Chapter 5: The Exorcism Expo
The white rabbit opened its mouth, revealing a smile that looked disturbingly human. It was eerie.
Seeing this, William slowly backed toward the wooden ladder, ready to evacuate at a moment's notice.
But after observing for a while, he realized that apart from the creepy smile, the rabbit didn't emit any evil aura.
There was only one other difference.
At first, the rabbit had been terrified of the water. But now, it was happily paddling around in the cage, occasionally even diving below the surface.
Seeing that the creature showed no signs of aggression, William took out a notebook and pen.
One hour later.
He had recorded his observations in detail and made a preliminary judgment that the side effect of "personality alteration" was not dangerous. Only then did he peel the mask off the rabbit's face.
However, William decided to leave the rabbit in the cellar overnight.
If it was still normal tomorrow morning, then the test would be considered a success.
He prepared food and water for it, then added a few more layers of defensive wards to the cellar.
After finishing all this, William left the underground chamber.
What he didn't realize was that because of his daily persistence in practicing the Holy Doctrine, his church was imbued with layers of genuine holy light. It rivaled the sanctity of major cathedrals in large dioceses.
Combined with his numerous suppression methods, ordinary evil spirits couldn't survive here for long.
But every time William went down to the cellar, he prepared for war.
Why? Because in all the horror clips he had reviewed in his past life, the cellar was always where the monsters hid.
...
Back upstairs, William changed his clothes and did a patrol of the church grounds before returning to his bedroom.
He lay on the floor and pulled a box out from under his bed.
Inside was a stash of cash.
William counted it. Including the payment from Jared, the box contained a total of $1,208.
But in a week, he had to hand over $1,500 to the Diocese.
On top of that, he needed to keep some money for the church's daily operations.
The math didn't add up. He was short.
And at this rate, paying the tribute would completely empty his savings.
William had no intention of becoming a broke priest.
Suddenly, he remembered something and pulled the flyer out of his bag.
It read:
"Psychics, Bibles, Knight Swords... What are the true weapons against evil? The 13th Street Expo awaits your visit!"
The back of the flyer had a detailed address. It wasn't far from the church, and the event was scheduled for tomorrow.
"A place like this... if I brought some consecrated items to sell..."
William's eyes began to brighten.
...
The next day.
William went down to the cellar early in the morning.
Seeing the rabbit alive and well, behaving normally—and noting a pile of fresh droppings in the corner—he finally relaxed.
He brought the rabbit out of the cellar, planning to give it away during his next community service run.
Keeping a living creature as a pet was risky. If it got possessed by an evil spirit one day...
That was high-risk behavior, practically inviting death. He wasn't going to make that mistake.
William went to the main hall.
Before leaving for the expo, he had his daily grind to complete.
[Scripture Reading] and [Cleansing Sight]. These were mandatory daily tasks for the church.
The former deepened William's understanding of church canon.
As he accumulated proficiency, he noticed a change—the power behind his exorcism chants was growing stronger.
As for the latter, every time he washed his eyes, his ability to see evil spirits became sharper.
William knew that such spiritual vision was typically reserved for high-ranking bishops with immense holy power.
Other skills like [Psychological Counseling] and [Holy Water Consecration] could generally only be leveled up during field work.
[Cleansing Sight +1]
[Current Progress: Tier 1 (265/1000)]
[Scripture Reading +1]
[Current Progress: Tier 0 (99/100)]
As the text floated before his eyes, William finished his daily practice.
"Scripture Reading is almost maxed out. I wonder what ability it will unlock."
He was full of anticipation.
Another survival tool in his arsenal!
If one were to categorize people in this world by ability, there would be three types.
First: The Ordinary People.
They had no means of defense. Occasionally, they could rely on firearms. If they met a low-level entity and had good luck, they might escape.
Second: Those with Some Self-Defense Capability.
These people were special in some way. Maybe they had psychic abilities, or maybe they knew an ancient spell or two.
They could handle low-level spirits, but if they ran into a boss-level demon from Hell, they were dead meat in minutes.
Third: The Professionals.
These were an extension of the second group. Through specialized training, they could skillfully wield their powers. Their survival rate was much higher.
For example, the Cardinals of the Vatican.
William barely scraped into this third category, but the power gap within this tier was massive. He still had a long way to go.
However, the latter two groups were rare. The vast majority of people were defenseless sheep.
...
After a short rest, William began preparing his inventory for the expo.
He planned to sell some protective items.
These were perfect for ordinary people. They could work in dangerous situations without drawing too much attention.
Even if someone tracked William down because of them, he could just brush it off by saying, "The Lord protected you."
For this purpose, he brought out a year's supply of holy water.
Then, standing before the statue of the Saint, he used his ability to bless the items.
[Holy Water Consecration +1]
[Current Progress: Tier 1 (33/100)]
As the progress bar filled, batches of crucifixes and amulets were completed.
Although he could bless an item multiple times, he only gained proficiency once per item type.
With everything ready, William locked the door and set off.
...
South District.
This was the trendy hub of art and culture, the streets splashed with graffiti.
Open-air bars lined the sidewalks, though most were closed at this hour.
William arrived at the address on the flyer.
It was an old red-brick building that had seen better days.
It wasn't far from the residential area, so there were plenty of pedestrians around.
The expo started in the afternoon, so it was still early.
William had arrived early for a specific reason: to familiarize himself with the terrain and map out his escape routes.
He wasn't being paranoid. What if he ran into a demon halfway through?
Or what if the organizers had a brain aneurysm and decided to summon an evil spirit as part of the show?
These were standard plot points in American horror movies!
In short, caution never hurt anyone.
William did a lap around the building. There were six exits in total, but only one was currently unlocked.
This won't do!
Even if there were no evil spirits, a fire would be catastrophic!
So, William took out the tools he had prepared. Checking to make sure no one was watching, he snipped a link in the chains locking the other five doors.
Now, he had at least five escape routes.
If everything went smoothly, he could just buy new locks and replace them after the expo.
Next, he took out his Demon-Trapping Bells and set up a perimeter array around the building.
If any evil entity entered the range, William would know instantly.
And of course, holy water and crucifixes!
Worried he might run out, William sneaked into the building and stashed backup supplies in potted plants and under tables throughout the venue.
This way, no matter where he was, he had a weapon within reach.
"Phew..."
William wiped the sweat from his forehead. The prep work was finally done.
Now, he just had to wait for the expo to start.
Meanwhile, on another street, others had also arrived early.
"Laura, are there really exorcists here?"
A brunette woman took off her sunglasses, her face etched with the exhaustion of a long journey.
"Don't worry, Renai! I heard a witch is attending this expo. We'll definitely find a way to wake up your son."
Her companion looked excited.
"I hope so." The woman named Renai Lambert looked worried.
She was a housewife from Kentucky.
A year ago, the Lambert family started experiencing strange events.
Voices of strange men coming from the baby monitor, her daughter crying for no reason...
At night, it always sounded like someone was walking around the house...
It was torture for Renai.
For the safety of her children, she decisively chose to move.
But the strange events didn't stop.
Until three months ago, when her eldest son, Dalton, fell into a coma after a scare in the attic. He wouldn't wake up.
The hospital couldn't find anything wrong. The doctors were on the verge of giving up.
But Renai was convinced that the supernatural entities in their house were responsible!
But she had no proof, and even her husband, Josh, didn't believe her.
Luckily, her friend Laura told her about an exorcism expo happening in Philadelphia.
So she had traveled all this way, hoping to find professional help.
...
As the start time approached, more and more people began to gather around the building.