Father Anderson said nothing.
He calmly reached into his backpack and removed the pistol-shaped dart gun.
A loaded syringe dart was already locked into place.
Without hesitation, he raised the weapon, aimed at Sarah, and pulled the trigger in one smooth motion.
Thwip!
The nearly invisible dart struck her shoulder.
“Heh…heh…”
Sarah tilted her head and glanced at it with a sinister smile.
“Since when did God’s lapdogs start using toys like that?” the demon mocked through her mouth.
“What happened to the crucifixes and holy water?”
Father Anderson maintained a courteous smile.
He stepped forward, removed the empty dart, and quickly loaded another.
Thwip!
The second dart pierced Sarah’s upper arm.
Before she could respond, Anderson fired a third.
The first syringe contained a fast-acting hallucinogen.
The second carried a powerful sedative capable of inducing unconsciousness within seconds, while the third temporarily weakened the body and relaxed the muscles.
According to Anderson’s research, a victim’s consciousness remained partially active during the early stages of demonic possession.
The three medications worked together to protect both Sarah’s mind and her physical body.
The hallucinogen drew her awareness into a controlled dream state.
The sedative prevented panic and pain from overwhelming her, while the final compound forced her muscles to relax.
“Heh…heh…heh.”
Sarah continued laughing dismissively.
Then the drugs took effect.
Her raised head suddenly dropped against the pillow.
The strength drained from her body, and her arms went limp against the restraints.
“What did you do, priest?” the demon roared.
Sarah forced her eyelids open and glared at Anderson.
For the first time since he entered the room, uncertainty appeared in her expression.
The entity was losing control of its host.
Anderson still didn’t answer.
He placed the dart gun beside his backpack and withdrew a heavy silver crucifix.
“Raaagh!”
Sensing danger, the demon forced Sarah’s body to thrash against the ropes.
Yet compared to her earlier violent struggle, the movement was pitiful.
The bed frame didn’t even shake.
Anderson smiled faintly.
That was the power of science.
In nearly every exorcism film he remembered from his previous life, several grown men were required to restrain the possessed victim while a priest performed the ritual.
Anderson considered that unnecessarily dangerous.
A demon possessing a human body didn’t suddenly create stronger muscles or denser bones.
It merely removed the natural limitations that prevented a person from tearing tendons, dislocating joints, or breaking their own bones.
The increased strength came at the host’s expense.
By suppressing Sarah’s awareness and relaxing her body, Anderson had denied the demon access to that strength.
If it wanted to regain full control, it would have to expend far more energy and risk destroying the vessel it needed to remain in the human world.
Crossing over from Hell was already difficult.
Even after successfully possessing someone, most demons could wield only a fraction of their true power.
Anderson stopped beside the bed.
“Have you really never heard of me down there?”
He gently pressed the crucifix against Sarah’s forehead.
The silver cross had been blessed and repeatedly soaked in holy water.
Against an ordinary person, it was merely a religious symbol.
Against a demon, it burned like a branding iron.
The skin beneath it immediately began to hiss.
“It shouldn’t be possible,” Anderson continued conversationally.
“I’ve expelled demons far stronger than you.
Some of them even swore they would hunt me down afterward.”
He leaned closer.
“By now, I assumed my reputation would have spread throughout Hell.”
Sarah’s face twisted.
“You’ve never heard of Father Alexander Anderson?”
A thick cloud of black smoke rose from beneath the crucifix.
Anderson shook his head with exaggerated disappointment.
“Then you must be a nobody.”
The demon could no longer form a coherent response.
A scream erupted from deep inside Sarah’s body.
“AAAAAAAH!”
It didn’t sound human.
It resembled the death cry of a wounded animal, deep enough to rattle the glass in the windows.
Outside, a violent gust of wind struck the house.
The curtains snapped wildly, and the bedroom windows trembled in their frames.
A framed photograph crashed from the wall and shattered across the floor.
Mrs.
Morgan flinched and pressed herself against her husband.
Sandy wrapped an arm around her shoulders, but fear was clearly visible in his eyes as well.
Father Anderson remained perfectly calm.
He increased the flow of magic through the crucifix.
A translucent system panel appeared before his eyes.
[Alexander Anderson]
[Race: Human]
[Occupations: Priest, Professor of Pharmacology, Physician…]
[Constitution: 24/24]
[Note: Average human value is 10.]
[Vitality: 93/93]
[Note: Average human value is 10.]
[Spirit: 83/83]
[Note: Average human value is 10.]
[Magic: 134/134]
[Note: 1 point of Magic is restored every minute.]
[Equipped Item: Basic Clerical Robe]
[Defense: 6]
[Durability: 6/10]
[…]
With more than a hundred points of Magic available to channel through a consecrated crucifix, Anderson had no idea how much damage he could inflict on a supernatural entity.
He only knew that exorcisms were becoming easier.
Demons that had once required careful preparation now felt almost insignificant.
“AAAAAAAH!”
Sarah’s eyes and mouth remained closed, making her resemble a young woman sleeping peacefully.
Yet the agonized roar continued rising from somewhere deep within her chest.
A grotesque shape suddenly pressed against the skin of her neck.
It resembled a skeletal face trapped beneath the flesh, with hollow eye sockets and a jaw stretched open in a silent scream.
The thing pushed outward as though attempting to tear free and enter the room in its true form.
“Damn you, priest!”
The voice came directly from the face beneath her skin.
“Tell me your name!”
It was the demon’s final act of defiance—a desperate surge of power before its defeat.
Anderson placed his left hand over Sarah’s neck, covering the skeletal face with his palm.
He tilted his head.
“Why would I give you something to remember?”
His fingers tightened.
“Go back to Hell.”
“RRAAAAGH—!”
The demonic face collapsed beneath his hand.
At the same moment, the violent wind stopped.
The curtains fell still.
The windows ceased rattling, and the house became quiet.
But it was no longer the unnatural silence from before.
The distant sound of traffic returned.
The heating system hummed inside the walls, and birds could once again be heard outside.
The oppressive emptiness had vanished.
Life had returned to the room.
Sarah’s appearance gradually changed as well.
The darkness around her eyes faded, color returned to her cheeks, and the twisted tension disappeared from her face.
Within seconds, she looked like an ordinary young woman sleeping peacefully.
[10 Magic Points Consumed]
[Exorcism Completed]
[Sarah Morgan has been rescued from the demon’s control.]
[Mission Reward: 5 Points]
“Father…Father Anderson?” Mrs.
Morgan asked hesitantly.
Anderson flexed his hand.
His palm still felt warm from the power that had passed through the crucifix.
He removed the cross from Sarah’s forehead and made the sign of the cross over her body.
“Sarah is safe now.”
“Really?”
Tears immediately filled Mrs.
Morgan’s eyes.
Anderson nodded.
“The medication is keeping her asleep, but she should wake sometime this evening.
She may feel weak, confused, and sore for a while, but that is normal.”
“Oh, thank God.”
Mrs.
Morgan rushed to the bedside and took her daughter’s hand.
She gently brushed Sarah’s hair away from her face, unable to stop the tears from falling.
Sandy remained where he was for several seconds.
Unlike his wife, he didn’t immediately approach the bed.
Instead, he turned toward Anderson and bowed his head.
“Thank you, Father Anderson.”
His voice trembled slightly.
“Thank you for saving our daughter.”
Although he had remained composed throughout the exorcism, his damp eyes revealed the emotions he had been holding back.
Anderson shook his head and slipped the crucifix into an inner pocket of his robe.
“It is my duty.”
He began returning the medical supplies and dart gun to his backpack.
“Now that the matter is resolved, I should return to the church.”
He still had several routine assignments to complete.
Each one awarded only half a point, but small rewards accumulated quickly when completed every day.
“If anything unusual happens, call me.
You don’t need to come to the church in person.”
As Anderson turned to leave, Sandy noticed the crucifix still hanging above the bedroom door.
“Father, your crucifix!”
Anderson glanced at it and smiled.
“Keep it.”
He lifted the backpack onto his shoulder.
“Consider it a gift from the Lord.”
Mrs.
Morgan and Sandy exchanged a glance.
She gave Sarah’s hand one final squeeze before the two of them hurried after the priest.
After everything Father Anderson had done for their family, neither of them could simply allow him to leave without properly expressing their gratitude.
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