. "No, thanks. Knowing your track record, our cover would be blown instantly."

Kevin felt that straight into his heart as Ries continued. "I'd rather Archbishop Eralda not burn me at the stake for sneaking you in."

"W-Would he really go that far?" Kevin sighed. Eralda was a sensitive matter to the Congregation for the Sacraments. "Then again, I don't think he'll ever forgive what happened with Owen from the Congregation for Divine Worship. Since that incident, he's had zero tolerance for the Congregation for the Sacraments."

Owen was a corrupt member of the Congregation for the Divine Worship whom he had to kill. In fact, he was his first target after acquiring the moniker of Heretic Hunter.

But it was things of the past.

"And that's exactly why it's best if I go undercover by myself. You know that, don't you, Kevin?"

"Ugh... Fine, I get it! Honestly, though. Why did the boss lady have to send you into the lion's den alone?" Kevin wondered aloud. Ein was an enigma, as usual.

"I think she made the right choice. Don't do anything reckless while I'm away. Do I make myself clear, Kevin? I don't want you causing trouble for Cesar and Marcia." Of course, Ries had to bring up the name of his other squires. There was nothing he could do but to agree.

"Fine, fine. Message received," Kevin exhaled before fussing over her again. "Be careful. Okay, Ries? There's no telling how bad things are about to get. If you really need some help without revealing yourself, try the Special Support Section or look for Juna Crawford. That's Estelle's message when I asked about Crossbell off-handedly. If they still can't help, call me. And don't forget about our trump card, too."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ries nodded. "Is the situation truly that bad?"

"Yeah... Crossbell is the kind of place where the sacred and profane are intertwined." The fact that Lloyd himself seemed to be on edge was telling enough. "And it looks like the snakes are startin' to slither around in the shadows again."

Kevin looked up to the sky.

"'The City of Sin.' It might not be long till Crossbell lives up to that name."

A/N: This is taken straight from Azure's prologue. Of course, with deviations. Lloyd recognized Kevin from Estelle's recount of OSP and is encouraged to interact with him by Juna's advice (which, by now, has turned into a convenient plot device to move things along for the SSS.) Estelle said green-haired priest and here is one, so Divergent Laws state that he must be Kevin Graham (not that he knew it's Divergent Laws in the first place.) Hmm? What do you mean there is another green-haired priest already making his move in Crossbell?

There is a contradictory info about Owen between the wiki and the game (which I took the side of.) In the wiki, specifically the Sky 3rd's summary, it said that Owen is from the Sacrament, but Owen's title is Bishop, which is a Divine Worship title according to the wiki. So I checked the game (because I don't know what keyword to use in trailsdb, one of the weakness of trailsdb's structure, I'd say) and it was clearly stated that Owen is from Divine Worship instead of Sacrament.

Also, aren't you too confident in Juna, Estelle?!