St. Mary's Church, Queens, New York
Moonlight streamed through the broken stained-glass windows, casting mottled shadows of dark red across the ruined floor.
More than a dozen nuns lay scattered among the pews—some nailed to the walls, others crumpled before the altar, their fates unknown.
In the center of the church loomed a towering demon, its massive form like a moving mountain. Its fingers, rough as stone, clamped tightly around the throat of a middle-aged priest, hoisting him off the ground.
The priest's face flushed from lack of oxygen, veins bulging on his forehead, yet he continued to recite the Bible through labored breaths:
> "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
> He makes me lie down in green pastures;
> He leads me beside quiet waters.
> Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
> I will fear no evil—
> for You are with me;
> Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
> You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…
> You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
> And I will dwell in the house of the Lord… forever!"
His voice was hoarse and faltering, yet unshakable as iron.
"Shut up! I told you to shut up!!" the demon roared. "The prayers of you ants disgust me!"
The demon's sulfurous breath blasted the priest's face as he listened to the recitation, growing increasingly manic. He tightened his grip, and the priest's throat emitted a sickening creak, as if his bones were about to splinter.
Just as the vertebrae threatened to snap, a spectral figure intervened.
The Wind Demon gathered beside him like mist and reached out to press down on the Earth Demon's thick arm.
"Stop, demon," the Wind Demon commanded. "Don't kill him yet. He may still be useful to us. Put him down."
His voice was like a cold wind whistling through dead branches—chilling and hollow.
"Hmph! Whatever you want!" the Earth Demon snorted, but he released his grip nonetheless.
"Cough! Cough! Cough…"
The priest crashed heavily to the floor, clutching his throat and coughing violently. Blood seeped from the corners of his mouth.
Earth Demon crouched beside him. A twisted smile formed on his face—a shifting mask of gray mist—and he spoke in a deceptively gentle tone:
"Father… how about we make a deal?"
The priest lifted his head, his fierce eyes blazing with undisguised hatred and revulsion toward the two demons before him.
The Earth Demon didn't flinch. His misty fingertips brushed the priest's blood-stained collar as he continued:
"Tell us the whereabouts of the Saint Vanganza Contract… and we'll let you die quickly."
The Earth Demon let out a dull, rumbling laugh and crushed a fallen slab of marble beneath his foot.
The priest spat a mouthful of bloodied foam and growled:
"Don't even think about it! Even if I'm cast into hell, I'll never tell you where the San Venganza Contract is!"
At this, the Earth Demon threw back his head and laughed—a sound that echoed endlessly through the ruined church. When his mirth finally subsided, he said softly:
"Don't worry… we won't let you go to hell."
He rose to his full height and spread his arms—limbs of swirling, gloomy mist—pointing in all directions as he declared:
"On the contrary… we will keep you alive. And then, we will take you with us as we raze every church in New York to the ground!
You will watch with your own eyes as believers are torn to pieces.
You will hear the screams of the clergy.
And you will spend the rest of your life breathing in the stench of blood-soaked floors."
He let out a low, chilling chuckle: "Hehehe…"
The demon took over and spoke in a voice as loud as rolling thunder:
"And you… hehehe… will live forever, remembering every face that died because of you."
The priest's pupils contracted violently; his entire body trembled with rage as he roared:
"You maggots who crawled out of Hell! The light of the Lord will burn you to ashes!
I spit on your threats and curse your souls!
You pathetic wretches—even Hell finds you filthy! You will never triumph over the Light, for you were born to be trampled underfoot!"
Yet the two demons didn't care. the Earth Demon stepped onto his back and leaned down to whisper in his ear:
"Give up! Your God can't hear you—but the Devil is right here!
Now, you have one last chance to save those so-called people of God. Cherish it.
Of course, I don't mind if you resist. The more you struggle, the more excited I become."
The priest's lips trembled; the light in his eyes began to waver. His faith was crumbling—and the demons relished his pain.
"I…"
He squeezed out a hoarse syllable from his throat.
BOOM!
The church's dome suddenly exploded, raining debris. A cyan afterimage—like lightning—tore through the dark, gloomy space.
The cold gleam of the Liuyue Needle in the green-clad figure's hand flashed, and the spear tip traced a lethal arc straight toward the Earth Demon's vital point!
"What the hell?!"
The Wind Demon instantly dissolved into mist—but the spear's wind still tore a chunk from his chaotic form.
ROAR—!
The Earth Demon bellowed and swung his fist—a massive, stone-like hammer imbued with the power of the earth veins.
BOOM!
Xiao's figure twisted sideways like a dragon, effortlessly evading the Earth Demon's crushing blow, and thrust the Flowing Moon Needle upward!
CLANG!
BANG! BANG!
Amid the deafening clash of metal, the Earth Demon's hulking body was sent flying by Xiao, crashing into the rear confessional wall and shattering bricks and stone everywhere.
Above the altar, the Wind Demon seized the chance to reform. Mist coalesced into a snarling visage, and he snarled in disbelief:
"Impossible! How can you wield the power of wind before me?! It must be an illusion!"
His voice quivered with shock. In response, Xiao's golden pupils lifted sharply, and the runes on the young immortal's vambraces ignited with emerald light.
"Beneath this spear, all vengeful spirits scatter; in darkness, I am the Light!"
The Liuyue Needle erupted in blinding green radiance. Xiao's form split into dozens of afterimages, each stabbing at the Earth Demon from every angle.
SHUASHUASHUA—!
The Wind Demon frantically twisted and warped, trying to flee—but found the air around him utterly sealed!
BOOM!
The moment the spear's tip pierced the mist, he felt a wind-element force far purer than his own—
a gale tempered over millennia of slaughter, powerful enough to rend demons asunder!
PUFF!
Half his misty body shattered violently, and the Wind Demon let out a shrill, agonized shriek.
The Earth Demon stared in horror as green wind sigils wrapped his wounds—sealing his elemental essence and preventing reformation.
"Go to hell!"
As Xiao kicked aside a fallen pew and lunged again, the demon who once claimed mastery over the wind finally collapsed.
"Earth Demon! Hold on! I'll go get help!"
The Wind Demon screamed, transformed into mist, and smashed through the stained-glass window, fleeing into the night sky—abandoning his comrade without a second thought.
By then, the Earth Demon had just clawed his way out of the rubble—only to witness the Wind Demon's cowardly retreat and hear his empty promises scatter in the wind.
Before the brute could curse, the cold gleam of the Flowing Moon Needle already filled his terrified eyes.
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