Chapter 48: Going Hard

"Roar!"

The three ferocious beasts, unscathed, quickly rose again.

Seeing this, Jeffrey clenched his teeth and pointed the bone necklace at Abigail, transformed into a demon, and loudly recited a new spell.

"Exorcio!"

This was an exorcism spell taught by his mother, designed to expel demons or evil forces. Instantly, as the spell was uttered, a beam of light appeared and rushed towards Abigail.

However, Abigail simply swatted the light beam away, extinguishing it, and the only damage it caused was a quickly disappearing mark on her palm.

Seeing no effect, Jeffrey's heart sank.

"A witch's descendant, interesting," said Abigail with a beast-like tone, leaning forward and exhaling sharply.

A gust of wind erupted, and Jeffrey quickly recited the last repelling spell.

"Repello!"

The power of the spell was instantly shattered by the demon's force, and its residual power slammed Jeffrey against the wall, immobilizing him.

"Cough! Cough!"

Jeffrey coughed several times, looking up at Abigail with a bitter smile.

The power disparity was immense; he felt like a small stream foolishly challenging the sea.

As Abigail casually waved her hand, the three beasts charged at him fiercely.

Pinned against the wall, unable to move, Jeffrey could only see the beasts' ferocious mouths approaching.

"I didn't expect to die here, Mother, I..."

He slowly closed his eyes, awaiting death, already smelling the foul stench.

"..."

"The Lord says, do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

"..."

Jeffrey suddenly opened his eyes, looking towards the source of the voice. He first saw a water bottle the size of a mineral water bottle appear above the three beasts, followed by a priest in a robe holding a revolver.

"Father York?"

Before Jeffrey could express his surprise, a gunshot rang out.

Bang!

The water bottle burst instantly.

The water inside splashed all over the three beasts.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

The beasts, as if made of plastic set ablaze, melted instantaneously, their bulletproof flesh dissolving in seconds, revealing their bones.

"Holy water?" Jeffrey thought, seeing the beasts' agony.

Roar! Roar!

Despite their pain, the beasts continued to lunge towards the wall-bound Jeffrey.

"The Lord says, the beast is evil and must be punished!"

The voice from the right sounded, and Jeffrey, refusing to close his eyes, looked over and saw the once ordinary-looking priest now holding a shotgun.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

In an instant, the shotgun roared, and the beasts, previously bulletproof, were hit mid-air, exploding in blood and diverted from their path.

Boom!

Jeffrey watched as the beasts crashed into the wall beside him, motionless, and licked his dry lips.

For the first time, he realized the formidable power of modern weaponry.

"Are you alright, Officer Jeffrey?"

Hearing the voice, before Jeffrey could react, he found himself free to move.

Jeffrey looked ahead at a broad figure that had appeared in front of him, and, like Baker, he said in astonishment.

"Father York?"

Father York used a bit of magic to free Jeffrey, not responding but looking at the dark-eyed woman ahead, feeling the danger the demon posed. He was surprised by the demon's seemingly limited power.

"A dog of God?" Abigail tilted her head, sounding surprised.

"And you have the scent of Satan?"

Hearing this seemingly equal remark, Father York pursed his lips.

"Can you walk, Officer Jeffrey?"

"Yes, I can," Jeffrey immediately responded.

"Then let's go."

Father York said, reaching into his backpack, pulling out a bottle of holy water, and covering it with magic before hurling it towards Abigail at the end of the hallway.

"Go right."

As Jeffrey obediently ran to the right, Father York drew his Ryan Bolter and fired a shot.

Bang!

The holy water bottle exploded right in front of the indifferent Abigail, splashing her face and body.

"Holy water? Always unpleasant." Abigail, unaffected, ignored the smoking parts of her body and the melting face, staring at the priest, her black gaze becoming deeper and more enchanting.

"What a hassle, how to expel this? Lucky I didn't accept the second task."

Hearing the [Task Successful] notification, Father York thought to himself and pulled out a grenade.

[...]

[Random Task: Rescue the innocent from the demon (Completed)]

[Reward: +20 points (Issued)]

[...]

Ignoring the rest and the pull of several kilograms, Father York forcibly twisted the pin of the grenade and threw it at Abigail.

The grenade was not enchanted; he wanted to see if a regular grenade had any effect on the demon.

Such opportunities for experimentation were rare.

Boom!

A huge explosion echoed through the building.

Father York saw the grenade explode in front of the still indifferent Abigail, followed by a cloud of smoke.

Unfortunately, the smoke, combined with the dim corridor, obscured his view, and he could only see the unshaken figure.

"The no-damage-in-smoke rule?"

To prevent this, Father York put away his revolver and drew his Winchester M1897, firing three shots at the figure.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three bullets, barely enchanted with magic, hit the figure.

To his surprise, the figure seemed to move slightly.

"Human, you hurt me!"

As the beast-like voice rang out, Father York felt a surge of energy rushing towards him.

A normal person might have been immobilized like Jeffrey earlier.

But the battle-hardened Father York was different. He raised his left hand and instinctively mobilized the magic within him.

[3 magic points used]

[Magic Value: 134.5/137.5 (Note: 1 point of magic regenerated per minute)]

The three magic points collided with the oncoming energy, creating a wave, with the residual force brushing against Father York like a gentle breeze.

"Looks like I need to focus on enchantments, but maybe the grenade's payload wasn't enough..."

"Time to try something harder..."

Father York's mind was racing as he watched the woman emerge from the dissipating smoke, pulling out another grenade and letting magic flow into it.

[10 magic points used]