Chapter 363: Chapter 363
At Miss Lindsay’s request to send the spirit away, the flames of the nine candles wavered in perfect unison. Darkness briefly descended upon the small space, and when the light returned, a complex expression washed over her face: she saw the malevolent spirit.
The malevolent spirit spread its arms, black mist billowing from every part of its body. The three women, Miss Mikhail included, happened to be encircled by those arms, yet none of them noticed anything amiss.
The man Miss Mikhail had kicked to the ground also began to struggle and cry out, his voice high and thin like a panicked rooster. Yes, only he and Miss Lindsay could see it.
His eyes widened in terror, his fine, flamboyant clothes scraping against the filthy floor. He raised a trembling right hand, pointing at the ghost, but only Miss Lindsay knew what he was pointing at.
Before Miss Lindsay could utter the word "don't," the sound of boots on wooden planks echoed through the room. She froze, stunned, only then remembering that they were not alone—that the house didn't just contain the women and the cur sprawled on the floor.
“Saint Cecia shepherded the Sage's flock and kept the Sage's library.
One day, she led her flock into the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God. There, she raised a book and questioned the Sage.
The Sage appeared to Cecia from the glory and flames atop the mountain. Cecia watched, and behold, her body was set aflame, yet it was not consumed.
Cecia said, 'I know enough, more than enough. Why do You not open the knowledge of God to me?
Seeing this, the Sage called out from the mountaintop, saying, 'Cecia, Cecia, do you know why your body is burned by fire, yet you remain?'
God spoke, 'Come no closer. Look upon Me, and I shall forever protect My Saint.'
Your greed for the unknown touches upon retribution; the fire is but a warning. I cherish you, and so I spare you the punishment.
And God spoke again, 'I am your God, the God of Knowledge, the God of Books, the God of Humankind.' And Saint Cecia covered her face, for she was afraid to look upon God.
This was a very famous passage from the Gospel of the Sage, a warning to believers not to pursue knowledge that was not meant for them.
And as Jenkins recited it, stepping out from the darkness, it had an unexpectedly calming effect.
His young face seemed to shimmer with a golden light in the dim, yellow glow of the candles. That serious, handsome face looked more like a divine statue in a temple.
“Oh, may God forgive me.”
At least three of the ladies had this thought at that moment.
“Ladies, that's enough for tonight. Fifty years ago, you could all have been condemned by the Inquisition for this!”
He then began to proclaim more lines from the holy scriptures, all of them pertaining to blasphemy, ignorance, and recklessness.
Miss Lindsay stared, her mouth half-open, as the terrifying specter stood directly before Mr. Williams, repeatedly trying to embrace him with its decaying arms. Yet the man stood firm, his chest puffed out, continuing to scold the women.
He suffered no harm whatsoever. On the contrary, as the man loudly and piously recited the scriptures, the malevolent spirit let out a low growl, as if it were wounded.
But Jenkins, only feigning piety, was inwardly cursing the malevolent spirit for getting too close. Its horrific appearance was an assault on his eyes. Even so, he had to act as if there was nothing but empty air before him.
He was unwilling to reveal his powers in front of ordinary people, so this was his only option. Regardless of his actual piety, he was, after all, a Saint blessed by the great Righteous God—the Legacy Sage. If he could sanctify bullets with a simple blessing, then reciting scriptures to exorcise a spirit was certainly within his power.
The women's fingers still rested on the planchette. Some turned around completely, while others merely twisted their necks, all staring at Jenkins as he stood before them, loudly denouncing their behavior.
He knew not to overdo the performance, lest his efforts backfire. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
After reciting the fifth passage of the seventh chapter of the Gospel of the Sage, he took a step forward and roughly pulled the women's hands off the planchette.
An unknown power surged in the darkness. Jenkins's act of pulling the women's hands from the planchette seemed to be a switch; everything began to change.
Of course, only the man trembling on the floor and Miss Lindsay could see any of this.
In her eyes, the spirit's nun-like habit began to transform, red bloodstains blooming across the once-pristine garment. It finally lifted its head, revealing a face as dry and wrinkled as tree bark. On it was a mouth rotted like an apple core and two terrifying, hollow black pits for eyes.
It spun around and glided toward Jenkins, shrouded in black mist. A continuous, terrifying growl emanated from it, a sound so vile it almost made Miss Lindsay gag.
She opened her mouth, wanting to warn Mr. Williams to be careful.
But before the words could leave her lips, a stunning golden light burst from Jenkins's chest. The malevolent spirit let out another terrifying shriek, covering its face as it recoiled.
That light instantly set the spirit ablaze. It tried to extinguish the flames, but rolling and thrashing on the ground was of no use.
Gradually, the spirit's body became transparent. In the instant before it disappeared completely, its terrifying face reverted to the youthful appearance of Carly Alex.
In the flames, she gave Miss Lindsay a faint smile before her body shattered into fragments and vanished completely.
Miss Lindsay watched this scene in shock, her eyes shimmering with tears as she gazed at the spot where Carly had disappeared. But when she turned to look at the others, the ladies' faces showed only unease and confusion at Jenkins's actions.
“Laurel, are we just stopping ? Will that be alright?”
She still hadn't processed what had just happened, and quietly wiped away her tears. But she was, after all, a lady from a noble family. After a few breaths, she knew what she had to do.
She loudly announced to everyone that the game was over, then sheepishly declared that the planchette's unnatural movements earlier were a trick she'd played with a magnet.
She actually produced a magnet and matching iron filings from her pocket. It seemed that if the malevolent spirit hadn't truly appeared, Miss Lindsay really would have done just that.
But now that her objective had been achieved, there was no need to frighten her friends with any more terrifying theatrics.
Miss Lindsay had a servant seize the man writhing on the floor. He was assumed to have been terrified into believing the spirit had truly returned because of Miss Lindsay's manipulation of the planchette.
No one pitied him. His performance had already made the truth of the young girl's death clear to everyone.