Chapter 256 — Confrontation with a Demon
Fielding stepped forward.
"Ms. Chris."
"Fielding, these are the exorcists I mentioned to you last time," Chris introduced.
"They're late. We've already prepared the ritual," Fielding said.
"I'm sorry… it took time for them to travel here," Chris replied.
"Wait."
At that moment, Father Maddox suddenly interrupted.
"You… are you also from the Church?"
"But why are you together with a demon hunter and a witch? Did the Church send you here? Exorcism is extremely dangerous. As representatives of the Church, we must take responsibility for its consequences…"
It was obvious that the priest knew little about the Exorcist Guild and was simply a principled man who strictly followed Church rules.
Rossi made the sign of the cross over his chest.
"Leave this to us."
He patted Maddox lightly.
"Everyone, I'll go inside and prepare first," Rossi said, turning around.
Soon after, Catherine and Kins followed him inside, leaving only Gideon standing outside.
"Mr. Fielding, I'm very sorry about your daughter," Gideon said with a gentle smile. "Could you tell me more about the preparations you've made for the exorcism?"
Fielding was still somewhat irritated, but he also knew Angela could not wait any longer.
So he replied in a muffled tone,
"Ms. Anne will represent the Church, and the Voodoo witch will lead the ritual…"
"Oh right! Before you go inside, remember to take off your shoes. That's part of the ritual!" he called out.
After hearing the details of their plan, Gideon immediately shook his head.
"Mr. Fielding, Father Maddox's concerns are entirely reasonable."
"Ms. Anne has previously undergone an abortion. This means a soul once failed to reincarnate properly. For evil spirits, such circumstances can easily become an opportunity for possession."
Hearing this, Chris, Fielding, and Anne exchanged shocked glances.
Clearly, the three of them had never known about this.
Only Father Maddox nodded in agreement.
Gideon then turned to Anne.
"My apologies, Ms. Anne. That statement wasn't meant as criticism. I greatly respect your courage in facing an evil spirit."
"I–it's alright," Anne lowered her head. She understood that her actions might have been somewhat reckless.
"Besides the people conducting the exorcism, there are others inside the room, correct?" Gideon asked, turning back to Fielding.
Fielding nodded.
"Yes. Catherine's parents and I will be watching from the side."
Gideon's mouth twitched slightly.
Watching…
That's practically inviting the evil spirit to create chaos, he thought.
But outwardly he remained calm.
"Powerful evil spirits often have the ability to probe into people's past negative memories," Gideon explained.
"If that happens, you may be psychologically affected—and that could easily disrupt the exorcism."
Chris's expression darkened slightly when she heard this.
After all, she herself had once been affected in exactly that way.
Fielding finally began to panic a little.
He had originally believed that "strength lies in numbers", planning to let everyone take turns attempting the exorcism.
"So… should I call them out?" he asked.
"No need to rush. The exorcism hasn't officially begun yet," Gideon replied.
"By the way, have there been any other people in town recently who developed symptoms similar to the two girls?"
Everyone present thought for a moment, then shook their heads.
"That's good. Sometimes possession by evil spirits doesn't occur in just one place. When you think you've defeated them, the spirit may already have made other preparations elsewhere."
Gideon explained calmly.
"That's why supernatural incidents often recur. Even after completing an exorcism, we must stay vigilant and inspect the surrounding area again."
Fielding and Anne stared at him with wide eyes.
Only after hearing the priest's explanation did they realize how little they actually understood about exorcism.
In comparison, Father Maddox's earlier concerns suddenly seemed very reasonable.
"I'm sorry. I was a bit rude to you earlier," Fielding said to Maddox.
The priest was taken aback for a moment before waving his hand.
"It's alright… I know you didn't mean it."
Gideon nodded inwardly.
There are far too many bystanders at this exorcism site. First I need to eliminate the risk of them becoming 'liabilities'.
Father Maddox cast a glance at the others beside him.
Earlier he still had doubts, but now he was completely convinced by Gideon's overwhelming professionalism.
Maybe I shouldn't go inside and cause trouble later… he thought.
Maddox had hesitated all evening before coming here.
Chris watched Gideon with an unusual look.
Since meeting Rossi, she had gained some understanding of what professional exorcism looked like.
But after hearing Gideon's explanations, she felt his methods were even more… meticulous.
That was the word that came to her mind.
The next edition of The Exorcist must include these ideas, she silently decided.
"Mr. Fielding, could you describe the geographical layout around the house?" Gideon asked again.
Fielding didn't quite understand why, but after hearing Gideon earlier, he had begun to trust him somewhat.
"The town's layout is simple. Along the road there are only houses. Behind them is a forest, and there aren't any large wild animals…"
Gideon stroked his chin while listening.
If the demon we encounter this time has a rank, it may also affect the surrounding environment… just to be safe, I should set up five barrier arrays outside.
Having made up his mind, he immediately asked Fielding to lead him to the side of the house.
---
Not long after, Catherine came out of the house.
She looked around and soon spotted him.
"Father Gideon, why haven't you come inside yet?"
"Oh, I'm setting up some additional safety measures."
Catherine looked over curiously.
"This is… a containment array. Very stable."
Surprise flashed in her eyes.
Magical arrays consumed a large number of holy relics, so although effective, most clergy rarely used them for commissions below the Danger level.
And even Danger-level commissions weren't that common.
But a moment later, her eyes widened.
"T-This… these are five separate arrays!"
She felt an overwhelming aura of extravagance.
Even if two more demons showed up, they wouldn't be able to escape this! she thought in amazement.
Then Catherine glanced down at her own hands.
Inside the house earlier, she had only placed a few items in the living room to enhance her mental protection witchcraft, which would serve as the main exorcism site.
No! I'm a professional too! she thought, shaking her head.
She immediately decided to return and set up more magical tools.
---
Soon, Gideon finished arranging the outer defenses.
Fielding and Anne hurried over.
"Father, what should we set up inside the house?"
But Gideon replied calmly,
"No rush. Let me observe first."
He then took out a monocular telescope and began observing the interior of the house.
Fielding, Chris, and the others stared at him with strange expressions.
A priest… with a telescope?
They struggled to connect the two concepts.
More than anything, they were confused.
Why not just go inside and look directly if it's so close?
Gideon didn't explain.
At that moment, his gaze was fixed on a figure inside the house.
"Demon hunter… Kins."
The man was moving between the windows, carefully measuring whether they could serve as escape routes.
Anywhere that allowed a quick exit, he marked beside it.
"Oh? A demon hunter with such strong survival instincts."
Gideon was somewhat surprised.
Meanwhile, Father Rossi was in the living room.
He had drawn numerous symbols on the floor.
The Voodoo witch nearby seemed dissatisfied, but eventually Rossi managed to persuade her.
Hmm… the escape routes can follow what that hunter found. As for those symbols… they seem to be some form of sealing holy magic.
Gideon silently adjusted his exorcism plan based on what his three companions had already prepared.
---
When Rossi and Catherine came out, they saw Gideon standing motionless at the doorway.
"Father… Gideon?" Rossi called cautiously.
"Why haven't you come in yet? I thought something had happened."
Gideon smiled.
"Sorry. I spent some time familiarizing myself with the surroundings."
"Worried you wouldn't be able to escape quickly if something went wrong?" Rossi joked.
"Don't worry. Our team is well-balanced this time. Even if we encounter a demon, it shouldn't be able to cause much trouble."
"Let's go inside quickly. The girls' condition is getting worse."
Gideon paused briefly.
Then he suddenly took out a holy statue from his bag and placed it on the ground before stepping over the threshold.
Because of Gideon and the others' arrival, the previous temporary exorcism team had been "politely escorted" outside.
They were now crowding by the windows, watching the scene.
---
Inside the living room.
Two girls were tied to chairs.
When the four entered, the girl named Catherine was holding a black-covered Bible.
"Heh. Finally, some professionals have arrived."
Little Catherine spoke—but the voice coming from her throat was completely unfamiliar.
"Otherwise I would've had to keep acting in front of those fools."
Gideon narrowed his eyes and quietly shifted the skin armor on his thigh to the back of his neck.
"Oh? So you can tell we're different. In that case, why not leave the girls' bodies voluntarily?" Rossi said calmly.
"Ptui."
Little Catherine spat a mouthful of green slime onto the ground.
"Hypocrite. If you want their souls back, show me your ability."
Rossi easily dodged the attack, his smile unchanged.
"A proper exorcism ritual can directly harm a spirit. You wouldn't want to suffer that kind of pain, would you? Why don't we talk instead?"
"Hehehe…"
Both Catherine and Angela suddenly spoke at the same time.
"Oh, Rossi… Rossi…"
"Do your three companions know your true purpose?"
Rossi immediately frowned.
He had never told them his name.
And he carried items that should prevent spiritual spying.
Gideon and the others remained silent.
They weren't naïve enough to be easily manipulated.
"Rossi… a priest ranked on the Exorcist Guild leaderboard," the girls continued.
"Publicly you claim to study ancient exorcism traditions…"
"But what you truly seek is—"
They turned their heads in unison.
"The Medallion, right?"
Rossi clenched his fists instantly.
"Oh? Why so nervous?"
"Didn't you approach Chris for exactly this?"
"The Apostle Medallion… a relic capable of sealing powerful evil beings, a gateway that can connect to Heaven from anywhere."
The girls hissed.
"You only invited these three companions because of it. Otherwise, with your selfish nature, why would you share your resentment points with anyone?"
Gideon frowned slightly.
So that's what the Apostle Medallion does…
"Enough!" Rossi shouted.
The demon's words had clearly struck a nerve.
But it wasn't finished.
"And you… Catherine."
"The illegitimate child of a cardinal and a witch. Hehehe…"
The girls collapsed against the chairs, laughing uncontrollably.
"The Church preaches mercy and chastity, yet its hypocrisy never ends. You're a filthy product of lust—a mongrel!"
Catherine's face darkened slightly.
"And you!"
The girls turned toward Kins.
"Foolish demon hunter. Do you think wandering alone will earn the love of the woman you desire?"
"No matter how hard you try, deep down you know you can't compare to Gideon. Your beloved Ms. Shadi will never fall into your arms."
Rossi and Catherine both looked puzzled.
Their gazes moved between Kins and Gideon.
Gideon was surprised too—but soon realized something.
"Ah… so it's been discovered," Kins sighed, removing his mask.
"Mr. Ralph…" Gideon raised an eyebrow.
The muscular build. The beard.
It was Ralph Jenkins, the man who had once entered the Plague Zone with Gideon.
"Long time no see, Mr. Gideon," Ralph said, tipping his hat.
"I wondered why this demon hunter was so cautious—already planning escape routes before the exorcism began. Turns out it was you."
"That's your fault," Ralph shrugged.
"HEY! HEY! HEY!" the girls suddenly roared.
"I'm the one humiliating you right now! Stop chatting like nothing's happening!"
"Sorry, sorry," Gideon said with a grin.
"It's hard not to get excited when meeting an old friend."
"Hmph. Don't think you're exempt either…"
The girls glared at Gideon.
The other three listened closely.
Tonight's exorcism had practically become a public reveal of everyone's darkest secrets.
They were curious what Gideon's would be.
Gideon remained calm.
But secretly he mobilized all his holy power as defense, gripping a thirty-year holy relic tightly in his hand.
After a moment, doubt flashed across the girls' eyes.
Why can't we see through him…? That's impossible!
Seeing their expressions, Gideon understood.
"What's wrong?" he said lightly.
"Did my glorious past make you feel inferior?"
"Shut up, you filthy mongrel!"
"Mongrel?" Gideon sneered.
"Compared to a demon reading the Bible, I'm nothing. Perhaps that title suits you better."
The girls shrieked in fury.
Rotten, foul-smelling blood burst from their mouths, spraying toward Gideon.
He simply stepped aside, easily dodging it.
Outside, the watching parents grew anxious.
But remembering Gideon's warning, they forced themselves not to interfere.
Inside the room, Ralph wiped sweat from his forehead.
"When it comes to arguing… Mr. Gideon clearly wins."
Rossi looked equally surprised.
He hadn't expected the newest guild member to withstand the demon's psychological attack and even counter it so quickly.
Catherine stared at Gideon in amazement.
She was curious how he could resist the demon's mind-reading ability.
But she was even more curious about something else.
Who exactly is Shadi?
"Everyone," Gideon spoke again.
"This demon is clearly unusual. If we keep pretending to negotiate, it might find an opportunity to strike back."
"Let's purify it as soon as possible."
Rossi and Catherine exchanged surprised glances.
Gideon's words effectively turned everything the demon revealed into mere lies.
They both nodded.
"No problem."
Ralph drew his firearm.
"I brought some new ammunition this time. Perfect chance to test it."
Seeing its attempt to sow discord fail, the two girls glared at Gideon with venomous hatred.
---