"Come over and help."
Hearing Ed's voice, Drew, brimming with excitement, quickly moved to Ed's side, picking up a backpack and following him into the house.
"Father, Drew has always wanted to visit the Pluto Church," Rowling commented with a smile, watching the two men.
"I think he sees you as a life idol."
"A life idol?"
Father York, watching Ed and Drew, shifted his gaze to Theodore's family waiting at the door.
"I'm not suited to be anyone's idol. Of course, I'd welcome him to my church, and I'd be more than happy if he could offer his support."
Rowling, as if she already knew the answer, just smiled and said, "I'll get Ed to give him some time off."
"I'll be waiting," Father York said indifferently, turning his attention to the house enveloped in a strange atmosphere. "Now, the most important thing is to find out what's wrong with this house."
Hearing this, Rowling handed over a file she had been holding. "Father, this is the data and evidence we collected after our investigation."
Father York casually took the file and opened it, pulling out the first document.
"This house, about a year before Theodore's family moved in, was the scene of a massacre," Rowling said, looking at the priest engrossed in the document. "A man named Ronnie Defoe brutally killed his entire family at 10 pm, then committed suicide in the hallway with a gunshot..."
Father York's expression remained calm, just looking at a photo in the file, depicting a bloody footprint-filled corridor from the crime scene. "So, this is why Theodore's family always hears footsteps at 10 pm?"
Rowling nodded. "I think that's about right."
Father York flipped to the next page indifferently. He was just following the rules to confirm the situation of the house, to avoid any gossip reaching the church elders.
Now that the initial catalyst and medium had been confirmed, the next step was to ascertain the nature of the disturbances.
Father York stopped at the interview page and read on. The summary was as follows:
Initially, Theodore's family only heard footsteps at 10 pm, which eventually evolved into increasingly closer footsteps, until they felt as if they were right in front of them, followed by deafening gunshots.
This was quite frightening. They couldn't see anything, yet they heard footsteps approaching, step by step...
And just when the footsteps seemed to reach them, there was a loud bang. This would be too much for anyone, especially those with weak hearts.
Father York glanced at Theodore's family. Their faces were sickly pale, with red eyes, haggard and weak...
He continued reading.
After the gunshots started, the situation grew stranger. At 10 pm, the footsteps continued, and Theodore's family decided to hide in their rooms. But the locked door's handle started moving as if being twisted, followed by knocking that lasted for fifteen minutes before stopping.
When they dared to come out in the daytime, they saw a line of blurry footprints in the corridor, stretching to the door, as if something had stood there at 10 pm, twisting the doorknob...
"Tsk, it's getting more intense." Father York muttered, looking at the photos attached to the file, which showed a blood-red footprint in the corridor.
However, these photos and interviews alone weren't enough for church authorization, as all these could be fabricated by ordinary people.
According to protocol, mental illness had to be ruled out first.
As all three members of Theodore's family were affected, and their experiences were consistent, mental illness could probably be ruled out.
Father York continued reading, knowing that evidence of supernatural occurrences should be next.
The first was a photo, still of the corridor, empty with no one in sight. However, on a mirror hanging on the wall, there was a strange image of a man with half of his skull missing, his flesh blurred.
Seeing this photo, Father York silently put it away and closed the file, handing it back to Rowling, who was waiting.
Rowling took it, "Father, the evil spirit haunting Theodore's family is probably Ronnie Defoe, who committed suicide."
"I think so too."
Father York looked towards Ed and Drew, who had come out and were talking to Theodore's family.
"Let's start the exorcism tonight."
"Alright."
Rowling nodded. She looked at Ed, her beloved husband, remembering past events, and pursed her lips, hesitating before speaking.
"Father!"
Father York was about to go over when he stopped abruptly, turning to Rowling, who looked worried and hesitant.
"Yes, Rowling? What's wrong?"
Rowling took a deep breath, as if making a decision. "When I tried to sense the presence of the evil spirit, I saw something during a séance."
Father York looked at Rowling, noting the increasingly ominous aura about her, but remained calm.
"What exactly did you sense?"
"I entered Ronnie Defoe's perspective and heard voices, tempting him to kill whatever was in front of him, his family..."
Rowling's eyes showed rare fear. "I tried to identify the source of the voice and was pulled into a place where I saw a nun. She showed me a vision of Ed being killed!"
"A nun?"
Father York's heart stirred. Was the source of Rowling's ominous aura something resembling a nun?
"Yes!" Rowling took another deep breath, suppressing the fear that resurfaced with her memories.
"I think it's a presence warning or targeting something. Maybe Ronnie Defoe was under its control that night, leading him to kill his family and commit suicide..."
With Father York there, Rowling couldn't hold back her thoughts anymore and spoke at length.
Unbeknownst to her, she was trembling, seemingly engulfed in fear.
"...Her eyes and lips were all black, her skin pale, emanating ominousness, death, terror..."
"When I saw Her, I felt I was so close to hell..."
Rowling, speaking more and more fearfully, suddenly realized she had fallen into that terrifying scenario again, with a buzzing noise in her ears like an electric current...
Just then, a gentle voice rang out, pulling her back to reality and dispelling all her fear.
"Rowling!"
Rowling turned towards the voice, and there stood the comforting figure of Father York, smiling at her.
"Let's exorcise the evil spirit from this house first, and we can talk in detail later."
"..."
___________________
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There are always those individuals who, merely by standing there, become the center of attention for all.
And there are those who, just by their presence, bring an immense sense of security to everyone around them.
Yorkshire was such a person.
His arrival dispelled the gloom in everyone's hearts.
Hence, the relaxed mood of Ed and Drew this morning was not without reason.
As Yorkshire, a man of imposing stature, entered the room, his strong presence was deeply felt by Theodore's family, who had never met him before.
"..."
"Thank you, Father!"
As the head of the family, Theodore looked at the priest before him, his face full of gratitude.
They had already visited the local church seeking help, but since their child, Albert, hadn't been baptized and they were not church members, the verification process was longer than for actual believers.
By the time help arrived, it might be too late...
"Thank you for helping us!"
Theodore understood that the priest's presence was a great kindness to his family.
"You're welcome, Mr. Theodore," Yorkshire replied, glancing at Theodore's closely huddled family. He was aware of the church's situation; at times, the church could be quite authoritarian and cold-hearted.
There was a distinction between those close and those distant. For non-members, a priest who performs exorcism without headquarters' permission takes full responsibility for the consequences. Therefore, even if a priest wanted to intervene, they had to weigh the pros and cons.
"I am aware of your situation. There is indeed an issue, and the church would have eventually sent someone. So, I am merely here a bit earlier."
Yorkshire said this and then paused, observing Theodore's still grateful family. He continued, "What's most important now is that, from this moment on, you follow my instructions."
Theodore's family nodded earnestly.
"Alright, Father."
Seeing this, Yorkshire smiled and turned his gaze to Ed and Drew, who were waiting for his orders.
"Let's begin, then."
"Yes, Father!"
Everyone nodded.
...
Rip!
Yorkshire opened the first backpack and, following the usual procedure, handed over some tools to Ed to surround and confine the house. The goal was to restrict the movement space of the evil spirit.
Not just on the outside, Yorkshire also instructed Drew to place consecrated crosses in various places inside the house to provoke the evil spirit and indicate its location.
Evil spirits naturally despise anything with light. It's an irreversible fact. Placing consecrated crosses in front of an evil spirit is akin to hurling feces at a human's face - disgusting and harmful.
Beyond these, after directing the initial preparations, Yorkshire silently picked up another backpack and placed a blessed Bluetooth speaker in the corridor where the evil spirit was most likely to appear. This was his most important task. For his current strength, exorcising evil spirits was simple, and his primary reason for being there was to experiment with recording and the potential of holy water in triggering random missions.
Unfortunately, no random mission was triggered.
Until nightfall...
Under Yorkshire's arrangement, everyone stayed in the room at the end of the corridor, which was the master bedroom of Theodore and his wife.
As night fell, the atmosphere naturally became more terrifying. As time flew, the clock approached 10 PM.
Theodore's family, already tormented, still huddled together despite the presence of a priest. Gentle Roland comforted them, while Ed and Drew waited silently for the priest's orders.
Yorkshire glanced at the clock beside the bed.
The time was now [21:55].
"Five more minutes..." Yorkshire withdrew his gaze, looked back at the people, and finally rested his eyes on the humidifier in the corner.
The humidifier, also known as a nebulizer, works by heating the water in the tank, turning it into mist, and increasing the humidity in the air. It's a common middle-class accessory.
This means it can turn the water into mist and spread it around the room.
Thinking for a moment, Yorkshire took a bottle of holy water from his backpack and walked towards the humidifier. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he opened the dry water tank and poured the holy water in.
He wouldn't have done this in the past because the amount of holy water was too limited. In those days, the quantity of holy water depended on the light under the church's Jesus statue or what was known as the power of faith.
The limit was predetermined.
If there was more produced one day, there would be less on another. So, he usually wouldn't be so extravagant.
Mainly, the lack of churchgoers cut off Yorkshire's desire for extravagance.
Now, with the ability to bless and recover spiritual energy, this limit has been broken. He can now produce 500 grams daily, using it as he pleases.
"Father Yorkshire, what are you doing?" Drew asked, puzzled.
Yorkshire had just poured out about 500ml, or roughly 500 grams, of holy water. He closed the lid and calmly replied, "These water vapors in the air will prevent the evil spirit from entering, thus protecting you from invasion."
"Ah?" Drew was stunned, not quite understanding.
The Warren couple exchanged glances. Ed asked, "Father, did you pour all holy water?"
"Yes, the essence of holy water is pure water," Yorkshire said, pressing the humidifier's button to start it. "It's perfectly suitable for this machine and won't pollute the air. Its holy properties will protect you from evil spirits."
This explanation left everyone but the Warrens dumbfounded, and even Drew was thinking about buying some.
Sensing their thoughts, Yorkshire continued calmly after standing up, "If you wish to purchase, you can visit the Pluto Church. You can exchange a certain amount of holy water for a donation. The price is affordable."
This statement left even the Warrens, who knew Yorkshire well, with a wry smile.
"Father Yorkshire, isn't selling this prohibited?"
"Why would it be?" Yorkshire asked back, looking at Ed. "The world is vast, Ed. There's so much you don't know, which is also a good thing. If you understand a bit more..."
Here, Yorkshire couldn't help but think of the wealthy and official organizations that operated in this way. This is how they played the game.
___________________
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