A demon's words were anything but pleasant to hear, but Jonathan, who remained calm, didn't speak to that evil entity—at least not yet. What he did do was silently pull out a nail gun, one that had been modified to be indistinguishable from a real firearm.
"Father Doug, if Mr. Lambert intervenes, get him out of the room…"
"Wait, why are you saying that?" Lambert asked, clearly confused. What exactly was this man planning to do to his son?
Father Doug nodded silently. As Jonathan's right-hand man, his job was to carry out instructions to make the process smoother, and he never questioned Jonathan's commands—even though Jonathan was younger than him.
"First I'll tame the body, then I'll enter his mind and eliminate the demon. I have to make it clear to the demon that if it chooses to possess his son, then I'll make it live through a hell on Earth," Jonathan said, closing his eyes in concentration.
During his time as an exorcist, he had learned something important: to defeat evil, one must treat it like a plague. Eradicating a plague requires sacrifices, and if someone didn't understand what that meant, they were just another obstacle to humanity—one that needed to be eliminated.
Now that he lived in a world where darkness was a constant threat, where monsters capable of mass destruction lurked, Jonathan understood that even if sacrifices had to be made, it was vital to eliminate evil at the root.
If evil was left alive, many more would die.
"I know you far too well…"
Without hesitation, Jonathan raised the nail gun and fired several times at Dalton, who was thrashing wildly.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Three rapid shots hit Dalton. The nails pierced the boy's small body.
"Ha ha ha!" Dalton tilted his head to the side and looked over his shoulder at a nail deeply embedded in his flesh.
Blood began to spill from the wounds, and a sinister smile formed on Dalton's young face as he twisted unnaturally.
"When did the dogs of God start using toys like these? Did you lose your cross, damned priest? This is way too fun." The voice of the demon inside Dalton's body was dripping with mockery.
Yet Jonathan remained calm. His serene expression was unshaken by the demon's words. Instead, he pulled out a vial of blue liquid.
"Inject the full dose. I want him sedated for a few hours," Jonathan said, handing the vial to Father Doug, who nodded and took out a syringe.
"You're going to drug the demon? Damn, now that's a win." Father Doug's lack of seriousness made the situation feel even stranger—it could easily backfire.
"We need to tame the body."
To many, exorcisms were dangerous and delicate matters, since the demon, spirit, or devil would often try to kill the host body before being expelled. But there was an effective way to avoid that: sedate the victim's body.
Though Dalton had a small body, he was being controlled by a dark entity, which made him extremely dangerous—thus, he had to be sedated.
If Jonathan failed to control the body, the demon could jump into the priest, and its strength would increase drastically.
That's why, before showing what he was truly capable of, Jonathan had to take precautions.
The first injection numbed the limbs. The second sent the body into a coma-like state from which it wouldn't awaken for several hours.
"According to scientists, God's word alone isn't enough to eliminate a dark anomaly. Even werewolves are taken down with bullets…"
Jonathan adjusted the silver cross around his neck and said, "With such a tiny body, you won't even withstand the first dose. So I'll get rid of you before you do anything stupid—and then I'll come after you. You hear me?"
"Ha ha ha!" the demon mocked coldly from Dalton's body. But before it could brag further, the medicine began to take effect. Dalton, who had been moving wildly just moments ago, was now weakening.
Dalton, who still wanted to keep playing, growled, "Damned priest, what have you done to me?!"
"Close your eyes and return to eternal darkness…" Jonathan murmured, staring down the entity inside Dalton's small body.
At that point, Dalton forced his eyes open and stared at Jonathan with hatred. But now, after Father Doug had injected the mysterious liquid, the demon could no longer fully control the boy's body.
Jonathan nodded to Father Doug, walked over to Dalton, pulled out a silver cross, and whispered, "Obey the will of the Light and abandon this body!"
"Arrrghhh!!!"
Dalton felt something was wrong with the body he had taken. He fought like a feral beast, aware he might die at any moment. Yet compared to the overwhelming strength he had before, now he was as weak as he truly should've been.
Seeing the result, Jonathan smiled slightly and murmured, "Demons, spirits, and even the devil himself, when taking human bodies, inherit human flaws. If I cut you, you feel pain. If I numb your limbs, you get sleepy."
When Jonathan first experimented with his cases, he was surprised that these techniques weren't used more often by exorcists in films. Many deemed sedation unnecessary, but Jonathan believed it was essential.
Still, this only worked on higher-tier spirits. If the host didn't fall asleep, it meant the entity was extremely dangerous.
There are six levels among the four types of dark entities: Corporeal, Material, Incorporeal, and Ethereal. Spirits that possess bodies are Incorporeal entities.
As for levels, there are only six. The one Jonathan was exorcising now was at level four, with high control over the host body.
Below level four, drugs could work effectively. Above that, his current methods were no longer viable.
"Level four confirmed. Anything else you've noticed so far, Father Doug?" Jonathan asked casually, wanting to train him into becoming a capable assistant.
Father Doug shook his head. "Nothing worth mentioning, Priest."
"For a demon to come from Hell to the human world isn't hard. What's hard is staying here undetected by us humans. Even though The Healing Church has methods to identify them, they still manage to sneak through," Jonathan explained as he approached Dalton's now still body.
"How much strength does the drug take away from them?"
Jonathan thought for a moment. "About a quarter of their strength."
Saying this, he got closer to Dalton, still possessed, and said, "Maybe you don't know me yet—but soon, they'll know my name in Hell."
"Hahaha…"
Jonathan gently pressed the cross against Dalton's forehead and poured holy water over it. The process was growing calmer now.
When soaked in holy water, the cross became more potent. With the blessing of the Light, Jonathan's will, and his energy combined, the effect would take hold.
Jonathan didn't know which god he used as his weapon to fight evil. But regardless, that god existed in presence, not form, within his consciousness. Representing God that way filled Jonathan with the power to destroy evil.
"You're a disgusting little rat—no, rats are holier and cleaner than you. Return to eternal rest, cleanse your sins, and free this body from evil," Jonathan murmured in Latin, closing his eyes as he felt a wave of Light moving through his body.
"Damned priest…"
"What did you say?" Jonathan asked softly—but Dalton could no longer answer.
Then, Father Doug saw a thick white smoke begin to rise from Dalton's sweating body.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Suddenly, without warning, Dalton let out a deafening scream.
"AAAHHH!"
It wasn't a child's scream—it was that of a beast, something truly chilling.
At the same time, a strong gust of wind blew in from outside, flinging the windows open and the curtains upward.
"Leave this body under my will!" Jonathan, pouring out his energy, furrowed his brows as he realized he was using more than usual.
He had already expended a great deal of energy because he didn't want to fail in removing this demon. He didn't know how strong it truly was—this was the best he could do.
"Ahhh ahhh ahhh!!!"
Cold sweat ran down Jonathan's face, but he kept the cross firmly pressed to Dalton's forehead. Dalton trembled uncontrollably, screaming like a monster.
"Leave this body!" Jonathan shouted, applying more pressure to Dalton's forehead, sensing something trying to push him back with greater force.
The veins on Dalton's skin bulged, and in a final act of defiance, the demon asked, "Damned priest! Tell me your name!"
Jonathan pressed his hand to Dalton's neck, covered his face, and using the Hand of God, a sacred ability, he said, "Why should I tell you? Go back to sleep and stop bothering me!"
Rrrr!
Crack!
The windows shattered, the curtains fell to the floor, and after a few seconds—everything went still.
Suddenly, the atmosphere brightened. The previously gloomy and hollow space regained some life.
"Tend to the boy's wounds," Jonathan murmured, looking at his right palm, now marked with a burn in the shape of a cross. His sweaty face regained its calm, and after confirming the success, he stepped back.
"Yes, Priest!" Father Doug grabbed a first-aid kit, removed the nails from Dalton's body, and began to treat the wounds.
At the same time, Dalton's face began to change. The blackened eye sockets returned to normal, and his once feral expression now looked innocent.
An innocent boy now slept peacefully in his bed.
Mr. Lambert seemed to realize that it was finally over and asked, "Is it really finished?"
Jonathan sighed, walked over to Dalton, gently removed the cross from his forehead, then looked at Mr. Lambert—who was visibly concerned—and said, "Your son will be fine. But just to be sure, I'll enter his mind and check…"
"Seriously?" Mr. Lambert didn't show any doubt—he had just witnessed the clearest evidence of his son's recovery.
Jonathan nodded, glanced at Dalton being treated by Father Doug, and said, "Dalton is still asleep due to the medication, but he should wake up tonight. And now that he's resting, I'll take the initiative."