Several thumb-sized Crystals, shimmering with light, were tossed around by Bayue.

Although they shattered the instant they were struck by the encroaching Bizarre presence, their brief light still momentarily disrupted the stillness of the space.

The surrounding black fog began to roil, surging towards Touk and the others as if to expel these three unwelcome visitors.

"Scatter!" Touk shouted, and he and his two companions instantly dashed to the side.

BOOM! After a deafening explosion, the staircase they had just descended was instantly reduced to rubble.

"Fuck! Is this the Evil Spirit?" Bayue exclaimed, his eyes widening at the sight of the debris behind him as he witnessed an Evil Spirit's Strength for the first time.

"That's right, this is the Evil Spirit you wanted to see!" replied Touk. He rotated his wrist, clenched his fist, and charged right into the fray.

The Runes on his knuckledusters lit up sequentially as he channeled Spiritual Power into them. In the blink of an eye, he smashed into the black fog, his fists like a fiery blaze.

THUMP! Touk was sent flying backward.

The black fog, however, only retreated a few steps.

"Touk, is this the 'evenly matched fight with the Evil Spirit' you always boast about?" Bayue asked, helping the bald, muscular man to his feet, his own expression grim.

"Cough... COUGH, COUGH..." Touk coughed. "To be honest, this is pretty good! At least I'm not injured and can still keep going!"

Recalling his first clumsy encounter with an Evil Spirit level Bizarre creature, Touk looked at his own fists and actually chuckled. It seems his long efforts had not been in vain.

Seeing the bald strongman's cheerful demeanor, Bayue didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Exorcist..." Touk's demeanor seemed to anger it; two beams of red light suddenly shot out from the head of the black fog, resembling eerie eyes.

CREAK... CREAK... The sound slowly began to resonate within the basement. The severed limbs and torsos on the ground started to gather under the shroud of black fog.

Seeing that another flesh monster was about to form before their eyes, the trio naturally couldn't just stand by and watch.

Touk poured a bottle of Holy Water over his fists, as if enchanting them, then clashed once more with the black fog.

Meanwhile, Bayue and their other teammate focused on the flesh monster that was still coalescing.

Gazing at the revolting sight of the writhing flesh, the two sprang into action simultaneously.

Several bottles of Holy Water appeared in Bayue's hands. With a flick of his wrists, they flew towards the flesh monster, and the sound of shattering glass echoed as they struck its body.

SIZZLE... SIZZLE... The sound of corrosion, accompanied by a foul stench, made the other teammate who had just charged toward the monster frown.

But his hands didn't pause for a moment.

A bright flash of a blade instantly sliced through the monster's body.

Perhaps the Holy Water had weakened its defenses, for the creature—sustained and assembled by the Evil Spirit's Strength—was cleaved in two by the single strike.

"Well done!" Bayue roared with satisfaction as he saw the flesh monster fall to the ground.

Then, before the two halves could merge, Bayue threw a Saint Benedict Exorcism medal directly between them.

Stimulated by the Bizarre presence, the medal erupted with fierce light, violently searing the two pieces of flesh as they tried to merge.

SIZZLE... SIZZLE... The sound was incessant. Bayue, who had approached the flesh monster, even smelled the scent of roasting meat.

"Bro, I think we should eat less barbecue from now on!" Bayue quipped to his teammate. Then, several more bottles of Holy Water appeared in his hands.

As more Holy Water poured down, aided by the Saint Benedict Exorcism medal, the two pieces of flesh on the ground suddenly erupted in a raging inferno.

In moments, the flesh monster, which had yet to achieve anything, was reduced to a pile of ashes.

"Guys, I think you should come help me!"

While Bayue and his teammate watched the flesh monster disintegrate, a cry for help came from Touk, near a corner of the wall.

"Coming!" Bayue and his teammate shouted, about to rush to Touk's aid, when another voice suddenly rang out, halting them in their tracks.

"Don't go over, it's a trick of the Evil Spirit!"

The voice was still Touk's, but it came from a mass of black fog.

Unbeknownst to them, layers of thick black fog had already enveloped their surroundings. If not for the faint glow of the metallic walls, the two might have lost their bearings.

"Damn it! This Evil Spirit knows this trick too?" Looking in two completely opposite directions, Bayue and his teammate frowned deeply.

"Fuck, I hate these kinds of 'puzzle games'!" one of them muttered.

THUD! THUD! Just as the two were at a loss, muffled impacts sounded simultaneously from both directions, as if something had struck the walls.

"Damn it, come here and help me!" The same voice cried out from both directions.

It was the same voice again; even the tone and pitch from both directions were identical.

Bayue glanced towards both directions, his mind racing. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"I've got it! Here, take these..." Bayue exclaimed. A handful of glowing Crystal Stones appeared in his palm, and he quickly gave half to his teammate.

His teammate looked at the Crystal Stones and immediately understood Bayue's idea.

"Oh, what a good idea!" the teammate exclaimed.

"I'll take this side, you take that one!" Bayue instructed.

After allocating directions, they both simultaneously threw the Crystal Stones they held.

The moment the glowing Crystal Stones touched the black fog, they flashed violently and then burst apart.

The dispersing Spiritual Power tore large holes in the black fog. In an instant, the mist could no longer conceal what lay behind it.

Bayue and his teammate turned back at the same time and exclaimed in unison, "It's not Touk!" startling each other.

Wait, if he's not in either of the directions the voices came from... Bayue turned his head towards the way they had entered and suddenly understood.

"Touk's in danger! That damned Bizarre has been stalling us!" Bayue yelled.

Several more Crystal Stones shot from his hand, disappearing instantly into the dense black fog.

BANG! BANG! BANG! The Crystal Stones kept exploding, but the black fog was relentless, layer upon layer obscuring their vision.

"This is the place!" Finally certain of the direction, they exchanged a glance and charged into the black fog together.

As they plunged into the black fog, the previously calm mist began to churn violently.

Intermittent flickers of light flashed within.

Accompanied by SIZZLING sounds of corrosion and muffled curses, the once-dense black fog began to slowly thin.

「A few minutes later,」

The three reappeared, gasping for air. They watched the black fog slowly coalesce again, the corners of their mouths twitching.

"We've drawn enough of its hatred by now, right?" the teammate, his long knife gone, asked in a low voice, glancing at the bruised and battered Touk beside him.

Wiping blood from his nose, Touk glanced at his nearly ruined gauntlets and clenched his teeth.

"I'll cover our retreat! You two, go first!" Touk declared.

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