Have you had enough, Miss Vampire? It's time to get down to business.

What should I do? I'll stay here and let Lor return to the church to seek help from Captain Roninna and Senior Joyce. But if Miss Alice is unfortunately killed during this time...

"There's no time to find help," Lor said seriously. "No matter what, saving the victim is our top priority. Let's go in and take a look at the situation first!"

……

In a dark room.

Blonde Miss Alice Randall was shaking a motionless man on the floor.

"Wake up, Roy..." Her eyes were red and she was sobbing. "We have the money. Everything is just as you planned. We can run away together... Please wake up!"

However, the man on the ground showed no reaction.

Although he was still breathing and had body temperature, he could never wake up again.

"It's useless, little girl." A hoarse, empty laugh came from the corner of the room.

The laughter came from a dark shadow with a vague outline. It was roughly human-shaped, but there was a pair of horns on its head... an evil monster with extraordinary powers.

"Give Roy back to me!" Alice looked at the black shadow angrily.

"Everything has a price. Your Roy is well aware of the risks of making a deal with me, but he still chose to take a gamble... Haha, is this the so-called power of love? How foolish."

The monster snorted and said:

"Your man asked me to extract his soul, transform it into a spirit, and send it to you. I warned you long ago that if his soul wasn't strong enough, it wouldn't be restored to its original form... then, his soul would be mine."

As he spoke, the monster raised his hand, holding in his palm a faint ball of light that looked like a flame.

That was the soul of the man named Roy.

"I don't believe it...you're lying to me!" Alice screamed.

"Oh no, I've been found out."

The monster laughed grimly:

"Indeed, the claim that the soul isn't strong enough is pure nonsense. No matter what, I will not return this man's soul to his original body... Deceiving humans is precisely the nature of us 'devils'. It's the fault of those who are deceived.

"Think positively, little girl. At least you still have a large sum of gold coins. With so much money, what kind of man do you want to make peace with? Or... do you also want to become a spirit and stay in my belly with this man?"

A dark hand with blurred outlines stretched out from the shadows.

He slowly approached Alice, who was terrified and collapsed on the ground.

Just at this time……

A ball of pale flame suddenly lit up in the center of the room and then expanded rapidly!

This is the offensive magic of the Church of Holy Light, "Pure Fire"!

The pitch-black demon howled in agony, its large hand, which had been reaching out to Alice, suddenly retracted. Almost instantly, the door to the room shattered, and light poured in.

Two figures stood in the light. They were none other than the exorcists Lor and Vivian.

"Lor, I will hold this monster back, you bring the people out first!" Vivian manipulated the pure white flames, causing them to spread continuously in the direction of the devil.

Lor's actions were also swift. Before Vivian could finish her words, he had already rushed into the room. He had already cast a protective spell on himself, so his entire body was emitting a faint glow.

The two people have different strengths. Lor is good at defense, while Vivian specializes in offense. Therefore, there is no need for too much communication, and a reasonable division of labor is naturally formed.

however……

How easy is it to deal with a "devil" with only two first-level novice exorcists?

Just as Lor felt Alice's side, grabbed her arm and tried to pull her up, thick inky black fog quickly spread from the corner where the devil was, overwhelming the pure fire created by Vivian, and filled the entire room in an instant!

Luo suddenly felt a biting chill.

The malicious spiritual power penetrated into his body from every pore, and the intense pain hit all his nerves like a tide!

Vivian's groan of pain was heard from the black fog.

She didn't even have time to cast a protective spell on herself, so her situation must be even worse than mine... Lor thought. Damn, the situation is not optimistic. If this continues, not only will I not be able to save others, I'm afraid I'll even be killed!

How to do?

Lor gritted his teeth, trying to fight the pain in his body and keep himself awake.

I do have a few other runes I seized from "Cleanup Man John", including some powerful third- and fourth-level spells... Using them might help break the deadlock!

The problem is that Vivian is here too, how am I supposed to explain it later?

A "Location Spell" is not so difficult to explain, after all, it's only a second-tier spell, which can be barely explained... But third-tier and fourth-tier spells, according to common sense, are not something that an exorcist like me can easily obtain.

Tsk, never mind, saving your life is more important!

Lor made up his mind and reached into the inside pocket of his coat.

But before he could take out the rune, he felt a warm sensation next to his ear.

In the black fog, a voice as clear and sweet as a silver bell whispered softly:

"Stupid retainer, you're such a pain in the ass... Oh my, are you in danger now? Humph, you can't even deal with this kind of bastard when I'm not around?

"As expected, I still have to take action."

22.Yes, it’s you!

In the thick black fog, Vivian's consciousness gradually became blurred.

At this moment, the evil spiritual power contained in the black mist was wantonly invading her body. It was as if countless insects and ants were gnawing at her skin, and scorching heat and bitter cold alternately surged through her blood vessels!

Vivian endured the pain and continued to mobilize her spiritual power to increase the output of "Pure Fire".

But in this boundless darkness, the pure white flame seemed so weak, like a small flame falling into the sea, which would be quickly swallowed up as soon as it ignited.

This gap in strength is almost despairing!

As monsters with extraordinary powers, "devils" vary greatly in strength, with strength varying greatly from individual to individual. Weaker demons would be instantly annihilated by a single contact with the "Pure Fire"... but this one was clearly no weakling.

It's strong!

Exorcist Vivian was completely suppressed.

The physical pain was secondary. What was even more unbearable for her was the feeling of being "powerless".

Is that the end?

Vivian thought.

The black fog obscured all vision. Vivian didn't know what the situation was like on Lor's side, but what was certain was that Lor and the rescue target, Miss Alice, were definitely still alive.

After all, he is better at defense than me and can hold out longer against the enemy's attack.

...In that case, I must create opportunities for him.

Even if it costs his life, he must tear a hole in this aggressive black fog so that Lor can take Miss Alice away!

Thinking of this, Exorcist Vivian's eyes became firm again.

Under the influence of her tenacious will and stress state, the pain in her body suddenly eased a lot. Vivian mobilized all her remaining spiritual power and increased the intensity of the "Pure Fire" to the limit in one breath!

The blazing white flames ignited again.

Like a torch in the endless darkness!

It seems to be working...

Vivian turned her head with difficulty, trying to use the light to see what was happening on Lor's side.

The devil's black fog faded slightly, but still filled the room. Vivian could barely make out Lor's outline. Judging from his posture, he was bending over and grabbing a girl, trying to lift her up... That must be the unconscious target of the rescue, Miss Alice.

very good!

Just hold on a little longer, just a little while...

Vivian continued to overdraw her spiritual power, just to buy Lordo even a second.

However, no matter how strong one's will is, people have their limits.

Almost without any warning, Vivian's vision suddenly blurred, and her consciousness disappeared as quickly as the receding tide, until the bone-chilling darkness completely swallowed her up.

It seems...that's really the end.

Am I practicing the creed of "Holy Light"?

Vivian closed her eyes and fell into a coma.

However, at this time.

A girl in a white dress with silver hair draped over her shoulders passed by Vivian, who was falling backwards to the floor.

Her dark red eyes flickered, and her small feet wrapped in small leather shoes and white stockings walked straight to the deepest corner of the black fog, where the devil's body was hiding, without hesitation.

It's like entering a deserted place.

"Who are you?" the devil was stunned, his hoarse voice filled with shock and fear. "Are you also from the Church of Holy Light... No, you're not human at all, but a greater being! Why would a being like you help those humans?"

"A bug that's about to be crushed to death, yet it's still talking so much nonsense."

Isabella stretched out her fair and delicate hand and directly strangled the devil's throat.

Click.

……

"I'm alive?"

After an unknown amount of time, Vivian woke up from the floor and looked around in confusion.

The black fog completely dissipated, and the whole room was bright enough to be dazzling.

Her body felt warm and comfortable... This warmth came from the healing magic. Lor was healing her... A little further away, a young man and woman hugged each other and cried, their cries full of relief and joy.

"You fell into a brief coma due to an overdraft of spiritual power." Lor said slowly, "But it's not a big problem. You should be fine after a short rest."

"...Where's that devil?"

"You killed him." Lor said.

"I?"

"Yes, it's you!" Lor patted her shoulder heavily, his eyes filled with admiration. "As expected of you who excels at offensive magic! This level of output is already considered the pinnacle among first-level transcendents, right? Wow, I've really opened my eyes today!"

...Of course, this is not the case.

Lor was very sure that the devil was actually killed by Isabella.

The situation was critical at the time. Lor had planned to use the intermediate talisman he got from "John the Cleaner", but at this moment, he suddenly heard Isabella's voice and a beautiful figure flashed by.

However, when the black fog completely dissipated, Isabella's figure disappeared again.

Lor didn't know why she was here.

But what is certain is that she was there.

"Did I really kill it?" Vivian held her forehead, still a little bit unbelieving. "That's impossible... I felt that the devil was very strong. I was completely suppressed at the time..."

"The devil is a very cunning creature. Perhaps its apparent strength is just an appearance," Lor forced an explanation. "But it didn't expect that you, a new exorcist, would not retreat, but instead determined to fight it to the end... Almost at the same moment you lost consciousness, the devil was purified by the 'Pure Fire'."

At this moment, Miss Alice, who had survived the disaster, and her lover Roy came over eagerly.

"Thank you, Miss Exorcist! If it weren't for you, my beloved Roy and I would both be dead!"

"It's all my fault for being bewildered and making a deal with the devil... I'm truly sorry, and I'll reflect on it!"

"Ah, this... you're welcome?" Vivian was still confused.

"Fortunately, Mr. Roy hadn't been devoured yet, so I used divine magic to guide his soul back to its place." Lor explained, "Also, while you were unconscious, I had already thoroughly inquired about the whole matter..."

This man named Roy was originally a servant in Earl Randall's mansion.

As they spent time together day and night, he and Miss Alice gradually fell in love with each other.

Unfortunately, the identities and status of the two were very different. Later, Earl Randall vaguely noticed the signs, so he beat Roy up and drove him out of the Earl's Mansion.

In despair, Roy accidentally met a devil, and with its help, he returned to the Earl's Mansion in the form of a "spirit" and possessed Miss Alice. Together, the two planned the so-called "kidnapping case."

As for the so-called fortune teller, he actually had little to do with the incident. He was just bribed in advance and was responsible for handing over the "amulet" containing Roy's spirit to the Alice people.

The two originally planned to run away together.

However, making a deal with the devil often comes at a high price.

"Hmm... Although Holy Light Magic can indeed completely restrain demons, if the difference in strength is too great, we still have no chance of winning... The fact that I was able to destroy that demon means it's not that strong, probably only at the beginner level?"