Crack!
"Christ has power!" shouted Brad, who was firing in the direction where Jonathan had been sent flying.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jonathan got up from the ground as if nothing had happened, grabbed his shotgun, and without moving from the recoil, fired continuously while reloading a new round of shells at an astonishing speed.
Although the special salt rounds were not lead bullets, the damage inflicted on evil spirits by their blessings was equivalent to the damage lead bullets would cause to the human body.
Jonathan saw that the demon who had just appeared exploded from the shots just like a human body would. Of course, the strange explosion didn't spill blood or anything like that; instead, it was a cloud of mist that reformed in a few seconds.
But as they continued firing, the bullets were effective, causing the demon pain and suffering.
"Ahhhh!"
Obviously, the shots hurt Bathseba, and her roar of pain grew louder than before, mixed with the despair of being harmed by humans. She knew the Priests would have measures against her, but she hadn't expected the damage she would receive to be so great, so there was little she could do now.
The strong sense of danger made Bathseba feel that, for the first time in her life, she shouldn't have attacked the humans—but there was no such thing as regret for an evil spirit.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Die, you damn deranged bitch!" shouted Brad, firing at everything he had in front of him.
Jonathan regretted bringing Brad at this point, but he didn't have time to waste on him since he had a large target in front of him with half of its body destroyed.
Bang!
Although Brad and Doug's shots were effective, they hit only one out of every five shots, so Jonathan had to take charge of the accurate shots at Bethseba, who stared at him fixedly.
In his memories, everything happening compared to fiction had been surpassed many times over; this had no name or shape because no one could even imagine this happening here.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jonathan walked step by step toward the demon, his steps slow but steady because he wasn't afraid.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
As the resentment faded, the demon's howl grew even louder, and the pain mixed with resentment could be felt even by ordinary people, so the howls resembled those of a rabid animal mixed with a feminine voice expressing pain and reluctance.
"On earth I am common, in the light I am a weapon, and in the darkness I am the blinder of evil…" Jonathan murmured, reciting prayers for self-protection, not only for himself but also for Brad, preventing him from being possessed.
Jonathan looked into the eyes of a demon hidden inside a doll and muttered, "We got you!"
Bang!
Those ferocious eyes exploded instantly, dissipating along with the faint resentment still lingering in the air.
Looking at the empty space without any malicious aura in front of him, Jonathan raised his hand and handed his shotgun to Doug, took out a silver cross, and murmured, "The light illuminates my path, I am the faithful follower of my beliefs, and under no circumstance or doubt will I walk in the darkness."
Jonathan frowned, his gaze shifting to the surroundings as if he believed this wasn't over yet.
"Was that it?" Jonathan, who had always fought demons from hell, felt disbelief knowing that an evil spirit wasn't that powerful.
But seeing all the casings on the ground, his two remaining bottles of holy water, and more than half of his bullets still with him, he believed it wasn't as weak as he had first thought.
He had underestimated his combat ability at this moment, though this didn't really matter since he could fight hand-to-hand with his sword. Everything was better when his options weren't depleted.
"An embodied exorcism would've been more complicated; I can predict any result as long as the malignant entity is eliminated…" Jonathan now felt a slight pain in his ribs but didn't make a fuss. Looking at the place, which was certainly a medium, he began to examine it more thoroughly.
Unlike the resentment that had slowly dissipated, there was always a thin layer that remained, which was particularly obvious considering how many years this place had been cursed.
"Doug, finish the job and bless this place…" Jonathan looked at Doug, took his shotgun, and climbed the basement stairs.
"Yes, Priest Jonathan!"
Jonathan nodded, climbed the stairs, and placed a cross on the door, then closed his eyes and murmured, "May the light of redemption dispel the shadows that envelop this place, transforming darkness into peace and renewal. May positive energy and purity restore harmony in every corner, dispelling any evil that has prevailed."
When Doug climbed the stairs with Brad, both clearly heard a sob that inexplicably made them feel sad.
…
"What was the result?" After several loud gunshots, the people in the living room felt nervous.
It wasn't that they underestimated Jonathan's methods, but they certainly had little faith, since those exorcism methods were not common for a Priest.
Therefore, they all stood there waiting while the children held each other tightly out of fear.
"Should we take a look?" asked Drew, quite nervous.
Ed, who was beside her, grabbed the cross Jonathan had given him and took a deep breath, as if making a decision. "Alright! Just the two of us…"
However, before he could signal his wife Lorraine, she took his hand and said, "Wait, I don't see the shadows anymore…"
Ed was stunned. He knew his wife's ability perfectly, so he recognized Jonathan's abilities because she could see more light in him than in any other Priest. Therefore, if his wife couldn't see anything, that meant the exorcism was a success.
"Are they really gone?" Ed stared at his wife as if he couldn't believe what he'd heard.
"The shadows, the smell of evil is gone…"
Everyone was alert and their senses sharper than before. So, obviously, they heard what Lorraine said and looked at her intently.
"Did the priest really manage to exorcise it?" Drew still didn't let her guard down; her tone was hesitant.
"They did it…" As if wanting to confirm her words, Lorraine scanned the surroundings of the house again. Her eyes, capable of seeing good and evil, had accompanied her since childhood.
"Is this really an exorcism? Real or not?" Drew seemed somewhat uncomfortable, not believing that bullets could affect the dead.
"Drew, even for us there are things we won't understand…" Ed patted his assistant.
Not only Ed but everyone present except Drew, who still felt uneasy, didn't want to focus on the method but rather on the results.
At that moment, footsteps from the stairs echoed once again.
In particular, Brad's movements were very heavy because he barely had the strength to walk. When he saw Priest Jonathan being sent flying, he thought he would die.
"Isn't that a lot of blood? I saw him walking a bit unsteady, was he injured when he was slammed against the wall?" Brad's voice was so loud that everyone grew anxious, wondering if someone had been hurt.
"Priest Jonathan, how are you feeling?" Lorraine saw the blood on Jonathan's face and quickly asked to see if his wounds were more serious.
"Nothing serious, the cursed spirits that were hiding in the house have been eliminated. Now I will visit Daniela."
After receiving the real answer, everyone seemed to breathe more easily. Finally, they no longer had to live with the anxiety of being attacked at night.
"Let me help you!" Ed quickly went to fetch a medical kit.
Jonathan nodded; he didn't want to be bothered by his injury, but now was the time to pay attention to it.
Drew, who was looking at Jonathan, was about to approach when suddenly Brad walked toward him and sat like a log on the couch.
"I just fired into the air like there were a thousand enemies ahead, then I saw Priest Jonathan get thrown across the room, and finally I heard a woman crying." Brad murmured, wanting to become a devout believer of some religion.