In an inconspicuous small town northeast of Imperial City, the homeless man, Bob, was searching for food in a dumpster when a flicker of light caught his eye.
He looked up to see a fireball plummeting from above, heading directly for his position.
"Me-meteorite!"
Bob's eyes widened, his face etched with terror, and just as he thought his life was about to end, the "meteorite" spewed a large burst of blue flames, arcing strangely in mid-air.
It zipped over his head at an incredible speed, the resulting shockwave spreading across the street like a hurricane.
Car windows shattered, house doors rattled, dogs barked incessantly, and clothes drying on lines were swept into the air, their landing place unknown.
Bob, however, fared far worse; he shrieked as he was flung into the air, spinning wildly in the gale.
He drifted for a good ten seconds before finally landing on the ground, his right leg fractured, nearly knocking him unconscious.
"What's that unlucky fellow's name?"
"Bob Ryan, born in Imperial City, currently unemployed."
"Buy him a lifetime insurance policy and deposit one hundred thousand dollars into his account."
"Yes, young master."
After the money was transferred, Luke put the homeless man out of his mind and continued testing the flight performance of Ghost One, with excellent results.
Ava's arrival not only granted the battlesuit powerful analytical and data processing capabilities but also fine-tuned its internal structure, further enhancing its performance.
With her assistance, Luke could focus entirely on dealing with enemies, without having to consider other matters.
"Ava, I want to test combat performance.
Help me find an opponent."
"Please wait."
Seconds later, a soft electronic voice chimed, "Target located.
Strong energy fluctuations detected three hundred miles north."
Ghost One immediately turned, leaving a brilliant trail of blue flames before vanishing into the northern night sky.
As a well-known wealthy merchant within dozens of miles, Caspar Taut was a devout Christian, attending church every weekend to listen to sermons, never missing a single one for decades.
Yet, he never imagined that his own daughter, as God's most loyal follower, would become a sacrifice to a demon.
Those damned cultists, lunatics, and devils, why are they still on earth?
They should all go to hell!
Caspar cursed wildly, seeking help from the church and the police, but receiving no response.
He was forced to entrust a friend to find a capable exorcist.
Soon, the scruffy man appeared, wearing a gray cloak, with short hair and a short beard, always with a cigarette butt dangling from his lips.
John Constantine!
At the mention of that name, Caspar gritted his teeth in hatred.
That damned exorcist was more despicable than the devils of the abyss.
My request was to expel the evil spirit from my daughter and teach the cultists a lesson, but that scoundrel actually used my daughter as bait, lured the cultists into a church where he had drawn a magic circle, and then used the corpses of the dead cultists as sacrifices to summon hellish creatures, leading to a passionate massacre.
If it were just that, it would be fine.
Cultists were no good, and their deaths were their own doing.
But that scoundrel had no ability to control the hellish creatures.
The out-of-control creatures caused widespread destruction, setting the entire church ablaze.
This was the St. Philip's Church, worth a hundred million dollars!
How could I possibly pay for that?
Caspar was on the verge of despair, only able to kneel on the ground, praying to God to protect his daughter while also begging the devil to kill the damned exorcist.
At this moment, St. Philip's Church had become a purgatory, flames spreading everywhere, staining the sky a deep crimson.
Luke hovered in mid-air, scanning his surroundings.
When he saw the cloaked man being chased by a hellish creature amidst the flames, he frowned.
"That attire, could it be…"
He didn't know what he was thinking, but the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably, and he even felt an urge to turn and flee.
Damn John Constantine, only an idiot would be his teammate!
"Ava, are there any other test subjects?"
"Please wait…"
A few seconds later, "Sorry, no suitable targets."
"Alright, Constantine, you're lucky today."
Luke took a deep breath, and the battlesuit emitted a large blue glow.
He swooped down at an incredibly fast speed, delivering a powerful flying kick to the monster's chest.
Boom!
The three-meter-tall hellish creature was sent flying, smashing through two walls, and lay motionless in a pile of rubble.
Luke turned and glanced at the disheveled Constantine, saying in an indifferent tone, "Take the girl out of the church.
It's about to collapse."
Constantine didn't have time to ask questions.
He quickly ran to the altar, picked up the unconscious girl, and ran out.
As he passed Luke, he said in his convoluted Welsh accent, "Hey, mate, I'm John Constantine, an exorcist.
Your battlesuit is really cool."
Luke curled his lips in disdain.
"Remember, you owe me one."
Constantine's expression froze, and he immediately fell silent, tightening his grip on the girl on his back and hurrying out of the church.
Boom!
The pile of rubble exploded, and a single-horned, thick-tailed creature with a lizard-like head, engulfed in flames, roared at Luke with fury.
The enormous sound seemed to possess some kind of magic, as the flames around the church gathered towards it, forming a giant fireball more than three meters in diameter.
Visible ripples spread outwards, the air boiling, and the temperature rising sharply.
Seeing this, the distant Constantine couldn't help but shout, "Damn it, that's hellfire!
Whatever you do, don't get it on you!"
Luke ignored him, raised his hand, and aimed at the crossbeam.
Two energy waves consecutively struck the left and right pillars.
The pillars fractured, and the already precarious roof collapsed, pinning the monster beneath it.
Losing its master's control, the giant fireball dissipated, turning into bubbling red liquid.
"This is hellfire?"
Luke frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then bypassed the viscous liquid and rushed to the monster.
He grabbed its tail and slammed it down, twisting it 180 degrees in mid-air.
Boom!
The monster hit the ground, causing large cracks to appear.
Luke wanted to slam it again, but its tail slipped from his grasp and whipped around like a lash.
Luke quickly ducked to avoid it, and the monster, using the momentum to turn, let out an angry roar and pounced.
Its arms were extremely thick and powerful; each swing generated a fierce gust of wind.
Its only weakness was its speed; despite its strong and powerful body, it lacked a matching speed.
This was its weakness.
Luke retreated while observing its attack patterns, and once the data collection was complete, he suddenly charged forward, delivering a straight punch imbued with blue lightning to the monster's side abdomen.
Bang!
A visible shockwave rippled through the air, and blue lightning pierced through its body.
With a bone-grinding crack, the hellish creature, weighing over a ton, was sent flying, then shot backward at an exaggerated speed, smashing through a marble pillar, blowing open the church doors, rolling dozens of meters across the grass, and breaking two fences before finally stopping.
The air instantly fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Constantine's mouth hung open, his eyes wider than brass bells, and Caspar, observing the battle from a distance, was equally astonished, staring blankly at the mysterious phantom that had appeared at the main entrance of the church.
My God!
Is that guy a devil?