Watching their greatest threat finally dealt with, both Josh and Clark let out a massive sigh of relief.

With the demon out of the picture, all that remained were these lingering evil spirits who had lost their leader.

Having been knocked completely senseless, the chubby little bird flew back up from the ground, chirping and squawking in a fit of absolute fury.

"Thank you. I’ll be relying on you to protect me now."

Knowing the silly bird was just trying to save face after losing its dignity, Seia gracefully gave it an out. While the chubby bird’s combat prowess fell a bit short against high-tier demons, it was actually a specialized entity.

As long as an enemy’s power level was lower than its own, it could practically defeat them in one shot—no matter how many came at it.

The catch, of course, was that if an enemy’s level was higher than its own, the bird was rendered almost entirely useless.

The Lipstick-Face Demon wasn’t quite on the level of Valak’s legion of familiars, but it was stronger than any single familiar on its own, and just happened to be stronger than the silly bird. That was why the little bird, which usually handled the legion of familiars with ease, had struggled so terribly.

Fortunately, these lingering evil spirits were weaker than the Lipstick-Face Demon, and far weaker than the chubby bird.

Clark stared at the bird for a few moments. "Is this long tailed tit a blessed holy beast? Can you actually understand it?"

"Yes, it’s very special."

Seia nodded. Taking a deep breath, she addressed the two men in front of her. "Open the door. Without the demon, they are completely leaderless. Dalton’s situation might be getting dangerous, so the little bird and I will back you up."

"Dalton...!?"

Hearing this, Josh was instantly consumed by worry.

"Please don’t worry. The moment the door opens, the little bird will rush in to protect Dalton. With it there, the evil spirits won’t be able to get close," Seia reassured them. "I will provide fire support from the back, so please do your best to hold the line against them."

Recalling Seia’s terrifying combat efficiency from moments ago, the two men nodded, then took a sharp step back.

Dozens of roars instantly shattered the silence as the door burst open. The sheer momentum of the surging horde nearly knocked Clark and Josh off their feet. The pressure only eased when the chubby bird charged forward, scattering a good chunk of the spirits in one aggressive strike.

This was a narrow corridor—the ultimate bottleneck to equalize a disadvantage in numbers.

Furthermore, their side possessed individual combat capabilities that far surpassed the enemy. Both Josh and Clark knew they had to make their stand right here.

Besides, if they really couldn’t hold the line, they could always fall back. The corridor was incredibly long; there was no need to force a flawless spawn-trap at the door.

Josh also realized that the Holy Grail seemed to be of immense help to Clark. Earlier, dealing with single spirits had been manageable, but given the current chaos, he wouldn’t even be able to offer a helping hand without it.

Without a second thought, he thrust the Holy Grail right between the two of them.

Clark didn’t hesitate, gripping the golden rim of the chalice. But he knew this alone wasn’t enough. "Mr. Josh! Pour all your faith into this and recite after me!"

"!?" The sudden shout caught Josh off guard, but the immediate impact of the spirits slamming into him left no time for second-guessing.

Gunfire erupted from behind them, and the sudden relief of pressure allowed Josh to hear Clark’s voice clearly over the din.

"Repeat after me!"

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." x2

"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." x2

The Lord’s Prayer echoed from their lips, one slightly behind the other. Through their prayer and invocation of God, their divine power received a massive surge.

The defensive line that had been on the verge of collapsing a moment ago suddenly felt utterly indestructible.

As the prayer continued, the light radiating from the Holy Grail in their hands grew brighter and more intense.

Behind them, every single bullet Seia fired easily dissipated at least two evil spirits. In Seia’s eyes, these entities existing in the foreign realm—transformed into malevolent spirits by resentment and hatred—could no longer be considered human.

Of course, she wasn’t killing them in the name of execution; it was a matter of judgment.

Whether their ultimate destination was heaven or hell depended entirely on God’s decree. She was merely sending them to meet Him.

With the pressure significantly lifted by the prayer, Josh’s faith in God spiked considerably. It was the same old logic: if it works, why not believe? It might sound opportunistic, but it was faith nonetheless.

Clark noticed he still had strength to spare. Since he had the energy, he naturally intended to use every drop of it, moving seamlessly into an exorcism prayer:

"Depart, evil spirits! In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! By this blessed cross, by our Lord Jesus Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit, I command you! The blood of the martyrs commands you! In the name of the Lord, devil, I cast you out!" x2

The right hand he kept raised in front of him slowly pulled back, gripping the crucifix resting against his chest.

The scalding heat of the metal didn’t burn him in the slightest; instead, it caused the evil spirits before him to twist in agony. They screamed, desperate to retreat, only to be blocked by the wave of spirits pressing from behind.

Josh was completely mimicking him, learning line by line on the fly. Unfortunately, his faith hadn’t reached the level required to actually execute an exorcism, so his reciting mostly served as a very effective hype-man routine.

Under the surge of Clark’s power and Seia’s steady, unyielding gunfire, the relentless horde of evil spirits was finally completely wiped out.

The post-battle exhaustion left both men feeling completely drained. Josh, having no prior benchmark for this, simply concluded that being an exorcist was definitely not a job for normal people. Clark, however, found it utterly mind-blowing.

To pull off such a high-intensity exorcism and come out of it merely feeling tired? He hadn’t even bled or sustained a single injury! 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but look at the manifested Holy Grail, and then at Seia, who was calmly swapping out her weapon’s magazine.

Where on earth did an exorcist like her come from? He had never even heard a whisper of someone like her.

Could she be some secret weapon of the Church? And besides...

He turned his gaze back to Josh. This man hadn’t shown an ounce of trust or respect toward the Lord just a short while ago, yet here he was, praying alongside him and actually manifesting the light of divine power.

The sheer contrast before and after was truly astonishing.

"Let’s go check on Dalton, Mr. Josh. He probably really needs you right now." Seia’s voice drifted over. Hearing her words, Josh forced his aching, jelly-like legs to stand, completely running on pure willpower.

Seeing this, Clark braced himself and stood up to support him.

Though he was also incredibly exhausted, his physical conditioning was still superior to a normal civilian’s. Supporting a grown man was well within his capabilities.

The three of them stepped through the red door. Following the sound of cheerful bird chirping, they quickly found Dalton.

Though tear tracks still stained Dalton’s face, his fear and panic had practically vanished. Instead, he was looking at the chubby bird with absolute curiosity and adoration.

It made sense. Who could possibly reject a round, snow-white, silly little bird? Especially one that could glow.

"Dalton..." Seeing with his own eyes that his son was safe and sound, Josh finally let out the breath he had been holding. That final relief sapped the absolute last of his strength, causing him to collapse entirely against Clark.

Clark quickly managed to ease him gently down to the floor.

"Dad!" Dalton completely forgot about the cute, fat bird. Seeing his father venture into such a terrifying place just to find him, he immediately jumped up and threw himself into Josh’s arms.

Watching the heartwarming reunion between father and son, both Seia and Clark let out satisfied smiles.

The ordeal had finally reached a happy ending for everyone.

--+--

T/N: If you want advance Chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL