The Firm's Cleveland branch had only recently been established, but its foundations were fairly complete.
After a simple renovation, a three-story building close to the city center had beco the Firm's branch headquarters.
In a conference room on the third floor, Taran, Amita, and Locke, the Cleveland branch manager, were looking at the images projected by a projector with grave expressions.
The glass structure, the pyramid-style Rock and Roll Hall of Fa, Cleveland's landmark, was now depicted on the projector screen in a bloody, bizarre, and utterly horrific manner.
"Long Live Rock"
The twelve letters standing in the plaza outside the building were blood-red. Crimson liquid continuously seeped out of each letter, yet bizarrely, it did not spread across the entire plaza.
This was because the pedestals beneath the letters were now ford from dozens of human corpses.
Their desiccated bodies greedily absorbed the crimson liquid seeping from the letters.
But as soon as their shriveled bodies swelled, the blood-like fluid was siphoned back by blood-red roots growing from the base of the letters.
This cycle repeated over and over, as if it would never end.
"We want to set up an Array outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa, and this ghastly thing is the first problem we need to solve," Taran said, pointing at the screen and looking gravely at the other two.
Amita folded her arms, her fingertips touching. "If that Evil Spirit doesn't co out, we could try blasting it with grenade launchers or RPGs. I think it's best to avoid close-quarters engagent to save ti."
Taran nodded in agreent, pointing to the corpses beneath the letters. The most update n0vels are published on NoᴠᴇFɪre.nᴇt
"Look here, and here. There's a varying degree of desiccation in these corpses. I suspect these blood-red roots hunted them at different tis."
"Manager Taran is right. According to information provided by the Cleveland city governnt, these people were likely staff mbers who disappeared from inside the venue at different tis," Locke said, nodding as he checked his personal notes.
"Actually, those ghastly things outside are relatively easy to deal with. The main issue is the Evil Spirit inside. Previous intelligence indicated the Evil Spirit always stayed inside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa and never ca out. Are we certain about that?"
Amita's deep-set eyes stared at the branch manager, hoping for a definitive answer.
"At the mont, that is indeed the case. The Evil Spirit's current hunting thod still involves rock music suddenly blasting in citizens' ears at night."
Locke looked down at the notebook on the table, confird sothing, then continued, "Citizens who hear the rock music, once their bodies start moving to the rhythm, lose consciousness and then make their way into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa."
"Moreover, we still haven't figured out if their body movents are influenced by the Evil Spirit's power."
"Wait a minute!" Taran suddenly interrupted. "What about the police? Didn't anyone try to stop them?"
"No one could. Everyone who tried is dead! A friend of mine from The Holy See died right before my eyes that way." ntioning his friend, Locke's voice contained a trace of sorrow.
Taran and Amita exchanged a look, the gravity in their eyes deepening.
It was clear the Evil Spirit's strength far surpassed that of other Evil Spirits.
Taran thought of Chu Feng, who should have returned to New York by now, and couldn't help but smile wryly and shake her head. She wondered how that fellow Chu Feng managed to deal with so many Evil Spirits and Demons.
The three in the conference room were lost in their own thoughts, and the room fell silent for a mont.
"Let's do this!" After a while, Taran suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence.
"Tomorrow, we'll deal with that ghastly thing outside first, then we'll start setting up the Array.
"If the Evil Spirit erges, with our combined strength, holding out until the Array is complete shouldn't be a problem!
"This mission also serves as a promotion assessnt. The Exorcists we brought are already prepared for a tough fight!"
The Exorcists Taran had brought were all nearly Sixth Level Exorcists with a Spiritual Energy Value exceeding 100 points. If they could take part in dealing with an Evil Spirit level bizarre, they would be able to complete their promotion right away. And the primary requirent for exchanging for the Firm's High Level Spirit Essence is to beco a Sixth Level Exorcist.
Having made her decision, Taran imdiately turned and left the office; arranging the Array still required her attention.
After Taran left, Locke, who was swamped with work from the branch's recent establishnt, also rose and left the conference room. Only Amita remained, sitting in her chair, lost in thought for a long while.
Finally, with a sigh, Amita took out her phone and called New York.
「The next morning」
BOOM! A massive roar shattered the dead silence in downtown Cleveland.
Lowering the rocket launcher from his shoulder, Kuber shook his blond hair and glanced boastfully at a sowhat distracted Samor nearby.
"How about that? Pretty accurate, huh?"
Samor, snapping back to attention, just pursed his lips dismissively.
"Hitting a stationary target that's only Evil Spirit level? What's there to brag about?"
Unperturbed, Kuber clapped Samor on his muscular arm, his eyes glinting.
"Focus, buddy! This mission is crucial for our promotion to Sixth Level Exorcist. I've been drooling over that High Level Spirit Essence for ages!"
"Besides, hasn't Mr. Chu Feng already rescued lulan? She's fine! But if you keep moping around like this, you'll be the one in trouble soon enough!"
Taking his friend's advice, Samor took a deep breath to rally his spirits. He slamd his iron-like fists together and nodded.
"I'll be careful, Kuber!"
Seeing his friend back in form, Kuber laughed heartily and clapped Samor's arm again.
"Alright, I'm off to help the others prepare the Array. Watch yourself!"
"You too."
Watching his friend head to his assigned area, Samor also checked his gear and then walked towards the Rock and Roll Hall of Fa.
His task today was to guard the south side of the Glass Pyramid building with Manager Taran and two other Exorcists.
The other two directions were covered by teams led by Amita and Locke respectively. The three teams ford a triangular cordon around the entire Rock and Roll Hall of Fa, ensuring the Evil Spirit inside couldn't erge and interfere with the Array's deploynt.
Once everyone was assembled, Taran gave the order, "Everyone's ready. Let's begin!" At her command, they all charged towards their designated areas.
"Quick! The southern sub-array position is here. Let's get to work imdiately!" Kuber urged. Having reached the spot, he, with the help of another Exorcist, imdiately began to sketch various mystical Runes on the ground using Spirit Salt mixed with Silver Powder and Crystal dust.
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