[Chapter 87: Malevolent Spirit]
Amanda approached Daniel with a face full of joy and stopped right in front of him. Holding the Calamity Dispelling Seal, Daniel began to rotate it in a circle above her head. At the same time, he started chanting the incantation in a calm, commanding voice:
By sealed authority, corruption is exposed and cast out.
Unlawful curses are broken; hostile claims are denied.
Let obstruction dissolve and protection stand firm.
Authority affirmed. Judgment sealed.
Just as Daniel finished circling Amanda's head three times, he concluded the chant. The Calamity Dispelling Seal instantly burst into brilliant flames.
Daniel then took a cup of clear water -- as was customary in these rituals -- and carefully placed the burning Seal into the cup. After a moment, the water inside transformed into a shimmering Seal Water.
Without waiting for Daniel's permission, Amanda grabbed the cup and downed the Seal Water in one swift gulp.
From the outside, nothing seemed unusual immediately after the Seal Water entered Amanda's stomach. But in Daniel's eyes, the curse that had gripped her began to weaken. As the dark energy faded, Amanda finally sensed a subtle shift within her body.
The hallucinations that had tortured her vision vanished completely. The hidden pain that lurked inside her gradually diminished until she barely noticed it and eventually felt no pain at all. Her bleeding nose stopped, and she no longer coughed up blood.
More importantly, she could feel her spirit lifting, clearing away the heaviness that had weighed on her mind.
Seeing the curse power begin to dissipate, Daniel allowed himself a small breath of relief. The Calamity Dispelling Seal was effective, as he had hoped. Still, he knew it wouldn't undo the curse instantly.
Lifting a curse required time, especially because the Old Woman's power was limited -- she had expended the last bit of her life force to summon that Malevolent Spirit. The curse bound to Amanda wasn't overwhelmingly strong. Were it a more powerful curse, the Seal might have taken longer to work, or perhaps even failed to expel it entirely.
Daniel wasn't surprised. The Calamity Dispelling Seal was broad in scope, designed as a general-purpose ward. Usually, the broader the application, the less concentrated the power. Specialized seals worked better for single, focused effects.
However, this broad seal had its perks -- it could be used in many situations with multiple benefits. Plus, as Daniel's skill in exorcism advanced and his Seal Crafting Art improved in rank, even general-purpose seals like this would carry tremendous power when drawn with authority.
In any event, Daniel now had a reliable way to combat curse power. He no longer had to stumble blindly in the dark.
...
Feeling her body return to normal and her entire being lighten as if a great weight had been lifted, Amanda looked up at Daniel with hopeful eyes. "Has my curse really been lifted?"
Daniel smiled, nodding. "It has."
A delighted cry escaped Amanda's lips. "Wow, that's wonderful."
She threw her arms around Daniel and hugged him tightly. Then, looking up at him earnestly, she asked, "Now that the curse is lifted, is this over for good?"
Daniel's reply struck like a cold gust of wind, freezing the smile on Amanda's face.
"No," he said. "Not yet."
With a serious tone, Daniel explained, "The Old Woman's greatest weapon is still the Malevolent Spirit she summoned. Since it absorbed the last of her life force, it will definitely come after you. That's independent of the curse."
Amanda's face paled, but the fact that Daniel stood beside her brought a surge of reassurance.
"The first day is today," Daniel continued. "In two more days, that Malevolent Spirit will make its move."
"Why three days?" Amanda asked anxiously. "Does the Malevolent Spirit need that long to prepare?"
He recalled the movie where it took three days before a cursed person was dragged into Hell -- a notion Daniel had already dismissed as unrealistic. If just cursing one person could open a gateway to Hell, the Old Woman would have to be unimaginably powerful. And why then would she be eking out a living performing rituals like the other wandering Gypsies?
Since the horror had become real, the Hell gates could no longer be opened.
Daniel speculated that the three-day countdown was a torture tactic. The Old Woman intended to make Amanda suffer for three days, pushing her into crushing fear and mental collapse before the Malevolent Spirit struck and claimed her life in one merciless blow.
It was a cruel, vicious plan.
Amanda seethed with anger at the thought, but knowing the Old Woman was already dead, she only had her curses left to vent her frustration.
...
The second day passed, and Amanda remained safe. But on the third day, nerves gripped her again. Not even the Clarity of Mind Seal could fully calm her racing heart.
She was naturally anxious, and now that her life depended on it, the pressure was unbearable.
Daniel had asked Amanda for the exact time the Old Woman had ripped off her button -- it was just past 3 PM that first day. If counted strictly by the three-day rule, the attack should come after 3 PM on the third day.
Yet Daniel doubted the Malevolent Spirit would be that punctual.
Especially since he had already destroyed the Old Woman's departed soul.
Sure enough, at around 10 AM on the third day, Amanda's garden became a chaotic hive of insect activity. Underground insects voluntarily surfaced, and crows appeared from unknown places, circling ominously above her house.
A thick surge of dark energy engulfed the home.
Suddenly -- crack! -- one by one, the window panes shattered violently, sending shards of glass flying everywhere.
A fierce dark wind blew inside, causing lightweight objects to scatter wildly around the room. In an instant, Amanda's once-tidy space erupted into chaos.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort echoed from within the house.
As Daniel's voice rang out, the dark wind instantly dissipated, and the flying objects dropped harmlessly to the floor.
"An Exorcist?"
A chilling, sinister voice slithered through the air, everywhere and nowhere at once, as if speaking from multiple directions simultaneously.
"No wonder I couldn't sense the mark she left. So there is an Exorcist here. You destroyed her departed soul."
The curtains suddenly billowed, moving as though an invisible figure wrapped itself in fabric, stretching it into humanoid form.
That surreal figure took measured steps forward, approaching Daniel and Amanda.
Amanda's face drained of color, and she instinctively slipped behind Daniel, seeking protection.
Suddenly, the curtain figure soared upward, releasing a wave of dark, malevolent energy that crashed down toward Daniel and Amanda.
Daniel channeled his magic swiftly, launching multiple prayer seals.
"Boom!"
As the Seals burst into flames, the dark energy vanished instantly, and several Seals flew out, sticking to the airborne figure.
Daniel intoned firmly, Light rises in the east, thunder and flame held in restraint. By sealed authority, evil is suppressed; by consecrated steel, ill fortune is cut down.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The seals erupted with overwhelming power, and the figure melted away like ice under heat, dissolving back into a simple curtain.
"No wonder you were able to kill her," the voice hissed. "You have strength, but it's still not enough."
Suddenly, a force attacked from behind, aiming straight at Amanda.
She spun around just in time, spotting a line of dolls she had kept on the shelf -- innocent-looking toys, now animated and moving their limbs unnervingly.
With a wild leap, the dolls lunged toward her.
Amanda's heart pounded so fiercely it felt like it might burst from her chest.
"This is your best trick? You're nothing special."
Daniel raised his hand, and several copper coins shot out, striking the dolls.
They collapsed, lifeless once more, transforming back into ordinary toys.
But just then, a grating scrape filled the room, signaling the danger was far from over.
*****
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