The Truth of a Dark Entity

"[Congratulations on completing the mission. You have gained 10,000 faith points, 10 general strength points, and 15 spirit points.]"

"Set up an intravenous line, check oxygen levels, and get more blood bags."

Many doctors were working on Anton's wounds that hadn't healed; they were prepared for this, but witnessing new wounds appearing on Anton's body while others healed defied all common sense.

At that moment, Anton, breathing more heavily, suddenly opened his eyes. Seeing Anton awake, Dr. Carmen approached quickly and asked, "Guardian, how are you feeling? Do you experience any discomfort?"

Anton didn't respond. Instead, he looked at Rafael, sitting on the sofa, and extended his hand to beckon him.

"What are your orders, Guardian?" Rafael approached immediately, relieved that Anton had awakened.

"I want you to go back to Elizabeth and question her again. Before, she was somehow being controlled by the dark entity, and their lives are not in danger." After saying that, Anton turned his head to look at Dr. Carmen and said seriously, "Doctor, I want you to examine those involved with the dark entity. If possible, keep them under surveillance for a week. If you notice anything unusual, act accordingly."

"Yes, sir, I will take care of it." Carmen quickly left the room.

Rafael still lingered and said, "Sir, the doctors say you were fortunate to have a very powerful healing factor. Witnessing your wounds, was it that difficult to eliminate the Alameda?"

Anton let the doctors bandage his slower-healing wounds and organize his thoughts.

"That girl was fortunate to meet us. Otherwise, none of those people would have survived!" Anton sneered and said, "Don't think too much about it. Once I file the report, you can learn the details."

"Yes, sir, I will personally interrogate that girl again." Rafael bid farewell after seeing the doctors take over.

Anton's sharp gaze swept the room. "I'll give you an order; don't disclose anything about this under any circumstances."

"We understand, Guardian!"

Everyone knew what Anton meant. Nothing about what was happening should be leaked, especially since it was uncommon for Anton's wounds to heal. Many would want to know how he exactly healed those wounds, and some might go to extreme lengths to try to kidnap him.

Not that he cared about something like that. He would agree to be an experiment if it meant there would be more strong individuals capable of containing dark entities. However, he was thinking differently now.

If the power now coursing through his body could be obtained somehow, things could get complicated for various reasons. It's true that Anton didn't know where the manipulation of divine energy came from, but that was an ability that couldn't be obtained. Still, he didn't know if his body had changed due to the constant upgrades from his attribute panel.

"[... Name: Anton ShadowBane]

[Occupation]: Exorcist

[Faith Strength]: 19,002

[General Strength]: 66

[Spirit]: 215

[Talent] 3 <>

[Outstanding Ability]: Hand of God

[Outstanding Ability]: Manipulation of Divine Energy

...]"

A few hours later, Anton walked to the shower to wash off the blood on his body. As the water fell on Anton, he felt a new sensation of superiority—something that made him feel superior to all other people.

"Thank you for giving me the chance to continue doing this work. I will continue to be of use."

This incident left Anton with a bitter taste, like bittersweet food. He knew he had changed in a certain way and would soon cease to be a normal human.

"I suppose I stopped being a normal human a long time ago?" When Anton said that, he felt the water running down his body. The cold water stimulated his muscles, and he remembered how the new dark entity had deceived him, remembered the little girl named Sara, and how he had attacked her with his own hands without thinking.

"What did I do?"

"At that moment, I..."

Anton covered his mouth when he was about to say the last word in his thoughts.

Crack!

Anton hit the wall forcefully, his immense strength leaving cracks in the wall.

"They are just dark entities; darkness must be eliminated." Anton stepped out of the shower, and after getting dressed, he went to check on Elizabeth to verify something that had been bothering him from the beginning.

The Association of Light's base in this city had the best facilities, from research departments to containment rooms specially prepared to capture dark entities. As Anton walked through the corridor to reach the containment floor, there were many agents of the Association of Light handling building security. On the underground floors, the facilities were much stricter and the technology more sophisticated.

After checking in, Anton walked toward the rooms of people involved with a dark entity.

"Guardian!" When they saw Anton, there was a slight exclamation of excitement.

"It's not necessary; go take a break for a while." Anton returned the greeting and entered the room where Elizabeth was.

"I told you again! The dark entity let me live as long as I didn't reveal anything about the maze. When I went to look for my parents, I was caught by the smiling doll." Elizabeth's voice sounded very broken.

"Sir, were you able to kill the smiling doll?" Elizabeth asked with a tired expression.

"You don't have to worry anymore; the dark entity that created the maze has ceased to exist." Anton took a chair and sat next to Elizabeth. "Your situation must have been very difficult; I just want to check a few things before letting you rest."

"A while ago, I met a girl who dropped a very interesting and similar paper to the one you were carrying." Anton showed her a picture and asked, "Did you draw this?"

Elizabeth looked at the drawing and shook her head. "No..."

"I understand."

"I feared so; well, it was too good to be true." Anton shook his head.

"Sir, if it's not this girl, we could follow the patterns of her clues to search for her slowly." Rafael suggested, looking at Anton, who was staring at the drawing.

"We'll do that; you can go get some rest." Anton nodded.

"May I ask what this is about? Maybe I could help." Elizabeth murmured quietly.

"It's not a big deal; we're looking for a girl your age who should have the same dark circles, and under my conjecture, she draws monsters that might appear later." Anton said, recalling reports of dark entities in other cities. "I haven't heard anything about it; I'm sorry."

"Elizabeth... I know your situation is very difficult; I don't blame you if you feel guilty right now for what happened to your parents." Anton took Elizabeth's hand and said, "You are not the first or the last to suffer because of the darkness. We do everything we can to keep them secret, but it's not enough."

"During all this time I've been in this job, I didn't pay much attention to anything other than a dark entity." Anton stood up and said, "What I'm trying to say is that you still have something to live for; you can, in the future, work with us to eliminate these things that have taken everything from you."

"Your parents are happy that you could survive this hell; try to live peacefully if you wish." Anton paused for a moment and said, "I'm sorry, I can't erase those traumatic memories from your mind."

Having said that, Anton stood up, opened the door, and left.

Elizabeth, who was still frozen, felt something warm sliding down her eyes. Looking at her hands with teary eyes, Elizabeth couldn't take it anymore and began to cry loudly.

Anton stood outside the door where Elizabeth was, feeling the helplessness of not being able to save everyone.

"Sir, I will take care of surveillance." An agent approached Anton and said confidently:.

Anton turned his gaze to the side and said, "Gather the families and remove the handcuffs; they are not a problem now."

"As for Elizabeth, get her a psychologist and have someone accompany her all the time; it's the least we can do for not being able to save her family." Anton walked away after saying that.

"Yes, sir." The soldier smiled happily. Captain Anton's fame in this base has no rivals; he cares about everyone.