North America Gunman Detective

Chapter 1479 - 795: Pyrrhic Victory (Part 2)

From the current situation, it seems the giant snake doesn't have other physical attack abilities, meaning as long as Jimmy defends against the snake's attack itself, he'd be fine. The rest seems to be illusions affecting Jimmy's judgment, not some high-level ability, so the danger doesn't appear to be great. Then how did Mary and the others have their souls absorbed by the monster?

It couldn't have directly attacked Mary and the others because no one else noticed the monster's attack, and Mary didn't have other injuries. So, this giant snake must have a soul-absorbing ability, but it hasn't used it on Jimmy, which is somewhat puzzling.

Jimmy observed as he retreated, knowing the black mist couldn't cover too much area. This mist would interfere with his Heart Eye Vision, so fighting outside of it would definitely be better.

However, he didn't stop considering the monster's capabilities while guarding against it. Based on his own speculation and the church's records that members dealt with the monster a century ago, Jimmy found it a bit suspicious given his current abilities facing the monster. Maybe they had only dealt with the small black snake Jimmy encountered initially.

The giant snake did not escape but kept moving under the black mist's cover. Since the mist formed it, it wasn't restricted to ground movement, and there was no sound when it swayed in the air. It moved with Jimmy, ready to strike.

When Jimmy leaned against a large tree to observe, the giant snake suddenly charged down from above, its mouth opening even wider. Jimmy dodged the snake's head around the tree but couldn't avoid the tail. Quick-witted, he crossed his arms in front of his face, got hit by the tail, rolled twice on the ground, and then got up.

The giant snake didn't give Jimmy time to adjust, going around the tree again to attack. Jimmy, getting fierce, dodged the head, then stabbed the snake's body with a knife, landing directly on it.

He chose his position carefully, near the core he discovered earlier, repeatedly stabbing the snake. The snake twisted, trying to shake Jimmy off. Jimmy held onto its body, stabilized, and emptied his revolver into the wound.

The snake struggled more fiercely, rolling on the ground, forcing Jimmy to let go. He rolled away after landing, stopping only after hitting a nearby tree.

The struggling, twisting snake dispersed into black mist again after a few twists. Jimmy's shots to the core seemed effective.

Taking advantage of the dispersal, Jimmy immediately reloaded, emptied his revolver into the revealed core, hitting it repeatedly. Black filaments released, dispersing into the mist, while the core moved erratically, slowing as Jimmy hit it more, with black mist converging towards the core to solidify again.

Jimmy grabbed his remaining spare bullets, shooting continuously as the opponent couldn't resist until he was out. As the mist seemed ready to solidify, the core, hit too much, suddenly split then exploded, stopping the mist's contraction and causing it to explode outward. Jimmy shielded his face with his hand, and the mist quickly dispersed, the forest returning to its previous dim brightness.

Jimmy looked around; the mist indeed was gone, but some pale threads floated in the air. He checked his pocket; no spare bullets left. He cut a thread with his Dagger, firing his Glock at them, but it had no effect. The threads drifted upwards, soon disappearing from his Heart Eye Vision.

Jimmy expelled empty shells, heading to the battle site to retrieve the revolver he'd dropped, finally having some free time.

Finding the revolver, he felt his pants pocket. The Holy Water Bottle had broken during the fight, soaking his pants and leg. Undoing his belt, he saw glass had made small cuts on his leg. With a grimace, he removed the glass shards, deciding to take off his pants to avoid more undiscovered shards.

The monster destroyed, and Jimmy out of bullets, he had only a Dagger and Exorcism Badge left to fight other monsters, if any, he had to leave regardless.

Wearing a torn white shirt, displaying three guns, bare-legged, his shoes filthy, cradling his pants-turned-bag with his wallet and phone, Jimmy exited the woods, oriented himself, then walked back to where they parked.

Gunfire came from Jimmy's direction, reaching outside the woods slightly. Cage heard faintly but knew he'd only hinder if he went there, so he stayed, waiting for Jimmy. Meanwhile, Royte's nose was broken, necessitating early treatment.

Cage debated going after the gunfire paused, only to see an eye-catchingly dressed Jimmy approaching from a distance.

Opening the car door, Cage retrieved his police jacket, walking it to Jimmy. "What happened to you? Put this on."

Jimmy accepted the jacket, handing Cage the pants-turned-bag, explaining while dressing, "It's settled. Where's Father Royte?"

Cage: "Hospital, bad fracture."

Jimmy: "Alright, let's go back; I need a doctor for my wounds."

Cage: "Follow me."

Jimmy followed Cage's police car, driving to a community hospital. After parking, Cage looked around, waving Jimmy over, entering through the back door where a doctor and nurse awaited with tools and medicine.

Cage: "Thoroughly check, miss no wounds."

The doctor nodded, gesturing to Jimmy, "Take off your clothes, all of them."

Cage stood aside as Jimmy unabashedly stripped, placing clothes and underwear aside, spreading his arms for the doctor and nurse to examine him top to bottom.

The doctor reported wound locations, numbers, and sizes while a nurse took notes. After inventory, Jimmy was laid on the surgical table for anesthetic dosing and application, starting wound cleaning, blood clotting, and stitching, with smaller wounds simply disinfected and bandaged with a plaster.

Jimmy's wounds weren't very deep, but many were tree-branch punctures needing internal cleaning, requiring anesthesia for treatment. Without it, he couldn't tolerate the pain, nor would the doctor dare proceed unassisted.

After care and infection prevention, Jimmy awoke fully. Cage brought in new clothes and shoes, which Jimmy changed into before they left the hospital.

At the car, Jimmy asked Cage, "How much? I'll repay later."

Cage shook his head, "We're allies; don't worry about it. I ought to thank you for saving me."

Jimmy looked at Cage, surprised, "What?"

Cage: "Before, I realized a lot. Thanks."