I'm Turning Into Gacha Characters?!

Chapter 478: Turned Into Gacha?! - 478

It was a stark contrast to the world outside. The western-style mansion had seemed brand new and pristine from the exterior, but stepping inside revealed a slightly dilapidated corridor. Grim, blue lanterns hung along the walls at regular intervals.

The suffocating atmosphere made Josh uneasy.

Even Elise could no longer sense a precise location in here; the two of them had no choice but to take it one step at a time.

The hallway was lined with tightly shut doors. Picking the closest one at random, Seia held her gun in one hand and handed the Holy Grail to the plump little bird flying beside her. With her free hand, she swiftly threw the door open.

It was a standard room for a mansion like this. The lavish decor and spacious layout made it immediately recognizable as a living room.

Two deathly pale evil spirits instantly noticed Seia opening the door and rushed toward her with sneering grins.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Seia fired two clean shots, dispersing the two spirits into nothingness.

The crisp crack of gunfire echoed through the mansion. Before the two could even process it, the heavy thud of multiple footsteps came surging toward them from the depths of the corridor.

"The gunshots attracted them?!" Josh realized immediately.

Seia hadn’t expected firing her weapon to trigger this kind of reaction either, but her reflexes were sharp. She quickly pulled back and aimed her muzzle down the hallway.

A platinum-gold tongue of fire spewed from the barrel once more. Accompanied by the sounds of bodies hitting the floor, the footsteps vanished from their ears.

Josh’s expression stiffened. "Maybe we shouldn’t shoot anymore?"

Taking back the Mimic Holy Grail, the girl channeled more power into it. It left her slightly short of breath, but she held her arm steady and smiled at him. "Mr. Josh, why don’t you keep this safe for now?"

"Oh... alright."

Josh took the miraculous cup, and then watched as the plump bird produced a fresh magazine from out of nowhere and handed it to the girl.

After reloading, Seia finally continued, "It seems I will be needing your help next, Mr. Josh."

"Huh?"

The sudden leap in the conversation left Josh momentarily dazed.

"Since we can’t use firearms freely, you’ll have to act as a temporary exorcist to deal with these spirits from here on out."

"...Me? Face evil spirits?"

While Seia’s earlier words had indeed made Josh less terrified of the spirits’ existence, actually squaring off against them directly... he really wasn’t mentally prepared for that.

"I recall you used to be a staunch atheist," Seia noted.

Hearing this from a church exorcist made Josh a little awkward, but he gave a nod anyway.

"And what about now? Do you still firmly believe there are no gods or demons in this world?"

The evidence was staring him right in the face; there was no faking it. Even if he didn’t want to believe it, he had to.

"In that case, why not pray?" Seia inquired softly. "As long as you pray to the Lord, you can receive salvation and grace. This is where the holy power of believers comes from. The more devout you are, the more holy power you will possess."

"This..."

Josh was left a bit at a loss by her words. But on second thought, accepting God didn’t seem like such an impossible pill to swallow.

After all, if a believer’s power came from God, then the girl in front of him really could be considered a savior sent by Him.

If that was the case, why not believe? It wasn’t like it would hurt.

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Josh felt a sudden surge of heat course through his entire body. If he had to describe it, he felt as strong as an ox.

"What is this?"

"It seems you already have a baseline of faith in the Lord, Mr. Josh." Seia wasn’t the least bit surprised by his condition. "Though we are merely drawing out the sparse power within your body using the strength of the Simulated Holy Grail, it is more than enough for the task at hand."

"Do all exorcists have this kind of power...?"

Josh looked down at his palms, thoroughly amazed. The faith that had merely been a tiny spark in his heart began to grow under the influence of this transformation.

"This is just the bare minimum," Seia said noncommittally before turning back to business.

It was time to find the next room.

Armed with his newfound strength, Josh clearly possessed a lot more courage, but the Simulated Holy Grail in his hands made him feel a bit clumsy.

"If we run into evil spirits and have to fight, what am I supposed to do with this?" Seeing that Seia had no intention of taking the Grail back, and remembering her comment about ’using the strength of the Simulated Holy Grail,’ Josh couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. "If I put it down, will this power disappear?"

"It’s fine. Just treat it as a blunt weapon."

Seia offered an entirely unexpected answer.

This left not only Josh, but even Elise—who had been quietly observing the situation—completely dumbfounded.

The miraculous nature of this Mimic Holy Grail was something Elise had never heard of in all her days. To draw out power based purely on faith was an achievement so profound she doubted the Church could produce a second artifact of its caliber.

And yet... what did the girl just say? Treat it as a blunt weapon? Was he supposed to bash people over the head with it?

Wait a minute... even if the word ’Mimic’ was attached to it... it was still called a Holy Grail, wasn’t it?

Bludgeoning someone with a Holy Grail... was that really okay?

Elise could hardly believe such words had come out of a believer’s mouth.

Faced with their sheer bewilderment, Seia offered her own explanation. "Faith is not such an inflexible thing. If it can guide a believer and bring them salvation, a physical token is far less meaningful than actual deeds."

Though Elise wasn’t a believer herself, she found Seia’s words hard to process. After a moment of thought, she offered a tactful reply. "That’s the first time I’ve ever heard words like that from a Catholic."

"I only just arrived here from Dublin two days ago."

Ah, so she was a Protestant. That explained it.

Wait, no, that was still bizarre!

"The congregation at St. Patrick’s Cathedral probably wouldn’t appreciate those words..." Elise warned.

"I wouldn’t say it in front of them."

Beside them, Josh didn’t fully grasp the nuances of their exchange. To a former atheist, while he knew Catholicism and Protestantism were similar yet distinct branches of faith, the specific politics eluded him.

But one thing he did understand clearly: he really could use this Simulated Holy Grail to bash things.

Complicated feelings aside, his son was still waiting to be saved. Josh quickly pushed everything else to the back of his mind and forcefully flung open the next door.

Unlike the living room from before, this room resembled a nursery, filled to the brim with all sorts of porcelain dolls. The space was otherwise completely empty, with no anomalies in sight.

"Dalton isn’t here," Elise concluded.

Onto the next one.

The two stepped out of the room and subsequently searched several empty rooms in a row, combing through almost every door in the hallway.

Though they occasionally crossed paths with a few evil spirits, they were weak entities that Josh—buffed by his new strength—could resolve in just a few punches.

Just as Josh was beginning to lose his patience, the next door they opened caught all three of them completely off guard.

The room looked like a hospital ward. Inside stood a blonde man dressed in black priestly attire, keeping a vigilant watch. Upon catching sight of the two, he let out a sigh of relief, which quickly turned into an expression of blatant confusion.

Josh recognized the soul standing before him.

"Father Clark?!"

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T/N: If you want advance Chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL