Chapter 618: Possessed
618 Possessed
Lilia was experiencing a headache after numerous people were possessed in their small town. Specifically, there have been 30 incidents of living people being possessed by evil spirits.
Dealing with these possessions wasn't as challenging as handling Evil Creatures, or corpses possessed by Evil Spirits, but it was still a significant issue for a small town like theirs.
Dealing with the possessed living people was not easy, as their relatives would typically attempt to rouse their family members, resulting in casualties in the process. It could be argued that dealing with a possessed corpse was a lot easier, as there was no risk of harming the person.
They could just use the firearms or runic weapons of the special police officers, and they would have a higher chance of solving it without casualties.
"I hope everything will be fine today..." Lilia sighed as she looked at the mirror to brush her hair.
She was the mayor of the town and was only 31 years old.
She had long, flowing chestnut hair that framed her delicate features. Her piercing blue eyes exuded both warmth and weariness. Despite the weight of her responsibilities, she maintained a composed and dignified demeanor, often wearing a simple yet elegant attire that reflected her practical approach to governance.
Lilia had become the mayor at a young age compared to other mayors because her father, the previous mayor, had passed away a few months ago. It was after he was suspected of sympathizing with the rebels.
Unfortunately, the current ruler of the kingdom was quite cruel. They didn't even feel satisfied with the death of their mayor and increased the tax by more than 50%.
Luckily, Marquis Morgan had recently taken full control of the eastern and southern parts of the kingdom, preparing to usurp the throne. He had reduced their taxes and provided support to small towns like theirs. However, due to the impending civil war, the number of Arcanists in their town had significantly decreased, and supernatural events were becoming increasingly difficult to manage.
At this time, she could only pray that the Marquis could ascend to the throne immediately and restore peace to their land.
Thud... Thud... Thud...
Suddenly, she heard hurried footsteps approaching her room.
"Mayor! Mayor! Miss Parkinson has been possessed!"
A female servant reported as soon as she knocked on her door.
"How? Ugh... This is concerning..." Lilia abandoned her attempt to fix her hair, hastily leaving with the household servant. Upon stepping outside, she was met by a group of guards who escorted her to the location where Miss Parkinson was causing some disturbance.
The commotion was taking place at Miss Parkinson's residence, which also served as a flower shop. Upon arrival, Lilia noticed Miss Parkinson's skin had turned purple, with prominent blue veins seemingly on the verge of bursting.
This was quite common to the possessed people, so she was no longer surprised.
Strangely, she had started consuming the flowers being sold in her shop. This was something she had never seen before.
Lilia, perplexed by the situation, had no time to dwell on it.
She immediately inquired of the police officer.
"What's happening? We need to restrain her... Where are the special police officers?"
"Mayor! They already attempted and were injured. They should be in the clinic right now. It seems Miss Parkinson only wants to eat the flowers. She becomes agitated if we try to stop her..." The police officer responded.
He had an idea why Miss Parkinson was eating flowers... However, it was not important at this moment since there were other pressing matters. It was already good enough that she wasn't targeting other people.
"This is not good. If her possession lasts for three hours, there's no coming back... Don't we have any evil-warding talismans left?" Mayor Lilia inquired.
"Unfortunately, they've all been used up over the past few days... At this point, we can only try to restrain her and have her drink the holy water. We only have two of them, so we can't use it to douse her since it will be ineffective..." The police officer explained.
Holy Water was also a solution but the quality of their Holy Water wasn't great, and there are only two of them. To maximize their usage, they have to make the possessed person drink it!
"How are we going to restrain her?" Mayor Lilia asked, even though she already knew the answer—they couldn't. It was impossible for them to do it!
The special police officers were the Combat Arts Practitioners of their small town. They were the only Arcanists in their town.
If they had been easily defeated by the possessed Miss Parkinson, there was no way ordinary people could subdue her without causing harm.
While they did possess firearms that could potentially injure Miss Parkinson, doing so would be a death sentence.
Lilia observed Miss Parkinson's young children, only around 5 and 6 years old, being comforted by a few kind neighbors.
She could not let those two become orphans. She was unwilling to resort to shooting unless Miss Parkinson began to rampage and started targeting people.
"We have to act before that occurs..." Lilia declared solemnly.
After a while, other police officers arrived with several ropes in an attempt to restrain Miss Parkinson. They were compelled to act swiftly as the supply of flowers she was consuming was running low.
Apparently, the flowers had recently been bestowed with an Arcane Blessing by a wandering Arcanist just two days prior. The officers speculated that this blessing was the sole reason for Miss Parkinson's malevolent interest in the blooms, perceiving them as a source of sustenance.
Graahh!
Suddenly, a guttural, unearthly sound emanated from Miss Parkinson. It was completely different from her original gentle voice, sending shivers down the spines of all present.
Her voice echoed as if she had just come from the depths of hell.
Then, the town was enveloped in an aura of death, instilling fear in everyone around.
"Not good! It's becoming more powerful!" Lilia exclaimed, clutching the necklace her father had given her.
She was told that she could only use this if she was in danger.
'Father... Please help me...' Lilia silently prayed as she thought of activating the necklace.
However, before she could act, the distinct sound of an airship resonated above the town, interrupting the tense atmosphere.