Chapter 7: Twenty-Two Years Old, Treated Like a Nobody
Gail gestured from the front, leading the participants through a door in the main hall.
William packed up his things and followed at the very back.
Behind the door was yet another massive hall, occupying a space three stories high. It was an indoor amphitheater.
In the center was a circular stage, with tiered seating surrounding it on all sides.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 13th Street Expo. Please take a seat anywhere you like."
Johnny stood in the center of the stage, holding a microphone.
There were also five assistants on the floor, positioned at various points along the edge of the stage.
After Gail helped settle the guests, she also went down to the stage.
William scanned the room for a moment and chose a seat close to the exit.
"Hello everyone, I am Gail Thiago, one of the organizers of this exhibition."
Gail held the microphone, facing the crowd with confidence.
"As you all know, in recent years, supernatural incidents have frequently occurred across the states..."
Gail had been waiting for this moment for a long time. She was the youngest manager in the history of the Anomaly Council.
Since her promotion, she had faced a lot of criticism, with many believing she was too inexperienced and lacked the strength for the role.
Because of this, Gail handled every case personally, gradually becoming an indispensable figure in the management committee.
This expo was crucial. As long as it was a success, she would have enough credentials to become one of the contenders for the successor position.
"...In order to protect innocent civilians, the Council has decided to select five powerful exorcism artifacts.
"Their owners will be sent to various states to establish branches, with full support from the Council..."
The people in the audience rubbed their hands together, clearly full of anticipation.
The Anomaly Council had deep pockets and influence everywhere.
Becoming someone supported by them meant limitless future prospects.
William frowned.
This looked glorious on the surface, but the greater the benefits, the heavier the price.
If this so-called Council made demands in the future, these "supported" individuals likely wouldn't be able to refuse.
For a little fame and profit, they would be controlled by others and potentially face danger.
This deal wasn't worth it.
"I actually wasted time thinking about this... In the past, I would have ruled it out immediately! I've definitely gotten a bit cocky over the last couple of days..."
William silently admonished himself.
Meanwhile, there was movement on the stage.
"Currently, most of the supernatural incidents in various states involve demonic possession."
Johnny raised his hand, and a small side door on the stage opened.
Several robed figures carried out a shirtless man.
The man was covered in wounds and wore heavy chains across his chest.
He lifted his head, his eyes showing only the whites, and muttered in an unknown language.
Johnny took out a dagger and sliced open the man's cheek.
But in the next moment, the flesh on the man's face squirmed, stitching the wound back together instantly.
Seeing this, the audience gasped.
Supernatural abilities, speaking unknown tongues—these were classic symptoms of demonic possession.
"A month ago, this possessed individual attempted to summon an evil spirit, but we discovered him in time," Gail explained.
"Unfortunately, no matter what method we use, we haven't been able to destroy the entity inside him.
"Therefore, today, anyone who can inflict damage on the evil spirit will pass the test."
After speaking, she signaled for the trial to begin.
First, several women holding crystal balls went up to the stage and chanted some incantations.
But in the next instant, the crystal balls exploded, and the women vomited blood.
After the injured were carried off, the next participant took the stage.
He held a silver sword and attempted to decapitate the possessed man.
But after the head was severed, it immediately reattached itself. The silver sword, however, was tarnished and corrupted.
Next came voodoo dolls, detection equipment...
Without exception, they all failed.
The possessed man opened his mouth and let out a few guttural roars, seeming to mock them.
The mood in the audience grew heavy.
Gail sighed inwardly.
Many of the ancient exorcism artifacts these people used were ones she had personally requested. Was it still not enough?
"That priest friend by the door, why don't you give it a try?"
Johnny pointed in a specific direction.
With everything going according to plan, he was getting a little impatient to start the real show.
William was stunned for a moment, then saw the people in front of him turning around.
Suddenly, countless eyes were fixed on him.
DANGER!
"What? A priest?"
"Hey, stop joking. Let me try again."
...
A microphone was thrust into William's hand.
By now, he had a countermeasure.
"May the Lord bless you. I believe that by holding the Holy Bible and admonishing the evil spirit under the Holy Cross, this child can be saved."
As soon as these words came out, the room erupted in laughter.
"This is a joke!"
"You call that exorcism? Do you think we're playing house?"
"A fake like you should crawl back to your church."
...
Seeing the priest stuck in an awkward position, Gail knew he was being put on the spot, so she spoke up to change the subject.
Not far from William, Judy watched with a worried expression.
Lorraine patted her daughter's head, thinking that Judy might have exaggerated the priest's abilities.
As an orthodox demonologist, she knew too well the difficulty of Church exorcism training. It wasn't something a local parish priest could master.
As for our William?
He didn't care what others said.
Right now, William just wanted to get the hell out of there!
The moment the possessed man was brought out, he sensed something was wrong.
Using the [Cleansing Sight], William discovered that the evil spirit wasn't fully bound at all. It could break free at any moment.
As a hardworking community servant, he had seen too many possessed individuals.
Evil spirits were cunning. They had to be constantly suppressed. It was impossible for one to be this docile.
The current scene looked like...
"The evil spirit is cooperating with them."
But apart from him, no one else seemed to notice.
And the anomalies didn't stop there.
William also noticed that the five assistants on stage were standing on specific marks—a V-shaped pattern under their feet.
The tips pointed toward the center of the stage, but the connecting lines seemed cut off, leaving only the sharp angles.
If one were to connect these patterns... they would form a Pentagram.
And that was the legendary symbol of Satanism.
Realizing this, William didn't dare stay a second longer.
He immediately stood up and, while no one was paying attention, slowly backed toward the door.
People nearby assumed the priest was leaving out of shame after making a fool of himself, so they didn't pay him any mind.
Just as he reached the door, William suddenly bumped into someone, dropping his amulets all over the floor.
"Sorry."
Saint bent down. He hesitated for a moment when his hand touched an amulet, but he still picked it up. "Please don't lose your things. Is there anything I can help you with?"
William smiled, took the amulet, and thanked him.
But the man in the suit blocked the aisle, showing no intention of moving aside.
And behind him at the entrance, a group of men had appeared unnoticed, seemingly holding weapons.
Seeing this, William knew there was indeed a conspiracy behind this exhibition.
Moreover, when the man bent down to pick up the item, William caught a glimpse of something behind his ear in the dim light—three numbers. 666.
The mark of the Beast.
He had guessed right!
Looks like he had to implement Escape Plan B.
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
William pretended to be indignant. "I've thought about it, and I really should try the Exorcism Bible. The Lord will surely save that child."
Saint felt contempt in his heart but kept his face expressionless.
"Of course, no problem. Please proceed to the stage."
As long as he wasn't trying to leave, Saint wouldn't stop him.
Besides, a lowly priest delusional enough to think he could fight Satan? How naive.
"These stinkin' priests are all the same," Saint scoffed internally.
William took out a scripture book and walked toward the stage.
This exorcism book was hollowed out in the middle, concealing a bottle of 10-year-old Holy Water.
This was something that had been blessed during the Holy Festival at the Vatican.
Back when he first became a priest, he had gone to great lengths to obtain (scam) it from an old priest. It had always been one of his trump cards.
Splashing it on Satan probably wouldn't do much, but dealing with some tricky evil spirits? That was a piece of cake.
As William walked up with the book, it was the final participant's turn on stage.
A psychic medium walked up. She placed her hands on the back of the possessed man's head, and her eyes instantly rolled back.
A moment later, a look of pure terror washed over the medium's face.
"It... it's not bound! You people are Sa..."
But before she could finish, her head flew into the air.
A geyser of blood erupted from her neck.
One of the assistants standing behind her held a bloody axe.
The theater instantly descended into chaos.
"What are you doing?!"
Gail shouted in shock.
But in the next second, her body went rigid.
Gail slowly turned her head to meet Johnny's vicious gaze.