Jonathan had considered many of the things that had been happening at this event, things which, unfortunately, were coming true—and many of them would affect the people present.
Everyone could end up hurt, affected by a dark entity that could manifest at any moment and in any place.
"Alright, I want you to stay close to your friends so that you're not noticed by the dark entity that will surely seek you out to get rid of you and escape." Jonathan checked the time and knew the response team was about to arrive at the facility.
Haley didn't understand Jonathan's words, so she couldn't help but ask, "What exactly am I supposed to tell them?"
"Today, we're going to eliminate the evil that torments you, but to do that, you'll have to sacrifice something for a brief period of time. Wait—did you really think you were innocent in all of this? You and your friends made a mistake, so the least you can do is support us so we can do our job."
"Yes, you're right…" Haley couldn't deny anything Jonathan was saying.
They talked for a few more minutes before the main event began in an auditorium specially prepared for the occasion.
It was estimated that more than six hundred guests would enter the auditorium to witness the special event.
Jonathan handed her the tickets for Haley and her friends to get in, then made his way toward one of the external exits. But before he could keep walking, a faint voice stopped him.
"Priest, are you a priest?"
"Do you need something?" Jonathan turned around and immediately caught a strong metallic scent coming from the woman in front of him.
"Wait, Renai—are you really going to trust a man dressed as a priest who attends events like this?" Laura, Renai's friend, found it unbelievable that she trusted a stranger more than Elise Rainer, who had a great reputation.
"We've been searching for a long time. What harm can a few questions do?" Renai was exhausted and had lost all hope of finding help in this place.
"I understand why you're here, but this isn't a good time." Jonathan checked the time again, aware that any delay could bring complications.
"See? He doesn't care at all about your problems. Let's get out of here." Laura seemed annoyed by Jonathan's attitude at that moment.
Jonathan furrowed his brows, ran his hands over his head, and said with some pressure, "I can come later. Who in your family is being tormented by a demon?"
"You know?"
"I know many things. Demons carry a foul stench that drags from the gates of hell to a weak soul they can possess... If you're not the one affected, then a family member must already be possessed, which means it's worse than you think."
"My son—he fell into a coma." Renai briefly explained what was happening with her family.
Jonathan didn't seem surprised. Instead, he reached into his pocket and handed her a business card. "You can tell me the details later. For now, place these crosses on the door, windows, and bed where your son is."
"Yes, I understand." Renai accepted all the silver crosses, specially prepared to contain supernatural beings.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, you must leave this place—I'm working."
Just as Laura was about to tell Renai not to waste her time, she saw several people fully covered in what looked like military gear.
"We're in position, High Priest." A man who seemed to be the squad captain looked at Jonathan, and his eyes dropped to the purple cross on his chest.
Renai didn't know what to make of these armed people.
"Take these women out—they're clean. The rest of you, come with me to the surveillance room so we can observe what's happening in the building." Jonathan wasn't lying when he said he was surprised, but he had lost too much time already. Together with the man, whose name he would later learn was Raj, he headed for the control room.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know, but we have to get out of here."
…
On the way to the control room
"It's no surprise you knew before logistics. You're a legend." Raj told Jonathan that The Healing Church had detected the cursed energy eruption from this place long after he had already reported it.
The reason they knew about it was due to a method used to identify different types of apparitions. This method had taken years of engineering, research, and special tools capable of detecting the supernatural and giving field agents the necessary information to do their job.
Jonathan had learned this just hours earlier, from a book he'd been given that contained all the information about the Englishwoman.
"How did you know?" Raj adjusted his bulletproof vest and asked with genuine curiosity.
"I was just looking for supernatural objects at this fan event. I thought I'd find something… and ended up running into this uncontrollable mess." Jonathan had the freedom to speak however he pleased—after all, he wasn't an ordinary priest.
Raj understood what Jonathan meant, and after receiving word that all exits were secured, he said, "We have total control of the access points to this auditorium and the surrounding area. We can act immediately."
"How will the manifestation occur?"
"I don't know, but the target is a group of teenagers in the main hall where the event is taking place." Jonathan gave the identities of each of the cursed individuals so that damage control could be properly managed.
"Then they'll be the ones to manifest it."
"It's possible. The surviving one will likely be the one whose body gets taken over—that'll be our target. We'll have to eliminate them if I can't neutralize it," Jonathan said in a completely natural voice.
In these cases, it was better for everyone to eliminate the target possessed by the demon. It was difficult to separate human from demon once possession occurred, especially if the host had willingly accepted the demon, which meant there was no turning back with a simple exorcism.
"This case might be special. There are situations where humans offer their bodies as puppets to demons in exchange for having certain demands fulfilled. In such cases, we have no choice but to eliminate the human who is likely being controlled of their own free will."
Raj was stunned. He hadn't expected Jonathan to know all this before even arriving at the scene. But it was probably a hereditary skill passed down through his family.
"Zz… Alpha Team, I want all light agents inside the building as soon as we arrive."
"Zz… Beta Team, seal the exits and keep civilians away."
While everyone carried out their orders, a minor public announcement was made that there had been a terrorism report in the building to conceal the real reason for such a high-profile mobilization.
"We're here, sir. Will you handle this personally?" Raj hesitated to open the hallway door leading to the communications room.
Jonathan sensed a change in the air, nodded, and said, "This being is powerful. I must be up front."
…
At the same time, inside the building in a VIP area, a police officer entered the control room and said, "Sir, the security team outside was removed by the police."
Frederick furrowed his brows and asked, "What's the reason?"
"They've received orders to keep this place sealed due to a possible terrorist threat. Now the police are in control. In a few minutes, a special unit will take full control of the interior."
"Who?" Frederick asked, clearly confused.
"They're from a special department. I saw the symbols on their armored trucks—they look very religious. I remember, as a kid, they once showed up at my uncle's house to treat his 'illness,' which turned out to be a demon embedded in his skin. Though, in the end, they told me he just had rabies…"
Frederick, already on edge because of what his partner and friend Henry were about to do during the special event, figured the church's agents had finally arrived.
"You believe in that stuff?" Frederick tried to act like he wasn't interested in any of it.
As he thought about it, he pulled out his cell phone to make a call, only to find he had lost signal. No internet. It all seemed like outside interference.
"Who are you people?"
Frederick turned his gaze to the monitoring room door and suddenly saw people in black suits, wearing military-grade gear integrated into their outfits, entering the surveillance room.
"Step aside and do not interfere. Any obstruction will result in elimination," said an assistant, frowning at the police.
Frederick froze and quickly said, "Alright. No one get in their way."
"Can I speak to whoever is in charge?" Jonathan's voice echoed from the back.