SrCuervo
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🕑 Added 2025-08-18 09:10:34 +0000 UTCA simple priest... Or so I thought
Chapter 23 – Dustin’s Request for Help
Dustin’s tone was a little excited.
Jonathan frowned and listened for a long while before he could understand what the other side was saying.
“Do you mean that your good friend Will is missing?”
On the other end of the phone, Dustin, who had called the number from his father’s friend, said: “Yes! He must have been captured by the Demogorgon!”
But then another boy’s voice was heard nearby. “Dustin, that’s a monster in the game. It doesn’t exist in reality.”
“Lucas, did you forget? We were playing Dungeons & Dragons that night before Will disappeared, we all called it that because of the similarities.”
“That makes sense.”
Jonathan felt a little overwhelmed after hearing this and couldn’t help glancing at Father Doug beside him, who was driving back home.
Although he had an assistant, he couldn’t say he was of much help since he was just a beginner in this dark world full of deadly traps.
“Yes, wait a moment, only one of you should talk, choose one from the group on the call, alright?” Jonathan interrupted the discussion the children were having on the other end of the line.
Finally, a boy named Mike seemed to take the lead.
“Hello, Mr. Priest. I’m a good friend of Dustin. And the thing is… when we gathered at my house and played the game called Dungeons & Dragons, my mother reminded my friends that they had to go home.”
“All my friends left together. I stayed home that night and didn’t go with them to race. Lucas split off first, then Dustin and Will decided to race each other on the way home.”
“According to Dustin later, in order to win the game that night, Will decided to take a shortcut through a dense forest. But the next day, Will’s mother said he hadn’t come home that night.”
Jonathan listened in silence, thinking about what he should do.
From what he learned from Mike, Will wasn’t at the homes of the other friends. Then the three friends concluded that Will might really be missing.
But the place where they lived, the small town of Hawkins, was a remote and quiet place.
In town, everyone knew each other, so the crime rate was low. The biggest case they might encounter would be a lost cat or dog.
So the adults didn’t pay much attention, thinking Will must have gone somewhere to play and would probably show up.
Only three friends and Will’s family were desperately searching for him.
Dustin even believed his friend had been captured by the Demogorgon. And it turned out he knew a professional who could deal with that kind of monster: Jonathan Belmont.
“How did you know my number?”
“I found it by chance in my father’s documents. He said this number belonged to one of the associates who could solve strange things that others couldn’t.”
Jonathan realized something: his recently activated work number had been used by a group of children who had no idea what Dustin’s father was involved in.
“You really can help us, right?”
“My friends were skeptical. In their understanding, a priest is someone who performs baptism ceremonies in a church. They said all clergymen are either gray-haired elders or middle-aged men with an old-fashioned look.” Dustin’s voice was heard again, quite excited that Jonathan was actually someone who might help them.
The church in the town of Hawkins was generally only visited by a few professionals for a superficial check-up.
In these areas where there was zero paranormal activity, antennas were left behind—people assigned to send signals to The Healing Church in case something supernatural appeared.
Dustin had somehow managed to get his number, and despite having no real hope, Lucas and Mike decided to trust.
After hearing Mike’s account, Jonathan finally understood the whole story and what they were all referring to.
“I know everything, at least, the beginning of it.” Jonathan hadn’t been prepared for this right after finishing such a dangerous mission.
Judging from the current progress, Will should have entered the “Upside Down” and was now avoiding the Demogorgon’s hunt.
The Upside Down is a space very similar to reality, similar to Earth. It is like a parallel world, slightly altered.
“Alright, I’ll help you. I’ll travel there as soon as possible.” Jonathan ended the call.
His new abilities gave him the confidence to handle the Demogorgon, and he was already planning this long journey in his mind.
They would need to prepare some holy artifacts. The Demogorgon seemed to be active at night, so he needed to get special equipment ready.
“New mission?”
“Yes, I’ll request a replacement, and we’ll personally move to take on this task, but first I need to get some things.” Jonathan first needed to rest and then take care of some of his needs—he had time to do so.
