North America Gunman Detective

Chapter 1250 685: The Operation Begins (Part 2)

For others, a priest performing exorcism might just be a legend they haven't witnessed, but the three of them were different. They saw with their own eyes Father Bennett shatter the water ball that emerged from the lake yesterday. This wasn't just watching a movie—when the water ball exploded, the droplets even sprayed onto them.

Now the priests were going to cleanse the resentful spirits in Ghost Lake, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Naturally, they had to get involved, even if just from afar. This would surely be a big story for them to tell afterward.

The cars stopped at a distance since the small road ahead was impassable. Father Rodney led several other priests carrying boxes at the front, with Jimmy, Nia, and two NYPD detectives following, and Sergeant Porter along with two officers at the rear.

As they approached the lakeside, Father Rodney stopped and looked back at the others, "Okay, everyone, aside from Nia Young, who needs to help us pinpoint the location, everyone else please stay away from the lakeshore and assist with securing the area to prevent citizens from approaching."

Sergeant Porter seemed reluctant to leave and moved forward to stand beside Father Rodney: "Father, I think I should stay here. I need to understand the situation for the reports I will have to file later."

Father Rodney shook his head, "I'm sorry, it might be very dangerous here. You can observe from a greater distance, but you can't stay here. We might not be able to protect you. Thank you for your cooperation."

Sergeant Porter hesitated but eventually nodded and gestured for the others to turn back, stopping a few dozen meters from Father Rodney and the rest.

After confirming everyone else had left, with only Jimmy and Nia remaining, Rodney turned and walked towards the lake, "Nia, where did you find the necklace and ring? Help me confirm the location."

Nia nodded and went to where she previously found a student's tent, then walked towards the lake, stopping beside a half-buried stone, "The necklace was found beside this stone, with a part of it buried in the soil. When I took out the necklace, I found the ring beneath it."

Father Rodney knelt down to examine the ground markings, "Alright, Nia, step back and join the others, keeping as far away as possible."

Nia glanced at Jimmy, who nodded in agreement with Rodney's instructions, prompting her to turn and leave.

Rodney watched Nia retreat a safe distance before opening the box he held, which bore a cross mark indicating it belonged to the church. He took out a necklace and ring from inside, placing them on the stone before speaking, "This necklace and ring definitely don't belong to the three missing students. They're related to the resentful spirits in this lake. Previously, they weren't exposed to sunlight. Perhaps the students unearthed them, and after they went missing, Nia found them during her investigation, kept them on her, and was then attacked by the spirits."

Jimmy: "Is there anything special about this necklace and ring?"

Rodney: "Hmm, they might be objects valued by the resentful spirits or possibly even places where they hide. Alright, let's give it a try. Stand guard!"

As Rodney took the necklace and ring out of the box, Jimmy felt a slight drop in temperature in the air, though it wasn't obvious. Had he not been vigilant for unusual occurrences since coming to the lakeside, he might not have sensed it at all.

Looking up at the lake, he noticed it was calm with no wind today, showing no apparent disturbances, though having witnessed yesterday's events, he knew it wouldn't stay peaceful.

Rodney signaled to the other priests, who spread out slightly, waiting until they were in position before Father Rodney took out a larger Holy Water bottle from the box, unstoppered it, and poured the water over the necklace and ring. A sizzling sound ensued, followed by wisps of smoke rising from the jewelry, lightly colored in greyish white.

The purification of the necklace and ring by the Holy Water triggered a chain reaction, causing the lake in front of them to ripple once more, and this time they weren't far from it, just about ten meters away.

Soon, a humanoid ghost emerged from the water, slowly advancing to the lake's surface without its feet touching the water, drifting towards where Rodney and Jimmy stood.

It didn't seem to have any particular actions, but Father Rodney had no intention of communicating with it, replacing the cross in his hand with the Exorcism Badge. When the ghost was close enough, he halted his whispered prayers and pressed the badge into the apparition.

The ghost had no physical form, so Rodney's hand went into it, but the Holy Light Energy from the Exorcism Badge erupted within the specter, causing it to collapse instantly as it reached for the necklace.

Jimmy looked at Father Rodney with surprise, "Was it that easy?"

Father Rodney appeared serious, "No, something's not right. This ghost wasn't our target. I made a big mistake. Perhaps I shouldn't have destroyed it."

Just as he finished speaking, before Jimmy could ask why, the lake again swelled with more intensity. A massive spiritual pressure weighed down on everyone, with the priests instinctively praising the Lord and picking up their Exorcism Artifacts.

"No!" A colossal humanoid water form rose from the lake, pointing an arm at Father Rodney. Several decayed corpses walked onto the shore from the lakebed, followed by skeletal remains draped in moss and algae—presumably those who died in the lake before.

Seeing them, Father Rodney and Jimmy promptly stepped back a few paces. The corpses, initially moving slowly, suddenly rushed toward Rodney with remarkable speed.

Rodney withdrew the badge, drew a short sword, wielding the Bible as a shield with one hand and the sword with the other, engaging in combat with the corpses. The bodies were not very durable, yet the short sword, being a light weapon, could only injure rather than destroy them, allowing Father Rodney to fend them off though not without some danger.

Jimmy wasn't faring any better, having been beside Father Rodney, the skeletal remains prioritized him as a target next. The skeletons ran towards him, albeit at a slower pace, granting Jimmy some time to prepare.

"Bang Bang..." Having never faced skeletons or corpses before, Jimmy switched between Heart Eye Vision and normal vision, quickly identifying weak points on the corpses. Utilizing the 1875 revolvers, he fired swiftly, managing to target the moving skeletons' joints, dismantling them on the ground before they reached him and impairing their mobility.

They weren't completely destroyed because the skeletons had several white spots, scattered too broadly unlike previous encounters where a single fatal weak spot could be targeted. Thus, Jimmy adopted a tactic of dismantling, limiting movement, and incrementally wearing them down, devising this as the most suitable plan of action in the short time.

After expending both revolvers' ammunitions, Jimmy opened the chambers, releasing the empty shells, drew two preloaded Moon Clips from his pocket, reloaded, then fired a few more shots at the skeletal heads on the ground, thoroughly ending their capability to act until no more white-spot targets appeared.