John... an exorcist!
Almost instinctively, Taina categorized him as someone from the side of justice... Or perhaps it was because of his good looks and his ability to communicate normally. The girl's favorable impression of him immediately soared.
"J-John, what are you doing here?" Taina asked curiously.
John kicked the Death Apostle's corpse down the stairs, then sat down. Lighting a cigarette and puffing on it, he said casually, "Bad luck. I was helping a client exorcise a demon here, but I didn't expect to run into something like this."
"Exorcise... a client?" Taina stared blankly.
John shrugged and pointed at the corpse he had kicked away. "It got him. I didn't make it in time to save him... But it doesn't matter. I've already avenged him. They'll both rest in peace."
"Ha..." The girl gave an awkward smile.
...What a truly unconventional exorcist.
She had heard of exorcists before... Tribes living deep in the central region had indeed been visited by exorcists in the past, but that had been a long time ago. She had only heard about it from the elders in her tribe.
Being an exorcist wasn't a mysterious profession, nor were the entry requirements high. Most of them were even frauds who pretended to perform supernatural feats... But there were also genuinely powerful exorcists among them. Extremely powerful.
This John... didn't look like a fraud, at least. After all, he had managed to suppress a Death Apostle.
"What about you? You don't live here, and you don't work here either, do you?" John asked with a smile as he smoked. "Did you run in here because you were seeking shelter?"
"Y-Yes." Taina nodded timidly. She was too embarrassed to say that she had overestimated herself and wanted revenge, then rushed inside in the heat of the