Facts prove that.
In a moment of desperation, life will indeed find a way to survive. This was the case for Ian. He felt threatened, so he thought of a countermeasure.
At this very moment.
He was in the process of implementing his method.
Of course.
It was unsuitable for children.
"Get away from me!"
The evil spirit was roaring, groaning in pain. It couldn't help it, as it had just discovered that Ian had opened his small mouth and was fiercely gnawing on its neck.
He was truly gnawing!
The kind that you swallow!
"Shut up!"
Ian raised one hand and pinched the nun evil spirit's already deformed lips. He only had five minutes, and he had to eat an evil spirit that was a circle larger than his own body.
This was definitely a difficult, massive undertaking.
However.
Fortunately, they were all souls, so there was no need to worry about overeating. The only thing was, for the picky Ian, the texture of the evil spirit was truly not to his liking.
"Eat, eat, eat! You disgusting female ghost!" Ian even complained in the same tone as the evil spirit had used earlier. Facts proved that his belief in the energy conservation laws of Mayer and Joule was indeed correct.
Hmm.
Perhaps there was also some Relativity content worth considering here. If the evil spirit could devour him, he could certainly devour the evil spirit. The System's feedback proved his direction was right.
Spirit: 2.9 ---- 3.1
Ian's attribute was increasing.
This clearly indicated that the evil spirit's energy was flowing towards him. Perhaps the [Spirit] attribute was also related to the strength of the soul. Ian hadn't fully figured out what was influenced by the four-dimensional attributes.
Just like he didn't understand why his [Intelligence] attribute still hadn't increased even after coming up with such a brilliant counterattack strategy. Perhaps this attribute really didn't have much to do with wisdom?
Smack smack!
Under normal circumstances, Ian wouldn't make noise while eating, but he was currently gobbling down food, so table manners were naturally ignored.
He assumed the nun evil spirit wouldn't mind this point.
[Negative Status: Soul Corruption]
Devouring the evil spirit was not without cost. A negative status slowly appeared above Ian's translucent [Anger Value] bar. However, this was the least of a [Berserker]'s worries.
After all, he had already leveled up.
He could just learn a profession skill later. Who knows, maybe this negative status was even beneficial to the body. Not only did Ian not stop, but after adapting to the taste, he accelerated the speed of his gnawing.
"No!!!"
The evil spirit struggled frantically, but Ian held it down tightly. It had truly never encountered this situation—it was always the one devouring humans, and now it was reversed?
This was not magical at all!
It didn't conform to the rules of the greater universe!
...
Meanwhile, in the real world.
Constantine climbed out of the ruins.
"Why did you bring a child here!" He shouted questions at his companion while rapidly rushing toward Ian, who was in a "dazed" state.
"Damn Constantine! You just said you were dying, you didn't say you were being harmed by an evil spirit! I thought you were conducting some kind of insane, dangerous experiment again!"
Charles, who crawled out right after, was also filled with regret and remorse.
"Hand me the Holy Water, quickly!"
Constantine knew this wasn't the time to shift blame. He violently tore open the "dazed" boy's clothes. The boy's skin was visibly turning gray.
Black blood vessels were also beginning to appear on his chest.
That was a sign that the body was being corrupted by the "power" carried by the evil spirit.
"Charles! Get ready to hold him down! I'm going to start the exorcism!" Constantine took the water bottle handed to him by his companion. He tried to rip off the ancient pendant Ian was wearing on his chest.
"Hiss~"
However.
As soon as Constantine's hand touched the pendant, it was as if he had grasped a scalding hot iron. The pain made him gasp sharply, and his retracted hand showed signs of being burned.
"What the hell is this thing!"
He was surprised and uncertain, yet he couldn't immediately identify the pendant Ian was wearing. Moreover, this was a race against time, and he didn't have the time for careful study and identification.
"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus!"
"omnis satanica potestas!"
"omnis incursio infernalis adversarii!"
...
Constantine splashed the second-hand Holy Water onto Ian while chanting a Latin exorcism spell, his expression serious and his tone appropriately modulated and convincing.
However.
Although Ian's body did start to steam upon contact with the Holy Water, the evil spirit did not manifest. So, Constantine began to raise his volume and increase his output.
"This kid's expression..."
He gradually started sweating profusely and was growing increasingly unsettled. He actually saw Ian's mouth slowly curling up! The child was laughing? Constantine preferred to believe this was the demon's mockery!
After all.
At this moment, the evil spirit should be devouring the boy's soul, and his body should be occupied by the evil spirit. Therefore, any expression the boy made could only be related to the demon!
"Humiliare sub potenti manu Dei,"
"contremisce et effuge,"
"Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine!"
Constantine felt uneasy and terrified inside. He quickly switched to a different exorcism method, attempting to use the power of Heaven to perform the exorcism. He was adept and highly proficient in all sorts of magical schools. However, for some unknown reason, his latest version of the exorcism spell still didn't achieve the desired effect.
Even though divine light bloomed and countless black smoke billowed out from Ian's body, the evil spirit still hadn't been yanked out. Its tenacity was far beyond Constantine's imagination.
This was definitely not normal.
It was rarely encountered in Constantine's career as an exorcist. One must remember that as a master of magic in the human world, even without faith, no one could deny his expertise in magic. Especially his exorcism magic, which had reached the level of combining the strengths of many schools, far exceeding the level of most priests and related professionals.
"This is wrong! How can it resist for so long! How can a minion from hell be so powerful!" A chill ran down Constantine's spine, and his mind couldn't help but run wild.
What kind of terrifying demon could resist his exorcism!
Could this be another conspiracy specifically targeting him? Was a super greater demon secretly intervening, using the boy's soul to draw his own already difficult-to-save soul closer to damnation?
Fear and anxiety enveloped Constantine's heart.
And just at that moment.
"Ah ah ah ah ah!!!!"
A scream of agony echoed through the entire room.
It was the evil spirit's voice.
"I will return! I will take my revenge!"
The evil spirit finally emerged from Ian's body. Only it didn't look like it had been yanked out by the exorcism spell. Instead, it looked frantic, rushed, and disheveled, as if it were fleeing.
It even endured the intense pain, pushing against Constantine's continuous splashing of Holy Water and emitting smoke, just to scramble out. The posture was exactly like a terrified maiden desperately struggling against assault.