“This should be the church’s job… inviting me already breaks the rules, and then you invited this person before me…”
Raphael glanced at Su Fan, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Being so young and working as an exorcist, this high-risk profession, either means he’s a con artist or exceptionally gifted.
Compared to being exceptionally gifted, Raphael thought Su Fan was more likely to be a fraud.
Thinking about this, a touch of hostility appeared on Raphael’s face.
Even though a fraud couldn’t trick him personally, how many people who had a real chance to be freed from demonic harassment had their best chance for an exorcism delayed, costing them their lives?
The reputation of exorcists is ruined by frauds like that.
“May I ask what I should call you?”
“Su Fan.”
“Mr. Su, is it? What was your source of information about Anna’s situation?”
“…Does that really matter?”
Su Fan’s expression was calm.
“I already made it clear that I’m leaving all the exorcism matters to you from now on. I won’t interfere.”
“I hope you mean what you say, and it’s best if you don’t cause any trouble.”
Raphael gave Su Fan a long, warning stare, then turned and headed to the dining room.
Su Fan could tell he’d been mistaken again for a fraud looking to make money under the guise of exorcism.
But Su Fan didn’t feel like explaining.
The moment someone doubts you and you start defending yourself, you fall into an endless trap of having to prove yourself.
More than explaining, Su Fan wanted to see how this man actually performed an exorcism.
And what those eggs were for.
Following Raphael’s instructions, Anna and her two children used the eggs in their hands to rub them all over various places in the house, big and small.
Su Fan just sat to the side, watching all this with keen interest.
“This ritual is called cleansing. It detects the presence of evil and roughly estimates its power.”
“The murkier the egg is when cracked open, the more powerful the entity is…”
Raphael collected their eggs, chanted a passage from the Latin Bible, and then cracked the eggs open in front of everyone.
The foul, pitch-black liquid made it impossible to tell the white from the yolk.
Seeing this, Anna had a different opinion.
“A magician could do something similar. This doesn’t prove anything.”
But before she could finish her sentence, the three remaining eggs stood upright on the table by themselves, trembled violently, and finally burst open.
The foul liquid splashed directly onto Anna and a bit on her cheek.
The Christopher in her arms couldn’t help but turn his head away.
“Have you ever seen a magic trick like that?”
“…No.”
The mother and son in the room were completely won over by this display from Raphael.
But Raphael’s attention wasn’t on them.
He looked at Su Fan, holding up the glass bowl containing the black liquid.
“Watch closely, kid. This is what an exorcism ritual looks like.”
Seeing this, a subtle smile tugged at the corner of Su Fan’s mouth.
…
After confirming that Eurowna had indeed been there, Raphael took numerous other tools from the box he had brought.
A great many items: white candles of various sizes, incense…
He patiently explained the purpose of each one as he took them out.
“A cross carved directly from a fire tree. Legend says that when Eurowna drowned her child, the fire tree by the river wept as it witnessed everything.”
“As the sole witness to her sin, a cross made from that fire tree holds special power over her.”
Besides that, there was purified Eurowna’s tears, holy water, holy salt, wind chimes that could sense the arrival of an evil spirit and give a warning…
Unlike Su Fan, who came to exorcise with empty hands, Raphael had come fully prepared to deal with Eurowna.
Anna listened and watched, the scales in her heart gradually tipping towards Raphael, secretly glad that inviting him had been a wise move.
Christopher was also very interested in those things.
These weren’t just life-saving tools; they were the exorcism gear every boy dreams of.
The mother and son gathered around to listen to Raphael’s explanations.
Over by the dining table, Su Fan sat alone, completely ignored.
The little girl, April, who had been sitting next to her mother, glanced over at Su Fan.
While her mother and brother were busy lighting candles, she hugged her doll and walked over to the young man who hadn’t said a word since the beginning.
“Do you feel lonely, all by yourself?”
The girl looked up at Su Fan as she asked, then climbed onto the chair next to him without waiting for an answer.
“Mom and the others didn’t come over to talk to you. That’s not right.”
“You were the first one to come and help.”
“But it’s okay. I’ll stay with you. My teacher said we should play with classmates who are lonely.”
Su Fan watched the little girl trying to comfort him and gently patted her head.
“If it’s okay with you, please don’t pat my head. I won’t grow tall if you do.”
April politely protested, and Su Fan took his hand back.
Just then, all the candles in the distance were set up.
“April…”
Anna’s voice came from the living room.
Hearing her mother’s call, the girl hopped down from the chair lightly and turned to face Su Fan.
“I have to go… Here, this is for you.”
Su Fan looked a bit confused as the little girl held up her doll to him.
“She’ll keep you company while I’m gone.”
“Please look after her for me. I’ll come back to get her later.”
April finished speaking, turned, and trotted off towards the living room.
Su Fan looked at the doll in his hand, gently blew on it, then set it on the table and stood up to walk towards the living room.
As he passed a window, he glanced outside.
The sky was thick with dark clouds, and leaves swirled in the wind. Outside, the air was thick with the feeling of an impending storm.
Raphael’s voice came from nearby again.
“You must keep an eye on the candles. As long as they stay lit, the protection spell is still working.”
“We need to move fast. Eurowna’s power will grow stronger as time passes.”
Outside, the raindrops pattered, and within moments turned into a downpour.
The dim, gloomy outdoors contrasted sharply with the interior, bright with candlelight and electric lamps.
The fierce wind and rain outside grew more intense. At that moment, the house was literally a safe haven for Anna and her two children.
However, the warm candlelight was a beacon in the darkness, attracting countless demonic entities lurking in the shadows, drawing their gaze right here.
“Is she coming?”
Anna asked nervously, her voice tense.
Raphael was just about to close his eyes and concentrate when he heard a voice from beside him.
“She’s already here.”
The Mexican exorcist and witch doctor turned his head, only to see that Su Fan had somehow come up next to him.
Not a sound? Wait, did he say Eurowna…!!!
This thought just flashed through Raphael’s mind when he suddenly felt the atmosphere inside the house change!
“Thump! Thump! Thump!”
A series of dull thuds came from upstairs.
It sounded like someone was banging their head against the second-floor floorboards.
Anna’s heart pounded with fear. She opened her arms wide and pulled her two children close.
All the electric lights went out.
The interior, so brightly lit moments before, instantly became dim.
Suddenly, a terrifying screech came from above.
Not just the lights, but even the candles surrounding Anna went out one after another, from the outside in!
Now, besides two lanterns placed nearby, all sources of light were gone.
A blurry white figure then appeared at the top of the stairs, staring back at everyone from a distance.
One second… two seconds…
Just as everyone thought the white figure would approach, it vanished into the shadows between the stairs.
Anna was stunned, not understanding what happened.
Did she leave?
The moment this thought formed in her mind, a drop of black liquid fell from above onto the lantern.
“Drip…”
The three of them froze, looking up to see the terrifying white-clad spirit standing upside down on the ceiling, screaming at them!
An unimaginable force flung Anna, who had been shielding her children, away. Her body flew back several meters and slammed heavily into the wall, dazing her.
Then, the ghostly claws fell upon Christopher and April, dragging them out of the room!
Raphael, who had disappeared into the darkness earlier, suddenly reappeared.
He lunged forward while splashing the mixture of purified Eurowna’s tears and holy water he had prepared earlier towards the spirit!
The so-called protection spell from earlier was just a comforting lie to put Anna at ease.
His real goal was to use the three of them as bait to force Eurowna to reveal herself, then drive her out of the house.
All he had to do next was grab the two children as they were being dragged out and sprinkle fire tree seeds at the doorway to achieve his immediate goal!
In that moment, time seemed to slow down.
In Raphael’s vision, the transparent liquid imbued with power was inches away from the white-clothed female wraith.
But with a piercing shriek, the holy water, along with the lunging Raphael, was blasted backwards!
This is bad!
Raphael hit the ground, feeling a chill run down his spine.
To lower Eurowna’s guard, he hadn’t set up any safety measures.
And outside, everything was soaking wet.
Christopher and April could be drowned at any moment!
He jumped to his feet, ready to charge outside, but saw that Eurowna, who should have disappeared, was now standing motionless in the doorway.
Her hands were pulling at the children’s sleeves, yanking them towards the outside, but having no effect.
A look of bewilderment, in fact, appeared on her twisted, contorted face.
The woman in white looked ahead and saw a figure who had somehow grabbed the two children just as they were about to be flung outside, standing perfectly still.
As Raphael came to his senses, he witnessed something he would never forget for the rest of his life.
The black-haired young man exerted force with his arms and actually snatched the two children right back from the female ghost’s grasp.
The immense force even caused the female ghost, Eurowna, to lose her balance and involuntarily lunge forward into the house.
Before Raphael could even gasp, he saw the young man lift his leg and kick the female ghost squarely in the stomach!
Her tall, white body seemed to fold in half in mid-air, then flew violently backwards, landing in the pouring rain.
Raphael seized the opportunity, grabbed a prepared bag, and hurried to the door in three big strides, spreading the fire tree seeds across the threshold.
He closed the heavy door, panting, and turned around, only to hear Su Fan’s slightly teasing voice.
“Exorcist legwork, old man.”
