He just broke up with his girlfriend and is already living with the devilish rich girl.

Almost at the same instant the ceiling cracked, Kang Zhengyuan shielded his daughter with his body.

Sawdust and plaster dust pelted his back as he knelt on the ground, his back hunched, his hands tightly covering his daughter's head.

He used his own body to build the last barrier.

The monster fell out of the breach, its long, thin limbs landing first, its joints bent in the opposite direction.

Like a spider that has been shattered and then pieced itself back together.

It straightened its hunched back, turned its eyeless dog face toward Kang Zhengyuan, and squeezed out a hoarse growl from deep in its throat.

Kang Zhengyuan felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart; he recognized the voice.

"No...don't come any closer...please..."

His lips were trembling, and his voice sounded like it was being forced out from between his teeth; even he couldn't hear it clearly.

But he still held his daughter even tighter, pressing her face against his chest.

Make sure she doesn't see what's climbing down from the ceiling.

"Everything back then was my fault, it was all my fault! We all deserve to die!"

He practically screamed, his eyes red and almost bleeding, unable to look at that eyeless dog face.

"But please...please...my daughter...she knows nothing...she's innocent..."

The monster didn't move; it turned its head towards the little girl in its arms.

The little girl peeked half her face through her father's fingers, the paper star on her hair clip still emitting a soft glow.

It reflected on her tear-streaked face.

She was startled when she saw the long, thin limbs and protruding joints in front of her. She buried her face deeper into her father's arms and clutched his collar tightly with her little hands.

The monster looked at her.

Look at that shining star.

Then it suddenly took half a step back, as if it had been hit by something.

Two sharp, long arms suddenly rose up and hugged his head, squeezing out a broken wail from his chest.

It crouched down, curled up, and desperately covered its head with its paws.

His whole body was trembling violently.

"No...no...it shouldn't be like this...it shouldn't be her!!!"

Its voice changed; it was no longer a hoarse roar.

It's more like someone whose memories are being torn apart is desperately denying what they're seeing.

Those originally murky beast eyes began to turn a scarlet blood color, spreading out in concentric circles, like the surface of water that had been smashed.

...

...

3:30 am.

Only one emergency light was on in the medical department.

The treatment was forced to be interrupted after the power outage.

Evelyn lay in the hospital bed, breathing steadily, her complexion much better than before, though she was still unconscious.

Arya stood by the bedside, one hand on her sister's wrist, and Evelyn's torn nun's habit was draped over the chair next to them.

The cuffs were stained with mud and dried blood.

The sound of hurried footsteps and flickering flashlight beams could be heard occasionally in the corridor.

Constantine had been going out with the Special Administration personnel to check the situation for a while now.

Everyone seems to be very busy tonight.

Arya smiled.

She looked down at her sister's face, which looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old.

She was all too familiar with this curse; every time her sister used the power of burning sin beyond the threshold, her body would shrink back a little.

From 22 years old to 18 years old, and then to what I look like now.

The old folks in the church say this is the backlash of the stigmata, a test from God for her.

Arya never thought that way.

She felt that her sister was risking her life to take the blame for others, and had been doing so for so many years that she was almost worn out herself.

She tried to distract herself, and her hand unconsciously reached into her pocket, where she touched the photograph.

The one I brought back from the landfill, I never had a chance to hand over to the Special Administration Bureau.

The young woman in the photo is holding a little girl, and they are both smiling. The sun is shining brightly.

Arya held the photo up to the emergency light and squinted to examine the woman's face closely.

The lighting was too poor at the landfill, so she only glanced at it and didn't pay much attention.

But now—

When she saw the girl in the photo, she was completely stunned.

She had seen this little girl before.

Just today, the three of them rescued the daughter of a father and daughter while chasing a predator.

"What on earth is going on...?"

Arya slowly stood up.

A bolt of lightning struck outside the window, illuminating the entire ward with a stark white light.

Two shadows were cast on the wall.

Her shadow and another shadow.

The man was standing right behind her, so close he was practically touching her back.

Arya turned around abruptly.

Luo Yao stood in front of her, their noses almost touching.

A faint smile graced her impossibly beautiful face, her lips curved, and her eyes narrowed into two crescent moons.

In the dark hospital room, between the stark white light of the emergency lights and the flickering lightning outside the window, the smile appeared particularly sinister.

"You found it...that child..."

Luo Yao's voice was light and airy, as if she were praising a cat that had finally found a ball of yarn.

Arya stepped back to block her sister's bedside, the hem of her nun's habit fluttering slightly with the sudden movement.

She stared at Luo Yao, her fingertips already glowing with a pale golden holy light: "It's you again."

Luo Yao paced around the ward with her hands behind her back, then turned to look at her. Her golden vertical pupils gleamed with a cold light in the darkness.

"Your sister's fear stems from the friends she once killed. I'm curious about your fears."

"You have no idea how afraid I am, you demon," Arya said, enunciating each word clearly.

"A demon? No, no, no—"

Luo Yao waved her hand, her tone carrying a hint of disdain.

"Actually, I only call myself a devil in front of him."

"If it weren't for his rather unusual quirks, I wouldn't have used such a vulgar term of address."

She tilted her head.

"Then, can you do me a favor, little sister?"

"Absolutely impossible!!"

Arya raised her hand, and golden runes were reflected on her palm.

But the next second, Luo Yao's pupils lit up with golden light, and under the gaze of those vertical pupils, Arya's body began to disobey her commands.

She watched helplessly as her hands fell to their sides, the holy light in her palms went out, and all her strength was being drained from her bones and muscles.

Then he slowly knelt on the ground and looked up at Luo Yao.

Luo Yao walked up to her and looked down at her.

"You hold your head too high, messenger of the Outer Gods."

Arya bit her lip, her body trembling, unable to suppress the fear that emanated from within. Finally, she lowered her head.

"That's right."

Luo Yao squatted down and brought her lips close to her ear.

"There is a secret room in this building, hidden on the bottom floor of the archives, and it is sealed with three seals."

"I can't get in right now; only people from the Special Administration Bureau can go in. You're like an outsider for the Special Administration Bureau. Go find it and bring the things out."

"What...the room...what do you want to...do...?"

Arya clenched her teeth, squeezing out broken syllables from between them, the veins on her forehead bulging.

"Hmm, he's still conscious? As expected of the consul of the Holy See, his willpower is commendable."

Luo Yao took a step back and looked at her, the smile on her face suddenly carrying a hint of something indescribable.

"In that sealed room lies a truth from more than ten years ago."

"If you are truly the messenger of God who judges guilt for a crime committed by a special administration agency, then exercise your power of judgment."

Arya nodded blankly, stood up, and walked out of the ward step by step.

Luo Yao watched her disappear at the end of the corridor, then gently sat down beside the hospital bed.

She reached out and touched Evelyn's hair, her fingertips running through the stray strands scattered on the pillow.

"As for you... you bought cigarettes at my supermarket, so you're considered my customer."

Luo Yao smiled and looked at her for a while, then grinned, revealing two sharp canine teeth.

"Come on, little cutie, let me see what curse you've been under."