Chapter 23: Mary Shaw's Breakdown
This speaker was something William had picked up from a closed-down store.
When performing an exorcism, playing church-related music had a certain deterrent effect on evil spirits.
Of course, this usually required specific sacred hymns.
William simply wanted to provoke Mary Shaw.
He turned the knob, increasing the volume even more.
"Will she really fall for this?" Ren asked, holding a stick and looking around nervously.
"We're being this arrogant; there's no reason for her not to get angry."
William instructed again, "You hide first. When she comes, go to the agreed-upon spot."
Ren nodded and hid behind a pillar.
Before long, black mist surged inside the theater, and Mary Shaw appeared with it.
She saw the speaker on the ground immediately.
Without hesitation, Mary Shaw telekinetically hurled a chair at it.
But the chair suddenly dropped half a meter before hitting the speaker.
Then, she noticed an amulet on the speaker, just like the one on the iron bridge earlier.
"Ma'am, can't even music soothe your savage breast?"
Someone spoke from the side.
Mary Shaw looked and saw a priest in black robes.
Her face twisted in fury. "You're the one who touched my theater!"
"I did indeed add a few bricks," William admitted openly.
At this moment, he was wearing five crucifixes on his chest, plus many more on his wrists and ankles, so the sound of clanking metal accompanied his every step.
"You deserve to die!"
Mary Shaw teleported in front of William, reaching for his throat.
But her hand was blocked by an invisible barrier.
"Last night was you too!"
Mary Shaw gritted her teeth.
"That's right, it was me." William smiled.
"You filthy thing, slave submitting to the Church..."
Mary Shaw actually started cursing.
"Ma'am, where are my companions?" William was unmoved.
Seeing Mary Shaw unharmed, he guessed that Luen and the others might have failed.
But those two were from the Diocese; they should have life-saving items on them.
Mary Shaw grinned hideously. "I've already turned them into puppets, granting them eternal life."
Of course, William wouldn't believe her that easily. "I advise you to tell the truth, or I'll take apart your child."
Then he actually took out a puppet—it was Billy.
Right now, Billy was just like William, covered in holy artifacts.
William then took out a screwdriver and aimed it at the puppet Billy's eye.
"No!"
Mary Shaw panicked slightly.
She had lost contact with Billy last night and thought he had already been destroyed.
"Give him to me!"
Mary Shaw suppressed her urge to kill.
"Sure. Where are my companions?" William wasn't afraid at all, even inserting the screwdriver slightly into Billy's eye.
"Stop!"
Mary Shaw couldn't sit by and watch, because puppets were everything to her. So she revealed the whereabouts of the three.
"Basement Level 1, Modification Room."
After hearing this, William threw Billy over.
Mary Shaw caught Billy but was immediately confused.
"You actually believed me?"
Although she had told the truth.
But if this priest was so naive, she wouldn't mind doing something more.
"Of course not."
William shook his head.
"But I also made some modifications to the other puppets in your cabinet. If you lied to me, I'll burn them all."
Mary Shaw was startled. She hadn't noticed any abnormalities when repairing the puppets.
But thinking about how many times she had been tricked by this guy, what if...
"Damn it! I didn't lie to you. What did you do to my puppets!" Mary Shaw's tone was urgent.
Seeing her reaction, William knew Mary Shaw hadn't lied.
"Is that the attitude for asking a question? Come closer!"
William beckoned, his manner quite frivolous.
Mary Shaw felt humiliated.
But those puppets were her life's work and the basis of her existence, so she floated closer to William with difficulty.
"Speak!"
She almost roared.
"Right... now!" But William suddenly took a step back.
Mary Shaw was confused and heard a sound from above.
She looked up.
Splash.
In the next moment, a bucket of holy water poured all over her.
Sizzle... hiss...
Mary Shaw was being corroded.
She screamed hoarsely, using all her strength to shake off the holy water, but couldn't.
Soon, Mary Shaw and Billy turned into ash together.
This was also a trap William had set during his last visit.
After entering Ravens Fair, the progress of [Holy Water Consecration] had maxed out.
After that, this skill evolved—
[Devout Baptism]
[Current Progress: Tier 2 (0/1000)]
[Unlocked Ability: Devout Favor. The holy water you make has a much older age and possesses a natural suppression against evil.]
William had tested it immediately. The holy water he made now was about twenty years old.
He went downstairs and found the three captured teammates.
However...
Mary Shaw had planned to turn the three into puppets, so she intended to process their internal organs in this room.
Therefore, the three of them were currently... naked.
Originally, Olivia smiled with joy when she saw William.
She usually kept a straight face, but now she had two dimples when she smiled, looking quite charming.
But immediately after, she saw William staring at her.
Olivia lowered her head.
At this moment, she was fixed by the apparatus on the chair, with almost no privacy.
Plus, running all the way earlier had left her covered in sweat, looking quite... alluring.
"Ahhh..."
...
Half an hour later, the five of them came out of the theater.
Luen and Jamie felt the relief of surviving a disaster.
Olivia also breathed the fresh air deeply.
William walked at the very back, a red palm print on his face.
"Untying you was bound to involve some touching..."
He stared at Olivia's back with a resentful expression.
When Ren found out, he cried out in regret for missing the show! He had been delayed packing up his gear.
After the five left, the theater behind them burst into flames.
regarding Mary Shaw's disappearance, William had already prepared a story—
He took advantage of her distraction by the speaker, mimicked Olivia chanting the exorcism mantra, and used the holy artifacts she and Luen gave him to severely injure Mary Shaw, causing her to dissipate quickly.
As for Ren, he naturally wouldn't expose William; he already knew William had some skills.
"She might resurrect in the cemetery! The ritual you set up might not stop her," Olivia suddenly realized after listening.
William told her that the grave had long been dug up.
"That's the safest way."
Everyone was shocked. That was too ruthless!
Digging up someone's grave was something even teachers at the exorcism academy wouldn't do.
Then William opened the trunk.
"When I went to the estate, I found that Mr. Ashen had already been made into a puppet. It was this woman..."
Everyone looked and saw Jamie's stepmother—Ella—lying inside.
She was tied up, and her body was covered with white papers drawn with runes.
Ella stared at William venomously.
This man not only attacked her from behind but also pasted wet papers all over her body under the pretext of exorcism.
Damn him!
But because of this, Mary Shaw lost her connection with Ella.
On the other side, Jamie stood frozen after learning his father had been killed.
Under William's coercion, Ella told the whole truth.
It turned out she couldn't stand the domestic violence from Jamie's father, so she held a grudge and conspired with Mary Shaw to turn Mr. Ashen into a puppet.
Jamie was overwhelmed for a moment.
But on the way back, he gradually accepted the truth.
At the same time, he was willing to fulfill his father's previous promise to rebuild the church in Ravens Fair.
As for Ella, she would be taken back to the Diocese by Luen and Olivia.
Before leaving, Olivia searched the town again but found no trace of Mary Shaw.
She could only leave some holy artifacts for Henry and the others.
Now that all of Mary Shaw's hiding places had been destroyed, she couldn't exist in the human world for much longer.
This cold-faced, warm-hearted nun didn't know the truth until she left.
When parting, Olivia mentioned that the commission reward would be issued in a few days.
She also apologized for questioning William at the beginning.
If not for his many arrangements, she might never have seen her family again.
Luen felt the same.
After this commission, the two underwent a transformation in their exorcism philosophy.
The exorcism training they received now seemed to have many loopholes.
For example, exorcists often faced demons without any preparation.
The two made up their minds.
After returning, they would follow William's example and no longer put themselves in danger.
Looking at the sincere pair, William naturally didn't know.
At this moment, the two had gone a bit... astray on the path of exorcism.
...
Seeing the two walk away, William looked at Ren.
"Accompany me back to Ravens Fair."
Ren looked strange immediately: "Why go back? Did Mary Shaw..."
Unexpectedly, William told him they were going to clean up the holy artifact traces left in the town earlier, in case the Church sent someone to investigate.
Ren was shocked, his understanding of William refreshed once again.
Just like that, they spent three whole days cleaning up all the traces of holy artifacts left in the town.
While the two were busy.
Two guests arrived in West Philadelphia.
"Emma, the Aunt Bailey we are visiting this time was a friend of your mother's."
David Gross looked at his daughter and said.
He was a typical white elite, with a fit figure and handsome face, attracting the gaze of many young women on the street.
And David's daughter, Emma Gross.
At this moment, she was staring at the women trying to seduce her father until they disappeared around the corner.
Emma inherited her parents' looks and had an angelic face.
She behaved elegantly, gently, and politely, looking like the perfect child.
"Okay, Daddy. I'm looking forward to it." Emma smiled.