Chapter 149 — The Hospital Falls
"The hospital is in the middle of the city—how can the phones be down?!"
The nurse stared at her screen in disbelief.
Lorraine's brow twitched. She pulled out her own phone and found the same result—no signal.
Yet all the medical equipment around them was operating normally.
With her special sight, Lorraine quickly sensed the evil aura drifting through the corridors.
So someone set up an isolation barrier…
Some types of barrier formations could indeed cut off external communication.
Realizing this, Lorraine understood immediately—these intruders were most likely sent by Hans.
She rushed back into the ward and grabbed the "Safety Handbook" Father Gideon had given her.
"Emergency Protocol No. 5. First, evaluate whether escape is possible…"
Lorraine glanced at Ed lying unconscious on the bed.
She would never leave him behind.
She continued reading.
"Alright, I'm guessing you won't abandon Ed, so… let me think."
Lorraine's lips twitched. She hadn't expected Father Gideon to even write down his thought process.
"Step one: Rally every potential ally—patients, family members, nurses, security guards.
In crisis, people naturally follow whoever seems like they have a plan."
"Step two: If you cannot move Ed, I suggest relocating him to another ward first.
Then deliberately draw attention to yourself to misdirect the enemy…"
Lorraine understood.
The hospital had electronic records—they would know which ward Ed was in.
"Oh, and before you leave, block the ward door with a rolling hospital bed.
A man named Rick proved this greatly improves survival chances."
Lorraine's eyes lit up.
She had no idea who this "Rick" was, but it sounded like a solid tactic.
She skimmed the rest. Her panic gradually settled.
Then she grabbed what she needed and started following the plan exactly as written.
Gideon's protective array remained in Ed's original ward—he had instructed her to leave it behind as a delay mechanism.
She prepared the new ward next, arranging the holy items strictly according to the diagram.
Once everything was ready, she stepped into the hallway to rally the people standing around watching the chaos unfold.
"Hey—listen to me! We need to work together—"
She explained the danger and called for unity.
Some people listened.
Some decided to flee toward other exits before the danger spread.
And a small minority… objected.
"Why the hell should we listen to you?"
A tall, muscular man scowled.
Lorraine took a deep breath—recalling the note in the handbook:
Respect the choices of others.
She smiled calmly.
"Sir, you're free to make your own decisions."
The man froze. He had expected a confrontation.
Instead, he felt like he had just punched a pillow—completely off-balance.
Ding—
The elevator chimed.
Most people had their backs to it.
The man's eyes brightened, and he strode toward the elevator.
"Hmph, I'll ask myself."
"Don't—!"
Lorraine hurried to stop him.
"Curiosity only gets you killed in situations like this."
Again—words straight from the handbook.
But the man snorted and ignored her.
"Hey, buddy,"
he slapped a figure standing in the elevator.
The next second…
Everyone inside the elevator turned around in perfect unison.
Their heads twisted at unnatural angles.
Their eyes were hollow.
Their bodies jerked like marionettes pulled by invisible strings.
A chilling silence swept across the hallway.
And then—
all of them smiled.
The burly man froze as a chill shot down his spine.
Blood. Cold.
A dozen lifeless eyes stared at him.
These things—whatever they were—no longer resembled anything human.
Moments later, the elevator erupted into a brutal feast.
Lorraine had already slipped away the moment the man turned around.
As she moved down the hall, she saw the same "creatures" appearing at other exits—
including several people who had left earlier on their own.
Many bystanders felt a strange wave of relief wash over them.
Good thing we stayed.
Among them was the nurse from before.
"Mrs. Lorraine… why are we going to the monitoring room?" Una finally asked, puzzled.
"If we don't understand the enemy's positions, we're blind.
If the surveillance system still works, we control the flow."
Lorraine repeated the words straight from Gideon's "manual."
Una nodded, but worry soon clouded her eyes.
"Those… things we saw earlier… can we really make it out alive?"
The image of the man being torn apart lingered vividly in her mind.
Others wore similar expressions.
Lorraine's gaze remained firm.
"We can. My friend is on his way here—he's a powerful exorcist.
As long as we hold out until he arrives, we'll survive."
Her confident tone lifted spirits—
not enough to inspire true hope,
but enough to soften the crushing despair.
---
Meanwhile, on the first floor…
Almost no signs of life remained.
Blood smeared across the tiles.
A thick metallic stench filled the air.
A black-robed figure materialized.
"Lord Samail, the Servitors report spotting the woman on the second floor of the inpatient wing."
"Good," Samail said calmly.
"Send every remaining Servitor there.
She likely carries high-grade holy relics.
Wear those down first. Then kill her."
"Yes, my lord."
"And herd those two toward the north wing, third floor.
Dead end."
The servant bowed again and vanished.
Soon after, the "people" lurking through the hospital began drifting in the same direction—drawn by unseen strings.
---
Back in the monitoring room—
"What's happening to them?" Una pointed at a screen.
"They're… heading straight for us," someone muttered.
Ten minutes earlier, the group had stumbled into the monitoring hub—
an isolated section rarely visited, where a few security guards had been hiding.
By some miracle, the surveillance system here remained untouched.
Wireless radio still worked.
When they saw the state of the hospital on the screens, disbelief washed over them.
This wasn't an attack—it was a full-blown sacrificial ritual site.
Only now did Lorraine truly understand why Gideon told her to come here first.
With surveillance, the cultists' movements were clear as day.
Had she been wandering the halls, she would already be one of those monsters.
"Mrs. Lorraine—what do we do now?!"
Everyone instinctively looked to her.
Over the past hour, she had led them away from danger time and time again.
She was their anchor—
their only source of direction.
Lorraine hesitated only briefly before speaking:
"I'll draw the monsters away.
Una—watch the screens and guide me. Use the radio."
She pressed a wireless transmitter into the nurse's hand.
"What? No! That's far too dangerous."
"We can think of something else—"
But Lorraine gently shook her head.
"People's hearts crumble under pressure.
Voluntary sacrifice is sometimes the only way to save the group."
—another line straight from the manual.
Luring the monsters was deadly.
But with advance information and the holy items Gideon had provided, survival was possible.
What she couldn't rely on…
was the crowd.
Right now, they were cooperative.
But in true desperation, they might push her forward as a shield.
And if that happened, she couldn't trust the directions they gave.
As expected—
Once Lorraine made her stance clear, the others offered some perfunctory objections…
but no one stepped forward to take her place.
After checking her equipment and ensuring Una understood her role, Lorraine stepped out of the monitoring room.
Pale fluorescent lights flickered overhead.
Empty corridors stretched in every direction.
Distant, distorted shrieks echoed through the air.
Lorraine could almost see the wandering souls of the newly dead.
"Hoo…"
She took a deep breath and switched on the radio.
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