Chapter 328: Whose Territory is the Haunted House Anyway?
Just as Mia was about to lose consciousness, a voice suddenly echoed in her ears.
"There's an old saying: every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. In this regard, your colleague has much more professional ethics than you do."
At the same time, she felt the constriction on her body loosen.
"Cough... Huff!"
Mia panted heavily and turned her head, discovering it was one of the two priests from earlier.
Seeing her notice him, William continued, "I read the diary you wrote."
"Although having a crush after marriage is human nature, it is rather disgraceful, not to mention your obsession with that Mr. Kobayashi was a bit out of line..."
Rustle—
As soon as he finished speaking, the black hair on the floor began slithering toward William.
"Look out! That hair is dangerous!" Mia hurriedly shouted.
William took a deep breath, constantly shooting glances at her.
"Lady... I appreciate your good intentions, but don't actively draw aggro!" he thought inwardly.
Fortunately, Kayako's target was still him.
Mia finally understood William's meaning and slowly crawled toward Simon.
"...Right, I also saw domestic violence mentioned in the diary. This is certainly an evil deed, and everyone has the right to condemn it..."
The creeping speed of the black hair slowed down slightly.
"But that only applies to Miss Kayako. As for you..." William looked the entity up and down.
"Having murdered so many innocent people relying on a spirit body formed from resentment, you'd better stop using such righteous reasons to whitewash yourself. You're probably not worthy of it."
The next moment, the temperature in the room plummeted.
Kayako stared dead at William, and the hair on the floorboards spiked toward him.
"What are you still standing there for!" Instead of showing panic, William looked at Mia.
The latter froze for a moment, then hurriedly dragged Simon to the side with all her might.
"Simon, this Mr. Priest is actually using his life to buy us time. I really shouldn't have treated him like that earlier..." A wave of guilt suddenly welled up in Mia's heart.
"Hey... I'm not dead yet," the corner of William's mouth twitched.
At the same time, Kayako's long hair closed in.
Three circles of golden patterns instantly surfaced in William's eyes as he looked at her.
The next moment, confusion appeared in Kayako's eyes.
All of its actions slowed down at this moment, as if it were entirely out of sync with this space.
Following this, William quickly cut his finger and drew an Oath Spell on the floorboards.
The moment the final rune was completed, the floorboards abruptly emitted a dazzling blood-red glow.
The same red light illuminated the four corners of the room.
Mia's mouth fell open as she watched this scene. She had never seen such a spectacle; it was just like in the movies.
In her arms, Simon gritted his teeth and reached out, his gaze fixed solely on the video camera not far away.
On the other side, after setting up the blood magic array, William threw out a few holy artifacts around it.
If the commission hadn't specifically requested a live capture, he wouldn't have needed to go through all this trouble, but luckily, he had trapped the target.
Bang! Bang!
Loud crashes echoed from inside the magic array.
Kayako continuously attacked the perimeter of the room, attempting to break free. Before long, the already dilapidated house was left in an even greater state of ruin.
William didn't stop. He continued to reinforce the magic array while sensing Kerson's location—the sacrificial item meant to seal the evil was with him.
Soon after, the magic array quieted down.
Mia summoned her courage and approached.
The evil spirit actually wore an expression of terror, crawling back and forth along the floor and walls incessantly.
"Ah—!"
Suddenly, a ferocious face appeared right in front of Mia, startling her severely.
"Lady... this is an evil spirit. Are you really not afraid of dying?" William's tone was helpless; he genuinely admired her courage.
"I am afraid..." Mia lowered her head, then stared straight at William. "But I don't want to miss this opportunity."
"You don't understand. As a video creator, I can only make money if more people watch me, and nobody cares about ordinary content..."
"Uh... I think I do know. But isn't the point that if you lose your life, you have nothing left?" William thought inwardly.
"...Only by doing this can I prove to my parents that I am working a legitimate profession!" Mia clenched her fists.
William was momentarily stunned. How did the topic suddenly shift to realistic family drama...
"Didn't they say American families were harmonious? It seems people all over the world share the same childhood traumas," he thought to himself.
But outwardly, William said, "Since that's the case, before I completely seal this thing, you can shoot some footage."
Mia's eyes instantly lit up: "Really! You're such a good person."
"Hey, even though I'm a priest, please don't give me the 'good guy card'." William corrected her.
"Also, before you officially start filming, you need to take off those red high heels!"
Although Mia didn't understand the part about the "good guy card," she obediently took off the red shoes.
"Phew... good thing this guy wasn't killed, otherwise who knows what kind of thing would have been born in this room," William thought, gesturing for her to quickly throw the shoes outside.
At this moment, an accident suddenly occurred!
Mia suddenly raised her right hand. Then, numerous pitch-black strands of hair abruptly surged out from the tip of her finger.
There was a wound there—the very one she and Tsuna Nakamura had cut to attract the evil spirit, which later came into close contact with the dark red stain on the bedroom floor.
Mia's face contorted in pain, her eyes filled with pleading.
But before William could intervene, the black hair reached out toward the red high heels.
The next moment, a massive amount of fresh blood flowed from Mia's finger, cascading down the long hair and drenching the red shoes.
Whoosh—
A Holy Nail flew in from the side, pinning the black hair to the floorboards.
The flowing blood stopped at this moment.
But the black hair intentionally snapped in the middle, and the remaining portion wrapped around the red shoes.
Rustle—
Even more long hair grew from the red shoes, and an overwhelmingly gloomy and powerful force flooded the room simultaneously.
Thud!
Immediately after, the red shoes crashed directly into the blood magic array, and actually passed right through it.
Kayako, inside the array, immediately pounced on them, clutching the hair-wrapped red shoes to its chest.
The next moment, the light around it suddenly turned a dim yellow, and its figure gradually turned transparent until it vanished completely.
William poured a bottle of Holy Water down Mia's throat, while the golden patterns in his eyes radiated brilliantly.
"The magic array wasn't broken. Did it use the blood of a living person as a medium..."
At the same time, gaps to different timelines appeared within the magic array once again. But after Kayako vanished, this exit quickly closed as well.
Meanwhile, in the Interstice Space.
"Ugh-uh..."
Kayako crawled out from the shadows, its throat letting out a hoarse roar.
It grabbed the severed hair at its shoulder, then violently smashed the floorboards in front of it.
Clink~ Clink~
A metallic clinking sound suddenly rang out nearby.
Kayako turned its head, only to see a human wearing a black robe once again.
"Oh~ finally found you." Kerson's eyes lit up.
He was just about to step forward, but his feet paused.
Under Kayako's bewildered gaze, Kerson adjusted his collar and wiped the iron chain at his waist against his clothes, looking as if he were about to meet someone incredibly important.
Rustle—
At this time, the long black hair struck at Kerson first.
But the latter did not dodge. Instead, as the hair reached his face, he tilted his head to the side and then tightly grabbed it with his hand.
Kerson took a deep sniff: "A putrid smell of rot. It must have been a long time since you took care of it."
He turned his head, his eyes brimming with deep affection.
"What kind of agonizing emotions would cause a lady to neglect even her beautiful appearance?"
Even though Kayako's limbs were currently twisted and its face was deathly pale and hideous, Kerson still spoke these words calmly.
The air instantly fell silent for a moment.
Kayako was clearly stunned in place. In its over a decade of slaughter, it had never encountered such a guy.
On the other side, Kerson unwrapped the chain from his waist and bound it to the pitch-black hair.
He then wrapped the hair around the chain, using it to pull Kayako toward him step by step.
"Ugh-uh—"
The latter was obviously enraged and immediately clawed at the human's face.
But Kerson still nimbly dodged, bringing his face close to Kayako's arm.
"Icy, deathly pale skin, scarred wounds..." His gaze was full of worry.
"May the Lord have mercy. What exactly did you go through? Could you tell me?"
Bang!
But the response he got... were sharp fingernails plunging into the floorboards.
"Your limbs have actually become like this, and there are obvious sharp cuts at your joints. Could it be that you were dismembered!"
Kerson looked incredulous, continuously peeling back the clothes on Kayako's body.
If someone who didn't know better saw this, they would think...
At this moment, the resentment within Kayako suddenly skyrocketed, almost comparable to the moment of its original death.
"Ugh-uh—!"
It widened its bloodshot eyes, viciously trying to strangle this human touching it.
But that chain suddenly floated up, tightly binding Kayako's hands, and then further locked around its neck.
At the same time, Kerson pressed his forehead against it.
"Your resentment stems from pain, death, and that unrequited love deep within your heart," he murmured.
Subsequently, Kerson raised his head, dragging out three spirit body chains, but two of them quickly snapped.
These things radiated spirit body fluctuations and possessed no physical form.
The other end of the chain emerged from the surface of Kayako's forehead, causing it to instantly reveal a ferocious expression.
"Only one emotion..." Disappointment flashed in Kerson's eyes.
"As expected... the most intense emotion is very difficult to capture in a short time. It seems I still don't know enough about this lady."
As a Holy Clergy Member with a dominant Soul Body stage, only by finding the most intense emotion could one truly purify an evil spirit.
However, the current emotion of "pain" was enough to trap the enemy.
Kerson guided the gray chain onto the surface of the iron chain, causing the latter to instantly glow with a gray light.
"Ugh—"
Kayako revealed an expression of agonizing pain.
Those chains tightly embedded themselves into its skin.
Even though it didn't possess a physical body in the true sense.
Because these emotions could act directly upon the soul, the "pain" Kayako felt at this moment was indeed very real.
At this time, the skin on its stomach suddenly split open, revealing a pair of bright red high heels inside.
"This is..." Kerson narrowed his eyes.
But before he could act, a gloomy power expanded outward, filling the entire Interstice Space the next moment.
Immediately after, many figures suddenly appeared around them.
A cameraman, students, old people, youths...
These people stood in place, their body surfaces constantly changing, from initially looking composed to ultimately being covered in blood.
At the same time, Kerson also noticed the chain in his hands constantly flickering, sometimes reverting to how it initially looked, and other times attached with the emotion of "pain."
He immediately frowned: "A Spirit Domain... to think this evil spirit has even mastered this."
Similar to Holy Clergy Members with a dominant Skin stage, when a dead spirit's obsession reached a certain level, it could also condense a domain unique to itself.
Within this range, the dead spirit could influence the rules according to its will.
Kerson immediately decided not to wait any longer and to seal the evil spirit first.
But before he could take out a sacrifice, his own body surface also began to flicker, and that emotional power rapidly receded.
"What! It actually mastered the Spirit Domain this quickly!" Kerson's eyes showed shock.
At the same time, Kayako raised its head again, aggressively pressing close to his face.
A drop of cold sweat rolled down Kerson's forehead.
At this time, Kayako suddenly whipped its head around, and Kerson followed its gaze.
They saw an opening appear out of thin air in the room, followed immediately by several glass bottles being thrown in.
Accompanied by crisp shattering sounds, a massive amount of white smoke instantly billowed up from the floorboards.
And Kayako also let out a piercing shriek, retreating from Kerson in an instant.
Only then did William pop his head out from the opening: "So you're here."
"Look out! This evil spirit has already mastered a Spirit Domain!" Kerson immediately shouted.
William frowned slightly; he had also noticed the anomaly opposite him, so he didn't step inside.
"Buy me some time, I'll recapture its emotions right now!" Kerson said, standing up.
Kayako crawled toward the two of them once more, the surrounding walls and floor already covered in black hair.
At this time, its body suddenly froze in place.
Kerson looked back, only to see three circles of golden patterns surfacing in William's eyes.
"Excellent! Just like that." He immediately picked up the chain from the floor.
But the next second, Kerson revealed a look of surprise.
He saw a bright red chain suddenly emerge from Kayako's forehead, quickly wrapping around its body surface.
"Ugh-uh—"
It instantly became extremely agitated, its entire jaw splitting open to an exaggerated angle.
The next moment, the bright red chain plunged into Kayako's abdomen, grinding the red high heels inside into pieces.
Seeing this scene, Kerson gulped.
He slightly turned his head to glance behind him, thinking in disbelief: "An emotion chain that looks like a physical entity, and condensed without the aid of any sacrifices. William... has actually mastered it to this degree, yet he's clearly still so young."
Subsequently, Kerson realized another thing—
The first time they met in the Land of the Holy War, William had displayed Holy Arts in the three stages of "Eyes, Skin, and Bone."
This meant he possessed three Brands.
And such talent could be considered excellent even in the Vatican.
But right now, he had used the "Emotion Chain" of the Soul Body stage, which meant...
Shock flashed in Kerson's eyes.
Among known Holy Clergy Members, only a very select few members of the Holy Clans could possess four or more Brands. According to past history, anyone with such talent eventually entered the Cardinal Council.
"I recall he doesn't come from a Holy Clan. Just where did Lord Jolan find someone like this..." Kerson felt incredibly envious inwardly.
While he was distracted, William had already completely subdued Kayako.
This time, he didn't use a blood magic array, but directly coordinated with his Holy Arts.
The red high heels had enhanced Kayako's resentment, making the spirit particle runes on its surface more active. Coupled with the effect of the [Divine Eye Seal], William was able to condense the emotion chain in one fell swoop.
At this time, Kerson also walked over, pulling a wooden box from his bag.
It bore a seal, and upon opening it, an unstoppered transparent glass bottle lay inside.
"This is..."
William frowned slightly, finding the object somewhat familiar.
But the next moment, the glass bottle suddenly flew into the air.
Immediately after, a massive amount of evil aura spewed out from within, surging in a certain direction.
And that direction was exactly where Kayako was.
William's brows knitted tightly together; this thing didn't look much like a "sealing sacrifice."
At the same time, Kerson suddenly widened his eyes.
He looked down, only to see a hand clutching a crucifix protruding from his own body, impaling a still-beating heart.
"You..."
Blood trickled from the corner of Kerson's mouth as he desperately tried to look behind him.
And William, standing opposite him, had already clearly seen the other person's face.
The proper robes, the neatly combed hair, and... the Golden Lion Cross badge worn on his chest.
"Ambo... Roshu!"
☆☆☆
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you