"Roar!"
The three hideous beasts, having taken no substantial damage, quickly scrambled back to their feet.
Seeing this, Jeffrey gritted his teeth. Gripping his bone necklace, he pointed it directly at the demon at the end of the hallway who had possessed Abigail, and shouted a new incantation.
"Exorcio!"
This was an exorcism spell his mother had taught him, used to banish demons or evil forces!
Instantly, as the incantation fell, a beam of light abruptly appeared and shot past the beasts. Under Jeffrey's expectant gaze, it slammed toward Abigail.
However, Abigail simply swatted at the beam. With a casual flick, she extinguished the light. The only damage it caused her was a faint mark on her palm that vanished almost instantly.
Seeing that it had no effect, Jeffrey's heart sank to rock bottom.
"Interesting... a descendant of a witch?"
A voice sounding like a wild beast rang out. Abigail's upper body leaned forward as she exhaled a breath.
A gale erupted. Jeffrey sensed it immediately and continued to chant his final knockback spell.
"Repello!"
There was a thud in the void. Unfortunately, the spell's power was instantly crushed by the demon's might, and the residual force slammed into Jeffrey.
Jeffrey was pinned against the wall behind him as if controlled by an invisible hand, unable to move.
"Cough! Cough!"
The impact made Jeffrey cough several times. He looked up at Abigail with a bitter smile.
The disparity in power was simply too great. He was like a small stream trying to challenge the vast ocean.
Abigail casually waved her hand, and the three beasts charged fiercely toward him.
Suppressed against the wall by some invisible force and unable to move, Jeffrey could see nothing but the hideous, bloody maws of the beasts.
"I never thought I'd die here. Mother, I..."
Jeffrey slowly closed his eyes, waiting for death.
He could already smell the foul stench of their breath.
"..."
"The Lord says, 'Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.'"
"'I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.'"
"..."
Jeffrey snapped his eyes open and looked toward the source of the voice. He first saw a water bottle the size of a mineral water bottle suddenly appear in the air above the three beasts. At the same time, he saw a priest in clerical robes raise a Revolver.
"Father Yorkes?"
Before Jeffrey could show any joy, the gunshot rang out first.
Bang!!!
The water bottle instantly shattered.
The water inside splashed everywhere along with the shards, drenching all three beasts.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
The water had an incredible effect; the three beasts began to melt instantly like plastic in a fire. Their bodies, which bullets couldn't pierce, dissolved so rapidly that their bones were visible within a single breath.
"holy water?" Seeing the miserable state of the beasts, Jeffrey realized what it was.
Roar! Roar!!
The three beasts howled in agony, their bodies oozing bloody fluid, yet they still lunged through the air toward Jeffrey on the wall.
"The Lord says, 'The beast is evil and must be punished!'"
The voice came from the right. Jeffrey, refusing to close his eyes, instinctively looked over. He once again saw the priest he had thought was ordinary, now holding a Shotgun.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!!!
In an instant, gunfire erupted continuously. The three beasts, whose hides were previously bulletproof, were blasted mid-air until they were covered in blood, and the force of the impact physically knocked them off course.
Boom!!!
Jeffrey looked at the three beasts lying motionless against the adjacent wall and instinctively licked his dry lips.
For the first time, he felt the sheer might of technological firepower in a certain sense.
"Are you alright, Officer Jeffrey?"
Before Jeffrey could even react to the voice, he found he could move freely again.
Jeffrey looked ahead. A broad back had appeared in front of him without him noticing. With the same expression as Baker, he stammered.
"Father Yorkes?"
York used a bit of mana to release Jeffrey's restriction. He didn't respond, instead staring at the woman with pitch-black eyes at the end of the hallway.
The goosebumps rising all over his body told him this demon was dangerous—very dangerous. However, it also surprised him; the demon's strength seemed to be somewhat limited.
"A dog of God?" Abigail tilted her head, her beast-like tone sounding surprised.
"And you have the scent of Satan on you?"
Hearing these seemingly egalitarian words, York pursed his lips.
"Can you still walk, Officer Jeffrey?"
Jeffrey replied immediately, "I can."
"Then go."
As York spoke, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a bottle of holy water. Instantly coating it with mana, he hurled it toward Abigail at the far end.
"Go to the right."
As the words fell, and while Jeffrey obediently and decisively ran to the right, York drew the linebaugh at his waist and fired a shot.
Bang!!!
The holy water bottle, which had flown right in front of the indifferent Abigail, instantly shattered. The holy water splashed onto Abigail's face and body.
"holy water? As expected, it is still unpleasant." Indifferent, Abigail ignored the smoke rising from her skin and her slightly melting face. She stared at the priest, her pitch-black gaze growing even darker and more mesmerizing.
"This is tricky. How do I exorcise this? Good thing I didn't accept the second quest."
Since Jeffrey had left, York heard the [Quest Success] notification and complained internally while pulling out a Grenade.
[...]
[Random Quest: Save an innocent person from the demon (Completed)]
[Quest Reward: +20 Points (Distributed)]
[...]
Listening to the prompt, York ignored the several kilograms of pull force and manually wrenched the Grenade's pin out with one hand before tossing it toward Abigail.
The Grenade wasn't enchanted; he wanted to see if a normal Grenade had any effect on a demon's physical form.
Opportunities for such experiments were rare.
Boom!!!!
A massive explosion rocked the building.
York saw the Grenade explode in a flash of fire right in front of the still-indifferent Abigail, followed by a plume of rising smoke.
The downside was that the smoke, combined with the dim hallway, made it hard to see clearly. He could only make out a figure that hadn't wavered.
"The 'Smoke Means No Damage' rule?"
To prevent that possibility, York put away his Revolver and drew the other weapon at his waist, a winchester m1897, firing three consecutive shots at the figure ahead.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!!
Three Slugs, each enchanted with just a single point of mana, slammed hard into the unmoving figure.
To his surprise, the figure that had remained unmoved actually seemed to flinch for a moment.
"Human, you hurt me!"
As those words rang out in that beastly tone, York could feel a surging wave of energy rushing toward him.
An ordinary person would likely have been suppressed and unable to move, just like Jeffrey earlier.
But the battle-hardened York was different. He raised his left hand and, following his instincts, instantly mobilized the mana within his body.
[3 points of Mana used]
[Mana: 136.5 / 139.5 (Note: Recovers 1 point of Mana per minute)]
The three points of mana collided with the surging energy in front of him, creating a ripple. The residual force that hit York felt like nothing more than a light breeze.
"It seems I really have to rely on enchantments. Though, it's probably also because the Grenade's yield wasn't high enough..."
"Let's try something more powerful..."
York' mind was racing. He watched the woman emerge as the smoke cleared, and he pulled out another Grenade, his mana automatically spreading over it.
[10 points of Mana used]
[Mana: 125.5 / 139.5 (Note: Recovers 1 point of Mana per minute)]