"Long time no see, Jessica!"
"Mr. Chu Feng, I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly!"
Having not seen each other for a long while, the two shared a brief embrace at the airport before heading together towards the airport's exit.
Meanwhile, Jefferson, who had come along for the pick-up, stood with his arms outstretched, a blank stare in his eyes, watching the two figures recede into the distance.
"Boss, Mr. Chu Feng, have you forgotten there's someone else here…?"
But Chu Feng and Jessica had already exited the airport and were too far away to hear Jefferson's calls.
It wasn't until they were both seated in the back of the car in the parking lot that Jessica suddenly realized they seemed to have left someone behind.
"Jefferson, why are you walking so slowly? Hurry up and get in to drive!"
Jessica's commanding tone immediately choked off any complaints Jefferson, who had just caught up to the car, might have had.
He opened his mouth to speak but eventually sat down in the driver's seat with a look of resignation.
If I'd known it would be like this, I wouldn't have come! Jefferson thought indignantly as he slammed on the accelerator, and the car shot forward.
「Two hours later,」
The car came to a slow stop at the center of a makeshift camp.
After getting out of the car, Chu Feng looked towards the clearly visible small town and asked in an even tone, "Is that Sigley Town?"
"Yes, the stone coffin is right in the center of town," Jessica said, walking up to Chu Feng's side. She also gazed towards the town, a hint of solemnity flickering in her eyes.
"Alright then, leave it to me!" As Chu Feng's words fell, a long blade suddenly appeared in his hand.
"Mr. Chu Feng, don't you need to rest for a bit?" Jefferson, emerging from the driver's seat, was surprised to see the long blade in Chu Feng's hand.
One of the unwritten rules for Exorcists was to ensure they were in their prime condition before starting an Exorcism.
Mr. Chu Feng just got off a plane. He hardly seems to fit that criterion!
"You'll understand in time!" Chu Feng patted Jefferson's shoulder nonchalantly, intending to head towards the town.
"Mr. Chu Feng, wait for me! I still need to bring some things…" Jefferson was stuffing Crystal Stones into his belt.
The creature in that stone coffin is no easy adversary. I need to bring more life-saving tools.
"Uh... Jefferson, you don't need to come!"
Chu Feng, seeing Jefferson looking ready to join him, raised an eyebrow and chose to reject what he considered a suicide mission for the other man.
"Ah? Don't you need our cooperation?" Upon hearing Chu Feng's words, Jefferson's actions froze.
A sudden sense of being unwanted welled up in his heart.
Chu Feng, standing to the side, just smiled and shook his head. His Spiritual Wings suddenly flapped, and in an instant, he disappeared from the spot.
He left behind a shocked group of people staring at his silhouette in the sky.
"Mr. Chu Feng, he... he can fly?"
Jefferson, witnessing Chu Feng soaring into the sky for the first time, was filled with astonishment. Although they were all Sixth Level Exorcists, they had never even considered the possibility of flying.
Catching a glimpse of Jessica's amused smile, Jefferson had an idea.
The boss is the strongest among us. Besides work, she spends almost all her time training. She should be able to... right?
"Boss, can you fly? Can you teach us?"
Upon hearing Jefferson's sudden question, Jessica's smile stiffened. She glanced sideways at Jefferson with annoyance.
"No!"
She then turned and entered her tent.
"Uh..."
Seeing that he seemed to have angered the boss again, Jefferson scratched his head in embarrassment. She can't fly, so what? No need to get angry!
Meanwhile, Chu Feng had already arrived above the small town.
Looking at the stone coffin that was also floating in midair and was on the verge of breaking apart, he frowned.
Is it about to break free? This situation is far from what Bishop Connell described! The state of this stone coffin is nowhere near strong enough to last at least half a month. It feels like it might shatter into pieces any second now!
As Chu Feng's thoughts churned, a crisp cracking sound suddenly rang out.
CRACK!
The stone coffin seemed to have fractured at a crucial point. The milky-white light that would occasionally appear suddenly vanished, and the originally pale stone coffin slowly turned into a vivid red blood coffin.
"Damn Inquisition, you've finally let me out! HAHAHA!"
Along with the piercing voice from within the stone coffin, the CRACK! CRACK! of splintering stone was incessant.
Seconds later, with a BOOM!, countless fragments of the coffin shot out in all directions.
The thing trapped in the stone coffin had emerged!
It had a decayed, shriveled body, sparse, scattered hair, and two fierce fangs protruding from atrophied gums.
In the center of its chest, a Silver Cross was deeply embedded in the withered torso.
Looking at this mummy-like figure, Chu Feng clicked his tongue twice, and a glint of cold light flashed along the blade of the long blade in his hand.
With the tremble of his Spiritual Wings behind him, he moved like a ray of light, instantly appearing beside the mummy. Lightning-fast, his blade streaked across the shriveled body.
RIP! Accompanied by a sound like tearing thick leather, the body split in two and plummeted from midair into the church ruins below.
"Hmm?" Watching the two clouds of dust rise from below, Chu Feng's long blade didn't stop. In the blink of an eye, he swung out two incredibly condensed and dazzling arcs of blade light.
The anticipated system notification didn't sound in his mind, causing Chu Feng's expression to shift slightly.
Not dead yet?
A sudden pang of pain in his Spiritual Perception made Chu Feng instinctively dodge to the side. A streak of dark gloom swept silently past his cheek.
His fingers brushed against his stinging cheek. Seeing the trace of fresh blood on his fingertip, his expression immediately darkened.
His body's Golden Light Spell had been unable to block that dark beam.
The shallow wound on my face disappeared in a breath thanks to regeneration, but what in the world was that thing that could ignore the Golden Light Spell?
As the dust below gradually dissipated, the mummy-like figure was, surprisingly, standing intact on the ground, coldly eyeing Chu Feng above.
"A man of The Holy See's Inquisition?" a somewhat hoarse voice suddenly came from below.
Considering his part-time role with The Holy See, Chu Feng didn't argue. After all, the outcome for both of them was a fight to the death, so there was no need for pointless explanations.
Seeing Chu Feng remain silent, the mummy below became even more certain of his judgment, his eyes filled with killing intent.
"The Holy See cannot stop the de Nocte Family! I, Eriks de Nocte, will kill you here today, drain your blood, and present The Holy See with the first gift of our return!"