Although he didn't know the reason, if he put himself in the demon's perspective...
A demon doesn't need to explain to the ants in its eyes, just as a human doesn't explain to the ants they toy with until they die... So he didn't dwell on the reason; after all, a demon was still a demon.
Listening to Officer Baker's wife's worries and story, York just steered with one hand and floored the gas pedal. He had long been prepared for this.
"Don't panic, Ms. Hardy. I'm on my way to the Jesse Building now... Please pray at home; the Lord will hear your pleas..."
"..."
The blockaded Jesse Building.
The monitoring room.
Officer Baker, who had just arrived at the monitoring room, put down his phone and shook his head.
"I don't know what's going on, but the signal suddenly cut out."
Staring at the monitor screen at the still-living, sobbing Abigail, Jeffrey's heart sank.
"It's that demon's doing. It won't let us leave!"
Hearing this, Officer Baker frowned slightly and looked at the monitor.
"Jeffrey, are you being a bit too sensitive?"
Jeffrey shook his head, kept staring at the monitor, and said in a low voice.
"You don't understand. When we tried to save her, we were already trying to interrupt its judgment. The maintenance worker's death was a warning and a reminder..."
Hearing this, Officer Baker instinctively glanced at the already panicked Adolf and Ronald, as well as some flustered officers. He leaned in and whispered to Jeffrey.
"Buddy, do you know what you're saying? Don't scare them, okay?"
"Baker, I'm perfectly lucid, and I know exactly what I'm saying!" Jeffrey turned and stared intently at Officer Baker. "You don't understand what we're about to face!"
Seeing his colleague so serious, Officer Baker hesitated for a moment. He knew his colleague's personality; although he had some faults, he was indeed someone who wouldn't lie.
"Fine, I give in. Let's wait for Father Yorkes to get here and let him see for himself, alright?"
Hearing Father Yorkes' name, Jeffrey's expression remained solemn but softened slightly. Because his mother wasn't exactly an ordinary person, he knew what existed in this world, which was why he felt a sense of respect for the Church.
Just then, a noise from the walkie-talkie in Officer Baker's hand caught his attention.
Officer Baker instinctively glanced at Jeffrey. "It's the Fire Department."
Jeffrey nodded.
Seeing this, Officer Baker simply picked up the walkie-talkie and pressed the button, but for some reason, a sudden feeling of chest tightness came over him.
"Hello?"
"Officer Baker, something seems strange?"
The words from the walkie-talkie made Officer Baker frown. He looked at Jeffrey while speaking.
"What is it?"
"The wall has been dug through, but suddenly a lot of blood is flowing from it, and there are many dead rat carcasses..."
At this moment.
The firefighters, who were digging through the wall and preparing to reach the main elevator shaft, looked at the partition wall dripping with bloody water and the dense mass of rat carcasses stuck to the shaft wall next to it. They couldn't help but feel their skin crawl.
"Anyway, it's very eerie!"
The Fire Captain leading the team looked at the scene inside the hole, his throat instinctively bobbing.
"Do you want to come down and take a look?"
Officer Baker was stunned.
The words from the walkie-talkie couldn't be hidden from Jeffrey. He turned to look at the monitor screen.
Sure enough, on the screen, the elevator lights began to flicker incessantly again.
He looked at Abigail inside, still alive, curled into a ball and sobbing uncontrollably, and gritted his teeth.
"Tell them to withdraw!"
Hearing this, Officer Baker hesitated.
Jeffrey, however, decisively snatched the walkie-talkie from Officer Baker's hand and pressed the button.
"Leave the rest to the Police Department. You can withdraw now!"
But just after speaking, Jeffrey stared blankly at the monitor screen, which had gone black.
"It's too late..."
..."Such a strong smell of lava. As expected, it's likely the demon's true form."
York, who had just arrived, carried a backpack in his left hand and a winchester m1897 in his right, with a Knights Sword on his back. He arrived at the entrance of the first-floor lobby.
The time was [22:40]
However, the main doors of the Jesse Building were tightly shut, and the interior was empty.
"Am I late?"
York looked at the still-active Mission Window and instinctively glanced at the surroundings.
The Jesse Building was located in a bustling area, so even though it was almost 11 PM, there were still cars passing by on the surrounding streets.
But the drivers seemed not to notice the abnormality of the Jesse Building at all, nor did they hear any noise from inside. They only cast strange glances at him, which broke away instantly.
It was as if the Jesse Building had been pulled into some kind of strange space.
York simply wiped his eyes with his right hand, and Mana instantly spread.
[Used 1 point of Mana]
[Mana: 138.5/139.5]
Mana spread through his eyes, flowing endlessly. Now, in York' eyes, the building was enveloped by a certain force, encased within a layer of membrane.
"No wonder the people around haven't noticed what's happening inside the Jesse Building. Is this a demon's Illusion?"
"What powerful energy."
York picked up his backpack and stepped through the membrane alone.
Once through, the scene changed completely compared to the outside. The originally bright lobby had turned into a dim gloom.
York saw that the previously empty lobby now contained over a dozen motionless corpses.
There were security guards in uniform, elite professionals, police officers, and firefighters. Severed limbs were everywhere, the deaths were gruesome, and faces and bodies were blurred beyond recognition, as if torn by some wild beast.
[Triggered Random Mission ②]
[Exorcise the Demon]
[Mission Reward: +30]
[...]
Standing before the door, York looked at the suddenly appearing second Mission Window, then at the motionless corpses in the lobby. He narrowed his eyes, ignored the second exorcism mission, and mentally accepted the first mission.
[Mission ① Accepted Successfully]
[...]
He knew that the fact the first random mission still existed meant there were still living people in the building. The completion condition only required him to save someone from the demon; the risk was likely the demon's target shifting to him.
As for the second random mission, it might have been triggered because he saw the corpses. But exorcising a demon's true form was easier said than done. He wasn't confident against a demon that could walk the mortal world.
"I'll see how things go first. It won't be too late to accept it if I can win."
With a calm expression, York kicked open the tightly closed door and officially entered the Jesse Building, walking toward the place where the scent was strongest. His steps weren't hurried, but his speed was fast.
Meanwhile.
On the seventh floor, a group of people was fleeing for their lives in a dim hallway.
Leading them was Jeffrey, his forehead covered in fine sweat, and his face carrying a hint of despair compared to when he was in the monitoring room.
The demon was actually Abigail. The moment the lights went out, she had left the elevator and begun slaughtering everyone.
He saw the person next to him suddenly and bizarrely sucked away by some force, vanishing from sight in an instant.
He saw Abigail, with pitch-black eyes, suddenly appear and snap a police officer's neck with her own hands, as easily as wringing a chicken's neck.
He also saw the woman with pitch-black eyes raise her hands and summon three monstrous beasts that looked like stitched-together hybrids of tigers and wolves.
Yet, she pointedly didn't strike them. She said with a calm face:
"Run, humans..."
Like a cat toying with a mouse.