Chapter 89 – Sadie's Nemesis
Unlike the other demon hunters before him, Gideon didn't rush to Dean's side.
Instead, he stopped exactly seven meters from the warehouse—just at the edge of the evil spirit's influence.
With the Sacred Gaze, he had already pinpointed the monster lurking inside, as well as a few faint life signs. Survivors.
He buried a string of bells into the soil beneath his feet, then moved to another position.
The writhing tendril followed his every step.
Through its surface sensory organs, the creature beneath the warehouse could feel it: this human was dangerous.
The ground trembled faintly as more tendrils burrowed up from below, spreading in all directions around the warehouse.
If the human so much as stepped inside, they would seize him instantly and make him their next meal.
But he never crossed the line.
Instead, he circled slowly, always skirting just beyond their reach.
Again and again, it seemed he might blunder into the trap—only to halt right at the border.
The monster was forced to stay in a constant state of attack, even pausing its feast inside.
The onlookers grew puzzled.
They thought this priest might be from the Exorcist Academy—its students had been spotted across North America recently.
Yet his methods were unlike theirs.
"Grrr… woof!"
Low growls rippled through the crowd.
A pack of massive hounds appeared, each a meter tall at the shoulder, with oversized paws and rows of jagged teeth.
They crouched into attack stances, and the crowd instinctively parted to let them through.
Strangely, there was no fear—only hungry anticipation in the eyes of those watching.
The hounds didn't advance, though.
Instead, they sat obediently, tails twitching.
"Oops~ I forgot to leash my babies."
A sultry voice rang out.
Striding forward was a woman with wavy curls. Her shirt strained against her chest, two buttons undone, as though the fabric itself might burst.
"Hey, Old John—want to take a closer look?" she teased, tugging at her collar.
An elderly hunter standing nearby stiffened, right before his wife yanked him by the ear.
The woman—Dolbora Cooper—laughed, tossing casual greetings to several other men. She basked in the attention.
When their mistress arrived, the hounds rose and followed.
Dolbora glided through the parted crowd and stopped before the warehouse.
There, she spotted a familiar face.
"Oh my, dear Sadie. Long time no see. Your skin's still as dreadful as ever."
"Dolbora." Sadie narrowed her eyes.
"To think a family of demon hunters would stoop so low." Dolbora's tone suddenly sharpened.
"You bring shame to Saint Fréyan."
Sadie clenched her teeth but said nothing.
Though she suspected the Cooper family's hand in this mess, without evidence her accusations would only sound like slander.
Her silence brought Dolbora a perverse satisfaction.
She turned her gaze to Ralph. "Mr. Ralph, surely you're not siding with her kind of people?"
"This has nothing to do with you," Ralph replied flatly.
"Hmph."
Dolbora sneered, then fixed her gaze back on Sadie.
"Still, since we're such dear sisters, allow the Cooper family to clean up this little mess."
It was a performance for the watching hunters.
Before she left, her brother Zod Cooper had warned her: they needed to control the narrative.
Appear only when hope seemed lost—then people would remember your "mercy."
Sadie ignored her provocation.
"Bitch," Dolbora muttered under her breath before whistling sharply.
"Boys—go tear that thing apart."
The hounds lunged at the tendrils.
Dolbora followed, drawing a fragment of deer antler from her cleavage.
The Cooper hounds were ferocious indeed.
With sheer speed and numbers, they overwhelmed the tendril near Dean.
Though one hound lost a foreleg, the tendril was shredded into pieces.
Dolbora closed in on Dean, surprised when touching him caused no reaction.
She checked his breath—alive.
With a flash of distaste, she hoisted him up, only to lift her head with feigned joy.
"He's alive!" she shouted toward the desperate young woman in the crowd.
The woman collapsed to her knees, weeping prayers of gratitude.
Just as Dolbora turned to lead Dean away, the ground split open.
More tendrils erupted, instantly ensnaring the hounds.
Only the injured one survived, left resting at her command.
One by one, the spear-tipped tendrils pierced the beasts' skulls.
Moments ago, they had been fierce predators.
Now, they were nothing but empty hides.
Panic flickered in Dolbora's eyes.
This… this isn't right. Zod said it was only a "minor incident"…
But the monster in the warehouse had no intention of waiting.
In that brief moment of Dolbora's hesitation, the deer antler in her hand cracked.
A thin fissure spread across its surface, then another, until it looked ready to shatter at any second.
At the same time, a wave of dizziness hit her. She swayed, hearing a whisper echoing in the depths of her mind.
Even the Cooper family can't handle it?
Despair welled up in the hearts of the onlookers. They saw the writhing tendrils lashing straight toward the Cooper heiress.
Just then—
Whoosh!
Something whistled through the air.
A small silver cross flew from the side of the warehouse, nailing one of the tendrils to the ground mere inches from Dolbora's body.
Szzzz…
The tendril sizzled, its surface charring black.
It thrashed violently, trying to tear free, but the holy force radiating from the cross held it fast, draining its flesh of strength.
Finally, in desperation, the tendril severed itself. The pinned portion withered and turned to ash within moments.
Sadie's eyes lit up.
Ralph's widened in shock.
The crowd gasped as they realized—the priest had returned.
A short while ago, they'd watched him circle the warehouse, then vanish. Most assumed he had been killed.
Now they began to wonder: was the monster's earlier agitation because of him?
"If only Vincent had been as decisive as you," Gideon muttered, rubbing his chin. He didn't care if the creature understood.
He remained standing exactly on the boundary line.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
The tendrils whipped toward him in a frenzy, launching a storm of attacks.
But none reached. Each strike fell short, as though the beast were raging against an invisible wall.
The onlookers stared, astonished. It can't be that simple… can it?
Snarling, the tendrils shifted course, slithering past the nailed-down cross and striking at the two demon hunters on the ground instead.
"You're clever," Gideon's calm voice rang out, "but you missed one detail."
"Barriers don't just cut off outsiders—they also restrict the caster. Which is why you always build an exit."
Even as he spoke, the tendrils slammed forward—only to smash against an invisible shield.
"See?" Gideon shrugged. "That's what happens when amateurs try."
---