11 Something Strange

A new special case discovered by detectives, police, or inspection agents might be something more normal or even a mistake on the part of those who discovered it. But everything changes when it's an exorcist priest who notifies the headquarters of the Light Association.

No one but a priest of the light has a close relationship with darkness. This is why exorcist priests are considered weapons against all evil around the world. The government may have its own military teams to eliminate dark entities, tangible types that were the only ones capable of dying at the hands of humans.

Material anomalies, in short, are creatures composed of tangible matter, like earthly monsters, mythical animals, or supernatural beings with a physical manifestation, such as werewolves. There are others more of a physical form, but these usually come from a cursed object, something that maintains a physical relationship with a human or animal and that can normally only be eliminated if you want to keep the human alive.

But the problem with killing a human possessed by a demon or cursed object is that it becomes stronger in its next victim, and it would reach a point where it would be so difficult to stop that extreme measures would have to be taken, which have rarely been done.

"Were you seeking help in a church?" Anton thought, recalling the girl's appearance but still surprised by the fact that he had felt nothing in her. That feeling of malice had disappeared in an instant, but the worrisome thing about this is that she dared to release her aura inside a church.

How strong must she be to dare to do that?

Anton knew it's possible that she is one of the strongest he has faced, but there was no need to worry since, due to the presence of the association, he would soon be notified of the report.

"May the light watch over you; I hope we can find you before you die." Anton murmured as he tucked away the drawing of that strange creature.

Knowing that there was little he could do and that it's possible that no one would arrive early in the morning, he planned to make holy water first. This is also his routine, which he normally does in this place when he comes. If nothing happens in his work, he likes to make enough holy water, enough silver bullets, poison bullets for vampires, and silver dust grenades.

Normally, as a priest, he may eliminate physical creatures before help arrives, so he must be prepared since that would save many innocent lives.

Today, he spent a lot of holy water on most of the reserves he had. That's why he would take care of blessing water right in this place. Anton didn't know if he was a true priest now; he didn't consider himself one, but his word had power.

Needless to say, the effect of holy water is standard for exorcism, but this is only a tool for a special case. Silver kills any type of physical creature, like werewolves, vampires, and others. Bullets of other materials can even harm spirits, but their manufacturing is much more laborious and expensive.

For Anton, the art of creating his own tools was a luxury that few could have if they didn't have the necessary skills. He likes to make his own bullets; all that equipment he has in the greenhouse is practically his home.

"Water..." Anton murmured, slowly emerging from a room holding the necessary things for this process. When his gaze swept over the front seats of the temple, there was indeed absolutely no one because it was still early in the morning.

After seeing that no one was there, Anton hurried to make holy water and placed all his things on the ceremonial table.

The materials and production of holy water are actually very simple. The concept that everyone knows is that a priest blesses the water with a prayer, but ideally, for this holy water to also be effective against ghosts, salt should be added. And most importantly of all, there is the consecration process. Only by fulfilling this step will holy water be effective against dark creatures.

Following the scale for each creation process, Anton calmly poured water into a huge silver cup and then mixed two tablespoons of salt per liter of water.

"All set; all that's left is the consecration." Anton moved his hand over the mouth of the silver cup, then placed his hand on the golden Grimoire and stood up, looking at the statue of the Christian god. However, just as he was about to take this step, a voice sounded outside the church.

"Priest Anton! Is he around here? I can't believe it; is he at home again? If he's a priest, he should be in the church."

Anton raised his eyebrows slightly as a vein popped out of his forehead. He knew who the boy with that voice was; he was the delivery boy the Light Association had to send him things. He had helped the young man find this job after helping him get back on the path of good.

"I should wash his mouth out with gasoline." Anton muttered. Saying this, he left what he was looking at and soon saw a boy with a cap. He was dressed in a high school uniform, and in his right hand, he held a wooden box.

"Isn't he here?" The young man walked through each aisle, poking his head from side to side, looking for Anton.

Seeing the cautious look from the other side, Anton moved away from where he was. "Daniel, don't be afraid. I made sure to tell Priest James that you wouldn't steal the offerings anymore. Although he's upset because last time you stole the wine, he said you'd be forgiven if you didn't do it again."

But Daniel, who saw Anton, shook his head and said, "It's not necessary. I have an urgent delivery for you. I'll leave it here."

Daniel smiled gently, placed the cardboard box outside the room where Anton was, and then hurriedly left before Priest James could see him.

Seeing the evasive appearance of young Daniel, Anton sighed. "Surely James wants to give you a beating, but he won't do it wearing his priest uniform."

Anton remembered when Daniel stole the wine used in the offerings during ceremonies; Priest James almost choked during the ceremony because he had nothing to pass the bread with.

"Something urgent..." Anton looked at the wooden box, so he quickly walked to take what the Light Association had sent him, sat on the bench, and prepared to open it, but the sender made him stop.

"Warren Family..." That surname caused a significant brain stimulus because he knew who this family was.

It would be fine if someone else sent him this cardboard box, but if Ed Warren himself contacts him, there's probably a special situation that needs the attention of a ShadowBane.

It should be noted that Ed and Lorraine Warren are two investigators of paranormal phenomena. Therefore, their relationship with the Light Association should be very close to theirs.

That is, if the Warrens encounter phenomena they cannot solve themselves, they seek help from exorcist priests. They have had thorough supervision from the Light Association and are two great investigators who help a lot in the field.

But they still need approval from the Light Association to do anything moderately dangerous. Although it is known that Ed Warren is an ordinary man, he is a demonologist recognized by the Light Association.

But the one who stands out the most is his wife, Lorraine Warren, who has an ability that very few have, and that is being a medium and clairvoyant.

With this special ability, she could see things like spirits, demons, and supernatural things that others couldn't.

Speaking of which, Anton seemed to have heard the names of the Warrens in his previous life, but he didn't remember them, and he only felt them familiar.

At that moment, his cellphone rang suddenly, and Anton quickly saw that it was an unknown number, but he still answered.

"Please don't hang up. The Light Association has assigned you to us. By the way, I'm Ed Warren."

Anton remained silent, surprised that he had not been informed, but still thinking about what was happening.

"Priest Anton, did you receive what we sent you?"

"I just received it, but that's it." Anton looked at the unopened cardboard box and responded calmly, wanting to know what Ed wanted from him.

"That's strange..."

Anton, with a deep voice, said, "Well, are you in trouble? For someone from the Warrens to request a priest, things should be very bad."

"Uh, we always ask for supervision from the Light Association... Priest Anton, in one of my recent investigations, I came across an obvious incident of evil spirits. But I want you to first analyze the content we sent you. If you think you should proceed, the church has assigned you as the exorcist priest."

Anton nodded and replied, "Understood, let me take a look first."

After ending the call, Anton was surprised that even so, his system, assistant, or panel did not respond with a mission.

"Something curious..."

Anton sighed and began to open the cardboard box in his hands. When he fully opened the box, a radio appeared, and on it was a recorder.

"Technology has advanced, Mr. Warren." Apparently, even the Warrens are attached to old recording processes.

Anton squinted and pressed the play button, and the recorder started emitting a sound through the intercom. The sounds were normal; the quality was not good, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Desperate, Anton pressed the fast-forward button again and let the recorder spin the tape quickly. When it reached a certain point, abnormal sounds appeared, and Anton changed the fast-forward pace back to normal playback.

"Arrrgh!"

A terrifying, piercing, chilling, and deep howl echoed throughout the English countryside. Anton's hand, holding the recorder, emitted a black aura that he could see perfectly.

"An evil mark..." Anton's expression cooled, and after learning about the existence of something dark, he manifested his Hand of God, and a blood cross formed on the palm of his right hand.

But when Anton did this, the recorder stopped emitting sounds and exploded.

Boom!

Anton stared at his hand for a few seconds before gripping the radio traces. It was now safe to say that it was a powerful incident of a very powerful evil spirit, but this was not proof, at least in the eyes of the Light Association.

Seeing that there was still a USB memory in the box, Anton connected it to his tablet with an adapter and played the video it contained.

When the screen darkened, a scene appeared in which a group of adults chased a girl who seemed to be dragged to the ground.

It would be fine if it were a normal video, but the girl's body was not being dragged by herself; someone was holding her hair, but there was no one behind or in front of her lifting her.

"That's enough..." Anton turned off the tablet and looked at the third and final piece of evidence, which was a file.

Upon opening the envelope, there were some photos inside.

These photographs are more intuitive than videos from recorders and tablets.

The first photo is of a girl walking in the darkness with her eyes closed, but out of nowhere, a pair of hands appear on her shoulders.

The second photo is of a girl with her eyes closed in the darkness, apparently walking down the stairs, but behind her appears an illusory figure with black hair and deep eyes, a small child dressed in ancient attire.

Anton pursed his lips, threw all the photos into the cardboard box, took his cell phone, and dialed the number he hadn't registered yet.

"Have you seen it?"

"That family is in extreme danger. In terms of the mediation that we handle, they are dealing with an extremely evil spirit... That is the maximum to which we can make contact. Give me the address; I'll be there as soon as possible."