At the sa ti, in the nearby dense forest.
Stone altars were arranged at set intervals, each engraved with a hexagram magic array. Several figures stood guard around each altar.
One of them was permanently a Holy Clergy mber, while the rest wore various attires. These were the mbers of the different exorcism factions invited to assist this ti.
Beside each stone altar sat a mobile monitor, its screen displaying the current situation inside the wooden cabin.
At this mont, next to one of the stone altars.
Pence gripped the edges of the screen with both hands, his face full of disbelief.
"This Mr. Priest actually dares to show his face publicly, and he even sneaked into the volunteers' group."
Hearing this, Hawkwood glanced at the Holy Clergy mber standing beside them, then said in a deep voice: "Don't speak nonsense. That man is on the Church's wanted list. He hasn't been a priest for a long ti."
Only upon hearing these words did the Holy Clergy mber's expression soften significantly.
"Is this the person you ntioned encountering at the Philadelphia high school before?" Hawkwood asked again.
Pence nodded: "This prie... sir. This gentleman is extrely powerful. If he hadn't been there at the ti, we might have been in real danger."
"Squire Pence!" Henry frowned.
"As a knight, how can you utter such cowardly words!"
Pence rubbed his head: "But weren't you also saved by him, Knight Henry..."
"You!"
"Enough." Hawkwood interrupted the two. "According to what you've said, this person is highly experienced in exorcism and possesses formidable strength."
Pence nodded vigorously. He then glanced at the Holy Clergy mber and lowered his voice: "I bet those young hotshots from the Holy Clans aren't even as strong as him."
"Anyone selected for the Priest Order is naturally no diocre talent," Hawkwood said in a low voice.
He then narrowed his eyes slightly, recalling the imnse Holy Power that had appeared during the council in D.C.
"Could it be this guy... but he's far too young."
"Although I'm reluctant to admit it, this guy is incredibly cautious," Henry spoke up again. "With him around, those volunteers should be able to successfully complete the exorcism this ti."
Similar scenes were playing out across the dense forest.
The witch Winona stood before a screen, looking thoughtful: "To think your Church is actually letting this guy run loose. Aren't you afraid he'll ruin the ritual?"
She looked toward the Holy Clergy mber responsible for this specific magic array node.
The man kept his eyes closed tight and simply replied coldly: "That is none of your concern."
"Tch... so stingy," Winona pouted.
"Alright, let's not disturb His Excellency," Longbarn smiled and tugged at the witch's pant leg.
He then whispered: "Since this gentleman is present, there's nothing to worry about regarding the purification of the evil. We should just familiarize ourselves with the energy conversion steps again."
"Sorcerer Longbarn, do you know the person inside the cabin?" a junior sorcerer accompanying them asked curiously at this mont.
"From your tone, you seem very confident in him."
Longbarn wore a peculiar expression: "You could say... that. This gentleman has so rather... unique habits when it cos to exorcism."
Because there was a Church mber present, he didn't elaborate further, which left the junior sorcerers burning with curiosity inwardly.
On another side, at the Rosicrucian Order's altar.
Headmistress Foxx held a magic array diagram, currently explaining the steps to the newly inducted witches accompanying her.
The Church had previously sent them an invitation as well, but because she had to deal with the Son of the Devil incident, Foxx hadn't replied.
Now that the threat was eliminated, the Rosicrucian Order could finally contribute to North Arica's exorcism efforts.
And it was all thanks to that priest.
Thinking of this, Foxx turned her head and looked at the screen not far away.
Standing beside it were two slender figures viewed from behind.
"Forget about him. The boy clearly has a new fling," Fiona blew a smoke ring, wedging herself between Jenny and Zoe.
"Please don't talk nonsense!"
"We... we don't!"
The two witches retorted imdiately.
Seeing this, Fiona flashed a triumphant smile, then walked away minding her own business.
"Do you think... Mr. William will be in danger?" Jenny asked with a worried expression, looking at the familiar face on the screen.
"He's so smart; he definitely has his own plan," Zoe said softly.
"We just need to focus on completing the magic array's energy conversion. That way, the evil aura won't infect him."
"Mhm! I understand."
The Cabin in the Woods.
The group gathered around a pried-up floorboard.
"Ugh... why is there a sll of rotting blood."
"What is this place down here? The cabin's cellar is supposed to be in another building."
"Should we go down and take a look?"
William rubbed his chin, his gaze thoughtful.
"According to the Book of the World, the Old God's Source Power passage should be nearby. Could the entrance be right here?" he thought to himself.
Ever since entering the dense forest, he had been trying to find the correct route.
Unfortunately, the terrain here had been drastically altered. Coupled with the Church's involvent, and William's suspicion that this was the legendary Cabin in the Woods...
He hadn't dared to act rashly.
At the sa ti, William was also trying to discern the Church's true objective.
Starting from the gas station, he had spotted surveillance equipnt on more than one occasion, indicating that the Church already knew he was here.
Yet, despite knowing this, they hadn't made a move. This proved they were plotting sothing much bigger.
"It seems I need to force their hand a bit more..."
As William was pondering, he suddenly realized the surroundings had gone quiet.
He looked up and saw Dana and the others staring at him.
"William, do you have any suggestions?" Dana pointed at the entrance.
It was precisely because of William that the group hadn't altered their travel plans due to "insufficient supplies" earlier.
Therefore, they instinctively wanted to hear his thoughts.
"Of course we should go down and take a look," William said. "What if there are clues about this so-called film crew down there, or sothing else interesting."
Hearing this, Curt imdiately volunteered and prepared to jump down.
But William reached out and stopped him.
"Wait a mont. Who knows how long this place has been sealed shut. There might be harmful gases," he said as he pulled out a few holy artifacts.
"Let's air it out first."
"Do you... know how to exorcise demons?" Jules suddenly asked.
The North Arican governnt had announced the existence of "evil" a while ago, but none of them had ever seen it with their own eyes, so it always felt a bit surreal.
Seeing William bring out these items now naturally piqued their curiosity.
"I know a little, but I definitely can't compare to the true Church personnel," William pondered for a mont before deciding to admit it.
Otherwise, if he was forced to take action later, the lie would be easily exposed, which would undoubtedly create an unnecessary crisis of trust.
Simultaneously, scoffs of disdain echoed across the various stone altars and within a certain conference room.
Inside the cabin.
Upon receiving a positive answer, it was as if the group had discovered a new continent, imdiately bombarding him with all sorts of questions.
William naturally gave perfunctory answers.
"I think that's about enough ti," he pointed at the entrance. "We can go down and explore now."
Although he said "explore," he showed absolutely no intention of going down himself. Instead, he pulled a flashlight out of his backpack.
Click...
With a soft sound, a blinding beam of light instantly illuminated the environnt below.
It was indeed a cellar-like space. Judging by the dust on the walls, it had been there for quite so years.
And nurous objects were piled up inside.
"Bizarre-looking porcelain dolls, a film projector, fossils..." Dana looked curious. "Is this so kind of museum of the macabre?"
"Your cousin's got so really unique hobbies," Marty blew a smoke ring and said.
Curt frowned: "My cousin wouldn't collect this stuff. Maybe the previous owner left it behind."
"I say, guys..." Jules spoke up. "Are we just going to stay kneeling up here the whole ti?"
The group was currently lined up side-by-side with their butts sticking in the air, peering down at the scene in the cellar.
But precisely because of this, their field of vision was extrely limited.
"Ahem..." Dana brushed her hair back and stood up. "Should we go down and take a look? It doesn't seem dangerous down there."
Hearing this, William's vigilance instantly spiked.
He looked around with a grave expression, causing the others beside him to tense up involuntarily as well.
"Wh-what happened?" Dana asked in a small voice.
"Nothing yet." William's eyes flashed with three rings of golden patterns as he confird nothing abnormal was approaching.
He then looked at the group: "Everyone, there are so unwritten rules in the exorcism profession. If you break them, bad things are highly likely to happen."
Dana and the others gulped nervously upon hearing this.
"When you assu sothing won't happen, it often becos reality," William's tone was dead serious. "So please, mind your words and actions from here on out."
A brief silence fell over the space.
"Hah... haha, it can't be that exaggerated, right?" Curt pointed at the entrance. "This just looks like an ordinary cellar."
As he spoke, he planted his hands on the ground and swung his legs into the opening.
"Since you're all so scared, let go take a look first."
With that, Curt dropped down.
"Wait!" Jules hurriedly rushed to the edge.
But Curt's voice quickly echoed from below: "See? I'm fine!"
Jules finally breathed a sigh of relief.
William watched this scene calmly.
"It seems that even with my warnings, these sacrifices will still act according to their designated archetypes," he noted thoughtfully.
Before long, Curt actually found sothing and handed up a piece of parchnt.
"When you enter this cabin, you have already beco sacrifices to the Old Gods. Your souls will be offered to the True Gods. Only by purifying the evil with holy artifacts can you truly escape..."
Dana read the contents aloud, her brow furrowing.
"Is this so kind of ga?" Jules examined the parchnt. Judging from the markings, it was quite old.
"Hey! Looks like we've actually been targeted by so devil," Marty spread his hands.
Dana shook her head: "This thing looks like it's been here a long ti. It doesn't seem like it's directed at..."
She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes suddenly widening.
"What's wrong?"
Jules noticed her friend's unusual reaction. She leaned in, and then her hands flew to her mouth in shock.
"What exactly did you find?" Unable to hold back his curiosity, Marty snatched the parchnt away.
"Dana Polk, Curt Vaughan... You have been chosen as sacrifices to the Old Gods. The evil has descended. May you leave this place alive."
The three of them never expected their nas to actually be written on this parchnt.
According to the text, they had to participate in a ritual to purify evil.
Otherwise, legendary monsters and ghosts would descend upon the cabin and slaughter them. Only when all the evil was completely purified would they receive the revelation to leave this place.
"Wait!" Dana suddenly pointed at the parchnt.
"These nas list Holden MacRae. But William took his place for this trip..."
She lowered her head to look down. Curt was standing on the stairs of the entrance.
"Is this your idea of a practical joke!"
The group froze. Given Curt's personality, it was entirely possible.
Seeing everyone glaring at him with hostility, Curt hurriedly waved his hands and shook his head: "Hey! I'm not that bored. I swear to God, this is the first ti I've ever known about this cellar."
"William! Didn't you say this place felt off!" Seeing that everyone still didn't believe him, Curt could only pin his hopes on the priest.
"Sure enough... so people just have to learn the hard way," William remarked inwardly.
It wasn't long ago that this guy was practically begging for trouble.
"Personally, I believe that regardless of whether this is true or fake, we should take precautions in advance," William said calmly.
"The parchnt says the items in the cellar will attract legendary monsters, so it's best we don't touch them."
He wasn't exaggerating the facts.
Although there were no evil spirits or demons attached to these objects, they still retained a trace of evil aura. Even if the Church hadn't deliberately arranged this, they were definitely left behind by the Old God cultists.
Hearing this, Curt nodded vigorously: "Right, right! I swear I didn't touch anything else besides this paper."
His luck was indeed quite good. Because the lighting below was dim, he had simply grabbed the most conspicuous piece of parchnt first.
At this point, Curt had no desire to stay down there any longer, so with Jules's help, he climbed back up.
"Since that's the case..." Dana furrowed her brows.
"Why don't we just leave right now? I don't want to stay in a dangerous place."
The others quickly murmured their agreent.
Hearing this, William wanted to give them a thumbs up.
For these people to have this level of self-awareness, his repeated warnings along the way had not been in vain.
At the sa ti, inside the conference room.
"Wait... why are they leaving already! What about the ritual!"
"Hey! It's all because of that guy William, he's way too paranoid! Now the others have beco overly cautious too!"
"Should we release the monsters early!"
"No, that goes against the ritual procedure!"
On the other side, at the various stone altars.
The exorcists stared blankly at their screens.
They had already mobilized their own powers, linking them with the operation of the magic arrays. The mont the evil aura dispersed, they would imdiately activate the arrays to collect it.
But now, it seed the whole thing was about to fall apart?
The Holy Clergy mbers stationed nearby were already in a fluster, constantly reporting through their communication devices while demanding the exorcists stay put.
"As expected of Mr. William. He can ruin the Church's plans all by himself," Pence praised.
"If the plan fails, it ans the Demon God's legion can descend even more smoothly." Henry slapped the back of Pence's head.
"You idiot, whose side are you on?"
"Sorry!"
Longbarn had just finished recounting William's exploits of making evil existences suffer when this happened.
The Holy Clergy mber beside them instantly shot him several glaring looks.
Seeing this, Longbarn could only laugh awkwardly: "This is just this gentleman's style, though he might have gone a bit too far this ti."
Only then did the Holy Clergy mber retract his gaze and continue contacting his superiors.
Longbarn then lowered his voice and said to the junior sorcerers: "You all need to learn from this. Only with such a rigorous attitude can you survive future evil invasions."
The juniors nodded imdiately.
anwhile.
The Holy Clergy mbers in the conference room finally reached a conclusion: act preemptively and seal off the sacrifices' escape routes.
Even though this would completely arouse the sacrifices' suspicions, they couldn't care about that right now.
And so... shortly after.
A violent explosion suddenly echoed through the dense forest, the heatwave scorching the bark of nearby trees black.
Jules, Dana, and the others looked completely shocked, the luggage in their hands dropping onto the porch floor.
The RV they had arrived in had been blown to scrap tal.
Now, if they wanted to leave, they could only rely on their own two feet.
But the worst was yet to co.
As the weeds near the RV caught fire, flas gradually began to spread, and thick smoke billowed through the dense forest.
At the sa ti, several patches of ground suddenly bulged upward.
Under the group's horrified gazes, pairs of hands burst forth from beneath the soil.
Rotting, deathly pale, bloody...
Before long, a horde of walking corpses crawled out from the dirt.
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