Like an arrow, a figure streaked across the Portland sky, occasionally mistaken by onlookers for a giant bird.
By the time Chu Feng landed, that blatant and Bizarre aura had already entered his Spiritual Perception.
"Rachel! My daughter..."
The hoarse whisper, like a curse, continuously entered Chu Feng's ears, causing him to instinctively furrow his brow.
This Bizarre in his eyes emitted black smoke, its surface writhing as if countless snakes were entangled. It was difficult to determine its original identity.
However, if it were conscious...
Watching the Bizarre, which kept mumbling as it moved forward, Chu Feng didn't rush to attack.
A significant difference between humans and other animals is their use of language for communication.
"Terry?" Chu Feng called out.
He tried again, "Terry?"
The Bizarre, which had been advancing while muttering, suddenly froze. Chu Feng's grip on his long knife tightened slightly.
It seemed... it really was him!
And it seemed he still possessed human consciousness!
"Chu... Feng?"
The Bizarre's hoarse voice was tinged with confusion. Terry, who had been continuously moving forward, paused and turned his head towards Chu Feng.
His pitch-black eyes looked completely possessed by the Bizarre. Coupled with his body's distortions, Chu Feng found it hard to imagine how Terry had managed to retain his own consciousness amidst the Bizarre's influence.
"It's me, Mr. Terry. Who would have thought our reunion would be under such circumstances!"
Terry looked down at his current body and suddenly clutched his head, his face contorted in pain.
"No~ We had an agreement! I have to save my daughter!"
Terry's roar sounded as if he were arguing with someone, startling Chu Feng.
Observing Terry clutching his head, an incredible thought suddenly surfaced in Chu Feng's mind.
Symbiosis!
Could it be that the Bizarre possessing Terry wasn't dead, and they were now sharing one body?
It seemed Terry had persuaded the other entity. He finally lowered his arms. After giving Chu Feng a glance with his dark eyes, he vanished from the spot with a flash.
Chu Feng's grip on the long knife relaxed a bit. The Bizarre he had previously killed were all inhumane beasts that wantonly harvested lives.
But for a Bizarre like Terry, who still possessed human consciousness and was solely focused on finding his daughter, Chu Feng truly couldn't find a reason to attack.
The federal government's commission... why kill him? A living Terry would be most beneficial to them, wouldn't it?
Chu Feng, aware that the federal government must have concealed something, fluttered his Spiritual Wings. Sensing the gradually fading aura, he immediately followed.
Terry, now a shadow invisible to ordinary people, moved rapidly through the streets of Portland. His pitch-black eyes ignored ordinary people—food in the eyes of common Bizarre—and focused solely on advancing.
Feeling the indistinct bloodline connection, his direction was exceptionally clear.
He passed through the dense forest of high-rises, quiet parks, and residential areas inhabited by countless ordinary people.
The strong Bizarre aura emanating from him caused the expressions of Exorcists along the way to change dramatically.
But before they could react, the Bizarre aura had already vanished into the distance, leaving many Exorcists, their faces still etched with recent horror, somewhat bewildered.
A passing Bizarre?
At Terry's current speed, it didn't take long to cross the entirety of Portland, and he soon arrived at the city's outskirts.
Before him stood a logistics company's warehouse.
The vast warehouse was filled with a jumble of various goods.
Terry's gaze didn't linger in the warehouse. With a flash, he appeared behind it in the next second.
Beyond it lay an undeveloped, hilly wasteland. The terrain sloped gently upwards, covered with wild grass.
Standing on the hilltop and sensing the familiar aura directly below, Terry's body abruptly sank into the ground, vanishing in an instant.
Chu Feng, arriving belatedly, stood where Terry had disappeared, a strange glint in his eyes as he gazed at the ground.
Could Terry's daughter be right beneath here?
He remained stationary, scanning his surroundings for an entrance to the underground; he couldn't simply sink through the earth, ignoring its resistance.
Just as his search yielded no results and he was contemplating whether to force his way down recklessly, a terrifying aura of Hell suddenly erupted from beneath the ground.
In the vast Underground Space, illuminated by firelight, hundreds of cultists knelt devoutly around a central throne.
They ignored the eerie red glow emanating from the Runes beneath them, their wide eyes filled with fervor.
Sirio stood on a stone platform before the throne.
Before him lay an open black book, emitting a murky, dark glow.
"Great Lord of Hell, please heed your followers' prayers!
With the power of Heaven as a sacrifice, connect us to the greatness deep within Hell, and beseech Him to descend upon our world.
We shall prepare for Him a perfect vessel, loyal servants, and delicious food!
May He awaken the sin of this world and drive away the false light.
May the sun set in the west, may the light perish forever..."
As the incantations were chanted, the stone platform suddenly blazed with red light.
A dense aura of Hell burst forth from the Runes on the ground.
And Rachel, the unconscious bearer of the Stigma, was slowly levitating in mid-air, drawn by the crimson light.
The Array behind her and the giant Array on the floor resonated with each other, both flashing increasingly dazzling red lights.
The dormant Holy Power within her abdomen, stimulated by the aura of Hell in the Array, began to stir, emitting a milky-white halo.
Had it not been for the red light behind her, Rachel at this moment bore a striking resemblance to the Virgin Mary bearing the Holy Child.
But how could a Cult's ritual allow the presence of Holy Power without reason?
Seeing the Holy Light at Rachel's abdomen, a glint of madness suddenly appeared in Sirio's eyes.
A black Cross Dagger appeared instantaneously in his hand.
Holding the Cross Dagger, he aimed it at his own chest. After taking a deep breath, he thrust it violently inward.
SHLICK! The thirty-centimeter-long dagger plunged nearly halfway in, and Sirio's face turned deathly pale.
His grip on the dagger weakened.
"Lord Sirio!"
Below, Heloise's charming face filled with urgency; she wished she could rush up and support him immediately.
But the ritual was not yet over. After the Cross Dagger had pierced his chest and he had recovered somewhat, Sirio's gaze hardened, and he forcefully pulled it out.
The moment the dagger left his body, Sirio swayed, nearly collapsing. He steadied himself by grabbing the stone platform.
However, once the Cross Dagger was removed, his strength quickly returned. His previously unsteady body stabilized before the platform.
The wound in his chest healed in an instant.
Afterward, Sirio let a drop of bright red blood from the Cross Dagger's tip fall onto his own fingertip. He then flicked it gently towards Rachel, who was still floating in mid-air.
The drop of blood drawn from his heart vanished into Rachel's abdomen in the blink of an eye.