"We're here Julio."
Julio exhaled and opened his eyes. Still hugging the thick book in his arms, he pushed the gate of the house. Lorian stood beside him, explaining to the owner of the house that they came here to help.
When the owner heard Lorian's explanation, he was ecstatic. However, his expression changed when he knew that the teen was the one who was going to perform the exorcism.
He was skeptical at first but he had no other options. "Come inside," he let them in.
Lorian, Julio, and Iku followed the owner inside the house. The neighbors heard their discussion and their hubbubs echoed around.
"You heard that? A young exorcist. I thought exorcists were only in the movies or America."
"Could that boy do it though? Look at him, he looks like he just recently stopped sucking at his mother's titties."
"..."
Julio heard all of this but his resolve was unwavering. He didn't want to soil his teacher's reputation. Hugging the book tighter, Julio felt secure and confident again.
"Waaaaaargh!" a middle-aged woman screamed as she shook her tied limbs.
Iku saw this, and he couldn't help but do the sign of the cross.
"Sir, could you distance yourself? It's much safer for you if you do," Lorian advised the owner.
The owner nodded. He backed away from them, stopping beside Iku who was watching from a distance.
"Is the boy really an exorcist?" the owner asked Iku.
"I don't know either. I'm just a driver," Iku replied.
The owner became more worried. Looking at the pair, he couldn't himself from thinking of the worse possible outcome that would happen to his wife. He could only pray.
The owner's wife, who was struggling on her bed, stopped moving. She looked at them with her all-white eyes. "?aet tnaw uoY. srotisiv olleh lleW."
"Could you hold these rosary beads?" Julio asked Lorian.
"Yes. What do I do with this?"
"Just hold it over her head."
"Okay, I can do that."
Julio and Lorian ignored the woman. Lorian grabbed the rosary and did what Julio asked. Meanwhile, Julio flipped the book's pages checking the verses he would use.
".seno gnorts dna gnuoy esoht dessim I .kcid pmil a s'dnabsuh yM" the woman once again spoke gibberish.
Julio cleared his mind. Praying for his protection, before performing an exorcism. "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty…"
He started reciting the verse, loud and clear. Julio's voice resounded to the woman's ears. The scriptures were being pounded into her ears, reaching her soul.
"Argh! Put T@nk Inn @mmo. JYAWA, @NIMAL, BO$$$$ET!" the woman screamed.
She started convulsing, raising her hips on an arched, while vomiting maggots out of her mouth. The bed became a mess. As the maggots crawled or propelled their bodies to and fro.
Chairs and books started hovering around them. Yet, Julio ignored this. He continued reciting the scripture until the last words.
The woman's eyes flashed when she heard the boy stop. She hissed at Julio throwing the things that hovered around.
Lorian saw this, and with a twist of his hip, he executed a roundhouse kick, kicking away the flying objects. Julio then raised the book over his head.
"Now sir!" Julio screamed.
When Lorian heard Julio, he grabbed the woman's jaw. He pinched it hard, forcing it open her mouth and feeding her the rosary beads. Lorian then stepped back.
Julio with one hand raised, holding the book and the other signing the cross in front of the woman. The woman was horrified at the sight, it felt like she was facing a giant.
After signing the cross, Julio held the book with both his hands. "Lord Have Mercy. Amen!" He then slammed the thick book at the woman's face.
Pa!
A crisp sound reverberated. The owner who was watching from the back couldn't help but stand up, his eyes almost popping out of his sockets. Even Lorian was flabbergasted at the way this young man exorcised.
A blast of wind blew around the house. Black smoke evaporated out of the woman's face, as Julio lifted the book. Her nose was bleeding and the beads in her mouth turned to dust.
The owner rushed towards his wife, worried sick at the sight of her wife's bleeding nose.
"What have you done?" the owner asked.
"I performed my exorcism. Thank you for your understanding." Julio replied.
The owner became angry. How could they call hitting his wife's face, exorcism? That's just blatant assault!
The owner tried to grab Julio but Lorian grabbed his arms. "Please, have a look at your wife first before you violently react."
The owner pulled his hand away, glaring at Lorian before looking at his wife. The woman's eyes blinked, as her vision slowly returned. Grabbing her hand, the owner sobbed looking at his wife back to normal.
Lorian tapped Julio's shoulder. Julio looked at Lorian who was nodding his head. He awkwardly grinned back, as they walked to Iku.
"Let's go Iku," Lorian said.
Iku was still speechless at what he saw. Floating objects, vomiting maggots, and black smoke, he saw it all. He involuntarily made the sign of the cross before running back to his motorcycle.
He quickly turned it on, signaling to Lorian and Julio. "Let's go to the next destination," he excitedly shouted.
Lorian and Julio couldn't help but smile at Iku's enthusiasm. They hurriedly rode on his motorcycle, driving to the next village.
The owner ran out of his house, after hearing the sound of the motorcycle. "Thank you very much, young exorcist! Sorry for doubting you!" the owner screamed.
The onlookers were curious about what happened and started gossiping and making speculations.
"Is it true?"
They must be making it up."
"We don't know. That kid must be the real thing."
"..."
The people standing kept on talking. The owner became annoyed at his nosy neighbors' loud voices. "The shows over everyone, chop-chop. You may go now."
Meanwhile, Iku sped up as he wanted to see more exorcism. Lorian didn't stop him. It was better this way so that they could exorcise more people and earn more money. Julio on the back was still meditating, this time his forehead started to sweat and his nose twitched.