It was only after Josh and Clark had mostly recovered that Elise re-established the connection, guiding the group back along the return path.

There was no need to worry about Clark’s lost ritual tool. Even though it had been brought into the Further, its physical counterpart remained anchored in the material realm.

Compared to their journey inward, the trek back was undeniably much smoother.

This wasn’t just because a heavy burden had been lifted from everyone’s hearts, but rather because with the current combat strength of their party—three people and one bird—even if a demon showed up, let alone a wraith, it would probably get slapped right across the face.

Mostly, it was Seia’s clean execution of the demon that had truly opened their eyes. Witnessing a demon killed so swiftly and effortlessly was simply unheard of.

They had come to learn that Seia actually suffered from a frail constitution, and that even the use of holy power could not sustain her through prolonged, high-intensity combat.

Yet... looking at her current gear and that staggering holy power, would she ever genuinely encounter a scenario that required a prolonged battle?

When the three of them returned to the cabin in reality, Clark immediately noticed something amiss. Why were there only the bodies of himself, Mr. Josh, and Dalton?

Where was Seia’s?

"I entered the Further through a special method. Father Clark, please return to your own body first," Seia explained softly, noticing the confusion written across his face. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

A special method?

Curiosity piqued, Clark chose not to pry. Seia had already displayed far too many extraordinary feats, and having realized just how remarkable she was, he simply nodded. Together with the other two, he slipped back into his physical form.

Once she saw that they had all safely returned, Seia opened the door back to the material realm.

As all four of them successfully crossed over, a visibly anxious Elise and the others finally let out a collective sigh of relief. Only now could this ordeal truly be considered a perfect conclusion.

Hoping to expand her network, Elise actively approached Seia after everyone finished exchanging amenities, asking if they could trade contact information.

The world of exorcism was not entirely populated by saints.

Elise knew all too well that some exorcists would go so far as to harm innocent people just to play the savior for personal gain—which was a major reason why church officials detested freelance exorcists.

Yet, despite the general disdain church exorcists held for freelancers, the reality was that most freelance exorcists maintained connections within the church.

It could be a father, a sister, or a pastor.

This was because no matter how the church viewed them, whenever a real problem arose or help was desperately needed, the church would ultimately provide assistance.

Elise had her own acquaintances within the church.

Coupled with her track record of keeping her hands clean and acting uprightly, she was naturally more than willing to have more contact with church personnel—especially someone like Seia, who maintained such a pleasant attitude toward freelance exorcists.

What’s more, Seia possessed incredible strength.

Naturally, Seia did not refuse the offer. Just as Seia represented Elise’s connection to the church, Elise was the only contact Seia knew in the broader exorcism community.

On occasions when she preferred not to rely on her precognitive abilities, Elise could help her gather more information and catch wind of ongoing incidents.

Clark was a traditional church exorcist and harbored no real fondness for a freelancer like Elise.

However, seeing that even Seia had exchanged contact details with her, he adopted a warmer, more polite demeanor toward Elise as well.

With this incident behind them, the two returned to St. Patrick’s Cathedral together.

Father Henn had maintained faith in Seia, but a lingering worry had persisted nonetheless.

It was only when he saw the two return completely whole, and heard Clark offer the highest praise for Seia’s capabilities, that Henn finally extended his absolute trust to her.

Clark’s current state was far from ideal. Fighting and sustaining injuries in the Further had taken a toll on his soul, leaving it damaged and in need of time to mend. Consequently, after a brief exchange, he retired to recuperate.

It was then that Father Henn brought up another matter with Seia.

"Not long before you returned, Mr. Blaze arrived here." Seia had been out for the entire afternoon, and night had already fallen.

While working back-to-back cases wasn’t an entirely rare occurrence for an exorcist, Father Henn still felt a bit awkward saddling her with two commissions on the exact same day, given both Seia’s fragile appearance and her status as a newcomer who had only just arrived.

"Is he in trouble?"

Fortunately, Seia showed no sign of resentment, choosing instead to inquire about the specific details.

This caused Father Henn to marvel silently at her piety while a good deal of his awkwardness dissipated.

Composing his thoughts, he continued, "Yes. After he arrived, he expressed to me that he absolutely must see you, no matter what. He looked incredibly anxious, but since you hadn’t returned yet, I could only ask him to wait for a while. I wanted to ask him exactly what happened."

At this point, Father Henn frowned. "But he refused to say anything."

To be frank, the church didn’t just deploy its forces on a whim.

Before accepting an exorcism commission, a rigorous process of applications and verifications was required to confirm that an incident was genuinely occurring before an exorcist would be dispatched.

While this admittedly meant matters couldn’t always be resolved instantly, a wild goose chase resulting from a false alarm would undoubtedly waste a vast amount of an exorcist’s time.

The church had many members, but exorcists remained in a perpetual state of shortage year-round.

Had it not been for the fact that Johnny Blaze’s situation was known to be highly exceptional, Father Henn would have already thrown him out for this uncooperative behavior.

"I’ll go see him," Seia said, entirely unbothered by the situation.

Her good-natured, unsuspecting disposition caused a faint wave of worry to rise within Henn’s heart once more. Though she was a powerful exorcist, she really was just a young child after all...

Despite his internal fretting, this was not a concern that could be resolved overnight; it was something he would have to try to gently guide and reshape over time.

The two quickly made their way to a drawing room. Johnny had already been waiting there for over an hour, his face etched with deep exhaustion and anxiety.

It was only when he saw Seia and Henn enter that a spark of life finally returned to his expression.

"Exorcist Seia has just returned from completing her mission," Father Henn announced.

Johnny looked up, and instead of diving into his story right away, he turned his gaze to Father Henn. "Thank you. I would like to speak with Exorcist Seia alone, if that’s alright?"

This request made Father Henn frown slightly. He was actually quite uneasy about it, but considering Seia’s formidable strength as an exorcist, he ultimately looked to her for confirmation.

"That is fine."

Seia nodded in agreement.

Only then did Henn leave the room.

Johnny had always been a man who preferred to cut straight to the chase. The moment the priest stepped out, he laid bare the current situation.

Over the past two days, he had successfully dealt with two enemies one after the other. Upon encountering Blackheart, he had demanded to know his father’s name.

However, Blackheart wasn’t completely foolish; while he certainly didn’t get along with his father, that didn’t mean the Ghost Rider was his friend.

With Blackheart refusing to cooperate, the two sides had no choice but to throw blows.

Although playing into that demon’s hands was exactly what the creature wanted, Johnny couldn’t ignore the fact that they had been slaughtering innocent people during this time.

He had sustained some injuries along the way, but things had generally progressed smoothly enough.

Until tonight. The woman he loved had been abducted by Blackheart, and he himself had been ambushed.

Furthermore, he was demanded to help Blackheart retrieve the Contract of San Venganza, or else the woman he loved would be killed.

During this ordeal, Johnny had met an old man.

Blackheart had claimed the contract was in the old man’s possession, but when Johnny went to ask him, the old man revealed that while the outside world believed the contract was in his hands, it actually wasn’t.

He had merely spread a false legend to keep the contract hidden.

"The old man said that you are the only one who knows the true location of the contract."

--+--

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