Chapter 13: The Further
As she walked downstairs, Elise recalled a piece of news she had heard over the last couple of days.
A sacrificial incident had recently occurred in Philadelphia, involving over a hundred people.
But the plotters ultimately failed. It was said that someone with a Church background had stepped in and resolved it.
Could it be...
Elise looked at the young man in front of her.
"Hello, I'm Elise..."
Elise took the initiative to greet him, probing for information in her words.
She hadn't expected this priest to also be from Philadelphia, and to have participated in that expo.
"Sigh, he was a kind-looking old man..."
William put on a look of admiration.
"Those holy artifacts were given to me by him to save my life."
"The philosophy of not risking one's own life in exorcism was also taught to me by him."
...
Although Elise felt a bit regretful, she understood.
Such a figure must have experienced a lot and had long since seen through fame and fortune.
Compared to him, her own exorcism methods seemed like those of a rookie.
"Luring the evil spirit in and then destroying it..."
Elise's eyes gradually brightened.
This trip was truly not in vain. She felt as if her understanding of exorcism had reached a new level.
It seemed that gentleman didn't want to be disturbed.
Elise only knew about this because she was acquainted with one of the people in charge at the time, and had heard bits and pieces during a casual chat.
Her thoughts returned to the present.
Since this priest had received guidance from that gentleman, asking for his help would increase the success rate.
All of this was within William's plan.
He had long prepared this story.
After all, he was so young that few people would believe he had such great ability.
When William performed the exorcism, Renai hadn't seen it, and Gail had been knocked unconscious by him.
The only witness was Dustin.
"Maybe I should... cough, I'd better warn that kid again later."
After the small talk, Elise planned to start saving Dalton immediately, so she invited William into the house to discuss the details.
"Let's just do it here. I still have some arrangements to finish."
"Here?"
Elise was a bit confused, but she soon got her answer.
She watched as William asked Josh to bring out pots and pans from the house.
William picked up a frying pan and swung it in a striking posture.
At the same time, small traps with bells tied to them were set up around the perimeter of the lawn.
...
"This... this is true exorcism!"
Elise's horizons were broadened.
"Always have protective gear ready during an exorcism."
"Set traps in advance to sense the evil spirit's arrival."
Thinking about how she used to simply command evil spirits to leave, she felt like her decades of exorcism had been in vain!
The two assistants were also surprised.
They thought they were professional enough, but now it seemed they were completely wrong.
William and Josh bustled around for a while and finally finished.
At this moment, an all-around, no-dead-angle space capable of isolating evil spirits had been constructed.
Due to limited time and materials, the success rate of this protective measure against evil spirits only reached 90%.
William would just have to make do.
Meanwhile, in the shadows somewhere around the house.
Several dead spirits revealed their forms.
At this moment, their last shred of hope was completely shattered.
Originally, when the spirits saw new guests arrive, they thought the priest would follow them into the house.
But who would have thought...
Is this how you visit someone's home?!
...
Everything was ready.
Elise first tried to contact Dalton to see if she could guide him back on his own.
But midway through, the Lipstick-Face Demon appeared and imprisoned Dalton again.
So everyone had to choose Plan B—Josh would go and bring him back.
Before entering The Further, William took out a mask (The Smiler's Mask) and gave it to Josh.
He claimed it was from the Church and would bring him blessings.
Because of the previous holy artifacts, no one suspected anything.
"Excellent. Now I can find out what effect this thing has on a human."
William certainly wouldn't use it rashly on himself.
The function of this item was to strengthen the connection between soul and body, which was exactly useful right now.
Then the hypnosis began.
Accompanied by the sound of a metronome, Josh entered The Further.
Darkness. Silence.
Josh found that everyone around him had disappeared. He could only see his own body.
Aside from that, Elise's voice was guiding him.
Josh also discovered a glowing thin thread connecting his spirit and body.
And they could strongly sense each other's existence.
Just like that, Josh slowly walked out of the house.
In reality, apart from Elise and William, no one else knew what was happening.
Elise could only vaguely sense Josh's location.
But William could see his form clearly.
He watched as Josh floated toward a direction at high speed and soon disappeared.
...
In The Further.
Josh carried a lantern, surrounded by endless darkness.
At first, he was a little scared.
But before long, Josh's attention began to focus on himself.
For some reason, he felt that he looked a bit sloppy today.
Unshaven stubble, a body unwashed since last night...
Thinking of this, Josh actually stopped in his tracks.
Then he lifted the back of his hand and noticed some dirt under his fingernails.
He frowned, thinking, How can a man's fingernails look so ugly!
So he planned to find a place to clean up properly.
Josh continued forward, but his walking posture became much more... affected.
Soon after, he encountered a boy.
So Josh put one hand on his knee and asked in a very gentle tone, "Hello, do you know where the restroom is? I need to freshen up."
The boy was stunned seeing Josh like this and pointed blankly in a direction.
"Thank you."
Josh flashed what he thought was a demure smile and bid farewell to the boy.
Soon, he arrived in front of a house.
He recognized almost immediately that this was his previous home.
So he smiled and strolled to the door.
As to why this house was here, Josh didn't seem to care at all.
In Reality.
"Hmm... this is a normal phenomenon. No need to be surprised."
Facing everyone's weird looks, William explained calmly.
At this moment, Josh was twisted into a flower-like pose on the chair.
Renai was shocked. She couldn't even pull off a pose like that.
William secretly took notes: "Different creatures produce different personalities..."
Back in The Further.
Josh heard sounds of fighting inside the house.
Knock... knock.
He knocked on the door.
In the next moment, the door opened automatically. Josh discovered many dead spirits inside.
One of them, a red-faced demon, was being besieged by the other spirits.
The room was a mess; the fight seemed intense.
Half of the leather jacket man's clothes were torn, leaving a clear wound on his body.
Half of the middle-class man's head was gone, but he still picked up a long knife.
The woman in the bridal gown was hugging the beastly hooves of the Lipstick-Face Demon tightly.
Just then, a ghost girl in a white dress charged at the demon.
But she was knocked flying the next second, landing right at Josh's feet.
He hurriedly helped the girl up and said gently, "Are you okay? Your dress is so beautiful. Where did you buy it?"
As soon as these words came out, the ghost girl looked at Josh with "shock."
And everyone else in the room did the same, all staring at this man in unison.
The intense fighting actually stopped at this moment.