The guards or anyone did not bother to stop us. Adam took me straight through the entrance and inside the royal palace. We walked for a while in the humungous palace, climbed a couple of stairs and finally came to a hall. Outside, a girl with blonde hair, wearing a white-blue dress was waiting. She had a worried expression on her face, had green eyes. As Adam and I approached her, she noticed and looked at us.
"Good day to you Princess Sharina," Adam said
"Did you bring him?." Princess cried. And then she looked at me. "Is it him?"
"Indeed Ma'am, Princess let me introduce you to. Case Sanders."
Her eyes widened as she heard my name. She just stared at me with those glistening eyes. She was on the verge of crying.
"Considering the circumstances, I have brought the best help I can offer," Adam said.
She remained quiet. The situation was getting awkward and I did not want her to feel embarrassed. So I broke the silence.
"It has been a long time your highness. I am very grateful that you allowed me to be of service to the royal family." I spoke with a bow.
She approached me and hugged me immediately.
"I am so happy to see you Case." She said. "You have changed or perhaps it has just been too long. Anyways now that you are here, I am relieved. Please follow me."
We followed the princess, as she led us inside the hall. We walked for a while and finally came in front of a door. The princess stopped and turned at us.
"Father has been sick for a while," Princess said. "I was away when I was informed that his condition has taken the worst of turns. When I came back, Adam was here with a couple of physicians who just said that they could do nothing."
" I will see what I can do," I said.
Princess took me inside. As she opened the door, a huge wave of dark aura surged out. It was nasty, my head started spinning. It was not the work of any lower-level forces. This was serious. Despite the aura, I went inside. The king was sitting in a corner. His arms and legs were restrained.
"It has been a week," Sharina said. "Nobody knows what happened. He attacked one of the servants. Nearly killed her. As the days passed he just kept becoming more violent and cannibalistic. He is not even speaking properly anymore."
She was trying very hold her tears.
"May I examine him?" I asked.
"Please." Sharina agreed and stepped back.
I went closer. The dark aura was really strong. As I went forward, he immediately leapt at me. His hands reaching out for my throat. His fingers were black. His eyes blood red. His teeth yellow. I stepped back. It was a horrible sight. A kind sane man turned into something so horrible.
"I came just in time. A day or two and we would have lost him." I said.
"What is wrong with him?" Sharina asked.
"Demon Possession. He is slowly taking control of his body, killing his soul. The whole room reeks of a dark aura. It is pretty thick." I answered.
Sharina was shocked. "But how?" She asked. "How did he got possessed?"
"See that's the thing," I answered. "Demons just don't possess anyone like that. They require a medium. Most of the time it is an inanimate object. Something in this room probably. Help me look."
The objects that demons used as a medium were called polsters. The aura was only inside the room, which meant that the polster was in the room. If the polster was somewhere else, the dark aura would have left a trail. But since the whole room was covered in the aura, it was inside.
Sharina and I kept looking for a while. It was very hard to find the object. With so much dark aura, it seemed like everything was emitting it. But then Sharina found something.
"Case." She called. "Look at this."
She handed me an old locket. It had an emerald pierced inside it.
"I have never seen it before." She said.
I held it in the air. The locket did emit some kind of energy. To know for sure, I took a small vile of salt out of my pocket. I took out a pinch and spread it over the locket. The salt turned black.
"This is it. This locket is causing it." I said.
"Now what to do?" Sharina asked
"I need a few things," I said.
Polsters were not just some ordinary objects drenched in a dark aura. They were somewhat alive in their own way. They were deeply linked with the demon. If someone tried to destroy it by normal means, the polster could use dark energy to shield itself. It was necessary to separate the demon from the current medium in order, for me to perform an exorcism. I had to destroy it. However, I was not going to destroy it by normal means. A mixture of iron and salt was known to be quite effective against dark relics and polsters for centuries. But to destroy the locket, I had to put the locket in a mixture of molten iron and salt. As the locket would dissolve in it and the mixture cools down, it will soak all the dark aura.
The palace's servants provided me with everything that I required. We then went to the royal black smith's house where huge metallurgy contained a mixture of iron and salt. I put the locket in the mixture. The molten mixture melted the locket like wax. The mixture was then poured into another container, where it was left to cool down. I could sense the dark aura decreasing gradually and after some time it dissipated.
"It's done," I said.
We went back to the kings' room. The demon was in rage. He acted violently pulling the chains, trying to break free. As we went inside, he tried to attack Sharina and I kicked him away.
"Please, don't hurt him. " Sharina said.
"He isn't your father Sharina. He is just a demon." I said. "I need more iron and salt. I have to perform an exorcism."