Myers' body began to glow with a faint white light, accompanied by a steady sizzling sound.
"Ahhh…"
The silent killer suddenly let out an inhuman scream that tore through the alley and made everyone's ears ring.
"It's working."
Luke saw the effect and poured even more energy into the reading.
Minutes dragged by.
Myers just twitched harder. No real change.
The bounty hunters, however, had cald down from their initial terror. They started chatting with genuine interest.
"Damn, I didn't know this cop had skills like that. I thought only my aunt who's into voodoo could pull off stuff like this."
"This is way better than voodoo. This is the real deal. I read about it in the paper once."
Arica was founded on religion, after all. Most citizens didn't exactly have a strong grip on science. When faced with sothing supernatural, they accepted it without much fuss.
Even Clarice couldn't resist joining the conversation.
"You're talking about that 1976 case, right? The big one."
The tall guy slapped his thigh, thrilled to find a fellow enthusiast.
"Yeah, yeah! That's the one! Three priests spent six whole months exorcising that poor girl—Anneliese, I think her na was."
Six months?
Luke's voice cut off mid-sentence. His mouth was already bone-dry.
"You're saying exorcisms take six months?"
The tall guy nodded like it was obvious.
"Yep. It was all over the papers. Can't be fake."
"Sha little Anneliese still died in the end."
Luke stared down at Myers twitching on the ground and felt his stomach sink.
Read for six months? In this stinking alley?
Forget catching the cult mastermind—he'd turn into a trash-bag mummy first.
Just as he was debating whether to switch to a more physical thod of sending Myers to the afterlife, his panel lit up.
[Holy Recitation LV1 (10/1000)]
His specialty XP had gone up.
Luke's eyes sharpened.
So that's how it works.
He cleared his throat and kept reading.
Not for justice. Not for the case.
For the free XP.
Seeing he was settling in for the long haul, the remaining bounty hunters exchanged looks and sighed.
"Looks like we're done here. That demon ain't going down without the cop's help. Let's go."
They helped their injured buddy to his feet and muttered curses as they left the alley.
Clarice was feeling the fatigue too. She found a clean spot, sat down, rested her chin on one hand, and watched Luke perform his solemn, endless exorcism ritual.
Ti passed. The sun sank lower. The alley grew darker.
Luke's lips were foaming. The only thing keeping him going was the steady stream of notifications.
[XP 1]
[XP 1]
Finally, when the counter hit 300, everything changed.
Black smoke suddenly poured out of Myers' body. His massive fra slamd back onto the ground and went still.
At the sa mont, a string of ssages flashed across Luke's vision.
[Detected: Host has purified a corrupted soul]
[Absorbing purified soul energy…]
[Physique 0.3]
A warm current flooded through him, wiping away every trace of exhaustion.
"Finally done!"
Luke's hoarse shout startled Clarice, who had dozed off nearby.
She rubbed her eyes, hurried over, and the two of them reached down together to pull off Myers' white mask.
Underneath was a young, handso face.
His skin was flushed, eyes closed, mouth curved in a peaceful, almost serene smile—like he'd just had a pleasant dream.
If not for the blood covering him, no one would ever connect this man to the terrifying serial killer everyone feared.
"He should've had a good life."
Clarice's voice carried anger and genuine regret.
Luke stepped closer.
"Focus on the living. We still have to track down that cult."
What had started as just another case had beco personal. Now that he could grind attributes from it, Luke was all in.
They called the station. Soon a patrol car arrived to haul Myers' body away.
At headquarters, Chief Woody took one look at the ruined corpse and exploded.
"Holy shit, Luke! You beat the poor bastard so bad his own mother wouldn't recognize him. That's brutal!"
Luke opened his mouth to explain, but Woody clapped him on the shoulder, grinning like a maniac.
"Kid, I'm liking you more and more. Damn fine work!"
He turned to the rest of the squad and barked,
"Hey, get over here and take notes! This is how a rookie gets shit done!"
The other officers stared at Luke with a mix of admiration, awe, and a hint of fear.
Luke felt equal parts awkward and relieved. With a lunatic like Woody in his corner, the next phase of the investigation was going to be wide open.
Just then a serious-looking officer walked in with his team.
"Chief, we bagged two more wanted n today."
Woody pulled the man over and introduced him.
"Luke, this is Hoffman—captain of the detective squad. My top guy. Once you're done playing FBI babysitter, you'll be working with him."
Luke shook Hoffman's hand.
Hoffman smiled.
"I've heard about you. Surviving that prison disaster says a lot about your skills."
Luke shrugged.
"Just lucky. All part of serving the taxpayers."
After a short exchange, Luke excused himself and headed for the underground range to burn through so ammo.
Hoffman seed solid—nothing like Woody's brand of crazy. It was nice to see a normal person in the building for once.
Back in the office, Hoffman watched Luke's retreating back, a small, knowing smile playing on his lips.
"So that's the Luke Hannibal ntioned…"
"Interesting."
Down in the range, Luke emptied every round he'd bought. A knot of urgency tightened in his chest.
Gun shops across the city had lines out the door. Ammo was already being rationed. He'd only scored an extra five hundred rounds because of his face and police badge.
It wasn't nearly enough.
Not when he thought about Myers tanking dozens of pistol rounds like they were spitballs.
Not when he thought about facing an entire cult.
"I need better weapons."
Luke smacked his forehead.
How had he forgotten about Clarice?
She was FBI. A federal agent. Technically he was assisting her on the case. Requesting so gear support wasn't out of line.
Decision made, he holstered his empty Glock and headed straight for her hotel.
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