With the roar of the malevolent spirit as the background score, Meg fixed her gaze on Su Fan and spoke again.
“My plan to gain the brothers’ trust has been completely ruined by you.”
“Tell me, how should we settle this score?”
A dagger had appeared in her hand at some point.
Her body lowered slightly, coiled like a beast ready to pounce.
“Demons enjoy close-quarters combat too?”
“It’s enough. The fierce ghost you rely on can’t come to your aid right now.”
Before the words even fully left her mouth, a crescent of cold light arced towards Su Fan’s throat.
Su Fan retreated half a step, moving just out of the dagger’s reach.
Meg abruptly changed her move, switching from a slash to a thrust while taking a large stride forward to close the distance.
The short dagger flipped and twirled in her hand, each strike aimed at a vital human point, relentlessly pursuing Su Fan.
Seizing an opening, Su Fan blocked her forearm and moved to disarm her. Unexpectedly, her wrist twisted at an unnatural angle, forcing him to release his grip.
Putting distance between them, he saw that Meg’s wrist tendons and bones were contorted like a twisted rope, inhuman and unsettling to behold.
“Your body’s toughness is unimaginable. From that brief contact, it felt like striking steel.”
“The forearm bones of this body are completely shattered.”
“An attack of that level shouldn’t pose a threat to you.”
“Why not take the knife? Worried about harming the girl this body belongs to?”
Meg’s tone was arrogant and triumphant.
She raised her arm, watching it sway limply like a mollusk.
With a couple of casual movements, the arm seemed to be healed by some unseen force, returning to normal.
For a demon, the pain inflicted on the human body it possesses is meaningless.
They can use the body without reservation, unleashing strength beyond ordinary human imagination.
“As an exorcist, you must have means to expel demons from a human host.”
“Why not use it? Afraid the owner of this body might die once the possession ends?”
As she spoke, Meg’s entire eyes turned pitch black, her smile terrifyingly sinister.
She charged forward again. This time, Su Fan chose not to engage. Instead, he leaped down through the broken wall.
Meg followed, and seeing the open courtyard around them, immediately understood Su Fan’s intention.
Inside the narrow room, he would have been cornered.
Out here, he could avoid direct combat while ensuring his own safety.
“You humans are always burdened with such pointless compassion.”
“But it’s precisely that which makes you easy to deal with.”
“Like that brothers’ father—a hunting machine. Yet even he couldn’t stand by when his sons were in danger.”
It was then that Su Fan, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
“So your goal was to use the Winchester brothers to lure out their father?”
“And what if it is?
That foolish old man, recklessly tracking my father… death is the only fitting end for a Winchester!”
Getting a confirmed answer, Su Fan let out a sigh.
Seeing this, Meg assumed he was vexed by the situation.
She didn’t expect that in the very next instant, Su Fan closed the distance. In the blink of an eye, he broke all four of her limbs and clamped his hand tightly around her neck!
Meg instinctively tried to heal her injuries, but found it had no effect.
A mysterious power was suppressing her regenerative abilities.
Zanyao (Slaying Evil).
Not only did it have a strong restraining effect on ghosts and evil beings, it could also inhibit regeneration and other restorative acts.
“And here I thought you had some grand scheme. Turns out it’s just this. Wasted my emotions.”
From the moment Su Fan first saw her, he suspected she might be connected to Azazel or another high-level demon.
But it seemed he had overthought it.
This one was just a self-important underling.
Since no useful intel could be gleaned, it was time to dispatch her cleanly.
“You—”
Before Meg could say more, Su Fan began reciting the Jing Tiandi Shen Zhou (Purifying Heaven and Earth Divine Incantation).
As the incantation flowed from Su Fan’s lips, the demon possessing Meg’s body began to feel a force pulling it away.
It initially thought to threaten Su Fan with the host’s life, but when its gaze met those calm eyes, the thought died.
It seemed the hesitation and restraint he showed earlier were merely a facade to extract information.
“Heh heh heh… I underestimated you.”
Realizing her miscalculation, the demon showed neither anger nor frustration, instead laughing.
Even with her throat constricted, it didn’t hinder her speech.
“But even if you banish me, what does it matter?”
“I’ll just return to Hell. Before long, I’ll appear before you again in another form.”
“Even among God’s creations, there are hierarchies. Unlike you lowly humans, demons are immortal.”
“Is that so?”
A cold smile played on Su Fan’s lips.
While she was boasting, the Purifying Heaven and Earth Incantation had been completed.
Black smoke continuously poured from the seven orifices of the woman Su Fan held, coalescing into a humanoid form in mid-air.
The form was indistinct, its gender unclear, but a curved slit appeared lower on its face, as if smiling.
It waved at Su Fan below, seemingly in farewell, then turned to fly away.
But it had barely moved four meters before crashing into an invisible wall.
The smoky figure was stunned, looking down.
The Winchester brothers, looking quite pleased with themselves, held up spray paint cans towards the smoky figure.
Unbeknownst to the demon, while Su Fan was engaging it in conversation, the brothers had drawn a containment circle around them.
They had also prepared a Latin bible.
Just as Sam opened the bible, ready to begin the chant…
A yellow talisman suddenly flew through the air.
Faint arcs of electricity shimmered on the seemingly ordinary yellow paper.
The deafening crack of thunder piercing the air exploded in the Winchester brothers’ ears.
A twisting, sinuous serpent of lightning struck the smoky humanoid form.
How can this be!! How can this be!!
In its agony, the demon felt its life rapidly draining away.
For the first time, this being who had wreaked havoc with impunity tasted the terror of impending death.
It finally understood the meaning behind Su Fan’s earlier cold smile.
This exorcist truly possessed a means to kill a demon!
It had been too careless.
When the host body’s limbs were broken and wouldn’t heal, it should have fled immediately.
Now, escape was far too late.
“Father!! Save me!!!”
Despair and fear drove the demon to let out a final, mournful shriek towards the sky.
Dean and Sam watched clearly as the smoky figure emitted one last scream of terror and pain, then melted away into the air like snowflakes meeting heat.
Without its controller, the shadowy devil that had been battling the Astrologer Ghost also dissipated.
“…It’s dead?”
Dean looked at his brother.
“Did you see Su reciting from the bible?”
No.
The demon hadn’t fled into the distance, nor had it returned to Hell.
Su Fan’s talisman had used the power of thunder to kill a demon, a being thought to be nearly indestructible!
The brothers exchanged a glance, seeing the same thought in each other’s eyes.
A weapon that could destroy demons was right here in front of them. Why look elsewhere?
With this, their goal of avenging their mother seemed within reach!
“Su, what talisman did you use just now?”
“Five Thunder Talisman. More effective for exorcism than the Evil-Suppressing Talisman, but quite expensive. Do you want some?”
Su Fan casually pulled a few more sheets from within his robes.
“Yes!! Absolutely!!”
Sam immediately became excited, while Dean, seeming to think of something, asked,
“Can these talismans be reproduced? Or are they one-time use, gone when finished?”
“Would selling them to us affect your future exorcism work?”
A tool that could kill demons was exceptionally rare.
Dean instinctively assumed the talismans were limited, consumable items.
“I make these talismans myself. No need to worry about quantity.”
“Rather than that, I think you two should focus more on how to deal with the ‘father’ that one just called out to.”
Su Fan’s words served as a reminder.
As the sage Tang Seng said well, humans are born from their human mothers, monsters from their monster mothers.
So demons are naturally born from their demon mothers.
Beat the young one, and the old one appears—a universal truth, past and present, East and West.
“Would a demon specifically seek revenge for its kin? Do they have that kind of sentiment?”
Dean seemed somewhat dismissive.
“They might not come for revenge, but they will definitely come looking for you.”
Under the brothers’ slightly confused gazes, Su Fan gave the reason.
“That demon just now was likely the child of the one who killed your mother.”
