[Chapter 211: Celestial Thunder Body Enhancement.]
Daniel's expression grew dark.
Fortunately, he hadn't risked venturing into the other realm. Otherwise, the situation with the Red-Faced Demon would have been completely reversed.
If he had gone there, he wouldn't have been able to unleash his full strength like this.
"Ram Cult," Daniel muttered with a solemn look.
He hadn't expected to be targeted so quickly.
At first, he thought this was 'The Further' manifesting in reality, unrelated to the Conjuring universe.
But the Ram Cult had already infiltrated.
"You can't escape Lord Ram's grasp. Just wait for death obediently," the Red-Faced Demon snarled.
With those final words, it turned completely to ash.
[Ding! Killed a B-Rank ghost. Gained 30,000,000 merit points.]
[Ding! Killed a B-Rank Ghost. Gained "Celestial Thunder Body Enhancement."]
[Tip: "Celestial Thunder Body Enhancement" is an ancient Thoric body enhancement technique. Current Rank: Uninitiated. Can be upgraded!]
Hearing the System prompt in his mind, Daniel was stunned.
So the Red-Faced Demon had just been a powerful ghost.
A B-Rank ghost at that.
But this Celestial Thunder Body Enhancement was exactly the Body Enhancement technique Daniel had been longing for.
That made things interesting.
...
The Red-Faced Demon was completely turned to ash -- not even a speck of residue remained.
The sulfurous smell and evil aura hanging in the air quickly dissipated, purified by the Five Elements Array Seal and cleansed by the Earth energy.
Daniel looked at the Ram head that had appeared on the wall earlier and noticed it had vanished along with the Red-Faced Demon's death.
It seemed the Ram head had been created by the demon itself.
Daniel silently breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't Lord Ram himself, it was manageable.
With a thought, Daniel's massive nearly ten-feet-tall frame, wrapped in orange-red energy currents and glowing golden light, receded like a tide pulling back.
His body emitted faint crackling noises as bones contracted and muscles flattened.
Under the stunned gaze of Lambert family, he quickly returned to his original slender height of six feet.
However, he was completely naked -- his original clothes had long since turned to dust during his transformation.
Fine beads of sweat covered his body, but his eyes remained sharp as an eagle's.
Calmly, he pulled clothes from his System space and swiftly dressed.
After putting on his clothes, Daniel stored the altar back into the System space.
He glanced at Josh's still frightened family, then at the dilapidated, nearly half-ruined house, shaking his head quietly.
Logically, for a battle of that scale, he should have charged more.
But Josh's family had scraped together just $100,000, borrowing money on top of that.
If the price had been higher, they might have escaped the Red-Faced Demon only to be crushed financially.
Daniel's gaze swept over Josh's tired face, the dazed look of survival in Renai's eyes, and little Dalton's trembling body.
He shook his head silently.
The Red-Faced Demon had rewarded him with 30 million merit points and an ancient Thoric Body Enhancement technique.
Coupled with the Bride-in-Black's merit points, this trip's gains were enormous.
Josh's family wouldn't need to pay extra.
...
"Contract complete," Daniel said calmly, stepping toward Josh. "The demon has been eliminated. You're safe now."
At Daniel's words, Josh's family finally relaxed.
They rose and looked around the room. Though it was a wreck, smiles returned.
But thinking of the bill waiting for them, the couple exchanged a glance, their faces sobering once again.
Even young Dalton seemed lost in thought, his smile fading.
"Thank... thank you, Mr. Cross... how much do we owe you? We already paid $20,000 upfront..." Josh asked, trying to sound casual as he rearranged his expression.
"As per the original agreement, the remaining $80,000 is due," Daniel replied matter-of-factly. "As for the damage to the house, you'll have to handle that yourselves."
"Eighty... eighty thousand?" Josh and Renai were stunned.
They had just witnessed a battle like something out of myth -- a hellish demon descending to the mortal world.
They had seen Daniel's overwhelming power.
Half of their house was practically destroyed.
They had mentally prepared to lose everything.
And yet... he only charged the originally agreed $100,000?
The couple's eyes instantly welled with tears.
"Thank you, Mr. Cross," Renai whispered.
"Thank you, Mr. Cross," Dalton echoed, his large eyes shining with gratitude.
Daniel smiled. "Write the check. I have other matters to attend to."
"Oh, of course." Renai hurried away.
Soon, a check for $80,000 was handed to Daniel.
He took it and prepared to leave.
"Mr. Cross! Wait!" Josh suddenly called after him.
"I was there... in the other realm... I saw... things you might want to know!"
Daniel paused and turned his head.
"Oh? What did you see?"
Josh took a deep breath.
"I saw many... many very young, pure girls. Their souls were trapped inside a huge, dark-red cage! There were at least dozens of them! They were crying but couldn't make a sound..."
Josh shuddered with fear.
"Deep inside that cage, there was... an indescribable, terrifying aura. It was sleeping -- or brewing. It was so powerful that just a hint leaked out and almost froze and shattered my soul! If it weren't for the Seal you gave me, I would never have found Dalton, let alone escaped!"
Josh looked at Daniel, eyes haunted.
"That was not natural. It was like... something was being prepared."
Daniel's face instantly darkened, even more solemn than when he had faced the Red-Faced Demon.
Dozens of pure female souls imprisoned...
A terrifying aura sleeping or brewing...
He immediately thought of Annabelle and the Ram Cult.
The pieces connected.
The Ram Cult wasn't just marking and hunting targets in the real world, like Liv Tyler.
They were capturing and hoarding massive numbers of "sacrifices" in the other realm, the resting place of souls.
The scale and ambition of their ritual far exceeded Daniel's previous estimates.
"I understand," Daniel said quietly. "This is much more serious than you imagine. Remember, don't mention anything you saw or heard tonight to anyone -- not even your closest family or friends. Otherwise, it could bring new disaster upon you."
Josh and Renai nodded vigorously, holding each other tightly.
They no longer wanted any involvement with the supernatural.
Daniel didn't linger.
He quickly stepped out into the night.
The wind blew across him, chilling the air, but it did nothing to shake the gloom in his heart.
Just as he reached his car, a figure emerged from the shadow beneath a streetlamp.
It was an elderly woman in a dark trench coat, her expression calm yet weary.
*****
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