Chapter 95 – The Exorcism of Melissa Colan 2

"Die!"

The word came out of Melissa's transformed throat as little more than a demonic snarl before she lunged.

Daimon barely had time to raise his arms before her fist connected, and the resulting impact sent him flying backwards.

He crashed through a piece of furniture and slammed into the wall hard enough to crack it.

Seeing that, Alexander called out in a worried tone, "Daimon!"

At the same time, Blade moved immediately.

His sword flashed through the air toward the possessed Melissa.

For an instant, Alexander thought the attack had connected, but then the blade passed right through her without leaving any wound behind. Melissa's body had become intangible.

Blade's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "What the—?"

Melissa's body became solid again, and her fist came toward him.

Blade barely managed to block the attack, but the force still drove him backwards.

"She's intangible!" Blade shouted after regaining his footing.

"I noticed!" Replied Alexander, then he didn't wait for another exchange and moved toward Albert Colan while calling out, "Hannibal!"

The vampire P.I. understood immediately, and he also moved toward the still-shocked Mrs Colan.

"Get back!" Hannibal shouted, but Mrs Colan was frozen in place; her eyes were fixed on the possessed Melissa fighting Blade as she muttered, "That's my daughter..."

"Mrs Colan, move!" Hannibal grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the centre of the room.

Alexander followed with Albert, who was still staring at the monstrous figure attacking Blade with relentless aggression before calling out the name of his daughter, "Melissa!"

"Don't go near her!" Alexander warned.

Another impact shook the house as Daimon emerged from the wreckage.

He looked a bit battered, but he was still standing straight and confident as he muttered, "Alright. Time to get serious..."

He reached forward with his hand, and a golden light erupted in front of it before his trident materialised.

Blade dodged another attack and moved beside him before asking, "Any ideas?"

"We'll try to keep her contained." Daimon's expression was grim as he added, "Be careful... We don't want to kill her."

Blade nodded.

They both understood the problem. They weren't fighting an ordinary demon. They were fighting one using a human body as a vessel.

Every attack had to be measured. Every opening had to be considered. If they hit too hard, Melissa could die, and neither man was willing to accept that.

The next attack came without warning as Melissa lunged forward.

Blade barely had time to turn before her hand swept toward his throat. He caught the strike against the flat of his forearm, the impact driving him half a step backwards.

Then Blade smiled and said, "Got you."

At the same time, he twisted, trying to trap her wrist, but his fingers closed on nothing.

Melissa’s arm passed through his fingers. Blade's eyes narrowed.

Her body followed, passing completely through Blade, then she solidified, and her elbow slammed into his ribs.

Blade grunted and staggered sideways.

Daimon moved immediately.

The trident flashed through the dim room, its three prongs stopping an inch from Melissa's face.

She recoiled and hissed as the trident carried a faint red glow that crawled along the prongs, casting strange shadows across the walls.

Melissa's expression twisted before she retaliated.

Daimon caught the trident crosswise and absorbed the blow, boots scraping across the wooden floor. Melissa hit the weapon again, and again.

The third impact drove him back into the wall, and the house groaned around them. Not from the force of the fight, but from the wards as lines of faint, almost invisible light pulsed beneath the wallpaper, running along the walls and across the ceiling like veins.

The demon noticed them too, and its smile vanished.

Daimon pushed away from the wall and said, "Sorry. You're not getting out of this house."

Melissa's eyes flicked toward the nearest window and saw that the glass was covered in symbols. The front door bore the same markings.

Every exit had been sealed. Every path outward had been closed.

The demon was trapped, and it knew it.

Blade came in from the side, and Melissa turned too late as he drove a controlled punch toward her shoulder.

She smiled as his fist passed through her.

Blade immediately changed his stance and prepared for what came next.

Melissa solidified behind him, and Blade ducked, making her claws sweep through the space where his neck had been.

He pivoted and drove his shoulder into her chest, and this time, she was solid.

They crashed into the dining table, breaking it into pieces

Melissa hit the floor, rolled, and came up on one knee, but Blade was already there.

He stopped his next punch inches from her face.

For a moment, neither moved as his fist trembled with restraint.

Melissa looked at it, then at him and with a twisted smile she said, "You won't."

Blade's jaw tightened, and he replied, "You're not the one I'm fighting."

The demon laughed through her, "You think she can hear you?"

Blade's expression hardened as he stated, "I know she can."

That earned him a flicker of uncertainty, then Melissa's body snapped sideways.

Blade raised his arm and her fist struck his guard.

The force sent him skidding across the floor.

Daimon attacked before she could follow as his trident swept low.

Melissa jumped, making the weapon pass beneath her feet.

Daimon reversed the motion and brought it back upward, forcing her to twist in midair.

She landed badly where Blade was waiting.

He didn't punch, but he kicked the floorboards beside her.

The impact knocked her balance sideways.

Daimon caught her with the shaft of the trident and shoved her backwards.

Not hard enough to break anything, just enough to keep her moving.

During the battle, Daimon noticed something.

Melissa's hand stopped, but only for a fraction of a second.

Her fingers trembled, her head moved slightly, then she suddenly turned toward her parents.

"Melissa?" Mrs Colan took a step forward.

The girl's face twisted violently, and her head snapped back toward Daimon.

Daimon's eyes narrowed as he realised, 'That wasn't the demon. Melissa somehow is resisting... The demon is controlling her, but not completely. This shouldn't be possible, not against something this powerful.'

Daimon tightened his grip on the trident before he planted the trident against the floor, then he began to chant, "Adjuro te, spiritus immunde, per Deum Patrem omnipotentem, per Iesum Christum Filium eius, Dominum nostrum, et per Spiritum Sanctum: dic mihi nomen tuum."

The words were unfamiliar to Alexander, but he did recognise that he was speaking in Latin.

The atmosphere in the room changed as Melissa recoiled and screeched, "Stop!"

The voice wasn't entirely hers.

Daimon's chanting continued, "Non in virtute mea, sed in nomine Iesu Christi tibi praecipio. Desine eam vexare. Desine eam torquere. Manifestare nomen tuum et causam praesentiae tuae."

The demonic presence inside Melissa began to writhe.

Daimon's voice hardened, "Quis es? Quod nomen tibi datum est?"

Melissa screamed while Daimon repeated with even more authority in his tone, "Dic nomen tuum!"

The demon's eyes burned with hatred, then she yelled, "ALLATOU!!"

The name came out as a furious scream.

Daimon immediately understood and smiled, "So it's Allatou..."

The demon snarled, "You dare..."

Daimon smiled grimly, "Now I know what I'm dealing with."

At the same time, Alexander stared at Melissa.

His Spiritual Awareness had never been this clear, and he could sense two distinct presences.

Allatou and the Duel Spirit.

But now he could perceive something else.

A connection, but it was faint, almost invisible.

The Duel Spirit wasn't inside Melissa, but it was connected to her, and it was fighting.

Alexander's eyes widened as he realised, 'That's why she hesitated during the battle... Melissa isn't completely under Allatou's control. Some part of her is resisting, and the Duel Spirit is helping her.'

Coming to that conclusion, he focused harder.

The Spirit wasn't attacking Alexander. It wasn't hostile. If anything, it was frightened, desperate and protective. It's fighting for her.

Alexander's mind raced, 'This changes everything. Allatou isn't simply controlling a helpless victim. She is fighting Melissa herself, and the Duel Spirit is helping Melissa resist however it can. No wonder the demon is becoming increasingly frustrated. She is fighting a battle on two fronts.'

The fight continued.

Allatou suddenly laughed, "Hahaha! You really think you can defeat me?"

Daimon blocked another strike and replied, "You've made that mistake before."

"I don't need to defeat you." Allatou grinned, "I only need to kill you."

Blade's sword narrowly missed her, and he demanded, "Why?"

Allatou's expression twisted into something resembling satisfaction, "Because if I kill the son of Satan, perhaps my position in his court will finally rise."

Everyone froze.

Alexander stared. Blade's eyes widened. Hannibal looked toward Daimon.

"""Son of Satan!?"""

Daimon grimaced and said, "Not the time."

"Definitely not the time," Blade agreed.

Allatou laughed, then she attacked again.

For a moment, it seemed as though Daimon was gaining control of the fight.

His trident struck the ground beside Melissa, forcing her backwards.

Blade pressed forward, and Allatou stumbled.

Daimon saw an opening and attacked with his trident enveloped in the same red hue that seemed to annoy Allatou so much.

Then Melissa's expression changed as the demon possessing her made a decision.

Instead of fighting the girl any longer, Allatou abandoned her as the faint female demonic figure possessing withered, leathery skin and a frightening appearance flew out of her body and sank into the ceiling.

Her presence vanished from Melissa, who returned to a normal girl in an instant before she collapsed.

Daimon stared and asked, "Where did she—?"

Then Mrs Colan screamed, "Melissa!"

She rushed toward her daughter as Alexander turned and yelled, "Wait!"

But it was too late, as Allatou made her move; she emerged from the ceiling right above Mrs Colan and entered her body.

The transformation happened almost instantly.

Her body stiffened. Her face twisted. Her skin darkened, and her features began changing.

The woman who had been screaming for her daughter moments earlier suddenly stood unnaturally still, then she smiled.

Her voice was no longer her own as she commented in a pleased tone, "Much better."

Hannibal was the closest.

He reacted immediately as he lunged to attack, but Allatou turned toward him.

She barely moved, and her fist struck Hannibal. The resulting impact sent him crashing across the room and through a section of the wall.

Alexander stared in shock while Allatou flexed her new fingers and said, "This body is much more comfortable without that annoying pest..."

Daimon's expression hardened as he called out, "Allatou!"

She laughed before she rushed toward him, and soon the battle resumed.

Alexander barely noticed the battle continuing around him as his attention was on Melissa, who was lying on the floor.

Alive. Conscious, perhaps. Her eyes moved weakly.

"Melissa?"

She looked toward him, and fear filled her expression.

Alexander crouched beside her and tried to reassure her, "It's okay."

He wasn't sure whether that was true, but he had to say something.

His Spiritual Awareness remained focused on the second presence and noticed that the Duel Spirit was still connected to her.

Now that Allatou had left, Alexander could perceive it much more clearly.

It wasn't too powerful, but its nature was noticeably attuned to the Light Attribute, and it was familiar, which meant it wasn't a rogue Duel Spirit but one he had already negotiated with before.

It didn't take long for Alexander to figure out its identity, "So you're the one helping her..."

The Duel Spirit reacted and responded to his presence

Alexander's eyes widened as a possibility began forming in his mind, 'If the Duel Spirit can help Melissa resist Allatou... Maybe there is a way to use that to take her out. Maybe I can help them. But first, the others need to survive.'

Daimon and Blade were now fighting the possessed Mrs Colan.

The situation was different this time.

They could attack more aggressively, but neither was willing to kill her.

Allatou knew that, and she used it against them.

Daimon's trident swept toward her, but again she became intangible, making the weapon pass harmlessly through her.

She then became solid again.

Blade attacked with his sword, trying to force her to turn intangible again, but Allatou waited until the final moment before becoming tangible.

Blade's sword stopped inches from her, and her fist slammed into his stomach.

Blade staggered backwards.

"She's using our hesitation against us," he growled.

"Obviously."

Allatou ripped a section of the staircase loose and swung it like a club.

Daimon jumped backwards.

The wooden structure smashed into the wall, making the whole house shake.

"This is getting ridiculous," Hannibal muttered.

He climbed back to his feet.

Daimon glanced toward him and quipped, "You're still alive."

"Disappointed?"

"Actually, a little surprised."

Hannibal grabbed his weapon and said, "Let's finish this."

The three men attacked together.

Allatou responded by using the house itself as a weapon.

Furniture flew through the room. Walls cracked. A section of the staircase collapsed.

The entire building seemed to be coming apart around them, and still, Allatou refused to release her host.

"Get out of her!" Daimon shouted.

She laughed, "Why would I?"

Daimon tightened his grip and said, "Because I'm going to make you."

He thrust his hand forward, and then flames erupted, but these weren't ordinary flames.

The Soulfire burned with an unnatural intensity as it engulfed the possessed Mrs Colan, making Allatou scream.

Seeing that, Melissa yelled, "Mom!"

Alexander turned toward her.

Daimon gritted his teeth and shouted, "Stay back!"

The Soulfire wasn't simply burning the woman's body, but it was reaching deeper, into the demon, while Daimon ensured that the fire only lightly affected the woman.

Allatou screamed again, "No!"

Daimon pushed harder, and the flames intensified.

Allatou's grip on the woman's body began to weaken as Daimon shouted, "Get out!"

With one final burst of Soulfire, the demon was forced out.

Mrs Colan collapsed, and Daimon immediately moved to catch her. After checking on her, he said, "She's alive."

Blade lowered his sword.

For a brief moment, there was silence, then Alexander sensed something.

A familiar supernatural presence.

His eyes widened, and he tried to warn them, "Wait...!"

Everyone turned, but Allatou was already moving.

She crossed the distance between herself and Albert before anyone could react.

Albert barely had time to understand what was happening before Allatou dived into his body.

"No!"

The man's body jerked violently.

His expression twisted. His skin began darkening.

Daimon stared while Blade's grip tightened around his sword and Hannibal slowly lowered his weapon.

Alexander felt a chill run down his spine.

They had made a fundamental mistake. They had been thinking about the possessed person, but Allatou wasn't the possessed person.

She was the demon. The host was disposable.

Melissa. Mrs Colan. Now Albert. It didn't matter. Allatou could simply move to another body.

Daimon looked at the others; his expression was grim, "Damn... She is too fast..."

The demon inside Albert smiled, "Hehehe... Too bad, as long as they are around, I can jump from one host to another as many times as I want..."

Then his grin grew more malicious as Allatou added, "The only way to stop me from possessing them is to kill them... But can you do it?"

At the same time, Alexander realised just how much worse their situation had become.