"Wait, Priest Anton!"
Originally, Anton wanted to leave the Rossi family's house. But just as he was about to go have coffee with Rafael to calm their nerves, Lucia stopped him and gave him a large lunch box with a generous meal.
"Priest, these are breakfasts I had prepared, but I'd like both of you to take them." Lucia said with a wide smile on her face, looking at Anton's tired expression, that it was only fair that they had something to eat.
"Please, don't refuse." Mr. Rossi looked at both men who had saved his son, so this was the least he could do to repay the favor.
Looking at those hopeful expressions, Anton smiled slightly and took the basket with the food. He knew that it would be uncomfortable for the Rossi family if he refused now, and it wasn't like he minded eating a lunch prepared by someone else. In this new life, Anton wasn't picky about food, and as long as it was edible, he didn't mind filling his stomach with it. Besides, now that his day has been disrupted, having lunch at hand would make his activities for the rest of the day easier.
"Thank you for such a generous lunch!" Anton, who took the basket, smiled faintly and left in the company of Rafael while the Rossi family watched them.
After finishing the exorcism on the way, the place they needed to go was the nearby church, where Anton had been assigned authority as an exorcist priest and where Rafael was undergoing his training.
"What were the nails for, Priest?" Rafael asked after both had gotten into the car.
Anton, who was now sitting in the passenger seat, thought about the exorcism and said, "The nails were silver, which means they are blessed and contain a high power of light that restricts evil beings."
Assuming an exorcism goes wrong, an exorcist priest must have control over the possessed. If the possessed is released and full control is lost, the next phase that an exorcist must do is eliminate it at all costs, no matter what happens next.
Anton, who had read numerous exorcism simulations, understood that the effective way to not eliminate a possessed person was to limit them if they were released.
Rafael, who then understood the general situation in his head, nodded. "Are three nails enough to limit a possessed person?"
"Three if it's a child; for an adult, it would be double." Anton had never had this problem, but that was the recommended quantity by experts. As individuals trained to eliminate the supernatural, drastic measures had to be taken, and one always had to have control over any mistakes that might happen.
What Anton respects the most are ancient spirits, those who take form to fulfill any desire through a sacrifice, and it can be said that they are the most powerful. There was once a man who, after having his family snatched away, offered his life as a sacrifice so that those responsible for the death of his family would pay the price for their sins.
At that time, many good exorcists died before stopping that ancient spirit, a true tragedy within expected parameters. An exorcist is not an all-powerful being; each one has their own limitations and is human.
Although he could summon light swords to kill demons that have fully manifested or eliminate creatures like werewolves, vampires, lizardmen, and many others that can arise at any time through curses, they were humans.
"This world has always been fighting against the darkness, and although most people are aware that things are happening in the dark, everyone prefers to look away. Maybe that's the best, but I wonder when all of this will stop." Anton was sincere in his words in the company of Rafael. He genuinely wanted to know how far he should go with his duty.
He wanted to erase the sins of his past life, but he doesn't know if his total work in this world will really change anything. In this part of the world, there are entities of darkness, but there are thousands more in other places where he couldn't do anything.
Is it worth fighting until his bones break?
Somehow, Anton wanted to know the answer to this question, and if his total dedication to this kind of work will serve any purpose, he will continue as far as he can go.
He had been chosen, so he would do everything possible to move forward.
Rafael looked at the young man from the ShadowBane family and said, "I actually chose you as the Exorcist Priest because of your background. There's a demon I want to eliminate."
"Is it present in this world?" Anton had come to think of this possibility, so he asked.
Rafael nodded and said, "It killed my entire family when I was young, so I want to learn from you and follow you from now on so that someday you can help me eliminate that demon."
"I refuse." Anton looked into Rafael's eyes and said, "You will become strong enough to eliminate it on your own, ready to stroll through hell."
"Yes, sir!" Rafael nodded with an enthusiastic look. He was beside the heir of the ShadowBane family, who held the titles of the strongest exorcists and hunters in the entire hunters' association, so he was more than confident to follow young Anton from now on.
"Then let's go; if you can keep up with me, I'll teach you some special things." Anton said it without even knowing what he meant by those words.
Everyone had a goal in life; there was no one to deny that. In this life, he had the goal of eliminating as many dark entities as he could, hoping to have a place in heaven. He was here to do something like that, and he had been doing it since he arrived in this world.
Regardless of what happens, he will sweep away any dark being to be closer to forgiveness.