In his terrified gaze, his body slowly stood up, walked over to his teammate who had completely turned into a snowman, and then picked him up.

Opening the door, he carried the snowman, which showed no signs of melting, slowly down the stairs of the villa.

CREAK... CREAK... CREAK...

The weight of the Exorcism Team member had at least doubled as he walked on the wooden stairs of the villa, which groaned under the heavy burden.

"Who's on the stairs?"

On the first floor of the villa, other vigilant Exorcism Team members frowned at the grating noise and turned their attention towards the stairs.

"F**K, run for your lives!"

The Exorcism Team member whose body was controlled by the Bizarre desperately tried to connect with the Spiritual Power within that had fallen silent, attempting to regain control of his body. But clearly, the Bizarre's Strength was countless times greater than his, rendering his efforts utterly ineffective. Thus, he could only watch helplessly as his body, holding a massive snowman, continued to walk slowly downward without the slightest pause.

"No, that's wrong! It's the Bizarre, he's possessed by the Bizarre!"

The well-trained Exorcism Team members, witnessing this bizarre scene, instantly realized what was happening, their faces all turning pale simultaneously.

"Why isn't the Warning Crystal reacting?"

One of the Exorcism Team members instinctively reached for his chest, picking up a Crystal Stone the size of a thumb.

BANG.

Just as he picked it up, the Crystal Stone instantly burst apart, turning into numerous black fragments scattered on the ground.

Then, a series of explosions followed: BANG. BANG. BANG...

The continuous bursts resonated throughout the villa, as all Crystal Stones brought by the Exorcism Squad turned into black shards. Even the Crystal Stones used to set up the Array inside and outside the villa didn't escape the fate of shattering.

At a node of the Array, a fist-sized Crystal Stone suddenly showed a dab of black in its center. This blackness then rapidly expanded, in an instant engulfing the entire Crystal Stone, transforming it into a completely black rock. Then, with a BANG, countless black shards scattered on the ground.

"This is bad! This is definitely not the Strength an Evil Spirit or a common one could possess. Everybody retreat!"

Colton and Felix, who came running at the noise, arrived just in time to see the largest Crystal Stone in the center of the hall shatter. Seeing this scene that completely defied their expectations, their expressions changed instantly. After a shout, they turned and rushed towards the villa's main entrance.

Hearing their shouts, the expressions of the surrounding Exorcism Team members also instantly changed. The few who were closest to the stairs and had thought about approaching instinctively wanted to turn and flee.

But in the next second, those who were halfway through turning stiffened almost simultaneously.

"What's going on? Why can't I move my body?"

They discovered in horror that although their brains had issued the command, their bodies felt as if they had lost all connection.

No, it wasn't a loss of connection! It was... the Bizarre had taken over!

They slowly straightened up and, with effortless strides as if they were normal, followed the Exorcism Team member who held the snowman. Their faces, once hidden behind tightly secured white masks, slowly disintegrated under the Bizarre's Strength, revealing eerie smiles. And they headed directly for the villa's dining room.

Meanwhile, behind them, the wood slowly burning in the great hall's fireplace suddenly turned to black ash at a visible speed, and its warm glow vanished. As the light of the fire vanished, the lights of the entire villa went out in an instant.

In this darkness, small patches of pristine frost slowly appeared on the walls of the villa and swiftly spread.

F**K! Who the hell did the assessment of the Bizarre's Strength? If I make it back alive this time, I'm definitely going to kick his ass!

The people who had escaped the villa were cursing continuously in their hearts; never in their Exorcism Tasks had they encountered such a vast discrepancy in intelligence.

Trudging through the snow outside the villa, which now reached past their knees, a dozen or so people ran with all their might towards the distant road. In that direction, a snowplow and three armored vehicles were quietly parked.

"Almost there, we're going to make it!"

In the darkness, with the light from their flashlights, they could faintly make out the outlines of the vehicles, and a trace of joy flickered in their eyes.

Once we're in the vehicles, we can immediately escape this damned place!

The people running in front were unaware that at the very end of their group, an Exorcism Team member who had also been striving forward suddenly stopped mid-stride. Standing straight, he turned around, a Bizarre smile slowly forming on his face as he walked step by step back toward the villa.

Then, the next person...

Until the strongest, Felix and Colton, who were running the fastest, reached the vehicles and turned around, they were shocked to discover something. Behind them, where there should have been over a dozen people, there was only Bruce, the leader of another Exorcism Squad, who had followed them; all the other Exorcism Team members had vanished without a trace.

"Where are they? The people who were following you?"

Bruce, who was struggling against the blizzard, heard the shout from ahead and was startled, quickly turning to look back. But behind him, only a vast expanse of whiteness was visible in the glaring light of the flashlight; the many Exorcism Team members who should have been following him had all disappeared.

"They..."

Bruce began to speak as he turned, but suddenly felt a powerful and Bizarre Strength take hold within him. It had appeared at some unknown time and was now dominating his entire body.

In the eyes of Felix and Colton, they only saw Bruce turn around, his white mask disintegrating, and an incongruous smile slowly forming on his dark face. Their hearts lurched, and an ominous feeling immediately surged through them.

As expected, Bruce, with that smile on his face, turned and walked step by step back towards the villa.

"Damn it, it's that Bizarre! Let's get out of here!"

The panicked pair jumped into the nearby armored vehicle. In this crisis, they couldn't bother with using the snowplow to clear the way; they had to trust in the capabilities of the armored vehicle.

ROAR. Colton started the armored vehicle. Colton, who barely knew how to drive an armored vehicle, was able to start it successfully thanks to his good memory.

"That's... snowmen, so many of them!"

The exclamation from Felix next to him made Colton involuntarily look out the window.