The atmosphere in the ruined wooden house was subtle.
Facing the boy's self-righteous lecture.
Charles and Constantine were both a little confused.
"Who is the Sun of America?" Constantine was completely bewildered. He didn't quite understand Ian's words, he understood every single word, but combined, they perplexed him.
"General MacArthur, of course."
Ian replied without thinking. He had lived in Metropolis for so many years.
Whenever he wanted to say something from a position of authority, throwing it onto General MacArthur was sure to work. Hardly anyone would question whether MacArthur had actually said the phrase.
Sure enough.
Constantine and Charles both suffered from their lack of reading. They exchanged bewildered looks, but no one questioned it. They only felt that the generation gap between themselves and modern youth was truly vast.
"Are all kids these days worshiping World War II heroes? That's so different from our time when we only liked beauty queens with long legs." Charles even showed a hint of nostalgia.
Just as the two were engrossed in Ian's words.
Gulp
Ian looked down at the thermos in his hand. He estimated he could gain at least one more attribute point from the evil spirit inside. He started swallowing his saliva with a sense of anticipation.
Hiss!!!
The evil spirit didn't know his thoughts, but that didn't mean it couldn't detect the boy's "malice." It began frantically slapping the transparent lid inside the thermos.
"Constantine! Don't abandon me! You must take me with you!"
"I know many secrets of hell! I know how to save your soul!"
"Quick! Snatch me back!"
...
The evil spirit was screaming frantically.
Constantine only felt that the situation was becoming increasingly bizarre. He considered himself well-traveled and knowledgeable, yet he had rarely seen a creature from hell so terrified of a human.
It was truly hard to imagine.
Under what kind of mental state would an evil spirit beg an exorcist for help?
"I'm serious! I can help you save your soul!" The evil spirit desperately tempted Constantine. It was genuinely scared. Only a being that had used others as sustenance truly understood how miserable it was to become sustenance for someone else.
"I'm also serious, you can't run away." Ian directly tucked the thermos into his jacket. He watched Constantine warily, but noticed that Constantine didn't seem to have any intention of persisting in asking for it back.
"Alright, it's yours." Constantine was not successfully tempted by the evil spirit. Instead, after the evil spirit begged him for help, he immediately gave up the idea of requesting the evil spirit from the boy.
"Hmm?"
Ian was confused by Constantine's sudden change in attitude.
Constantine looked deeply at him.
"Charles, there's a poor, tragically deceased woman upstairs. We need to bury her to be safe." Constantine turned and walked toward the stairs.
He raised his hand, which still showed traces of being burned. Thinking of the pendant Ian wore, the exorcist believed the boy must have an extraordinary background.
"Coming."
Charles snapped out of it and prepared to follow him upstairs, but Ian looked at the sky outside the window and immediately blocked his path.
"You need to send me back." Ian spoke seriously. He didn't want to walk back to the city on his own two feet. It was a considerable distance from the city center here.
"Wait a moment, I need to help my friend first." Charles didn't refuse, but he planned to wait until the matter was completely settled before driving this "special" passenger back.
"..."
Ian watched Charles bypass him and clamber up the stairs with a rustling sound. He looked at his watch. If he didn't return soon, his parents would probably worry about his safety.
Looking at the scattered ruins, Ian grew thoughtful. Soon, just as Constantine and Charles entered the second floor, preparing to twist open the room door that had been damaged with a large hole.
Vroom!!
The roar of a car engine suddenly sounded.
Immediately after.
Charles's face changed dramatically. He quickly patted his pockets. Even though the keys were clearly still on him, the sound of his damaged beloved car starting definitely came from downstairs.
"Damn it!"
Charles's heart leaped into his throat. He rushed toward the hallway and looked down over the railing. Sure enough, that "tenacious" taxi had actually been started.
Hotwiring it.
It was no challenge for Ian.
This was the importance of studying science and engineering well.
"What are you doing! Damn it! Stop! Stop the car!" Charles was furious as he saw Ian slam the gas, reversing out of the spot and savagely crashing the car's rear into the broken house again.
He was desperate, but he knew that even if he jumped over the railing immediately, his two human legs could never catch up to the speeding car.
Because of this.
Charles and Constantine, who poked his head out a moment later, could only watch helplessly through the hole in the wall, enlarged by the second collision, as the taxi, which was still worth some money, sped further and further away.
"I really couldn't wait for you guys! Find your car near the bus station tomorrow!" Ian even stretched out his hand and waved goodbye to them.
He felt that since he gave them the location to return the car, it shouldn't count as theft. He had no choice, if he didn't go back, he would really be interrogated about where he went after school.
In such a remote location, he was truly thankful for this automatic, semi-automatic sedan. It was sturdy, durable, and simple enough to operate, making Ian feel he could probably take his driver's license test tomorrow.
"Driving really isn't that hard, is it?"
Ian focused intently on the road ahead. He kept one foot on the brake and one foot on the gas, driving the wrecked taxi until it disappeared from the view of the exorcist and the exorcist's assistant.
"..."
"..."
Constantine and Charles were speechless.
After a moment of eerie silence.
"So, we're walking back to the city today?" Constantine fully demonstrated his carefree nature. His focus was clearly not on Charles's financial loss.
After all, it wasn't his car.
"That was the only asset I had left after my divorce..."
Charles, who was already feeling wronged, felt even worse after hearing that.
"If you can't say anything nice, say less!"
He shot a fierce glare at Constantine, but Constantine just smiled dismissively. The exorcist, in a show of style, flipped his hand and produced a card.
"Don't worry, we can get your car back." Constantine had somehow, at some point, quietly slipped Ian's student ID off the boy and onto himself.
Seeing this.
Charles immediately relaxed.
He looked at the student ID in Constantine's hand.
"Constantine, I think the sheer weirdness surrounding this kid is worth investigating." Charles cautiously advised. He was definitely not just holding a grudge because his vehicle was stolen.
"Indeed, little boy must have some very remarkable secrets." Constantine looked thoughtful, gazing down at the ID card in his hand.
Just then.
Suddenly.
A gust of wind, sudden and without warning, blew through the empty wooden house. Constantine felt his vision blur for a moment. Before he could see anything, the ID card in his hand vanished.
It was as if it had been swept away by the wind.
Or as if someone had forcibly snatched it away.