Charles Carter's answer had barely left his lips when the knight's sword, which had only just quieted in his left hand, suddenly drew itself from its sheath with a chilling whistle. In the blinding flash of silver, the knight's hymn hummed low, and one by one, the runes representing knighthood lit up along the blade, burning with radiant brilliance, their reflections flickering in his eyes as Charles Carter's pupils contracted sharply.

　　At this moment, the last word of his answer slipped out of his mouth by inertia: “…evil.”

　　Charles Carter

　　D-rank missions: 399, C-rank missions: 238, B-rank missions: 49, A-rank missions: 28…

　　Perpetrators… regardless of race, age, gender, or status…

　　Kill without mercy!

　　The instincts forged by past experiences took over almost instantly. He sprang backward, and amid the shocked cries around him, his right hand gripped the sword. The silver light on the blade gathered, and threads of battle aura flared up and coiled around it.

　　Without hesitation, he slashed straight down!

Chapter Five: Fierce Battle!

　　CLANG!!!

　　With a metallic crash, holy white radiance burst forth.

　　The blade slashed down, but it was not the sensation of flesh and blood—rather, the sound of evenly matched metals clashing echoed through the living room, mingled with shouts, curses, and the belated cries of the little girl.

　　But for Charles Carter and Charlie Carter, none of that mattered.

　　Through the gap where blade met bracer, Charles Carter gazed coldly at the young priest struggling to withstand the sword's edge—the other had barely managed to block his strike. The silver-forged blade, designed to cut through dark creatures, could not unleash its full potential against a pair of equally silver magic bracers.

　　But… that was not enough.

　　His right hand tightened on the hilt, and the forced smile on the priest's face finally collapsed.

　　“Stop… Sir Knight.”

　　Bang!

　　He ducked, twisted his waist, and delivered a textbook elbow strike. The priest was sent flying three meters before he could finish his sentence, while the demon hunter lunged like a tiger at the little girl cradled in the couple's arms.

　　Whoosh…

　　On his left hand, a pale blue radiance shimmered with a chill, dancing between his long fingers. With a flick, a blast of icy blue frost shot out, knocking the charging sheriff to the ground. Using the recoil from the frosty burst, the knight's sword, glowing with holy light, thrust forward.

　　In those azure eyes, the sacred and icy blade was reflected with perfect clarity.

　　As was the stranger's silhouette, like the very image of death.

　　“Cough, cough, aim three inches higher!… Ugh, cough, cough, I can see the core of the possessing evil spirit! Tina Bennett isn't a wraith, she's just possessed!”

　　“Knight, do you understand what this means? Please, try it! Ugh, cough, cough… please!”

　　Amid violent coughing, the priest half-kneeling in the corner struggled to shout. Charles Carter's pupils shrank, his wrist flicked, and the sword that had nearly reached Tina Bennett's throat suddenly reversed and stabbed upward with force.

　　His battle aura surged into the blade in an instant. With a crisp sound that rang through the room, a shrill, miserable howl erupted. Wisps of black smoke seeped from the little girl's body, drifting slowly through the air.

　　As the girl completely lost consciousness, the true form of the specter appeared, its blood-red eyes snapping open, radiating malice far beyond anything in the room.

　　Those crimson eyes locked onto Charles Carter.

　　“…damn… I…”

　　“Damn it… this is bad. At this moment, the evil spirit must be at its strongest. We have no preparations at all,”

　　Dragging the sheriff to the wall, Michael Thompson helped Charlie Carter up and said bitterly,

　　“This time, we might not make it out alive…”

　　“Cough, cough, even so, there's nothing we can do. We can't just watch Tina Bennett get run through by Charles… cough, cough.” Charlie Carter forced a wry smile, shook off Michael Thompson's support, clenched his fists, and the bracers on his wrists glimmered with silver light. His calm gaze fixed on the now fully formed evil spirit, without a trace of fear.

　　“Michael, in a moment, take Smith and the others, and the sheriff, outside… then go to the church and report.”

　　“We'll handle things here…”

　　“Five Elements… Spirit Binding Array!”

　　“Activate!”

　　A voice, slightly louder than before, rang out, drowning out Charlie Carter's words. In front of Charles Carter, five talismans burned fiercely, transforming into five chains of different colors. After a brief pause in the air, they clattered and locked onto the evil spirit lunging at Charles Carter.

　　Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack…

　　Five sharp snaps in succession—the chains of spiritual energy locked tightly onto the specter's limbs, and the last, representing the heavy earth element, fastened around its neck.

　　The other ends of the chains plunged deep into the void, connecting with the five energies of the entire house. The immense pull halted the evil spirit's charge, and though it lurched forward a bit more from inertia, it finally came to a powerless stop in midair.

　　Its twisted head was less than a dozen centimeters from Charles Carter, and its scarlet eyes were filled with hatred and murderous intent.

　　Plop…