"Heh, save you?" A disdainful tone caused Oct to freeze, and a sense of foreboding instantly arose in his heart.
"Who... who are you?" Oct nervously took two steps back, cautiously glanced over his shoulder at the battlefield not far away, then quickly turned back.
"Seize him!"
Following the command of the burly figure in a black robe, two others in black robes immediately grappled Oct's shoulders.
Their grips were like iron hoops, brimming with strength, and in the blink of an eye, they had forced Oct into a chair that had just been prepared.
"Here, take a look at this. I need the Deputy Director of the FBI to clear up a question for me."
As he spoke, a photograph was thrust directly in front of Oct.
The moment he saw the photograph clearly, Oct's pupils suddenly constricted, and in just an instant, he had guessed the likely identities of these figures in black robes.
"I... I don't know what this is!"
Deputy Director Oct slightly shook his head, feigning ignorance.
His somewhat bewildered gaze mixed with a tone of confusion seemed to betray no flaws.
"It seems Hollywood truly ought to award our Director Oct a prize!"
The towering figure in the black robe, looking at the old man in front of him who could lie without blinking an eye, chuckled and shook his head, then placed his two index fingers on the sides of the other's head.
"What... what are you going to do?"
An inexplicable panic made Oct's voice quiver. Feeling the warmth of the fingers on either side of his head, his only desire was to get as far away as possible.
"Don't move! Relax a bit. This is just a little method to make people tell the truth."
"What do you mean? I've been telling the truth all along... ERR... AHHHH!"
Before Oct could finish, he felt a bizarre power surge from the other's fingers directly into his brain.
An itch like none he had ever experienced before instantly overwhelmed his senses.
All Oct could think about was for it to stop, for those damned fingers to immediately leave his body.
But Oct, whose muscles were twitching and convulsing, could not rid himself of the grip of those iron-like fingers, no matter how he twisted and turned.
He could only weep and scream as he endured an itch that seemed to have settled deep within his soul.
Only a minute had passed, but it felt to Oct as if he had lived through years of torment in that excruciating itch.
Finally, just as his body reached its limit and his eyes began to roll back, those cast-iron fingers at last left his head.
"Let our dear Deputy Director rest a bit. You two, go and help Dio. It's been dragging on too long!"
Seeing Oct collapse like mud into a puddle of liquid, the burly man in the black robe snorted softly and then turned to look toward the battlefield.
The once luxurious decor of the villa had completely vanished. Even pieces of furniture had flown through the gaping holes in the wall, landing at the feet of several individuals.
The current state of disrepair was such that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say a war had taken place.
"Dio, what's going on? Why is this taking so long?"
With a single slash, Dio sent the blood-red monster flying and exhaled heavily. Without turning to his comrade's voice, he simply muttered irritably, "Although this damned thing isn't very strong, its regenerative abilities are too powerful. It doesn't die even when its neck is severed, and it heals incredibly fast!"
"Oh? I must see this for myself!"
Upon hearing Dio's account, the eyes of the two who had followed him lit up, and they immediately took an interest in the monster.
Just at that moment, the monster, lying amid wreckage, stood up.
The huge wound on the monster's chest, slashed open by Dio's Knight's Longsword, writhed as the surrounding flesh pulsed, regenerating at a visible pace.
In just a short moment, the grievous wound that had nearly cleaved the monster in two disappeared completely.
"Fuck! That's just it. This creature is too troublesome!"
Dio's voice was tinged with annoyance, clearly dissatisfied with his prolonged inability to defeat the monster.
"I'll give it a try!"
After dropping that line, a black-robed figure charged forward.
Despite his unarmed appearance, the two people behind him showed no surprise.
"What do you think this guy is going to do?"
"How would I know? Maybe he'll use Holy Water?"
As the two were discussing this, the black-robed figure who had rushed out brushed past the monster.
"CRACK!"
Following the sound of shattering glass, the monster suddenly let out a pained roar.
Amidst the sound of corrosion and a sudden stench that filled the air, the black-robed figure retreated.
"Holy Water doesn't work either! What the hell kind of monster is this?"
The three watched as the large hole corroded into the monster's chest healed back to its original state within moments. They all frowned.
"If it can't be killed, then let's just tie it up and take it back. It'll be perfect for training the new recruits in combat."
"That's a good idea!"
No sooner had he spoken than a rope of unknown material appeared in Dio's hands.
It faintly shimmered with silver light, writhing like a silver snake with Dio's movements.
"Go!"
At Dio's low shout, the three of them charged at the monster, which was now on guard.
「Meanwhile,」
Oct, who had collapsed, finally managed to regain some strength and sat up from the foul-smelling liquid on the ground.
"Mr. Oct!"
Startled by the sudden voice next to him, Oct's body shuddered, and he said with a trembling voice, "I'll tell you everything! I'll say it all!"
"I had Director Yellen place the iron badge at a designated spot to pass to our partners, framing Chu Feng's Exorcism Agency.
This way, the federal government would have an excuse to get involved in the Exorcism Agency and significantly weaken its influence."
"Does the federal government also want to take control of the Exorcism Agency?"
Oct was taken aback by the sudden question from the burly black-robed man, and subconsciously responded, "Yes!"
"Who are these partners?"
"They're a cult called the Holy Advent Society! The Bizarre that attacked the exorcist came from them..."
He had barely gotten the words out when suddenly, there was a THUMP from another direction.
Oct turned his head and saw a monster, tightly bound by a silvery-white glowing rope, suddenly appear.
"Oh~ Xie Te!"
Summoning strength from who knows where, Oct, who had just been slumped on the ground, instantly backed away two or three meters.
"What are you afraid of? Don't you recognize your own mistress?"
The teasing voice seemed to make Oct instantly realize something. His gaze shot towards the blood-colored monster struggling on the ground.
"Eudora?"
"This monster... it must be from the Holy Advent Society! It's here to monitor me, and possibly even to silence me for good!"
Hearing Oct's words, the blood-colored monster on the ground roared angrily, "Shut your mouth! You damn fool, I should have torn you to pieces long ago!"