The moment Jack Hanstock became a Vengeful Spirit, a powerful wave of cold energy erupted from his body.
The four female spirits were immediately suppressed by his stronger aura and dropped trembling to the ground.
Lucifer casually cracked his knuckles and looked at Hanstock’s ghostly form.
“Seriously?
You die and come back with a second phase?”
“You bastard!
I’ll kill you!”
Hanstock roared as the black mist around him thickened.
Lucifer immediately activated Holy Seal of Justice.
[Holy Seal of Justice activated.]
Golden light flashed through his eyes, and the glowing patterns on his fists became brighter.
“I dealt with you when you were alive.
Becoming a ghost isn’t going to save you.”
Lucifer charged.
To his surprise, Hanstock rushed directly toward him without showing the slightest fear of the Holy Light surrounding his fists.
Lucifer frowned.
Is this guy really that confident?
There was no time to think about it.
Hanstock was already in front of him.
Lucifer threw a heavy punch.
“If you’ve got a problem, complain to my System!”
His glowing fist passed straight through Hanstock’s spiritual body.
Golden Holy Light erupted inside the ghost.
The mass of black resentment surrounding Hanstock exploded apart almost instantly.
His ghostly figure twisted once before completely disintegrating under the power that naturally countered evil spirits.
[D-rank Vengeful Spirit eliminated: Jack Hanstock.]
[Reward: 4 Holiness Points.]
[Reward: 50 EXP.]
Lucifer stood there for a moment.
Then he looked at the empty space where Hanstock had been.
“I thought you were going to be tougher than that.”
The four female spirits stared at him in shock.
Once they realized Hanstock was truly gone, bloody tears flowed down their faces and they knelt together.
“Thank you, Divine Messenger.”
Lucifer coughed awkwardly.
“I’m glad you’re grateful, but our agreement still stands.
I have to purify you.”
He sympathized with what had happened to them, but that didn’t mean he intended to ignore four supernatural targets standing directly in front of him.
The spirits showed no resentment.
“We understand.
You gave us the revenge we wanted.
We accept purification.”
As they spoke, something unexpected happened.
Soft golden light began appearing around their bodies.
Lucifer blinked.
The hatred and resentment that had kept the women trapped in this world gradually disappeared.
Their mutilated appearances faded away, replaced for a moment by peaceful expressions as the golden radiance grew stronger.
Then all four spirits vanished.
Lucifer stared at the empty roadside.
“What just happened?”
The Holy Power System answered immediately.
[Four F-rank Vengeful Spirits successfully purified.]
[Reward: 8 Holiness Points.]
[Reward: 40 EXP.]
Lucifer’s eyes widened.
“That counts?”
He had expected purification to require Holy Light or a fight.
Apparently, if a spirit willingly let go of its resentment and passed on peacefully, the System still considered the job complete.
Lucifer smiled.
“Good to know.
Maybe I don’t have to punch every ghost I meet.”
With the supernatural problem settled, he began cleaning up the roadside.
Hanstock’s body and the scattered belongings were placed inside the BMW’s trunk so nothing obvious remained behind.
Lucifer got into the driver’s seat and headed back toward Los Angeles.
While driving, he called Edward.
“Where are you?”
Edward answered in a sleepy voice.
“Where else?
At the apartment…”
Lucifer rubbed his forehead.
“Edward, we’re in Los Angeles.”
There was a pause.
“Oh.
Right.
Sorry.
I was half asleep.”
Lucifer sighed.
Edward had been the original body’s best friend and had taken care of Lucifer during the difficult month after his transmigration.
Otherwise, Lucifer wasn’t sure he would have had the patience to deal with him.
Edward finally woke up enough to answer properly.
“I found a motel called Sweet Home.
Room 203 on the second floor.”
“Sweet Home Motel?”
Lucifer paused at the name before dismissing the strange feeling.
“Yeah.
It’s not bad.
Just knock when you get here.”
“Fine.”
Lucifer hung up.
A short while later, he spotted the small motel near the roadside.
Instead of driving directly into the parking lot, he stopped some distance away where nobody was watching.
With a thought, the entire silver-gray BMW disappeared into System Space.
Lucifer didn’t intend to let Hanstock’s car ever appear on the road again.
If the police investigated the captain’s disappearance, an abandoned BMW connected to him would create unnecessary trouble.
Fortunately, this was 2003.
Surveillance cameras weren’t nearly as common as they would become in later years.
Lucifer walked the rest of the way toward the motel.
His goals in this new world were still fairly simple: make money, enjoy life, and use his abilities as an exorcist whenever supernatural trouble crossed his path.
When he entered the motel lobby, the owner was sitting behind the front desk watching television with tired eyes.
Without looking away from the screen, the man said, “I’ve only got one room left, and the toilet doesn’t work.
You still want it?”
“No, thanks.
My friend already checked in.”
Lucifer started toward the stairs.
As he passed the front desk, however, something on the television caught his attention.
A late-night paranormal program was playing.
Lucifer stopped.
“What’s this about?”
The motel owner took a drag from his cigarette.
“Haunted house.
Been all over the local news lately.
A nanny got scared so badly yesterday that she ended up in the hospital.”
Lucifer looked back toward the screen.
The program showed a large suburban house somewhere in Los Angeles.
The host was interviewing the exhausted-looking homeowner, whose pale face and dark circles made it obvious that he hadn’t slept properly in days.
“Our family keeps seeing things inside the house,” the man explained.
“Whatever is there won’t leave us alone.”
The host asked, “If it’s really that bad, why don’t you move?”
The homeowner fell silent.
Eventually, he answered, “We can’t afford another house.”
Several people in the studio audience murmured sympathetically.
The motel owner sighed and stubbed out his cigarette.
“That’s how it goes.
Lose your house and you can lose everything.
Plenty of people would rather deal with a ghost than end up on the street.”
Lucifer continued watching.
The program was almost over.
The host turned toward the camera and displayed a phone number across the bottom of the screen.
“If any experienced exorcists or paranormal specialists are willing to help this family, please contact our program at the number shown below.”
Lucifer immediately pulled out his Nokia and saved the number.
The motel owner noticed.
“You an exorcist?”
Lucifer smiled.
“The genuine article.”
He picked up a pen from the counter, wrote his own phone number on a piece of paper, and handed it over.
“If you ever have trouble with ghosts, demons, possessions, or anything else that shouldn’t exist, give me a call.”
The owner accepted the paper.
Lucifer added with a grin, “Just don’t expect me to work for free.”
He waved and headed toward the stairs while dialing the television show’s number.
His first real Los Angeles exorcism might already be waiting.
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