Chapter 201: Arrival at Mia's Home
"Shh… that's not your father outside."
The voice of her mother whispered in Mia's ear.
"They're pretending to be him. Every one of them wants to hurt you."
Only fear remained on Mia's face. "B-but… what am I supposed to do?"
"Riley shouldn't be in the hospital. He's only suffering there… Only death can set him free. You have to help him…"
Mia's voice trembled. "I… I can't. Please… don't make me."
"Help him, Mia. I'll take care of him."
Mia hesitated, torn by doubt.
Then she noticed Riley lying behind her "mother," his face twisted in agony.
"Help him…"
Just as Mia was about to decide, violent impacts suddenly slammed against the door.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Open up! Mia!"
Her eyes filled with terror.
That was her father's voice.
The door burst open, and a man rushed inside.
When he turned around, his face was covered in mottled blotches, dark veins faintly visible beneath the skin.
In the next instant, Mia was thrown to the ground.
A crushing force clamped around her neck, stealing her breath.
"Ng… ngh—"
She struggled desperately.
---
Meanwhile, in the living room.
Mia's father, Max, was sitting on the sofa.
He was carefully wiping the art piece his daughter had brought home—a porcelain hand covered in strange runes.
Hearing the noise from the bedroom, Max called out, "Mia?"
There was no reply.
Just as he was about to stand and check on her, someone knocked urgently on the apartment door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The sound was rapid and insistent.
"I'm coming!" Max answered.
He glanced once more toward Mia's bedroom. After a brief hesitation, he decided to open the door first.
Max opened it a crack.
"Who are you looking for?"
"Uncle Max—it's me!" Jade rushed forward, out of breath.
"And these two are…?" Max asked, puzzled, his gaze shifting to the two church members.
Gideon tilted his head slightly and immediately spotted the Apostle's Hand on the coffee table.
At the same time, a surge of malevolent energy was roiling violently inside the bedroom.
He smiled faintly. "Mr. Max, you should know that Mia hasn't been quite herself lately."
Max froze for a moment, then nodded.
"There's a reason behind all this. I can explain the truth to you."
Gideon deliberately led with something Max cared about, piquing his curiosity.
"But right now, there's something far more important. No matter what you see next, you must stay calm. We'll keep Mia safe."
Max nodded again, though worry crept onto his face. "What's wrong with Mia?"
"You'll find out very soon."
Gideon handed him a crucifix.
"Put this on and wear it around your neck."
As Max accepted it, Gideon placed a small holy statue by the doorway.
Faya observed the entire process from the side.
First, stabilize the emotions of any uninvolved person—so Max doesn't interfere later.
The crucifix is to protect him from demonic influence.
And placing a holy icon at the entrance…
Yes… extremely thorough exorcism preparations.
Faya nodded to herself. There were countless details here worth learning from.
She committed every step to memory, already planning how she would revise her lesson plans once she returned.
---
On the other side of the room, after finishing the setup at the entrance, Gideon stepped inside the apartment.
He didn't rush toward Mia's bedroom. Instead, he went straight to the coffee table.
The moment she saw the Apostle's Hand, Faya's emotions visibly stirred. But before she could act, Gideon had already taken out a holy relic and calmly laid down three layers of isolation arrays around the artifact.
"This isn't over yet," Gideon said, glancing at her. "Don't rush."
Faya paused, then forced a smile.
"You're right."
Max didn't understand what the two of them were talking about. All he wanted was to check on his daughter.
Even from the living room, Mia's anguished screams were clearly audible.
If the priest hadn't warned him beforehand, Max would've already rushed in.
"Sister Faya," Gideon said, gesturing toward the bedroom, "you're a theology instructor. I'll need your guidance for the exorcism."
It took considerable effort for Faya to tear her gaze away from the Apostle's Hand.
Hearing his words, she couldn't help but roll her eyes internally.
You haven't listened to a single piece of my 'guidance' this whole way, she thought.
Still, she understood the reminder and took the lead.
For safety reasons, Jade had already been sent back to the hospital.
Meanwhile, the word exorcism finally pushed Max's doubts past their limit.
"Hey—what exactly is going on—"
Before he could finish, Gideon cut him off, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.
"You can see it for yourself."
Max felt as if a mountain had pressed down on him. He couldn't break free from Gideon's grip at all.
Yet concern for his daughter outweighed everything else.
So he was guided to the bedroom door.
While no one was paying attention, Gideon discreetly placed another holy statue beside the doorway.
The next second, Max's eyes widened.
"Mia!"
He shouted, trying to rush forward—but Gideon stopped him.
"Mr. Max, this isn't the time to act impulsively."
Gideon pointed at Mia.
"Look at her neck. See how it's caving inward from the outside? That's external force. It means the evil spirit is fighting for control of her body."
"If you interfere now, you'll distract her—and that's exactly what the spirit wants."
Faya froze.
This didn't match her understanding of possession at all.
Normally, a possessed human had no awareness of the outside world. Immediate intervention was supposed to prevent the body from being taken over.
Is this… a new type of possession? Or new experience from Father Gideon?
Uncertain, she hesitated—and stayed where she was.
---
Inside Mia's consciousness, a spirit lurked.
It had taken the form of her mother, Rhea.
Earlier, it had planted the illusion of Max attacking his daughter inside Mia's mind.
If everything went according to plan, once Max rushed to Mia's side, his real figure would overlap perfectly with the imagined "attacker."
At that point, the spirit would "return" control of the body to Mia.
Right beside Mia's right hand lay a box cutter.
Patricide was moments away.
But then—those two damn priests showed up.
The spirit had heard the human priest's words earlier.
Luring priests here isn't bad either, it thought.
The church had long since decayed.
Among evil spirits, there was a saying:
"Don't worry about priests or crosses. Most of the time, they don't work."
And honestly, that wasn't wrong.
Countless reports from fellow spirits confirmed it.
Heaven only ever intervened when extremely special individuals were involved.
And that priest out there didn't even understand the basic mechanics of possession.
Clearly not on the "special list."
Still—Mia had to kill someone.
Only murder would completely shatter her psyche and give the spirit permanent access.
So the force controlling Mia weakened.
She finally managed to breathe.
"Sister Faya," Gideon said brightly, almost delighted, "this is your moment."
Faya was startled by his tone, but she couldn't deny the timing was perfect.
If things were still as tense as before, she'd have had to prioritize Mia's safety.
Why the spirit pulled back didn't matter.
Opportunity was opportunity.
Mia raised one hand.
Her body suddenly trembled.
Boom—
A shockwave radiated outward.
The sound pulsed faster and faster.
Faya's skin visibly vibrated.
Gideon raised an eyebrow.
From his perspective, the sound waves carried traces of holy power rippling through the room.
"So this is the second-stage bone liturgy—Resonant Bone Preaching."
Under the waves, Mia's skin began to tremble as well.
Moments later, she stood up.
Her expression remained blank.
"I've taken control of her skeletal system," Faya said, tracing a cross over her chest.
Mia mirrored the motion.
"What… what are you doing to my daughter?!" Max cried in panic.
Before Gideon could respond, Mia suddenly spoke:
"You two damned bastards—who the hell are you?!"
Her left eye was now stained blood-red.
Clearly, it was the evil spirit speaking.
"I sensed something trying to seize control," Faya said calmly. "So I made some room for it."
Gideon's eyes flickered.
That was a signal—she could expel the spirit at any time.
He nodded.
"Well then, Mr. Evil Spirit," Gideon said cheerfully, "I didn't expect you to be this stupid."
"What did you say?!"
"Mia" snarled—a voice that wasn't hers.
Gideon shrugged.
"I honestly didn't think you'd fall for a lie I made up on the spot."
"If you'd kept controlling her, we'd have been much more inconvenienced."
He'd been testing the waters earlier. Worst case, nothing happened.
At this point, lying to evil spirits had basically become a standard part of his exorcism routine.
Sometimes it worked.
Like now.
Silence fell over the room.
Even Faya's lips twitched.
This feels… morally questionable, she thought, silently reciting the Ten Commandments to herself.
Thirty seconds passed.
Then Mia spoke again—this time in a completely different tone.
"Max… help me. These two want to erase me completely. I miss you so much… and Mia."
Max froze.
He would recognize that voice anywhere.
It was Rhea.
Before he could speak, Gideon cut in mercilessly.
"I mean—your acting is terrible."
He looked at her like she was an idiot.
"If you're going to lie, at least wait a bit longer. Otherwise only a moron would fall for it."
Max swallowed.
The shock faded, replaced by clarity.
"I almost believed it…"
"Mia" ground her teeth.
"Damn church. When did you become this cunning?!"
"The clergy have always been experienced," Gideon replied smoothly.
"We stand against evil for humanity's sake—faithful allies to all mankind."
That actually made Faya feel a little embarrassed.
"Impossible!" the spirit snapped.
"Your stupidity is legendary in the evil spirit circles!"
"Blind loyalty and pointless deaths—that's your brand. Your god never shows mercy to low-ranking priests!"
Gideon tilted his head.
"Sounds like you're not very popular in your own circles either."
"Did the higher-tier spirits blacklist you?"
He smiled.
"But that's fine. If you surrender now, I might even introduce you to some upper-class spirit circles."
---