Exorcist's Self-Cultivation

Drip…

Drip…

A woman dressed as a member of the clergy, in a nun's habit, floated above Du Wei's body, opening her mouth to let droplets of dark brown blood slowly fall from her fierce fangs.

The thick, damp, and icy liquid slowly dripped onto the tip of his nose.

Du Wei only felt a bone-chilling coldness creeping down from his nose, slowly spreading across his face.

He tried to open his eyes but simply couldn't.

This was the third time he had had this nightmare.

At the beginning, he was completely unable to resist; the entire dream was torture, with only his right hand able to move.

The air grew heavier and heavier, as if compressing his lungs, making Du Wei's breathing more and more rapid, each breath an exertion of his full strength.

In the dream, he told himself that according to the previous pattern, if he waited a little longer, he would be able to open his eyes, and he would see the nun getting closer and closer to him.

And then, he would wake up from the dream.

But after a long time, not only had Du Wei been unable to open his eyes, but he also discovered something extremely terrifying.

His right hand had actually touched something ice-cold.

Sharp, stabbing...

"This is strange..."

When he was in the Horror House, his right hand, which had undergone the Evil Spirit Transformation due to prolonged contact with Annabelle, experienced some abnormal changes.

His entire right hand was like a corpse's—aside from being able to move it, he had no sensation whatsoever.

Let alone the sense of touch...

"Is it a nail?"

Suppressing his confusion about the sensation, Du Wei envisioned the object that was moving back and forth on his right hand.

"Why is it so fast..."

He was referring to the distance.

Although he knew that this so-called nightmare was actually due to the insolvable curse of the nun, the previous two times the distance between them was still substantial.

Even if he had the nightmare two or three more times, the distance should not have shortened to the point where she could touch him.

More sinister still was the fact that Du Wei could clearly feel that when the nun touched his right hand, he seemed to be suppressed, losing even the control over his own right hand.

Completely powerless to resist...

This was more terrifying than the intense fear of being suffocated to the point of breathlessness—as if he had become meat on a chopping board, to be picked at will, and yet he was unable to open his eyes, unable to see anything.

…

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

On the streets of North Brook District.

Five black sedans were driving forward.

Nerella sat in the passenger's seat, quietly watching the dark and gloomy sky outside, as lightning occasionally streaked across, followed by the roar of thunder.

"It's going to rain soon, how much longer until we reach the Sofitel Hotel?"

"About ten minutes."

The driver replied to Nerella and then accelerated forward.

Their destination was the Sofitel Hotel located at the junction of North Brook District and Orlando Area, one of the Veda Sect's footholds in New York.

Of course…

The guests at the Sofitel Hotel were also their next targets for sacrifice.

And this time, there would definitely be many more than before.

Considering this, Nerella said in a low voice, "Praise Veda."

Hearing this, the others nodded: "Praise Veda."

The car continued onward.

Nerella stroked her left index finger, where the wound still throbbed in pain, yet her expression was numb, her eyes indifferent.

Belief can strengthen a person's conviction.

Yet, a twisted and abnormal faith that aims for chaos can corrupt everything about a person.

From spirit to body, from external to internal.

This is wrong...

But for cultists, it's routine, even enjoyable.

Nerella felt the same, when suddenly she frowned and stared intently at the rearview mirror of the passenger seat.

The mirror reflected her pale face, numb and gaunt, which easily brought to mind a patient recovering from a serious illness.

What caught Nerella's attention, however, were her eyes.

The whites were bloodshot, and the brown irises seemed much deeper than usual.

"What's going on?"

Nerella looked quite perplexed, as she had been resting well and it had been a long time since she last experienced bloodshot eyes.

"Hey, can you guys see if there's something in my eyes?"

As she spoke, Nerella turned her head to address the others sitting in the back seat.

"It looks like an infection, or maybe an irritation."

The companion in the backseat stared at Nerella's eyes for a while but didn't notice anything unusual.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Alright, if it hasn't improved by tomorrow, I might have to make a trip to the pharmacy."

Nerella said to the others and settled back into her seat.

The others didn't respond, looking down in silence—it was evident that their relationship wasn't very close.

However, what they didn't notice was that, after making eye contact with Nerella, their eyes began to show some changes as well.

It looked as though a dark shadow had fallen over them, making their eyes seem much deeper.

And, densely threaded with blood vessels.

On the street, the car continued to drive forward.

...

11:38 PM, the destination—a suite in the Sofitel Hotel.

Nerella stood in the bathroom, taking off her black uniform, revealing large swaths of pale skin. If not for the scars scattered across her body, she would undoubtedly be a very attractive mature woman.

She stood under the showerhead and turned on the water.

Soon, a fine, warm stream of water soaked her from head to toe.

"This is so nice..."

Nerella, with her eyes closed, looked very relaxed, as even the most vicious cultist couldn't help but bask in material comforts.

"It's a shame, I need to rest early, I have to deal with that psychologist tomorrow."

She muttered to herself quietly, and Nerella quickly finished her shower.

However, just as she was putting on her bathrobe and walking out of the bathroom, she suddenly heard a mechanical and highly regular sound by her ear.

Knock knock knock...

Knock knock knock...

Someone was knocking at the door...

Nerella frowned, for apart from when the Veda Sect's followers were gathered to partake in the sacrifice ritual under the bishop's orders, they usually were spread out among other areas, with very little contact with one another.

Logically, there shouldn't be anyone knocking at this hour.

"Who's out there?"

Nerella walked to the door and looked through the peephole.

The hallway lights were dim, but she could tell there was no one else there, only the door directly across—inside were her two companions.

"What's going on?"

Nerella had an uneasy feeling that something was not right—the knocking continued even though she couldn't see anyone outside.

After thinking it over, she pressed her ear against the door, but the eeriness was that she didn't feel the vibrations typically associated with knocking.

"Ruth? Corelle? Is that you?"