Chapter 203: AnnaBelle and the Crying Woman

Pasadena.

As a newly developed city, it has grown fairly well due to its proximity to Los Angeles, but because transportation infrastructure such as trains and airports has not been fully established, housing and land prices here remain relatively low.

Thus, it has attracted a group of people with some knowledge and wealth, yet always at risk of falling out of the middle class.

The John family was exactly in this situation.

The wave of unemployment hit too hard, forcing them to move; to celebrate his wife’s pregnancy, John bought a globally limited-edition doll at a store—his wife Mia loved collecting these dolls.

But neither of them expected that this doll would bring about all the misfortune.

In a newly moved-in house somewhere.

“Mia, listen to me, don’t be afraid—we’ve moved. Father Perez said that as long as we don’t fear demons, maintain positive emotions, and believe in the power of belief, God will protect us.”

John gripped his wife’s hand tightly, though his own heart was filled with terror, he still tried to give her courage.

Mia, however, looked haggard, sitting on the chair. “John, I’m so scared.”

She held the child, her gaze constantly shifting, as if on guard—clearly, John’s words had not given her much reassurance.

Even today, she could still recall what happened that night.

It was the very night John gave her the doll when a neighbor’s family was suddenly murdered; two assailants, a man and a woman, broke in and attacked. Though they were eventually shot dead by police, Mia was stabbed and hospitalized—and more importantly, the doll John gave her began to malfunction afterward.

The power went out, there was a constant feeling of being watched, shadowy figures appeared suddenly, and it even caused a fire that forced Mia into premature labor…

All these events pointed to the doll’s unnatural nature.

Yet whether they moved again or tried to discard the AnnaBelle doll, nothing changed—it always returned, and continued triggering strange incidents.

As for the priest’s words, she didn’t know if they worked at all, because the doll had never vanished.

For this entire period, she hadn’t slept well, hadn’t eaten well, and her mind was nearly shattered.

She gazed wearily at her husband.

“John, do you remember that night?”

“The female killer held the doll and killed herself, leaving an A-shaped symbol on the wall.”

John’s face darkened—he could never forget it. That night, he nearly lost his wife and child.

And that symbol…

To be honest, growing up in America, even if we’d never seen occult-related things, we’d certainly heard of them. The occult’s most common methods and signature signs were all kinds of bizarre ritual symbols and bloody sacrifices.

Since childhood, our parents warned us never to touch strange patterns, because you never knew if they were left behind by some occult cult.

This stuff had become so deeply woven into American culture, it was practically common sense!

So the female killer holding AnnaBelle before her suicide, and leaving that symbol—it was the clearest signal possible!

That was also why he immediately tried to discard the doll.

But the doll was too strange.

Even after calling the local priest, the effect was negligible—but now he had no other choice.

“I—I think it’s a curse. Many legends say demons torment people to make them willingly offer their lives. For the child, I…”

“Enough. Don’t worry. I’ve spoken with Father Perez—we’re taking this thing to the church tonight. In the church, it can surely be suppressed.”

John cut off Mia’s words and told her what he planned to do. Faced with a demon, John’s only solution was to send it to God’s territory.

Perhaps the word “church” had some effect—Mia finally relaxed slightly.

But then.

“Knock knock knock.”

A sudden knocking at the door.

Mia gripped her husband’s arm tightly, her eyes tense; the child in her arms began crying. John winced in pain but patted her hand. “I’ll go check.”

Mia, however, took a deep breath, hugged the child, and prepared to go with John.

At that moment, the knocking stopped.

“Mia?”

A woman’s voice came from outside.

Both instantly exhaled in relief—the voice belonged to Mia’s neighbor, a kind Black woman named Evelyn.

“I brought Father Perez. Are you in?”

Click.

The door opened.

Evelyn, the Black woman, stepped in. Beside her was an elderly white man with white hair, dressed in a black priest’s robe, looking serene—it was Father Perez.

After brief greetings, Evelyn went over to talk with Mia and check on the child—she had a deep affection for children due to past events.

John approached Father Perez, visibly excited. “Father Perez, you’ve finally come.”

“Ah, sorry I’m late. Something unexpected happened today—another supernatural incident occurred elsewhere in the city. I couldn’t handle both, so I contacted a friend nearby to help, and gave that family some instructions. That’s why I’m so late.” Perez explained.

John shook his head—he didn’t care about that. He only wanted Perez to take the doll away immediately. He hurried over and picked up AnnaBelle.

Perez stared at the doll, his expression grave. He pulled the crucifix from his chest and pressed it close to the doll.

Nothing happened.

No reaction.

It looked like an ordinary doll.

Perez frowned deeply. If John wasn’t lying, this doll should be a demon’s vessel—so why did it show no reaction to the crucifix?

That didn’t make sense.

“Tell me again, in detail, everything that happened after the doll came into your home.”

John recounted every event.

Perez frowned harder: the A-shaped symbol, a demon, torment, no reaction to the crucifix…

At that moment, a voice came—Evelyn walked over. “I think I know what it is.”

?

Perez stared at the Black woman in surprise.

“Mia told me a lot about this recently. You know my family runs a bookstore—we have many books on this subject. I looked it up. That symbol represents a demon named Mamen.”

“It delights in tormenting the weak and vulnerable, devouring their despairing souls—or forcing them to harm their loved ones, watching whether they choose to collapse into despairing souls or sacrifice themselves for their kin.”

“And now, it has likely fixated on Mia and her child.”

Enjoys tormenting the weak, forces choices, devours despairing or sacrificial souls.

How fitting for a demon’s taste…

Perez’s expression shifted repeatedly—he realized something crucial: in the occult realm, aside from special demons (fallen angels, fallen deities, etc.), only major demons have the authority to choose the “flavor” of souls.

Ordinary demons, with no taste, simply grab any soul that brings fear.

In the modern world, it’s the difference between a newly risen common noble and an old aristocratic lineage.

So if Evelyn is telling the truth…

Then Mamen is a major demon.

What is a major demon?

One who holds a leadership position within the demon army, commanding numerous ordinary demons, countless half-demons, demon-blooded, and malevolent spirits—some even serve as deputies to demon-god-level beings, such as deputy legion commanders.

They possess both power and rank far beyond ordinary demons.

They are powerful enough to warrant attention from the Vatican headquarters.

But fortunately, it’s not the demon’s true body.

If it were the true body, he’d already be thinking about how to send a message to the Vatican.

Even so, a major demon’s avatar is no easy problem to solve. Could bringing it into the church truly contain it?

Perez fell silent.

He had no experience with this!

“Father Perez?” John looked at him hopefully.

Hoping he would say something, offer a solution, as he had before.

Perez opened his mouth, but couldn’t utter any comforting words—he truly had no confidence.

Finally, in silence, Perez dialed another phone call.

“Hello, Ed, I think we can’t handle these two supernatural events separately anymore.”

“I’ve found a big one.”

“….”

If one person isn’t enough, call for backup!

“Let me think—who else nearby can help us?”

As Perez pondered calling for help…

…

Meanwhile.

Warren, who had just arrived at the location Perez mentioned and begun exorcising, froze.

Earlier, he and his wife had dealt with what seemed like a haunting but turned out to be human-caused, and were preparing to rest for a while—when they received a call from Perez, a friend they’d met during past adventures.

After some small talk, learning Perez was facing two supernatural incidents, they volunteered to come help.

But now, just arriving and beginning the exorcism, Perez called for help.

This was a problem.

“Luo Lin, we need to hurry—Perez is in trouble. There’s a major demon’s avatar stirring there.”

"Understood. I will find her as soon as possible," Luo Lin said solemnly.

The entity they were handling was a wraith known as the Weeping Woman.

Centuries ago, she had specialized in killing and kidnapping other people’s children; legend said that after her husband betrayed her, she drowned all her own children in the river, then drowned herself.

Afterwards, she became a wraith, weeping and wandering near bodies of water, stealing other children and bringing misfortune to others.

In short, this was a wraith with at least a hundred years of existence, its power unpredictable—caution was required until its exact nature was understood.

(End of Chapter)