"Cover my left side, Doug!" Jonathan said as he turned on a flashlight and slowly started descending the steps.
"I got you, brother." Doug, who was extremely nervous, nodded while his focus was fixed on Jonathan's left side as Jonathan watched the right.
Meanwhile, Brad took care of guarding the rear together with Wednesday in case something ambushed them. He didn't care if he ended up as a human shield for the Priests; he believed it was the price to pay for seeing how they worked.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
As Jonathan descended the wooden steps one by one, the sound of the wood was creaking—something that had never happened before.
This cold and dead basement seemed to have turned into a speaker with an amplifier effect for the footsteps of the three people going down.
If an ordinary person looked into the dark space inside and heard that creaking wood approaching, they'd probably die of fear, but Jonathan didn't care and kept moving forward in silence.
Over Jonathan's uniform, beneath his large black trench coat, there was a vest where he kept everything he would need for an exorcism. Since he didn't have anything magical to help him carry his things, everyone wore a vest where they stored the most essential items for an exorcism.
By reading the prayers in the Grimoire, one could verbally fight the entity that attempted to harm them.
The bullets were kept in the shotgun stock's pouch, and he also carried a row of bullets across his vest, giving him a large variety of well-distributed ammunition.
Besides the bullets, he carried six test-tube bottles filled with holy water and three silver crosses.
"Now I finally understand why basements in movies are the most suitable for scaring people..."
Doug looked at Brad and said, "Focus on your job!"
After finishing the descent, Jonathan walked toward the switch and turned on the lights by pressing the button. Now that he had more visibility, he could feel how this place was perfectly suited to cause far more trouble.
Although Jonathan—before and now—had never feared anything, what he was feeling now was rather curious.
In the dimness, this small basement was filled with debris, including wooden furniture and a bed. It was old, cracked, and covered in cobwebs.
Jonathan could see clothes thrown everywhere and a lot of dust, as if this family hadn't had time to take care of the place.
According to the rules of an exorcism, this might be nothing, but Jonathan wasn't a normal person, as his perception of the supernatural was something no one else had. Combined with the cold atmosphere and the knowledge that something evil was here, the visual factor of something bad doubled—so everyone remained alert.
Of course, even though Jonathan was nervous, it was only his heart beating with excitement at the chance of eliminating something else in this world.
"This is my work, my hell, my duty as God's warrior…" Jonathan thought this every time he stepped into the darkness.
In his opinion, the resentment here filled the basement like a thick fog. It was a shame that even though the evil around him was as thick as mist, nothing had happened yet.
"Don't waste my time, you damned impure plague!" Jonathan lowered the shotgun and looked toward the darkness where the light didn't reach, defiantly, as if whatever was there didn't affect him in the slightest.
"Reveal yourself before me!"
Jonathan, although no different from any other Exorcist, knew how much Faith he carried on his shoulders and could use it in each of his actions as he pleased. That was why he trusted every one of his movements, because he knew exactly when and how to strike.
As for the mark that this resentful spirit had left on this mansion, Jonathan would make sure to erase it from the root no matter what. At least, if for some reason he couldn't eliminate all the evil, the Perron family could escape without being pursued by the same evil.
"Fine, if you won't come out, I'll force you to!" Jonathan raised his shotgun again, ejected the bullets in the chamber, and replaced them with different ones he carried in his vest.
In all fields of exorcism, holy water plays a fundamental role not only for them but also for the undead, demons, and creatures.
Crack!
After loading the weapon, Jonathan looked again into the darkness, and once he finished the preparations he took a bottle of holy water from his chest and removed the cork.
"I gave you a chance…" Jonathan murmured and threw the holy water forward in a horizontal arc.
While the holy water was still in the air, all the resentment lingering in the back shifted like a thick, intelligent fog toward the opposite direction to avoid being touched by the holy water.
"Show yourself at once!" Jonathan shouted, and repeating the same process but with a different bottle, he threw it forward again but in another direction.
As before, the thick resentment scattered to the sides, and slowly the dense fog began to fade.
"In the name of the living, make your presence known!!!" Since there was still no movement, Jonathan continued moving to the right and repeated the same process.
"Show yourself, entity of darkness!!!" With each invocation, Jonathan poured holy water onto the ground, slowly creating a perimeter.
Crack!
At that moment, Jonathan turned around in the direction from which the change had come and aimed his shotgun.
Doug, who also sensed something different, aimed in the same direction.
"You…" Jonathan could see a robust woman wearing an old Polish-style skirt.
She simply sat on the ground. She seemed to be afraid, but she held a knife stained with blood while only showing her back.
"She made me do it…" A rough voice that wasn't malicious echoed in the silent space.
"She makes me do it!"
Doug, understanding she wasn't a target, raised his hand so Brad wouldn't shoot and let Jonathan handle the rest.
Jonathan, looking coldly at this entity, took a bottle from his chest while his shotgun remained aimed at the spirit.
If he guessed correctly, the woman in front of him was the one who tragically died in this same basement, so she wasn't his target, as there wasn't enough malice in her body.
"Talk to me. Tell me where she is," Jonathan said calmly. However, as soon as his words were heard, the robust woman trembled nonstop. It was obvious she feared Bathsheba—so much that even the mention of her filled her with terror.
"No!!!"
"I don't want to!!!"
Suddenly, the figure of the robust woman began trembling more intensely, and a sound similar to that of a wild beast echoed from her body.
"NO!!!!"
After the roar, the figure of the robust woman, which had started to fade, vanished instantly.
Crack!!!
At the same time, Jonathan sighed with frustration, and in that moment the hand holding the glass bottle of holy water shattered, making the water fall to the ground. Without moving his shotgun, Jonathan dropped it and, invoking the Hand of God in his right hand, struck toward his side where nothing was visible.
The blood cross formed on his palm, blood dripping from his hand as he attacked the black figure that had appeared. His reaction was so fast it shocked the others; no one could compare to him in strength due to his continuous improvements.
The robust woman who had disappeared before materialized at Jonathan's right side with a knife in her hand, so as the blade grazed him and cut his face, Jonathan ignored the pain and his right hand grabbed the ghost's neck.
Rrrroooaaarrr!!!!
The surroundings shook, the air lifted the dust, and as Jonathan's hand touched the ghost's aura, everything trembled and the robust woman vanished without a trace.
Brad, who had definitely seen supernatural things before, was as pale as paper and muttered, "In the name of Jesus…"
"Focus!" Jonathan said coldly, ignoring the blood dripping down his cheek.
The sharp look in Jonathan's eyes wasn't distracted by this. He knew the abilities of Priest Jonathan, so he didn't worry about a bit of blood.
In that moment, Jonathan ignored the blood also dripping from his hand, took another bottle of holy water, and threw it where a large amount of resentment was forming. Lifting the shotgun, he pulled the trigger immediately.
Bang!!!
When Jonathan fired, the bullet—different from the others—hit the dark fog, and pieces of salt ignited with fire, setting the area ablaze.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Doug and Brad also fired in the same direction, which caused a series of thunderous shots.
When everyone upstairs heard the gunshots they were shocked; first there had been a shot in the basement, then a strange roar.
"Ahhhhhh!!!!"
When that beast-like howl sounded, something escaped from the area, and a sound of tightening ropes echoed, while the temperature of the entire basement dropped extremely fast.
"Fire!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
But amid the firing, Jonathan saw a figure floating in the air in the direction they were aiming. The woman wore a tattered white nightgown and had disheveled hair.
Rrrr!
Jonathan, seeing her approach, frowned, but he didn't avoid the impact because if either of his two companions got hit, they would be severely injured, so he protected them.
Boom!
Jonathan, struck from the side, was sent flying and crashed into the wall.