Anton felt a bit safer for the moment. Rafael, due to his sensitivity to evil energy, remained on high alert, listening attentively and inspecting his surroundings. When he felt secure, all the light returned, and Anton returned to the collapsed room, walking towards where the Death Book was.
"One of the three volumes; I understand we have one in our possession, so with this, there would be two," Anton said, his still-bleeding hand placed on the cover of the book.
When Anton's blood came into contact with the black book, as if by magic and sensing the danger, it closed completely.
"It's sealed; take all the items that may contain recordings and burn the rest."
Rafael nodded and began instructing the people who had come to clean the field.
Meanwhile, Anton stepped out of the room, and at that moment, he saw a girl trying to rush into the room. "No, let go of me; my mom and brother are inside!"
"They are dead," Anton said, looking at the crying girl.
Beth, who was sitting on the floor, stood up and wanted to slap Anton, but at that moment, an agent held her hand firmly and asked, "What do you think you're doing?"
"What do I think I'm doing? I ask you the same question: Why are you saying that to a child?" Beth, in tears, looked at Anton with hatred for how cold he was towards mere children.
Anton looked at the woman who wanted to hit him and said, "She needs to know the truth; don't lie to her face because she's not a stupid child."
"But there are ways to say it." Beth loosened her grip, with which she wanted to hit Anton, and the agent let go but didn't step back.
Meanwhile, Anton kept walking, his face filled with hardness, showing no emotion for all the deaths in that building.
Beth, still unsatisfied, asked, "Don't you have feelings? What makes you different from us if you're also human?"
When Anton heard these words, he stopped and said, "I am an exorcist; we are not at all alike. The moment a person becomes an exorcist, an agent of light, or someone who fights the supernatural, their life in your world ends, and they live in mine."
"We would be lucky to have a burial; everything is fake... We don't have funerals; few cry over our deaths or congratulate us on our work. You consider this a curse from God, and we simply see it as just another job; we've stepped on more corpses than ground on earth and seen more comrades die than you'll have friends in this life."
Anton turned around and, looking Beth in the eyes, said, "If I were to cry for every death, every failure... My tears would have dried up long ago. It's better to have the truth than a vile lie. You are their family, so give them comfort; you have lived long enough in a paradise of colors, so it is also your duty as a human to understand our world of darkness and pain."
When Anton decided not to say another word, he turned to an agent and said, "Classify the survivors, count the dead, and make a list of the agents fallen in battle."
"Understood, Archbishop Guardian!"
All the survivors who heard Anton's words, including the light agents, fell silent, processing the hidden pain in the words they had just heard.
How tough should a person's life be when they eliminate these kinds of demon entities?
What right do they have to feel depressed when there are people dying every day so they can have a normal life?
All those complaints, concerns, or pains had disappeared when it all ended.
Anton walked among the ruins of this building. After dodging a number of collapsed walls and passing through several piles of debris, he stopped when he felt someone following him.
"Are you coming to blame me for not being able to save your family? Well, I'm sorry." Anton continued walking after saying these words.
Still, the figure following him kept advancing, and Anton, who didn't sense any malice, turned around in disgust. "What do you want, then?"
But at that moment, Anton faced something unexpected—a hug.
Martha, who had been saved by peace agents along with another girl, hugged Anton and said, "I know none of this is your fault, so you don't have to apologize. In fact, I want to thank you because you saved my mom and brother."
Anton lowered his gaze and didn't know how to react; this was the first time he had been in such a situation, so he just stood still.
"The darkness is gone, so don't be afraid; you should go back with the agents because they will help you recover. Remember, live life seeming more like life from now on because no one can imagine what their life will be like tomorrow."
Martha stepped away from Anton, looked him in the eyes, and nodded. "Thank you for helping us; we are all grateful."
"I know that..." Anton smiled slightly under his mask, but after remembering how many deaths there were today, that smile disappeared from his face.
This, in simple words, is a failure...
A great tragedy...
"May all those souls rest in peace," murmured Anton as he left the building.