Einstein! Where's My Coffin Lid?

The facts proved it.

In a moment of quick thinking, life really could find a way out on its own. Ian was the same. He sensed the threat and came up with a way to deal with it.

At this very moment,

he was putting his plan into action.

Of course.

It was nothing inappropriate for children.

"Get off me!"

The Evil Spirit roared and groaned in pain. It couldn't help it—Ian had opened his little mouth and sunk his teeth hard into its neck.

He was really chewing!

The kind where he swallowed it down into his stomach!

"Shut up!"

Ian raised a hand and pinched the Nun Wraith's already distorted lips. He only had five minutes to eat an Evil Spirit larger than himself.

This was definitely a difficult undertaking.

However.

Fortunately, they were both souls, so he didn't have to worry about getting too full. Still, for picky Ian, the Evil Spirit's texture really wasn't to his liking.

"Eat, eat, eat! You nasty-tasting ghost lady!" Ian even mimicked the Evil Spirit's earlier tone as he complained. The facts proved that his belief in Einstein's Law of Conservation of Energy had indeed been correct.

Yeah.

Perhaps there was some Theory of Relativity involved here too. If the Evil Spirit could devour him, then of course he could devour the Evil Spirit. The system's feedback proved that he was on the right track.

[Spirit: 2.9----3.1]

Ian's stats were rising.

That clearly meant the Evil Spirit's energy was flowing into him. Perhaps the [Spirit] stat was also related to the strength of one's soul. Ian still hadn't fully figured out what the four-dimensional attributes affected.

Just like how he didn't understand why his [intelligence] stat hadn't risen even after he came up with such a brilliant counterattack strategy. Perhaps this attribute really didn't have much to do with wisdom?

"Chomp, chomp~"

Normally, Ian didn't make noises when he ate, but he was wolfing it down right now, so table manners were naturally the last thing on his mind.

He figured the Nun Wraith probably wouldn't mind.

[Negative Status: Soul Corruption]

Devouring an Evil Spirit did not come without a price. A negative status slowly appeared above the transparent bar of Ian's [Rage Meter], but that was the least of a Berserker's concerns.

He had already leveled up anyway.

He just needed to learn a class skill later. Maybe this negative status would even benefit his body. Not only did Ian not stop, but after getting used to the texture, he sped up his chewing.

"No!!!"

The Evil Spirit struggled madly, but Ian pinned it down tightly. It had truly never encountered anything like this—normally, it devoured humans, yet now the tables had been turned?

This wasn't magical at all!

It didn't conform to the laws of the universe!

Meanwhile, in the real world.

Constantine crawled out of the rubble.

"Why did you bring a child here?!" he roared as he questioned his companion, rushing at full speed toward Ian, who had fallen into a "dazed" state.

"Damn it, Constantine! You only said you were going to die—you never said an Evil Spirit was going to kill you! I thought you were carrying out some insane and dangerous experiment again!"

Charles, who had climbed out right after him, was also full of regret and frustration.

"Get me the holy water, now!"

Constantine knew this wasn't the time to shift blame. He violently tore open the dazed boy's clothes. The boy's skin was turning gray at a visible rate.

Black vein-like patterns were also beginning to emerge across his chest.

It was a sign that his body was being ravaged by the "power" carried by the Evil Spirit.

"Charles! Get ready to hold him down! I'm starting the exorcism!" Constantine took the bottle handed over by his companion and tried to pull off the ancient pendant hanging from Ian's chest.

"Hiss—"

However.

The moment Constantine's hand touched the pendant, it was as though he had grabbed a red-hot branding iron. The pain made him suck in a breath, and when he withdrew his hand, it bore burn marks.

"What the hell is this thing?!"

He was startled and uncertain, unable to identify what exactly the pendant Ian wore was. Besides, time was of the essence, and he had no opportunity to study or examine it closely.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus!"

"omnis satanica potestas!"

"omnis incursio infernalis adversarii!"

Constantine sprinkled holy water over Ian with one hand while chanting Latin exorcism spells under his breath. His expression was grave, and his cadence rose and fell with convincing solemnity.

However.

Although white smoke really did begin to rise from Ian's body the instant it touched the holy water, the Evil Spirit did not reveal itself. Constantine therefore raised his voice and increased the intensity of his efforts.

"That expression..."

Sweat gradually covered his brow as uncertainty filled him. He actually saw Ian's lips slowly curve upward! A child was smiling? Constantine would rather believe it was a demon's sneer!

After all.

At this moment, the Evil Spirit should have been devouring the boy's soul, and the body should have been under the Evil Spirit's control. Therefore, every expression the boy made could only be related to Demons!

"Humiliare sub potenti manu Dei,"

"ontremisce et effuge,"

"Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine!"

Constantine felt nothing but unease and horror. He quickly switched to another exorcism method, attempting to draw upon Heaven's power to drive out the Evil Spirit. He was well versed in all kinds of magical schools and highly proficient in them. Yet for some unknown reason, this new version of his exorcism spell still failed to achieve the desired effect.

Although holy light had bloomed and countless streams of black smoke poured from Ian's body, the Evil Spirit still wasn't dragged out. Its tenacity far surpassed Constantine's imagination.

This was absolutely not normal.

It was something Constantine had rarely encountered in his career as an exorcist. As a master of magic in the human world, he might have had no faith, but no one could deny his attainments in magic. His exorcism magic in particular combined the strengths of countless traditions and far surpassed that of most priests and related practitioners.

"No! How can it resist for this long? How can some minor lackey from Hell be this powerful?!" A chill ran down Constantine's spine, and his mind couldn't help wandering into wild thoughts.

What kind of terrifying demon could withstand his exorcism?

Could this be another conspiracy aimed specifically at him? Had some supreme demon acted in secret, intending to use the boy's soul to bring his already near-unsalvageable soul even closer to damnation?

Fear and unease filled Constantine's heart.

And just then.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"

A pained wail echoed through the entire room.

It was the Evil Spirit's voice.

"I'll be back! I'll get my revenge!"

The Evil Spirit finally emerged from Ian's body, but it didn't look as though it had been dragged out by the exorcism spell. Instead, it looked as if it were fleeing in frantic haste and utter disarray.

It even endured the intense pain as smoke poured from its body beneath Constantine's unceasing holy water, determined to force its way out. The sight was like a terrified girl who had been violated, desperately struggling to escape.