Chapter 7: Moving
Everly had originally thought that Wester’s mission would take at least several days.
In the horror movies she had watched in her previous life, it always went like this: before performing an exorcism, the protagonist would first need to consult ancient texts, sifting through mountains of documents to find information on the demon and uncover its true name. Then came the meticulous preparations at the exorcism site. Some rare and precious tools were required, which often meant the heroes had to risk life and limb to acquire them. Finally, if their own power wasn’t enough, they would have to call in other exorcists from all corners of the world for help…
Who would have guessed that by the very next day, she would hear from the landlord—who had come to check on them—that the Mayflower Apartments had already undergone an exorcism the night before. Under Wester’s guidance, the ritual had gone smoothly, and the evil force lingering in the apartment had been successfully sealed.
“Isn’t a successful exorcism a good thing? Why do you look so worried?” Shelly asked.
The landlord sighed. “Because, although the exorcism succeeded, most of the tenants living in the apartment are dead.”
“Ah… uh…”
“The evil presence in the apartment had been draining the life force from the tenants. Wester arrived too late—their life force was already almost completely gone. Even if they looked normal on the outside, their bodies had long since begun to rot. It’s like a spoiled can of food: the packaging might look fine, but you never know when it might suddenly ‘pop,’ sending its contents flying everywhere.”
The landlord’s description was uncannily accurate. In Everly’s mind, the image of that mass of rotting flesh she had seen a week ago flashed vividly.
If it hadn’t been for that cross that day, Everly and Shelly might also have become one of those “spoiled cans”—trapped inside the apartment, slowly drained and hollowed out by the strange force, until they ended up as mindless, wandering corpses, abruptly dying in some dark corner and leaving people to sigh in endless pity… The thought made Everly shiver uncontrollably.