York was silent for a moment, staring at the Nun on the seat, and whispered softly.
"So your name is Valac! Sixty-third of the Seventy-Two Pillars of Hell, a Great President of Hell..."
His voice was cold, but it acted like a trigger. Valac, sitting on the stone chair, suddenly looked up, revealing its pale face, and roared at York with a mouth full of spiral-like sharp teeth.
Roar!
Deafening, the entire stone chamber shook instantly, shaking off dust. Behind it, the Nuns sent a powerful shockwave rushing toward York.
York remained unfazed. Mobilizing the mana he had been deliberately saving, he used the converter of the Exorcio (Exorcism) spell to manifest a giant fist in the air, which slammed violently against the shockwave.
[10 Mana used]
The fist and the shockwave collided; with a crack, both dissipated.
The aftershock fluttered York' priest robes. He silently pulled a Holy Hand Grenade from his bandolier, staring at Valac as it levitated from the stone chair.
"Wait for me. I will come before you personally to collect the debt of the Nuns!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the grenade landed with a clang, appearing precisely on the altar in the center.
Boom!
The holy light that erupted with the grenade's explosion spread everywhere, dissolving everything.
Floating in the void, Valac stared intently at York, who stood behind the flames, his face remaining calm throughout.
Snap!
The spiritual space shattered instantly.
York blinked, and everything returned to normal. The desk was still the same desk, but the stone chamber was no longer the one from just now.
"Father Yorkes, what does this mean? Do you know the demon's true name?"
Hili's question came from behind him.
"It's nothing."
York shook his head and closed the book. It was best if he was the only one who knew the demon's true name.
Just then, there was suddenly movement outside.
Footsteps echoed in the silent and seemingly empty space.
In such a dim environment where not a single person was in sight, these footsteps felt eerie.
Because of York' earlier testing, both Hili and Irene understood what the footsteps were coming from and did not panic.
Hearing the footsteps getting closer, Hili gave a warning.
"Father Yorkes."
"It's fine."
York turned and walked to the wooden door, pulling a Holy Hand Grenade from his bandolier.
In such a confined environment, using a Holy Hand Grenade to clear the area was the best choice—effortless and fast-acting.
Pulling the ring of the Holy Hand Grenade with one hand, York didn't step out. Instead, he leaned his upper body out to look to the right, saw the shadows appearing one after another in the depths, and gently tossed the Holy Hand Grenade over.
Clang.
York pulled back and stood behind the wooden door, waiting for the explosion.
Boom!
The tunnel shook.
The massive explosion brought a white-red shockwave, along with some messy debris.
It sprayed toward the left side of the path right before York' eyes.
Thud, thud, thud!
Everything settled, leaving only the lingering smoke.
In the candle-lit basement.
York looked back at the silent Irene behind him.
"Is anyone trying to communicate with you?"
Although he already knew the demon's true name and it shouldn't be hard to exorcise it with his current means, he preferred to crush his enemies whenever possible.
He only fought battles he was certain he could dominate; he didn't like just 'doing his best.'
The blood of jesus was known as a holy relic with countless miraculous effects. With his already strong spiritual sense, York felt that if he could obtain the blood of jesus, some incredible change might occur within him.
As for what that change would be, he didn't know, but it should be enough to crush a demon of the Great President rank.
"No, Father."
Irene shook her head. She knew what the Father meant, but from the helicopter until now, she hadn't seen anything.
"I can't sense anything."
York felt a bit disappointed.
"It might be its doing. It seems we need to find the Abbess's body, perform a Channeling Ritual for you, and then find the blood of jesus."
After telling the two of them their next move, York thought of something and went back to the desk, picking up the folded piece of paper on it.
Since the book contained clues to the demon's true name, this folded paper must also be something that could provide help.
Sure enough, when York unfolded it, he saw the location of the current stone chamber, the location of the Abbess's body, and the exact location of the Gates of Hell through the specially marked colors and names... It was a detailed map of the Saint Kata Monastery's tunnels.
York frowned, subconsciously recalling the Old Nun's words about the fate of Saint Kata Monastery and her own fate.
In the dark, he felt as if an invisible hand was guiding his actions.
Combined with his previous judgments, it seemed even the Old Man was playing some kind of role in this.
York stared at the map, his brow furrowing deeper. He didn't like this feeling of being manipulated, with every step planned out.
"Father Yorkes, what else did you find?" Hili leaned in and stared at the map in the priest's hand, looking somewhat surprised.
"This is?"
"A map of the tunnels," York replied, his brow instantly relaxing. He memorized the locations of the Abbess's body and the Gates of Hell, then slowly folded the map.
Although he hated the feeling, he decided to take things as they came; it didn't change his desire to beat up Valac.
"First, find the Abbess's body for the Channeling Ritual, then find the source."
Tucking the map into his coat, York picked up the Rotary Grenade Launcher and led the way out of the stone chamber, with the other two quickly following.
The three continued deeper into the tunnels.
Before long, two more booming explosions drowned out everything, followed by silence.
One minute later.
Boom! York expressionlessly pulled the trigger. A grenade shot from the muzzle, blowing apart the last remaining Nun.
A closed wooden door appeared at the end of the tunnel, with a turn to the right.
York continued to lead the way, walking past the filth on the ground while rotating the cylinder of the grenade launcher, pulling a Holy Grenade from his bandolier and loading it.
Click, click! The sound of reloading in the now-quiet path brought a sense of peace to Irene behind him.
By now, she had grown accustomed to the priest's simple and blunt methods.
As the man behind her, Hili, put it: the Father cleared the way with grenades and finished things off with the launcher, an invincible combination.
And it was true. Whenever they encountered a group of Nuns possessed by demons, the Father would always pull out a grenade, and the booming explosion would instantly resolve everything.
For instance, right now, the Father suddenly stopped and tossed another grenade toward the unseen corner on the right.
Boom!
A blinding light illuminated the end of the path.
The shockwave followed, slamming into the opposite wall, the aftershock fluttering her Nun's cowl.
"So this is clearing the way with grenades..."
Irene subconsciously touched the bandolier of grenades she was responsible for and smoothed down her cowl. Seeing the Father continue forward, she hurried to follow, stopping only when he did.
"We're here."
Hearing the Father's unchanging voice, Irene pursed her lips and looked at the wooden door that was partially visible.
Was this where the Abbess's body was?
From what the Father had said, she knew she had a constitution that allowed her to enter a certain space and communicate with the dead or other entities, much like an astral projection.
Before she could think further, the Father's words made her nervous again.
"Get ready, Irene. During the channeling later, I need you to find the Abbess and the location of the blood of jesus. Perhaps the Church had you accompany me for this very reason."
With that, York pushed open the wooden door.
With a creak, the wooden door burst inward.
A cold draft rushed toward them.
In the gloom.
A set of stairs appeared, descending into an unknown depth...