Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Official General vs. Andros
"Damn it, why can’t I go back."
In the agitated church, Sosia retraced her steps, trying to find a way to reunite with Sun Yan, yet the results were less than ideal.
No matter how hard she tried, she could never return to the original corridor, as if she and Sun Yan were in different worlds.
Just then, the General Enhancing Puppet in Sosia’s pocket suddenly started trembling as if it had a mind of its own, leaping out and running straight in a certain direction in the church.
Seeing this, Sosia’s heart was filled with doubt, but she had no choice but to follow, after all, she had no other options and could only try to trust the puppet Sun Yan gave her.
The General Enhancing Puppet twisted and turned in the church, and soon Sosia followed it to the public bathhouse.
The pool in the bathhouse was filled with murky green algae water, so turbid that it was impossible to see what lay beneath the surface.
The General Enhancing Puppet ignored everything and jumped right into the pool, quickly disappearing from sight.
"This..." Sosia was dazed. If not for the puppet’s proactive actions, she wouldn’t have even considered such a risky idea.
Who knows what’s at the bottom of the pool, there might be danger lurking.
But with the puppet already having jumped in, she had no other path to take. Sosia gritted her teeth and threw herself into the pool in a desperate gamble.
As her head immersed below the water, the world spun around her, and Sosia emerged from the pool, opening her eyes to see the General Enhancing Puppet standing by the edge.
The surroundings had completely changed, it was no longer the public bathhouse Sosia had jumped into.
This room was filled with numerous Face-Covering Angel Statues, some were covered in cracks, dilapidated and revealing their hollow insides.
Some were intact, yet missing limbs or heads.
Sosia stood up from the water, her expression instantly becoming cautious. Having once encountered demons hidden within such Face-Covering Angels twice before, she naturally was not going to take this lightly.
If not for her Demon Exorcism Shotgun, it would not be easy to kill a demon even with her Werewolf Bloodline.
The General Enhancing Puppet slowly walked to one of the angel statues and came to a complete stop, seemingly leaving Sosia with its final instruction.
"Does this angel statue have something special about it?"
Sosia was no fool, she immediately caught onto the General Enhancing Puppet’s hint. Without the puppet, she would never have found this place.
There must be a reason why the puppet pointed out this particular angel statue.
Sosia immediately punched the surface of the statue, breaking through its outer shell. As pieces fell away, they soon revealed the face of a man.
"Geralt!" Sosia exclaimed in surprise.
After his mysterious disappearance from the confessional, Sosia had thought he had met a grim fate, she hadn’t expected to find him here now.
"The puppet brought me here to save him, could he be crucial?" Sosia was puzzled, but she quickly pulled Geralt out of the statue.
As an Exorcist, even at his worst, Geralt still counted as a force against demons.
With Sosia’s expert resuscitation, the unconscious Geralt slowly opened his eyes: "Where am I?"
"No time to explain extensively, I’ll fill you in on the way. We must find Andros now, or we’ll all die here."
Sosia picked up the General Enhancing Puppet and returned the box she was carrying to Geralt.
The exorcism equipment in the box, apart from the shotgun, was unusable by Sosia, only Geralt, its rightful owner, could wield the power of the Bible and the Cross.
...
The hanging bodies buzzed, and all the souls yet to enter the Hexagram Array knelt at that moment, presenting their homage to the resurrected Demon God Andros.
The Priest, gazing at the holy angel statue, found himself in a brief moment of self-doubt.
Why did Andros appear in such a form, purer and more beautiful than any angel statue he had ever seen, more like a messenger descended from the Celestial Kingdom.
His faith began to show the slightest hint of collapse at this moment.
Was what God said truly right?
Upon seeing the true form of Andros through the Celestial Eye, Sun Yan didn’t hesitate for a second, he reached into his backpack, retrieved three incense sticks, lit them, and placed them on his forehead.
"Let’s do this, I’ll fight you head-on."
This was no longer the small skirmishes encountered during ordinary Exorcism; facing one of the Seventy-Two Pillar Demon Gods, sending Sun Yan with just a Ghost Torturing Stick for close combat would be suicide. He had to rely on stronger forces.
Sun Yan stamped his feet, activating the ’Divination Child.’ In an instant, his spirit, energy, and vigor transformed, his entire being seemed to change, and even his gaze towards Andros became fiercer.
Before General Zeng and General Sun stands the Ghost King, behind them sits Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s Dharma Protector, tasked with eradicating evil and slaying demons, they take pleasure in killing ghosts and destroying spirits.
Although Andros wasn’t part of the Eastern System, a demon is still a demon, in General Sun’s eyes, there was no difference; demons must be exterminated!
Sun Yan lifted the Ghost Torturing Stick and charged straight at Andros.
"Gurulu Bajimo!"
Andros opened a vast, bloody maw, emitting an incomprehensible roar.
A powerful gust instantly erupted from its mouth, pushing Sun Yan back.
Nira reached out and pulled Betty, the two little girls cautiously hid in the corner, trying hard to conceal themselves.
"Nira, I’m so scared. Will I ever see my mom and dad again?" Betty asked, aggrieved.
"I believe you can," Nira replied, looking at Andros, but sighed silently.
After all, Andros was one of the Demon Gods of Hell, commanding a vast demon army. To achieve such status in Hell, its strength was considerable, and humans could hardly be its match.
"Ugh!"
Sun Yan pressed his hands on Andros’s arm, his expression pained as it lifted him by the neck off the ground.
General Zeng was merely invited to possess Sun Yan, not present in the flesh, so the power exerted through Sun Yan’s mortal body couldn’t compare to Andros’s true form.
However, after a few rounds, Sun Yan was feeling immense pressure.
"This is driving me crazy, dividing the General Enhancing Puppet with Sosia has left me with only one, and now I can’t even perform Divination correctly. If only General Zeng and General Sun were both here, I wouldn’t be so suppressed."
Sun Yan thought to himself, even as his lips bled from the grip, he continued to struggle, relentlessly striking Andros with the Ghost Torturing Stick.
Andros, angrily, tossed Sun Yan aside, sending him crashing into the wall and falling to the ground in disarray.
But Andros showed no intention of pursuing Sun Yan; it stood over the dark green pool, waving its hands as an unconscious woman slowly floated from beneath the water.
Andros impatiently revealed an excited, joyful smile, reaching to stab into the woman’s chest.
At that moment, the door was suddenly kicked open from outside, Geralt holding a Silver Cross Sword in one hand and raising a Silver Cross with the other, angrily charged towards Andros about to kill the woman: "Let go of Kevin!"
The Silver Cross in his hand erupted with dazzling Holy Light, illuminating the entire hall.
Taking advantage of Andros closing its eyes to avoid the direct light, Geralt swiftly stabbed a sword into its chest, carrying the unconscious woman away to retreat.
"Jackson, are you alright?" Sosia ran to Sun Yan’s side to help him up, asking worriedly.
Sun Yan shook his head; as the Divination was still ongoing, he couldn’t speak, or else he’d break the spell.
Handing over the blue-faced General Enhancing Puppet to Sosia, signaling her to quickly perform Divination, Sun Yan looked at Andros with concern, his expression grave.
Though Sosia and Geralt had arrived in time, hopes of defeating Andros remained bleak. They had to try utilizing the powers of General Zeng and General Sun together.
As for Geralt’s exorcism techniques, Sun Yan held no hope.
Using a cross and a Bible might work against ordinary demons, but to kill a Seventy-Two Pillar Demon God like Andros, would be a fool’s dream unless you’re the earthly form of Gabriel or Michael.
"Roar!"
Repeatedly being interrupted in the resurrection ritual—just shy of consuming a carefully chosen human heart to break the Underworld’s barrier and easily enter the Human World.
Yet at this critical juncture, both Sun Yan and Geralt disrupted it one after another, utterly infuriating Andros, who roared furiously at the puny humans.
Sun Yan took a deep breath, seeing that Sosia had already activated the cemetery entry ’Divination Child,’ successfully inviting General Zeng to possess.
He nodded, indicating coordination, and the two moved in sync, advancing on Andros from both directions.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Sosia raised the shotgun and fired the first shot at Andros.