Datch paid no attention to the stunned, awestruck, or bewildered stares of the people around him.
He weighed the Poké Ball that sealed the shape-shifting daemon, then stored it in his game inventory.
[Congratulations! You have completed the quest: Found the real demonic culprit and successfully saved innocent civilians.]
[Reward: 200 EXP, 200 points, +30 Reputation]
The quest notification floated before his eyes, making Datch beam with satisfaction.
The commander of the Night Watch adjusted his collar and hurried over, his voice full of gratitude.
"Honorable sir, on behalf of all the Night Watchmen of Macragge and all the innocent residents in this building, I would like to express our most sincere—"
Before he could finish, Datch's jetpack roared to life.
The engines let out a thunderous boom, spewing out a tail of ghostly blue flames!
"Whoosh—!"
A powerful gust erupted, blasting dust in every direction. The Night Watch commander instinctively shielded his face, barely able to keep his eyes open.
When the wind died down and he lowered his arm, Datch was already soaring skyward like a meteor, his figure vanishing among the city's soaring towers, leaving only a fading contrail behind.
"He… he just left? I… I wasn't even done thanking him…"
The commander stood there, gazing at the empty sky, looking utterly lost in the breeze.
The speech he'd so carefully prepared, full of respect, was left unsaid, stuck in his chest.
All the other Night Watchmen and support troops looked at each other in confusion.
The civilians were even more dumbfounded—before they could recover from the shock, the hero was already gone.
…
Flying at high speed, Datch glanced at the mini-map, where a golden arrow pointed to his next target.
Before long, he arrived at an apartment building in another residential district.
Following the arrow, he landed precisely on the balcony of a certain floor.
As soon as he touched down, he heard muffled sobs and painful moans from inside.
Datch couldn't be bothered to look for the main entrance. Switching his Terminator armor to detective mode, he charged straight at the balcony door.
"Bang—!!"
The door exploded open with a crash, scattering wood splinters and bits of metal everywhere.
The commotion terrified the couple inside, making them shriek in panic.
The man instinctively shielded his wife, staring in terror at the oddly dressed Datch who had just kicked in their door.
Ignoring the frightened couple huddled in the corner, Datch swept his gaze over the room.
His eyes were instantly drawn to several storage boxes stacked in the living room corner.
He walked over and began opening them.
Datch was the type who couldn't stand leaving marked loot boxes unopened.
Back when he played games, if a treasure chest was hidden somewhere obscure, he'd spend an entire day just to find and open it.
Most of the boxes only held ordinary clothes and useless old ornaments.
But Datch's luck was pretty good.
At the bottom of one box, he found a dazzling golden coin stamped with the Emperor's profile, plus several Ultramar 500-world universal credit notes.
"As expected, there's always money if you search hard enough. That's the eternal law of gaming."
Datch put the money away with satisfaction.
Whether it could actually be used was another matter—collecting came first.
After making sure he'd opened every box, Datch adjusted his monocle and strode over to the man slumped on the floor—the one with a green question mark hovering over his head—and tapped on his info panel.
[Javier Fleck, Ordinary Resident of Macragge, Level 15 Technical Worker at Heavy Machinery Factory No. 3.]
Datch took the pipe from his mouth and said, "Mr. Fleck, you look like you're in trouble. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I… I… Angel, sir…" The man stammered, tongue-tied.
He glanced back at the tightly shut bedroom door—unsettling sounds came from within.
Struggle and hesitation filled his face. After a moment, he spoke in a choked voice, "Please, I beg you, help us. If… if there's truly no hope, at least… grant my daughter, Felia… a merciful end."
As an Imperial citizen, the man knew well how the authorities handled heresy.
A bullet to the head was merciful compared to being burned alive.
[Quest: A Father's Plea
Description: The poor little girl, Felia, has been possessed by a wicked daemon. Her young, innocent mind is being twisted and corroded. Please exorcise the daemon in time and save this pure soul before she's lost to darkness.
Reward: 200 EXP, 200 points, +30 Macragge Reputation.]
"Don't worry. Leave it to me."
Taking the quest, Datch pushed open the bedroom door and entered.
The temperature inside was icy, like stepping into a freezer.
A little girl was strapped to the bed with restraints, thrashing wildly, roaring in inhuman tones.
A small statue of the Emperor sat at her head, providing some suppressive effect.
But her face still twisted with monstrous expressions now and then.
When she saw Datch, the girl snapped her head around, eyes rolling back, leaving only the whites visible. Her head spun in a circle, emitting bizarre sounds.
Datch activated detective vision. The "Ecclesiarchy Holy Writ" on the table was highlighted.
He walked over, picked up the heavy tome, and turned to the marked chapter. The prayer passage was highlighted as well.
Clearing his throat, Datch began to recite solemnly.
"By the Emperor's holy will, let your light be the torch of truth, to pierce the wickedness of the daemons… er… Only the Emperor remains, our eternal protector. Cleanse all filth, restore clarity…"
He stumbled over some words, but the effect was dramatic.
Felia shrieked in agony, her body convulsing violently.
Black smoke uncontrollably poured from her mouth and nose.
"Stop! Enough! Why is your body so saturated with the power of the Cursed? Are you one of his chosen?!"
Ignoring the daemon, Datch kept reciting.
The daemon howled in pain. After a few minutes, it could no longer maintain its possession and was forced out of the girl's body.
It materialized as a writhing, malicious black spirit, shrieking as it tried to escape through the wall.
"Run? Not so easy!"
Datch's reflexes were quick as lightning—he hurled a Poké Ball. "Catch!"
The red-and-white sphere arced beautifully through the air, hitting the daemon dead-on.
The Poké Ball snapped open, unleashing a powerful suction.
"No!! What is this?!" The daemon's screech was full of disbelief and terror.
Its spirit form was forcibly compressed and sucked inside, vanishing with a "whoosh" of dark light.
Clack.
The Poké Ball closed, dropped to the floor, wobbled twice, then fell silent.
[Congratulations! You have completed the quest: Successfully exorcised the daemon possessing the little girl, saving an innocent soul and a family on the brink of ruin.]
[Reward: 200 EXP, 200 points, +30 Macragge Reputation]
Seeing the quest completion, Datch nodded with satisfaction, picked up the second Poké Ball containing the daemon, and stashed it away.
One step closer to his dream of being a Pokémon Master.
Outside, Mr. and Mrs. Fleck anxiously listened to the commotion: their daughter's screams, the daemon's howls, then the sound of something being thrown, and finally, silence.
Just as they summoned the courage to knock, the angelic detective opened the door and walked right past them, heading straight for the balcony. He switched back to Terminator mode and flew off with his jetpack.
The couple stared, dumbfounded. It took a while before they remembered their daughter and rushed into the bedroom.
They found Felia lying peacefully on the bed, her complexion normal once more.
A faint golden Aquila shimmered on her forehead.
"Thank the Emperor, it was truly an angel sent to save us."
The Flecks wept with gratitude, praying to the Emperor for this blessing.
When the Night Watch and Ecclesiarchy priests arrived, they saw the Aquila on the girl's forehead and all saluted—it was seen as a sign of the Emperor's grace.
Without that mark, even after exorcism, fanatics might have burned the little girl.
But with the Aquila, her fate was completely changed.
Meanwhile, Datch was already heading for the location of the last daemon.
…
Bonus chapter at 300 PS