They looked at each other, seemingly trying to find someone who could explain the current situation.
However, that thunderclap which shattered the evil incantation was only heard by the plump, middle-aged woman who had been casting the spell.
No one else had any idea what had just happened.
“Joan?”
A man beside her stepped forward and shook the plump woman’s body.
But she didn’t respond.
The few people kneeling at the front weren’t flustered by this.
Instead, they stood up and calmly announced to the other followers:
“Clearly… Joan couldn’t handle the task of expelling Peter’s soul.”
“She’s a failure, a failure who betrayed Paimon’s trust.”
“However, her death is glorious.”
“Even though she accomplished nothing, she will gain honor by dedicating her soul to Paimon.”
The others stared blankly at the plump woman on the ground for a moment, then no one paid her any more attention.
“According to the line of succession, we will now continue to lead you and complete the mission.”
None of the remaining congregation raised any objection.
Smiles once again appeared on their faces.
“Glory to Paimon!”
As the leader shouted, the many followers below echoed in unison.
“Glory to Paimon!”
From the shadows cast by the candlelight, several figures emerged, dragged the unconscious Joan away, and disappeared.
They made no attempt to save her life; they didn’t even check if she was still alive.
Several people carried her outside, and with a swift motion of a blade, cut off her head.
Then they prepared to bury the body in the garden in front of the house.
But this process didn’t go smoothly.
As the spade bit into the earth, they hadn’t dug for long before other bodies were unearthed…
Yet they showed no sign of frustration, mechanically repeating the process of digging, filling, digging, and filling again.
Only after finding a suitable spot did they push Joan’s obese body into it and cover it with dirt…
—
It was unknown how much time had passed before Peter finally regained consciousness.
He stood up groggily and looked around.
He found himself lying on the cold, hard ground.
Memories from before he blacked out gradually flooded back. Peter’s first instinct was to look towards the pool not far away, his heart filled with fear.
Moments ago, he had seen his own reflection in the water flash an evil grin. Even thinking about that bizarre scene now sent a chill through his entire body.
This feeling was instinctual.
Completely impossible to suppress.
Science… of course he believed in science…
But could the phenomenon he just witnessed be explained by science?
Peter scrambled to his feet, suddenly noticing a piece of paper stuck to his chest, though he had no idea when it got there.
By the light of the moon, he got a clear look at the paper.
Unknown mystical symbols. After just experiencing a terrifying supernatural event, his gut reaction was to tear it off.
But just then, a voice came from behind him.
“What’s the matter? Tired of living?”
Startled, Peter flinched and spun around.
“Who’s there!”
An unfamiliar black-haired young man sat on the edge of the pool behind him, his posture straight.
Peter searched his memory but drew a complete blank.
“Did you stick this yellow paper on me?”
“Yes.”
The other nodded.
“What did you do to me?”
Peter asked warily.
“Saved your sorry hide.”
The black-haired youth replied succinctly.
“Was that vision I saw your doing?”
“No, it was another group of people, or rather, another entity.”
The young man’s answer was direct and to the point, but Peter found it all very confusing.
“Are you trying to scare me?”
Hearing this, the young man across from him let out a scoff.
“You think I’m after something from you? Go on then, tell me, what exactly do you have that’s worth scaring you for?”
“The stash hidden in your clothes and pockets?”
Peter instinctively covered his pocket.
“You—”
“Shut up.”
The other cut him off forcefully.
“You don’t know anything about your current situation. If you want to keep yourself and your family alive, shut up and listen!”
Peter nodded blankly.
Across from him, Su Fan exhaled.
It had been a long time since he’d dealt with an ordinary person who knew nothing and asked so many questions; it was a bit jarring at first.
After shattering the soul-expelling curse, he used his otherworldly vision to locate the Paimon symbols the cultists had left here and erased them.
Then he waited for Peter to wake up.
As the demon’s target, he had a right to know the situation.
But this naive kid’s first move upon regaining consciousness was to tear off the talisman.
And then he worried Su Fan was the one out to get him.
Su Fan felt his blood pressure spike.
“Right now, you and your family are being targeted by a demon and its followers.”
“A demon?”
Peter unconsciously repeated the unusual word from Su Fan’s sentence.
“Yeah, a demon. And it’s a demon you know well.”
Su Fan paused slightly.
“It was possessing your sister before, living with you day and night.”
“You’re full of shit!”
Hearing the word ‘sister,’ Charlie’s face appeared in Peter’s mind, followed by the horrifying vision from earlier.
Along with grief, pain, and self-blame, an even stronger surge of anger welled up inside him!
At that moment, the emotions he had been suppressing poured out.
“Charlie is my sister, my family! She’s not some demon!”
“You’re crazy!”
The veins on his neck bulged, his face turned red, and tears streamed from his eyes.
Peter lunged at Su Fan, but the next second, his target was standing right in front of him.
A single finger stopped less than a few centimeters from his eye.
“Does this help you calm down a bit?”
Su Fan’s calm, emotionless voice sent a shiver down Peter’s spine.
His expression was still angry, but it had shifted from fury to mute resentment.
“It’s hard to prove what I’m saying in a short time, so just pretend the demon doesn’t exist.”
“I hope you can stick to that belief later on.”
Both complete non-believers and the deeply devout, due to their firm convictions, are difficult for evil entities to invade.
Those most susceptible to misfortune are the ones with a little knowledge, who are unsure and wavering.
“Demons are intangible, but cultists have been active around your house. You should be able to recall some clues.”
“Think back. Recently, haven’t one or two transfer students occasionally joined your class? And they all probably approached you first, and now you’re on good terms?”
“Think again. Haven’t you noticed more unfamiliar faces on your way to and from school?”
“Property turnover in a community isn’t that frequent. So, who are all those new faces?”
“Oh, and they’re not all completely unfamiliar. Some of them might have even attended your grandmother Allen’s funeral.”
As Su Fan spoke, Peter gradually calmed down.
Details he’d overlooked in daily life began surfacing in his mind with each question.
The familiar elderly couple from before… he hadn’t seen them in a long time.
Every time he went to school, they would greet him and Charlie.
But at some point, the owner of that house had been replaced by a young man.
And the old lady living alone not far away… the female office worker with a dog…
They had all unknowingly vanished from Peter’s world, replaced by another group of strangers.
Following Su Fan’s line of reasoning, Peter was suddenly hit by an indescribable, deep-seated dread.
It was like waking up from sleep to find a cold, venomous snake coiled around your neck, staring at you with its tongue flickering out…
