Chapter 58 – Sophie's Inner Struggle
Rebecca and Bret's eyes widened as they watched.
They had assumed the priest would simply stop Sophie from returning, but this development caught them completely off guard.
"Pr…priest?" Rebecca called, uncertainty in her voice.
Gideon Black, however, subtly gave her a look that said, "Trust me, you know what's happening."
Despite her doubts, Rebecca had no choice but to believe him.
At the same time, Sophie felt the cold touch of the cross against her neck. Her throat involuntarily rolled.
"You… you came to save me, didn't you?" she whispered, turning slowly with disbelief etched across her face.
Earlier, when she received Rebecca's call, Sophie had thought her daughter had noticed the disturbances at home. The thought had excited her, and she had hoped relief was finally within reach.
Sophie had never willingly engaged with Diana. Back at the mental institution, she had only approached the little girl out of pity, trying to comfort her, even to befriend her.
She never expected that single decision would haunt her for decades.
Her lover had been murdered, her daughter gradually grew distant, and every night, Sophie was forced to coexist with Diana's ghost.
A normal life had never been hers; she lived in constant fear and oppression.
Sophie longed for freedom, for help. Yet every time, Diana held her child hostage, forcing her to stop taking her medications, leaving her mind weak and vulnerable.
Through this, Diana maintained her dominance.
Until today, Sophie saw a glimmer of escape. She had noticed Diana's earlier struggle, realized that her daughter had brought someone powerful—a priest—to help.
But… she never expected what happened next.
"This is a different time, Ms. Sophie," Gideon said, pulling her back a few steps, his grip firm. "If you want Martin safe, trust me."
He spoke little to Sophie directly; any extensive conversation could alert Diana to his strategy.
Then he shouted toward the roof:
"Martin is the most precious person to Sophie. If you kill him, do you think she'll survive alone?"
"Of course, if you don't release Martin, I won't hesitate to kill Sophie too, and then you disappear. That solves my problem."
"Either way, you have no choice."
On the roof, Diana's limbs trembled, struggling to suppress the murderous urge.
As a malevolent spirit, she had always been the predator, never the one confronted by a human like this.
Yet Diana understood one thing clearly: she could not lose Sophie.
Crash!
The house's glass shattered, a physical manifestation of her rage.
Then, with a violent motion, Diana hurled Martin outward.
Sophie and Rebecca's hearts leapt to their throats.
The trajectory was aimed directly at Gideon. Normally, anyone in his position might rush to catch the child, but that would play right into Diana's trap.
She calculated the throw perfectly: Martin would land before he could be safely caught. The likely result—
Martin would crash onto the priest, injuring him severely.
The blame would fall on Gideon, Martin might still get hurt, and Diana would regain the upper hand, manipulating Sophie's emotions even further.
But Gideon was no ordinary man.
With Holy Step, he reached Martin before he hit the ground, catching him safely.
Diana's force was nothing to him. Martin was snatched from her grasp with ease.
Rebecca, Bret, and Sophie watched in disbelief. Gideon's movements were effortless, almost inhuman.
"This… is kung fu?" Bret muttered under his breath.
Seeing her last trick thwarted, Diana lost control. She smashed furniture against the walls, wreaking havoc inside. The scene looked terrifying, yet it was meaningless.
As long as Sophie remained within a darkened space, or the sun still shone outside, Diana could not step beyond the house.
Facing the spirit's impotent fury, Gideon didn't even glance at her. He motioned for Martin and Sophie to stand together.
With the spirit temporarily isolated, he could now sever the connection between Diana and Sophie.
But before that—
"Martin, have you felt anger toward others, or noticed any unusual abilities in yourself…"
His voice gentle, he used Psychological Counseling to probe Martin's mind, ensuring Diana had left no lingering influence.
Moments later, the check was complete. Martin's mind was clean.
Gideon took out a bottle of holy water, watching as Martin drank it all.
"Is that enough?" Martin stuck out his tongue, his face scrunching at the taste.
"Of course," Gideon replied.
He then pulled a rope from his bag. Ever since Emma had followed him last time, he always carried one.
With practiced hands, he bound Martin's wrists behind his back and instructed Bret to watch over him for the next ten minutes.
Bret nodded, half understanding, realizing today that he had truly opened his eyes.
He had always imagined exorcism as a fierce battle between priest and spirit, but the reality was… different.
And Gideon himself intrigued Bret. Most priests Bret had encountered were calm, composed, and refined.
This one, however, felt more like a bandit than a clergyman…
But Bret kept these thoughts to himself. Following the priest's orders, he crouched down next to Martin.
Meanwhile, Gideon turned his attention to Sophie, employing Psychological Counseling again to locate the "link" connecting her to Diana.
Sophie's mind quickly drifted into memory.
Forty years ago.
Sancho Mental Hospital.
Sophie was just ten years old, a child with golden curls, often wearing a pale green jacquard dress.
Sent there by her family for treatment due to depression and emotional instability, Sophie soon discovered the hospital's methods were… unconventional.
After several rounds of controlled electroshock therapy, she began to appear "normal."
She would smile at the staff, attempt to be friendly with other patients—only then could she be allowed out of the treatment room's chair.
During this time, she met another patient: Diana.
Diana was hypersensitive to light and extremely volatile. Many patients and staff had been attacked by her.
Yet, surprisingly, Sophie was able to befriend Diana, and even gain her trust.
For a while, Sophie experienced the happiest period of her life at the hospital.
Until one morning, she went to the neighboring ward as usual, only to find Diana gone.
She asked the staff, but their answers were vague and evasive.
A sense of dread settled in Sophie's chest. She instinctively moved in a particular direction.
Moments later, she arrived outside the treatment room.
The floor was covered with dense blood footprints, evidence of a hasty departure.
Sophie forced herself to overcome her fear and slowly opened the door.
The room was eerily silent. No staff were present.
Yet the scattered, untouched instruments suggested a recent procedure had taken place.
Sophie carefully navigated past the instrument racks, coming face-to-face with the chair that had haunted her for so long.
And there it was—a vivid, unmistakable bloodstain.
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