Dark power erupted from the Crooked Man and swept through the hallway. The violent shockwave tore at the walls and rushed toward Father Anderson and Janet. An ordinary person would have been thrown through the air.
"Protego."
Anderson raised a protective barrier around himself and Janet without showing concern. The Crooked Man was far stronger than an ordinary spirit. It possessed a physical form born from the nursery rhyme and carried enough supernatural force to damage the house with a single outburst.
Protecting each person required two points of Magic.
[4 Magic Points Consumed]
The dark shockwave struck the transparent shields and broke around them. Anderson steadied the ShAK-12 against his shoulder and aimed at the creature's narrow chest.
Boom!
A consecrated 12.7×55 mm round struck the Crooked Man with a metallic impact. Sacred sparks burst across its tattered red suit and pushed it back one step.
The creature had lost its umbrella but showed no intention of retreating. It roared and charged down the hallway. Its tall body swayed with every step but its speed and weight created a terrifying amount of force inside the narrow space.
"Not bad."
Anderson watched without emotion.
The moment the Crooked Man moved, he pulled the trigger again. He now carried a rifle capable of sustained fire. There was no reason to wait between shots when overwhelming firepower could keep the enemy from approaching.
Boom!
The first round struck its chest and forced it backward.
A second bullet hit before the creature regained its balance.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Anderson continued firing.
Consecrated rounds slammed into the Crooked Man in rapid succession. Brief flashes of sacred light appeared across its chest before vanishing. Every impact drove the monster farther down the hallway until its back struck the wall.
The creature planted both hands against the damaged surface and tried to push forward. Anderson's barrage gave it no opportunity. The faded red suit tore apart and revealed dry twisted flesh beneath it.
"Roar!"
The Crooked Man screamed in pain.
The piercing sound caused Janet to cover her ears behind Anderson. He ignored the noise and emptied the rest of the magazine into the monster's chest.
The gunfire stopped.
The Crooked Man raised its bloodshot eyes and stared at Anderson with murderous rage. It pushed away from the wall and charged again. The creature believed the empty magazine had created an opening.
Anderson calmly pressed the release.
The empty magazine dropped free. His right hand drew another from his belt and drove it into the ShAK-12 in one smooth motion.
The Crooked Man reached him and swung its long right arm. Sharp nails cut through the air toward Anderson's face.
He did not step back.
The muzzle turned toward the approaching limb.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several consecrated rounds struck the Crooked Man's withered hand and forearm. Its chest had resisted the earlier shots but the thin limb offered far less protection.
Five bullets tore the arm apart. Rotten flesh and black mist scattered through the hallway before the remaining stump vanished.
The creature howled.
Anderson understood its structure.
"The chest is the trunk. The limbs are only branches."
Before the Crooked Man recovered, Anderson fired three rounds into its torso and forced it back. He lowered the muzzle toward the creature's thin right leg and pulled the trigger again.
Four shots shattered the limb.
The Crooked Man lost its balance and crashed forward. Its twisted body landed at Anderson's feet.
Rage covered the creature's face as it lifted its remaining hand. Before the claws could strike, Anderson stepped down and pinned the limb against the floor.
"You were already finished."
He aimed the ShAK-12 at the trapped hand.
"You're also much weaker than I expected."
Five gunshots echoed through the hallway. The Crooked Man's left hand exploded beneath the consecrated rounds.
Its scream shook the walls.
The monster tried to raise its head but Anderson placed one foot against its skull. His enhanced strength forced the creature's face into the floor and shattered the last of its resistance.
Bang!
The Crooked Man could no longer move.
"Game over."
Anderson removed the nearly empty magazine and replaced it with a full one. He pressed the muzzle against the back of the monster's head.
"I'll give you two choices. Tell me who controls you and you may live. Refuse and you die here."
The Crooked Man struggled but Anderson's foot remained immovable. The rifle muzzle stayed against its skull.
"You were born from a nursery rhyme. Reaching this level could not have been easy."
Anderson's voice remained calm.
"That is the only reason I'm offering you a chance."
He tightened his finger against the trigger.
"I'll count down from five."
The creature stopped struggling.
"Five."
No answer came.
"Four."
The Crooked Man remained silent.
"Three."
A rough voice with a British accent escaped from beneath Anderson's boot.
"I'll speak!"
Anderson did not lift his foot or move the rifle.
"Then tell me. Who is forcing you to do this?"
The Crooked Man's voice became strangely distant.
"I am given and taken. I was there when you were born…"
Anderson immediately sensed something wrong.
The creature vanished beneath his foot.
He looked behind him and found that Janet had disappeared as well. The Hodgson house still surrounded him and the hallway remained in the same position. However, darkness poured across the walls and swallowed every trace of light.
"A psychic realm."
The demonic nun had dragged his consciousness into an artificial space.
Anderson searched the house until his gaze settled on a dark corner below the staircase. A pale figure stood there in a black habit. Her corpse-white face and completely black eyes matched Ed's drawing.
A grin appeared on Anderson's face.
"So it really is the nun."
The entity's form lacked true substance. It was only a projection sent through the psychic connection.
"No wonder you seemed familiar. This still isn't your real body."
A system notification sounded inside Anderson's mind.
[Random Mission Triggered]
[Mission: Exorcism]
[Objective: Destroy the Demon's Projection]
[Reward: 8 Attribute Points]
[Accept Mission?]
The nun appeared surprised that he had discovered her so quickly. Her mouth opened far beyond human limits and revealed spiraling rows of sharp teeth. A roar like that of a massive worm shook the psychic realm.
Darkness rushed toward Anderson from every direction.
He reinforced his right hand with Magic and struck the first wave. His enhanced physical power shattered the incoming darkness before it could touch him.
"Accept."
[Mission Accepted]
Anderson immediately removed a holy grenade from his belt.
The weapon had been consecrated with sixty-five Spirit points and strengthened with one hundred sixty points of Magic. Since this battle was taking place inside a psychic realm, its explosion should not destroy the real Hodgson home.
A mental space was the perfect testing ground.
The projection was also worth only eight points. Anderson saw no reason to waste time fighting it carefully.
"Dragging me in here was your mistake."
He twisted the pin free with one hand and threw the grenade toward the nun.
"I'm going to blow this place apart."
The weapon spun through the air.
Anderson moved the instant it left his hand. He had already experienced the destructive force of a grenade enhanced with one hundred twenty Magic points. This version carried forty more.
The entire psychic house might disappear with it.
Anderson slammed through the nearest door and entered a bedroom. Darkness poured after him like black water.
He turned toward the window and released another spell.
"Exorcio."
[10 Magic Points Consumed]
Sacred force tore through the darkness and cleared a path. Anderson crashed through the window without slowing down.
Two seconds had passed.
His body sailed through the air around fifteen feet from the house.
The third second arrived.
BOOM!
Holy light and explosive fire consumed the building.
From the air, Anderson saw brilliant beams pierce through the walls and roof. The house resembled a glowing hedgehog for one brief moment before the pressure inside tore it apart.
The nun stood closest to the explosion.
Her scream rose above the blast as sacred fire swallowed her projection.
A circular shockwave expanded from the destroyed building. It crushed every obstacle in its path and raced toward Anderson.
"Protego."
He estimated the force and created a stronger barrier around himself.
[30 Magic Points Consumed]
The transparent shield formed an instant before the blast reached him. Anderson also tried to weaken the remaining force.
"Repello."
[20 Magic Points Consumed]
His Magic collided with the shockwave. Repello broke almost immediately but still neutralized part of the impact.
The remaining force struck Protego.
Bang!
Anderson was launched through the air. The collision shattered the already unstable psychic realm around him.
For a final moment he saw the nun drowning inside sacred light. Her body twisted while she screamed and reached toward the darkness.
Cracks spread across the false world.
The entire space shattered like glass.
"I only know He came from Hell."
The Crooked Man's voice returned.
Anderson blinked.
He was standing in the second-floor hallway again. The creature remained pinned beneath his foot and Janet stood safely behind him. Only a fraction of a second appeared to have passed in reality.
A system notification sounded.
[Mission Completed]
[Objective: Destroy the Demon's Projection]
[Reward Issued: 8 Attribute Points]
The Crooked Man struggled weakly beneath him.
"I don't know who He is. Kill me!"
Anderson ignored the demand for a moment. Fragments of the psychic battle and the nun's screams still passed through his mind.
He checked his condition.
[Vitality: 120.5/125]
The explosion had caused some damage even though the battle took place inside a mental space. Still, the result was acceptable for a single holy grenade.
The enchantment had provided enormous explosive force. Yet the consecrated energy had done the greatest damage to the nun's projection.
Anderson remembered how sacred light had consumed her.
"The grenade detonated too quickly. A timed fuse would have given me more distance."
"Kill me!"
The Crooked Man roared and tried to move again.
Anderson ended his analysis and looked down.
The creature had helped the nun pull him into the psychic realm. There was no reason to spare it.
He pulled the trigger.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The ShAK-12 emptied its entire twenty-round magazine into the Crooked Man's head. Consecrated 12.7×55 mm bullets destroyed its skull and the floor beneath it.
Gunfire continued until the creature's body broke apart into black mist.
Nothing remained beneath Anderson's foot.
He released a quiet breath and lowered the rifle.
Faint screams still came from downstairs. Anderson removed his phone and paused the prayer recording. Every Bluetooth speaker in the house fell silent.
The sudden peace brought several weak sighs from below.
Bill Wilkins and the other trapped spirits had passed Anderson's test. They had endured the pain caused by the prayers without attacking Peggy or her children.
"You passed."
Anderson pressed the hallway light switch. Warm light returned to the second floor and pushed away the remaining darkness.
"Father Anderson…"
Janet's weak voice reached him.
Anderson turned and found her standing where he had left her. She looked dazed but unharmed.
He placed the ShAK-12 against his shoulder and smiled.
"It's over."
Bright sunlight covered the Hodgson home the following morning.
After confirming that the demonic projection and the Crooked Man were gone, Anderson found no reason to remain. Bill Wilkins and the other human spirits still presented an unresolved matter but they were no longer threatening the family.
Anderson prepared to leave with Ed, Lorraine, Maurice, and Drew.
"Father Anderson!"
Janet stood with Peggy and her siblings near the front gate. The moment Anderson turned toward the SUV, she escaped her mother's hand and ran after him.
She wrapped both arms around his waist.
"Thank you!"
Anderson paused in surprise before smiling. He rested one hand on her thick brown hair and looked toward the rest of the Hodgson family.
Peggy and her children were smiling. The exhaustion and fear that once covered their faces had disappeared.
He had saved another family.
The feeling remained difficult to describe.
"You're welcome."
Anderson looked down at Janet.
"Do you remember what I told you?"
She raised her head. The towering priest had become as steady as a mountain in her heart.
"I remember. If I decide that I want to learn about exorcism, I should call you."
Anderson nodded.
Janet possessed remarkable psychic talent but the choice still belonged to her. Entering the supernatural world would expose her to dangers that ordinary people would never face.
"Good. Now go back to your mother."
Janet tightened her arms around him.
During their short time together, she had begun seeing Anderson as the father figure missing from her life.
He felt her reluctance and gently patted her back.
"We will meet again someday."
"Janet," Peggy called. "Don't make things difficult for Father Anderson."
The girl finally released him.
"Goodbye, Father."
Anderson patted her head once more before nodding toward Peggy and the other children. He then walked toward the waiting SUV.
The rear door closed behind him.
Anderson settled into his seat and found Ed watching through the mirror.
"Let's go."
"Yes, Father."
Ed shifted into gear and pressed the accelerator. The SUV slowly moved away from the house.
"Father Anderson!"
Janet's voice came from behind them.
Anderson lowered the window and looked back. A fierce determination now shone inside the girl's eyes.
"I'll definitely call you!"
"She's already made her choice."
Anderson chuckled and waved before closing the window. The Hodgson family disappeared behind them as the SUV left the neighborhood.
Lorraine turned toward him.
"Father, would you truly accept her?"
"If that is what she wants, I'll respect her decision."
Anderson reached into his coat and removed his phone.
It had begun vibrating without pause.