Desperate Situation

If they had chosen the metal box related to the tongue-clicking sound and The Devil from the very beginning, they would have surely made preparations and devised countermeasures in advance.

But now,

they had made no preparations at all. It had happened completely out of the blue, and it had been placed after the zombies. The moment they encountered it, the class monitor had been seriously injured.

Moreover, they were only second-year high school students and lacked experience dealing with anomalies that had no physical form. Even if they had learned knowledge related to The Devil at school, it had only been theoretical.

According to the key points taught at school,

once an individual was possessed by a demonic-type "anomaly," the only way to avoid harming the possessed person was exorcism.

Since the city where Luo Di and the others lived was primarily part of Huaxia Nation, there were very few, if any, Pseudo-Humans displaying demonic traits. Ordinary schools did not provide in-depth instruction in this area; systematic education usually came after they advanced to higher education.

However, a top student like Gao Yuxuan had looked into it privately, and his mind raced.

In his view, Anna, a student from a top school in the Soviet Union, should have undergone specialized training and should have prepared tools for dealing with demons beforehand.

He quickly rummaged through Anna's backpack and really did find a Russian edition of the Bible, with a Metal Cross tucked inside it.

When the Bible was found,

the possessed Anna, lying on the bed, merely kept smiling, without the slightest change in expression to suggest that danger was approaching.

With a light toss from Gao Yuxuan, the Russian Bible landed in Luo Di's hands.

"Aren't you using it?"

"I can recite it from memory... Hurry and turn to Psalm 91. Read its contents with me. We can pray for God's protection and the expulsion of evil. It should be able to suppress the demon inside Anna to some degree and protect our minds, buying time until the institute's professionals arrive."

Once Luo Di turned to the corresponding passage,

Gao Yuxuan raised the cross in his hand toward Anna on the bed,

and the two recited in Russian together: "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty..."

Yet their recitation only made Anna burst into laughter. The ash filling the room did not diminish in the slightest, while the temperature continued to rise.

"Haha~ What good little children who love reading. You aren't believers, and you may not have even been to a church. You are even further removed from clergy.

You clearly don't believe, yet you want to borrow that guy 'up there's' power. You're killing me.

There's nothing you can do now.

Why not hurry up and leave like Wenwen? You might still have a sliver of hope.

But you don't seem like such cold-blooded people. You wouldn't leave this poor Girl here alone, would you?"

The demon's words coming from Anna's mouth did not disrupt their recitation. After all, this was their one and only means of exorcism.

Although their continued recitation did not cause Anna any discomfort, the smile on her face gradually faded, turning into disgust and revulsion.

"Enough!"

A roar burst from the tip of Anna's tongue, cracking the vanity mirror in the master bedroom.

"Listening to this disgusting stuff for too long makes me sick! Stop disgusting me, or once Complete Fusion happens, I won't kill you so easily.

Instead, I'll slowly strip every tendon and every piece of flesh from your bodies."

At that moment, one of Anna's eyes began to change. Her normally sized pupil rapidly shrank until it was no bigger than a speck, while the rest of the eye was completely consumed by white.

A small, thin infant tongue also grew beneath her tongue,

and this change seemed to signify that the possession had advanced another stage. The demon inside her had gained a stronger influence over reality.

Luo Di, who had been reciting the Bible, froze at that moment. A tongue had actually wriggled out from between the words on the page and even lightly licked the finger holding the book.

It was not the moist, sticky sensation he had expected, but an exceedingly strange feeling,

as though the tongue's surface was covered with countless tiny baby arms, clinging to and tugging at Luo Di, trying to drag him into the depths of hell.

The Bible slipped from his grasp,

falling onto the floor that had already turned to scorched earth and burning into ash.

Luo Di looked at the Bible burned away on the ground, then at the possession, which had not been affected at all and had even worsened. A special plan formed in his mind.

He immediately leaned toward Gao Yuxuan and signaled with his eyes for him to stop reciting the Bible.

The recitation stopped, and everything fell silent.

Anna's tongue repeatedly slapped up and down inside her mouth, as though clapping in delighted celebration. "Phew~ You've finally quieted down.

There's still some time before Complete Possession. Let me look at your true natures and pass the time a little.

Let's start with you—the bespectacled boy who likes reading and knows how to use needles."

Her speck-like pupils stared fixedly at Gao Yuxuan, as though they could see through his soul and discern his thoughts.

"Oh! A favored child of heaven, praised and held in high regard since childhood. Both your body and intelligence were outstanding, and you originally had a chance to enter the company-affiliated elite high school.

Unfortunately, an accident occurred just before enrollment. Something went wrong with your left hand, severely affecting your exam scores. In the end, you could only attend an ordinary high school and fell into self-doubt. Your arm's condition has even continued to worsen.

You paid quite a price to get a prosthetic limb, but you ran into an accident like me right after using it.

How do you feel now?

You were clearly about to climb out of your low point.

You clearly could have proven yourself in next year's entrance examinations through the success of this field practice.

Yet now, you're about to die in this accident during the practice.

The 'talent' you take such pride in is about to be personally buried by me. Are you beginning to feel despair?

Despair tastes so delicious. I can't wait to put my tongue into your mouth and savor it carefully. I wonder how fragrant it will be."

As the demon verbally laid out Gao Yuxuan's experiences, his expression did not change much. He merely adjusted his glasses with one finger.

He had long since tasted death and experienced the depths of despair, but he had come to terms with it a year ago.

Now, he only cared about the situation before him and was only considering how to break out of it.

At the same time, a question arose in his heart. Why had no one from the institute arrived after so much time had passed? His gaze occasionally flicked toward the door, hoping to see someone appear.

"They might not be coming..."

Luo Di's sudden words made Gao Yuxuan freeze.

"Waiting for rescue."

This was the foundation of all Gao Yuxuan's current actions. If this most basic path to survival was shattered, he would fall completely into a dead end of thought.

But upon careful consideration, Luo Di's conclusion did have grounds.

For the institute to make such a low-level mistake, something must have gone wrong internally. Even its personnel might be in danger, leaving them with no time to deal with the unexpected situation here.

Even if they were to handle it, they would need to wait until the institute had stabilized internally.

Gao Yuxuan's eyes turned vacant. For a moment, he did not know what he should do.

Anna, lying on the bed, continued her infernal speech. "You're right. Those people from the institute probably aren't coming. The reason I was able to appear wasn't merely a technical error.

All right, now let me look at this little boy who doesn't talk much but likes playing the hero."

Anna's head rotated on her neck like a machine,

turning her eyes toward Luo Di. When those granular pupils settled on him,

the possessed Anna's expression instantly changed, becoming puzzled, curious, and excited.

"...What a special human!"