"Y...wait!"
Watching Rhode sprint away, Sulu was utterly speechless.
Maybe this was all part of Rhode's plan, but was it really okay to leave his inexperienced little brother alone to deal with a demon worshipper?
"You!"
Galan let out a beastlike roar. His eyes were bloodshot, and white vapor puffed from his nostrils. "You want to hurt my daughter? My sweet daughter?"
"N...no, sir, I think you've misunderstood!"
Sulu deftly slipped off his strap, took out his double-barreled shotgun, flipped off the safety, and aimed it at Galan. "You're just sick. Believe me... you need 'treatment'!"
Well, the Religious Inquisition of the Church of the Goddess of Light had passed down its unique "fire therapy" for generations. Its practitioners were skilled and always striving to improve. You—you deserve it!
The Church of the Goddess of Light had always taken a hard line toward demon worshippers.
Knowing that Mr. Galan wouldn't meet a good end, Sulu still couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger.
After all, he'd lived two lives, and he'd never killed anyone.
I need to mentally prepare myself. As Rhode said, even if demon worshippers look like ordinary people now, they'll commit all kinds of terrible acts in the future.
Killing him is for his own good. It'll free his soul from the demon's clutches.
And I can test out my Attribute Panel, too.
Sulu took a deep breath and was about to pull the trigger.
"Ah!!!"
Just then, a scream came from outside the door.
A middle-aged woman in a white nightgown stood there. Her lipstick was an unusually vivid red, like a blooming rose. "What are... what are you doing to my husband?"
Wasn't his wife supposed to have died long ago?
Sulu froze. Galan had already lunged at him.
To protect his family, the craftsman unleashed a terrifying amount of fighting strength.
Unfortunately, he was still no match for Sulu.
Smack!
Sulu knocked Galan to the floor with a slap, his eyes fixed on the woman who had appeared out of nowhere.
Could a demon really have brought her back to life? But according to Rhode... even if they're resurrected, they're just rotting corpses or Evil Spirits!
Sulu swung his shotgun toward her, ready to blast her if she made a single suspicious move.
"Elisa, run!"
Galan scrambled to his feet and stood in front of the woman.
Sulu's pupils suddenly contracted.
In his view, the ordinary woman in the nightgown opened her vivid red lips wider and wider, until they split all the way to her ears. A long tongue slid out, writhing like a snake.
At the same time, her figure grew increasingly translucent.
"An Evil Spirit? A ghost!"
Sulu drew a deep breath and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The powerful recoil hit him. An ordinary person might have lost their grip on the gun, but Sulu's strength and physique surpassed those of an average person. He stayed firmly on his feet, staring into the smoke.
The haze quickly cleared, revealing Mr. Galan standing in front of the woman, his body riddled with holes, and a ghostly figure behind him that was growing ever more translucent.
The woman had lost all of her former charm. Her face was deathly pale, like a corpse that had just died. Her mouth was split open, and her scarlet tongue lolled out.
A flash of crimson spread quickly across her once-white nightgown, transforming it into a red dress.
At the same time, the blood flowing across the floor was rapidly absorbed, as if by a sponge.
It was as if... the red dress had been dyed in blood.
"An Evil Spirit! A real Evil Spirit!"
When he saw the Evil Spirit's gaze turn toward him, Sulu couldn't help shivering.
The Portley Family was a family of Witch Hunters who possessed the [Witch Hunter] profession. Those with this extraordinary profession had powerful physiques and strong minds, but they were not very good at dealing with spirits.
Of course, they could use special potions and bullets to hurt spirits, but those were far less effective than they were against physical monsters.
And to make matters worse, he only had one Demon-Breaking Bullet for his shotgun.
[Experience Points +40]
A generous chunk of experience appeared on the Attribute Panel. It was what he'd gained for killing Galan.
As expected... killing monsters gives a lot more experience than defeating someone in a spar... Galan was just an ordinary person, yet he gave more experience than anyone in the Combat Club... no, he worshipped a demon, so maybe he wasn't 'ordinary' anymore...
"Ah!"
The Fierce Spirit stared at him and let out a shriek.
The piercing sound wave instantly shattered the glass in the nearby windows, turning it into countless shards.
This is bad... I'll get myself killed if I try to handle an Evil Spirit alone!
Sulu retreated without a second thought.
The Fierce Spirit floated forward over nothingness, seemingly about to reach out and grab him by the throat.
"Move!"
Sulu swung his arms rapidly and used Crane Style, trying to slip past the Fierce Spirit and escape through the door.
Hiss...
The next instant, he felt as if a bee had stung his left arm.
A burning pain flared through it, then it went numb.
"Damn it!"
He looked at his left arm. Three purple finger-shaped marks had appeared on it—the gift the Fierce Spirit had left him as he rushed past.
"Rhode, where are you?"
I'm not going to last much longer, brother! Give me a hand!
He rushed downstairs, only to discover three Little Imps like the ones from before surrounding Rhode and attacking him relentlessly.
This is... a trap!
Sulu's scalp prickled.
At the same time, he tossed aside the useless fire poker and grabbed a nearby chair without a second thought. Then he charged at one of the Little Imps attacking Rhode. "Get lost!"
Bang!
He put all his strength into the blow, and the chair exploded against the Little Imp, spraying a burst of green pus.
Sulu glanced at the broken chair leg in his hand. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he charged forward, stabbing it into the Little Imp's belly.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed as the monkey-like monster with Bat ears fell to the floor. It twitched twice, then finally lay still.
[Experience Points +50]
"Watch out! There's another Fierce Spirit upstairs!"
Sulu ignored the changes on his Attribute Panel and shouted as loudly as he could.
"I know... This combination is really strange..."
The pressure on Rhode eased. He shoved a dagger into Sulu's hand, then raised his revolver with the other and jammed it into the mouth of another Little Imp, pulling the trigger hard.
Bang!
A layer of disgusting pus splattered across the wall behind the Little Imp. Its corpse slowly crumpled to the floor.
"Take out the last one, then use holy water against the Evil Spirit!"
Rhode grinned savagely and pulled his hand back.
Just then, Sulu felt a chill run down his back.
At some point, the woman in the red dress had come downstairs. Her hands reached out through the wall. One covered Rhode's mouth while the other wrapped around his neck, lifting him off the floor.
"Mm... mm!"
Rhode's face turned purple, and his legs kicked wildly.
"This Evil Spirit... can actually overpower a second-tier Witch Hunter?"
Sulu was horrified.
Although Witch Hunters weren't very good at dealing with spirits because of their profession, they still had high resistance.
But now Rhode looked as if he wouldn't be able to hold out for long against her!
Before you continue