After lunch, Lucian and Anna continued their journey towards Therasis City.
Emerging from the forest, they saw an ordinary village ahead. A winding path led into the village, and at its entrance stood a fifteen meter tall windmill, turning slowly.
Outside the village lay vast stretches of green farmland, where farmers wearing straw hats worked in the fields.
The only way to reach Therasis City was through Nelm Village.
Lucian and Anna entered the village along the path.
Clergy held high status in the Holy Galarc Kingdom, a religious nation. Lucian, dressed in a pristine white priest's uniform, holding a magic staff and wearing the church's emblem on his chest, was greeted by villagers from time to time.
"Priest, I have sinned."
At this moment, a middle-aged man with a mournful expression plopped down and knelt before Lucian.
Followers of the church regularly went to churches to pray to the gods for atonement.
If there was no church, they would atone to clergy members like priests or fathers.
This was not the first time he had encountered such a situation and he was slightly impatient. He casually said, "State your sin."
"A few days ago, my neighbor Marcus went on a long journey. Marcus's wife, Linda, asked me to help her fix a door at her house. Linda is very beautiful and charming. I... I actually had an evil thought about her. I have sinned, I repent."
Lucian placed his right hand on the man's head. "Covetousness is also a spirit. May the Life Goddess forgive your sin."
"Really?"
"Really."
"That's great."
The last bit of guilt in his heart vanished and the man ran off joyfully.
The church's ability to eliminate people's guilt in the name of God was one of the reasons many people were willing to believe.
Lucian and Anna passed through Nelm Village.
As the two were about to leave the village, a plump woman in white ran over and blocked Lucian's path. "Priest, please save my father."
Lucian scrutinized the woman in white; her expression was anxious, as if something urgent had happened. "What's wrong with your father?"
"Last night, my father was possessed by a demon. Please, Priest, exorcise my father."
Exorcism was one of a priest's duties.
Demons from the Ashland often possessed ordinary people's bodies, using human forms as vessels to walk the world. At such times, priests were needed for exorcism.
Official church priests or fathers, blessed by the Life Goddess, not only had longer lifespans than ordinary people, but their magic also possessed sacred attributes, which could restrain evil creatures like demons.
"I'm just an apprentice priest. I haven't received the goddess's blessing yet, so I can't perform exorcism."
Lucian was able to become an apprentice priest at the church thanks to his Healing skill, which made the church believe he possessed Healing magic, when in fact he couldn't use magic at all.
He had gone to the Mage Association to test his magic aptitude, but the test results showed that he had no talent. Even his affinity with mana was extremely poor.
"Priest, I beg you, please save my father. You must have a way."
The woman in white was very anxious, her eyes brimming with tears.
[Ding!]
[Mission: Exorcise the Demon.]
[Reward: 1 Skill Point]
The system's voice echoed in Lucian's mind.
"In that case, I'll give it a try."
Although he didn't have goddess's blessing, he had some Holy water in his system inventory, which had a certain restraining effect on demons.
"Thank you, Priest."
The woman in white expressed her gratitude to him.
Then, she led Lucian and Anna towards the south side of the village, stopping in front of an ordinary farmhouse.
Roar ~ Roar ~
As soon as they entered the farmhouse, Lucian heard beast-like growls coming from the cellar.
"My father is temporarily subdued and tied up in the cellar."
The woman in white pointed to the cellar not far away.
"Take me inside to see."
To complete the system quest, he decided to confront this demon.
"Please follow me."
Lucian and Anna followed the woman into the cellar.
The cellar was about twenty square meters. A middle-aged man was tied to a pillar in the cellar, his eyes bloodshot, his mouth full of fangs and a pair of demon horns growing from his forehead. He struggled desperately, trying to break free from the iron chains.
Besides the middle-aged man possessed by the demon, there were two other strong men standing guard in front.
The woman in white said to the two strong men, "Uncles, the Priest is here. Let him exorcise father."
Priests were professional exorcists. Seeing Lucian's arrival, the two men stepped aside, clearing a path for him.
Lucian walked to the pillar and examined the man tied to it. With demon horns and a frenzied state, he was clearly possessed by a demon.
If two villagers could tie him to a pillar, he must only be a low-ranking demon, not very strong.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Demons and priests were natural enemies.
The man possessed by the demon saw a priest appear before him and roared furiously at Lucian, the iron chains on his body clanging.
A foul stench assaulted Lucian, almost making him faint.
He said to the woman in white and the two villagers, "This demon is too ferocious. The three of you turn around. I need to cast a Serenity Spell to calm him down."
Out of trust for the professional exorcist, the three immediately stepped back and turned around.
With a malicious grin, Lucian took out his magic staff from the system inventory.
"Be quiet!"
Bang!
He grasped the long handle of the magic staff with both hands and swung it forward with force. The tip of the staff struck the demon's head hard.
Roar!
The demon cried out in pain and roared even more fiercely at him, "Damn priest, you're dead."
"What a powerful demon. One Serenity Spell couldn't calm him down. I need a few more."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Lucian swung the magic staff, repeatedly striking the opponent's head, causing it to bleed. Even the demon horns were broken off.
Waves of pain washed over the demon possessing the man. The demon was speechless.
Who was the real demon here?
After more than ten blunt strikes, the demon was knocked unconscious by Lucian.
He put away his magic staff and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Alright, he's calmed down. You can turn around now."
The three turned around and saw the man, who had been raging moments ago, now completely quiet.
"The Priest's magic is truly amazing."
"As expected of a church priest."
"Serenity Spell is really powerful."
The three exclaimed in surprise.
Lucian, with a calm expression, waved his hand at the three. "Low-key, low-key."
Then, he took out a sealed porcelain bottle from his system inventory. The bottle contained Holy water specially made by the church, which had a certain restraining effect on demons.
He walked to the man, pinched the unconscious man's mouth with one hand, and held the porcelain bottle with the other, pouring the Holy water down his throat.
As the Holy water entered his body, the demon possessing the man suffered continuous burning from the Holy water. The intense pain brought by the Holy water was thousands of times stronger than Lucian's Serenity Spell and black smoke rose from the man's body.
Agh!
The demon let out a heart-wrenching scream and was forced to leave the man's body.
With a flash of red light, a terrifying humanoid creature appeared before the five people.
Its skin was dark red, as if steeped in blood and huge wings stretched from its back, their membranes like leather scorched by fire, with clear veins on the surface.
Two sharp demon horns protruded from its forehead, its dark red skin was covered in mysterious and grotesque patterns, and a slender demon tail with barbs trailed behind it.
"Damn priest!"
The demon's blood-red eyes stared intently at Lucian. After being struck more than ten times by him, its hatred was at its peak.
"Finally out."
Lucian applied the Super Strike buff to Anna. White halos appeared around her wrists. "Anna, when you attack him, try to hit his vital points as much as possible, aiming for a one-hit kill."
"Yes, Master." Anna nodded.
"Die, priest!"
The demon charged straight at Lucian, its slender claws striking at his head.
'Shield!'
Lucian used his Shield skill and a light red energy shield appeared around his body.
The demon's claws struck the shield, shattering it with just one blow. Its claws hit Lucian's body, sending him flying to crash against the cellar wall.
The shield blocked most of the damage and Lucian only sustained some minor injuries. This low-ranking demon, despite being burned by Holy water, still had such strength.
Just as the demon was about to attack him again, Anna rushed to its side and slashed at the demon's head with her dagger.
The demon briefly glanced at her out of the corner of its eye, reacting quickly by raising its right arm to block her attack.
The dagger struck the demon's right arm.
The power of this strike was much greater than Anna's usual swings. It severed the demon's right arm and the dagger's momentum did not decrease, slicing off half of the demon's head, causing blood to gush out.